Forced | cake au ✓

Chapter TEN

Edited - 7/28/19

Calum

"Matthew?"

Luke grinned at the man, but it seemed forced. He was an actor, he could have faked the smile better. I guess he wasn't in the mood to put in the effort.

"I haven't seen you in a while!" This Matthew guy walked closer to our table, smiling at Luke. He then turned to me, both eyebrows raising.

"Oh, you're.. you're Calum Hood! You're from 5 Seconds of Summer!"

I nodded slowly, smiling a little and trying to remember why he seemed familiar. "Yeah, hey man." I greeted him, shaking his already extended hand.

"I'm Matthew Drent. Nice to meet you." Matthew had light brown hair cut short on the sides while the front was a mop of curls. Like Luke's, his eyes were blue.

"I'm sorry," I tilted my head. "Have we met before? You look kind of familiar."

I heard Luke start coughing up and I turned my eyes towards him. Before I could ask what was wrong, Matthew spoke up.

"No, man, I think I would've remembered if I met you." He grinned, turning back to Luke. "So, Luke, how's Jake? I haven't heard from him much either."

"He's uh, well, he's working as a personal trainer now so he's pretty busy. Meredith's going great, too." Luke replied.

Who?

"Ah, well, I understand. You're a pretty busy guy too, I hear. You're working on a new movie, right?" Luke nodded. "Well, I'll be sure to catch it!" He gave Luke a firm pat on the shoulder.

Matthew then turned to look at me. "Again, nice meeting you Calum. I'll leave you to your date." He winked then waved goodbye to Luke before walking off to a table on the other side of the place.

"Um," I began. "Matthew—he really does look familiar to me."

Luke was silent, staring at his lap.

"Luke? You okay?"

"Matthew was uh.. He—" Luke visibly swallowed, adam's apple moving up and down. I narrowed my eyes, leaning in slightly.

"What? What are you trying to say?"

"He was the guy you saw me kissing that night at the restaurant."

Oh. Oh.

The image of Luke and Matthew kissing years ago played in my head, and everything I said that night that led to us not talking for over 3 years—It was like I was remembering it again for the first time, though it really wasn't.

"What?" My voice was barely above a whisper.

Luke nodded, slowly meeting my gaze. I didn't know what my face looked like, what expression I was showing, but I felt a whirlwind of emotions. First I felt anger, then guilt, and now I'm frustrated because I was confused on how I should react, what was even appropriate at this point.

"Jake and Meredith. They were the ones who were with you that night?"

"Yes."

"Ah." I nod once, taking the milkshake Luke had ordered for me and sipping silently on the straw.

Luke's gaze was on me, but I was looking at the table. "Say something?"

I lowered the glass, taking a slice of pizza. "I don't know what to say." I mumbled, taking a small bite from it. "I'm not sure what to feel, Luke." I confessed quietly.