Carry Me Home // cake

two

Days passed, and Luke was growing hopeless. At least 5 people had called him or checked out the apartment, but none of them wanted it. Finally, he figured that it wouldn't work out, so he had Mia take the ad down. She was disappointed, and insisted he keep it up longer, but he really didn't want to.

"Okay..." She sighed. "By the way, I did ask some of my friends. They're asking their friends now. If one of them do want to check it out, can I give them your number?"

"Yeah, sure. It's not gonna do anything, but sure. Thanks for trying to help me."

She smiled, squeezing his shoulder. "It'll be alright."

That night, around 9pm, he received a phone call. He missed it as he was in the shower, but when he got back to his phone, he saw that he had a new text to accompany the missed call notification.

Hi, I'm Calum. I heard from a friend that you need a room-mate. Could you call me back? No time is too late. Thnx :)

Luke shrugged, figuring he had nothing to lose. He called the number back, and Calum picked up within the first few rings. "Hello?"

"Hi, I'm Luke. You texted me about my room-mate situation?"

"Oh, yeah, hey man. Uh, a friend who works with you said you had an opening. I don't remember exactly who he said he heard it from, but... Yeah."

"Yeah, I am. The room's kinda small, just warning you. Lots of people turned it down because of that."

"That's alright. It's most likely better than what I have now," Calum chuckled, and Luke found himself smiling. "I also heard that you listen to a lot of music. Do you play?"

"Used to play guitar, but I didn't bring one with me. Should have..."

"Dude, I have one, and a bass. I don't use the guitar so that's all yours. You know, if you'll have me as room-mate."

"Oh, wow, thanks!" Luke smiled, sitting down on his bed. He was still in his towel, but he couldn't be bothered to change just yet. "When do you wanna come see the apartment?"

"Tomorrow? What time are you free?"

"Uh, well I work from 9 to 4, so any time after that would be best."

"How about 5?"

"Sure."

"Alright, awesome. Text me the address, and I'll be there."

"Cool, will do. Thank you!"

"Nah man, don't thank me yet. Well, see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye."

Calum hung up, and Luke sat there for an additional minute before pressing Mia's name in his list of contacts. It took her a while to reply, so Luke was afraid she was asleep, but when she answered she was anything but tired.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I think you just got me a room-mate."

–-

When Luke opened the door at 5 the next day, he really had no idea what to expect. He didn't try to dream up what Calum looked like, but when he opened the door, he knew he wouldn't have been able to anyways.

The man standing in front of him couldn't be more than 25, which is the first thing Luke noticed. He had chubby cheeks but a sharp jawline, dark brown hair with blond streaks that curled over his forehead. He was wearing a plain, grey shirt, and black jeans rolled up at the ankles to reveal grey Converses. "Hey, you're Luke?"

"Yeah, Calum?"

"That's me," the brown eyed boy smiled, shaking the blond's hand.

"Come in." Luke stood aside to let the brunet walk past him, biting his lip. He hoped this would be the end of his search.