Your Name's Tattooed

Chapter Eighteen

"Okay, so what needs to be done?" I ask, getting straight to the point. The longer I was here, the more chances I had of bumping into Calum and I didn't want that. Luke looks at Aspen, sharing a look that I could only recognize as mischievous. Then, Luke leads us down the hall and into the last room on the right. The room was painted a light blue, and his comforter was a much darker navy. Band posters were hung up in clusters, which made the walls just scream Luke Hemmings.

"What do you need to be moved?" I question, and he beckons me over to the closet. After opening the door, he leans in.

"See that in the back of the closet?" Luke asks, and I make the mistake of leaning into the closet to look. The lanky blond boy shoves me lightly, causing me to stumble into the closet. As I'm going to fight back, I hear the door lock.

"Let me out, this isn't funny. Seriously guys," I beg, but silence follows. Those assholes left the room. Sighing, I sit on the floor on a heap of hoodies. I'm like this for about five more minutes, when I hear the bedroom door open and voices following.

"Yeah, so it's in my closet." I hear Luke say, and another sigh follows.

"And why can't you tune it yourself?" A voice I can only recognize as Calum's asks with a slight attitude. Suddenly their plan clicks in my mind.

"Because you're better at tuning than I am," The blond says, his voice coming from right outside the closet. "Just look." And then the door is opened. Calum and I make eye contact, and my cheeks burn.

"Rory? What the hell-" Cal begins, but meets the same fate I did and gets pushed into the closet. I scoot over so I'm not hit by accident, knowing that trying to unlock the door would be futile. After banging on the door several times, the brown boy gives up and slides down the wall to sit where I was.

"You guys aren't coming out of there until you make up." Aspen speaks, both Calum and I sigh. "You're our best friends, just make up and fuck." I laugh at her inappropriate humor, then my laughter dies down after realizing the situation we're in. I'm reminded yet again when I hear the bedroom door shut. Calum's the first to speak.

"Rory, I-"

"How's Ivory?" I interrupt, not wanting to hear his forced apology.

"What?"

"Ivory. How is she?" I ask almost as if things were normal between us. He sighs, and I turn to see him rubbing his face.

"I couldn't do it."

"Couldn't do what? Fuck her?"

"Why are you doing this?" Calum exclaims, turning to face me.

"Doing what?" I question, pretending to be innocent. He narrows his dark eyes at me.

"Being like this!" Calum finally exclaims. I shake my head.

"I'm allowed to act like this, Calum! If you didn't notice, I was hurt. And I'm tired of you hurting me. I'm just giving you what you wanted. So go, fall in love with someone and forget about me. You wanted a life without soulmates, and I'm sitting here giving you one right now. Take it and go."

"I can't do that." He admits after a short period of silence. It catches me off guard. I raise an eyebrow.

"Why?" Calum actually laughs at my question, which confuses me more. I go to say something else, but he cuts me off.

"Because I'm so stuck on you. You're not like other girls, Rory. I look at you and I feel things I've never felt. And frankly, it scares me. Whenever you're around, it's like I'm seeing the stars for the first time. You aren't just beautiful, you're full of wonder; a whole constellation left undiscovered. I refuse to give up on this," Cal says, and tears threaten to spill out of my eyes. I blink them away before replying.

"Calum," I sigh, and he nods.

"I know. And I'm sorry. I was upset, and had no reason to take it out on you. The fact that I'd been searching for my soulmate for so long and then having her be right under my nose the whole time irritated me. When I finally heard your full name, I was ecstatic at first. And then I started drinking, a lot. I'm so sorry, Rory." The boy apologizes. After a while, I nod. "And I know that-" Before he finishes, I cut him off by pressing my lips to his.

Getting all A's, going to your favorite band's concert, you name it; nothing could compare to what my stolen kiss made me feel. This kiss put all of the old romance stories to shame, sparks and fireworks are set off in my body, and it's like the world's taking its first breath. Everything is right. Calum pulls away, his deep russet eyes making contact with mine and I can tell he feels the same.

"Shut up, Calum." I laugh, and he lets out a breath before laughing.

"Why didn't we do that any sooner?" He questions, and I laugh again.

"Because someone was being stubborn," I tease in reply. Calum shrugs, and pulls me in so that we're resting our foreheads against each other's.

"Our timing sucks," Calum chuckles. He smelled like a combination of cologne, mint, and fabric softener. I could tell now that it would become one of my favorite scents.

"Better now than never," I answer earnestly. The boy hums in response.

"I don't think I would've made it another day without kissing you." Calum gushes. I scrunch up my nose teasingly.

"Don't get soft on me now, Hood." He makes a noise of offense to that and moves his forehead off of mine.

"Please, me? I'm manly," Cal defends, causing me to laugh an unattractive laugh.

"Says the one who shrieks at spiders,"

"That was one time! And in my defense, it was huge!"

"You're from Australia! Shouldn't you be used to big spiders?" I counter. He huffs.

"Wow, now you're stereotyping me? That's low, Rory. I can't believe my girlfriend likes to stereotype people," Cal pouts. My heart skips a beat at the bomb he just dropped. Was I his girlfriend now, after one kiss?

"Girlfriend?" I ask, covering up my nervousness.

"Yeah?" He asks as if it's obvious. I raise an eyebrow. "Rory, please?" I laugh at that.

"You're begging me to be your girlfriend?" He nods. "I thought you were manly?"

"I'm manly but I respect your boundaries, so please, do me the honor of being my girlfriend."

"I guess." I simply answer, and he huffs.

"You guess?"

"Oh my gosh. Yes, Calum, I would love to be your girlfriend."

"Finally!" Aspen and Luke exclaim from the outside of the closet. Then, the door comes swinging open. "I thought you'd never ask," Luke groans, Calum and I come to a stand.

"Shut up," The maori boy says, his cheeks becoming rosy.

"If I had to hear you reherse asking her in the bathroom one more time, I was gonna shoot myself." Luke continues, and if I didn't know better I would think that Calum didn't do such a thing. It's confirmed when Calum's face gets even more red.
Aspen pulls me aside to let the boys do their thing.

"I'm so happy for you," She smiles, pulling me into a hug. I agree with her. I could tell that being Calum's girlfriend would be an adventure of its own, and that I'd enjoy every step of it.