Carry Me Home // cake

nine

"Should I tell him?" Luke asked Mia, keeping his voice low. The weather had gotten too chilly to sit at their usual table outside, so the two friends were sitting in the break room, eating their lunch and chatting.

"I don't know if Cal swings that way," Mia pointed out, causing me to sigh.

"You're right. I don't know either. It's just... I don't know how to approach these new feelings."

"Well, let's see. If you do tell him, and he doesn't feel the same, it's going to be pretty awkward. I mean, you guys are roommates, after all. Plus, this is a new development on your part - well, fairly new. Just take things slow. Figure Calum out before you figure out what you want to do about these feelings."

Luke nodded. Mia was right. Luke figured he just had to find out Calum's sexuality, somehow...

That's all Luke had in mind throughout the day. When he got home that evening, he was surprised to find Calum there, on the couch, strumming his guitar halfheartedly.

"Rough day?" Luke asked, hanging up his keys on the hook beside the door before kicking off his shoes.

Calum looked up at him, still strumming, and watched as Luke sat down on the bean bag near the couch. "Eh. It was pretty boring."

Luke hummed in response, closing his eyes.

"Rough day?" Calum asked him, a slight laugh hidden in his question.

"Yeah," Luke sighed out, not opening his eyes. "Well, long, more than anything."

"What d'ya work on?"

"Just... Busy work. Started writing a review of the new Green Day video, but Li said she didn't want it, so... Yeah."

"Oh, sucks," Calum sympathised, and Luke heard him place the guitar back down by the couch.

All of a sudden, Luke heard him gasp, prompting him to open one eye. "You good?"

Calum was standing up with a hand in his pocket and a surprised look on his face. "Oh, yeah. I just- Phone call. Gotta take this."

Luke watched him rush to the bedroom and close the door, then shrugged and closed his eye again.

He must've fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew, Calum was waking him up, shaking him by the shoulder softly. Luke blinked, rubbing his eyes, and looked up at Calum, smiling at him. "Hey, you fell asleep, but I made dinner and I figured you'd want it before it gets cold."

Luke blinked a couple more times before nodding. "Oh, thanks Cal. You didn't have to."

Calum straightened up and shrugged, a smile ever-present on his face. "I figured you were tired."

Luke smiled back, and got off the beanbag, following Calum to the kitchenette. He took the plate and a bottle of beer gratefully, thanking Calum again, and sat down at their small round table to eat. Calum sat across from him, and the two of them ate and drank in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence, but more of a silence stemming from tiredness. Between bites, Luke looked up at his roommate, who was looking down at his phone with a slight frown. The blond observed Calum, eyes trailing over his face. His hair was curling over his forehead, partially shielding his eyes from Luke's view. Luke's gaze then trailed downwards to Calum's lips, plump and soft, causing Luke to bite at his own.

Calum looked up from his phone, and Luke quickly averted his gaze back to his eyes. "Is it good?"

"Hunh?"

"The food," Calum clarified. "Good?"

"Oh. Oh yeah!" Luke nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Cal."

Calum smiled. "Yeah yeah, don't go on about it."