Forced | cake au ✓

Chapter TWENTY-FIVE

Edited - 7/31/19

Calum

More than a month has passed since our tour began. Every concert has been amazing, every opportunity we get to be closer to our fans makes me realize how lucky I truly am.

We're back in Sydney for a few days before going to Brisbane. We had to stay at a hotel nearer the arena, plus it was just more convenient for our tour staff. Currently, we were sat in a restaurant, eating lunch before we had to do soundcheck.

Ashton nudged my side to get my attention, wiping his face with a napkin. "Will Luke be at the concert tonight?"

It wasn't a secret to the two of them that one of the reasons I was happy to be back in Australia was because it meant I could be with Luke in person. Their teasing was relentless on the way here.

"I don't know," I replied.

Michael stopped eating his fried chicken, looking at me weirdly. "You don't know? You haven't talked to him?"

I took my time chewing my food before answering. "Well, he texted me this morning, but I didn't get up until eleven." All three of us slept for nearly thirteen hours. Jet-lag really was the enemy.

I looked up from my rice bowl when I felt Ashton and Michael still staring with concern in their eyes. "Guys, he's busy. He told me himself when he called yesterday. He's working on a new movie."

"Oh, good," Michael breathed out. "I thought you'd start panicking like when he was ignoring you."

"I wasn't panicking," I denied, taking a sip from my lemonade. Ashton gave me a look but didn't say anything.

"Will he be at the concert though?" Michael asked again.

"I really don't know. Maybe. I mean, Patricia's been talking about her plans for us. Apparently everyone has been waiting for the two of us to be seen together again." I added a bit of drama to the way I said my words, impersonating Patricia's overly enthusiastic voice over the phone.

We managed to make it a few minutes of eating in silence before Michael was waving a hand in front of my face. "Hey, I have a question. What do you and Luke talk about whenever you call each other?"

"Whenever we do call each other, it's only for a few minutes. Most of the time, it's how are you's and telling each other about work. We're basically just keeping each other updated and whatnot. Like friends."

Ashton raised his eyebrow, probably at my last statement. Again, he held his tongue. Michael, however, didn't. "I thought you guys were having phone sex at this point. You always look so damn happy whenever he calls."

I nearly choked on my food.

Ashton snorted, nudging Michael who was grinning at me. "What? You can't blame me for wondering!"

"Still haven't told him how you felt?"

"Nope," I answered, avoiding Ashton's gaze.

"Are you ever planning on telling him?" Ashton pressed on.

I sighed exasperatedly, already losing my appetite. "Can we please change the subject?"

They allowed the change of topic, talking about anything from new music from our favorite artists to tv shows Michael recommended we start watching. We paid for our food, waiting for Jensen to pick us up.