Wrong Number (Cake Hoodings)

82 *

AN// I suggest reading the last chapter if you can't remember what happened, I know I'm terrible :') 

{ e i g h t y t w o }

"I... don't really know where to go from here." Calum says to him, stroking through his hair as they sit tangled up under the bleachers. "What am I supposed to do, Luke?" He asks helplessly. "What am I..." He trails off and Luke realizes he's crying and turns in his arms to comfort him. 

He hugs Calum so tight he gets pin and needles in his arms, and its when they're cuddled up together, alum hiccuping into his band shirt, that the school day ends, and the bell blares from inside the school. Calum sobs over the sound. 

"Shhh, come on," Luke lifts them both up gently. "Come to mine, it's okay." He hides Calum behind his own body as they walk through the field and towards the car park. 

Everybody is rushing out of school and nobody seems to really notice them anyway, too focused on trying to get out themselves. He pulls Calum along until he see's his step fathers car and they both jog over, Calum get in the backseat par Luke's request. 

"Caleb!" His step dad greets, and Luke just sighs, getting into the passenger seat. 

"Now isn't the time." Luke mutters. 

"What did I say?" His step dad replies. "Is everything okay?" He looks between the two of them, seemingly knowing that they want to get out of there and starting up the car. He gives Luke a worried look as he pulls out of the parking space, weaving his way around people going to their own cars before getting to the exit of the school gates.

Only when they're going a solid 20MPH does Luke speak. 

"Cal... He got kicked out."

"Of the school?!" His step dad asks, spluttering before taking a sharp turn. Luke hears Calum hit against the door, wonders if he even felt it. 

"No. No. Um, his Dad found out about us today. He, uh," 

"Oh." His step dad says quietly, understanding before Luke has said the words. He glances through the back mirror and then clenches his jaw, looking back to the windscreen. "Oh." He repeats. 

"Yeah." Is all Luke can say. "So..." 

His step dad gives him a look. "Just for a while. Please?" 

"We'll talk to your Mom tonight, I'm sure you'll be welcome to stay with us for a while, Calum." Calum and Luke both look up at him in disbelief, him focusing on the road as he pulls into their driveway. "What? Did I say something again?" Luke just lets out a small chuckle and thanks him before getting out of the car, Calum following shortly behind him as he walks up to the front door. 

They walk to Luke's bedroom in complete silence, the tension thick and awkward between them. Calum's phone buzzes in his pocket a few times, but that seems to be the only possession that Calum has with him. 

The shirt on his back is ripped, and his shoes and muddy and worn from the constant football and mud from the field. He takes them off by Luke's bedroom door, apologizing quietly for not doing it earlier. 

Luke walks over gently and slides his arms around Calum's waist. The boy barely even moves, but places his head against Luke's shoulder. 

"How do I make it better?"

"I don't know." Calum replies in a whisper. "I feel like I don't even know myself right now." 

"Well, you're just Calum, you hate football, you like small talk even though I hate it... You're dating me, uh, you hate Michael Clifford, and you have pretty nice abs." 

"I'm sure they'll go now I don't play football anymore." He says, tone reflecting his sadness, and sort of bitter. Luke doesn't blame him for being bitter towards his arrogant, homophobic father. "I don't even have friends." 

"I'm your friend." Luke says, pulling back so Calum is at arms length and giving him a small smile. 

Calum seems to break down, collapsing out of Luke arms and into a heap on the floor, bursting into a flood of tears. He presses his back against the closed door and curls in on himself, his sobs wringing throughout the room and making Luke almost want to cry with him. He kneels down in front of him instead, putting a hand on his knee as Calum presses more into the ball he's created for himself. 

"It's-"

"Nothing is okay right now!" Calum yells brokenly, his face hidden by his legs, but Luke is sure tears are streaming down his face right now, making his eyes red and puffy. He puts his other hand on Calum's back, and the kiwi boy just seems to go rigid. "I'm h-homeless. I have nothing- I don't even- I don't- this is entirely because of you!" Luke freezes when Calum looks up at him, and he was right, Calum's eyes are red and puffy, his cheeks too, his entire face almost. 

His eyes look empty. It's past he's looking past Luke instead of at him, yet talking directly to him. His pupils are dilated and huge, expanding to cover almost all of his iris, and there are red lines running through the white surrounding the almost complete blackness. How broken his eyes look seem to reflect how he's feeling. 

"I was fine pretending, I was fine just being who he wanted me to be before I met you." 

"Being fine doesn't equal being okay."

"But it's better than this!" Luke nods and stands up, away from him to give him some room. He closes off his emotions not to let his boyfriends words go to heart and just nods slowly, taking a gulp that feels as if nails are sliding down his throat. Calum makes choking sounds, gasps, hiccups, and finally, after a painful amount of time, the room goes silent all apart from the boys shaky breath. "I'm sorry," He says finally, voice shyer but still rough and worn around the edges. Luke turns back to him and nods, pity reflecting in his eyes. "Could I just... Do you mind if I take a nap for a while?" 

"What's mine is yours, Cal." Luke mumbles, watching Calum pick himself up and limp over to the bed before pulling the covers back and sliding in. He pulls the cover over his head, shuffling around so its tucked under his feet and shaping the outline of his body before going still, his breath steadying. "I love you." Luke says quietly. 

The room is thick with silence. 

Authors Note// Guess who's back, back agaaiinnnn. Ya missed me, right? A short little update to begin with because I'm trying to go steady to get back in the swing of regular updates, but here it is. I'm finally throwing myself back into wattpad, I feel mentally stable enough, even though I'm pretty sure my A Levels are trying to kill me, and I'm ready to kick this stories asssss! So here it is, the next update! Sorry I've been gone so long, but I assure you, I will try and update at least weekly, if not more. 

Good to be back - smilecarlile 

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