10:53 [calum hood]

05

➸ c a l u m

It was Saturday night and I spent it alone in my room in a blanket burrito.

I felt lonely without Riley. One night was all it took to become drugged with her scent and to fall in love with the way her breath escaped in small huffs while she slept. I missed the feeling of clutching her to my chest as our bodies intertwined as one.

I missed us.

It was late that night when I heard the faint buzz of my phone coming from my bedside table. A notification lit up the room, alerting me that I had one new text message. From her.

hey cal, mind if i come over?

I reread the text at least three times before snapping myself back to reality. I hoisted myself up and unwrapped the blanket from around my body, dropping it in a heap on my bed.

sure, be over in 10?

I hit send, breathing out a sigh of relief before realizing that I had ten minutes to get ready. Ten minutes to fix my hair and change into something that didn't make me look like I had spent a few days in the wilderness.

I threw my phone on the bed and jumped up, causing my bed to creak and groan. I ran to the bathroom and quickly styled my hair into the quiff that I knew she loved. I threw on the first shirt I saw, which just happened to be a NASA singlet, and a pair of ripped skinny jeans. Good enough.

I peeked at the time and it was 10:45. She'd be over in two minutes.

After plugging my phone in to charge and rearranging half of my damn bedroom, I heard a knock at the door.

"Coming!" I yelled, taking one last look in the mirror before hopping downstairs. I opened the door to reveal Riley, who looked as beautiful as ever. Her hair was curled and her blue eyes sparkled prominently as she flashed me a quick smile. Her smile was enough to make me forget all about how depressed I was and how I had caught her eating Luke's face off earlier.

Luke.

I had always hated Luke, but that little shit has taken things a step too far. I knew he liked Riley, and I knew how frustrated he was that she wouldn't recognize his feelings for her. I mean, even a blind man could see that he was head over heels for her. But not as head over heels as I was, obviously.

"Hi," Riley whispered, giving me a close-mouthed smile.

"Hey, Ry," I replied, smirking at my nickname for her. "Come in. Mom left for a late night appointment so we'll have the place to ourselves till she gets back."

She nodded. "Great!" Her smile faltered a bit, as if she had realized something. Her eyes had lost their sparkle and she chewed on her bottom lip, a familiar sign that I knew meant that she was either guilty or hiding something.

"Let's go upstairs."

✿❀✿❀✿❀

"Calum, it's 10:53!" she yelled, pointing to the clock. I looked to where she was pointing and yes, it was 10:53 on the dot.

I chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Yeah, I guess it is." I was thinking of a way to slowly approach the topic of her and Luke. Were they together? Were they just flirting? It didn't look like they were flirting much while kissing so intensely in public, but what did I know?

"I remember the first time I saw you in second grade," Riley giggled, pushing my shoulder lightly. "You were wearing these ridiculous glasses and your shirt was way too big and your hair was messy and I honestly didn't know what to think of you. And then I saw your smile. I swore that it was the most beautiful smile I had ever seen." She continued rambling about all the little things she had noticed about me from that day, and each new feature made my blush even more noticeable.