thin walls / calum hood

0.4

Michael

It was half two - three more hours until closing - when the bell over the door made a sound to let Michael know someone had just come inside. Looking up from behind the counter, where he had been flicking through the latest issue of Kerrang! for the past fifteen minutes, he saw Calum coming towards him.

"Hey man," Calum nodded.

They weren't allowed to play the guitars, not really. But as Michael's boss was on a break and wouldn't be back for a while, nobody would know. "Jamming sesh?"

"Yeah, let's do it."

Just as they sat down, Michael felt the need to ask. It had become a standard thing to do. "How's it going with the vir-"

"If you say the v word I swear I will punch you in the face, Clifford," Calum interrupted, not looking amused.

"Virginity?" Michael asked, pulling an innocent face. He plucked the strings one by one to tune the guitar he was holding.

Instead of replying or even looking over at Michael who had a smug smile on his face, Calum started to pluck at the guitar strings. As Michael knew this was Calum's way of ignoring him, he filled in the rest of the song, playing the chords.

After the last few notes had faded out, Calum still wasn't saying anything. Although Michael guessed he deserved the silent treatment, it bothered him that he had potentially stepped over the line.

"It's just a joke. You're not mad, right?" Michael asked carefully, putting the guitar away. "Like, I get it if you are."

"Don't worry. It's just a bit frustrating sometimes, you know?" Calum sighed. "You guys are so confident and all that. I'm not. I just can't seem to even talk to girls."

Hearing what his friend had to say, Michael felt bad. When Calum was sad, he had a way of looking really sad. His brown eyes were linked with the floor, and his lower lip slightly jutted.

"I'm sorry, mate."

"I feel kinda stupid," admitted Calum. He crossed his arms over the guitar in his lap, sighing.

"Don't."

"But I do. What if I'll be alone forever?"

"You're a nice guy, Cal. You just need to find someone who sees that," Michael assured him.

It was true; Calum was a nice lad. His problem was being a bit too nice sometimes. It allowed people to walk all over him. He never really stood up for himself.

"Thanks."

"Can I just say something?" Michael said after a while of silence blended with random chords.

"What?"

"You say you're not confident. But, like, you had no problem knocking on that girls door all shirtless. Mate, she was staring. Like, it was seconds away from her eyes falling out."

"Oh." Calum hadn't noticed.

Calum

Unsure about whether or not he regretted opening up about his self-consciousness to Michael earlier, Calum walked home with the music loud in his earphones to block out any following thoughts.

He tended to bite his lip when he was thinking, but didn't realise until he felt the rusty taste of blood that maybe he was thinking too hard. The music didn't seem to help.

When reaching the final steps up to the complex of flats he lived in, Calum saw the lift still open. Sliding through the front entrance, he caught it just in time for the doors to shut.

He wasn't alone. The girl from downstairs stood there, her blonde wavy hair swiped to one side. With her worn out sneakers and skinny jeans rolled up to her ankles she looked effortlessly pretty. Calum felt his face get a bit hot and flushed.

She pressed four with a red painted, chipped fingernail. He pressed five.

Standing so close next to her, he noticed how tall she was. She reached just a few inches below his own height, all on her own. It was intimidating. Calum would probably never admit to being scared of girls. There was just something about them that made him nervous.

Girls were less scary when they were short and cute, Calum thought. He'd feel less silly then. Shorter girls weren't eye level, so it was easier to avoid getting caught when sneaking a glance.

This girl, though... The mere presence of her left him feeling self-conscious and all trembly. Not knowing what to do with his clammy palms, he shoved them deep into his pockets. It was the silence that was paining him. He knew he should say something. But what?

Sorry about my friends laughing at you?

The situation was awkward to say the least. Calum had sweaty hands and couldn't stop chewing on his lips; his face was red and burning. While he tried not to glance at the girl, her eyes were glued to the mirrored wall.

Still, he felt her green eyes piecing him.

What calmed Calum down a bit was that she seemed a bit uneasy as well. She was tapping her fingers against the phone she held in her hand. A nervous habit, he assumed.

"Floor four. Doors opening," the automatic monotone voice called.

She escaped almost inaudible; quick and quiet like a cat. Before she was out of Calum's sight she slowly turned around, her electric green eyes finding his.

The exchange was swift; if Calum had as much as blinked, he would have missed it.

"Bye," he said, and gave her a wave. Unable to hold back, a nervous giggle bubbled up in his throat.

When the lift finally closed, Calum pressed his eyelids shut, cringing. What the hell? Had he actually just waved at her? Who did that? Obviously, he did. What an idiot.

Embarrassed and a bit bummed that he hadn't dealt with the situation better, Calum walked straight to bed. With his face pressed into the pillow, all of his frustration was let out into a muffled groan. He hadn't even asked for her name. Goddammit.

Whilst face down on his bed, drowning himself in the embarrassment of failing to talk to the girl, Michael's offer once again popped into his head. And when he had started thinking about it, Calum couldn't stop. One moment he'd be all for it, and the next he'd not want anything to do with it.

At three in the morning Calum was still undecided. To be a virgin forever or not to be a virgin forever - that was the question. When thinking about his situation that way, the decision he had been left to make seemed a lot easier.