once // calum hood

17

The door opened and I get out of bed to meet Hayden at the door. I automatically engulf her into a hug.

"He asked you to move in with him!! Isn't that exciting!" She squeals as she squeezes me tighter.

"It is, it really is, but I don't want to leave you. We've only been friends for a little bit and roommates for even less time." I pull away and frown at her.

"Come on, let's sit over here." Hayden takes my hand and we walk over to the couch to sit down.

"Obviously I'm going to miss you a ton. You helped me in these last three months more than I could've ever imagined. You gave me somewhere to come when I was tired of my siblings and then you let me move in with you. You're pretty much my sister. I want to be here to support you for everything you do, including moving to California. Calum wanted me to make sure you knew that it's okay if you don't want to go. He felt like you wouldn't believe him no matter how many times he said it, so if you have any doubts or any hesitations let's talk about them." She encourages me and I sigh.

"I know that I'll have Mali there for the first week to show me how everything works but I don't know. It feels so weird going to live in a house I've never seen and a place I'm not familiar with. I know I go to California every summer but it feels different. He's going to depend on me to take care of his dog and his house but what if I get there and I can't do it? It's not like he can just come home. It feels like a lot of responsibility." I run my fingers through my hair. She's right, probably wouldn't ever say any of this to Calum because I don't want him to think he's forcing me into it. Honestly, I'd love to go.

"But also, I want to go and I know if I get out of my head it'll be fine but it's hard. I also hate leaving you here. I feel like a bad friend for wanting to go."

Hayden immediately shakes her head at my response. "No, don't. I swear, Calum Hood is asking you to move into his house and you're hesitating because of me? No way. I'm packing your stuff up right now." She jokes, Do you really think Calum would make you stay there if you got there and didn't like it? We both know he's not that kind of person. It's only two months without him. I'll be done with school by the end of April and I could come to visit sometime during those last few weeks without him."

"Wouldn't that be so much fun? I'm sure his house is fancy. He said it was nice and really private." I lean back into the couch and smile.

"I can't even imagine. Do you think it's like a total bachelor pad or somewhat of a family home? Oh my god, I just know you'll get married. You two haven't even known each other a year and he's already asked you to move in." Hayden squeals again and I shake my head.

"Just while he's gone though, I don't know if I'll stay once he comes home in June."

Hayden narrows her eyes at me again. "Why not?"

"Because I don't know if I was asked? I think I'm just taking care of Duke until then. Over the summer we only spent the night together towards the end and we've been apart a more than we've been together since then so what if we don't actually get along?"

I get a huge eye roll in response, she gets up to open the fridge.

"Don't fucking give me that excuse. You know that you two fit perfectly together. You went to Turk's and Caicos together and that was fine. I've literally never seen a couple that knows each other as well as you do. Your relationship seems effortless."

She was right. Calum knew the first time he met me that we would go well together and he was right. We got so comfortable so quickly and everything else kind of fell into place. I expected him being on tour was going to really take a toll on us, but so far it hasn't really. Calum has definitely spoiled me with the effort he puts in to call me almost every day. This last week has been the first time I've gotten a taste of what him being busy looks and like.