Stranger Calum

Chapter 8

"We should go on a date," Calum mumbles lazily from where he's currently laid out next me.

"What?" I glance at him skeptically. His eyes are glued to his phone as they have been for the past 10 minutes so I'm not really sure whether that was directed toward me or not. He yawns and finishes tapping something on his screen before clicking it lock and dropping it to the bed.

"Let's go on a date," he repeats more firm with his gaze actually on me but still holding a casualness about it.

"Yeah, okay," I answer sarcastically because I'm still not really sure he's serious and oh yeah there's the fact that he has people asking for and taking pictures of him whenever he so much as steps outside. His lips set in a tight line, eyebrows pulling together.

"Oh, you're serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he all but pouts.

"Calum, even if I agreed to this how exactly is going on a date even possible? We could hardly go to the grocery store this morning let alone out," I deadpan.

"That's differnent," he dismisses.

"How so?" I muse.

"Because it is," he shrugs.

"Okay, explain to me how it's different," I hum.

"Because..." he trails off in thought.

"Because..it'll be dark..?" I raise my eyebrows at him with a small amused smile etched on my lips.

He groans, rolling onto his back, "Just say you'll go on a date with me, Kota."

"Okay Calum, I will go on a date with you," I giggle, leaning down to press a kiss to his lips. "But just for future reference I'd like to go on record saying this is in fact a bad idea," I add once we've pulled away.

"Don't jinks it. It'll be fine," he scolds lightly.

"Whatever you say, Hood."

-

"Kot.." Kylie calls.

"Hm?" I hum, not really paying her any attention as I look at the store shelves in an attempt to find something my mom had asked me to get since I was already out with Kylie.

"Dakota," she says more firm and a little urgent this time.

"What Ky?" I sigh, looking away from the shelves and over at my friend.

Her eyes are just about bulging out of her socks as she looks down at the magazine in her hand, frantically flipping through the pages.

"Alright crazy?" I ask with a little chuckle.

"Is that not you?" She squeaks, stopping her flipping only to point at the front cover. I gasp, nearly dropping the jar I hand in my hand.

"What does that say?" I try to get a better look but she's already back to flipping through the pages.

"Oh my god!" Her mouth popping open as she lands on the page I'm assuming is one that goes with the cover.

"What? What does it say?" I ask, a bit frantic myself. Her eyes scan over the two pages open and then she breaks into a full on laughing fit.

"What?" I frown.

She continues her laughing.

"What!" I huff, going over to grab the magazine from her hands.

It's just a few pictures of Calum and I at the beach - luckily the kiss we shared not being one of them - but as I read the big page header my heart just about stops. I had totally forgotten Calum had a fake girlfriend, one that everyone else in the world thought was real. Which of course, would make me a heartless home-wrecker.

"Stop laughing!" I groan. "What am I gonna do?"

"I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.." Kylie cackles. "But how the hell do people actually believe Calum and Emily are together?"

"Shut up," I hiss, pulling her into the quiet aisle.

"I don't think outing my..Calum's fake relationship is something his management team want. I'm sure they'll hate me enough for this," I gesture to the magazine.

"Oh come on Kot, it's not even that bad, this could easily be friendly," she looks over the pictures some more. "Besides, if it's anyone's fault, it's Calum's. He knows more than anyone what it's like for him to go out, I'm sure he knew there was at least a slight risk of someone seeing you two."

I nod. She's right. The pictures aren't that suggestive and it wasn't my fault.

Not completely anyway.

"Should we buy it then?" I look up from the magazine with a smirk.

"Are you kidding? I want about 10 myself. Isn't it your mom's turn for that barbecue? You should hand them out as party favors," she jokes.

"Could you imagine? 'Thanks for coming, don't know if you've heard but heres an article about me being a home wrecker'."

We end up buying two separate ones which Kylie laughs some more about once we've gotten home and showed my mom.

-

I sigh down at my phone, checking it for the umpteenth time. Still no word from Calum on whether or not our date was still on, or just any word in general. In fact, I haven't heard from him since he texted me a funny picture of himself stating he was bored at whatever band thing they had going on today. That was around noon and it was now around 6:30 in the evening.

Of course, being my ever worrying self, I was on edge. I wasn't 100% sure it had something to do with the magazine but I was fairly sure. Definitely more than eighty percent sure. Which was so incredibly unsettling. I'm not sure how these fake relationships work but surely it can't be good for the real significant other.

I.E. me.

I steer clear of our neighbors and the barbecue, hiding out in my room like the child I am. As the night rolls on with no word from Calum I figure the date is a no-go, so I change into my pajamas and rid myself of any make up that may or may not have been done to-a-t for a certain date that was promised. By 10 o'clock I'm in bed with the tv on more for background noise as I fidget with my phone.

The thing is, I knew from the moment Calum asked to go on a date that it was a bad idea. I even went on record saying it was a bad idea. However, that doesn't mean I didn't want it. Of course I wanted it. It was a date with my favorite person in possibly the entire world. My favorite person I haven't really gotten to see or speak to in a little over two years.

It's literally all I wanted.

So yeah, it hurts. It hurts a lot. It would hurt less if I wasn't being ignored and if Calum was in his rightful spot next to me.

Around 11 is when everything and everyone blow up. Calum sends out a tweet simply clearing up that I was just an old friend he was catching up with and there was absolutely nothing more to it. Which is fine. It's kind of what I wanted. I'm not exactly prepared to have all eyes on me or people cutting into me personal life. So that's fine.

What isn't fine is that Calum apparently has time to tweet out an illiterate fucking novel about how there's absolutely nothing between him and I and how perfectly perfect he and his 'girlfriend' are but doesn't have time to type a quick 2 second 'busy' or 'sorry' or 'raincheck on date' in the 11 hours he's been gone.

So with a huff and one last wordy text to the dark haired boy himself, I shut off the tv and turn off the light, setting my phone aside and falling asleep with anger still coursing through my veins.

--

Hey look I actually updated when I was supposed to. Lol Anyway, sigh. Dalum, am I right? Ever the problematic ship those two.