red | cashton

✯❘ twenty one

now that the whole school situation was fixed, calum felt happier. he felt like now he had some kind of control over dominique. she stole that from him, and finally he gains some of it back. he's not going to treat dominique terribly. calum has to be the bigger person in this situation.

ashton has constantly been up his ass about how proud he was. at the beginning of the school year, calum was this shy, sassy boy who took everything life gave him. now, he's a independent and confident boy. he's still sassy, that's never going to go away.

ashton treats calum like a prince. his prince. from everything calum has gone through, he deserves all the praise and encouragement he can get. it took years for calum to finally take back what was his. dominique may be his personal guardian, but she does not act like it. he acted more like a slave than a nephew, family.

calum didn't know why dominique treated him so badly. what is different about him than everyone else? maybe she doesn't like him because his parents are dead and he's a constant reminder of them? or maybe she's just a straight up bitch who hates everyone.

after high school, calum is never coming back here. well, unless luke is still here. there's no way he could just disappear on luke like that. or maybe they could live together. an apartment just for two. calum can go to his school, and luke can go to whichever school he is going to, if he is.

but... what about ashton?

he'll still be friends with ashton, right? the singer isn't just going to drop him and forget him once they graduate, right?

will he have a future with ashton?

that thought alone was scary. he wasn't focused on who he's going to spend the rest of his life with. yes, it would be amazing if it were ashton. but as of right now, calum only wants to focus on school and dancing.

as he says that, he still pops the question to ashton.

"what are we?"

ashton is caught off guard by the question. he doesn't know, exactly. they like each other but... is it strong enough to be in a relationship? is it the right time to be in a relationship?

"i honestly don't know, cal." ashton answers.

calum nods, understanding the answer. he doesn't know exactly either. is isn't sure if ashton wants to be in a relationship right now, or ever.

"will we ever be something?" calum asks.

he sounds so insecure and sad when he asks the question, but he isn't. calum does not want to get his hopes up. he'd rather find out now than later. this way, calum knows that he will need to move on. the thought hurts, but sometimes things just don't work out like you think they would.

"i'd like to believe so. i want to, but i don't want to rush into anything. i want you to focus on school, cal. i know this is your dream and i do not want to be a distraction."

and calum wants to scream. you won't be a distraction! you could never be a distraction!

but at the same time, ashton is right. ashton is famous, calum is not. while in school, ashton is going to be back to business. tours, albums, interviews, flying everywhere around the world. while he's doing that, calum is only stuck at his school.

it is possible for the relationship to work, but calum doesn't know if he'll be able to handle seeing ashton everyday, to at least once a month. sure, he could tour with him, but that is also his management's choice. michael may be his manager, but the management is the boss of all. michael may say yes, but management could say no.

"will we be something after i finish school?" calum asks quietly.

he doesn't know why he's so worried about not being with ashton. maybe he likes him way more than he admits. maybe ashton is his forever. what if calum isn't ashton's forever, though?

ashton turns to look at calum and kisses him softly. "i'll be waiting for you, always."

that answer only gave what calum needed; hope. ashton is his high school sweetheart, but he wants him to be his forever sweetheart. it's so cliché, but it's want calum wants. he wants love. he wants to love ashton.

—

graduation day came faster than expected. calum was rushing to find his other shoe. luke was holding down his horn, making calum peak his head out the window and shout "shut the fuck up! i'll be out there in a second!"

he finally finds the shoe underneath his bed. all of his stuff is practically thrown everywhere since he's been packing. a week from today, he is supposed to move in to his apartment. sadly, the plan of living with luke didn't work out. luke wanted to go to school for fashion, and calum completely supported him. luke has always had an interest in making clothes. for gods sake, he made their suits for prom. he hopes luke gets very far, he's very talented.

he races down the stairs, ignoring dominique's protests.

once he gets in luke's car, he glares at the blonde. luke only smiles innocently and pulls out of the drive way.

"do you have everything packed yet?" luke asks.

calum shakes his head. "i still have some stuff, but i should be done in the next few days."

luke nods. he's oddly quiet, a little too quiet. luke has always been the talkative one. he's always been the happy one. however, calum can tell that something is bothering his best friend. luke's sad, and calum can see it and feel it.

"what's wrong, lu?" calum asks softly.

luke shakes his head. "n-nothing. just some stupid stuff."

calum stares at luke. he doesn't stop until luke groans. "fine! jesus, stop staring at me!"

calum smiles in triumph. luke hates being stared at, and it's usually all calum can do to get luke to talk. he's not forcing him to because luke never talks about his problems. he's always been like that and it's not healthy. he keeps everything bottled up until he breaks.

"it's just... after we graduate, we're going to be hours away from each other. we've always been side by side, and now that's going to be different. i'm scared that we'll end up falling away. you're my best friend... you're all i have." luke says sadly.

calum frowns. he knows it's going to be hard to be away from his best friend, but he didn't think of how much time they spend together. they're together almost all the time. now, that's all about to change.

"luke, i'm always going to be your best friend. we may not see or talk to each other as much, but i promise you that we will not drift away." calum says sternly. "and, what about michael? you have him, i mean it's not the same as me but... at least it's something?"

and just the word 'michael' alone made luke break.

he pulled over to the side of the road and broke into tears. calum was shocked for a moment, but was quick to comfort him.

"h-he said we couldn't see each other anymore! a-and he's been ignoring me and it just fucking hurts!" luke sobs.

this time, it's calum who wants to go on a murder spree. michael could possibly have a good explanation, but when it comes to his best friend, calum goes beast mode.

luke is fragile. he may act all tough, but he's an actual sweetheart. he's insecure, shy, but also a badass all at the same time. it hurts to see him this upset. luke is smiles and laughs 24/7. but everyone has a breaking point. everyone has that one thing that will completely change their mood.

"i'm so sorry, lu." calum whispers.

heartbreak hurts.

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the gifs aren't working so
i will have to add them later :(

also, two more chapters! i'm
so excited to finally finish this
story after two years! :)