5sos One-Shots

Fish in the Sea |Cake

"That's me," Luke pointed at a cluster of small yellow fish swimming around on screen. "And that's all the people I've been with," he pointed at the group of hammerhead sharks preying nearby. "Watch closely."

Calum cringed as the sharks feasted on the defenseless little fishies. Luke's face was impassive.

"Marine foodchains are the perfect representation of my dating life."

"Jeez, Luke," Calum said, still gaping at the television screen. "You two were only together for a couple of weeks!"

"Still hurts," he grumbled. "Wouldn't you be crushed if you walked into school to see your girlfriend sucking face with some other asshole?"

"Well considering I'm gay..."

"Boyfriend then."

"Well yeah, I'd be a mess," Calum shrugged. "Your reaction is completely normal, mate. But your obsession with it isn't. It's been a week, Luke. You have to get over Tess. She's clearly gotten over you."

Luke turned away and began watching the shark documentary once again. How they had ended up watching this on a Saturday afternoon was beyond them. But the program seemed to do nothing more than make Luke's already sullen mood even worse.

Calum stared at him. He was watching the tv with a bored expression plastered on his face, munching on potato chips they had snuck from the kitchen. The blonde had dark circles under his eyes like he hadn't slept for days.

He couldn't possibly be thinking about the breakup so hard that it affected his sleep, Calum thought. He didn't even like her that much.

Calum turned off the tv.

"Hey! I was watching that!" Luke blinked.

"No you weren't," Calum said. Luke played with his lip ring but said nothing. "We're going to talk. Okay?"

Luke gave a small nod. His mouth remained shut.

"This isn't just about Tess, is it? Because I know you and you're not one to beat yourself up over something like this. Luke, what's going on?" Calum asked.

Luke kept his mouth shut and his eyes glued to the carpeted floor. That got Calum worried. Luke told him everything even it was something entirely stupid like what kind of underwear he was wearing. But right now he was keeping something from him and that was weird.

"Luke," he said softer, "what's wrong? Please tell me."

Luke took a shuddering breath in. There were tears forming in his eyes. "People have been saying things about me, Calum. A lot of people."

"Saying what?"

"They've been saying..." he hesitated. "They're telling everybody that I'm gay. That I'm using Tess and all the other girls I went out with as covers to hide it."

"But what's the issue? Normally you brush this stuff off. You never get bothered by people talking about you," Calum said carefully.

"This time," Luke took a sharp breath, "I think they might be right."

To say Calum was shocked would be an understatement. Calum wasn't just shocked, he was dumbfounded. Luke was the straightest guy he knew. He had dated tons of girls and when he wasn't dating someone he would always have random hook ups.

"Are you sure you're gay, Luke?" Calum asked carefully.

"No, I'm not sure," Luke groaned. "I'm just... questioning."

"Okay," he said. "Um, why are you questioning? What made you start thinking you're gay?"

Luke stared at the ceiling, a look of devastation on his face. Tears were threatening to fall again and Calum wasn't sure what to do. He had never been in a situation where he had to comfort his best friend like this. Normally they just joked around together. It was rare that they wore their hearts on their sleeves in front of each other. The worst he'd ever comforted Luke for was a bad test grade he got in science.

"Okay you don't have to tell me. I was just wondering," Calum said. "You don't have to tell me."

Luke sniffled and nodded.

"The thing is," Luke spoke, "I liked girls so much but now I don't like them as much and I'm just so confused, Cal. I'm so confused."

"Well maybe you still do like girls," he pointed out. "But maybe you like guys too and you're bi, not gay."

He mulled that over, "Okay that makes sense."

Luke sighed and dropped his head onto Calum's shoulder who in turn wrapped his arm around the blonde.

"I don't want to like guys," he whispered.

"I know, Luke," Calum replied softly, "I've been there. Coming to terms with it is difficult."

They then sat on the couch together, not saying a word. The only sound that penetrated the comfortable silence was Luke's constant sniffling. Calum rubbed Luke's shoulder affectionately, wishing that his friend wasn't so upset. It pained him to see Luke so troubled. But he knew there wasn't anything to do that could make it easier. You just had to wait for the intial confusion and fear to pass so you could accept it.

The light eventually faded. Sitting in the darkened room, Calum ran his fingers through Luke's hair, soothing his nerves and putting his mind at ease. Somewhere along the line Luke had repositioned himsef so that he was laying with his head in Calum's lap. Calum thought that the boy had fallen asleep at least an hour earlier when he finally spoke.

"Cal?" Luke whispered.

"Yeah, Luke?"

"Can I..." he hesitated. "Can I test it? To see if I really do like guys?"

Calum bit his lip. "What do you mean 'test it'?"

Luke shifted to face him. Staring up at him, he asked, "Can I kiss you, Calum?"

For the second time that day, Calum found himself baffled. Luke wanted to kiss him? Why him? They were best friends. Wouldn't that be weird? Why not ask someone else?

But Calum knew why. Luke wasn't even sure yet. He knew Calum wouldn't say anything if this happened. He trusted Calum. At least enough to know he wouldn't kiss and tell.

Luke studied his face. "You can say no."

Then Calum shook his head. "No. I mean yes. I'll do it." Luke's eyebrows rose and he continued, "You need help figuring this out. I know I did. So I'll help you, Luke."

Luke's face broke out in a bittersweet smile and he sat up. "Thanks, Cal. This means a lot."

Then without warning, Luke leaned in. The kiss was slow and sweet and gentle and somehow beautiful. Calum moved his lips against Luke's and his breath hitched at the feel of the lip ring. Luke smirked into the kiss and lightly bit Calum's lower lip.

Calum had only ever kissed a few people before. None of them were anything like this. None of them had the skills to melt his brain into a gooey puddle and make him think of only them. His kissing powers must have been supernatural because all Calum could think was LukeLukeLukeLukeLukeLukeLuke...

When he felt Luke's tongue brush against his mouth, Calum pulled back.

Not that far, he thought. Not now.

He leaned his forehead against Luke's and stared into his blue eyes. He blushed intensely and hoped the darkness covered it. "Well?" Calum said. "What do you think?"

Luke's mouth curved up into a smile. "What do I think? I think," he said and leaned closer to Calum, "screw girls."

And then he closed the gap once more.

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I had this idea for a while now and wasn't sure how to end it. So there we go! Another shot ended. I know this somehow got out of order with the others. Just ignore it I guess. Request a shot if you want!!! The next one will either be a Lashton one if I ever get around to finishing it or a Mashton New Years Eve special one ^.^