Perilous Flames [clifford a.u]

chapter fourteen - his best friend

        CHAPTER FOURTEEN - HIS BEST FRIEND

        

        Calum's mouth was open and he stared at Michael with a shocked expression for a few moments before he was pulling Michael into a hug, muttering even more curse words under his breath. Michael chuckled at his reaction and patted his back before they pulled back at were grinning at each other. 

        Calum stared at his best friend in wonderment for another moment and then stepped aside, ushering us both inside of his apartment quickly. I walked awkwardly inside, taking in the sight of the messy apartment and the rock music that played in the background. As I glanced around, I noticed the empty pizza boxes placed on almost every table top, clothes strewn on the floor, and even blankets piled on any seating availible near the tv he had propped against the wall. I heard Michael begin to laugh as he stood by my side and looked around too. 

        "Yeah um," Calum said slowly as he casually tried to throw a couple of empty pizza boxes behind a couch. "I wasn't expecting any company, so sorry for the mess." 

        "Seems to me like you never expect company Cal," Michael teased, sending a grin his way. 

        Cal punched his shoulder with a roll of his eyes and Michael let out a small 'ow' and placed his hand over it. 

        Not meaning to, a snort came out of my mouth and both boys looked my way, a grin finding it's way on Michael and a genuine but curious smile on Calum's face. 

        Calum moved forward then, extending his hand out to me. "Hi, I'm Calum." 

        I took his hand and shook it, giving him a smile. "Aiden." 

        "She's my traveling buddy," Michael piped up, giving me a wink. 

        Surprised at the wink, my immediately grew red and I looked away almost immediately to ignore the slight embarrassing reaction I had. Calum seemed to notice because he gave Michael a look and asked, "Does she know..." 

        Michael nodded. "She knows everything." I saw him send another smile at me at the corner of my eye but I kept my gaze forward, staring at the band posters Calum had posted up on his wall. 

        "Well then," Calum started and made his way to the kitchen. He opened up a cabinet and took out a couple of cups and a liter of soda. "What made you want to date a nerd like Michael?" 

        My heart skittered to a stop at his question. Eyes widening, I looked at Michael who glanced at me at the same time, his reaction the same and his face growing red. 

        I looked at Calum, my lips thinning. "We're not together." 

        "We're not dating," Michael stammered at the same time, his face entirely flushed. 

        Calum began laughing. "You guys are joking right?" 

        We both shook our head at the same time. 

        "Oh," Calum's eyebrows were raised. "My bad. I was assuming you guys were together since..." his eyes traveled to mine and he let his words trailed off as I gave him a silent plea to not continue on this conversation. "Never mind, soda?" He offered, raising two plastic cups to us.

        "Yeah," Michael muttered, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. It felt like the entire room had just risen forty degrees. 

        Calum made his way over to the two of us, handing Michael a cup and then me. As he gave me mine, he gave me a look that told me that he was having hard time believing what we had just told him. And that just made my stomach squirm and face grow hotter than I thought it ever could.