clumsy | l.h.

eighteen

"there's something 'bout the way you sleep, when you're lying next to me, i don't know how you do your thing, but you do it, you do it, you do it to me" - Do It 2 Me / Allstar Weekend

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-Luke-

I heard the bell on the door of the record store ring, followed by the sound of a familiar voice, "Special delivery for Luke!"

I smiled and looked up to meet Violet's eyes. She was grinning and holding a plastic bag in her hands, heading over to the counter I was sitting behind. In the past two weeks since we had gone on our trip, things had gone back to normal. We weren't arguing anymore, and Violet had seemed to be trying to throw herself into the relationship more than she had before. It seemed like whatever was holding her back before had finally vanished for good.

Violet placed the bag on the counter, pulling out a couple of Tupperwares, "I figured that maybe you were as sick of takeout as I was, so I made some macaroni and cheese for us. It may not be the most gourmet lunch, but I wanted to come visit anyway."

I laughed lightly, "You don't even understand how good mac and cheese sounds right now. It's perfect."

I was about to pull one of the stools from behind the counter around to the front so Violet could sit, when Calum walked back into the room from the basement. His eyes flicked between me and Violet, and then he forced a fake-looking smile, "Oh, Violet. Didn't expect to see you here."

Her eyes lit up, "Oh, Calum! Luke mentioned you were working, so I actually brought you some lunch too." 

She pulled one last container out of the bag, pushing it towards Calum. He looked down at it, and then reluctantly took it, "Thanks, that was nice of you."

Violet glanced back over at me with a hopeful look in her eyes, and I cleared my throat, "Yeah, we were just gonna sit here and eat if you want to join us, Cal."

Calum paused for a moment, before shaking his head, "No, actually, I don't wanna bother you guys. I'll go eat in the office. Have fun you two." Well, apparently not everything was perfect just yet.

He retreated into the back room behind the counter, closing the door behind him softly. Violet's face fell as the door shut, "Damn, I really thought I was getting somewhere that time. What is it going to take to make those two like me?"

I just sighed, "Honestly, I have no idea. I don't know what their problem is, and why they won't just give you an honest chance. Were things really that bad before I moved in?"

"Well, there may have been a few calls to the landlord about noise complaints," Violet shrugged, "But I don't understand why they would hold a grudge about that. I always had a valid reason, I wasn't just doing it to be a bitch."

I laughed lightly, "Well, believe it or not, that actually sounds like exactly the thing Michael and Calum would hold a grudge about. I'm sure we can change their minds about you, we just need to find a way for them to get to know you, for real."

"It's going to be hard to do that when they clearly can't even stand to be in the same room as me." Violet sounded exasperated, shoving a large forkful of macaroni into her mouth.

I felt the light bulb above my head turn on, smiling to myself. I reached over the counter and took Violet's hand, pulling the fork away from her mouth, "Maybe they don't even have to know that it's happening."

Violet's eyes lit up, "Are we scheming? Oh, I love this."

---

When Calum and I got home later that day, Michael was already sitting in the living room watching TV. Calum walked over to join him, but I grabbed his arm, "Wait, you two. I think we should go out tonight. It's been a while since the three of us hung out. I think it would be fun."