Just For the Summer {Cashton}

( XIV. ) : CONFESSIONS

Calum and Callie are talking again. Michael surprisingly has a crush on Luke. Those were the two things that have been swarming inside my head for the past week, and it was hard to let go. It hurt me a bit that these kinds of secrets were being held from me—right when I thought the three of us were close enough to be open to each other.

"Ashton! Look at this little crabby that I caught in my bucket. Isn't it cute?"

Turning my head to follow the voice, I saw Elliot on his knees. His legs were wrapped around the bright red bucket in front of him, one hand inside that was probably petting the crab. I smiled and walked over to where he was and took a seat right next to him. "Let me see."

Elliot had been with me for a couple of days now, and he's been nothing but awesome to be around. I was completely aware of the fact that most six-year-olds were devils, but he was different. Anyone could tell that he was raised the right way at such a young age. I'm also expecting one more kid by the end of the week. Jacey knew someone at the Aquarium who needed to look after their five-year-old daughter.

Because it was practically a free day and the weather's perfect, we all decided to go out to the beach and finally surf. Calum, Michael, Luke, Jacey, and Will Jay were all with us to get this thing started (and to take turns in watching the kid). The others were already out at the water, swimming away to the nearest wave so that they can get on their boards after.

The sun was exceptionally bright too. I extended my arm out to grab my backpack, only to pull out a bottle of sunscreen to rub on Elliot as he played with the hermit crab in his bucket.

"What song do you want me to play?" I asked him while I squirted lotion onto my palm and rubbed it gently on the boy's skin. "Name any song you feel like singing to."

Elliot pondered for a moment as he brought out his opened hand to let the crab walk all over it. His eyes were completely fixated on the hermit. "I want that song that you and I danced to in the car!"

I shook my head and chuckled. "The Taylor Swift one?"

"Yeah!"

Even though I knew I was going to regret playing this song out loud, I pulled out my portable speakers from my backpack and plugged my iPod into it. Quickly, I chose Taylor Swift's 'Shake It Off' and let it play out loud for the two of us to hear.

Elliot began to casually bop his head to the rhythm. He tried to sing along to the lyrics, but the words that came out of his mouth only resulted to incoherent mumble jumble. It was still adorable though.

And yes, embarrassingly enough, I started to nod my head along and sing too.

Calum, Michael, and Luke swung by minutes later. They were all drenched from the water, lugging onto their surfboards with one of their hands, water dripping down from their board shorts. I couldn't deny that Calum looked great with his shirt off and everything, but Michael bothered me the most. "Michael?" I brought up, wrinkling my nose. "Aren't you hot in that black shirt, mate?"

"Of course I am," he frowned, ruffling his lilac-colored hair.

I watched Calum set his board down on the floor with the rest of our things to take a seat on the sand next to me. I opened my mouth to speak again. "Wouldn't it be the logical answer to uh, I don't know, take it off like the rest of us in this damn beach then?"

"Yeah, Mikey, you're weird," Elliot added, looking up at Michael with the hermit crab still in his hand.

"Yeah, Mikey, you're weird," Luke repeated, giving Michael a small nudge with his elbow. "Just take it off, I'll even help you if you want." He even began to tug the hem of the other's shirt up, but Michael only reacted by grabbing the other's hands and pushing them away from his body. Luke pouted after.

Michael groaned. "I'm fine, mates. It's already bad that I blind people with my fucking paleness." I was fully aware of his little insecurity with his body, but no one would care if his shirt was off. He looked fine the way he was. Calum and I have already tried telling him that countless of times—but he never seems to believe the truth. 

There was an awkward silence for a moment, but I decided to break it by standing up. "My turn to catch some waves," I smiled, walking over to my red surfboard that has been sitting out in the sun. I removed my sunglasses as well as my shirt before turning towards the crystal blue water. "Make sure to feed Elliot some apple slices in a few minutes, okay? He hasn't eaten in a bit."

"Got'cha," Luke replied as he patted Elliot's head. He and Michael were now sitting on each sides of the toddler. "Now go have some fun, mate. We feel bad that you haven't yet."

"Wait—I'm coming!" Calum piped up. He stood up from where he was and dusted the excess sand on his board shorts, walking over in my direction. His hand found my back after.

I glanced at Calum who was grinning rather cheekily at me, which only made me ruffle his damp hair. "I'll see ya in an hour, okay Elliot? If these guys are being mean to you, just remember what I taught you and punch them right in the spot between their legs."

Elliot looked up to meet my eyes, flashing a happy thumbs up. "Cool beans, Ashton!"

Before we knew it, I left the lad behind and Calum and I were pushing each other to the waves.

The water felt amazing. It cooled my skin just right after being exposed to the sun's rays, and the waves that came crashing were perfect for surfing. They weren't as rough, yet they weren't as gentle either. I couldn't believe we put this off until only now. We could've done this the day we arrived.

Swimming around for a while after catching yet another good wave, I looked around my surroundings to look for Calum. He was by my side for a bit—but magically went away somehow. All I could spot were a few small kids swimming with their floaties and maybe their parents holding onto them. I scanned by the nearby lifeguard tier, and he wasn't there either.

"Cal?" I yelled, treading to a certain direction. No response.

As I was about to swim to shore, I felt something jerk my leg. The scream that I let out turned muffled the minute I was pulled underwater, and the grip around me was too strong for me to break out. I thought I was going to die then and there; that someone planned to murder me all along. My legs continued to swat strongly, until I felt a pair of arms wrap around my body. My skin was soon peppered with what felt like miniscule butterfly kisses, and I felt at ease, knowing that it had been no one else but my idiot of a boyfriend.

Still under the salty ocean, I turned around so that I could properly face him, taking his hands into mine and intertwining our fingers. Even though my eyes were sealed shut, I could feel his grin. And without any more double thinking, I leaned right in and found his lips with mine. It felt utterly cliché, but it was a moment I know I wouldn't ever shake off.
My entire relationship would be considered so cheesy to the point where it's sickening as Michael would say, but I'd rather have that then be in one that's on the brink of crumbling down. I wouldn't hope that it'll get to that point anytime soon.

Now floating above, he was still looking at me with that stupid smile of his. I groaned, splashing some of the water right at his face. He spat some that went right in his mouth, and I laughed hysterically at his reaction.

"Hey, Bubby," Calum called out, straining the water out of his hair by running his fingers through them.

I wiped my face with my hands. "What is it, Thomas?"

"Should we imitate the whole 'If you're a bird, I'm a bird' scene in The Notebook? I mean, we are in the beach."

"That's a good idea! Let me just wear a bikini and—hell no. We're not those couples you see in those sappy chick flicks, Cal. We're damn sure a lot cooler than that."

Sensing the frown on his face, I tried to make his mood a bit lighter by pouncing right on him. He yelled in delight, and we wrestled each other until one of us grew exhausted. The whole deal ended up on him just being on my back as I dragged the two of us back in the sand, deciding to swim for our surfboards later. If anything, I'd just have one of Calum's lifeguard friends pick it up after sometime. We really didn't need them anyway, since, we had about fifteen of them lined up in our garage.

Meeting up with everyone at the spot now that Jacey and Will Jay came back as well, I set Calum down on a towel and sat right beside him. He mumbled something I couldn't really hear, but crawled just to rest his head on my lap. I could feel the water drip from his hair to my leg, but I let him stay like that.

"So—did you guys have fun?" Jacey was the first to talk, handing me two chilled water bottles. "I saw you guys out in the water. It looked like you guys were trying to murder each other with smiles on your faces."

"We're always like that, what are you talking about?" Calum sputtered, looking up at me. I patted his cheeks and rolled my eyes. "Did you guys have fun though? The waves were sick today."

"Tell me about it," Luke agreed, now mounding hills of sand with his hands. He handed Michael a shovel the minute he spotted the other struggling to dig his phone out. "It's my second time surfing ever, and this beach by far beats the shitty one I went to before."

"Still think this place is a hell hole," Michael murmured. He took the shovel that was offered to him and tried to dig out his phone, and I gave him a glare warning him that Elliot was still there. There was no way I'd have my friends be bad influences on the kid.

Luke suddenly looked at Michael. "You just need to get a love life," he teased, now helping Elliot plant small plastic animal toys onto the hills of sand.

"Yeah Mikey, why don't I try and set you up? I know a bunch of people who are miserably single like you," Will Jay joked.

"That won't be necessary," Calum quipped, giving Michael one of those looks like he had the upper hand in this. "He already likes someone." And that was the moment where I could feel Michael tense up as he forcefully stabbed the grainy sand with the shovel. There was tension, alright.

Everyone's eyes lit up in surprise. Except for me, of course. I knew something was about to go down if one of them said another word to each other. And how would Luke feel about this entire situation? When I noticed his expression, it definitely radiated the fact that he was deflated. Wait—could Luke possibly have feelings for Michael too? Wasn't he like, pansexual or something?

"MICHAEL GORDON CLIFFORD," Jacey scolded through the silence. "If you have been dating behind our backs without telling anyone of us this entire time, I will shave off that precious lilac hair of yours. We want details, now. I think we deserve a name at least."

Luke was still silent throughout all of this. He pretended not to care by continuing his little game play with Elliot.
 
I could tell that Michael was beginning to feel flustered. "Calm down Jacey, it's just a stupid little crush. I doubt it'll go further than that—they're probably not into me that way."

Bullshit. You two have been nothing but peas in a pod since the day you guys kissed at that spin the can game. Luke obviously looks at you the way that I look at Calum. With admiration in his eyes. Don't be so fucking dense, mate. You're smarter than that.

"Do we know them?" Will Jay asked, now wanting to get deeper into this. I wanted to say something, but I knew I couldn't. Otherwise they'd find out I'd been spying on them before.

Calum let out a hearty laugh. "We're closer to them more than you think."

By the time this went on, Michael was already gritting his teeth in frustration.

"It's not... Callie right?" Jacey whispered after realizing that she might be onto something. She gasped. "Holy crap—is that why Calum's all chill about it right now? Because you're into his ex?"

Will Jay scrunched his nose. "You're into my cousin, Mikey?"

I lost it at that point. Snorting uncontrollably, I turned my face away from everyone else just to stop myself from bursting out. I wasn't really sure as to why I found Michael being into Callie hilarious—maybe it was because how he feels for her was the exact opposite. He even told me once that he'd sacrifice her to the demons if he could.

"I'd honestly rather chop my dick off and throw it down the garbage disposal," Michael proclaimed after he cupped Elliot's ears. Elliot didn't seem to mind; he was lost in his own little toddler imagination world with the sand and plastic animal toys. It wasn't like he'd be interested in what we were talking about to begin with. I tried starting a conversation with him about what I thought about marriage, and he literally fell asleep in the midst of it. "He—They..." his voice gradually faded as he glanced over at Luke. "I don't know, they're a million times more awesome than that piece of shit. Like—fuck. I just feel something different with this one, I guess? Not to sound—yeah. I just hope they at least see that."

And when Luke and Michael's eyes met, I could've sworn that he finally took the hint. Bingo.

Michael continued to talk after that. "But I do know someone who might be into the bitch from hell. In fact, they've been talking a lot lately, and I honestly didn't see it coming."

Jacey and Will Jay's jaw dropped. "Who is it?" They both asked. I sat still, however. Calum and Callie were definitely hooking up behind my back, or something. Otherwise he'd be completely open about it towards me. But why would he lie and keep this relationship together when he's practically running off with his ex girlfriend? At least break up with me and get over it.

Calum suddenly sat up from his position. I looked over at him to try and read what his face was saying, but it was all a confusion again. "Michael—"

"My best friend Calum over here knows who it is too. Why don't you tell 'em then?" The look on Michael's face definitely screamed 'it's game over for you', and he was confident that Calum would admit defeat and confess to it.

Even Luke was now curious. Everyone's pair of eyes were on Calum, expecting some sort of response from him. I knew that he just needed to come out and say it—regardless what I feel about it. After all, I knew that it was over between us anyway. I couldn't even be sad about it at the moment.

"Just tell everyone, mate," I said hoarsely, trying to hide the pain in my voice. I gave him a small nudge in the shoulder as if we were never together to begin with.

Calum took a deep breath. This was it. I was going to find out one way or another.

"Well, it's not me. I'm dating Ashton."

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  

Back at the beach house. After that intense little confession circle we had at the beach, I decided to call it a day. At first they didn't believe Calum's words, but once they found out that neither of us found it a laughing matter, they knew it was serious.

Everyone was incredibly accepting though; that was all that mattered. Apparently, all of them saw something coming one way of another. They thought that Calum and I were either going to get together, or be each other's 'sexuality experiments'—or whatever that meant. But still, I was relieved that Callie and Calum meant nothing, and that we were finally open to our friends.

Elliot left right when we came back too. He seemed to have the most fun out of us today, since, he did take the crab home with him. I was glad—considering the fact that kids are hard to entertain.

"You're an idiot," I breathed, nestling my nose on the crook of Calum's neck. "Had me thinking you were fucking your ex girlfriend behind my back, and then deciding to casually tell everyone that we're together. God, Cal. You're just—you're an idiot."

The cool water ran down both of our bodies as we stood motionless under the showerhead, letting the sensation relax us after a stressful day. My hands wandered around, letting my fingers brush random shapes on his skin.

I heard Calum chuckle into my ear. "I'm your idiot," he said with a glint of confidence. Kissing my shoulder, he continued to lather my back with the bar of soap in his hand.

I couldn't help but laugh too. Lifting my head off of his shoulder, I grabbed the shampoo bottle from the shower caddy in front of me to open it and put some on Calum's hair. "I'm going to miss your stupid ass when you go to that lifeguard party tonight," I sighed while massaging his scalp after the shampoo was there. It began to bubble up, and I scooped some of the substance to wipe across his nose. "Don't do anything dumb when I'm not there, okay?"

Of course, he took the opportunity to kiss me with the suds still on his face. And we made out for a while, until I realized how nasty shampoo tasted, so I was the first to pull away to spit out the pang of bitterness in my mouth. Despite the fact that the shampoo was supposed to have a vanilla scent to it, it did not taste like it at all. In fact—it tasted like absolute shit.

"I'm only staying for about an hour or so, Bubby. Don't worry. I'll miss you too much," Calum pouted while I tried forming a unicorn horn with his hair. He took the shampoo from where I last placed it and put some on my hair as well—now rubbing the substance in as it bubbled up. He used the excess suds to give me a soap beard.

We both cracked up the minute we saw how ridiculous we both looked.  Calum locked his arms around my waist and dragged me back under the falling water, which rinsed out all of the remaining soap on our bodies. I looked into Calum's brown eyes and down to his lips—giving me the urge to put my lips on his for another time. And, I did. Calum grinned through the entire thing, his hands trailing further and further down all the way to my lower back.

Pulling away quickly, I shot him a questionable look. "Cal... you do realize that I can feel your dick hardening right on my leg, right?"

He threw his arms up in defense. "Hey, it's not my fault you started adding your tongue into this! Technically, you caused this mess."

"Whatever," I shoved him playfully, earning a laugh. "As long as you don't expect me to relieve it for you."

"Damn it," Calum groaned sarcastically. "I was hoping you'd give me a handjob, or something."

"How about I get you a cock ring instead?"

"Yeah... never mind, I'm not turned on anymore."

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  

We didn't realize that we'd spent about an hour in the shower. But we finally got out, all dressed and cleaned up. Calum was fixing up his hair for the lifeguard party, while I sat around in the living room watching episode reruns of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

All of my friends were busy tonight too. I tried texting Michael and Luke if they wanted to hang out at the house, but they said they had other plans made. I texted Jacey, and she said that she had something to take care of. I also texted Will Jay, and he said he promised to help someone out with something. Looks like it was a lonely night with me and my TV.

Calum came down the stairs in his party attire—his Santa Cruz shirt with sleeves rolled, black jeans, and his black and white Vans. As he reached inside the living room, he stood right in front of the TV as I was watching and had his arms out open.

"Move, I'm trying to watch!" I whined, moving my head in different angles to where I can see better. But he would only block wherever I tried to go. Finally, I decided to give up and folded my arms across my chest. "Yes, Cal? Do you need anything?"

"On a scale of zero to damn son you hot as fuck, how attractive do I look right now?" he questioned, striking a pose that looked unbelievably lame.

I cupped my mouth, clicking my tongue. "Negative thirty seven."

He huffed at me. "Rude. We need to break up, Ashton."

"You're going to break up with me over the truth?" I raised an eyebrow at him, rubbing the back of my neck. "I hope you do realize that I'm only telling you this because I refuse to believe that you are attractive regardless, and I want you to repel everyone at the party tonight."

"Aw, Bubby..." Calum's lips tugged to a smile with his eyes crinkled. He walked over to where I was sitting on the couch and sat down, resting his head on my shoulder and kissed a spot on my neck. "Are you jealous? You shouldn't be. You trump all the others in the world, and you should know that."

As much as I wanted to stay upset at the thought of him going out, I couldn't. He was just too adorable. "Just promise me you won't get trashed tonight. That's all I'm asking. I'm scared you might do something harmful to yourself when I'm not there," I patted his hand.

He used his free hand to extend his pinky finger out at me. "I promise I won't do anything dumb. I'll be back home before you know it—swear."

Our pinkies locked. After that, he got up from the ouch and gave me one last peck on the lips goodbye before leaving the house. I wasn't too worried about him; I knew he could watch over himself. It's just the fact that once he makes contact with any kind of alcohol, he'd be hooked in an instant. One drink will lead to another, and he'll be out wandering the streets drunk, not knowing where he's headed. The last thing I'd want is for him to pass out on the ground with no help around.

Taking a deep breath, I sunk deeper into the couch and focused on the screen. It was just an hour—two hours tops. That's easy to waste.

My phone vibrated seconds later. Wondering who it could possibly be, I picked it up and checked the unread message.

(1) From: Free Willy !
 Actually my plans cancelled on me welp :/ Is that hangout offer still up for grabs Ash Fletch?

I typed in a reply.

To: Free Willy !
Of course mate :D Come by any time :D

(1) From: Free Willy !
I'll be there in 5 :)

I was actually glad that Will Jay agreed to hang out with me. Ever since summer began, we didn't really have a chance to really hang out besides his party and Ultimate Frisbee practices. He's a really chill lad—and I completely get why him and Jacey are such a perfect match.

Five minutes wasn't even up when the doorbell rang. I lazily dragged myself off the couch and to the front door, opening it to see Will Jay on the other side with his phone in his hands. I ruffled his hair and allowed him to come inside, and we just hung around in the living room.

"So what happened to your plans, buddy?" I scratched my nose as I watched the movie playing. Will Jay insisted we'd watch Pitch Perfect, because he has this massive crush on Rebel Wilson.

Will Jay stretched out his arms on the single couch, letting out a yawn before speaking. "My group had other plans, I guess. I'm planning on serenading Jacey for our two year anniversary next week, and we're planning to sing 'Rhythm of Love.' With like, ukuleles and shakers and stuff."

"Aw, that's adorable! You fucking son of a gun. Video tape it, yeah? I want to see her reaction."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I can't wait for that. I also can't wait for when you and Calum reach a year, or something. I bet he'll do something stupid yet romantic."

The thought of that made me feel good on the inside. If we were to last for more than a year, I couldn't wait to see what he'd have planned. I'd definitely try to top whatever he'd have in store, most definitely. "Let's be real—" I began, laughing a bit. "He'd probably proclaim his love for me by drawing a heart on his chest and approach me shirtless."

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he did that."

After the movie finished, Will Jay stayed for a while longer finishing a bag of Doritos and sharing stories about his family. I was fascinated by his love for music. I went ahead and told him stories about what happened when I was a kid—all that jazz. When we both noticed that it was drawing close to midnight, he decided to call it a day and left the house.  

Coming up the staircase, I wanted to crash too. It's been almost three hours since Calum left for the party, but I didn't worry. I knew he'd come back soon. As I entered my bedroom and plopped on the bed, the screen of my phone lit up for a notification. Eight new text messages.

(1) From: Bestfran Cal :D
ASafdgghytooooooooooooooooo fnafn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(1) From: Bestfran Cal :D
Just wanana telk u tha t < 3  333333 3u

(1) From: Bestfran Cal :D
ha h hah h hah hhah hah hhah hahahhaahh hah

Shit. Calum didn't fucking listen to me and drank. I scrolled more to read the rest of his messages.

(1) From: Bestfran Cal :D
Wh n e im gettnig hom e...... im gsodn to fu ck u sOOO HA ERD OK ??

(1) From: Bestfran Cal :D
Think irs ok.... t eas ind me in thw showder........................

The rest of the unread texts were from Michael.

(1) From: Magic MIKEY
Ashton you gotta check Callie's Instagram......

(1) From: Magic MIKEY
It's urgent........

(1) From: Magic MIKEY
PLEASE give me permission to skin her alive.......

What was Michael talking about? Scratching my cheek, I settled into my bed and crossed my legs before opening the Instagram app. There were a few pictures of the party, but I didn't see Callie's picture because I unfollowed her a long time ago. So I searched her username up, and once her profile appeared, I clicked on the first photo to get a better look at what it could be.

@calliecallie: With the fave! xo ♥

The picture was of her and Calum. She had her arms wrapped around his side, and Calum was kissing her on the cheek, holding a big plastic red cup in the air. His cheeks were rosy from all the alcohol he had consumed, and even had a tiny red lipstick stain on the corner of his mouth. And that made my heart sink.

Not wanting to look at the picture any longer, I closed the app and set my phone aside to where I can't see or reach it. I immediately turned off the lights and pressed my face hard against the pillow to a point where it constructed my breathing. I just wanted to yell at the world—be mad at myself for being so stupid.

He wouldn't... right?

● ● ●

[ A/N: dUN DUN DUN............. what's going to happen?? find out in the next chapter goodbye fluff hello heart wrenching drama !! *maybe idk yet* we'll just wait and see bc i'm literally still trying to figure out which way i wanna go in this :-P

HELLO PALS HAPPY NEW YEAR! dang it's already 2015 and i feel o l d ANYWAY- here is a lovely chapter from me to you! i had it half written weeks ago but then finals week came and all of that nasy school stuff :// but i didn't give up i wrote it and its here and wow!! thank you for staying with me this whole time you guys are the best readers a cactus like me could ever ask for :-) 

how about thAT DRAMA THO? HOW ABOUT THAT MUKE THO? jsyk i read those comments about y'all wanting them to do the deed *cOUGH* I KINDA DID IT?? HALFWAY?? you'll just have to wait for a later time ;-) so many things are coming your way i'm looking forward to spicing this up! 

ALSO THANK YOU FOR 3K VOTES I'M SO <3 <3 i did not know jfs would go this far, but you babes made it happen! i was also nominated for a bromance award or wtv and i was like whuuut?? tbh idc if i don't win it the other stories are flawless i'm just happy you guys keep giving me nice (and sometimes hilarious omfg) comments and read and idk it warms my heart. so thank you again! happy reading! ]