"I think you should get back to your bandmates, Calum," Alyssa laughed while taking another sip of her milkshake.
After they had returned to the diner together, Calum had chosen to follow Alyssa back to her spot at the counter, just watching her drink. And although she wasn't complaining at the attention, she just wasn't sure how to handle it. There was no denying her attraction to this boy, but it was difficult to believe that he felt the same way.
"Tell me, why would I wanna do that?" Calum asked with a cheeky grin. "I have a much better view over here."
Alyssa blushed, turning away from him as she wrapped her lips around her straw again.
"Awh, is she blushing?" He chuckled to himself.
Suddenly, his fingers reached out to pinch one of her cheeks and she squealed, scooting away from him. Right as she did so, Kassi came up to them with a hop in her step and a bright smile on her face.
"Lys!" Kassi called out. "We're having guests over tonight."
Eyes widening, Alyssa glanced up at her. "What, who?"
Kassi smirked. "Five Seconds of Summer."
"Oh," Alyssa laughed uneasily.
"Don't sound too excited," Calum remarked teasingly, winking at her.
"Yeah," Kassi clipped. "After my shift, we can all head back to our place for dinner."
"Sounds good to me," Calum agreed, smiling up at Kassi. "Thanks for the invite."
Kassi returned the smile, but it didn't meet her eyes as she walked away to serve more customers. Calum noticed this and regarded Alyssa with furrowed brows.
"I have a feeling she's not a Calum girl," he observed, laughing lowly.
"She'll come around," Alyssa reassured him, even though she wasn't so confident in those words herself.
She knew Kassi well enough to know that it was gonna take a lot more than just an apology to get in her good books. Kassi cared a great deal about the ones she kept close and if something got in the way of their happiness, she was determined to stop it. She's always been protective of Alyssa, and as appreciative as Alyssa was to know that she had someone like that in her life, it could get quite tiring.
"How about you join me and the boys? I'm sure they won't mind," Calum suggested before getting up and taking her hand.
. . .
A couple hours later, Kassi and Alyssa had all four members of 5sos seated in their living room, scanning the movies on Netflix while they bustled around the kitchen to prepare for dinner.
"Tell me why I said we'd do this again?" Kassi exclaimed exasperatedly as she grabbed a couple pots and pans from the cabinets.
"I'm stumped on that answer as well," Alyssa replied while scanning for ingredients in the fridge.
In the midst of that, someone cleared their throat from the kitchen doorway and when both girls looked up, they saw Luke peeking through with a shy smile on his face.
"Hi, I was wondering if you'd like any help," he offered, biting on his lip ring.
Kassi gasped, her heart swelling at the gesture, but shook her head. "That's very kind of you, but since you're the guest, we're gonna have to decline."
"Speak for yourself," Alyssa grumbled. "I haven't cooked a proper meal since I lived with my parents. Luke would probably be a better hand than me, Kas."
Kassi caught onto what Alyssa was doing and glared at her knowingly before turning her attention back to Luke. "You can help if you'd like."
Suddenly, the sound of a thump followed by multiple yelling caused Alyssa to quickly exit the kitchen to see what the commotion was all about. When she walked in, Alyssa found herself standing before a pile of boys entangled in one another, battling for what seemed to be the remote control. She cleared her throat, stopping the boys from struggling any further, and when they all looked up at her, they noticed that she was far from amused.
"I can put in the Xbox if you want," she suggested, walking over to the TV to plug it in. "We can watch movies later."
"I call the red controller!" Michael cried out immediately before swooping over and grabbing it from Alyssa's hands.
"Okay then," she laughed, handing another one to Ashton who rolled his eyes at Michael.
Leaving them to that, she was just about to give Calum a controller when he shook his head.
"You don't want to play?" She asked him, eyebrows scrunched up in curiosity.
He shook his head again and looked down at his feet, rubbing his neck nervously. Instantly, Alyssa sensed what he was insinuating and she smiled before grabbing his hand and guiding him to her room.
Over her shoulder, she heard Ashton shout out, "don't forget to use protection, mate!" And she laughed at Calum's tinted cheeks.
"Where's Luke run off to?" Calum questioned as they both walked into Alyssa's bedroom.
"He's gonna help Kassi with dinner," she explained while plopping onto her bed. "I knew what he was trying to do, so I lied and said I couldn't cook so that they could be alone together, clever right?"
He grinned and joined her on the bed, taking a look around before saying, "you're a lot more than just clever, I'd imagine."
After a few moments of silence, Alyssa felt a sudden mood shift in the room, almost as if it had gotten thicker. And when she peered over at Calum, she discovered that he was already looking her; a longing look in his eyes as their gaze traveled from her eyes all the way down to her lips.
"I really want to kiss you," he rasped, licking his lips slowly.
She couldn't deny her want either. So being bold, Alyssa reached out a hand and cupped his chin; locking her eyes with his. "Then do it."
