groupie; afi

twenty one

I bite my lip and put the phone on speaker so the boys can hear. I show them the screen to keep them from saying anything bad.

"Yes sir? Have I done something?" I say nervously.

"We've been informed about your relationship. I've talked with a few other managers at the office. We've decided to give you and Ashton two options. One, you can go home and the boys finish out tour without you. Or, we have Ashton showcase a different girl as his girlfriend. Based on your job, we wouldn't want the news of those type of people being around them getting out. You can still date Ashton either way," He explains.

Those type of people?

I feel sick. I don't want to go home, it's too far away from these guys. But another girl? Don't get me wrong, I love women just as much as the next girl. But, I don't like the idea of Ashton publicly "dating" someone else.

"Is there really no way around this? Ashton and I can just stay private. I promise that no trouble will come out of it," I say, almost pleading for a third option.

"We've heard that one before. Based off of our past experiences, these two options work best. I'll give you both a day to decide. Call me back," Mr. Campbell says.

"Oh okay," I hang up.

I look over at the boys, each of them in disbelief about what they just heard. None of us know what to do.

"You guys okay?" Michael chimes up. He goes to hug Ashton but gets pushed away.

I can't tell if Ashton looks angry or sad. Probably both. Ashton gets up from his seat and comes over to where I am. He pulls me into a hug but I don't hug back. I'm still shocked.

Ashton leans down to whisper in my ear, "We'll get through this. Okay?"

I nod my head in response. I try to talk but nothing comes out. I have a feeling that if I do talk then I'll either cry or throw up. I don't know which is worse.

"What are you guys gonna do?" Luke asks.

Ashton moves out of the hug and we face Michael and Luke. Ashton looks down to me and raises his brows.

"Whatever she wants to do," He says, wrapping his arm around me.

Great. It's all up to me now.

"I really don't wanna go home. I just don't want to lose this," I mumble.

"Then, you can stay. Trust me when I say that girl won't get in between us," Ashton says, looking in my eyes.

I have a feeling that won't be the case.

"Yeah, I guess," I say, shrugging my shoulders. Michael leaves the room, he looks like his feelings finally sunk in. He storms out of the room and heads to the front of the bus.

The rest of us follow behind him to see what's going on. We find Michael standing in front of Calum. Their faces are in inches apart.

"What the fuck? I don't know how many times you have to be told but Natalie isn't here for trouble. If anything, you are the one causing it all," Michael says through the grit of his teeth.

"Michael, please," I go up to him. I grab his arm to pull him away from Calum.

"No, I'm tired of this. Calum, I get that you're hurt but this isn't how you deal with it. And I think you're forgetting that you're not only hurting Natalie but Ashton too," Michael spits out.

Our faces turn to Ashton. He doesn't seem angry or sad, just disappointed. He looks away, he clearly doesn't like the attention.

Calum stands there without saying anything. I turn my attention back to him. I wish this was more private.

"Well, say something. You have so much bullshit to say and now you're silent. Ashton stuck by your side the entire time your ex was treating you like shit and this is how you repay him? By treating his girlfriend like garbage? Maybe you need your eyes checked because if you just looked at them you'd see how perfect they go together," Micheals eyes move from Calum to me. It feels like everyone is staring at me now.

I guess it's my turn to speak.

"Calum, I know what happened to you. It was awful but I'm not her," I say.

Calum remains silent. I look at the other boys. I give them a signal to leave me alone with Calum. I know what happens every time we're alone. But this time feels different.

"Calum, I'm sorry. I wouldn't wish what happened to you on anyone. But believe me when I say that I have no intention on doing that to Ashton. I wouldn't do him like that," I explain.

Calum finally turns to look back at me. His face looks full of regret. Maybe it's finally hitting him.

"I'm sorry," He mumbles out. His voice cracked a little so I know what's about to happen.

I sit on the couch and pat the spot next to me. Calum sits down and wipes off his eyes.

"I didn't realize how much I was hurting Ashton until I saw his face. He's never looked at me like that. And you, I barely know you. My best friends girlfriend," He says.

"It's okay. I get where you were coming from. You wanted to protect him," I say. I rub his back to try and ease some of the tension.

"It's not okay. I'm an asshole and now, Ashton and you have to choose between some awful choices," He says back.

"Okay, that is true. But you weren't in the right headspace. Maybe you could call them back and say you lied or something?" I suggest. He seems like he actually would this time.

"I'll try. I doubt it'll work though," Calum says.

We make eye contact and Calum sighs.

"Can we start over? You don't have to forgive me but I'd like another chance," He asks.

If I was going off any other time, I would say no. But something about Calum right now seems like he's being genuine. More genuine than he has ever been. I look down at my lap. Should I give him the chance?

I've always been the person who forgave and forgot, even if the person didn't deserve it. Calum honestly doesn't deserve it. But, he's an important person in Ashton's life. I won't start over for myself, but I will for Ashton.

"Sure, we can do that," I smile softly.

Calum pulls me into a hug. He gives me a "thank you" into the part of my shoulder where his head is resting.

"I'll call him right now," Calum says as we pull away.

I nod and get up to give him some privacy. I go back to the other boys that were waiting in my room.

"So?" Ashton speaks up. 

"I think it'll be okay," I give a relieved sigh.

We all wait together for Calum to come back with the news. We aren't sure what will happen exactly. Their management doesn't have a good history of being nice to their bands.

Calum comes back after around ten minutes. You couldn't tell off his expression if it went good or bad.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" Calum asks from the doorway.

"Go ahead and hit us with the bad news," I respond.

Calum starts telling us what the manager said. I start to feel the same sickness from earlier. I guess I should've picked the good news.

_____
authors note

i feel so bad for them 😩 also calums finally good now?

school is kicking my ass rn i hate it sm. unrelated note, i've been listening to mind of mine a lot recently. zayns music is underrated.