bouquet of roses | cashton

chapter 6

july 6th

the entire next week was... strange to say in the least. luke and michael would call infinity floral, causing ashton come over every day at the end of his shifts with a bouquet of roses. calum would shoo luke and michael up the stairs, the two would hang out and talk, and every night would end with neither making a move.

on the 4th of july, calum leaned in to kiss ashton underneath the firework-lit sky. he had been inches from ashton's face when the blonde moved a little, causing them to bump noses and awkwardly laugh before forgetting it.

it had been a while since calum was interested in anyone whatsoever, so when he realized his relationship with ashton didn't seem to have a label and their "dates" (which were just the two sitting on calum's living room couch learning everything about each other) were just getting quieter and more awkward, he started to panic. what if ashton didn't like him? calum then decided it would be best to just talk to luke and michael. and so he did.

"aw, why the long face, cal?" michael cooed in between mouthfuls of cereal. calum tried to look angry, but in reality he just looked exhausted and worried. "i... don't think ashton's interested in me." this caused michael to choke on his cereal, luke rushing to his side. as michael recovered, luke spoke for him. "calum, why would you say that? he's really into you. it's obvious."

"i don't know... i mean, we've been seeing each other almost every day, a-and 4th of july, and-"

"isn't his birthday tomorrow?" michael chimed in, receiving confused looks from the two. "what? i heard him tell you that a few days ago. ... cal pal, take him on a date tomorrow! invite him over, and lukey and i will work our magic!"

calum thought it over for a moment, then pulled the two in for a hug. "as much as you guys irritate the hell out of me sometimes, you have the best advice. i'll see you guys later."

"wait, where are you going?" luke followed calum to the door, and calum cracked a small grin as he walked out. "i'm gonna ask him on a date in person."

-

it was a nice day, so calum just settled on walking to infinity floral. he was halfway through the shop, searching for ashton when he spotted him. "hey, a-"

his heart stopped. the smile that ghosted his lips fell, and he froze. ashton stood in front of the green house, arms wrapped tightly around a boy with dyed blonde hair. who the hell was that, and why was he picking ashton up off the floor, swinging him around?! calum balled his hands at his sides, quickly slipping out of the shop the moment ashton made eye contact with him.

he didn't realize he ran home; he also didn't realize he was crying until he was staining luke's muscle shirt with his tears and heard michael's angry voice next to him, shouting, "i'll kill him!"

"c-calum, please, calm down. tell me what happened." luke's voice was filled with worry, and calum quickly felt terrible for bringing his problems to them.

"h-he... he has a boyfriend! they were hugging when i c-came in, and- ugh!" calum cried out, punching the couch cushion next to luke, who didn't know what to say other than his apologies.

-

july 7th

"d-delivery for cal-"

"get out."

ashton paled as his innocent eyes met calum's hurt ones. "cal, what happened-"

"i said. get. out." calum repeated himself louder, though he gritted his teeth as he spoke. when it was clear calum wasn't ready to close the door and ashton wasn't ready to leave without explanation, the angered boy continued. "i-i can't believe you were leading me on, ashton. you know, i really liked you!"

"calum, i don't know what you're talking about. just tell me what happened and i can fix-" once more, calum cut him off. "stop acting like an idiot, ashton. you know what you did. and while you're at it, tell your boyfriend at the shop i said a nice, welcome 'Fuck You!'"

ashton knew exactly what he was talking about. laughing uneasily, he looked at calum once more. "cal, i- oh my god. you think niall's my boyfriend!?" his laughing became more hysterical, frantic. "no no, you don't understand. niall just got engaged to his boyfriend zayn, and asked me to be his best man!" when calum refused to say anything, ashton panicked and continued. this time, though, he sounded fed up. "of course, you don't understand. all you cared about was assuming i was cheating- i-i mean, it's not like you're my boyfriend, calum!" and with that, the head of curls disappeared.

calum stormed to his room, slamming the door as he made his way to luke and michael. "i can't believe you two called the floral shop after what happened. do you think this is funny, you assholes!?"

luke and michael exchanged looks as they sat up. "calum, what are you even talking about? we didn't call infinity floral!" michael spoke as luke watched calum with worried eyes.

"if you didn't call him, then who did-" as calum spoke, he slowly came to realization that he had just made a terrible mistake.

--

gaH that felt kinda rushed i'm really sorry

i'm actually going to start another fic soon ehehe

i hope this fic isn't getting confusing? or boring, buuut..

idk i promise it will get a lot smoother and easier to follow soon! ps ziall is my life i had to uvu

but chyeauh i can't wait to update again..

much love! xx