bouquet of roses | cashton

chapter 8

that picture is michael's house btw (in case you forgot, all three of the boys are loaded)

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july 16th

calum sat up in his bed, wiping his eyes as he looked at the empty spots next to him. it was luke's birthday, so michael and calum were going to throw him a party. in all honesty, though, calum wasn't in any mood to party. he turned his head to look at the smashed vase on his nightstand, then looked down at his bandaged hand. tears welled in his eyes as he tried to forget that night, after ashton left him.

-

luke and michael drove calum home, tucking him in his bed as he mumbled "i love him... i do..." repeatedly. luke covered his mouth, worried. "calum, are you oka-" "i'm fine. you guys can leave now." so the two did.

once the sound of footsteps were gone, calum went insane. he tore the bedsheets off of him (literally) and flung himself onto the ground, grabbing at anything he could reach and knocking over a few trophies and medals in the process. he cried out in anger, ripping up the first note he had gotten from his first bouquet of roses. somewhere along the way, he had managed to punch a hole in his closet door, break one of his playstation controllers, and rip just about all of his band posters (except for the small katy perry photo he cut from a magazine--he could never!). before he knew it, though, he was on the floor next to his bed again. water dripped from the side of his nightstand, and his white carpet slowly stained red where he clutched his hand.

"c-calum!" michael shouted as he swung the door open, freezing at the sight of his best friend, laying on the ground in a sobbing mess of blood and glass. that night, calum spent a few hours in his bathroom as luke carefully pulled little glass shards out of his hand. when he returned to his bed, he stared absentmindedly at the smashed vase and long dead roses until he fell asleep.

-

"calum? you awake?" michael opened the door quietly, and calum easily noticed the worry that crossed michael's face as he eyed the mess next to calum's bed. "yeah... i'm really sorry for the other n-"

michael shook his head, smiling. "it's fine, cal. we're just glad you're feeling better. you don't gotta keep apologizing." calum got up, careful to jump over the glass in his carpet. he'd have to clean that up later.

"okay, so we're throwing the party at my house, yeah? my parents are gone, obviously. can you pick up luke at 7?" calum quickly nodded, smiling softly. "great, see you then."

-

by the time calum and luke arrived at michael's house, cars already lined his driveway and down the street. luke had always been shy, but he still seemed to be a popular guy in high school. as a result, michael's entire property had been littered with people from their school and around town. once michael spotted luke, he paused the blaring music, complete silence quickly taking over in the clifford residence. michael made his way to the stairs, walking halfway up so everyone could see him.

"ladies and gentlemen, the king of tonight, shy but popular, westmount high school's volleyball captain, voted best eyes in our superlatives this year, and the apple of my eye: luke hemmings!" claps and cheers erupted, lasting a few seconds, before michael continued. "now, let's party!"

as suddenly as the music stopped was it blaring again, and calum quickly found that luke was no longer with him, but attached to michael's side, gazing at him lovingly. calum groaned, making a beeline around michael's house and into the kitchen to find something to drink. he was never one to enjoy alcohol, but considering what he'd been through, calum used that as an excuse to drink. as he looked up, he noticed two guys dressed nicely, mixing drinks. don't they know everyone in this house are under the age of 21? they must've been friends of michael.

"excuse me, could i get-" calum couldn't find the rest of his sentence when the two turned around. the first man had beautiful curly hair, pulled back with a headband. next to him, another man with well-groomed facial hair (stubble? calum just called it stubble.) and black hair combed into a quiff somewhat similar to luke's. they smiled at the same time, waiting for calum to speak, but he just stood there frozen. god, these guys were attractive. really attractive. calum suddenly felt self conscious. "j-just make me whatever you want, um,"

"i'm zayn, and this is my best friend, harry. you are...?" the man with the dark hair spoke, offering a kind smile and his hand to shake. calum's eyes widened. so this was zayn! did that mean...

"c-calum. you wouldn't happen to be... engaged to niall?" this made zayn's eyebrows raise slightly. "yes, i am. how did you..."

"ashton." the name slipped off of calum's tongue like it was a foreign word, and his face fell. calum avoided zayn's gaze, even though the man was giving him a knowing look. "ah, so you're the guy." then, zayn leaned towards harry, whispering something in his ear, and harry's face fell a bit.

"calum, mate, i'm sorry it didn't work out." harry's voice was soothing, and calum almost jumped over the bar top to hug him for comfort. instead, he shook his head. "it's fine." but is it really though? "i'll move on eventually." i doubt it.

zayn was about to reply when his phone buzzed in his pocket. pulling it out, he smiled softly. "niall is here. you think you can man the bar yourself for a bit, harry?" harry just smiled and nodded, and zayn quickly went to the front yard. the curly haired boy's gaze set on calum, and he handed him his drink. "i'm not sure how much you like to drink, but from the looks of it you don't wanna feel anything for the rest of the night?"

calum nodded quicker than he had hoped, taking a long drink from the plastic cup. he winced as the liquor burned his throat, then nodded at harry before he turned to leave. "calum, be careful. making out with some stranger will only make you feel worse about the person you really like. trust me, i know." harry called out, and calum turned around, shouting a thanks before he ran to the main room.

there, everyone was dancing in a huge jumble, the flashing colors of lights confusing calum for a moment before he squeezed his way into the crowd. he was never one for dancing and socializing; but hey, he was hot and drunk, and people dig that, so why not? he wasn't even halfway done with his drink but he could already feel a buzz coming on, and for a moment he cursed himself for being such a lightweight.

-

calum's drink was long gone, as well as his sense of mind. he must have been lost in the crowd for hours, and for some reason it just felt like more and more people were showing up. he had just finished grinding on the old captain of the cheer squad (which made him cringe because ew, girls) when a strong grip pulled him from the crowd and into the cool breeze outside. "what the fuck, man!?"

"calum!" michael cried out to his friend, gripping his shoulders frantically. "i'm so sorry! i'm so so so sorry dude!"

"for what-" calum slurred, leaning against his friend. he quickly stiffened, though, as he looked past michael's shoulder.

ashton.

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whaaat c'mon ashton what're you even

i'm honestly excited to finish this story and idk why

this was sort of a cliffhanger, but i promise you that next chapter there will be the start of straight up cashton!

also, i'm thinking of starting the prequel to this??? it'll be muke, and basically how they got together B)))

i really want to do a character ask but i don't even think people would ask questions considering nobody ever votes/comments? i mean i'll post it anyways but..

until next time! much love! xx