𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 ♚ 𝐥.𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

48 - jo & laurie

"I think I'm going to change my major," Lyla spoke. Walking out of the bathroom, hands dragging down the soft skin of her cheeks – still feeling the slight burn from the hot water which washed off the peppermint mask that burned on the surface. "I'm thinking of switching to poli-sci instead,"

"You're gone for what? Three days, and you come back with a new career plan." Calum snorted, sprawled on top of Lyla's bed while he waited for the clay mask to dry. "Let me guess, you're thinking of switching uni's too?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "it's like I'm finally on the right path."

After taking acid and flying across the country for her birthday, Lyla's little existential crisis had hit – sometime after getting a wizard frog tattooed on her thigh – like a bus. They all strolled to Vera's father's hotel, ordered food, and sat outside on the balcony in melancholy. During that period, the drugs' effect has faded, leaving the group with a little withdrawal of everything. So, to not question one's entire life existence would be the problem.

"You take acid and go ghost for, like, ten hours – then come back all kumbaya." Calum joked, starting to pick at the cracking mask on his face, "Every passing day I stop taking you seriously."

"Can you like? Shut up, and let me be?" Lyla said, falling back onto her bed and shoving Calum's legs out the way, "You're just salty that we didn't invite you to do acid and take the next plane across the country."

She wasn't wrong. Calum was a little bit offended that Lyla did something extremely fun and reckless without him. Not to mention, she got her first tattoo without him being there, met a celebrity – correction, performed – with a celebrity, and left him alone with a grouchy giant.

"Of course, I am!" He huffed, glancing up from his phone, "Do you know who you left me with?" Acting as if Lyla had left him stranded at school on the day where a group project had been assigned. "You left me with a moody Michael, unhelpful Ashton, and a cranky Luke."

"You're so dramatic," Lyla laughed, "you all are best friends. I don't think it should have been that bad,"

"Yeah, well it was that bad Lyla." Calum retorted, switching off his phone, sitting up to lean against the wall. "Do you understand how boring it is to be in a room full of guys?" He questioned, "I'm not used to the whole environment, and no one was there to blame petty actions on birth charts."

"But you guys are brothers," she mocked – recalling a past conversation she'd had with Calum a couple weeks ago. "What? Are the boys having trouble in paradise or something?" Lyla laughed, nudging his side with her foot, finding his insulted expression amusing.

"No." Calum mumbled, "I realized that the boys need a raging nonconformist, who has avoided therapy, for the past ten years – to balance out the energy." He explained, "We need her and her mother-like best friend who's just as problematic."

"Just say you missed us and move on," she commented, waving her hand – signalling the end of the conversation. "Now, go wash that shit off your face. Don't want to turn red, do we?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you're flirting with me." Calum teased, rolling off the mattress and stumbling towards the bathroom. "If you play your cards right, I might let you hit." He joked, disappearing into the other room.

"Please! As if I'd ever sleep with you... again,"

"Ha!" He laughed, voice echoing throughout the small room as he scrubbed his face with the hot water from the sink. "But yeah, I'm just kidding. We can't ever be together, because we'd definitely be cast as siblings in movies."