poison & wine, mgc

twenty eight

Michael gives me Billie's account so I can text her. I type out a short but sweet message

dawn.turner: hi. i need you to convince louis to meet up somewhere to talk with us. you can't tell him that it's us though. act like you need him for something. you owe me this.

I set my phone down and we wait for the response. The room is quiet. Calum occasionally makes a soft noise at his phone, I assume he's texting Carmen. They've been doing really good recently.

     My phone buzzes,

     billie.xoxo: okay.. i'll do it since i owe you. but if you're planning on jumping him, i had nothing to do with this.

     dawn.turner: deal. we won't jump him though. it's just a talk.

     I look up at the boys, smiling. "She's in," I announce.

     The three of them seemed pleased at the response. We plan out exactly when and where we want to meet up, setting the occasion for this Saturday at noon. I tell Billie the updates as we plan out the environmental things. None of us really plan what to say, that'll come naturally.

     Now, we have the rest of the day to do whatever. I could go home and see my mom but I don't really want to as much as I would've thought. I'm always home so it's nice to be out right now.

     "Hey, Ash?" Calum turns to him, seeming nervous.

     "What's up?" Ashton responds.

    "Is it cool is if Carmen comes over? I was just texting her and we thought it be a good time to introduce her to the rest of the group," Calum explains, scratching the back of his neck.

     "That's cool with me. I'll probably invite Kaitlin," He nods and pulls out his phone.

     "Kaitlin?" I chime in. I didn't mean to eavesdrop but they were taking right in front of me.

     "Forgot to tell you guys. Natalie and I didn't work out. I've known Kaitlin for a while but we just started getting close and she's actually cool," he smiles.

     "Ah, I see. Someone has a crush," I giggle, teasing him.

     "Maybe but it's valid. She's gorgeous and she's a nice person," Ashton defends himself.

     "I believe you. You don't have bad taste in women, Ashton," I smile.

     "Obviously, you'd think that," Ashton chuckles, "But thanks."

     Michael's hand eases on my thigh. He flashes me a smile before turning back to his phone.

     "Michael, you should invite Luke," I suggest.

     Michael looks over to Ashton, who just shrugs. "If you wanna invite him, I'm cool with that," Ashton says.

     Michael takes up the opportunity to hang out with his best friend. They all text their people the address
to come to. Now, we wait for them to each start showing up.

     Kaitlin comes in first. Ashton was right, she's stunning. She's got big brown eyes and light pink hair, not to mention great style. Kaitlin introduces herself as "KayKay" since she likes that better than her actual name.

     Next is Luke. He comes in smiling and waving at everyone. He exactly how we expected him to show up. Luke compliments the house almost a hundred times in the short amount of time he's been here.

     Finally, Carmen. Calum seems more tense to see his girl than Ashton was. That makes sense though. Ashton has always been more collected when it came to girls. She comes in slowly, waving at us. She's definitely just as shy as Calum is. Despite her quietness, she does introduce herself to us all. Carmen is a sweet girl. Calum lucked out.

     The seven of us hang out in Ashtons living room. We talk mostly about things that would allow us to get to know the others better. We all share around little facts about ourselves. It's a comfortable feeling. Usually, meeting new people is awkward. But this is nice. It feels natural.

     I should add that Ashton and Calum's newfound partners seem to be good fits for them. Ashton and KayKay. Calum and Carmen. Both are matches made in heaven. You can see what draws them into the other person. And the way that they look at each other? Adorable.

     For lunch, Ashton and Calum whip up some stuff from Ashton's kitchen. Chicken tenders with mac and cheese to be exact. We eat together, mostly in our groups of couples since Ashtons table is too small for all of us to eat there.

     We stay at Ashton's place until it's around 3:00. The girls and I exchange numbers so we can text each other when we can't visit. Michael and the boys do the same.

      As I wait for Calum to change, Michael comes up to me. "Wanna ride with me?" He offers.

     I think about it for a second. Although, I already knew what I wanted. "Yeah, let me tell Calum," I nod. I tell Calum through the door that I'm leaving with Michael. He gives me an "okay" so I leave with Michael.

     I climb in Michael's passenger side, playing my music once I'm in. Michael made a playlist for me on his phone so we don't have to switch the aux every time, which the fact he made one for me is cute. God is a woman by Ariana Grande is the first one I pick to play.

     I'm practically giving Michael a full on performance in the car. Singing along to the words as he drives and giggles at me.

     "You're adorable," He smiles, kissing me at the stop sign.

     "Thanks babe," I smile, felling my cheeks get warm.

     Michael makes it back to my house. Mom's car is still in the driveway thankfully. But, Niall's isn't so I guess it's mom-daughter time.

     I give Michael one final kiss before I leave to go inside. Mom is washing up the kitchen when I get in.   I join her in the cleaning, earning a grin.

     "How was your day?" She asks me.

     "It was okay. Nothing too special," I respond. I can guess that she knows that I skipped but I honestly don't think she cares about that.

     Mom and I hang out in the living room after we finish up cleaning. She puts on a movie for us to watch but she ends up falling asleep before the movie gets halfway though. Mom works hard so that's earned though.

     Niall comes home after a short while. He seems very happy. Whatever he did, it must've been good. He joins mom and I on the couch. It feels like old times, the three of us together. It's a really nice way to end out my day.

     We order take-out for dinner. Chinese food was also a staple in the times that it was just the three of us. I've missed this feeling, I just didn't know that I did until now. I hope it stays like this for a while.

     As I try to sleep, I think about Saturday. I'm not excited to see Louis but I'm so ready to end all this drama. Michael and I would be a lot better off without it.

     Something tells me Saturday will go well, however. Ashton and Calum will be there to mediate and make sure it goes smoothly.  And, maybe Louis won't be too much of an ass.

     I don't worry about it too much for right now. Things went good today and that's all I should think about. I fall asleep with a smile on my face, something that hasn't happened in a long time.

____
authors note
are you guys liking the book? i feel like i'm overthinking a bunch (probably due to lack of motivation?)

also, i made a trailer for the calum book. if you guys want, i'll post it on tiktok. only if you want me to though! <3