5SOS Preferences

6. He Sees Your Self-Harm Scars

Calum- Your arms. You always wore long sleeves to hide the scars from your past, praying that Calum wouldn't discover them. You weren't ready to talk about them, but you knew you would tell him in time.

"Cal, can we go do something?" you asked, getting a bit stir crazy. You'd been spending the day with Calum and all day you'd been watching movies and television. "I'm kinda hungry."

"What do you want to eat?" He kissed the top of your head and ran his thumb over your shoulder. The two of you were cuddling on the couch, you with your head on his chest and him with his arm around your shoulders.

"I'm honestly craving ribs," you looked at him sweetly. "There's that really good place a few blocks away. We could go there," you suggested.

"You like ribs? I never would have guessed!" Calum grinned and laughed. "Let's go!"

Getting off the couch, you changed into an old flannel, one that you wouldn't be too upset about getting dirty as it had seen worse than barbecue sauce, then grabbed your shoes, brushed your hair, and walked over to where Cal waited by the door.

"Let's go eat some manly food!" you laughed as he opened the door for you.

He drove to the rib joint four blocks away, Terry's, and you walked in hand-in-hand. The waitress looked Calum over, looking a bit too flirtatious, so before sitting, you kissed him sweetly on the cheek, and she got the message.

You ordered ribs for the two of you, and waited as they were being cooked.

"So. Since when do you like ribs?" Calum asked, smiling across the table.

"Since I was a little girl," you grinned. "I just haven't eaten them in ages, so I thought it was a good idea." You unbuttoned the cuffs of your flannel and rolled the sleeves to above your elbows. Didn't want to get too messy.

A few minutes later, the food arrived and you both started eating. Sauce got on your mouths and fingers, but since it was like that for practically everyone else too, you simply laughed.

As you picked up another rib, Calum looked up at you, his smile faltering slightly. You figured it was nothing, so you kept eating.

Later, once you gotten home, you both sat back on the couch, cuddling again.

"That was really nice," you said softly as "The Lion King" started to play.

"Yeah," he replied. But something was off.

"What is it? Too much meat?" you looked up playfully. But your smile faded as you saw his serious face. "What?" you frowned slightly.

"Why?" he whispered.

"Why what, Calum? I have no clue what your talking about."

"Why would you do this?" Calum ran his fingers lightly over your scarred forearms. The lines were many in number, but were faded to a silvery-pink.

"Calum," you pulled your arms away, pushing the sleeves down. "Don't worry about it. That was the old me."

"No, y/n, I don't want you to feel like you can't tell me anything. Because you can tell me everything. You should know that by now," Calum placed a hand on your cheek, moving away a piece of hair.

"I-I'm just not... ready to talk about it yet, Cal." You looked away, not wanting to cry.

"It's okay, y/n, because I'll be right here when you are ready to talk about it. I promise." Calum pulled you against him, kissing your head softly over and over until you drifted off to sleep.

Ashton- Your hips. They were criss-crossed with long, thick scars from before Ashton. Some, though you hadn't cut in a while, were still dark pink, meaning they hadn't fully healed yet.