the job - calum hood

Chapter 18 - Soundcheck

When we got inside the Arena it was unbelievable. It looked huge from the outside but once you entered, it was even bigger inside. Thousands of seats, a huge stage and a large amount of space for people to stand. It was insane.
We walked around for a bit before we got to the stage. When we entered the main hall, all the boys were there standing on the platform. Turning their heads as they heard our footsteps, they stood in shock when they saw me.
"OH MY GOD CORA!" Michael screamed and came running towards me, giving me a long, tight hug.
"Hey...missed your face...it's been a while" Luke laughed as he came over, also giving me a hug.
"Good to see you again!" Ashton said as he came over and hugged me.
"You guys together again?" Luke asked, looking back and forth between Cal and I.
"No just friends" I said forcing a smile.
I liked being friends but today has made me realise how much I have REALLY missed Calum. The things I've missed about him, his talent , his humour and just his attitude. I missed him.

"Hello earth to Cora?" Luke snapped his fingers in front of my face, I've obviously spaced out. I quickly snapped up looking at Luke and Calum.
"You good?" Calum asked me with a worried look on his face.
"Yeah, just fine" I smiled. Last thing I need right now is for Calum to worry about me. He nodded and turned to Luke, whispering something in his ear. I just looked at them confused.
Mike and Ashton walked back to the main stage , they we're preparing stuff for soundcheck.

"BOYS! BE READY FOR SOUNDCHECK IN 10!" A sudden voice came out of the speakers. I heard Luke mutter under his breath and Cal did the same.
"The stage calls" Calum sighed. He placed his hand on the small of my back and we walked towards the stage. The two boys climbed up the stairs on the side and grabbed their instruments. They walked up to their mics and connected all their cables and that tech shit that is kind of way too complicated to understand.
I walked over to Sierra and Crystal, greeting them. I was surprised to see them here but they told me that they decided to tour with the boys for a couple of shows. They thought it was a good idea since it's been a while since the boys performed and it was good for them to have support. I thought that was sweet.

"Hello?2,2,3,4! Check! Mic check!" Luke spoke into the mic and then strummed his guitar. His voice and the strummed chord echoed throughout the whole arena. It was beautiful.
The rest of the boys made sure their instruments were fully plugged in and that everything was working smoothly.
Calum walked over to his mic, he was right in front of me. Looking down at me and giving me a friendly smile. I wondered to myself how I ended up here. When I got back from LA I promised myself that I'd never see Calum again, I'd stay away from them all but I guess some promises just can't be kept.
"Right we'll start off with Valentine?" Michael asked the boys through the mic. The rest of them just yelled "yeah" and they started playing.

The next 25 minutes blew by extremely quickly. They played many different songs from different albums. Now they were getting ready to play Broken Pieces.
"You know...they've played this a couple times before it was released and not once, has Calum not cried during his verse" Sierra whispered leaning over to me.
"Shit...really?" I asked in shock. Was this a song about me or something?
"Yeah" she answered.
"Is it because of me?" I questioned, before Sierra could reply the music started playing. It started off with Luke picking the strings and then Michael joined in strumming.Then. Calum began singing. I looked up at him just to see his eyes burning into mine

I woke up in the place we started
Your clothes on the floor in that old apartment
I never thought you'd leave without a trace
I can't shake this sinking feeling
I know you're not there and I'm barely breathing
Holding onto things I can't replace

Those words sounded way too familiar.  It was about me. The clothes part, leaving without a trace, him holding onto things he can't replace. It all made sense.
I remember when I got back from LA I found out that black dress was missing , also as some underwear and that's when I remembered that night of the party. Our clothes were all over the floor and I actually never tidied it up so I'm guessing Calum kept them.
I couldn't believe he wrote those words about me. I felt terrible.
They went on with the song and the bridge particularly caught my attention.

We're fading out, we're all alone
It's what you wanted, I suppose
I can tell you feel the same
When you say you're looking for a way to change your mind, don't walk away

This time it wasn't Calum singing but Michael. I'm guessing Calum wrote the lyrics though.
He's right though, I tried looking for many different ways to change my mind, to stay in LA, to not leave Calum. But somehow I left. 

I felt tears forming at my eyes. I didn't want to cry but I felt like I needed to right now. Calums eyes were red but there were no visible tears. We were still staring , not being able to take our eyes off each other. The tension was building.
After the boys finished that song, they decided to play another new one called If You Don't Know. Calum quickly took a sip of his water and wiped his eyes. Just before it started Sierra leaned over and told me that this was especially about me or more like for me. How many damn songs has Calum written about me?

The song started with Luke singing, his voice was truly amazing. The lyrics were beautiful written. Michael joined in harmonising with him on chorus and then Calum began singing the second verse.

Let's forget the past
I swear we'll make this last
'Cause I remember the taste of your skin tonight
And the way that you looked, you had those eyes
I remember the way I felt inside
And the name of the songs that made you cry
You would scream, we would fight, you would call me crazy
I would laugh, you were mad but you'd always kiss me
And the shirt that I had that you always borrowed
When I woke, it was gone
There was no tomorrow

Woah...that shit hurted Calum! Also he knew about the Watermelon shirt I stole damn. He really didn't miss a single detail, he wrote it all. It was good, it was a good fucking song. I loved it. I really did.
Those lyrics broke me, they were beautiful but they broke me. And they broke Calum too. He was standing in front of me, tears flowing down his face. There were tears pouring out of my eyes too. I felt Sierra wrap her arms around me. I didn't leave, I stood there. I stood there until the end of the song. I could see the other boys looking at me with worried expressions on their faces. It was okay though, I just smiled at then assuring that I was fine. I wiped the tears off my face and continued to watch them finish the song.
"Right let's take a break" Luke spoke into the mic after they were done. Calum took off his bass and ran backstage. I ripped out of Sierra grip and ran after him. I needed to see him. I needed to see him right now.  "CALUM WAIT!" I screamed as I ran past all the equipment being careful so I didn't trip over any wires. I ended up in a long hall that had all the guys' names on the doors. Their changing rooms. I walked down the hall and seeing no sign that said Calum, until I got to the last door. I didn't even bothering knocking. I opened the door just to see Calum sitting in a two person sofa with his head in his hands. Quiet sniffles coming from him.
"Calum?" I questioned. His head immediately snapped up looking at me. His eyes bloodshot and tears all over his face.

"Cora, I can't live without you"