The Fourth Mistake

two

When Calum walks in to the café it's more or less empty. The place is quiet and quaint with a charm about it that Calum's never been able to put his finger on, but mostly it just has shitty coffee and people only come because it's close. Luckily, he knows the two good things they serve here, and that's hot chocolate and red velvet cupcakes. He orders one of each and then finds a nice booth tucked in the corner of the room with a view from the window. It's prefect, is what it is, he thinks. Perfect setting for a perfectly cute girl; and he feels childish. He's tripping over her and he hasn't even known her a week. Ridiculous.

Calum sees the door to the café swing open to reveal just whom he's been waiting for. With the chill of autumn setting in, Violet is dressed for the weather. Her grey jumper is oversized and hangs off of her collarbones, perfectly matching her dark wash jeans. Her dark hair is let down like a mane of soft waves, framing her face and greatly contrasting the neat ponytail it was in the day previous.

She spots Calum with a smile and quickly pads her way to the table. She takes a seat with a huff. "Chilly out, yeah?" She breathes, putting her arms on the wood surface and balling her hands inside the sleeves of her sweater. Calum sees the slight pink on her cheeks from the cool weather and his face starts to flush for different reasons.

"For Cali? I'd say," Calum agrees easily, trying his very best to play it cool, sipping the hot liquid out of his cup, sweet and rich. That calms him a bit, the warmth running throughout his body. He closes his eyes and takes a breath, looking the picture of relaxation, before reopening them and sending Violet his best grin.

He watches her observe the passersby momentarily before she goes for her own drink. Violet makes a face, pulling the cup away from her with a laugh. "Thought we were going for coffee?" She asks, amused, with a quirked eyebrow.

Calum shifts in his seat, moving the position of his feet under the table and glancing towards his hands before looking back up at her. He's timid eyes and fidgeting fingers as he speaks. "I thought this would be better," He offers with a nervous smile. "Cupcakes are good here."

She purses her lips, unconvinced, and starts unwrapping the paper from the small cake in front of her. Eyebrow still raised, she takes a bite and literally hums in satisfaction. She takes to the taste like a cat to scratches on their necks, back all but arching with the flavor and practically purring.

"Enjoying yourself there?" Calum inquiries sarcastically, half-smirking at the look on her face and she continues to nibble on the sugary delicacy.

"I quite am."

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The chill is still in the air when they finally leave the café, nipping insistently at their cheeks. Calum decided he'd walk Violet back to her dorm, a polite gesture to her but he was trying to savoir every second of their time. By now, they've settled into a silence that makes Calum itch in his chest and Violet feels the mood melt into a calm that contrasts the harsh wind they walk into. She sends him a half smile, as they approach her building.

Violet is grabbing at the sleeves of her sweater and the elevator feels like it's taking longer than it has the right to as they wait to reach her floor. Calum is pressed against the metal railing, fingers wrapped tightly around it as he sneaks as many glances as he can without blatantly staring at her. They walk to her door, side by side, and Calum can't think of a place he'd rather be.

"I had a good time, thanks for that." She grins, after arriving at her door, and reaches for the handle behind her. Her grip is too tight and her words sound too strained, her smile a little less than obviously forced. She feels like she needs to get away. He is radiating onto her and she's not sure she'll be able to scrub him off her skin.

Calum gazes at her and he is lost. He's in so deep already and his eyes have stars in them. He's in a place that he didn't even know he could get to when he starts to search her face, admiring.

"I had a great time, too." He's saying, but the words are all slow and unaccounted for as he looks to her lips; his breath stops. And Calum's dumb, he really is. He's just a stupid boy and he's leaning into her like he can't even stop himself. He feels her breath in his mouth and everything is so close-

Violet jerks away with a poorly hidden grimace, pushing her hands on his chest for good measure. Calum gapes before he can fully gather what happened. "I - I'm sorry, I'm an idiot, shouldn't have done that." He manages, flicking his eyes downcast and his hands tightly clasped together as if they might try to reach out for her on their own.

"It's fine." She says, stiff and unaware. It's like he flicked a switch and changed everything like that. He backs away to give her room and now she's cold as if she wasn't just the sun ten seconds ago. He's torn from the place he just was and he hits reality like jumping into freezing water.

She opens her door, giving him a jerk of the chin as a nod and says, "See you next week." She slips into her room and closes the door with a shuttering breath.

Meanwhile, Calum does't even know what to do with himself. His mind is quickly going blank and his feet are already taking him back to his flat without paying attention. The midday sunlight cuts through the leaves of the trees along the sidewalk that are raging different shades of orange. They're scattered along the pavement and they crunch under the weight of his shoes. The lawns of the campus stay a rich, vibrant green throughout the year, even with the unusually cold fall they've been having. Calum can't even bring himself to admire his surroundings.

Luke's curled in his bed with a book, comfortable and warm, when Calum returns. For several moments, he glares at the content boy and he envies him. It's silly, he thinks, but he wonders if he had just made an excuse, stayed in bed, didn't go to meet with Violet; he figures he could have had a quiet, relaxing day.

Calum is selfish, greedy, and he proves this for the second time today as he flops himself directly on top of Luke and groans in misery. Luke grunts in response to the other boy's weight, and reminds himself to have a talk with Calum later about jumping on him all the time.

"What," Luke begins, labored and annoyed. "Do you want?"

Calum only huffs in response. Luke closes his eyes, breathing in slowly, and then out again in an attempt to gather himself; calming. He's a good person, a caring person. And Luke tries, truly, but Calum is far too much to handle at times. He does his duty, though, even if he doesn't want to. You endure certain things for the people you love.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asks with as much concern as he can muster, gently raking his fingers through Calum's hair. Mother dearest, loving girlfriend, worried lover; Luke takes on these roles for his best friend, sacrifices his dignity has to make.

"Maybe." Calum pouts, and it's not a no. Luke takes what small victories he can get.

"Wanna watch a movie and cuddle?" Luke smiles, slow and soft; barely there. Calum likes nurture, tenderness, support when these sort of things come about. Luke is willing.

Calum smirks at this, it's as unnoticeable as Luke's and a little self-conscious, but it's present on his lips. "I'd like that."

Luke decides he quite likes his small victories.

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it's been a bit of wait, so sorry for that, but it's longer than i planned for so i hope that makes up for it! vote and comment and all that! ps cake is real <33