redefine | calum hood

thirty three

Thirty Three

Maddie

"Good morning," Iris greeted me with a big grin.

"Hi," I quietly responded with a small smile.

"You look pretty today," she told me, making me chuckle.

"I'm just wearing Calum's soccer jersey and jeans,"

"Still pretty," she shrugged as we walked through the halls.

"I think you look pretty too, you always do,"

"Thank you," she smiled and twirled. "My mom bought me a new skirt,"

"I like it," I told her. THe morning was normal. We didn;t talk about our kiss or anything, until it was around lunch.

We approached my locker to get my lunch. "Did you talk to your family?"

"I did," I nodded as I opened my locker. "I talked with Luke and Sierra about it, then told Calum and everyone else," I said and she nodded.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I was scared though," I admitted.

"I was scared when I told my parents," she told me. "It's all ok now,"

"Good," I said and looked at her, "so what does this mean for us?"

"It's whatever we want," she shrugged. "We can be a couple, we can keep flirting," she leaned against the locker next to mine, looking at me. "I don't care about a title, I just want to be around you,"

I giggle, "We're around each other all the time,"

"Yeah, but how comfortable are you with it?" she asked. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable,"

"You don't make me uncomfortable," I frowned.

"No, but being public might, and that's ok. Your family knows, but if we're public people will see us, and I know you're still trying to figure all this out," I bit my lip as I looked down. I had been so shielded since everything happened with my brothers, I didn't realize that there were more people in the world who could judge me and see what I was doing. "We're fine where we are right now, Mad, let's just keep it this way. Flirting back and forth and then kissing secretly in your bedroom when no one is around," she smiled.

"I don't feel well," I mumbled.

"Maddie, I didn't mean to scare you," she apologized, "I'm sorry," Seeing how stressed I was, she took my hand and led me down to the art wing where no one ever entered the bathrooms. They hadn't been cleaned in months and smelled awful, I didn't blame people for not coming in. "What's going on, love?" she asked quietly as I tried to keep my tears in.

"I don't want people looking at me weird," I stuttered.

"There are people who are cruel, but we just have to get past them," she said as she moved my hair out of my face.

"I mean for anything," I hiccuped. "About who I like, or my past, or how I look," I rambled.

"There are horrible people, but the people you love are who matter. Things can be said and they hurt, but at the end of the day you're still Maddie, and that's amazing and beautiful and nothing that happened in your past defines that. You're more than your past," she told me.

"I want Calum, I want to go home," I sniffled.

"Ok, we can have the front office call him," she offered and I nodded, calming down a little bit. "And I don't care about anything that happened in your past. I care about who you are now, and who you are now is amazing," she told me.

"Thank you," I whispered. "My brothers were horrible to me,"

"Well fuck them," she said, making me giggle. "Are you happy where you are now?"

"Very happy," I confirmed.

"Your family seems great," she told me as she wiped my cheeks.

"They are,"

"Good," she smiled and took my hand. "I would like to take you on a date soon,"

"A date?"

"Yeah, like a real one," she explained. "If you want to,"

"I would like that," I agreed.

"Let's go call Calum, then you can go home,"