Long Live. // Luke Hemmings 5SOS (Vampire)

Chapter 28 - Façade

Shortly after Luke dropped Rosemary off, he pulled out his phone, pressed the contact name of someone he hoped would give him some answers - honest answers.

Calum.

"Luke? Is everything alright?" His voice came through the speaker after Luke waited impatiently for him to answer the call.

"Yeah, Calum, uh... I just want to talk." Calum was taken off guard by the blunt statement. A million thoughts ran through his head, all telling him that he should say no - say that he didn't want to talk at the moment, that he couldn't. But he pushed through that anxious feeling, hoping that he was simply overreacting.

"Go for it."

"Yeah... I've been thinking... This morning, I was thinking about when you went off to look for the Laveau's." Luke began as he climbed into his car, unaware of the immediate discomfort that he'd brought upon Calum... "I remember you had a list of descendants you were looking for to help you... And last we spoke, you said you couldn't find them, or that you could only find one when you needed two, right?"

"I, uh..." Calum had to think about it for a moment. "Yeah, I did say that."

"So who did you find?" Luke asked quietly, and Calum's jaw tensed. The ominous question didn't draw any words out of him... He was just glad this conversation wasn't being had in person. "...I think you did find Rosemary. I think that's why she said she recognised you. I just don't know why you denied it."

"I- Luke, it's-"

"And I don't think she was the only one you found, either." Luke cut in, making Calum's open mouth tremble in wait for words to come out - words that were entirely lost on him. "You said you had a friend come to town, right? Answer me honestly, Cal - this friend, are they a Laveau?"

"I-" For a moment, Calum felt stuck. Like he didn't know whether to be truthful - like he knew that was the only option, but didn't know how to go about it... He squeezed his eyes shut briefly, thinking over what Luke had said... Sighing. "I feel like you already know the answer to that, Luke."

There was a moment of thoughtful silence between them. Luke pressed his lips together tightly, almost feeling... disappointed.

"I do now." He spoke stiffly, in a way that only added to Calum's nerves - he felt guilty, like he'd done something horribly wrong. "Rosemary said the name Sebastian this morning, and at first, I thought it was just a coincidence-"

"Wait, what?" Calum immediately cut in - if Luke could've seen him, he'd have noticed the way that his eyes widened and his posture straightened up, as if on high alert. "Rosemary - she's seen him?"

"You... You don't know?" Luke's eyebrows furrowed as Calum's eyes flashed with concern. "I thought you'd know - you said he's your friend-"

"He was my friend. At least, I thought he was..." Calum cut in bitterly, gritting his teeth, and Luke suddenly felt worried. "Luke, we didn't come to town together. I followed him. We were meant to be working together but it seemed like he was up to something, and now-" Calum seethed in a deep breath, running his hand frustratedly through his hair as he stood up and began to pace. "Where did she see him?"

"She-..." Luke began but was taken aback momentarily as he processed how distressed his friend sounded - how unsettling that made his answer feel. "She said he's staying at her place... With his cousin - her roommate."

"His cousin?" Calum questioned incredulously with a scoff, almost as if amused by the ridiculousness of the claim. Then, his face dropped as he registered the rest of the sentence... "He's - he's staying with her?"

"He has been since some time last week - what's the deal with this guy, Calum? You're freaking me out."

"Luke- I- where do I even start? Listen, I- I don't want you to be mad at me for not saying anything sooner-"