Selfish Appetite [5 Seconds of Summer]

[18]

"I can accept periods of unhappiness, because I know I will also experience happiness to come."

- -

Sloan

Saturday, September 2nd.

The clock on my phone reads nine o'clock at night, the faint blue glow casting a soft light in the dim room.

In my mind, the virtual calendar ticks over a month and three days since I last saw Luke. The countdown halts to zero as soon as he steps into the bar, his eyes scanning the crowd, searching for our group.

Calum follows closely behind, easily spotting us first. He nudges Luke in the right direction, a mischievous grin curling on his lips.

"Oh, lord." Calum barely manages to contain his laughter, his eyes landing on Edward's painfully sunburned face.

"Not a word." Edward, the unamused lawyer, snaps, pointing a finger at Calum and his cousin, his expression as stern as always.

"Have you ever heard of something called sunblock?" Luke cackles, blatantly ignoring the warning.

Ed flips him the bird, his lips twitching slightly despite himself.

"Hi, beautiful." Calum kisses the top of my head as he slides into the seat beside me, his voice soft but teasing.

"Hi." I reply with a grin, my heart unexpectedly lifting at his familiar warmth.

Four days ago, Michael had shown up at my house, his concern written all over his face.

He'd urged me to leave my self-imposed isolation and join them at the bar. I'd agreed—barely—and after a month of near hibernation, I found myself face-to-face with Ally and Calum again.

During a smoke break that night, despite Ally's best efforts to stop me, Calum found me in the back alley. He didn't say a word; he simply kissed me, urgent and full of unspoken tension, before disappearing back inside.

"Where's Michael?" Calum asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Smoking." I inform him with a shrug, and he nods, his smile deepening.

"Do you want to smoke later?" his smile softens, almost shy, though the familiar smirk remains.

"No, she doesn't." Ally's voice cuts through the moment, her tone firm as she does her best to keep me on track with my attempt to cut down on smoking.

Calum holds his grin but doesn't push the matter further. I nudge his thigh with mine, the contact more casual than it feels.

"I think it's extremely weird that you guys aren't talking to each other." Ally whispers to me as we wait in the bathroom line.

I arch an eyebrow, confused by her sudden shift in tone. "Why are you whispering?"

"It's fucking weird, Sloan." she repeats, her voice dropping lower as the line moves forward. "I mean, what's going on with you two?"

I shift uncomfortably, glancing at her before leaning into the wall to give a group of four women room to pass through the narrow corridor leading to the restrooms.

"As long as it doesn't affect the group," I say quietly, "you shouldn't find it weird."

"We're all just waiting for the other shoe to drop." she mutters. "I'd say the group is affected alright babe."

"What other shoe?" I wonder aloud, my curiosity piqued as I shift again, leaning closer to the wall.

"The shoe," she says pointedly, her voice growing quieter, "where one of you says something that triggers the other, and you start yelling at each other."