i love you, but.. // lierra

26

GHOST TOWN - Benson Boone

The walk from the bus stop to Calum's apartment takes about seven minutes, which is just enough time for Sierra to finally enjoy the weather without being in a hurry. The warmth of the sunlight makes her think of the long-awaited summer break she's going to have in just a few weeks. It smells a lot nicer and sweeter now that spring is almost over, and it was a really long one this time. She can't really hear the birds because of the music in her headphones, but when she looks up at the tree, they're looking down at her too.

She's had one of her first exams this morning, which she absolutely nailed, and she also met Feye, who told her about the break-up that happened yesterday: Sierra wanted to invite them both to the flat after Luke and her move in, but the girl politely declined, explaining she'd be leaving the country in just a couple of days. Sierra didn't think much before deciding to go directly to Calum instead of going home and revising for the next exam.

She knocks on the door a few times before Luke opens it, and she looks at him surprised: he rarely opens the door unless he's expecting someone. He greets her with a kiss, asking about her exam, and helps her take off her jacket when she asks about Calum.

"He's having a bad morning. You should talk to him, you're good with.. words." Luke replies, already chewing the candy she bought for Cory. She just smiles at him and goes to Calum's room.

She hesitates for a second before knocking, because even though she is good with words, she has no clue what to say. After a few minutes, she hears his voice through the door, telling her to come in, so she does.

"Did you talk to Luke?" is the first thing he asks after she hugs him tightly.

"About what? I came to talk to you." she frowns, taking a seat on his bed beside him. His room starts to look more and more like Luke's, and as much as she likes it, it's not a compliment.

"Oh so he didn't- okay, yeah." Calum looks down as if nodding to himself.

"He didn't what?"

"I think he should tell you this, not me." Sierra just sighs, deciding to let it go because she honestly doesn't have any energy to play this guessing game right now.

Calum tells his side of the breakup while Sierra's hands are caressing his. Moving to the subject of university, Sierra gives Calum a few tips on the examinators because she knows some of them are going to be Calum's too. She doesn't encourage him to cheat, of course, but she knows he will use her advice to do exactly that. As an almost qualified teacher, she's against it, but as his best friend, who has also been spending sleepless nights trying to meet some professor's deadlines, and not what she actually wanted, she fully supports him in finishing exams as easily and smoothly as possible.

When Calum asks if she and Luke are doing alright—because it's far from alright judging by the conversation he's had with him this morning—Sierra gets a lot less talkative.

"What happened?"

"I don't think I can tell you exactly; it's personal to him, and he felt pretty bad when I saw it." she replies quieter, remembering the look on Luke's face when she read that list.

"Don't tell me then." One thing he knows for sure is that Luke would hate for him to invade his privacy like that. And it's not even that it's personal to him, but it just feels unfair when people tell his secrets. His father always did that at all the family gatherings or even to his friends. Just to make these random people laugh by humiliating his son. When Luke was 11, his father told everyone at a family dinner that he saw his son trying to pluck his eyebrows. The plucking itself didn't feel embarrassing to Luke, but the way his own aunts and uncles laughed at him surely did feel degrading.