Still Here

Rude

Callum was completely unsure if he should ask. He wasn't sure how she would respond. If she would say yes. He needed advice, but too many people already knew. He had to go from here alone. He took a deep breath. Callum raised his hand to knock on the door.

Rayla heard a sharp knock. "One moment," she groaned. When she opened the door, entirely disheveled, Callum asked, "Bad time?" She smiled. "Not when it's you. I'm just tired." Rayla stepped to the side so Callum could squeeze in.

They both plopped down on the large bed in the center of the room. "So, I had a proposition." "So formal," she sighed, laying down. Callum chuckled. "How about we take a break? Like, uh, a date? We can ask Ez for a day off. Go someplace nice." She smiled. "Sure. It's a date." This is my chance. Those words rang in both of their heads.

Finally, Callum closed his eyes.
"Will you marry me?" "No." He sat up, it felt as if it were not seconds later. But it was dark, Rayla was asleep, everything was quiet. He sighed. Are people always this nervous? Or am I just crazy? He closed his eyes once more, but this time, he couldn't sleep. So he opened them back up. For the rest of the night, he just lay there, thinking. He looked over at Rayla, sleeping soundly, quietly snoring. The moon shone so brightly through the window, Callum could count the threads in Rayla's Katolis sweater.

Nothing had changed between the two. Was everything about to? Callum shook the thought away. Nothing would change. Right?

Rayla slowly opened her eyes. It was the sun's first light, yet she felt as if she were being watched. She rolled over, and saw Callum sitting there. He seemed troubled. "What's wrong?" Callum only shook his head. This certainly wasn't the Callum she knew. This wasn't the funny, sweet, adorable dork she knew. This was a new, and seemingly very worried, Callum.

"Okay." She stood and shot one more skeptical glance at him, then went to go get ready.

Ezran was just leaving his room as he saw Rayla trailing down the halls, seemingly focused on her shoes. "Hi!" "Hey, Ez." She didn't take her eyes off the floor. "What's wrong?" "Callum seems worried about something, but he won’t tell me what! This morning, he was just sitting there, lost in thought. He seemed troubled. So, I asked him what was wrong, but he didn't answer."

Ezran smiled, knowing full well why Callum was acting this way. "He's not mad at you," he assured. "We'll, can you tell me why he's mad?" "No, I cannot."
Rayla sighed. Sometimes Ez could be a bit of a pain in the neck.

Nearby, Callum fidgeted in his office. He felt like a jerk. Was I too rude? I didn't mean to be. I just didn't want to mess up. Like I mess up everything else. He sighed. Why is marriage so hard?