Under The Willow Tree

Chapter 8

Countinuing colab with Gg aka PonyboiCurtisFan

Callie’s POV

The Curtis house was the same as it usually was. Noisy and everyone was laughing and yelling at each other. But Soda and I were the only ones who weren't all booming. We were on opposite sides of the room and it seemed as if we were avoiding one another. To be honest, I was only avoiding him because I felt like he was the one avoiding me.

I started to get a headache from the amount of yelling the boys were doing, and how high the volume was on the tv. My head was pounding so hard that I finally decided to go into the guest bedroom that Darry had set up for me. I curled up on the bed, still able to hear most of the boys' conversations even from across the small house.

I heard a fading conversation in and out and then Darry asked where I was. I couldn’t hear Soda’s reply but heard the bedroom door open. I couldn’t see who it was because I had covered my eyes with my hand since the light hurt. 

“Cal… you ok?” I uncovered my eyes at the sound of Soda’s voice. I winced a bit at how bright the lamp was. But, Soda’s face definitely distracted me from it for a second.

His face kind of glowed in the light. It looked more handsome and gorgeous than it usually looked. "Y-yes, I'm fine." I stammered. "It's just a little loud out there."

“You don’t look okay.” He said softly, his eyes soft with concern. He softly brushed my hair off my forehead, and my eyebrows raised. 

“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m always fine.”

Soda chuckled delicately and sat beside me on the edge of my bed. "You sure about that? 'Cause everyone is allowed to be not ok sometimes. Please tell me." He mumbled with concern but smiled softly.

I rolled my eyes. *Since when was he so…smart? I mean, I’m not complaining. 

“I have a headache, the guys are loud.” I sat up and shrugged, smiling just for his benefit.

"Oh, well....I'm sorry. I-I can tell them to stop if want me to-" Soda stuttered and looked at me straight in the eyes. We kept staring into each other for what seemed like forever until a bit of my hair fell in front of my face and we both looked away.

“No it’s okay. I’ll probably sleep or something I donno…” As I kept talking my voice got softer and softer. I felt like a fool. 

"Oh um, a-alright then." Soda stuttered and started turning slightly pink. He looked away and I could tell he was embarrassed. "I'll let you rest then." And with that, he left and closed the door. 

Suddenly, the gang got quieter and I smiled to myself.

A Few Hours Later

I woke up to someone sitting down on the empty part of the bed next to me. I groaned, blinking. I almost fell out of bed when I saw Soda’s smiling face staring back at me. 

“You feeling better?” He asked, smiling softly. “I brought you tea.” He places a mug on the nightstand next to me.

"Oh um," I placed my hand on my forehead. It didn't hurt as much but it was still aching a bit. "Yea, I-I guess. Still hurts though."

“I’m sorry for waking you up.” I feel him hug me slightly, as I sit up to grab the mug. 

“No… no it’s okay.” 

I gasped softly when I felt him hug me, the mug in my hand shaking a little bit. But didn’t spill. 

“Did I hurt you?” Soda asked, putting his arm on my shoulder and moving me so I was facing him. 

“No I uh- I donno- uh.” I stammered.

"Cals? You alright there?" He chuckled softly and flashed his most handsome smile. My god was it hot. I felt my cheeks flush.

“You’re killing me-“ I blurt out before I can stop myself. I felt so embarrassed I could die. I flip back into the bed, my head hitting the pillows, I looked up at the ceiling since Soda hadn’t turned the lights on. Bless him because if he did my head would be pounding right now.

“Huh? I’m killing you? S-sorry, um-“ he stuttered and sounded a little bit panicked. Poor thing, learn sarcasm. I thought, feeling bad.

“Well not literally-“ I took a sip of the tea he had brought me. It was surprisingly good. Like very good. Camomile I think? I give him a soft smile

He seemed to relax a little and I saw his shoulders soften. "Oh, ok..." Soda mumbled and stared at the cup of tea in my hands, "I-Is it good??"

“Mhm. Thank you. You didn’t have to.” *I sit up in bed. “What time is it? Shouldn’t you be asleep? Don’t let me keep you up-“

"No no, it's fine. I-I just wanna make sure you're comfortable and ok and stuff." He interrupted me and scratched the back of his neck. I realized that it was a nervous habit of his.

“You’re going to scratch yourself.” I moved his hand away from his neck softly, our hands brushing while I did it.

I quickly realized that was a mistake because it looked like I was holding his hand. We stared into each other's eyes and both started turning pink. I was still ‘holding his hand’. It felt warm and soft and I didn't want to put it down.

“So… you should probably get some sleep?” I meant it as a statement but it came out as a question. I still didn’t move away from him, but I did avoid eye contact, feeling shyness wash over my senses. 

"Um, yea I-I guess I should..." He stuttered and started getting off of my bed. Soda slowly walked over to the door and turned to look at me before exiting, "Goodnight Cals," he said in his handsomely soft voice.

“Goodnight.” I smiled at him, then I heard the door shut. I blink, collecting my thoughts before I lay down, rest comes easier than it had before.

Word count: 1,045