Don't Let Go {Saviour Trilogy Spin-Off}

Part 2: Chapter 6 - Better Than I Know Myself

All along
I tried to pretend it didn't matter
If I was alone
But deep down I know
If you were gone
For even a day I wouldn't know which way to turn
Cause I'm lost without you

I know it gets hard sometimes
But I could never
Leave your side
No matter what I say

Cause if I wanted to go I would have gone by now,
But I really need you near me to
Keep my mind off the edge
If I wanted to leave I would have left by now
But you're the only one that knows me
Better than I know myself

Better Than I Know Myself ~ Adam Lambert

***

Callum tried to be nonchalant as Jason came through the front door, looking bashful as he had all summer when he used the key that Callum had given him a long time ago. The summer was drawing to a close, and Callum desperately wanted to savour it. They had a day left. Just the rest of the day, and the next morning. Then Jason went off to university, albeit not too far away, and Callum wouldn't see him much. He'd gotten used to seeing him all the time over the summer, and he'd seen him practically everyday all the time they'd been dating. He couldn't imagine how much he'd miss him.

He set his book down - a recommendation from Jason which he'd been very dubious about, but was actually really enjoying - and turned to greet Jason as he walked into the living room. His mother was in the kitchen, chopping vegetables by the sounds he could hear, and his father sat in the chair across the room, watching them over his newspaper, trying and failing to be surreptitious.

"Hey," Callum said, kissing Jason's cheek as he sat down. It felt so domestic. "How was it?"

Jason smiled. "Really good. She was very nice."

"What was her name?" Callum's father asked, setting aside his newspaper.

"Bella Cullen. She's officially a journalist, but apparently she does lots of campaign work within the company too. So she's happy to do this campaign with me for a few weeks. She said we can have a page, possibly two, depending on the reception, of the campaign in each edition of the magazine for ten weeks. One edition per week."

"That's a great thing to do, son," Callum's father said. "Certainly something to put on your CV in the future."

Jason nodded. "I'm thinking about going into journalism as my major."

Callum turned to look at him. "Really?"

"Yeah. If I can do this kind of thing for a living - not just LGBT campaigns, but anything - then I want to."

Callum smiled, and squeezed Jason's hand. "You'll be great at it."

"Dinner!" Callum's mother called.

His father and Jason stood immediately, and, as Jason turned his back to head over to the kitchen table, Callum let the sadness wash over him. He missed Jason already, yet he stood right in the same room. How much would it hurt when he left?

He pushed the thoughts away. For Jason's sake, he had to pretend that him going to university didn't bother him as much as it did. Jason couldn't wait to go to university, get away from high school, and Callum didn't blame him. He couldn't wait to go either. But Jason was in the year above him, and Callum would have to wait a whole year before he could join him.

He felt terrified that they'd fall apart. What if Jason found someone else at university, in the long weeks during which he didn't see Callum? What if Jason changed at university, and they didn't get along any more? What if something happened, to either of them, and everything slipped through their fingers?