Distorted Reflections

Chapter 3

A/N: I know, I know. I took a really long while to write this one - thank my writer's block.
Sorry for the wait guys, but here it is.
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Deep breaths.
God Laura, just calm the fuck down.
Deep breaths. Deep bre-
"You know, you're going to faint if you don't start breathing like a human soon." He chucked. "Even though I can think of many situations that could leave you breathing like that"
I send a glare to the blond standing next to me.
Ross and I were standing outside the house of his "contact". After what felt like an eternity - when in reality were just minutes - a red-haired answered the door.
He wore a blue button-up shirt and jeans and his hair was designed perfectly on a shorter old-Bieber style.
"Hello?" He smiled at me first, his green eyes lighting up. Then he glanced at Ross and recognition spread across his face as his smile faded. "Oh."
"Can we talk for a minute?" Ross rubbed the back of his head
The tall guy paused for a minute before answering "Alright."
They both glanced at me and I got the fact that their following conversation did not include me.
I backed off a little, stopping near the sidewalk.
The redhead's house was a gorgeous two-story Victorian house. I stared at it and glanced to the street. It didn't quite blend in with the others. His house wasn't that far from ours, so it was weird to have such an antiquated house that I have never seen before in the neighborhood right next to ours.
My curiosity got the best of me - surprise, surprise - so I turned back to them, making sure they didn't see me.
I couldn't hear a word, but something felt off.
They had serious faces on, probably doing their best to keep their tone down so I couldn't hear it.
Then, the tall guy seemed to get mad.
He pointed at his house then gestured at me as he spoke, then pointed a finger right into Ross's chest.
I started to wonder if how close they were. No one would do that to Ross Lynch if they just had a common sense.
Which apparently he didn't.
But Ross just bent down his head, muttering something and I turned away before they could see me not-so-discreetly peeking behind my shoulder.
That was absolutely not an ordinary Ross Lynch behavior.
"Come on princess!" I heard him yell and I rolled my eyes.
I walked up to them, Ross with an unreadable look upon his face while the taller guy just smiled at me.
"Hi." he stood out his hand "I'm Calum."

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I took another sip from the can in my hands.
Ross and I were sitting on the basement couch, taking sips of our Diet Sodas. Calum was still looking on his computer, a bunch of numbers popping up.
How does one understand that?
It's been half past an hour since we arrived here. I was still freaking out over the fact that maybe everything lead to nothing.
Maybe I was doomed.
"Stop biting your nails, your highness." Ross teased "I think that manicure was pretty expensive so let's not throw that much money on the trash." He said, taking a sip of the can
"Just shut up and drink your diet soda." I pushed the can up, a bit of the liquid spilling over his jeans. He gave me a dirty look and I just shrugged it off.
I found out that when the redhead said he needed about an hour, he actually meant it.
(I also found out that he could turn a dusty basement into a geek center, which even though was the last of the things I should worry about, was pretty awesome.)
I wondered how I have never seen Calum at school. He wasn't the kind to just go unnoticed. He was very tall, sympathetic and come on. He was a redhead.
"Got it!"
Ross straightened up his posture and I walked next to Calum. "Who's it?"
Calum's face went blank "Chuck Paul Green." He said
"That makes no sense at all." Chuck was from my Spanish class. He dated that nerd girl, Sun Hee. "I don't think I ever talked to him, why would he want to do that to me?"
"Well, let's say that your friends aren't exactly nice to the people who don't wear a football jersey or carry pompoms around." He sighed, turning to me "I don't think we are "socially acceptable"" he gestured quotes with his fingers for emphasis.
That was what Cody said all the time about the nerds.
"Anyways" Ross interrupted, standing up "I don't think we need anything else besides finding this Chuck guy and shutting his mouth." He glanced at Calum as he gave him the paper with the address "thank you."
Calum just spun his chair back towards the computer "You know your way out."

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We were driving back home, in silence.
I was glancing out the window, the sun setting.
After many attempts of talking to Ross about what happened back in Calum's house, I eventually gave up.
But this silence?
God it was really boring.
I flicked the radio on, an Ariana Grande song playing.
I started to mumble the notes of Love Me Harder until I was - rudely, I might add- interrupted by Ross changing the radio station.
We had a fight over it, the radio being flicked from an station to another and a bunch of "my car, my music" and "I'm in here, let me listen to what I want to", until he turned it off.
"That wasn't nice!"
He ignored my comment and kept looking forward.
So we're back to the silence treatment.
Hell to the no.
"I'm hungry." I crossed my arms
He quickly glared at me before averting his eyes back on the road.
"I said," I sighed "I'm hungry."
Not a bulge.
The car came to a stop in the traffic lights and an idea popped in my mind
"Oh god, I think I'm going to faint." I threw myself on his right arm and he lost his grasp on the steering wheel. "I'm weak, so weak. I feel my body getting heavier and heav-"
"Alright!" He cut me off, rubbing his temple "We can get McDonalds on the way home, drama queen."
He pulled over to the Drive-Thru and I smiled to myself, proud of my convincing stunt.
"But you owe me a favor."
And there goes my happiness.