Stumbling Through It {C.H}

Chapter 11

I flitted through my closet, looking for something nice to wear on my date.

"No, too dressy. Too casual. Ew why do I even own that!" I muttered going through my clothes. I tried on at least ten different outfits before deciding on a teal skater dress with flats and a necklace. It was simple but cute. I planned to meet Calum at his house at 5:00 and it was currently only 4:00. I paced my apartment twiddling my thumbs, and biting my lip raw. I thought of almost everything that could go wrong. I could choke on my food, or say something to make him think I'm weird, or I could get food stuck in my teeth. Or all three!

"Cami, I'm so nervous!" I voiced my feelings to my best friend over the phone.

"Hey don't stress! It's just a date, you've been on plenty of dates before!" She attempted to calm me down.

"Yeah but not with former rockstars! No with a guy I used to fawn over and wrote fanfictions about!" I twirled my crimson hair around my finger.

"Just forget all of that! Get to know the real Calum, not just the teenage band member Calum." She advised.

"Okay..." I sighed "But what if he doesn't like me? I'm nothing like Amy! I mean she was a model! I'm just me!"

"And that's a great thing! Calum doesn't want another person like Amy. Why would he want someone who just used him again? And about her being a model, Ellie have you looked in a mirror lately because you are freakin gorgeous. Puberty has done you well" Cami giggled.

I couldn't resist a laugh, "Thanks Cami. You're the best."

"I know!"

"I gotta go now. I can't be late!" I grabbed my keys from the counter.

"Kay! Good luck girlie!" She hung up the phone. I checked my makeup in the reflection of the microwave door before leaving for Calum's.

-

"Oh hey Ellie, you look nice." Luke answered Calum's door, looking confused, "I thought you couldn't babysit today, that's why Cal asked me."

"She can't babysit," Calum appeared behind Luke, "because she's going out with me." He smiled.

Luke's eyes widened in realization, "Ooh! Well have fun you two!" He elbowed Calum lightly with a smirk.

"You look beautiful." Calum complemented me after Luke closed the door.

I felt myself blushing, "Thank you. You do too- err I mean you look good, not beautiful." I mentally face palmed, but he just smiled with a chuckle.

"Thank you." He donned his usual black skinny jeans, and a navy blue t-shirt, which showed off the tattoos on his arms. I noticed one that I had never seen before. The letters DLH, written in black ink.

"What does that stand for?" I pointed to the tattoo.

"Daniel Lucas Hood." He smiled down at the tattoo in admiration.

"I didn't know his middle name was Lucas."

"Eh, Luke begged me." He shrugged with a laugh, showing the crinkles by his eyes.

Calum led me to his car, a sleek black corvette. He opened the passenger side door for me, "After you m'lady." He said in a joking formal tone.

"Why thank you, good sir."

The drive to the restaurant was silent besides the car radio playing softly in the background. It wasn't a uncomfortable silence, but more of a nervous silence, neither of us sure how to start a conversation. Finally we pulled into the parking lot for an Italian restaurant. We walked inside the dimly lit room, the hostess greeting us and asking if we had a reservation.

"Um yes, it should be under Hood." Calum told the woman, who nodded, looking down at her notebook.

"Ah yes, table for two. Right this way." The hostess took two menus and escorted us to a small square table by a large window. The table was covered by a cream colored table cloth with a candle flickering in the center. Other than that the table was bare. Calum and I sat across from each other, the hostess placing the menus in front of us.

"Your waitress will be with you shortly." She told us before leaving us be.

"This is a very nice restaurant." I said, trying to strike up a conversation. It wasn't overly fancy, but it had a nice atmosphere. It was heavily Italian themed, with painting of villas and scenes of the Italian countryside. There were green grape vines painted on the tan walls. Strings of fairy lights hung around the walls, adding a small glow around the room.

"Yeah, it is. I take my parents and sister here when they visit. The food's really good. If you like Italian, I mean. You like Italian right?" He added nervously.

I laughed, "Yes I do, don't worry." I gave him a reassuring smile, which he returned. The soft orange light of the candle highlighted his facial features. Looking at him sent my heart a flutter. This was actually happening.

"Hi! My name is Faith and I will be your server tonight." A woman not much younger than me, greeted us, "Can start you off with some drinks?"

"I will have a lemonade, please." I ordered.

"I will just have water." Calum looked up to the waitress. I saw her pupils dilate.

"Um sorry, but are you Calum Hood?" She bit back an excited smile.

"Uh yeah I am." He answered.

"I knew it! Oh my gosh, I was such a huge fan of 5sos! I'm sorry, I just had to ask. I will go get your drinks now." She hurried off, with a spring in her step, trying to maintain a professional stance, but clearly excited to be meeting Calum.

"A former fan serving you on your date with a former fan." I chuckled softly, "Neat."

Calum looked sheepish, "I hope that doesn't make this too weird."

I shook my head, "Nah, as long as she isn't screaming in your face, I don't mind."

Faith returned with our drinks, then took our order. I got a tortellini dish, and Calum ordered spaghetti and meatballs.

"You're breaking the first date rule." I joked.

"What?" Calum asked, worried he had done something wrong.

"Ordering spaghetti is like the number one thing not to do on a first date." I laughed.

"Oh right," Calum sighed in relief that he hadn't completely messed up something, "Oops." He shrugged.

We made small talk, and got to know each other better as we ate. I felt like I was meeting a whole different side of Calum, the one you didn't see in the media. He was still a sweet and funny guy, but he was slightly nervous, intellectual and soft hearted. We talked about our childhoods and our current life. I avoided bringing up the band, not wanting him to think I was only dating him because he was famous. It was 8:00 by the time we paid the bill and started to drive back to Calum's.

"Thank you very much. I had a great time." I said, standing next to my car, which was parked in front of his house.

"I had a good time too. I will see you soon." He politely kissed my cheek lightly, not wanting to rush things. My cheek felt tingly where his lips had been.

"Goodbye." I waved, sliding into my car.

"Bye." He waved back.