Working at a movie theatre really wasn't the worst thing ever. It was kind of boring and uneventful, but Calum got to watch movies for free, and Michael, who worked behind the snack counter, would slip him a chocolate bar or two during the day. The only real downside was having to clean up behind people, and oh god, the things he had seen. People really do bring the weirdest things into movie theatres.
It was just a regular evening when Calum came across the strangest sight of them all. He and a few others had to clean up a room after a comedy, which were always the worst. There really wasn't an explanation as to why, but people always left more empty packs of chips and drink bottles after comedies. He was thankful that, at least, Ashton would also be cleaning the room with him, along with a girl who was new on the job and didn't talk very much.
Calum entered the room from one of the back exits, grumbling at the fact that the lights were still pretty dim, and was about to start picking up things to shove into the trash bag in his hand when he heard a sniffle.
Looking down, he noticed a figure sitting in a seat beside the aisle, a couple rows away from him. They were hunched over and their broad shoulders were shaking.
Calum quietly crept closer, unsure of what to do. He had never encountered someone in the theatre this long after a movie had ended, especially not someone crying.
He picked up a few more empty popcorn containers, rustling the trash bag a bit to make his presence known, but the person's sobs didn't ease up in the slightest.
So, with a slight sigh, he put the bag down, and slid into the empty seat to the right of the crying person.
In the dim lighting, Calum couldn't really make out much. He could tell that it was a guy, but that had been obvious. He also noticed that he had popcorn all over his lap, and Calum could've sworn he even had some in his hair, which intrigued him even more.
"Hey dude, what's going on?" Calum asked softly, wanting to reach out and pat the guy on the back but it would be a bit strange.
Calum didn't get an answer. Instead, he got more sobs and sniffles.
"Hold on a sec, okay?" Calum told him, and quickly exited the room. He ran to the snack counter, grabbed a bunch of napkins, and ran back, sitting back down beside the sobbing guy.
Calum handed him a couple tissues, keeping some with him just in case. "Here you go," he murmured, smiling sadly when the guy removed a hand from his face to take the tissues.
"Th- Thank- You," he managed to sob out, using the tissues to blow his nose. His tears were relentless.
Calum looked up, seeing Ashton actually talking to the new girl, both of them oblivious to what was happening in the far corner of the room. Calum was quite surprised, and decided he would probably say something about their interaction later.
He heard the guy take a deep breath, and turned back to see him wiping his eyes, the tears still steady but the sobs quieter.
"I-I'm sorr-y," the guy managed, and gratefully took the other tissues Calum was handing him. He blew his nose again, before mumbling, "I- I'm going t-to leave."
"Hey, it's okay," Calum told him, his hand finally finding the guy's back. He rubbed up and down gently, trying to not make it awkward. "What happened?"
"My-" He took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes tight, obviously willing himself not to cry. "My boyfriend br-oke up with me because of something I-I didn't do."
Calum frowned. "He sounds like a dick."
The stranger shook his head vehemently. "He's not. He just- He believes his friends- More than he believes me."
Calum scoffed. "You're not really helping his case."
"Well, I- I-" The blond couldn't get his words out though, and in seconds he was in tears once again.
Calum's hand slid across his back to his shoulder and gripped it, pulling him in for an awkward side hug. "Hey man, it's alright. I don-"
"Calum! We have five minutes!" Ashton called from the other end of the room. "Get your shit together!"
Calum grumbled, pulling his hand away from the crying boy, and gave him the last of the tissues. "Come on, get up."
The nameless blond stood up, all the popcorn on his lap falling to the ground, and Calum would've been mad about that if this were any other situation. Instead, he just told him to sit on the armrest of the chair across the aisle. "I'll just clean this part up and we'll go get some more tissues. Do you want something to eat?"
The blond shook his head, sniffling and rubbing at his face. "I'm sorry for making more of a mess."
"It's fine." Calum shrugged as he shoved more trash into the plastic bag. "Picking up the popcorn is not my job, thankfully. If it was, I might've been mad."
Surprisingly, the other guy chuckled softly. "I'm sorry to whoever who's job it is, then."
"It's okay." Calum smiled at him. "He's a bit annoying anyways."
Calum quickly finished his job, and then led the blond out of the room. He dumped the trash bag in the big blue bin near the entrance, thankful that it wasn't his turn to take out the trash, and turned to the dishevelled boy. He could finally see him properly, and tried not to reach out and run his hand through the impeccably coiffed blond hair.
"Come on," Calum murmured, and led the way to the break room to stop himself from staring any longer.
"I should probably be going," the blond murmured as he followed Calum inside. "Thanks for the tissues."
"You can stay a little longer," Calum told him as the two of them sat down on the rather uncomfortable chairs. "Just, you know. A little breather."
The blond smiled, nodding as he wiped the final tears off his face. "You really don't have to be this nice to me, uh..."
"Calum," he quickly introduced himself, before tapping his name tag.
"That's a nice name. I'm Luke."
Calum smiled, glad to put a name to the face. "Nice to meet you, even though the circumstances aren't quite fortunate." Calum paused for a second. He really wanted to know more about why Luke had been crying, but didn't want to push it. So instead he settled for a simple question. "D'ya want some caramel popcorn? We've got a whole stash in here..."
"Yeah, sure," Luke chuckled lightly, his voice still sounding a little scratchy from all the crying.
Calum grabbed one of the smaller packs and tossed it to Luke, who nearly missed it.
They then proceeded to eat – or rather, Calum tried to catch the popcorn Luke threw in his mouth – and laugh together. Calum found himself really enjoying Luke's presence, and vice versa. Little did they know that, soon, they'd be spending much more time together, be it in the break room or outside in the world.
a/n: bleh the ending sucks. I just wanted to update something!! Writer's block is the worst thing ever.
