Blocked |c.h.|

07:00

Calum sat in the school's library the next day, not to read books, or study, or whatever the other students were doing that day. Nope. He was sitting in a chair, leaning against a window, and watching the rain drops stream down the glass surface.

It was something he loved to do, watching the rain, not leaning against a dusty library window. Mostly because it barely rained in LA, so it was special when it did. Also, it was calming to the boy.

And it was definitely necessary, considering the news he received earlier that day.

"Are you kidding me?!" Calum furrowed his brows as he answered the assistant coach on the other end of the phone.

"No, Calum. It's non-negotiable, you have to sit out a game."

"But, he was clearly provoking me!" He arugued, running a hand through his curly mop of hair.

"Yeah but they clearly saw you shove him first--look, you can sit with the team next game but you won't play. That's final." The assistant said hanging up before Calum could reply.

Which leads him to exactly where he was, trying to block out his troubles with a few minutes of rain watching.

In a weird way, it resembled his life currently. And maybe he was being dramatic to think this way but it seemed fitting. He felt like there's been a dark cloud over him for a while. Everything from basketball all the way down to simple class attendance that he would miss because he was too tired from practice the previous night. And then you throw in this situation with that journalist and now when he thinks about her, he groans and closes his eyes.

It was just too much! All of it was too much and he hated that he wished he was just a regular college student. One that had normal stress about paying for classes, overpriced books, and exams. Instead, he had to worry about paying attention to his fans, over-exaggerating articles, and the critics.

Calum sighed as he opened his eyes and brought a hand up to rub his face. So, it was impossible to see the body approaching his chair.

"Uh, Calum?" A soft voice asked and the boy furrowed his brows as he removed his hand from his face.

Who stood before him was none other than the hot journalist, Delaney. And Calum would've groaned had it not been completely inappropriate. One reason because she looked really good that day. And two because he didn't need any added b.s., so he was hoping she didn't come to add lightning to his already rained on parade.

"Are you okay?" Delaney asked, noticing the slight bags under his eyes and somber expression painted on his face. The fact that he wasn't quick with his answers only confirmed that something was wrong. And Delaney would never admit it aloud but it bothered her...more than just a little bit.

Calum rolled his eyes and sat back in his seat. "What does it look like, Delaney?" He sighed for the fourth, fifth, or maybe even twentieth time that day.

"It looks like you're stressing." She took it upon herself to take the seat beside his, raising her brows when he looked her way.

"Look, if you're gonna sit here and knock me while I'm already down then please just leave." He said in one breath, leaning his head back on the cool glass. At that moment he didn't care if she looked extra good today in her sweats and school t-shirt. He wasn't going to deal with her ruining his day any further.

Delaney felt a bit worse and it bothered her that she even cared. She sucked her teeth and shook his arm to grab his attention.

"That's not what I'm here for."

Calum cracked a smile at her words, sneaking a look at the girl then sighing once more when he remembered his current situation.

"Then why are you here?" Calum sat up, again, re-crossing his arms over his chest. And the brown girl rolled her eyes.