Heartbreak Girl (Calum Hood) [FINISHED]

Chapter Sixteen: The News/The Climb (Kelsey)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: THERE MIGHT BE MORE SWEARING IN THIS CHAPTER THAN MOST CHAPTERS BUT IT MAKES MORE SENSE FOR IT TO BE THIS WAY, SO BEAR WITH ME IF IT BOTHERS YOU. :)

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Kelsey's POV

I sit there, alone in the dressing room, fiddling with the remote. What channel did they have the news on? Fuck I hate being in other countries sometimes! UGH! After flipping through about 700 channels, I finally find it, at ten o'clock on the dot. Classic Kelsey, right there. I finally direct my attention to the tv.

"And now, the breaking news. Bass player and singer of 5 Seconds of Summer, Calum Hood, caught on tape!" The annoying news lady says to the screen before turning to her colleague.

"Now this one isn't too surprising, considering he's a famous boy in a band, but this is the first time someone from this band has been caught doing anything not 'parent approved'." He uses air quotes over the last words.

"Now, as far as we know, the girl in the video was Kelsey Irwin, his bandmate, Ashton's, little sister. And that brings us to another revelation. Ashton has never told anyone about having a second sister. Our question is 'why is he hiding her?'"

The man continues, "There have been many reasons and instances as to why celebrities have hid their families, but this band has been very forthcoming with talking about their families, and Ashton has been recorded, in many occasions, saying that he has one brother and one sister, but this is not the sister that he'd been referring to. Could he be ashamed of her?"

"We also know that Calum and Kelsey have been dating for a while, or at least been 'hanging out' for a while, but this scandal is something that we wouldn't have expected." The irritating news lady says, trying to make the story seem more interesting by emphasizing practically every fucking syllable. 

"We are the first to cover this story, so we don't have too much information straight from the sources, but we have the video. We are not at liberty to show this video, as it is too graphic, but we can say for a fact that it was taken from the security cameras that were installed on the band's tour bus. The question we are asking is 'did someone hack into the security system or was it an inside job?'"

I turn off the tv and throw the remote at the screen. My blood had been boiling since I first heard that dumbass lady talk about our lives like it was such a big deal. So what? We fucked! We're dating! And yes, I am the sister of his bandmate! WHO GIVES A SHIT? Why is it such a big fucking deal?

After asking all the questions to myself, I realize that there's a tear burning down my face. I throw my face into a pillow and sob. 

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I wake up to someone whispering, "Shh! She's sleeping!"

I look down and realize that I'm hugging the pillow and I look around and see that I'm in the dressing room. Suddenly it all comes back to me. Everything that happened while the boys were on stage. I stay laying down with my eyes open. I feel the couch slightly dip and I look up again. Michael is sitting there. He looks at my face and gasps.

"Kelsey, are you okay?"

"Yeah" I barely muster out.

"You sure about that?"

"No" I admit, sitting up to hug him. He hugs me back, supporting me as I take short breaths to try to keep myself from crying.

Eventually I start breathing more normally and Michael breaks the silence. "What happened?"

"I watched the fucking news."

"The dumbasses talking about you and Calum?"

I nod my head.

"Fuck... Why?"

"I don't know. I guess I just wanted to see what they had to say. But they, they didn't just talk about me and Calum. They talked about how Ash hid me. They think he's ashamed of me."

"Ash could never be ashamed of you and you know that."

"But why else would he?"

"Because he doesn't want people to know about my... my... condition. Why would he? He's ashamed of it" I declare.

"NO!" This time Michael yells at me. He's never yelled at me before. I sit back, startled. He continues, "NO! ASHTON IS NOT ASHAMED OF YOU AND HE NEVER COULD BE! NO ONE EVER COULD BE ASHAMED OF YOU! NOT BECAUSE OF YOU, NOT BECAUSE OF ANYTHING YOU DO, NOT BECAUSE OF SOME STUPID DISEASE! HE ISN'T ASHAMED OF YOU, NONE OF US ARE!"

I sit back, speechless. I don't know what to say. I suddenly become weak and hug Michael, tighter than I ever have before. I erupt into a chorus of "thank you"s and Michael rubs my back, trying to make me calm down.

"C'mon, let's go see the boys." He says, grabbing my hand and dragging me to the back door and leading me to the tour bus.

"Aww there she is! Sleepyhead!" I hear Luke say. 

Just then, Calum's head shoots up out of nowhere and he hugs me, lifting me off my feet. I smile for the first time in a long time. He sets me down and I walk over to the couch where Ashton is sitting. I look up at the tv and see that he's watching the same news anchors that I'd been watching. They were still talking about the whole fucking situation. I sit down next to Ashton and look at his face. There are tears streaming down his face. After a few second, he looks at me and pulls me into the tightest hug ever.

"I could never be ashamed of you." He whispers.

"I know." I whisper back. 

He sniffs in and brings his hand up, probably to wipe the tears off his face. He lets me go and sits back, turning to face me. He looks like he's about to start a lecture.

"Kelsey, you know I did it to protect you..." He starts, but I cut him off.

"I know, Ash. I know. You don't need to tell me. I know why." I say staring him straight in the eyes. "Also, I need to tell you something."

"What?" He looks scared, as if what I could say next could kill him.

"I don't think I can handle this life." He tries to cut me off. "No, I need to get this out. Please." He nods his head. "I can't handle being under the constant pressure to do everything perfectly and be constantly watched. I can't handle the pressure. It's getting to be way too much and I don't think I can do it." I take a breath.

Ashton sees that I've gotten everything out that I wanted to say. "But, what about Cal?"

I gulp. I had just made this decision a few seconds previous and I guess I hadn't thought all the way through it. I come up with an answer on the spot. "I'll be gone in five months. It won't be a big deal if I leave early. To anyone."

At the end of my answer, Ashton's eyes start to swell up again and a tear falls down. He starts to shake his head. "I can't stand to lose you. Ever. It doesn't matter when. You know I'm you're big brother and I love you. I don't want you to leave ever, let alone five months from now. I won't let you leave me now. If you do, I'll follow you. I'll stay by your side until the bitter end because I never want you to leave. Do you understand that?"

I try to process everything that he said. I feel another tear coming out of my eye. I grab his hands and just stare at them. I can't look him in the eye after what he just said. Here I am, sitting here, thinking about myself, and I never realized how much other people will hurt when I'm gone. I'm not the only one who's losing here. There's people here who will miss me when I'm gone and me purposely leaving early might kill them too.

I shake my head. "I won't leave you." I whipser, hugging him tightly.