"Grace, what are you doing here?"
"Hi, Mrs. Hemmings," I say quietly, "Is Luke home?"
"Oh, uh," she looks over her shoulder, back into her house, "I don't think he is- but um-"
She looks back over her shoulder, but I can tell she's lying. He's here.
"Mom, who are you-"
Luke appears behind her, his face growing pale when he sees me.
"Damn it, Luke," she sighs, "I was trying to give you an out."
If the situation were different, I would of laughed, but I'm the reason he needs in out.
"Can you give us a second," Luke says, putting a hand on his mother's shoulder. She nods, before he walks out the front door, causing me to back up and closing the front door behind him.
He stands there for a second, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, as he looks at me with watchful eyes.
"How are you?" I ask quietly, and he shakes his head, letting out a small laugh at the irony.
"Peachy," he says sarcastically.
I sigh, "Luke, we need to talk."
"So are you and Michael together?" He asked, walking over to one of the benches on the porch, before looking up at me.
I sigh, examining his bearded chin, shaking my head and walking over, "No, Luke."
I sit down next to her, putting my hand on his knee, but he flinched away.
I dip my head low, before sighing, "I care about you, Luke."
"I'm not some ruler of all that is evil, I'm not the devil," I shake my head, "You broke up with me because she said I'm in love with Michael. That was your call, not mine."
"Do you?" he looks over at me, I'm not going to lie, I've missed those blue eyes, "Do you love him?"
"Honestly?" I ask, looking down, "I think I may. But that doesn't mean I'm going to hop onto the next guy without a blink of an eye. Did you really think that I would?"
His eyes scan my face, before he looks down and sighs deeply. He does.
"Luke," I say, my teeth clenched, "You are special to me. What we had was not fake. I wasn't using you. What we had was real, its just-"
"It's just not me," he says quietly, "We're not meant to be."
"We're not meant to be," I repeat quietly.
"Calum is leaving tomorrow," he whispers, "He's going to Iraq tomorrow."
I close my eyes, leaning my head back on the bench were sitting at, "What is happening to us?"
*
"Cat," I sigh, looking over to her in the passenger seat. She continues to stare out the window, Calum's dog tags being held tightly in her hand.
She looks over to me, a tear falling down her cheek, "I'm loosing my best friend today."
I go to argue, but I keep my mouth shut.
She opens the car door, before stepping out.
The walk inside the airport is silent, but when we get in there, we immediately see Luke and Ashton standing there talking.
I hear Cat sigh, before I hear my name from behind me. When I turn I see Michael walking up to us, his eyes trained on me before they flicker to the rest of the gang, "Hey."
"Hi," I sigh, "I feel like I'm going to a funeral."
"Me too," he says, before his eyes stay trained over my shoulder.
I look over and see Luke staring at us, causing me to look down. We walk over to the group, shaking my head at how awkward this is. It shouldn't be awkward.
"Why so gloomy?"
We all divert our attention to see Calum standing there, the hair that had grown back over the months freshly shaven. His military uniform covering his broad, upright shoulders.
"You're an ass, you know that?" Cat laughs lightly.
"I know, Kitten," he laughs, and I see a tear fall from her eye but she diverts her attention some place else before someone else can.
"Well, bro," Michael sighs, being the first one to speak up, "Good luck."
He walks up to Calum, pulling him into a tight hug.
My eyes begin to water and Michael holds onto him, Calum's eyes closed as Michael hits his back numerous times.
When they pull away, Michael pats the side of his arm before Calum moves onto Luke.
"You better not die," Luke says, now bringing him into a hug, "That would really suck."
"You're right," Calum laughs lightly, before pulling away from Luke, "Good luck at Yale, man. Make the last semester count."
Luke smiles at him, before he moves onto Ashton.
Ashton has a small smile on his face, shaking his head lightly, "Fuck, mate, I'm supposed to hate you. Why am I getting emotional?"
Calum laughs before bringing Ashton into a very tight embrace. They stay there for a few and I feel myself starting to cry. These guys have been through so much shit, and they still care for each other.
"Thank you," I hear Ashton mumble, and I know he means it for numerous reasons, one most likely being there for Cat when she needed someone.
They pull away and Ashton pushes his head down, causing them both to laugh.
Calum turns and his eyes focus on me. I shake my head, opening my arms, "Come here, you narcissistic asshole."
He grins at me before pulling me into a tight hug. My arms wrap around his neck, "You don't get to get away from us that easily," I say quietly, "You will come home. We need you."
"I know," he says quietly, "I'll be home, I promise."
I nod, and he pulls back slightly, leaving a small kiss on the top of my head before pulling back completely.
He looks over at Cat, who is a blubbering mess, to put it nicely.
"Aw Kitten," he coos, and she puts up her pointer finger, pointing it towards him, "Shut up, Calum."
He keeps the goofy smile on his face, opening his arms up.
Cat walks straight into his arms, wrapping them tightly around his neck. His envelope her body into a bone crushing hug, his face digging into her neck.
"Shit, Kitten," he mumbles, "I'm going to miss you."
"If you die, Cal," she breaks down and starts to sob, "I swear to God, if you-"
"Hey," he says, pulling away from her slightly, cupping her face with one hand and wiping the tears with his thumbs, "I am not going to die, okay?"
I put my head down, tears falling from my own eyes. Shit, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be.
I feel a hand on my back and I look up quickly to see Michael standing next to me, staring at Calum and Cat.
I feel his hand tighten around my waist and look away from him. His face showing no sign that he's even touching me, even though his hand is rubbing small comforting circles on my back.
*
calum :(
look it's me and calums child
