Double Or Nothing // C.T.H

12 ~ Thomas

Calum grunts as he helps me up, his  hands griping  under my arms and my feet pressing against  the top of the window.

"Thanks" I mumble, slightly embarrassed that I couldn't lift myself up onto the roof.

"No problem." He says softy, seeming out of it. He drags a hand down his face. "I can't believe I brought you up here."

I decide not to take offense to that and I sigh, looking out at the blackened sky.

"Woah..." I breath out. The stars shimmer against the cold darkness of the night and I honestly don't think I've ever seen all the constellations so clearly. It's phenomenal.

"Huh?" He faces me slightly, his eyebrow raised ever so slightly.

"It's just the sky.." I look back. "Yea, that one of the reasons I like this place so much. It's like my little get- away." He shrugs.

I feel warm inside realizing that he brought me into the one place his had to himself.

"Did you know," I lean back, using my arms to prop myself  up. " That the closest star to earth, besides the sun, is four light years away? Light travels 186,282 miles per second, so that means that it's so far away that it takes light 4 years to travel to earth, meaning that if we look at the star, we are seeing it from 4 years ago. The star could burn out and we wouldn't even know for the next 4 years." I say, facts I've known pouring out of me like water from a sink.

"4 years huh?" He asks, his eyes flicking from each burning star. "Space is huge."

I hum in agreement. Sometimes, I feel as if I annoy people with my knowledge. Most of the time I keep my thoughts to myself, frightened that I will be judged.

I take in a deep breath, only to be met by a small burn in my nose causing me to cough roughly.

"You-" I choke out. "You smoke?" I ask, my eyes watering from my coughing fit.

He just shrugs once again. "Yea I do. Have for a while. It helps ease the stress." I nod, though I don't understand how something so pernicious  could relieve stress. (A/n- Yes I meant pernicious look it up; the adjective not the disease :))

"Right on time." I hear him mutter, glancing the clock on his phone  before looking out to the neighborhood.

I follow his eyes to the figure of a person stretching on top of the roof the house by the light post.

Calum's lips twitch slightly before a small smile formed on his lips, his eyes still on the dancer.

"She does it every night." He states, noticing me watching him.

"I know."

He turns to me suddenly, causing my eyes to widen. "What?" He asks, his eyebrows furrowed as his eyes search my face.

I look at him strangely. "Yeah...she told me. I actually met her when she was up on the roof...which is quite dangerous if you ask me." I say slowly, watching the confusion grow on his face.

"Wait you know her?"

I nod slowly, my face scrunched up. "Of course I do. You do too."