Calum Hood Imagines

Two Worlds

A/N: A Prince!Calum AU

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"C'mon, Y/N! Keep up!" Calum called from ahead of you as you chased him through the trees.
You huffed. "I know you're fit and all, but that doesn't mean that I am!"
You heard his infectious laugh echo throughout the woods and you couldn't help but smile even though you were desperately trying to catch your breath.
You finally reached where he was waiting for you expectedly and leaned forward, resting your hands on your thighs as you caught your breath.
"Oh, thank Jesus," you mumbled appreciatively.
"You weren't even running for that long," Calum pointed out with a laugh.
"Thank you for pointing out just how out of shape I am, Calum. I can always count on you to tell me," you muttered sarcastically.
"What are bestfriends for if not to be blatantly honest with each other?"
You laughed and shoved him with your shoulder. "Oh, fuck off."
You two wondered around for a bit more before coming to your spot.
Calum helped you onto the low hanging branch before he got on himself. He leaned with his back against the trunk of the tree while you sat straddling the branch facing him.
You looked around for a brief moment before looking back at Calum who had his eyes closed and looked incredibly at peace. You hadn't seen him with that look as often lately.
You hated to be the one to break it.
"Cal..." You started off.
He opened one eye to show you that he was listening.
You sighed. "We need to talk about this."
He sighed as well before sitting up. "I don't want to."
"But Cal, your coronation is tomorrow. You're about to become king."
"Not by choice. You know that I don't want to be king."
"I know, but everyone is counting on you. Especially your parents."
"But by me becoming King, that means I'll be seeing you less and less," he pointed out.
You sighed sadly. "I know. I'll miss you like crazy, but you have a duty to these people, Calum."
He rolled his eyes and jumped off the branch. You followed suit and he turned to face you. "What if I don't want all this pressure on me? I didn't ask to be born royal. I didn't ask to become a king at only twenty and yet here I am, my last day being a prince before everything that I did for fun has to come to an end."
Now it was your turn to roll your eyes. "Oh, quit being so dramatic. I know you and I'm positive that your first week will end up with you being scolded for trying to make your job fun."
He gave you a smirk. "I can't deny that because we both know that that's VERY true."
The two of you stood there, reminiscing all of the fun times you shared together, starting from way back when Calum had seen you walking by with your mother on the streets in the marketplace at the age of ten while he had gone with his father to sort out some business at the age of eleven. Calum had wondered away from his father to talk to you and ended up offering you a small, little, yellow flower he pulled out of the grass by your feet.
He was such a charmer even at the age of eleven.
Of course, his father and your mother had been shocked to see the two of you together, but they never stopped you two from being friends.
Now, nine years later, Calum was to take his father's place as he was retiring due to illness.
"Hey," you spoke softly and stepped towards him to cup one side of his face into the palm of your hand, "you'll be a great king."
He sighed as he placed his hand on top of yours. "I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about you."
"Why?" You couldn't help but ask.
"What will you do now?"
You knew what he was referring to. Your life practically revolved around Calum when he wasn't attending to any of his royal duties - which was more often than not.
"I'm sure I'll find something to pass the time," you tell him lightly.
He still gave you a look of uneasiness.
"I'll be fine, Cal," you reassured him. "I'm a lot stronger than you think."
He finally gave a slow nod of his head. "Alright." He looked out into the distance. "We should probably head back now. It's starting to get dark and I forgot my flashlight."
The two of you made your way back through the woods towards the castle with some playful banter.

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"I now present to you, King Calum Thomas Hood!" The man yelled to the Kingdom as he placed the crown on Calum's head.
You watched with a proud expression on your face as your bestfriend stepped up on the podium to be seen by the entire crowd.
His eyes searched the crowd before finding yours off to the side and he smiled at you. You let out a little laugh and smile before cupping your hands around your mouth to let out a scream. That only made him smile wider.