December

8

After munching on a breakfast bar, I threw my rubbish in the bin and noticed Chelsea walking into the kitchen, looking exhausted with her bed-head and dark under eye circles.

"God, Rach, you are so lucky Michael wasn't sleeping in your room last night. His snoring is the next level kind of horrendous. He was basically screaming in his sleep, repeatedly." My best friend growled, getting some cereal out of the cabinet.

"Are you kidding me? You don't even wanna know how my night went." I grumbled, sitting on top of the kitchen counter, criss-cross on the marble.

"Oooh, I so do." She giggled, grabbing a spoon and the milk out of the fridge, and then coming to sit with me on the counter.

"Well, last night was okay. We were just talking about tattoos for the most part. He asked if I had any, and I obviously said no because I wasn't going to explain the story to someone I hardly know. And then, when I woke up this morning, turns out Calum slept in my bed (I don't even remember letting him get in with me). So I try to get him out of my bed; which he refuses to do. And then, he notices my freaking tattoo and starts asking all kinds of questions about it!" I explained the whole story, anger in my system.

"Did you explain what the tattoo means, or nah?"

"No, luckily I stopped myself from spilling all the details."

"Well, the story behind it isn't that bad, I mean yeah you were dumb and in love, but it's a part of your past and I'm sure everyone (especially Calum) would accept that." She poured the milk into her bowl of cereal.

"Yeah but that's the thing, I'm not comfortable with sharing my past with other people. I-It's not that I have trust issues, it's just that I don't trust myself. I'm not up for getting my heart broken, again."

"I know, Rach. But there's going to come a time where you're going to have to move on, stop covering that damned tattoo, and find someone you really like. It might take some time, but it'll be worth it." She finished her cereal, wrapping her arms around me and giving me a side-hug.

"Thank you, Chels. You're amazing." I kissed her forehead, thankful that she could always knock some sense into me.

"No problem, babe. You better go get dressed if you're driving Calum to the garage." She advised.

"Yeah, you're right. Talk later." I hopped off the kitchen counter, walking back to my room.

Opening the door, I spotted Calum pulling his t-shirt from last night over his upper body. He slipped on his flannel, noticing me at the door.

"Hey, I need to get changed, is it ok if you step out for a minute?" I requested politely, feeling in need of some privacy.

"Hold up, let me slip my shoes on." Calum chuckled, walking over to the floor next to the bed, picking up his black converse and taking a seat on my bed to lace them up.

I watched as he slowly unlaced them, each individual part of the laces loosened just enough.

"Cal, hurry up." I went to my closet, picking out my outfit of the day which consisted of a The Clash tee, light wash jeans and some cute socks. I was picking out my underwear, and Calum was still taking ages to tie his shoes.

"I'm just gonna get changed now. Don't look, and don't open the door, okay?" I stared him in the eye.

Calum nodded obediently. He started looking at the ground at his feet, rather than at me (which I was thankful for as I stripped down to nothing). I slipped on my underwear and bra, followed by my t-shirt.

"Can I look now?" Calum asked, his eyes squeezed shut.

"Uh yeah, I've just gotta get my pants on." I stepped into my jeans, the material hanging at my feet.

Calum looked up at me, my legs bare and on show.

"Nice undies." He commented as I turned around to jump into my pants.

I looked down to my Minnie Mouse underwear and blushed.

"Shut up. Minnie Mouse is a perfect representation of modern feminism and the struggles women face in today's society. Don't sass me in the name of Minnie. She's an inspiration to us all." I bantered, zipping up my jeans.

"You ready to pick up your car?" I asked Calum as I found yesterday's pair of boots on the ground and slipped them on.

"Yep. The real question is - are you ready for an hour long car journey with me?"