difficult | calum hood

09

"Are you okay?" 

There's a knock at my bedroom door and I sigh, pulling myself to my feet and shuffling towards it. It was now well past midnight and I hadn't gone back down stairs like I had previously said I would. There was something bothering me, maybe it was that I was afraid of not having a best friend, or maybe the fact that I was even thinking about this scared me. 

"Zoe?" 

It was Calum. 

"Zoe, I'm sorry if something happened with Hollie." He says quietly as I slowly open the door to find him standing there wearing nothing but his boxers. 

I inhale quickly, struggling to keep my eyes on his face. 

"I was just gonna head to bed, but I wanted to check on you... I feel guilty." He whispers, leaning against my door frame and looking me in the eye. 

I let my eyes explore his, captivated and frozen in my feet by the sheer beauty of them. I had been told on multiple occasions that someone's eyes would tell you more than their mouth ever would, and as I stare into Calum's, I see someone who isn't just here because he feels guilty, he's here because he cares. 

But then again, maybe that's my mind playing tricks on me because that's what I want to be real. 

He slowly blinks, and for a brief second our eye contact is broken but he soon returns it and offers me a small smile. "You know, that hug is still up for grabs," he shrugs, a smirk playing on his soft lips. 

I exhale and throw my arms around him, hiding my face in one of his muscular shoulders. His hands automatically make their way around my waist, giving me a gentle squeeze and pulling me closer into his body.

He rests his chin on my shoulder and I feel his hair brush against my ear. It sends goosebumps down my arms, and makes me smile into him. 

His skin his soft and smells clean, like he was just out of the shower. Somehow, one of his hands find mine and he takes it, locking our fingers together and squeezing my small hand in his larger one. My forehead is rested against the base of his neck, his pressed to the top of my head. 

"You should get some sleep," he says softly, loosening his other hand from around my waist but not removing it completely. As his fingers hover above my skin gently, I can feel my skin tingling at his light touch. 

"Stay," I whisper, squeezing the hand that is held in mine. He looks into my eyes, slowly nodding and grinning sheepishly. 

I lead him over to my bed and sit down. He awkwardly sits beside me and I attack him in another hug, throwing my arms around his neck this time. 

"Thank you." I whisper, giving him a soft squeeze and pulling away. He shakes his head and gingerly presses a kiss to my forehead, like a brother would do to a sister. 

However, his kiss makes my head burn and I'm sure I'm as red as I feel. I feel electrical, like something magical, something powered up, something sparkling. 

I'm also tired. Very tired. 

Calum pulls me under the covers, his arm around my back and snuggles into my side. Grinning, I curl up beside him and close my eyes, my eyelashes brushing against his chest as I do so. 

"Goodnight Zoe." He whispers through the darkness, dragging his fingers around in circles on my back. 

"Goodnight Calum." I mumble, very slowly drifting to sleep in his arms. 

The next morning I wake up sweating, and so does the muscular boy in bed beside me. Turns out, cuddling under a blanket in the baking Australian heat isn't the best idea. 

However, to me nothing could ever be better. 

"Morning," he whispers, moving his arm out from underneath me. "You sleep well?" He slowly sits up and looks down at me. 

I want to tell him it's the best I've slept in years, I want to tell him I've never slept as peacefully as that, I want to to tell him I had sweet dreams, I want to tell him it was perfect. 

"Yeah, you?" I ask in reply, sitting up as well and rubbing my eyes slowly. He nods and smiles widely at me, his cheeks reddening as he does so. "What time is it?" 

"It's only 6. I should probably sneak back to my room before Ashton sees us and gets the wrong idea," Calum says quietly. I nod to his words and beam at him, just as he slips out of my bed and heads towards the door. "See you later Zo," he adds, winking at me and turning away. 

Author: that was short but hopefully cute 

Also, I wrote this in school and almost got caught by my teacher well done me yay

Thanks if you read it x