difficult | calum hood

12

Zoe 

I grab my white lace cover up and slip it on on top of my bikini, taking a burger from Luke and sitting down on the edge of the pool, Mikey sitting beside me. 

"Hey," I say, taking a bite from my food and wiggling my toes in the water. Michael nods at me and grins, chewing his own meal. 

Calum sits down on the other side of me, causing me to immediately blush. His hair is soaked and stuck to his forehead, water running down his cheeks and dripping off his jaw. "Hi," he smirks, taking a bite of his burger and chewing it. 

As creepy as it is, I watch his jaw as he chews, the way it moves is really something special, and when it clenches for him to swallow. 

Calum Thomas Hood, aka art. 

He turns to face me, immediately breaking into a grin and tilting his head to one side. "Hiya Zoe," he giggles, reaching out and poking my cheek. "Hiya," he giggles again and places his burger on the ground beside him - on a napkin. 

"Hey," I giggle back, poking his cheek like he did to mine. "Hey," I poke him once again and blush at how adorable he is. 

Puffing up his cheeks like a pufferfish, he leans foreward and boops my nose. I throw my head back and laugh extremely loudly, flicking my wet hair at Mikey. 

"Hey cutie," I tease, using my hands to squish Calum's cheeks so his mouth pops open and makes a weird buzzing noise. 

He suddenly grins and leans really close to me, and I'm happy to see Ashton run inside for something. "You called me cute again." Calum says happily, taking one of my hands and resting his forehead on mine. 

I exhale slowly, this whole situation making me uncomfortable and yet, excited. How does he have the confidence to this in front of everyone else?

After giving his hand a gentle squeeze, I let my eyes wander across the garden and I'm surprised but pleased when I see no one is paying attention to me and Calum, and Ashton is still inside our house. 

My eyes make their way back to Calum and they connect with his, we both part our lips, inching ourselves a tiny bit closer to each other. 

As a kid, did you ever do that thing where you hover your hands above your friend's and you can feel sparks run between your hands? I don't know the science behind it, but it used to feel magical. 

That's how I feel with Calum right now, except on our lips and a million times stronger. It's like his lips want to be kissed by mine, or maybe the other way round. 

"Cal, can you come help - oh sorry!" Luke distracts us, walking over to me and Calum. When he sees us so close to each other he trips and almost pushes Michael into the pool, stumbling forward a bit. 

Calum sighs and moves away from me, standing to his feet to help Luke. 

We were so close to kissing. Holy crap. 

Not only have I wanted that for a good 6 years, but I don't even feel guilty. Not one bit. 

I watch with wide eyes as Calum makes his way to Luke and I wonder what he's thinking. Is he thinking about what just happened? Is he thinking about me? Does he regret it? Does he feel guilty? 

As he looks back over to me and flashes me a smile, I take it as a no for the last two. 

However, Ashton coming back into the garden and pushing me into the pool is just a reminder that me and Calum can't be together. 

Shivering, I wrap the towel tighter around my body and sit down next to Calum, craving his attention. It's getting late, mum has sent Harry to bed but I know very well that he's not asleep, Lauren went up to her room, insisting that she gets to spend more time with Ashton tomorrow. Mali is still here, and I think Calum is really enjoying it. 

I like seeing him so happy. 

From where we're sitting now, the pool water is starting to make me cold so I'm wrapped tightly in a towel, desperate for a hug from someone. 

"Aw hey, are you cold?" Calum teases, placing his large hands on my shoulders and shaking me slightly. I nod quickly and lean forward into his touch, he pulls me into a hug and I relax, melting into his arms. He leans the side of his face on my shoulder and I grin, wrapping my arms tightly around him. 

***

Later that night, I'm just about to get into bed when there's a knock at my door. I open it and immediately smile when I see Calum standing there, wearing grey boxers and a black t-shirt. "Hey," I sigh contently.  He nods and giggles, bouncing up at down slightly. 

"Hey," he says, looking into my eyes. "So... We almost kissed." 

Wow, Calum, way to state the obvious. 

"Yeah, we did." I reply, and as I look into his eyes it's like we make pyschic decision. We both suddenly get really sad and turn away, going separate ways. 

We both know there's no future here. 

Author : I love Calum and I updated three times today what