"What's gotten into you, Rachel? I thought we were cool..." Calums thick eyebrows pulled together, almost meeting in the centre of his forehead.
"According to you, we aren't." I sassed.
"What do you mean?"
I chuffed. "You told Mikey we didn't get along, what was up with that? I thought we got along perfectly the other day."
Calum drummed his thumbs on his lap, tapping them along to the beat of the music.
"We did, and that was awesome. I think you and I are very alike." He nibbled on the inside of his cheek, from what I could see.
"Then why lie to Mikey and say that we don't like each other?" What a pointless lie he told.
"Look, Mike knows that I don't normally mesh with people well, and the fact that we did might have surprised him. He would have jumped to conclusions and probably told my girlfriend that I was cheating on her. That's the kind of guy that Michael is, y'know?"
I processed his words, trying to find a sort of satisfaction with his lie, but then his words caught me by surprise.
"Wait, girlfriend? What girlfriend?" I questioned with urgency, feeling desperate but not wanting to sound desperate.
He chuckled smugly, which tore my butterflies into pieces.
"Her name's Mia. We've been dating for a month." He addressed calmly.
Mia. Of course her name is Mia. It's always a fucking Mia.
"And you didn't tell me because...?"
"I didn't think it was a big deal!" Calum raised his hands above his head in surrender.
I gave him the death stare for a few short moments, developing an inner anger towards the tool beside me, and then letting it go because this wasn't me.
Hi, my name's Rachel. I'm twenty years old. I hate broccoli. And I love being the independent person that I am.
This dumb Calum kid had made me forget that I loved being alone. I loved being alone, because I never let myself feel alone. There was a difference, and I never got them confused.
"Well, I hope you guys really like each other." I regret the words as soon as they emitted from my mouth. That was such a motherly thing to say. Only wrinkly, jealous women say that shit.
"Um, we do. Mia's cool. You should meet her sometime." At that point, it was time for me to leave. I didn't come to this amazing party to talk about someone else's relationship.
"Sure, maybe." I spoke, grinding my teeth together as I stood up and shyly made my way back over to Ashton who was conversing with Chelsea.
The both of them immediately stopped chatting at my arrival, something seeming suspicious. They obviously didn't want me to hear what was being said, and I didn't give a second-thought to that.
"Hey, Rach, what do you say to a bit of a movie night tomorrow with me and the lads?" Ashton asked, Chelsea waiting eagerly for my reply.
"Um, what lads?"
"Oh y'know, just the regulars." I had no idea who he was referring to.
"Um, sure. Only if I get to pick the movie."
