Be Your Everything

f o u r t e e n

Author's Note: For those of you who don't know who Manny MUA is, I encourage you to watch the YouTube video attached above to better understand this chapter. (PS Jaclyn, who Elle is based on, is also in the video.)

If I'm Lucky: s e v e n
Someone Like You: Salute

I wake up to the sound of talking outside of my door, but Calum's embrace is too warm and comforting to be bothered by the noise. I nuzzle against his chest and listen to his heartbeat under his soft, tan skin. Even just the sound of his breathing is enough to lull me back to sleep, and I find myself giving in.

"Bitch, you are the heaviest sleeper I have ever-" A familiar voice registered in my ears, but I couldn't tell if I was imagining it or...

"Girl..." This time, I opened my eyes a tiny bit to see Manny standing in the doorway with his suitcase in hand. I smiled at the site of my friend, but he was giving me a smug grin that made me all too aware of the situation. I tensed and immediately sat up straight, my sudden movements waking Calum up in the process.

"Manny, how did you get in here?" I sat up in the bed and looked at my friend while he passed some serious judgement on me. I could always count on Manny to be honest about what he was thinking, even if he didn't actually say it aloud.

"You left the door unlocked." Manny eyed me suspiciously, his finger pointing at Calum. "I thought you were dating the one with the pretty blue eyes."

"It's complicated." I said shortly.

"You don't say." Manny rolled his eyes like a true drama queen and sat at the edge of the bed. "Spill." I looked between Calum and Manny, unsure of what to tell him. It was too late to convince him of my cover story, but I wasn't sure what to say instead. Calum still had yet to say anything, leaving me to come up with something on my own.

"Luke and I aren't really dating." I sighed and tried my best to summarize the situation in the simplest terms possible. "His managers hired me to pretend to be his girlfriend. So I play the part and pose for pictures when we're in public, but Calum is the one I'm actually interested in." Manny mulled over this for a moment, pursing his lips and tapping his ring-covered fingers on his knee.

"I'm just glad you didn't pick the scary looking one over Baby Blue Eyes." Manny laughed before turning to look at Calum. "Hi, I'm Manny, by the way." His smile faded and was replaced by his 'I-mean-business' face. "Break her heart and I'll kick your ass." Calum looked at him in surprise, but his breathtaking smile reappeared quickly.

"I'm Calum." He nodded to Manny. I looked at Manny's suitcase parked next to him and remembered why I was taken off-guard by his presence. We weren't supposed to meet up to go to the airport until 9.

"Manny, why are you here?" I was always happy to see him, and wasn't surprised to find him busting down the door of my hotel room, but I didn't understand why he was currently sitting on my bed.

"Did you forget that I was staying with you this week and that we're flying back to LA together?"

"No, but why are you in my hotel room?" My tone was getting sassier by the second with Manny here.

"You're usually up by now. I texted you to see if you wanted to get brunch, and when you didn't answer, I came to your hotel to make sure you didn't die or something." He said this as if it was perfectly rational to barge into someone's hotel room because they didn't confirm brunch plans.

"I had a long day yesterday, I just decided to sleep in a little." I shrugged, hoping he would take my answer for what it was.