a lesson in romantics | c.h & l.h

prologue

calum thomas hood was nothing more than your average high school student. he did his homework, was always on time, rarely attended parties and for that he had built up a small reputation of being a "goodie two-shoes." he kept to himself most days, but he had a small group of friends that he hung out with. his best friend, michael clifford, was quite the opposite - he loved parties, was aggressive as hell, and was friends with almost everyone. him and calum had been best friends since they were eleven years old, when michael had told off some petty bullies for hitting calum. calum had always thought their origin story was cliché, but he loved it all the same.
calum was seventeen now and it was a thursday afternoon, school was almost over, and calum was at his locker near the entrance of the building. resting his head against the metal locker door before him was his best friend, pestering him about an upcoming party.
"no, michael, i'm not going to some stupid party with you. we have exams next week, don't you remember?"
"you're such a bore cal, who cares about exams anymore? come on just this once!"
the brunette's voice was stern as he rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"i said no already. just go with ash or charlie or someone."
michael made puppy dog eyes, pouting as he spoke.
"but cal!" he whined, dragging out the vowel in the boy's name. "luke might be there."
calum's ears perked up at the mention of his long-term crush, the school's resident bad boy luke hemmings.
luke was the human embodiment of trouble - he smoked, did drugs, went to every party, had countless lovers and rarely attended school (however if he did, all he would do was cause trouble for everyone). every single person in their school was afraid of him, even the teachers, ever since a kid two years older started mocking him and luke sent that guy straight to the hospital when he was only fourteen years old. calum found luke's rebelliousness deathly attractive. of course, to make things even better, his looks were simply perfection. the boy had flawless porcelain skin covered in the most beautiful tattoos calum had ever laid his eyes upon and dirty blonde hair that always looked immaculate even after the boy got into a fistfight. he was tall, around six foot three, and his muscular frame was evidence of his favorite hobby - boxing. however, the thing calum loved the most about luke were his eyes - those sapphire eyes that he would gladly stare into for hours on end.
"cal? hello? are you even fucking listening? earth to calum!"
the boy snapped out of his trance once he heard the voice of his friend.
"did you hear a word i said?" michael questioned, folding his arms and quirking an eyebrow.
"uh, um, you, uh, no." calum admitted and closed his locker door, only to hear a sigh from his best friend.
"i don't know what you see in him dude, luke is an asshole. he isn't even that hot."
"yes he is! he's fucking gorgeous, mikey. and he seems like an amazing guy under all his 'i don't give a fuck about anything' attitude!" calum protested as they began to walk towards class.
michael scoffed. "he's a dick. all he does is bully people and hurt people and fuck people. do you really think you have a chance with him? he'd just fuck you and leave you. and that's even if he noticed you - you've been practically in love with the prick for four years and he hasn't even spared a fucking glance in your direction."
the words that left michael's mouth stung. calum knew his friend was right, however he still had hopes that one day him and luke would be together; but who was he kidding? luke was way out of his league. thoughts like "he probably doesn't even know i exist" ran through calum's mind as the two boys walked and he fell silent. the hurt must have been evident on calum's face, because michael soon apologized.
"hey, i shouldn't have been so harsh. it's just - i don't want you to get hurt, cal."
calum nodded and smiled sympathetically, hitting michael in the arm playfully. "i know, i know, shithead." michael gasped dramatically and chuckled, waving a goodbye to his best friend as he reached his classroom. calum knew that a relationship with luke was unlikely, but a guy could hope, right?