Bitten // 5sos a.u. {DISCONTINUED}

Chapter 1: "Book Date"

L O R I

•EDITED•

I smiled at myself in the mirror. I looked good. Good enough, at least. My legs were covered with tight, spandex-like, leggings. My chest and arms covered by a warm, oversized maroon sweater. I slid on my shoes and grabbed my bookbag. I waved to my mom as I walked out into the cold winter air.

"Lori!" I heard Jordan, my best friend, call. I turned around and smiled as he ran towards me, combing his hair up in an effort to keep it neat. It worked, of course. He always looked perfect.

"Were you seriously gonna walk without me, again?" He asked, slightly out of breath. I frowned. "I don't want to be late to class because of you again." Jordan laughed. "You don't give a shit about class, don't lie. You just wanna see Calum at his locker." I blushed furiously, but of course he wouldn't know because the air already made my face red.

"Not true," I responded quietly. "I just happen to notice him sometimes, but I don't like him that way."

He snorted and we kept walking until we got to the entrance of the school. He opened the door for me and I stepped through, nodding in appreciation. Quickly making my way up the stairs, I headed to my locker. Calum and his group of friends stood by his locker, quietly conversing. I opened my locker and unloaded my bookbag, grabbing the books I would need for the first three periods of the school day. I felt their eyes trained on my every move as I shut my locker.

I turned to face Calum and his crew. "Hi, Calum," I breathed, surprised I decided to talk to him. I had never spoke to him much, only occasionally to ask for homework, or a quick hello. He acknowledged me and his friends stopped talking.

"Hey, Lori. Whatcha reading?" He asked, looking at my books. I pulled one out of the pile. "Oh um, this one is called 'My Halted Love.'" I said quietly. Calum nodded. "I've actually heard of it. It's about love, and it being halted. Right?" I nodded and smiled, looking at the worn-out cover. "This is the 3rd time I've read it." Something made me look back up, and I met Calum's chocolate-brown eyes with blazing intensity. "You know," he said, licking his bottom lip subtly. "We should have a book date." He said casually. I couldn't believe my ears. What does that even mean?

I heard him chuckle. "You probably don't know what that means," he said, practically reading my mind. "It's just when we look for interesting books and read, and of course listen to music if you like. You into Green Day?"

I perked up at the name. "Yeah, they're one of my favorite bands." Calum nodded slowly. "Well, meet me in the library during Study Hall, and we'll chill." He winked and as the bell rang, I waved and walked away.

I slid into my desk for first period, suddenly realizing that Michael was in this class. The red-haired boy smiled at me and I smiled back. He sat in front of me, and we sat in the first two rows. The teacher started speaking and our brief connection faded.

About halfway through the period, a note was passed back to me. I opened it slowly, and it read:

You're seriously going on that book date with Calum?
-Michael

I chuckled and wrote back, "Yeah, you have a problem with it?" I saw Michael roll his eyes and he wrote back "Yes, actually. But we'll talk after class."

I nodded to myself and put the note in my pocket, pulling my sleeves up to my finger tips. I wrote down the last of the notes before the bell rang, collecting my things and hurrying out of the classroom. Michael followed close behind. "Lori, are you serious?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. I nodded. "Calum is really nice, or he seems that way..."

Michael laughed bitterly. "You think whatever you like sweetheart. But take my word for it, Calum Hood is not someone you want to be involved with." I shrugged. "I'll find out for myself, then. Thanks for the warning." I started off to my next class before he could say another word to me.

I sat down quietly as the bell for second period science rang. Luke Hemmings slid in the chair next to me. "Lori, right?" I nodded and his eyes lit up a bit.

"Well, I'm Luke. One of Calum's friends. I couldn't help but notice you earlier and I wanted to say hello." I smiled and he blushed slightly, looking at his lap. "I was wondering, would you.. Ditch Calum for me? I know he invited you to a book date but.. I just really like you and all..."

I laughed quietly. "I'm sorry Luke. Maybe tomorrow?" Luke nodded slowly and we got to work on our next lab assignment.

*****

I'm going back and editing this book a bit. It needs serious work, haha. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!