The Broken Ones (Cake FanFiction)

Chapter 5

*Calum's POV*

Luke Hemmings. The Luke Hemmings is my English partner.

How?

I've never made much contact with him, not that I make much contact with anyone. But, these last two days he sits by me, I find him crying in the bathroom, and he becomes my partner.

The moment he comes over to my desk I lay down the ground rule I have for all my partners. We aren't going to be friends. I feel as though I have to emphisize this to Luke, him being lonely and emotional.

The reason I do this is because I don't want to let anyone into my life. Michael and Ashton had known me years upon years before the accident so they are the only ones who know. I'm suprised they haven't outted me on that yet. That's all I need, to be labled as the rejected, orphaned Calum. I'm secretly afraid that if I make a new friend, I'll just end up ruining their lives like I did to my family.

I ask Luke what the plan is as the teacher passes out the books.

"Um, I dunno," Luke mumbles and looks down.

I sigh heavily. This is going to be frustrating. The teacher places two books on our desk and I pick one up, so does Luke. I read the title out loud.

"Backlash?" It comes out as more of a question.

"Never heard of it," Luke says to me and flips through the pages.

"Looks like a girl's book for Jesus's sake," I snarl.

Luke just shrugs at me.

The teacher claps her hands together to get our attention. "Class, everyone has been given different books. No two groups have the same book. I imagine this will make it more challenging and less likely for cheating," she says.

A couple idiots in our row groan. The rest of the class stays pretty silent.

"Get going," she says and turns away to her desk.

"You wanna read the back?" I ask Luke and he just nods in response.

"He says: You're an awful person. He says: What makes you think I'd ever ask you out? He says: The world would be a better place without you in it," Luke reads and then bites his bottom lip.

"Wow, that sound like such an uplifting book," I say sarcastically.

"T-there's more," he stutters.

Luke reads the first paragraph on the back. It sounds like your everyday girl drama: a girl named Lara thought a boy named Christian liked her, but he doesn't and hurts her feelings online. That is until Luke tells me to read aloud the next paragraph.

"Fine," I sigh and flip over the book. "It's been a long time since Lara's felt this bad, this depressed, this ugly," I read. Suddenly, I feel sympothy for this Lara chick. I feel that way everyday.

I read the last sentence, "She's worked really hard to become pretty and happy- and make new friends after what happened in middle school."

Luke reads the next paragraph, something about a friend named Bree, but I don't listen. I'm too busy thinking about how much Lara is like me; I'm depressed and ugly, too.

"Calum?" Luke says, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I ask.

"Your turn," he says and smiles small.

I roll my eyes in return. All that kid does is smile.

"But no one realized just how far Christian's harsh comments would push Lara. Not even Bree," I read. I have an idea where this was going already.