Chapter 6

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Joy was standing in the kitchen when Calum got home from school, with a unreadable look on her face . She motioned for him to take a seat, which he did, confused at what on earth he had done now.

"Calum, I have some news." Joy said gently, reaching out for her son's shoulder. Calum furrowed his eyebrows, even more confused than he was before. "Karen and her boyfriend Sam are going on holiday next week and they need someone to look after Michael.."

"You didn't? Please say you didn't." Calum pleaded, glancing up at his mother. Joy nodded, smiling apologetically.

"Mum..you know I hate him. How could you?" He groaned, throwing his head back against the wall.

"I was doing it as a favour to Karen, I'm sorry Calum."

"Where is he going to sleep, we don't have to spare ro...no! No way." Calum exclaimed, spotting the look on his mother's face. "I am not sharing a room with him. He is not allowed to step a foot inside my room!"

"Calum. You are sharing your room with his and that's final. He has nowhere else to go." Joy said sternly, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"He could sleep on the sofa." Calum grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

"I'm not making a guest sleep on the sofa. If you don't want to share with Michael, you can sleep on the sofa and he'll have your bed." Joy stated, with a finality in her voice that Calum couldn't argue with. He pushed himself out of the chair and stormed upstairs, trying to stay calm. Michael Clifford was going to he staying in his house, in his room, and their was nothing Calum could do about it. It wasn't fair. Michael probably would have happily slept on the sofa, he was very polite and well mannered around Calum's mother, he wouldn't have protested. But no, he had to sleep in Calum's room.

Was he going to sleep on the floor? Calum had a double bed, but he was not up for sharing that with Michael, never in a million years and his mum couldn't force him. Calum grabbed his phone off of his bedside table and called the Ashton, desperate for him to pick up.

"He wasn't lying." Calum said as soon as Ashton picked up. He leaned against his bedroom wall, sitting on his bed, playing with his shirt angrily.

"What?" Ashton confused voice replied. "What are you talking about?"

"Michael wasn't lying. I do have a guest next week, and guess who it is." Calum growled.

"It isn't? No. Joy wouldn't make you live with Michael for a week.."

"Apparently she would, and not only that, I have to share a fucking room with him!"

"What about Mali's old room?"

"That's still Mali's room. We made an agreement with her that we wouldn't move any of the stuff in case she wanted to come home to visit." Calum muttered darkly.

"The sofa?"

"I can't make a guest sleep on the sofa," Calum said, impersonating his mother scarily well. "If you don't want to share a room with Michael, you can sleep on the sofa."

"Man, I feel sorry for you," Ashton said, "but maybe you two will get to know each other and actually become friends."

Calum snorted, banging his head off the wall. Ashton giggled at the other end of the phone as Calum started swearing under his breath.

"You alright mate?"

"No, I just smacked my head off my wall," Calum groaned, holding onto the top of his head. "Ow."

"Is the idea of you and Michael being friends really that ridiculous?" Ashton asked, causing Calum to completely forget about the pain he was feeling.

"Yes! Me and Michael could never be friends. He is far too obnoxious and annoying, he lives to wind me up and quite frankly, I don't see why people like him."

"Well for one he's funny, two he's fun to be around, three he's quite nice once you get to know him, and four, he is attractive," Ashton said in a bored voice, having listened to the same rant hundreds of times. Calum snorted loudly, making sure he didn't hit his head off the wall again.

"Come on Calum, even you can't deny that Michael is attractive. "

"Michael isn't attractive," Calum smirked, lying back on his bed with his phone pressed to his ear.

"Don't get smart with me Calum, and stop smirking." Ashton scolded. "What about Michael is unattractive?"

"His personality." Calum replied.

"Is that it?" Ashton asked.

"His hair's too bright...he has a stupid..smirk, erm.. I have nothing." Calum muttered reluctantly. "But that doesn't mean I like him."

"I know, you've made that clear enough." Ashton chuckled. "Look Calum, I'm sorry you have to spend a week with him, but maybe it'll be a good thing. It would be so much easier on me and Luke if you two just got along, same goes for Joy and Karen. At least try to be nice."

"Only if he's nice back," Calum muttered. Ashton sighed loudly, and Calum could picture him gripping his hair on the other end of the phone.

"CALUM, DINNERS READY!" Joy screamed upstairs.

"I gotta go Ash, see you tomorrow."
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Joy didn't blame Calum for being mad at her. Calum and Michael had hated each other since they met when they were 12 years old, just after Joy and her family had moved into Sydney. She wasn't sure why the boys hated each other, no one was. Calum talked about how obnoxious and annoying Michael was, and she knew about all the fights that had had, but she didn't know why the fights had started. Karen had told her that Michael was constantly winding up her son, but she knew that Calum was guilty of the same thing. All of it didn't make sense to her,they were both extremely nice boys around everybody else, so she stayed out of it, only asking for them to be civil to each other when they did have to be around each other out of school, which never worked.

Calum wandered downstairs into the kitchen, refusing to make eye contact with his mother as he sat down at the table and started eating. Joy sighed, placing her fork down on her plate.

"Calum.."

Calum refused to answer, concentrating on his plate as if he had never seen spaghetti before in his life.

"Calum, don't ignore me," she pleaded. "I'm sorry, but Michael can't stay on his own, not for a week at least. Can you please just put up with him for a week?"

"No."

"Calum, don't be like that."

"Why not? I have to put up with him all week this week at school in detention and then I come home and find out he's going to be living in my house and sleeping in my room next week too," Calum said angrily, dropping his fork in his plate. "I get that he can't be left in his own, and that you were doing it as a favour for Karen, but you could have told me before now."

"I only agreed to it yesterday," Joy replied. "You're being overdramatic Cal. It is not the end of the world."

"Yes it is."

"Oh for gods sake Calum, grow up. You are 17 years old, yet your acting like a 5 year old. If you don't like him, fair enough, but the dramatics aren't going to get you out of this so cut it out.  I don't want any of this next week whilst he is here, do you hear me?" Joy said sternly. "You will be nice to him, you will share a room, without complaining and you will keep a civil tongue. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am." Calum replied sulkily, picking up his fork and stuffing his mouth full of spaghetti.  Joy rolled her eyes at her son's behaviour and tucked into her own meal, which was a lot quieter than usual, as Calum was avoiding any attempt his mother made at conversation.

"Drama Queen," she muttered, after Calum finished his tea and stormed upstairs without a backwards glance.

AN- if this is shitty, I'm sorry. The story will pick up in the next few chapters, don't worry.

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