Pretending (C. H)

Chapter 8: I Believe You

Nia jumped on her bed, a huge smile on her face and feeling butterflies in her stomach. This was the first time this happened since the break up since Brennan. Nia still wasn't sure about her feelings for Calum but if she did end up falling for him, she'd let herself do it. Calum made her feel safe and trusted. She heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!" She said.

Rena walked inside and lay next to her sister. They couldn't fit together in one bed.

"So, what happened to you today?" Rena asked.
"Hate messages, hate accounts. Basically hate in general." She said, her mood started to become bad again.
"What have they been saying?" Rena asked.
"About Julia 'getting kicked out'," Nia said, making air quotes with her fingers when she said 'getting kicked out'. "And us bullying her, they even dragged mom into it." Nia said, sighing.
Rena rolled her eyes and sighed in disgust.
"Mom didn't even do anything! She and Julia were so close, what the hell?" Rena said.
"Yeah, I know." Nia said. "I don't know how to fix this and put an end to this." She said, rubbing her eyes.
"You don't have to. Everyone has haters and has to deal with bullshit stories like that but, in our case, there's always more hate than love. Besides, you don't really have a choice with the stunt." Rena said.
"You sound just like Calum. That's exactly what he told me." Nia said.
"Speaking of Calum, what'd you guys do and why'd you take so long?" Rena asked, smirking at Nia.
"We just talked about things." Nia said, smiling and shaking her head.
"You sure that's all?" Rena asked.
"You're 18 years old, slow down." Nia said.
"And, why didn't you guys go out tonight anymore?" Rena asked.
Nia inhaled a sharp breath again and exhaled. "Calum's mom called and then she told him that something came up and cancelled the dinner today. She probably read all the stuff about us on the internet or something." She said.
"This is worse than I thought." Rena said.
"I guess so." Nia said. "He said he was gonna go explain everything to his mom tomorrow, I didn't want him to but he kept pushing." Nia said.
"You know, Calum's really sweet. Especially to you." Rena said.
Nia smiled, closing her eyes. "Yeah, he really is." She said.
"Well, get your head out of the clouds for a moment and go get ready for bed. You guys were up here for hours." Rena said. "Oh, and I'm really sorry about telling you to play Calum the other day. I didn't really mean it like that or think about what effect it could have on our careers and relationships together." Rena said.
"It's okay." Nia said, hugging her sister.

Nia stood up and gathered a bunch of clothes from her closet and proceeded to the bathroom. She came back and got into her bed, quickly drifting off to sleep.

~~~
Calum woke up early in thr morning the next day. After getting ready, he got into his car and took the long dtive to the hotel his family was staying in in Downtown LA. He knocked on the door of their hotel room, his sister, Mali opened it and welcomed him with a hug.

"Nice to see you again, Cal! How've ya been?" She asked, Calum entered and sat down on the king sized bed.
"Great. You?" He asked.
"Fine. Mum and dad are out sightseeing. They'll be back in a bit." She said.
"Why didn't you go?" He asked.
"They left really early and I wasn't willing to wake up. Anyway, what happened to you and mum last night? I thought we were supposed to meet your friend." She said.
"Okay, first of all, Nia's not my girlfriend and I don't know why mum cancelled either." He said.

As if on cue, their parents walked inside. The pair of siblings stood up to greet them with a hug. They all sat down together on the bed

"Mum, dad, Mali, I need to clear something up to you guys." Calum said nervously.
Joy sighed. "Does this have anything to do with Nia?" She asked.
"Actually, yes. Mum, she and her band is not who the internet says she is. They're all really nice, genuine and funny people and they're tons of fun to be around with and they're extremely kind to their fans." He said.
"But, what if that's what they want you to think, Calum?" Joy said.
"Mum, you can't believe everything you read on the internet!" Calum said.
"Well, he kinda has a good point there, mum." Mali said.
"Well," Joy said. "I don't know what to believe." She said.
"Mum, believe me. I'm your son! The stories and rumors happening about her past band doesn't matter. Julia LEFT the band by choice and even if they did fight or have drama or whatever, they were young teenagers. This was just like when Mike and Luke were at each other's throats back then, they've moved on and I'm sure Hey Violet and Julia have too." He said.
Joy sighed. "I'm really sorry. I'd love to meet Nia and apologize to her in person too sometime." She said.
"Okay, I'll talk to her later then." He said.
"Well, while we're all here, why don't we go out and explore L.A?" Mali suggested.

~~~
After Calum took his family out around L.A, he immediately drove back to the Hey Violet house to talk to them. He knocked on the door, Rena opened it and let him in.

"I'll get Nia." She said.
"Wait, I actually want to talk to all of you." He said.
"Oh, okay. I'll get Miranda and Casey too then." She said.

Rena went upstairs and went back with the rest of her bandmates. They want to the back garden and sat around the campfire area they set up there a few months back which they never bothered to clear out. Nia and Calum sat beside each other on the hammock which was tied to a large tree.

"I talked to my mum today and she apologized for cancelling and falling for what she read on the internet." He said.
"It's okay, she doesn't really need to apologize. I don't blame her." Miranda said.
"Does she still want to meet Nia?" Casey asked.
Calum nodded. "Do you guys mind if I have Nia to myself for a bit?" He asked.
"No, not at all." Rena said, trying to stop herself from giggling.

Miranda, Casey and Rena stood up and went back inside the house. Nia leaned her head on Calum's shoulder and they watched the sun sink together. By dark, it started to get cold and Nia started to shiver. Calum took off his flannel, putting it above her shoulders, rubbing her arms a bit to keep her warm before going into the shed to find some matches. He came back and started a fire in the fire pit and sat down beside Nia again. They sat in silence, enjoying the warmth before Nia spoke up.

"Calum?" She called, he turned his head towards her. "What are we?" She asked.
"What do you mean?" Calum asked.
"Do you feel anything for me?" She asked.

Calum didn't know what to say, he felt tongue tied and shocked. He knew he couldn't deny the fact that he probably fell in love with Nia already but wasn't it too early for that? When he didn't say anything for too long, Nia caught the hint and her expression went blank.

"I'm sorry i--" She said.

Calum cut her off and pulled her face to his and kissed her softly. Nia didn't hesitate to kiss back as her hand held his, rubbing his skin. He pulled away, looking her straight in the eye.

"Does that answer your question?" He asked, she blushed and grinned.
"Yeah, I guess it does." She said.
"Do you feel something for me too?" He asked.
She nodded. "Thanks for making me feel this way after I thought I would never feel it again for a long time." She said.
"And thank you for making me feel this way after so long of me feeling empty." He said and pulled her closer, hugging her smaller frame.
"I guess we don't have to pretend anymore." She said.
"I guess so." He said, pulling her down so she was lying on top of him while he was lying on the hammock. He kissed her forehead.

"Do you mind singing me something?" She asked.
"No,not at all." He said before singing Heartbreak Girl to her softly until she fell asleep. He smiled and kissed her nose.
"Good night, my heartbreak girl." He said.
She woke up and kissed him quickly. "Goodnight, lost boy." She said.

(This was cute but I still felt weird writing it 😂 anyway, hope ya enjoyed! 💓)