Learning To Fall

four

I was wrong. Within the first hour we were there, Calum already had way too much spiked punch. And here I was, watching after him like a mother and her five year old. There he was, making a fool of himself on the dance floor.

"Andy! Come dance with me!" He yells over the music, and I feel my face redden as a handful of people glance over.

"You're being beckoned," A voice says from the table behind me. I glance over to see Luke, his blonde hair shining as much as his black lip ring was. My stomach flips and my heart squeezes in my chest as I try to figure out what to say.

"Then I guess I better answer the call." I reply harshly as I stand to retrieve Calum. Luke mutters something under his breath, but I tune it out.

"Hey," Calum giggles as he waves his arms in different directions. I force a smile and start dancing like an idiot with him. I couldn't let him look stupid alone, and most of the people here were too drunk to notice anyway.

>>

"Do you think dogs have full blown conversations with each other?" Calum giggles as we sit outside of the school, right beside of the woods. I smile as he giggles at his own thought.

"I'm gonna go hug a tree," The boy says before running off towards an oak tree with red and orange leaves surrounding it. Calum Hood was my best friend for many reasons, one of them being that he was my favorite drunk person. Another being that his giggles were contagious, and even though we would be seniors next year he didn't care if he was a virgin or not. Or maybe he did, and just didn't let it show.

The crinkling of leaves from behind me disrupts my thoughts. I turn around, expecting an axe murder. But instead of an axe wielding serial killer, it's Michael.

"I come bearing gifts," He says before sitting down and handing me two waters. I smile at him in thanks as I open one.

"So, are you stalking me now?" I tease, and he chuckles.

"Maybe," He jokes back. I take a drink of water and look back out to were Calum was.

"So, why aren't you tipsy like everyone else?" I question, looking over at him. He gives a small shrug and looks at his hands before looking up at me. The intensity of his green eyes this close shocks me and I look away to see where Calum went.

"I could ask you the same," Michael simply replies, and it's my turn to shrug.

"I'm not too keen on the whole 'drinking till you can't remember what you did,' thing." I answer.

"Not even one drink?" The boy wonders aloud, and I look at him and shake my head. He gives a small nod before laying on his back and looking at the sky. "Join me," Michael offers, and I laugh in reply.

"If I get this dress dirty, Rachel will get the wrong idea," I laugh. Michael takes off his jacket and lays it next to him, giving a small smile.

"There, now you won't get it dirty," Is his answer, and my cheeks are warmed up with a blush. Okay, this boy was not only a gentleman, but really attractive. I'll be damned if I wasn't going to lay with him and look at the stars.

"Andy I wanna go home!" Calum comes out of nowhere, throwing himself on the ground and whining like a baby. Somehow, he seemed even more drunk than fifteen minutes ago.

"If I bring you back to your house drunk, your parents will kill me. And I can't bring you back to my house, Rachel will kill you." I reply to him, running a hand through his curly brown hair.

"If you let me use your car, I could bring you guys back to my house," Michael offers, and Calum looks up and nods excitedly. Michael then looks over at me, and I nod after a while.

"Let's go, then!" Drunk Calum speaks, and takes off towards the school to go get his coat and keys. Michael and I follow behind.

We make it just as the homecoming king and queen are dancing, and my heart hurts when I realize it's Luke and Cecily. That should be me, I think as I follow Calum to our table and grab both his and my keys as he struggles to put on his jacket.
Back on the dance floor, Luke spins Cecily before bringing her back in. My heart breaks just a little bit more, and I help Cal put on his jacket.

Soon enough we're in the parking lot, sitting in the front seats of Calum's Jeep while he was passed out in the back seat. After Michael starts the car, he looks at me.

"What?" I ask, suddenly feeling self conscious.

"Don't pretend like you aren't heartbroken," He starts, and I look down at my hands.

"So, you heard what happened?" I guess, avoiding his gaze. I only look up to see him nod. My stomach drops at his words.

"You can't be caught up in the past, Andy. You have Calum now, and I don't think he-" Michael starts, but I interrupt.

"Calum and I aren't together." I state, looking over at the sleeping boy in the back seat. He was like a brother to me, nothing more and nothing less.

"You could've fooled me," Michael laughs a little, turning out of the parking lot. I shake my head and find the CD Calum and I made last year, a playlist of all of our favorite songs. We'd made it before what happened with Luke, before everything went south. I put it in, and Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day starts.

"This song is fucking amazing," Michael states, taking a hand off of the wheel to turn it up. I smile at him when he isn't looking. Maybe being friends with Michael wasn't a bad idea.