a/n: y'all probably read this one already, I just switched books :)
Calum woke up with a start. Nightmares weren't unusual for him; in fact, he was surprised when he had regular dreams. However, that didn't stop the discomfort he felt at his heart beating out of his chest and the cold sweat enveloping his body. He wanted nothing more than to calm down and go back to sleep. Closing his eyes and lying back down, he tried to chase the memories of the nightmare with mundane scenarios of his everyday life.
Soon, though, something worse invaded his thoughts: Luke.
Calum could clearly see his blue eyes. He could remember the way Luke would tell him to go just lie back down after one of these nightmares. He could still feel the way Luke held him close at night.
Needless to say, Luke... Luke wasn't there anymore. What was left of him was merely a silhouette, burning at the back of Calum's eyes.
Somehow, Calum managed to fall asleep despite the memories of the blond haunting him. If he was being honest, he'd take a nightmare over those any day.
When he woke up the next morning, it took him a moment to realise that Luke was not actually next to him. He had disappeared months ago after all, leaving Calum alone with nothing but phantom pain.
Phantom pain, because not having Luke around didn't really hurt any more. It was just something he lived with, night and day. It was dull and numb, nothing Calum couldn't survive, but also nothing he could forget. It was there, it was present, it was the only thing he had left of Luke other than the black shirt in the far corner of his drawer.
Shaking his head, Calum got out of bed, began making himself a cup of coffee. He couldn't let Luke infiltrate his thoughts once again.
-----
It was in a bar that Calum first got the idea into his head. He had been with his best friend Mikey, who was gushing about his new girlfriend over a glass of beer. The conversation had been fairly casual until Mikey asked, "What if... What if the idea of a 'true love' is actually real?"
Calum almost choked on his drink. "What?!" he spluttered, frantically wiping at his mouth.
Mikey's confident demeanour dissolved, and he just seemed sheepish. "I don't know, dude. She just, she gets me so well. It's as if we were made for one another, ya know? I sound dumb, fuck. But I swear it's true."
"Ah, well... Maybe?" Calum shrugged. "But maybe some people have a 'true love', and others just don't."
"I don't think so. Maybe they just never get lucky enough to meet them..." Mikey was clearly in his element. "I mean, there's no other explanation for it, really. Some people live out their whole lives completely in love with one single person, yet others can't settle, because they just haven't met the one yet."
Or maybe they let them go. Calum sighed, downing his drink in one go and sliding off the bar stool. "I'm going to dance. Join me when you're done being fucking sappy."
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The more Calum thought about it, the more he began believing in Mikey's stupid theory of 'True Love'. Albeit naive and a little dumb, it could potentially hold true. And he hated that.
He thought about it all the time. He thought about it at work when he was required to photograph models together and make them look in love. He thought about it on the street when he saw couples, holding hands and exchanging soft words, pass him by. He thought about it when he was home alone with his dogs, watching people on tv confess their feelings to each other.
Fucking Michael. He was the one to blame.
He was about to turn off the television and head to bed when three words caught his attention: "One true love". He frowned, tuning back into the tv show. One of the protagonists were saying that, "Well, what if the One True Love is the only one you get? What if you don't have a chance after you meet them, because you know they've ruined it. You know they're the one you're meant to be with."
