the hating game ; lrh

one

"CALUM, WE'RE LEAVING IN five!" I call from the kitchen, where I frantically stuff sandwiches, apples and muesli bars into paper bags for lunch.

Mornings are always hectic in the Hood household. Because our mother leaves early in the morning to begin her nursing shift at the hospital, my twin brother and I are usually left to fend for ourselves -- well, that is, I am left to fend for us both. So, while Calum spends twenty minutes in the bathroom perfecting his unruly hair, I am always stuck making and packing both of our lunches. Usually, I don't mind doing the dirty work, however when Calum takes forever to be finally ready to leave for school, I can understandably become slightly annoyed.

"Calum!" I scream, raising my voice louder so that he can hear me over Chris Brown's Fine China playing at the highest volume upstairs. Suddenly, the music shuts off, and footsteps resonate throughout the house.

"I'm coming, Rory!" Calum replies with an annoyed tone, and seconds later my older-by-one-minute brother emerges from upstairs. He jogs down the wooden stairs, hooking his black Nike backpack over his shoulder as he readjusts the black snapback placed on his head.

"A snapback; really?" I comment, raising a brow in his direction.

Calum stops in his tracks, frowning. "What? What's wrong with it?" He begins to turn around, one hand reaching for the cap and the other holding onto the strap of his bag. "Should I change—?"

"No!" I interrupt quickly, changing my mind although I knew that he'd only be asked by the teachers to take it off in class. "It's fine, don't worry. It looks good."

"Are you sure?" Calum asks, wincing slightly. "I could just—"

"You look fine Cal, let's just go," I say quickly. I step out from behind the kitchen counter and hand Calum his lunch, before swinging my backpack over my shoulder. Calum stands frozen, still staring at me doubtfully. Annoyed, I gesture for him to keep walking, and he quickly snaps out of his trance and hurries out the front door.

I slam the glass door behind me and quickly lock it before making my way to the barely-functioning car that I shared with my brother -- a result of only being able to save enough between the two of us for one car. Calum climbs into the driver's seat, and I make my way around to the passenger's side. I open the door and slide in, settling back in the comfortable leather seat.

"Um," Calum clears his throat awkwardly as I reach for the seatbelt, freezing me in my tracks. When I look back at him, his brown eyes stare at me nervously, and his index finger is raised as he points at me. "We're picking Luke up, so..."

"Calum," I groan, slapping a hand to my face. Sometimes my brother could be colossally idiotic. Calum winces at my reaction, watching as I turn to him in anger. "If you wanted to pick your dumb friend up, you should've gotten ready earlier! We don't have time now!"

"Hey, Luke isn't dumb," Calum frowns, his thick brows creasing inwards. His hands part from the steering wheel as he turns to face me, his frowned expression turning into a more hopeful one. His eyes widen, and his brows raise, and he sticks his bottom lip out in an ever-so-slight pout -- he was giving me the puppy dog face. Ever since we were little, I would give Calum whatever he wanted if he gave me the puppy dog face. I couldn't help but give in to the adorable expression; he was my brother, and a completely vile human being at times, but I simply couldn't deny the puppy dog face. I didn't know many people who could.

"Calum..." I warn, shaking my head at him. I would not give; not this time.

"I already promised we'd pick him up," Calum pouts further, his eyes widening impossibly more. How could someone, my brother especially, look so adorable? I'd thought that he had grown out of the puppy-dog face, but he clearly hadn't. "He doesn't have another way of getting to school."