5sos Blurb Book #4

191. cashton

you can't, calum, he..he's weird, okay?

his eyebrows furrowed as he turned around and looked behind him, gazing at the boy who sat at his lunch table alone.
he was treated like the plague.
his cheeks were burned pink and his eyes flicked around subconsciously as he ate his lunch, shivering from the cold air and lack of people around him.

'i bet he's not. he's sitting alone because you all have made him out t'be like that- weird.'
'he isn't normal, calum-'
'normal's boring.'

he walked away from his first- and maybe his last- friend ever since he arrived at his new school this morning, walking to the lonely boy who he didn't know.
but he was about to.
'hey, can i sit here?'

his head picked up slowly and he looked up at calum with hesitant hazel eyes, that blinked and widened as he stared at him.
is he looking at me? ashton's eyes shifted away before meeting brown eyes again and pointing at his own chest. 'a-are you talking to me?'
calum nodded with a gentle smile and the boy's eyes widened a little bit more, before he looked down with pink cheeks and nodded slightly, his eyes repeatedly flicking up to him before back down.

so calum smiled and sat down across from him, watching as the boy across the table played with his fingers in his lap.
'so what's your name? i haven't seen you around.'
ashton's eyes widened down at his hands that froze when he realized the stunning boy he saw this morning actually did want to talk to him.
this is shit.
'um..'m ashton..' he said, his eyes meeting his.

god damn he has the prettiest eyes.

ashton looked back down with pink cheeks because he actually has the audacity to ogle a boy he doesn't know- and who's probably not even serious.
'listen um..if whatever you've planned- can you just- do it? get it over with?' he mumbled, shoulders drooped in disappointment.
'what?' calum frowned and watched as his posture seemed to become worse and more curls fell into his eyes.
'your prank.'
'what prank?'
'a-aren't you pranking me?'
calum's eyes rounded and he reached his hand across the table to grab his elbow.
'h-have...have people pranked you before?'
ashton's eyes flicked to calum's hand on his skin before to his brown eyes and nodded slowly.
''m not pranking you..you looked sad and alone so i wanted to sit here.'

'oh.' his cheeks flamed again. 'i-i just..saw you walking with harry and louis and the lot-'

'they said you were weird. i didn't like that. and if they're what people call normal then i don't want to be normal.'

ashton's heart fluttered in his chest and butterflies swirled in his stomach. and when he didn't respond but just looked at him, calum smiled.

'i'm calum.'

ashton nodded slowly. 'i know. you're in my chemistry class.'
calum tilted his head. 'oh. i'm sorry.' he chuckled softly. 'i didn't see you.'
ashton took a bite his apple and shrugged, chewing before he spoke again. ''s okay- i-i sit in the back. so you probably didn't notice.'
'well i know where my new seat'll be.'
ashton's heart almost fell to calum's feet and begged like a puppy.

-

'y-you're actually gonna sit here?'

calum blushed and bit his lip, looking at his text book.

'd'you want me t'move?'
ashton shook his head rapidly, his cheeks blushing once he noticed he probably looked way too enthusiastic.
calum hid his grin and plopped down in the stool next to him, glancing at ashton's notebook before doing a double take.

the honey haired boy didn't notice calum saw, he was too distracted in trying to calm himself down so he could actually talk to him like a normal human and not, "so how about that weather?"

'ashton?'

his heart fluttered at his name. 'mm?'

'what is this?'

ashton looked up and his eyes widened at calum's finger pointing to his notebook page.
he quickly grabbed it and slammed it closed, his cheeks red and his eyes filling quickly.

'nothin'.'

'ashton.' he sighed, grabbing his hand and the older boy shivered. 'i know we don't know each other well- but there's no way you should have a list of..of why you hate yourself.' he whispered to him, trying to meet his eyes.

he stayed quiet, cheeks burning as much as the skin calum was touching.

'love?'

'i..i--'

'oh and what do we have here, another faggot?'

calum tore his eyes away from ashton's teary profile and up at where the voice spoke towards him.

'you talking to me?'

'who else, only other fag is this one right here.' he nodded towards ashton.

'leave him alone drew.' ashton muttered, his eyes still kept down as he took his hand out of calum's.

''m sorry, did you say something, queer?'
he got in ashton's face, snickering, the boy submissive in his stool and taking it.

calum couldn't fucking take it.

'why don't you step the fuck off of him?'
'what, messing with your boyfriend?'
'he's not my boyfriend- he's my friend. and you're an asshole.'
the class fell silent to listen.
drew looked at calum and poked at his chest.
'what's a faggot gonna do about it?' 
calum scoffed, standing, and eventually towering over the boy.

ashton doesn't like to get into the details of what happened that class, because it filled with insults and swears and he hates both.
but he remembers how calum stood up for him and eventually drew was sitting down in his seat completely silent, along with the class who was in utter awe. and he remembers that when calum sat down with a big smirk he leaned over and kissed his cheek, and calum grinned full on.

and one by one, they crossed off everything on that list in ashton's notebook.
including the first- nobody will ever fall in love with me.