passenger seat // calum hood

five

|five|

Backseat down, fog on the windows. The sun came out about an hour ago. Then I kissed your head, just like I always did.

 

“You’re not just saying that, are you?” Calum was trying so hard, but he couldn’t quite seem to get the smile off his face.

Brooklyn looked up at him and rolled her eyes before capturing his lips with her own once more. She pulled away, but stayed close enough that he could feel her lips lightly ghosting across his as she spoke.

“No, I’m not just saying that.” She smiled. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that for years.”

He brushed his nose against hers as she let out a small laugh. “Sorry I kept you waiting so long.”

Brooklyn wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face to his chest while Calum wound his arms around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug.

“It’s alright.” He heard her mumble into his shirt. “You’ve got some time to make up for though.”

“Why don’t we get started on that?” He smirked and her laugh filled the quiet play area.

“Nope, not now. I’m tired.” She looked up and gave him a lopsided grin.

Calum detangled the two of them before taking her hand and pulling her back towards the car. Brooklyn watched him curiously as he opened the back door, before she realised that he was laying the backseat down for both of them.

“Come on, let’s get some rest.” He shot her a small smile as she walked past him and climbed into the car. “It’s been a long night.”

The backseat of a car was hardly the most comfortable place to try and fall asleep, but they made it work. Like they had done so many other times, Brooklyn cuddled into his chest and Calum wrapped an arm around her waist before sitting his chin on top of her head. The two of them had always seemed to fit together perfectly.

“Cal, I’m glad you made me sneak out tonight.” Her voice was sleep addled, the words slow and quiet.

“Me too.” He leant down and kissed her head, something he’d been in the habit of doing since they were ten years old.

It wasn’t long before Brooklyn was asleep. Calum heard her breathing quiet down as the rise and fall of her chest settled into a slower, more consistent rhythm. He brushed some of her hair out of her face and back behind her ear; she hadn’t put it back up after they’d left the car.

He marvelled at her beauty yet again, but this time it was different; this time she was so close to being his and he didn’t feel guilty about looking at her the way he was now.

Her long legs were stretched out, loosely tangled with his. Every now and then she would flinch; it was something he’d noticed when they were younger, she twitched in her sleep whenever she was dreaming. He could see her eyes flickering underneath her closed lids and her mouth was moving slightly. Sometimes Brooklyn would talk in her sleep but that was only when she was restless, right now though she was much too tired so her mouth formed the words, but they were never vocalised.

One of her hands balled into a fist, clutching onto his shirt and he smiled a little before taking it in his own hand and uncurling her fingers. As Calum slotted them through his own he couldn’t help but think that he was incredibly lucky to be able to do things like this, just small things like hold her hand, whenever he wanted to.

He knew that he in no way deserved the girl that was asleep in his arms; it was almost criminal that he was selfish enough to take her from someone that could be so much better for her, but he didn’t care. She deserved better, but she wanted him; and that was just fine with him.

Calum didn’t get any sleep that night. He watched the sky change from black, to dark blue, to grey as the sun began to rise. Even if he wanted to sleep he couldn’t have, not with Brooklyn in his arms. Not when he had electricity running through his veins every time he remembered that kiss. It was amazing the effect this girl had on him, this girl he’d known almost all his life.

As the sky got lighter and lighter by the second, Calum knew that their night was fast coming to an end. The thought saddened him, but at the same time he knew that this was just the beginning; the night had started something but it didn’t end with the coming of a new day.

Leaning over, he pressed another soft kiss to Brooklyn’s forehead before he began to shake her awake. She groaned and turned her head further into his chest, causing a short laugh to escape Calum’s lips.

“Brook, get up.” He shook her again. “I know you’re awake.”

“Why do you keep waking me up? I’m not okay with this. Why won’t you just let me sleep, huh Calum?” She replied in a joking tone while swatting away his hands.

“I want to show you something. Come on, get up. Don’t make me tickle you.” It was a weak threat but it worked all the same; Brook was sitting upright, her eyes wide before he’d even completely finished the sentence.

She ran a hand through her hair, smoothing it out while she turned to look at him. “Alright, I’m up. What are you showing me?”

Without answering her, Calum climbed out of the backseat. He stopped for a couple of seconds to stretch out his stiff muscles before he went and sat on the hood of the car. Brooklyn caught on eventually and joined him at the front of the car but she stopped before climbing up next to him.

“You know that’s wet right?” She pointed to the bonnet that was covered in the night’s dew after sitting outside.

Calum ran a finger down the space next to him, collecting some of the moisture as he did. “Huh, I guess it is. Come on, it’s just a little water.”

She rolled her eyes and tried to wipe a patch clear with her hand, only partially succeeding, before she joined him on the hood of the car. A smile made its way onto her face when she saw the way Calum was sitting; he looked like a little kid with his legs crossed and his hands sitting in his lap. She sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest before wrapping her slender arms around them. After a few moments she leant over to rest her head on Calum’s shoulder.

At some point while the two of them sat and watched as the sun came out, he had wrapped an arm around Brooklyn’s waist and pulled her closer to him. He gave her a fond smile when she picked up his other hand and started to play around with his fingers before eventually intertwining them with her own.

“You know, I’ve never watched the sunrise before.” She didn’t look at him, rather her eyes were focused on the sun that was just starting to peek out from behind the line of trees that surrounded the park. “It’s kind of beautiful.”

Calum smiled to himself, tearing his eyes away from the sky that was slowly fading from a vibrant pink into its usual blue.  “That might be the case, but it’s still not the most beautiful thing I’ve seen this morning.

Brooklyn let out a laugh and rolled her eyes as she turned to face the boy beside her. “You’re so cheesy; first you sneak me out in the middle of the night, then you kiss me and tell me you love me and now you’re using that line while we watch the sunrise. You, Mr. Hood, are the definition of a cliché.”

“You love it.” He retorted with a grin. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with clichés.”

“I suppose; they’re just boring, ‘cause you know how everything’s going to turn out.” She shrugged.

Calum moved in and gave her a quick peck on the lips. He then jumped off the hood of the car and held out his hand, gesturing for her to do the same. As much as he didn’t want to leave he knew that they needed to, and soon too if they didn’t want to get in trouble.

“Well I guess we’ll just have to be unpredictable then, won’t we?”