The Ruse ||Calum Hood

VIII

"There he is, it's Calum." I heard the crowd mutter, causing my head to shoot up without hesitation. A bright smile found its way onto my features but faltered once I realised he wasn't alone.

"And who is that with him?"

"It's his former girlfriend Marisjah Ferran."

My body froze as I glimpsed the two smiling and posing for the flashing cameras, all while the crowd were exchanging their opinions on the subject.

" I hope they get back together, they were the ultimate couple. "

" she's so pretty, calum was so lucky to her. "

My pulse quickened as my breathing became erratic, but who could blame them? They were the perfect couple. She was everything Calum deserved and she could give him everything I couldn't. The boys noticed my sudden change in demeanour and ushered me inside, I tried my best to compose myself and act as if their appearance hadn't affected me.

"If it's any consolation, we've never liked Marisjah. She's not good for Calum." Ashton spoke once we arrived backstage.

"What--"

"It's okay." Michael interjected. "You're so much better for him and he likes you, really likes you."

"You're delusional--"

I was instantly cut off by the sound of the door opening, Gwen stepped inside dressed in her outfit for the concert. Her face which usually wore a bright smile was replaced with a frown, her fingers grasped the sheet of paper which contained the lyrics for her solo and they shook rapidly.

"I don't think I can do this." She finally said, her gaze meeting mine.

I shook my head and inched closer to her, once within arms reach I placed my hands on her shoulders and grinned. "Yes you can. What you're experiencing now is completely normal. But Gwen, you are amazing and I know you can do this because I believe in you. We all do."

The boys nodded in agreement.

"You're going to kill it out there, Gwen."

"This is what we've been fighting for, this is your moment."

She slammed the lyrics down on the table before rushing into my arms and without hesitation I returned the gesture. She thanked the lot of us and then rushed out to join the rest of the acts. A few moments later we followed in her footsteps and headed out to find our seats. Nothing was stopping me from slipping away without being seen. Of course there would be tonnes of questions from the boys about my disappearance. Sighing, I glimpsed the door and pondered how many steps it would take me.

"Evelyn."

Too late.

His voice would forever been ingrained to the back of my mind. Slowly, I turned to face him. I wished I hadn't.

"You made it." He said. "You look amazing."

A sudden burst of confidence surged through me. "I know."

Calum chuckled, he stepped forward closing the gap between us, both arms wrapped around my waist as he lightly brushed his lips against mine. In that moment, my thoughts had jumbled up and it was as if he kissed l my worries away. As if he knew that I was jealous and this was his way of showing me there was no need to be.

"Cal." It took me a few moments to realise that it wasn't me who had called his name. I peered behind him to find Marisjah standing in the doorway, arms folded and a frown plastered on her features. Suddenly all my jealously came flooding back, I pulled away from Calum and averted my gaze to the floor.