Diana: 4 months in the UK

(14)

Song of the chapter:Stay by Mayday Parade.

The time is 12:17am and the party is going full out. The music blasts some remix of Fergie's London Bridge. I sway my hips as we walk to where the others are gathered. Luke is lying against Bryar, taking up most of the couch, Shaye and Jak are knee deep in a discussion, Niall and another blonde make out passionately in a corner, Josh, Danny and Sandy are up in the music square, creating new tunes and beats that the crowd love. I see no Calum. 

"I'm going to find Calum." I turn to Michael. 

"Wait." I spin round to face him again. It's hard to think that just a few minutes we were kissing in the bathroom and he asked me to be his girlfriend. Shouldn't I focus on my school work and leave boys aside? I really don't want to think about the what if's right now. 

"I'm not saying that I'm ashamed to be with you, but could we not tell Calum. I don't mind telling the other boys because they'll be cool with it but I have a bad feeling that things wouldn't end well if Calum found out." I understand where he is coming from. Calum has assaulted Michael twice now and I really don't want there to be a third time. 

"I know where you're coming from but sooner or later, we've got to tell him. I mean, he's my best friend." I walk up to him and hug him. He smells of salt and left over deodorant. The smell gets into my lungs and stays there. 

"It'll all work out." He rubs my back lightly. His voice is comforting and soft. It’s something that I need right now. I release from him and make my way to find Calum yet again. Will this be a regular thing? I sure hope not. 

I walk around for what seems like hours until I reach the poolside area. Of course he would come out here. The sea used to calm him down so this must be the next best thing. I cast my eyes to see his feet in the pool and he is sitting alone. No one else is here and the music is faint. Looks like a good place for privacy and space. I walk up to the gate and pause. 

"Hey." I say, cautiously. He's never had a violent history until recently so it's a precaution I am willing to take. 

"What do you want?" He replies, blankly without looking back. 

"I came to see if you were okay." 

"Well I'm fine so you can go back to the party." He sniffs. My heart breaks a little. 

"I'm your best friend; I know when things aren't right so I'm staying." I open up the gate and walk inside. The pool water is illuminating and shines in the dark like glow sticks. I take my shoes off and dip my feet in the pool, next to Calum. 

"You're stubbornness has always been a highlight of your personality." I get a small smile from Calum which is a start. 

"I could say the same about you. You want to tell me what that was about?" His smile fades and he grows even faster than before. 

"Cal?" I put my hand on his shoulder but he brushes it off. 

"Hey, I'm only just trying to help but clearly you've got it sorted." I swing my legs up from the water and stand up. I walk away but my right leg is stuck in Calum's hand. His expression is sincere. 

"I'm sorry. Please don't go." I look into those big brown eyes and I can't refuse. I return to my spot I was sitting in a few seconds ago. Calum twiddles his thumbs nervously. 

"You know how I moved from Australia halfway through Year 8?" I remember little fetus Cal with his bushy, black hair. He was quiet and isolated from everyone. He liked music whereas the other guys were all about sports. He wore glasses that took up most of his face and always wore his favourite Nirvana bracelet, regardless of the rules. 

"And you know how Luke, Ashton and Michael are from Australia?" I nod, still not getting where he is going. The only thing common is Australia. Wait, no. 

"You all knew each other, didn't you." 

"Yeah. We all lived on the same street and went to the same school." First piece of the puzzle solved. But it still doesn't tell me why he has beef with Michael. It makes sense since he and Luke share the same Nirvana bracelet and he and Ashton talk so passionately about Green Day. 

"So you were all best friends?" He nods. 

"What happened?" He fidgets more with his thumbs and sighs deeply. 

"It kind of happened when Luke and I were Year 8, Michael and Ashton were Year 10. We were all sitting together on the field talking about random shit when a girl called Brydie walked past with her friends. Her hair was blonde like the sand at the beach and her eyes blue like the sea. She was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. Later that day I found out she was in my music class. I was so stoked. She sat next to me and we bonded over our love for music. I told the boys about her and they were all supportive about it. We would always walk out of class laughing about something that we would only get." He pauses for a breath. 

"It was a month before I moved to New Zealand when I made the decision to ask her to the social. I wrote out a speech and dressed nicely. She lived on the other side of town so I got my sister drive me there. I arrived to her house and knocked on the door but there was no answer. I heard voices out back so I checked it out. The back yard door was open so I walk through not thinking of what I would potentially see. "Will you be my girlfriend?" My heart was crushed but even more as I saw that it was Michael who asked. She gracefully accepted and they made out like it was the last day on earth. I ran out, crying my eyes out. I had never been so hurt and I really liked her." He sighs heavily. 

"One day Michael came up to me and told me I was acting like a girl on her period for no reason so I went off at him. I yelled at him with all I had. Hell, my eyes were even watering. Luke had to pull me away before I could do anything stupid. Michael tried to apologize many times but I never accepted it. He was my best friend and knew how much she meant to me and didn't say a word. He went behind my back and stabbed me right where it hurt. I mean, the least he could've done is told me how he felt but he didn't." I can't help but squeeze his hand for support. This must be hard for him to admit to me. 

"The next few weeks I avoided the boys and spent my lunch times in the library, reading depressing love stories to drain the pain. I would still talk to Luke and Ashton and thankfully they wouldn't mention anything about Michael. Brydie and Michael would walk around school together I even stopped talking to her because it just reminded me too much of it. Michael became a bully and would always target me. He found new friends and changed completely. They would follow me home, throw things at me and would do anything to bring me down. I became secluded and isolated. I would go home and lock myself in my room until dinner. A week later, mum announced that we're moving to New Zealand for a fresh start. We packed up and moved the next day. Since then, I have kept in contact with Luke and Ashton, occasionally catching up when I visit family in Australia but I never with Michael." 

I stay silent, processing what just happened. Calum and Michael liked the same girl. Girl goes for Michael. Calum is sad and angry at Michael. Calum and Michael aren't friends anymore. 

"So yeah, that's why I can't control my temper around Michael." And I thought it was just a sudden burst of anger and frustration that he would always take on Michael. My mind takes me back to night when Calum first hit Michael and how he claimed that Michael stole her from him. It makes sense. How could Michael do something like that?

"It's alright. You have every right to be angry with him." I can feel my blood boil at the thought of Calum being victimized by his former best friend. I think I may need to rethink this sudden relationship status. 

"Thanks for being so understanding." His voice is almost broken and torn. I wrap my arms around Calum for comfort. 

"Oh, I came here to tell you that we're going real soon." Reality kicks back in. I check my phone in my pocket. The time is 12:46am and I have 3 text messages. 

Michael Clifford: received at 12: 30am

"Hey, just letting to you know that we're gonna make tracks real soon. I'll text you soon, beautiful." 

Michael Clifford: received at 12:43am

"Leaving in 5, meet us out front xx" 

 Ashton Irwin: received at 12:47am

"Hurry up or you'll have to walk. Greg is getting impatient. Oh and bring Calum with you." 

"Right, we've got to go now. They're waiting in the van." Calum nods and grabs his shoes. We jog up the hill and back into the house. We weave through the crowds of teenagers still partying like the night will never end. The snack table is in my view and I see that there is pizza. I sneak a few pieces before we exit through the front door and into the van. 

"Lucky, we were just about to leave." Ashton comments from the front seat, next to Greg. 

"Whatever." I climb into a seat next to Michael and Calum sits up front with Luke and Niall. By the time I sit down, I see that Calum has indeed fallen into a deep sleep. Michael tries to hold my hand but I pull away. 

"Hey, what’s up?" Greg is playing loud music that kind of kills my ear drums.  

"I'll tell you what. I know about how you asked out the girl Calum liked and how you used to bully him so that's what’s up." I finish. My skin is burning with fury. 

"You found out. I admit it's nothing I'm proud of. I was too selfish and immature to really see how he felt about her. But I broke up with her because it just didn't feel right going behind my best friend's back. You don't know how many times I've wished I could've changed the past. As for the bullying, I found new friends because Luke and Ashton took Calum's side which left my friendless. I deserved it. I got into the wrong crowd and couldn't find a way out. I got really jealous of how Calum was succeeding in music and thought that by putting him down, I would feel better about myself when really I felt even worse." He stares off into the night sky. His green eyes stand out even more in the dark. 

"Why haven't you told Calum this?" I scoot over more so that our knees touch. 

"Have you seen how he reacts?" I nod, apologetically. 

"I just wish I could tell him that I'm sorry and that I want my best friend back." He tilts his head to the floor. I reach for his hand and hold it. I have no idea what to do right now. My best friend and my boyfriend are fighting. I am their mutual. There is nothing I can say right now so I don't say anything. I spend the rest of the car ride thinking about the whole situation. Everything becomes blurry and my eyes force them self shut. 

Why so much complications and drama?!?!? Thank you again for 1000+ reads also, still buzzing. Will be posting again in the next few days so stay tuned -A