voices - c.t.h.

seven;

seven;

after my free period ended, calum and i walked to my next session; music therapy. calum is in charge of that class with his band.

we walk into the building hand in hand; late. calum's bandmates come running at us, while yelling a million different things at him. one by one they noticed me standing right next to him. calum holds my hand tighter, more confidently. they all start smirking at us, and look down at our fingers intertwined.

"hi, i'm michael, i'm one of calum's bandmates." the one with a pierced eyebrow and faded purple hair, spoke. he holds out his hand and i shake it quickly.

"i'm jos -" the boy with curly hair and a bandana next to michael cuts me off.

"we know who you are. calum won't stop talking about you!" i look to calum and his cheeks begin burning red. "anyway, i'm ashton, band's drummer." he holds out his hand and i shake it.

"you already know me, luke." luke says, with a chuckle. we all stand in silence for a moment. then luke speaks again. "we'll give you two a moment. we'll go start class." they finally all walk away.

calum exhales, and looks over to me.

"i am so sorry about them. god, they can come on a little strong sometimes. especially when meeting girls i'm with. they're like my brothers so they're protective of me. it's nice but sometimes it's way too mu -"

"calum, don't be so nervous. they were lovely." i say, cutting his rambling off. he smiles at me and kisses me quickly before releasing my hand and joining the other boys in the front of the room. i scan the room for a seat, and there's an empty seat near the front, next to avalon. i quickly run and sit next to her.

"welcome to class everyone!" ashton shouts, as he makes a soft beat on his drums.

"sorry about class starting late, calum was talking with a girl." luke says, as he fiddles with his guitar. michael also had a guitar in his hands.

"more like making out with her." michael comments, jokingly. heat begins to rise to my cheeks, in a blush. i sneak a peek at calum and he's also blushing, and looking right at me. he blows me a kiss and i smile, pretending to catch it.

"what song shall we sing?" calum asks, in an attempt to change the subject from us. "since you're new here, joselyn, you pick."

"ghosts by mayday parade." i answer with no hesitation. calum smiles proudly at me as he begins to play it on his bass. the other boys follow suit.

.

.

all my sessions have finally finished and now i'm at dinner with calum, michael, luke, ashton, avalon, and demetria. the cafeteria ladies made us tacos. they all chat happily, but i sit quietly, since i don't know the group.

i spot aria across the room and her gaze catches mine for a moment, but then she shakes her head and looks away from me. earlier, calum and i stopped at my room and all of aria's stuff was gone. he told me she transferred out, he never knew the reason why she left. but i think i do, because of me.

of course it's because of you.

you're always the reason why people leave you.

you're a fuck up.

"joselyn?" the voices come to a stop as calum whispers my name. i blink and shake my head then turn to calum.

he won't ever love you.

"yeah, cal?" i ask, forcing a smile to come across my face. calum stares at me, looking right into my eyes. then he reaches for my hand. he looks down at our hands and begins to stroke my knuckle with his thumb. he looks back up at me, and brings his hand to my cheek.

he's only going to hurt you.

"the voices?" he whispers, bringing his face closer to mine. i nod, looking down in my lap. i take a deep breath, trying to focus on calum and make the voices stop. he puts a finger under my chin, and makes me look up at him. to avoid his eye contact, i close my eyes. "josie.. look at me, babe." i shake my head. "please," he whispers in a soft soothing voice.

"calum, just leave me be." i tell him, with a bit of edge to my tone.

"no, never." i open my eyes, and he's still here holding my hand and looking at me. he brings himself closer and closer to me, until our lips touch. he lets go of my hand, and puts his other hand on my cheek. he moves his lips against mine, and i do the same. everything the voices said aren't true, at least for now.

he pulls away, but leaves his hands resting on my cheeks. he softly strokes my cheek bones with his thumbs. then he smiles softly at me.

"hey, lovebirds, the whole cafeteria is watching you." michael says. i look to him and he's smirking. then i turn around and just like he said, the whole cafeteria is watching. i scan the crowd and i see aria, with hurt filled eyes. this is why she packed up an changed rooms. i turn away from them and look at calum, who is still looking at crowd.

"let's go." calum says, sternly. he grabs my hand and pulls me through the, occasionally saying excuse me. we finally make it through the crowd, and out of the doors. "i'm sorry about them. there's not much romance here." he sighs, looking to me.

"it's okay, cal. people like to stick their noses in other people's business, it's not your fault. i'm just not used to the attention." i tell him, stroking his cheek, softly. i peck his lips softy.

"they still shouldn't of stared."

"it's okay. but i'm going to go back to my room. i snuck my phone in, i can give you my number." calum nods and holds my hand.

"let me walk you back."

"okay." he smiles softly, and intertwines our fingers. we start to walk to my room, swinging our arms occasionally. not once did we speak to each other.

once we arrived at my room, calum kisses me softly and slowly. after he stops kissing me, i lean on his chest and wrap my arms around him, hugging him. he hugs me back, burying his head in the crook of my neck.

"goodnight, baby." calum whispers.

"don't go, stay with me." he chuckles softly.

"of course, josie." we enter my room, then immediately lay on the bed. he wraps his arms around me, and i do the same. i bury my head in his chest. he hums soft melodies, until i fall asleep.

• •

hi i finally updated ! sorry for taking forever to do so. but i'm back now !

- kelsey