Forever Yours

Chapter Six

"Sorry, oh my gosh, I feel awful!" I said for the fifth time in twenty seconds to Luke Hemmings. When I ran into them, literally, Luke fell backwards and hit his head on the handicap rail. He chuckled and placed a bag of ice against the back of his head. "Nah, you're good. It was an accident," Luke said. I chewed my lip. "I... I just feel bad. I made all of you fall and I didn't even hardly pay attention." Calum put his hand on my shoulder. "Luke's fine, we're fine, it's okay," he insisted with an amused grin. I sighed. "Fine. I gotta go back, I had a pass and everything to meet One Direction and you guys."

"Oh, well we were heading back there," Luke said, standing up and setting the ice pack down. "Why don't we just walk together?" Ashton suggested. I shrugged and nodded. "So, you know our names. What's yours?" Michael asked as we started walking. I smiled politely. "Elaine Michaels. I'm originally from here in the States, but I live in Cheshire now. I actually used to be Harry's best friend." Calum looked at me. "Really? How come we've never heard of you?" He asked suspiciously. "I'm not a crazy fan, or a pathological liar. I did live next to Harry. I still hang out with Anne and Gemma, but when One Direction was formed, I started hearing from him less and less, then we just stopped talking," I explained, "Well, he stopped. I tried for awhile then gave up. He probably just forgot about me," I said, sadly yet fondly remembering our pinky swear all those years ago.

"A pretty lady like yourself?" Calum said, nudging my arm with his. "There's no way." I just grinned as I felt the heat rise to my face. I shook my head. "Thanks, but I'm not pretty and yes he forgot. When he comes home all I hear is screaming girls throughout the neighbourhood. Frankly, I get it but it's still quite annoying." Michael grimaced. "I bet," he agreed. We kept talking, just being friendly. Calum was in the middle of joke number five when we walked into the room where I had been with Alley and the 1D guys. "Where do astronauts hang out?" I chuckled, because I already knew the answer. But I asked, "Where?" to be nice. "THE SPACE BARRRR!" He cheered as we opened the door. I laughed because he was so proud of that joke.

"Hey I ran into these goofballs a minute ago. Literally," I explained as everyone gave us weird looks. Harry rolled his eyes. He was in the seat that used to be mine, and Niall sat next to him with Alley on his lap. I raised my eyebrow at the two of them, but Niall looked away and Alley blushed, but glared at me. I shook my head at them and went for the food again. "Hey, that's ours, fatty," Harry snarled suddenly, jumping up and striding over to stand between me and the table. "Wha-- what?" I stuttered, surprised; this wasn't the Harry I had known. He had definitely changed in so many ways. "You can have some," Liam interjected, glaring at Harry. I gulped under Harry's intense stare. "N--no, I'm not that hungry, actually," I lied.

I turned around, looking for a seat. The 5SOS boys filled up the other couch, so I awkwardly stood next to Alley and Niall while we all talked. "Elaine, you can sit on one of our laps," Luke suggested after a bit. I shook my head. "No, thanks. I'm good now." I spun around and walked out of the room quickly, fighting tears. "Wait!" Someone called, but I picked up my pace. "Hey, wait!" The person grabbed my wrist, catching up to me, and turned me around. The person was Calum. "Oh, sorry. I, uh, think I should just go and have Alley meet me at our hotel later..." I trailed off, looking down. "Hey, don't mind Harry. His new girlfriend is ticking him off, that's all," Calum said gently. "You know what I think?" He continued, putting two fingers under my chin and tilting my head up so we were eye to eye. I shrugged.

"I think you're really fit, not fat at all. I think you're really gorgeous, and I'd like to take you out." My eyes widened and he grinned. "Really?" I asked, not believing this was even real. Calum smiled wider and nodded. He took my hand in his and led me outside. "So, how about that Italian place across the street?" I suggested, since it was the closest restaurant I could see. Calum kept his gaze on me, making my face grow hot. "Wherever you want." Harry's words suddenly popped into my mind as we walked into the restaurant. "Would you like to be inside or outside, tonight?" The hostess asked politely.

Calum gazed at me and I blushed. "Outside," I said softly. Calum squeezed my hand gently as we followed the hostess to an outside area surrounded by lanterns and candles. "Hmm, romantic," Calum murmured, making me giggle like a stupid love struck idiot. He pulled out my chair for me to sit before sitting himself. "What'll you get?" Calum asked as the waitress walked away to get our drinks. I chewed my lips and glanced at the still closed menu in front of me. "I think I'll just get a salad," I said quietly. "Get whatever you want, you're fine. Trust me, Harry's an idiot and has no clue what he was talking about," Calum reassured me softly. I sighed in surrender and just ordered lasagna.