American Love Affair (5 Seconds of Summer fan fiction)

Chapter 3

I take a deep breath and step out of the car.  As I walk to the front door I try to stop my hands from shaking.  I grip my hands tighter around the cake box.  My right hand trembles as I raise it to knock on the white door.  Why am I so nervous?  I don't hear anyone come to the door, but I do hear chatter from the back of the house.  Knocking again and hoping I'm not being too aggressive my I try to swallow the lump in my throat.  'Just be nice.  This is casual,' I remind myself.  Footsteps come closer and closer to the door until the person is behind the door. One more deep breath, and the door is unlocked.  The door opens, and a boy wearing a red plaid flannel and black skinny jeans smiles at me.  

"Hi, I'm Luke.  You're Lee?"  He says my name as though it is a question playing with his lip ring.

I stretch my hand out for a handshake, balancing the cake box in my other hand.  His grip is strong, and his fingers are slender and cool around mine.  

"Yeah.  Hi.  I'm Lee."  I pat the top of the cake box.   

We stand there for a little, and I think about how awkward my encounters have been since coming to Australia.

"Sorry, come in.  We're all in the back.  Mum has food, and Ashton's grilling burgers."

"Great," I'm not sure what else to say and step inside the house.  "Oh, this is for you.  It's a cake.  Red velvet with cream cheese frosting."

I hand the boy, Luke, the cake box, and he peeks under the lid.

"Wow. This looks really delicious.  Dessert.  Thanks.  Come on." 

I follow behind Luke as he leads me through the house, which is obviously inhabited by boys.  Looking into the kitchen I see several pizza boxes stacked by the trash and no sign of a home cooked meals.  Video game controllers overflow from a basket by the television.  Stepping outside a fire blazes in a pit in the center of the patio.  A couple of chairs are spread in a circle around the fire and there are two people sitting next to each other.  A curly-headed boy by the grill turns to me and shows off a dimple-y smile.  The greasy smells from the grill make me crave a burger.  I try not to look as hungry as I feel when a boy with spikey purple hair stands up and shakes my hand.

"Michael."  He tells me, his voice soft, gentle, and low, not what I expected from a guy in a black band tee shirt and leather jacket and colored hair.

"Lee," I reply. 

My mother is sitting beside a woman with blond bangs at a table out of earshot.  They are deep in a conversation, so I do not expect to her to call me over any time soon, which is a good thing.

"Calum, dude.  Get up and say hello."  Luke calls over. 

A guy stands up from one of the seats by the fire. He is tall like the rest in dark jeans and a blue button down.  I feel a bit overdressed in my crochet top and white denim skirt, but I know my mother would disown me if I showed up in jeans and a tank top.  When I see his face, my stomach churns and my mouth falls open for a second.  

"I'm Lee," I tell him biting my lip. 

"I'm Calum.  Nice to meet you, well, catch your name anyway."  He chuckles and flashes a cheeky grin. 

"Sorry about the other day,"  I say tugging on my sleeves.

My hands fall onto the front of my skirt and play with the fabric trying to keep busy.

"Not a problem. I have plenty of sweatshirts anyway."  He's playful, maybe even flirty.  "And it was an excuse to get these boys to finally do a load of laundry"

"You've already met each other?"  Micheal asks raising his eyebrow.

"No.  Well we had encountered each other.  She spilled coffee on me at the bakery."  Calum shrugs.