lost and found // calum hood

89 | Elizabeth

When we arrived at the airport the next day, I knew this was going to be tough.

I hated saying goodbye to Calum, but the fact that apparently there were a lot of fans waiting for us at the airport wasn't helping me calm down either.

Calum stiffed up as when we arrived, he knew how much I hated the crowds and so did he. His priority was to get me inside safely. Thankfully, we had a security guard that was going to help us as much as he could. "Don't let go of my hand, okay?" he said and I nodded. "I'll do my best," I whispered and Michael patted me on the back. "We'll go behind you guys. If something happens, you still got us," he said and I nodded again.

Calum took a deep breath and opened the door. Jeff, the security guard, got out first and Cal and I followed him, followed by the other boys. It seemed quiet in front of the airport, maybe it wasn't as bad as we thought it would. We grabbed our suitcases and backpacks and I took a deep breath before we went into the airport, still holding on to Calum's hand.

I was wearing a hoodie and did my best to cover as much of the bruises with makeup, but I was still limping a bit.

Slowly, as we walked in, we noticed the huge group of fans coming to us. "Oh god." I heard Michael mutter behind me.

Was it that hard for the fans to understand that I just wanted to say goodbye to Calum and needed some time alone?

"Calum!" a girl yelled and shoved her phone in his face, taking a selfie. Calum did his best to force a smile, but it wasn't really working out. Everyone was circling the boys, basically mobbing them.

I didn't get it. How could people who call themselves fans do this? Stalking them? Forcing them to take pictures when it was clear they didn't want to take any pictures? Grabbing their arms like their toys. I honestly didn't get it. I would rather have that I never met any of them instead of having a picture with an angry Luke and an upset Calum.

We tried to move any further, but the fans kept coming and we couldn't move to the security line. The screaming girls kept coming in between me and Cal and I could feel my hand slipping. So did Calum.

People still forced their phones in his face and I turned around and could see Luke sticking out of the crowd, being way taller than most of the girls, but he and the others were surrounded as well.

Calum suddenly let go of my hand and I could feel myself starting to panic, but he grabbed my arm instead, pulling me closer to him. "Guys - guys, can you give us some fucking space?" he suddenly yelled, his voice roaring over the crowd.

He didn't mean to be rude but knew that I was starting to panic and didn't see any other option. Fans slowly took a few steps back and Calum pulled my arm, helping me through the crowd. "Thanks," he muttered, leaving the mass and helping me to security.

"Are you okay?" he asked, letting go of my arm and grabbing my hand instead. I nodded. "Yeah, yeah," I said and he nodded. "Sorry, the fans -" "I know, Cal. All good."

The others came up behind us as we all went through security and I let out a deep sigh. "Come," Calum said, leading me away from the other boys to a quiet corner where we took a seat.

He grabbed his backpack and searched for a bit, pulling out a bunch of keys. "This one is for the front door, this one is for the gate, this one is for the back door," he said, pointing at the keys. "Mali will bring Duke in two days. Okay?" he explained and I nodded. "Are you going to be okay?" he said and I shrugged. "Dunno. I have Jeff. I'll call you every day." I whispered as he played with my fingers. "And if you feel okay again, you can come back to tour if you want," he said.

"I know," I said. "And you can call every hour of the day, okay? Even if it's in the middle of the night. If anything happens, I'll take the first plane back to you." he said and I shook my head. "Don't say that I don't want you to leave the tour," I said and he sighed.

"We're going to be okay, you know that right?" he said and I nodded. "I know. I trust you." I said and he smiled softly at me, his fingers going up and playing with the ring on my neck. "And I trust you too. We're going to be just fine. We'll see each other soon, okay?" he said and I nodded.

Flight 436 to Los Angeles is now boarding. Please make your way to the gate. Flight 436 to Los Angeles.

I looked at Calum again and I could see tears in his eyes, even though he was trying to blink them away, tears now forming in mine too.

We've been apart longer than this, but this time it was harder. We've just been through something really shitty together and now instead of helping each other through it, we were going apart.

I stood up and so did Cal, his arms immediately wrapping around me, holding me tight. "I love you so, so fucking much," he whispered. I was holding on to his sweater for dear life and ignored the tears. "We'll be okay," he whispered over and over again.

Was I making the right choice to leave him? Yes. Was it going to be fucking hard on my own? Yes.

There was a gentle tap on my shoulder and I looked up to see Jeff. "Our flight is leaving soon, Elizabeth. We have to board," he said.

I nodded at him and looked at Calum. I've never really seen him cry until now, and it broke my soul into pieces. "I love you," he said once again before giving me a kiss. "I love you too. I'll land before you, so call me when you land in Paris, okay?" I said and he nodded. I grabbed my backpack and threw it over my shoulder. I looked at Calum once more, who gave me a sad smile.

Slowly, I let go of his fingers, his hand slipping out of mine in the way you see in those sad movies where they say goodbye. I turned around and followed Jeff to our gate and looked over my shoulder to see Calum still standing there by himself. I flashed him a smile before I finally disappeared around the corner of the gate.

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o she left. they sad