A L I V E | gang!cal AU

G I R L T A L K

"I don't know, Court! He gets jealous over everything," you lamented, sipping on your daily cup of coffee. 

You had specially woken up earlier to get some breakfast with Courtney. Besides, there was no point in you being home. Both of you met up at the local quaint breakfast place down the street. You two had so much to talk about, but the conversation slowly stirred to the night before. 

"So, he still hasn't said anything?" she asked worriedly. You shook your head, mouthing, "Nada." You sighed, putting down your empty cup. "I definitely need to shop for new clothes," you suggested, looking at your pair of jeans that you have been wearing since forever. You looked to Courtney, confused at her sudden silence. "Court?" you prompted. 

She snapped out of her thoughts, still looking guilty as ever. You only met Courtney around a year ago, but you could tell when she was hiding something from you. "Spill," you muttered, catching her off-guard. 

"Fine! It's because of his ex-girlfriend!" she spluttered, a huge weight lifted from her chest. 

You frowned, not understanding her. "What's wrong with his ex?" you asked. Courtney looked around sheepishly before telling you their story. 

"She was his high-school sweetheart. Everyone thought that they were endgame. Their relationship was the longest Calum ever had. But, I guess she had other plans when she cheated on him. More than once." 

Your heart broke for Calum. You knew that he took really long to warm up to people, but when he finally did, he was very loyal to the person. So, when someone like that betrays his hard-earned trust just like that, you could understand where he was coming from. As Courtney started to slowly unfold the whole story, your thoughts slowly drifted off. 

Everything made sense now. The girl you saw in the picture in his room was of his ex. That was why he took the picture away from you as quickly as he did. With this trauma associated with relationships, who wouldn't be insecure when their girlfriend was grinding in the club? Soon enough, Courtney and you parted ways. You walked home, trying to think of a way to bring up the whole ex situation to Calum. 

You took a deep breath before unlocking the door to your shared apartment. As expected, the apartment was as quiet as ever. You slipped off your heels before looking around for Calum. When you turned a corner, you immediately met eyes with him which scared you a little. 

Once he realised that it was you, a small spark ignited in his eyes. "Baby, I'm so sorry. I was an absolute-"

You interrupted him with a direct kiss, not wasting any time at all. His eyebrows lifted in shock as his hands instinctively fell to the small of your back. He deepened the kiss, missing the contact with you. You pulled back, placing your hands on his cheeks. You giggled at his pink lips that got stained with some of your lipstick. 

"You didn't tell me about your ex," you bluntly stated. 

He sighed, taking your hand in his and bringing you to the living room. He sat you down in front of him, so that this way, both of you would maintain meaningful eye contact. 

"Where do you want me to start?"