Neighbor Calum

Chapter 14

I don't cry. I'm perfectly fine and I don't care.

At least that's the way I wish it'd gone. I unfortunately spend more than the better half of the night crying but it's not-I'm not crying because of him or Em. It's the alcohol. Making me overly emotional and I just miss him loads and it's just all a bit much.

Which is what I tell Kylie, then Ashton who comes out to check on me though I'm not sure how he even knew, then to Michael who comes out with a slightly more drunk than him Luke, both of them shouting out threats and promises to go in and set Calum straight.

"Stop it," I groan, pulling on Luke's shirt having just let go of Michael's.

"We'll tell him, we'll.." Luke trails off.

"Kick his ass!" Michael shouts.

"Yeah! We'll kick his ass!" Luke agrees, both them feeding off each others energy.

"No, you're not- Mikey!" I was too busy with the lanky man-child to notice Michael unsteadily marching his way out the garage door.

"Watch him," I glance at Kylie pointing to Luke and head off to stop Michael.

Luckily, he's way too drunk to get far, stumbling back and falling on his ass when I catch a grip on his shirt. I can't help but giggle still a bit buzzed.

"Why'd you do that?" he pouts up at me.

"Because you are not about to go in there and make a scene," I sit next to him figuring it'd be easier than trying to get him up on my own.

"But he's.. he's being a dick!" he hiccups.

"Yeah, that's alright, let him, I'm sure he'll get what's coming to him..hopefully," I sigh.

"I'm sorry he's being an asshole, he said he really liked you," Michael frowns, wrapping himself around me for his infamous drunken kitten cuddles. I hum in appreciation, petting his newly red hair.

"You alright?" Ashton comes out of the front door startling me a bit.

"Yeah, good, could do for more cuddles though," I flash him a wide smile. He nods with a small giggle and sits on the other side of me, adding to the cuddles.

"I swear I'm gonna-" and then Luke's toppling over. Michael pulls away to turn around and laugh at the drunk boy sprawled across the ground, Ashton doing the same.

"Thought you were watching him?" I stifle a giggle looking up at Kylie.

"I was! He was too quick, it's the legs I reckon," she plops down onto Michael's lap, a bit out of breath from trying to catch Luke.

"You alright lanky?" I turn around to see Luke shaking his head. "Do you wanna join our cuddles?" He nods, crawling over and laying himself out across Ashton and myself.

-

It's safe to say we all wake up with killer headaches and Luke may have stopped a few times on the walk home to vomit. I'm thankful for the lot but the three days after the party I'm feeling a bit tired of the split custody feeling. It's like either I hangout with them or Calum does but never at the same time and everyone is careful not to bring him or the party up and I wonder if they're as bad with him.

I don't bother trying to avoid Calum, I'm too fueled with anger to bother being sad about it all. In fact, if anything I'm way more there than I usually am. I was outside on the grass with my earphones in, in my bedroom with the curtains wide open, I'm even out around the block walking my dog.

I'm not sure if he's doing it on purpose, if he knows I don't mind him being there, but he seems to avoid me and on the couple occasions that we have run into each other he seems to clamp up and he's off in the other direction before I know it. I hate it though, if not as much then more than the way he'd been acting before and during his stupid kiss with stupid Emily that no one likes. I miss the way it used to be and even without the cuddles and kissing I think we'd gotten along pretty well.