A L I V E | gang!cal AU

A L I V E

You entered the cold room. There was harsh lighting shining on Calum. He was lying peacefully on the hospital bed. He had compression tape wrapped tightly around his arm. His eyes were still shut since the operation. You inched slowly towards him. You were unsure but relieved that everything was fine. You placed the bouquet of flowers you got him on the bedside table before taking a seat. 

Your heart ached in a good way as you admired him sleeping peacefully. His once tanned skin suddenly looked pale under the lighting. His usual warm smile wasn't there anymore. His lips were drained of any colour. You couldn't even remember the last time you woke up next to him. You caught yourself smiling softly, shedding a small tear. Carefully, you caressed his cheek. The cold touch of your fingertips made him wince. He fluttered his eyes open, revealing the redness of his sore eyes. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding and whispered a weak, "Hi." 

Just that second, some light formed in his eyes again. "You're here," he stated, lifting his arm to tuck your hair behind your ear. He grimaced at the sharp pain which stopped him from moving any further. "Damn. I look tough," he muttered, staring at his bandaged wound. You let out a small laugh, running your fingers through his messy hair. 

"I missed you so much, do you know that?" you questioned, catching his attention. 

He pouted slightly. He pushed himself up from the bed to lean against the wall. In the midst of that, he must have put too much strain on his arm, causing him to groan. You got up to help him, but he declined. After he was seated comfortably, he met your eyes again. 

"Let's talk about it," he said simply. "Tell me all the things you have against me." 

He looked at you with such care and concern. He wanted to fix things between both of you. He needed to.  

"That night was a mess. We shouldn't have said even half the things we said," you admitted, making him chuckle. 

"When I heard about the news, it killed me to think that the last thing I said to you was that I never wanted to see you again." 

Your eyes met his. You could physically see that the pain from everything was still raw for both of you.  He inched his fingers towards your hand. He held his hand over yours, holding it tightly. 

"Y/N..." he cooed as he saw you struggling to hide your tears. 

"Calum. I lied. I never meant it when I said that," you blurted, letting the tears roll down as they pleased. 

He was lost in your eyes. The affirmation from you made him overjoyed. He couldn't believe that he was so lucky to have met you. He would do anything for you. He would kill for you. He would take the bullet for you, literally. 

"And when you took that bullet for me, I j-just, I can't-"

You covered your eyes with your cold fingers. You sobbed silently, still distraught from everything. You felt Calum's warm hand pull your hands away. "Don't cry, angel. It's over now. We won against the world," he assured. You pouted, leaning in. You loved this man so much and you couldn't imagine what you would do without him. You were so close to losing him, but you got a second chance which you were going to make the most out of. 

He bumped his nose against yours, knowing how you loved when he did that. He locked eyes with you before locking his lips with yours. There was pure bliss running through your body. To think that two of you were thrown with all these terrible things that happened and the fact that you got through them together, it was everything you could ever ask for. He was your everything. You were his everything. 

◧ ◨ ◩ ◪

"How is he?" Luke asked, taking a sip of his fourth cup of coffee. 

"Fine," you said, watching him from the window to his room. He was having his first meal in days and he was downing the food like a champ. Luke nodded. "I haven't thanked you for basically saving our stupid asses." You grinned, punching him in the chest. "And you need to talk to Courtney," you stated. "She went hell and back for you. The least you can do is make everything right between you and her." 

You could have sworn that his blue eyes shined. As if on cue, Michael, Ashton and Courtney rushed into the hallway, ecstatic over the news of Calum's operation going smoothly. Luke passed his cup of coffee to you before approaching Courtney. He swept her off her feet, both of them dipping into a long-awaited kiss. Courtney was taken aback, to say the least. They stayed there for a while before getting back up. It took everything in them to pull away. 

"Hey," he mumbled, staring at her green eyes. 

"Hi," she chirped before kissing him again. Your heart exploded with joy for Courtney. You didn't know why but you felt like she found her person. Michael and Ashton engulfed you in a hug and joined you in watching Calum through the glass. In the midst of his meal, he noticed Courtney and Luke kissing up a storm. Like everyone else, he hollered in joy, pumping his good arm in the air. The boys and you broke into genuine laughter for the first time in weeks. 

In the midst of laughing, Calum caught your eye from the hospital bed. He was looking at you with a serious expression that you rarely saw from him. "I love you, Y/N. I mean it," you saw him mouth out. You sighed, falling even harder for this man. 

What a time to be alive.