Broken Youth

Chapter 31

~ Chapter Thirty-One ~

••Harry••

Calum hummed a tune as his fingers found comfort on his bass strings, plucking at them occasionally, his brows furrowed. I smiled to myself, despite it feeling gay as fuck, as his hand scrambled around for a pencil and he wrote more notes on the stave. My own fingers whizzed up and down the acoustic guitar in a scale, clearly annoying Cal who looked up at me and mouthed 'fuck off'. I sighed, ploughing through my thoughts for anything that could be of use for a song. Nothing was coming to me as Calum continued to fiddle and play, notes and rhythms coming to him naturally.

"Hey, Cal? What are you doing?" Ash stumbled in, his hair pulled back by a red bandana, sweat bands on his wrists and his hands occupied by Jade's hand and a water bottle. I offered Jade a smile, in which she returned, looking rather sheepish at me then at Ash. God they were cute. (And I didn't just say that about anyone, mind you).

"Um, uh, just, um. Playing?" Calum's cheeks tinted a pink colour as he rapidly shoved the paper he'd been working on into his folder of songs and shit.

"Sounded like some leading bass action there, Hood." I winked at him, causing him not only to blush but roll his eyes. Mixed emotions much.

"It was nothing, Ash, Harry. All of you shut up." Jade let go of Ashton, his face falling slightly but continued his was to his home; the drum kit.

"Cal, please, we don't judge. We wanna see what you do on your days off work- other than you know; please yourself." I stifled a laugh at the truth in her statement. I lived in a room with him at Mum's house, and believe me- it happened. But who I was I to talk? I had a smoking hot girlfriend who has lady issues once a month for a week. What do you think I do then?

"Well-" Cal was cut off by Ashton hitting the drums with all his might and then rattling off on one hell of a 'drum roll' or whatever they call it. He finished seconds later, breathing heavily and arms surely aching.

"Carry on?"

"Well I suppose I could."

"Mhm, you could." Jade patted his knee before sitting on it and picking up his folder. "Or I could."

"J, it's-"

"'It' is nothing, Cal. I'm gonna find it no matter what goes down in this room, okay?" He just shrugged. Jade shifted through the papers, her eyebrows raising and falling as her green eyes fell on the pages no doubt containing Calum's life. "Some of these lyrics are incredible, Calum, why the hell don't you show it to the world? It's nearly always Harry or Liam or Zayn that does the writing. And Luke used to." His name sent red alarms of in my head; he still wasn't back. And he should have been weeks ago.

"Hey guys!" Mike, Ni, Lou, Li and Zayn all crammed their way through the narrow doorway and into the room, guitars and folders in hand.

"Morning, lads!" Ash cheered, his grin growing. Man did I love these idiots.

"FOUND IT!" Calum blushed as Jade pulled out three sheets of paper. One with a bass line, two with lyrics and guitar lines underneath.

"Found what?" Zayn's accent was thicker than usual, informing me him and Mum had been together. Her accent always seemed to talk a toll on us Styles brothers.

"My song." Calum muttered, raking his hand through his highlighted quiff.

"It's called," There was a pause as Jade found the title and Ash drum rolled. "'Disconnected'."

Niall looked over her shoulder. "And boy does that bass line look good." I chuckled- great minds think alike. Niall read some of the lyrics, tapping the rhythm of the bass on the back of Cal's chair.