better. (a cake au)

six.

Remember when I said that things kept getting better? That was true. Except for one thing. My grades. They dropped. Like, a lot. I went from straight As to having 4 Fs. So I guess you could say now my As are about as straight as I am.

I drag my feet into the living room. My parents said they wanted to have a "serious chat about school." Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to it. I plop down on the sofa and fiddle with my thumbs.

"So, Luke. I'm just gonna get straight to the point here. Your grades are lower than they've ever been, and I'm not happy about it." Says my mother. "I know that being in love can be distracting and that all you want to do is spend time with Calum, but that's not realistic. You have one month to get your grades up or there are going to be serious consequences."

"Mom- that's not enough time to get an F to and A." I protest.

"That's not my issue. Talk to your teachers about extra credit. If in a month you have all Bs or above, you won't be punished. I recommend you make that happen, or you will not be happy with the consequences."

"If those consequences include me breaking up with Calum, it's not happening." I say standing up.

"I'm not going to ask you to do that, Luke. I can tell you're happy. But there will be other, worse consequences."

"Nothing would be worse that that."

"Well, then get your grades up. If you don't, I think I can change your mind on that one."

"We love you, Luke, you know that." Says my dad. "But your education is very important."

"I understand." I say with a frown.

I worked extremely hard that month to get my grades back up. But it proved easier said than done. My dates with Calum were more like study dates. A lot less kissing and a lot more reading. Yay. It actually got to the point that every time we kissed for more than two seconds, I felt like I was wasting valuable study time. It used to be the other way around. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get my math grade up over a C. And so, the consequence talk happened.

"We gave you your chance, Luke, but your math grade is still not up to par. We've decided that the best thing to do would be to have you switch schools. I'm trying to say this in the nicest way possible, because when I put it straight forward, it sounds awfully harsh. I love you very much, but I feel like you're not succeeding. Your grades aren't the only reason I'm making this decision. You've been very distracted lately. Failing your drivers test, getting a job for a week then losing it. We've been thinking about this since you were a freshman, so I don't want you to think that it's abrupt or random, because it's not. You may not be able to understand our reasons, but if you were in our shoes, you would. Like I said, your grades are one of the less prominent reasons. You only have one C and the rest are As and Bs, and I'm proud of you. But sometimes the best thing to do is to send you somewhere that you can focus and make new friends. You aren't very social, Luke. I want you to be somewhere where you're forced to be social and focused all at once. There's a wonderful school a couple hours away called Bridgeway Academy that I think you'll really benefit from. It's a boarding school, and all the students there are very happy."

"What?! A boarding school??! No way. I'm not going to a boarding school."

"Yes, Luke, you are. This is the best option."

"I have good grades! Only one C!" I say, standing up.

"That's not the reason we're sending you there."

"Then why did you say this was a consequence for not having all As and Bs?!" Im starting to shout now, but mostly just to keep myself from crying.

"You need good grades to get into Bridgeway. That's why we told you that."

"So- you just lied to me!?"

"It'll be better for you there. Please, stop yelling."

"Drive me to Calum's please." I say in a calm but obviously angry voice.

"Stephen, will you take him?" My mom says, looking at my dad.

"Sure." Says my dad.

The drive there is silent, my dad shooting me occasional glances which I don't return. I didn't tell Cal I was coming, but I know he's home. When we get there my dad says goodbye, but I get out of the car silently and slam the door behind me. I jog up to Calum's door and wipe a tear from my cheek, then knock on the door. A moment later Calum opens it.

"Calum." I choke.

"Are you crying?" he asks, and I throw my arms around his neck, burying my head in his neck and letting out a sob. "Luke, what's the matter??" I don't answer him because I'm crying to hard. He rubs his had over my back soothingly and kisses my neck. "Baby, tell me what's wrong." I finally lift up my head and let go of him, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"My parents are making me go to boarding school." I choke, tears still running down my cheeks.

"What??? You're joking, right?" asks Calum.

"No. It's called Bridgeway, it's a couple hours away. I'm not sure when I'm going but I think it's soon." I wipe my cheeks, trying to calm myself down.

"They can't just-" says Calum, but he's interrupted by his mother.

"Calum, is everything ok?" Calum's mom asks, walking into the room. She notices me crying and walks over, looking concerned. "Luke, what's the matter?"

"It's... I have to go to boarding school." I choke out before another sob comes. Calum embraces me again, wrapping his arms around my waist as I sob into his shoulder.

"Oh, honey." His mom says, placing a hand on my shoulder. "If you need to talk, I'm here."

"Thank you." I choke.

"Mom, I think he'd probably rather talk to his boyfriend than his boyfriends mom."

"I'm just trying to be nice, honey."

"Thanks, Joy." I say, pulling away from Calum and sniffing, wiping my eyes.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." She smiles at me and walks into the kitchen. I try to collect myself and turn away from Calum, shutting the door and taking a deep breath before turning back to him.

"I'm never gonna see you now." I say with a sniff.

"Yes you will, Lukey, I'll come visit you every weekend and we can talk on the phone everyday."

"But- will your mom be willing to take you every weekend?" I say and wipe my cheeks a final time.

"Of course she will. We'll make things work, okay?"

"Okay." I say, and kiss his cheek. "Thank you."

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