better. (a cake au)

seven.

I blare music as I shove my things into boxes, as to block out my constant crying. A week had past since my parents told me and now I'm in my room, packing my stuff and crying while Calum sits on my bed. I don't want to leave him. I can't imagine being away from him for even one day, let alone a week. Or even more. I push the thoughts from my head and put all my clothes into a box, labelling it CLOTHES with a bold tip sharpie.

"Babe, turn the music down!!" shouts Calum over the loud music, and I do. "yknow, since I lost my sight my other senses got more um... sensitive. So loud music hurts."

"Sorry." I say with a laugh, but still crying.

"Come here, baby." He says and holds out his arms. I walk over and sit on his lap, burying my face in his neck. He always smells like vanilla and musk. He kisses my cheek and rocks back and forth gently. "I'm gonna come visit you all the time. Every weekend, I promise."

"I know, but I just don't wanna leave. I'm not gonna know anybody and I won't have you with me and I'll probably end up eating lunch in the bathroom." I say with a sniff.

"This gives you a chance to start over." He says with a smile. "we'll talk on the phone at least twice a day and I'll always text you. My mom finally figured out how to set up where it tells me out loud if I have a message and I just speak my response so she doesn't have to type it for me." He says with a laugh, causing me to giggle slightly through the tears. "We're gonna make this work, okay baby?" I nod and he gives me a quick peck on the lips. "Okay, now finish your packing so we can have some fun." He says with a smirk and I punch his shoulder playfully.

----

"Call me as soon as you leave and we'll talk the whole way there." Says Calum as he pulls on his boxer briefs the next morning.

"Okay." I nod. "Your mom just pulled up." I say as I look out the window. I quickly hand Calum his jeans and tee shirt and he slips them on. I walk him down the stairs and out to his car and once we get there a hug him for a long time. "I love you." I say, trying not to cry.

"I love you too, baby." He says, pulling back and resting his hands on my hips and his forehead on mine. I place my hands on his neck and kiss his nose, holding him close to me. "I'm going to visit you all the time. Call me when you're on your way there and don't hang up till you get there. And then call me back when you get settled and let me know how it is there. Call me everyday, okay? because if you don't I'll call you."

"I'll call you every day." I promise and press my lips to his. "At least twice. I'll probably call you more than that actually. You'll probably end getting really tired of me." I say with a laugh and wipe my eyes, sniffing slightly.

"I'll never get tired of you. I love you."

"I love you too." I say, and he gives me one last desperately long and gentle kiss before I walk him to the car door and he gets in.

"Bye Luke." Says his mom, smiling at me. "We'll miss you!"

"Bye, Joy. Bye, Calum. I love you." I say, letting a war slip.

"I love you too Lukey." He says with a smile and kisses my hand. I start to cry harder as I shut the door of the car and they drive away.

-----

"I'm here." I say to Calum over the phone. "God, it's huge."

"Heard that before." Calum says and I can hear the usual smirk on his face.

"Shut up." I say. "I have to go, I'll call you when I'm settled. Love you."

"Love you babe." He says and I hang up.

"Mom, this is terrifying."

"You'll be fine, honey. You're getting a room mate so you'll meet someone right away."

"I don't wanna meet someone, mom, I want to be at home with Calum."

"Honey, this will be better for you. Trust me. This is your dorm building." She says as she pulls up to a large building. I have a fairly small wardrobe, mostly consisting of flannel shirts, band tees and black jeans, so I only have one box and 2 bags that I can carry in myself. I tell my mom goodbye and give her a kiss on the cheek before going in to the building. We had checked in and gotten my key when we first got here. I jog up to the fourth floor and walk till I find door 16. I press my key into the lock and turn it, anxiously peeking in to see who my roommate will be. I see a boy with slightly wild hair sitting on a small sofa with his legs up on an ottoman. He turns his attention away from the tv and to me when he hears me walk in.

"Hi.." I say awkwardly, setting my stuff down.

"Well hello, roomie. Welcome to Bridgeway." He says in an enthusiastic voice but with a bored face. He stands up and walks over to me putting his hand out for me to shake. "I'm Edward, but please, call me Eddie."

"Luke." I say with a half smile.

"Nice to meet you, Luke. You're tall. I always thought I was tall, but you're taller." He observes. "I'll have to rethink my status here now. Great." He says. He's going to be a character. "Now. Let me tell you a little bit about Bridgeway. There are hot girls here, but they're scary. At least the ones you'd be interested in. I mean unless you're interested in really mean, preppy, hateful girls. Those are still pretty scary, but in a different way. The ones I'm interested in at least are scary in the way that you know they'd hurt you if you made them mad and they can probably hold their alcohol better than any guy here. So be careful in that field. Another thing. The classes here are extremely easy to pass if you get on the teachers' good sides. Bring them coffee once and you're there. 3rd. I will introduce you to people, but don't expect me to be your gateway into the social world at Bridgeway. And lastly, the beer is under that loose floorboard right there." He points to a floorboard that's sticking above the other slightly. "Help yourself. I've got plenty. If you have any questions, I will gladly answer them."

"Um.. I have one."

"Yes?"

"Isn't illegal to have alcohol on campus?"

"Ah. One thing I forgot to tell you about Bridgeway. The principle doesn't care what we do. He's stoned 80% of the time. As long as you don't drink in class or anything, you're good. Oh, and you're not supposed to be in a girls room after 8, but they don't check. And if you want a smoke, shove a towel under the door. However, they do random drug tests sometimes. So if you're gonna light a joint or anything of the sort, be weary." He finishes. After a moment of awkward silence, a grin spreads across his face. "I have to show you something."

I might actually like it here.