Homeroom

19: Caught in the Headlights

[A/N] THANK YOU FOR THE 4k!!! :) ILY ALL SO MUCH :) Song for the chapter is Me and My Broken Heart by Rixton.

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I never thought I'd live to see the day that Luke and Charlie shake hands. But as the transaction occurs in front of me, I can't help but try to reverse it. "But we don't even need another guitarist, Charlie, especially one that's about as talented as a bag of dirt."

Okay, so I know that's a flat out lie; Luke is a pretty good guitarist, but there's no way I'll ever openly admit that.

Luke glares at me. "Really? That's the best you got? You're just a--"

Aaron hits him in the arm, glaring at him with hard eyes. They both share some kind of silent conversation before Luke groans.

I look over at Charlie for some kind of support, but he's scowling at me, too.

What in the world is happening?! We used to complain and make fun of Luke at lunch all the time together, and now he decides to suddenly change his mind because Luke proved to be valuable to him? Doesn't Charlie see anything wrong with that picture?

"Okay, well we should probably break the news to the people upstairs," Al says, attempting the break the uncomfortable tension in the room. "Why don't you come up with me, Charlie?"

"Ha, that's funny," Luke laughs sarcastically. "You're both not leaving me here with her; I'm coming with you guys before I do or say something I'll regret."

"Alright, whatever, now let's go," Michael quickly says, pushing them both up the stairs. The door slams shut behind them all.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out to read the message.

Unknown number: Hi

I look at Aaron, who's hunched over his iPhone.

"Really? That's all you have to say? Hi?" I ask, unimpressed.

He looks up from the screen. "Yeah, sure, why not? I've told you I was sorry thousands of times, and look where that's gotten me."

"Yeah, it landed you a spot in my best friend's band," I fume.

He stares at me for a few, long seconds before shaking his head. "I don't know what else to do, Callie. I understand that you're mad, but don't you think it's time to forgive and forget?"

"No, it's not, actually. It's time for you to remove yourself from my life."

Silence.

His face shags into a disappointed frown, and his hard gaze focuses on me. It takes all of the effort I can muster to stare right back at him.

"There's a reason why you keep shutting people out, Callie," he says, getting up from the chair to step closer to me. He tentatively approaches me, leaving a three foot gap between us. "And there's a reason why you don't accept apologies, even when they are 100 percent genuine and sincere," he softly says. "I don't know why you do what you do, but I'll figure it out soon enough."

I try my absolute best to hide how frightened I am. He's right, but there is no way I'm going to let him know my deepest, darkest secrets.

"Well, good luck trying to find out a secret that doesn't exist," I lie between my teeth.

"That's a lie, and we both know it," he knowingly says. "But for now, I won't push it."

He analyzes me for a final time before turning around and walking up the stairs to the first floor, shutting the door quietly behind him.

My brain is a soupy, scrambled mess of questions with no answers. The only think I do know for sure is that Aaron is preparing for battle, and I guess that means I should be, too.

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[A/N] I feel so evil, but I'm not telling you all Callie's secret.