Dirty Little Secret // C.H.

Thirty

After soundcheck, the boys went about their normal process of preparing for a show.

Luke was messing with his hair which didn't seem to be cooperating. Michael was on the phone with his girlfriend who had called to wish him luck like she did before each show. Calum had been plucking at a string on his shirt when Ashton pulled him to the side.

"Can I talk to you?" Ashton asked him. He looked around the room at Luke and Michael before looking back to Calum. "Privately?"

Calum gave him a nod but he could tell from the look in Ashton's eyes and the tone of his voice this wouldn't be good for him. He swallowed his nervousness and followed Ashton into the hall just outside the dressing room.

"What's up?" Calum asked, praying this conversation wasn't about who he thought it was.

"Talk to her." Ashton ordered.

"Who?" Calum choked out. His idea to play dumb had failed him.

Ashton gave him a glare.

Calum sighed.

"What's the point?" Calum asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"The point is you need closure." Ashton said quickly, a hint of irritation slipping through his voice. "Frankly, I'm tired of watching you mope around here being angry with the world because you're angry with Sienna."

Hearing her name made Calum perk up without even realizing. He was more focused on Ashton's attitude.

"I haven't been moping." He defended, earning another glare from Ashton.

"You sit around and watch her with Niall." Ashton reminded him. "You watch them like they've committed a crime. Every time he makes her laugh you look like you've been punched in the gut." Ashton explained. "You're making yourself miserable-"

The more Ashton went on about it the faster the anger bubbled inside Calum.

"Because I miss her!" Calum snapped. "Because I can't do anything but think about her and what I'd give to see her smile at me again!"

Ashton raised his eyebrows at Calum's sudden outburst.

Calum's chest rose and fell quickly with each breath he took to steady himself.

"So, yes. I'm angry. Because I'm miserable and she's out having fun with him." Calum admitted. "Because every time she walks in the room I can't breath and she doesn't even look my way." He gritted his teeth as he glared at Ashton. "Because I lay awake at night aching for her when she's six feet from me asleep on his chest."

"So, you won't talk to her because of Niall?" Ashton inquired, buried annoyance with Calum's behavior over the past few weeks finally surfacing.

"Because she replaced me with him." Calum spat. "Because I can't even sit next to her anymore. He's always there. Always rubbing it in my face."

"Did you consider that he's here because Sienna wanted to see her best friend?" Ashton wondered. "That it wasn't just to piss you off?"

"He has been here for weeks."

"Because she needs him!" Ashton shouted, his voice suddenly full of anger. It made Calum feel like a child scolded by his father. "Honestly, do you think he would've flown halfway across the world unless it was important?" He composed himself before he spoke again. "I was there," He told Calum. "the night she called him. I saw how much she missed you. I saw how hurt she was. I held her as she cried over you."