voodoo doll // c.hood

23; awkward & apprehensive

C A L U M

Shit shit shit.

I'm late. Not that late- but still late! I knew how important this was for Luke, he warned me that if I screwed up his chances with this bird that I would be in trouble. I can see Luke waiting out the front of the restaurant with his date as I drive into the parking lot. He didn't seem too phased though, I guess he was too distracted by Annabeth.

I race out where they stand, a bit out of breath when I make it.

"Luke, I'm so sorry I'm late." I come to the realisation that Amity was running a bit later than me.

"It's cool, we just waiting on Amity now." He smiled cheerily. He looked as if he was over the moon. He takes Annabeth's hand in his and they get lost in each other's eyes.

How cliche.

Now feeling like the third wheel, I hope Amity definitely comes tonight or I'm not looking forward to the fact that it's going to be like this while I'm eating and I wouldn't want to throw up perfectly good food...alone.

"You're gorgeous," he mumbles, I am amazed that he didn't drool all over her pretty dress. "Oh right," he finally snaps out of his trance, "Calum, this is Annabeth. Annabeth, Calum."

We shake hands and she says, "Nice to meet you." She had naturally curly, light brown hair and was quite neatly dressed. She had a very slim figure and seemed very dainty. Right up Luke's ally.

I reply saying, "You too, Luke has told me all about you." I smile cheekily. Luke's cheeks turn pink and he shoves my slightly.

A run down car pulls up along side the road a few meters away from us. Amity- looking as stunning as always- jumps out, saying something to the driver before shutting the door. The car speeds off and Amity waves it goodbye before heading over to us.

She wore almost the same thing she did on our first date, instead she wore a white shirt with her skinny jeans and chucks.

"Hey, Amity," Luke greets.

"Hiya Luke, you're looking very handsome this evening," she chuckles. "And this must be Annabeth," she says, turning to the girl clung to Luke's side.

"Nice to meet you, Amity." They shook hands and she turned to the end of the line- me.

"Hi Calum." She said politely.

"Uh- hi Amity," I sputter out. "You look," I look her up and down, ending up at her eyes. Her big, beautiful and hopeful eyes. "You look gorgeous."

She seems a bit shocked by my compliment and looks to the ground, trying to hide the smile on her face.

"Let's go inside, shall we?" Luke asks.

"Yes please! I am starving." Annabeth enthuses.

Her and Luke link arms and hurry inside. Amity and I hesitate.

"Um, shall we?" I gesture to the entrance of the restaurant.

"Okay," she shrugs, walking by my side as we follow Luke and his date.

A waiter guides us to a table of four and places menus before heading back to the entrance to usher another couple to their seats. Luke takes a seat and Annabeth sits beside him. Amity walks around to her chair and is about to sit down before I stop her.

"Let me get that, Amity." I rush over and pull out the seat for her. She is, again, a bit taken back by my kind gesture but accepts and takes a seat across for Annabeth. I sit down next to her.

"Dude," Luke kicks me under the table, "way to make me look bad." He almost growls.

"Don't worry, honey. I know you are a true gentlemen." Annabeth reassures Luke, placing her hand lightly on his shoulder.

We all read through menus and try to decide what to order.

"What do you want, love?" Luke asks.

"I don't know...." Her sentence fades out. "Maybe the Caesar salad?"

"I think I'll go with the classic Spaghetti Bolognese," I state. "If it is anything like my mums, it's will be amazing."

"I think I'll have the same as Cal." Luke decides.

"What about you Amity?" I ask.

"I was thinking fish, chips and salad."

We signal the waiter over and place our food orders along with the drinks we'd like.

-

"Open wide, babe," Luke scoops up some of his indulgent cake with his spoon and feeds it to Annabeth.

She moans and utters "So delicious, but not as delicious as you." She leans over and sucks on his face for about the 100th time tonight.

I look over to Amity who rolls her eyes, I fake gag making her laugh. It felt good to finally make her laugh after be the cause of her anger and annoyance a few days ago.

God, how did we get like this? A few weeks ago we were happy together. Due to my new found obsessive need to be perfect at soccer, I have driven her away. Now we are on a lovely date together watching another couple being so lovey dovey that it makes us disgusted. I won't stand for this no longer. I will work on us, I will restore us.

I need to make it right again.

"Well, I'm stuffed," I drop my spoon on my plate, wipe my mouth with the napkin provided and plop that on top of the plate too.

"Me too," Amity chirps.

"Shall we split the bill?" I ask the group.

"No, mate. Tonight's on me." Luke insists.

"Are you sure?" I persist.

"Yes, man." He nods.

"Okay, if you insist." I throw my hands up in defeat.

"I'm just going to duck to the bathroom before we leave, okay sweetie?" Annabeth announces, kissing Luke on the cheek and walking out to the restroom.

After she is gone, I lean over to Luke, ensuring that I will pay him back afterwards and he thanks me.

"Okay, ready to go Lukey?" Annabeth reappears out of no where, slipping on her coat.

"Let's go babe." He stands up and escorts her out of the restaurant.

Amity and I glance at each other before following after them. When we meet the door, I hold it wide pie for her and she nods, exiting the restaurant.

"Uh, guys. Annabeth and I are going to head off home. I was going to take her back to her place so I'll see you guys later. Thanks for tonight, you guys are true friends." He bounces over to Annabeth and they disappear into the darkness of the car park.

Amity rubs her hands up and down her arms, shivering in the cold nightly breeze.

"Did you want my jumper?" I offer.

"So original, offering you jacket to the freezing cold girl as a romantic gesture." She snickers.

"So is that a yes?"

"Okay yeah, it is." She admits. I slip it off and hand it to her. She pulls her hands through the sleeves and hugs the jacket tightly, warming herself up.

"Did you have a lift home? Because I can drive you if you'd like?"

"Well, I was just going to call up a taxi..."

"You won't have to pay if I drive you." I shrug, looking down and kicking the dirt on the ground.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a hassle..."

"No hassle, I'll be happy to do it." I mention. She doesn't answer. I hold out my hand to her as a formal invitation for a lift home.

She accepts, placing her hand in mine and intertwining our fingers. We walk side by side in content, as if we were making progress. We sway our arms in time as we walk. I pull out keys from my pocket and the car lights flash as I open it. We both slide into our seats and I begin to drive. Even though I'm not 100% sure where to go, I still drive.

"Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" I attempt to start up conversation.

"Um yeah," she's sighs. "Annabeth seems nice and Luke is happy." She speaks in a quiet volume and fiddles with her fingers, looking down at her feet.

"Are you...okay?" I ask.

"Well, to be honest, I'm not all that thrilled about going home. Plus I'm not actually quite sure about what's going on between us, I kind of miss you I guess."

"I really miss you too, seeing you tonight made me realise... I guess. Wait, why don't you want to go home?" I ask as it is the more immediate problem.

"My mums been up to her old habits again. Well not old, more like usual habits. Basically, she is never around because she found a new boy you slash drinking buddy who obviously is more important than her only child."

Her eyes looks heavy, she seemed like she was on the brink of bursting into tears. Maybe I could try to cheer her up. That could also potentially sort us out... No harm in trying right?

It was clear that she needed someone, and I knew that the last thing she wanted to be doing was spending the night alone, contemplating her Mother's mistakes.

 -

thank you for reading, please remember to vote and comment!

double update tonight :)