Stuck in the Middle (Two Stories in One) [Calum Hood & Luke Hemmings AU]

3. Calum

There was a calmness in Calum's chest as he walked along the shore, the cold water at his feet sending pleasant shivers up his spine. The serenity was present even when he glanced over where his friends sat around the fire in the distance, catching sight of Sloane and Luke sitting side by side, his blonde friend's laughter ringing through the night and reaching him even over the crashing of foaming waves. Lifting the cigarette, Calum took a drag of it as he looked away from where his friends were. He kind of hated that he picked up on the nasty habit again, but circumstances weighing heavily on him called for a cigarette break every now and then.

Unfortunately, he'd been in the middle of taking a drag when the sudden, unexpected sound of a bark startled him, prompting the smoke to get caught in his throat and Calum's eyes squeezed shut as the gasp turned into a minor coughing fit. He lifted his arm, coughing into the crook of his elbow, only vaguely hearing a female voice apologize, "Oh, shit, I'm so sorry! Shh, Freddie, it's okay."

His throat slightly stung but soon the coughing subsided, and Calum opened his eyes and lowered his arm to catch sight of a German shepherd in front of him, tail wagging and tongue out as he panted excitably. A cute, if not intimidating, dog that Calum still found himself getting excited at the sight of—dogs had that kind of effect on him—as his gaze lifted to look at the girl jogging towards them.

Calum told himself his throat was dry because of the cigarette and not because of this girl; one with blonde hair tied back into a messy ponytail and an apologetic smile upturning her lips. She wore shorts and a tank, a hoodie loosely handing over her shoulders as she came to a stop in front of Calum. His lips were parted, he could tell by the way he was breathing as the cold air tickled the inside of his throat, and he could hear his mind tell him to get it together and stop gaping like an idiot. But the girl in front of him was smiling kind of breathlessly and he, too, was feeling the breath escape him.

"Uh, no, it's okay," Calum found himself saying, trying not to cringe at stumbling over his own words as he gave a shake of his head. His lips tilted upwards as he expelled a short breath, wondering about the color of her eyes seeing as it was a bit too dark to tell, before dropping his gaze to the dog. "He's a cute one."

As if on cue, the dog—Freddie—barked, taking the few steps towards Calum to sniff at him. Though he couldn't start at his feet, given the water pooling around his ankles. Calum chuckled as the girl let out an airy laugh, the sound sweet, as she said, "I think that's Freddie returning the sentiment."

Calum's smile melted into a smirk, his eyes meeting hers, noting the light shade of them. With a quirk of his eyebrow and a lift of his chin, Calum questioned boldly, "Does his mom agree?"

She let out a short laugh, impressed or amused by his forwardness, he wasn't too sure, as she dug her hands in the pockets of her unzipped hoodie. The ocean breeze tickled at Calum's skin and he watched as loose locks of her blonde hair swayed against her temples. She eyed him for a moment, biting the corner of her grinning lips, Calum's stomach uncharacteristically flipping as she mused, "She does." She then pulled her right hand out, her bracelets clinking together as she held it out to him and introduced, "I'm River."

His hand grasped hers, the touch rivaling the fire crackling in the distance, and Calum wondered if she felt the heat of it too as her gaze briefly dropping to their joined hands as he shook hers before meeting his gaze again. "Calum," he supplied, remembering to speak before this woman managed to steal his entire thought process. They were slow to release hands, or maybe it was all in Calum's head as their eyes remained locked, and he found himself telling her, "I'm, uh, staying at that house with my friends for a while," while gesturing to the beach house Michael's fiance's family owned.

River's gaze flickered past him towards the house, looking at him as she asked in breezy curiosity, "How long's a while?"

He wondered if he was imagining the alluring tone in which she spoke in, dangerous wonder in her own voice as she gazed up at him with a subtle tilt of her head. He wondered if he was an idiot, utterly ridiculous, for feeling his heart thud in his chest and something else flip around in the pit of his stomach. Wondered if it was okay that none of it felt wrong. Exciting, confusing, unexpected, desirable—but not wrong.

His tongue poked out for a quick swipe of his lower lip, fighting the smirk when he caught River's eyes trail the movement. She met his gaze again, unapologetic. Finally, Calum answered her, "A month. Maybe more."

River pursed her lips before smirking, eyebrows cocking upwards. "Sounds promising."

The cigarette was forgotten between his fingers, the sounds of the waves and his friends drowned out in the presence of the woman in front of him. Calum could feel his heart in his chest. "I'd hope so."