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

7. Calum

Around eleven at night was when Calum and all of his friends returned to the house after a late dinner. He could hear most of them unwinding in the living room downstairs, the open doors and spacious halls allowing for sound to travel easily—not to mention they were probably the loudest group ever. Not that Calum minded.

He took off his leather jacket, tossing it on the bed as he gazed out the window. The ocean at night was mesmerizing, the glitter of the moonlight against the water superior than the sun, in Calum's opinion. He wasn't quite sure how long he stood staring, but when he was about to turn away, his gaze wandered to the house next door; specifically, the back deck of River's house. With a furrow in his eyebrows, Calum stepped closer to the window, gaze downwards, the deck light allowing him to see that River was sitting on top of the railing of the deck, facing the ocean.

Her face wasn't visible to him, obviously, and for a moment Calum bit his lower lip, debating his next move. He wondered if she wanted to be alone, if he would be intruding on alone time she may want to have. But he found himself moving before giving himself a chance to truly think about it, walking out of the room and down the stairs. The sounds of his friends and the TV playing were loud and present, but no one noticed him reach the bottom of the steps and turn around to walk down the hall, their voices growing faint as he stepped outside into the surprisingly cool night and shut the glass door behind him.

He squinted ever so slightly against the breeze, instantly tasting the salt as he took the few steps towards the steps, the weight of his Docs providing for some heavy thuds against the wood despite him attempting to be light on his feet. His eyes trailed over to the house next door, catching sight of the girl peacefully sitting on the railing, as he approached the railing. He gripped it, trying to make out River's expression; all he could see from where he stood was a calmness on her features that he found himself not wanting to disturb even though he wanted to talk to her, just be in her presence, really. It was relaxing. But he'd lived life without presence. He could do it again.

So, rolling his lips into his mouth, Calum silently pushed himself off the railing and turned to head back inside, stopping in his tracks when River's lilting voice called, "You're not even gonna say hi?"

Calum stopped, turning his head to see River looking at him. He took a breath, the cold air tickling his throat as he buried his hands in the pockets of pants and faced her house. Lifting his chin, he found his voice as he responded, "Didn't wanna disturb you."

"You're not," River replied, stretching her hand out towards him, fingers wiggling as she called out, "Come sit."

She didn't have to tell him twice, turning towards the steps and making his way down and crossing over to the steps of her back deck. He happened to glance up as he made his way over, River's legs dangling above him as she stared straight ahead, and he soon enough reached the top, hand sliding along the top of the railing as he walked over to the spot where she sat. Calum came to a stop to River's right, leaning on the bannister with his arms folded on top of it, but instead of following her gaze to the view up ahead, he took in the one right next to him.

"You alright?" He wasn't quite sure what prompted him to ask that, but it was just something in her face. A mute sadness he felt she was trying to hide behind a mask of contentment.

River's throat worked, not meeting his gaze yet. "No," she answered truthfully, head bowing as her gaze dropped to her lap. She glanced at Calum, who was watching her patiently, and River smiled wryly before letting out a sigh. "I called my mom today just to, you know, talk to her. Hadn't heard from her in a while. But she was, uh," she paused with a frown, like she was fighting the emotions threatening to spill, licking her lips. "She was too busy with her new boyfriend. We barely talked for a minute before she hung up."