Shy // Calum Hood

*•Tears•*

Calum's P.O.V.
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I watched my warm, visible breath drifting away in clouds of smoke from my slightly parted lips. The crisp autumnal weather kicking in during this early hour. I'd had such a wonderful time at the theme park today with Bailey.
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After the first roller coaster we couldn't get enough of the adrenaline rush pumping through us, as we ran from roller coaster to roller coaster until it was time for us to innocently rush back to school for our parents to collect us, as though the afternoon had never happened outside of school.
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My mind kept pondering over the minuet details about her, the way her bright blue eyes, light up with laughter every time I made a joke, the way her hands were always cold, the way she blushed at the slightest compliment. I couldn't bring myself to stop thinking about her.
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I sighed rubbing my tired eyes with my palms, slowly lying back onto the smooth roof, staring up at the night sky intently. I loved watching the stars, there was just something about it, they seemed magical to me, right from when I was a little boy. It was so peaceful here. An excellent place to clear your head.
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My ears perked up like a dogs when they became distracted by short sniffling sounds like the ones I had heard a few nights ago. I sat up in a hurry, squinting slightly to try and get a better look.
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This time I recognised the girl straight away, it was Bailey again, and this time I wasn't going to stalk her.
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"Bailey! Up here!" I whisper shouted causing her to jump in terror.
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She swung her head round, smiling as she realised it was me up here. I gestured for her to join me as she nervously crept up the ladder, sitting down next to me, however, refusing to face me.
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We sat there for around two minutes which seemed to last forever, just in silence, not knowing who should speak first. I caught a glimpse of her saddened face, her cheeks glistening in the dim street light, causing me to sigh in pity.
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"So, are you gonna tell me what's wrong this time or . . .?" I broke the silence, facing forward again so she wouldn't feel so pressurised.
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"Nothing's wrong Calum." Her voice was shaky and uncertain, it was obvious she was holding back her tears.
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"I'm not an idiot you know." I used my elbow to nudge her gently in the side.
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"Why are you up this early anyway?" She wandered, avoiding my question stubbornly.
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"I told you, I'm always up this early. now why are you upset?" I questioned softly.
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I turned to face her now, only to watch her face studying the bare road in front of us intently. When she continued to not reply I took a deep breath before using my thumb to gently tilt her head to face me.
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"Come on Bailey, what's up?" I stared deep into her eyes, refusing to give up.
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She sighed, swallowing hard before finally giving in.
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"My dad's coming back." She muttered almost silently, before her pretty eyes welled up with salty tears and her plump lip quivered causing her to bite down on it, hard. "Sorry . . ." She sighed, placing a hand over her face to wipe away the stray droplets.
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"Hey, it's alright come here." I instructed in a low tone, pulling her body into me and wrapping my arms around her tightly. My shoulder grew wet as she cried into me quietly. I rubbed a large thumb up and down her smooth arm, soothingly. I had no idea what was happening, but she was extremely upset.
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"If you don't mind me asking, why's your dad coming back a bad thing? I thought you said he was in the army?" I recalled thoughtfully.
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I felt her hot breath against my thin white shirt as she mumbled incoherent words to me. I pulled away from her slightly, letting her know I didn't hear what she said.
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"I hate him." She spoke a little louder this time, chewing her lip, lost in thought.
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"Why?" I blurted out, my curiosity over ruling any respect of her privacy.
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"I really don't want to talk about it . . . are you gonna tell me why you're always up this early?"
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My curiosity was eating me alive. I wanted to know so badly what this man had done to make her hate him, but she clearly wasn't in the mood to currently discuss it, and I was in no place to disrespect her privacy.
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"I just wake up at this time, I have done for the past three years." I explained. "What about you?"
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"Nightmares." She answered simply.
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"About?" I encouraged her to continue.
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"People." She shrugged and I knew that was the most that I'd be getting our of her tonight.
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In the past couple of days I'd discovered Bailey's struggle at opening up, maybe it was a trust thing, I don't know. All I know is she seems very hesitant about sharing anything with me, she seems very interested in what I have to say, yet extremely protective of her own emotions.
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I lay back down onto my rooftop, wincing slightly at the bobbly texture. Bailey mirrored my actions shortly afterwards, and we lay there for some time, just in silence, watching the musky night sky.
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"So are these nightmares why you're upset?" I quietly breathed out, unsure whether she was going to block me out again or not.
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"I guess you could say that." She continued to watch the sky in fascination.
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"Come on Bailey, trust me." I urged, beginning to slowly grow slightly frustrated, I trusted her, why couldn't she trust me?
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"Sorry. . . I've just never really had a friend before." She whispered, embarrassed of herself.
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"Well then I guess I'll just have to teach you." I turned my body to face her, lying on my side and propping my head up with my right arm.
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A delicate smile crept across her face as she noticed my actions, before she too turned her position to mimic mine. She peered into my eyes, expectantly and I realised she was waiting for me to start.
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I pretended to clear my throat making her giggle gently, before watching her fascinating eyes glisten in the dim street light.
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"Alright then, lesson one. First things first Mrs Rovers, you have to trust me. I'm not going to hurt you, because friends also don't do that." I raised a bushy eyebrow, gesturing her to tell me the truth now.
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She softly sighed before facing the stars once more. A few moments went by, and at first I was convinced she wasn't going to answer, leaving me utterly confused. I was about to open my mouth to apologise for making her feel uncomfortable, before her sweet voice cut me off.
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"I'm a really deep sleeper you see. So when I have these nightmares, I can't wake up. Somebody has to wake me up. Well at least that's what the doctor said anyway. My mum doesn't get home until midnight usually, then she forgets to wake me up, and falls asleep herself. That is until I disturb her when it gets really bad, because I scream. That's when she comes into my room and shouts at me."
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Her lip trembled as though she was about to cry. She bit down hard, causing the skin to whiten. Her eyes closed a little longer than usual, so I brought my hand froward, and took her hand in mine, stroking my thumb over her skin gently, letting her know I was there. Her eyes began to glaze over with tears, causing her to use her other palm to dry her eyes quickly, before continuing in a shaky tone.
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"Shout at me for getting the nightmares, shout at me for waking her up, shout at me saying I'm just attention seeking. So I leave, I go for a walk usually to calm down. I dunno it helps me I guess . . ."
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Wet tears began to trickle down her rosy cheeks as guilt filled my stomach.
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"Hey, don't cry Bailey. Come here, I'm right here, I'm always going to be right here." I released her cold hand, sitting up and pulling her into me tightly.
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"It's going to be alright. You're going to be just fine." I whispered my hot breath softly into her ear. My long fingers stroked her soft, luscious hair as I desperately attempted to soothe her.
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"Sorry . . ." She mumbled into my shoulder.
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"Don't be sorry Bailey, it's fine. I'm here now." I assured her softly, my palm now rubbing circles around the small of her back.
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(A/N:) Shoutout to @calli_5sos and @carmeneliistrel for reading and favouriting my chapters so far! Love you guys, thank you so much!