1983 c.h. (au)

6: fuck your homework

An overly excited Calum waited anxiously at Charlie's locker the next day waiting to quiz her. She ran a tired hand against her scalp ruffling the soft strands and walked by herself weaving through the crowded halls. Charlie was dreading to see Calum because of the discussion that her and Phoenix had last night and because she didn't do his so called assignments.

Phoenix had given her a wealthy amount of proof not to trust Calum. Apparently he had a reputation as the baddest badass in school. Also he had slept with half the girls in San Francisco. He was way out of Charlie's league. But Calum didn't seem like that at all. She wasn't taking anybody else's word. Plus she was pissed off at the world because of the fact that she was bleeding in between her legs for the rest of the week.

She finally reached her locker and opened it slightly pushing Calum aside. "Where's your homework?" His arms were crossed over his chest and she reached for a binder.

"Fuck your homework. I had more important things to do than sit on my ass and listen to the damn album 5000 times until I saw the fucking sunrise." She snapped on him unintentionally. Her eyes grew wide and she covered her lips with her hand. "Oh my gosh Cal. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that. It just came out. Honest."

"Is your Aunt from Virginia visiting you?" Calum's expression stayed the same as if he was immune to her acid words.

"Umm. Yeah. She is." Charlie looked down to her feet in shame and shifted from leg to leg.

"That's okay. Homework is excused until next week." Calum wrapped an arm around her shoulders being her escort to her first class of the day. Charlie couldn't help but notice how drastically the loudness of the hallway had gone down. She got death glares from either sides of the hallway and hushed whispers were shared. What did they know? Maybe Phoenix was right about his reputation. Phoenix was almost always right.

"What happens if I don't have my homework in by next week?"

"Then you won't get your weekly surprise. The stuffed animal was this weeks surprise." Calum shrugged and kept walking straight not having a care in the world. Charlie wanted to run and hide in the closet because she was put on the spotlight. "Anywho, I'm going roller skating this weekend. Are you down?"

"I dunno. I was pretty set on sleeping the weekend away. Plus I have homework to do for you remember."

"Oh yeah true. You may or may not be getting graded on it."

"Fuck your homework." Charlie repeated and they both laughed loudly walking through smoothly. Calum noticed the way she closes her eyes when she laughs. He added that to the mental list that makes her absolutely beautiful. Calum didn't care what Luke or Michael or Ashton said. Calum didn't care about what everyone else thinks about him. He didn't care about what they might think. All he cared about was Charlie and how much he loved her.

Calum had noticed how stiff Charlie got under his arm and he watched her keep her head down as if she was shielding herself from the rain. "Charlie are you okay?" Calum whispered in her ear, his lips brushing against the shell. "Tell me what's wrong?"

He detached himself from her right in front of her classroom. She opened her mouth to say something but the bell chimed loudly in the background causing a rush of people to flood the hallway again. "Later." And she escaped with everyone else that had to take Algebra II.

***

Charlie was curled into a ball on her bed in the middle of her pink room. Snippets of what her and Phoenix talked about were swirling around in her head and she couldn't stop it. The Neighbourhood played softly in the background and she listened finally getting around to Cal's homework assigned for her. Charlie smiled to herself that she was listening to all the music he lectured her about. She did think they were good songs. They were the kind of music Liv listened to.

Then. The smile faded away from Charlie's face and the tears built at the sting of remembering. But she blinked them back and got up to close her open window because lightning flashed in the distance. Just then a rock decided to launch itself at her and hit her in between the neck and the chest. "Ow. Shit. Where did a rock come from?" It landed at her feet and another one came and hit her in the same spot again. Charlie poked her head out her window only to see Calum about 20 feet down.

"Shit. Did I hit you?" His hair seemed to glow in the light of the full moon.

"Maybe..."

"Sorry I was trying to be romantic and cliché. Can I come up?" He was already scaling the side of the house so why not. Charlie ducked back into her room scanning quickly in case she needed to hide anything. It was clean and tidy so all she did was plop down on her bed reclaiming her spot when Calum tumbled in through the window. "Damn. Who has hardwood in their bedroom?"

"Uh. I guess I do?" Calum composed himself and sat in her white faux fur chair across from her and leaned forward rested his elbows on his knees.

"Where did the rock hit you?"

"Like right here." Charlie air circled the general location with her finger and Cal walked over to her before plopping himself down next to her.

"Come here." And Calum took his large hands and rested them on her waist pulling her into his lap. Then his soft lips pressed to her skin leaving sloppy wet kisses. Charlie let out a gasp, surprised at him doing this. He kissed up to her jawline and then back down to her collarbones. It ignited Charlie in such a way, that she craves him touching her silky skin. She dug her hands, feeling his soft hair between her fingers running up and down on his scalp. Calum pulled back promptly and looked up at her with a half smile. "What happened earlier today? You said we could talk about it later. And it's later." She climbed off of him.

"Oh yeah about that. Um did you notice how drastically the hallway changed when we were walking to class today?" Charlie bit her lip and awaited his answer patiently. She didn't want to drive him away. But she also didn't want to reel him in too close either.

"That's only because I'm practically royalty and they know to get out my damn way."

"Yeah but did you not see everyone whispering?" Charlie rose her eyebrows as if to say 'seriously Cal?'

"What's the problem?"

"Look at me and then look at you. Complete opposites. Like lollipops and cigarettes."

"Oh so now were quoting 1983 again? Cool. I can do this.." Cal crossed his arms over his chest.

"No. I'm just saying Calum. I was getting like death glares and then Phoenix was telling me a whole bunch about the well known history of Calum Hood. And I come into school today only to find that everything he mentioned about your ego and your reputation is true."

"Is he telling you anything that's hurting you?" Calum searched her eyes for something. "Is he telling you anything that you don't already know? Is he saying stuff that isn't true?"

"I don't want it to be..." Charlie let her voice trail off as she whispered.

"Why?"

"Because you aren't like that. You aren't the badest badass in school. You haven't slept around with half of San Fransisco."

"And what if I did?" Charlie didn't know what else to say. Calum had just confessed the sins of his youth as if it was nothing. "So what if what everybody says about me is true?"

"Because that doesn't seem like you." Charlie's voice cracked as hers and Calum's faces were inches apart.

"Then you must not know me. I have another homework assignment for you. And you might like this one."

"Fuck your homework."