Mess is Mine // Calum Hood

Chapter 7

"You're not allowed to leave us," Sierra pouted, glancing over at Luke sitting in the passenger seat. We were on our way to the airport with him and Calum. They boys were all going back to Australia to spend Christmas with their families, and they had all booked their plane tickets together. I could see LAX looming, and my heart dropped. Since we had worked things out, Calum and I had been spending a lot of time together. Nothing serious had happened, just lazy cuddles and a lot of random dancing.

I looked over at the dark-eyed boy and smiled at the sight of him already watching me. He took my hand and squeezed it lightly. Even though I was so happy he was going home to be with his family, I was definitely going to miss him. Spending time with him had quickly become one of my favorite things to do, no matter what we were doing. Everything was just easy with him; it was comfortable and exciting all at the same time.

"Liz might not be too happy if I stay here," Luke commented with a playful grimace. Calum laughed at this and interjected,

"She'll be extra upset if she doesn't see me."

"Fuck off, mate," Luke retorted, shooting his bandmate a look. Calum just continued to laugh as we pulled up to the concourse to drop the boys off. A deep sigh escaped my lips as I stepped out of the car and towards the drunk. Sierra popped it open, and the boys each grabbed their suitcases, setting them on the curb. Luke came over to hug me first, and I felt him slip something into my hand before he wrapped his long arms around me. "It's a Christmas present for Sierra," he whispered in my ear. "Don't let her open it until Christmas, okay?"

"Your secret is safe with me," I whispered back, discreetly sliding the small wrapped box into my purse. Luke smiled brightly and thanked me before stepping towards Sierra, who was hugging Calum. The boys traded places, and Calum held his arms open for me to step into. He held me for a few moments and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

"I'll text you when we land," he told me, speaking into my hair. I lifted my head to look at his face, and he gently kissed my forehead. I gave him a final squeeze and let him go, knowing he needed to get inside and go through security. The boys grabbed their suitcases and walked into the airport, turning back one last time to wave at us. A sinking feeling washed over my body as we watched them walk away until the airport crowd swallowed their figures, and we couldn't see them anymore.

"Want to go home and cry?" Sierra asked with fake enthusiasm. I pursed my lips and looked at her, nodding vigorously. She let out a small laugh, and we returned to our car to go back home.

_______________________________

I bounced out of bed on Christmas morning like I was a little kid again. I heard Sierra's door open, and I knew she was just as excited as I was. We met right outside our bedroom doors and dashed into the living room together, giggling like little girls. Sierra stepped into the kitchen and returned shortly with two cups of hot chocolate - mine with extra marshmallows.

There weren't very many presents under the tree, but the amount of gifts definitely didn't matter to us. We sat cross-legged next to our tree, and we separated gifts into small piles. We each had agreed to get two presents for each other and to not go too overboard like we sometimes did.

"You go first," Sierra urged, tilting her chin towards my pile with a big smile on her face. I picked up the biggest box first, and I attempted to gently rip the paper off so I wouldn't make a huge mess. A shoe box fell into my lap, and I looked up at Sierra with wide eyes.

"You didn't," I commented, picking up the box. She grinned at me over her steaming cup and nodded excitedly, urging me to go on. I slowly opened the box, revealing the pair of black suede heels that I'd had my eye on for months. "S! I love them. Thank you so much." Her smiled grew even larger.