Carly's POV
It's been a few weeks since I last spoke to Calum and I know that he should be coming home in a matter of days. Graduation is fast approaching and I'm not sure if I'm even ready. I've tried to keep my grades up all of secondary school, but it got hard around year 11. My grades started slipping and I was falling behind a lot, but I had Michael, Luke, Cal, and Ash to help me through it. My life has changed so much since then. If I had a time machine and saw myself now, I don't think I'd recognize me. I've gone through a lot this year and it's changed me. I was depressed for the longest time and then when I finally got my shit together, I realized I didn't like who I was so I starting changing things about me. I changed the way I dressed, how I act, and even who I'm friends with. I'm still extremely close with Luke and Ashton, but I'm talking about my friends outside of them. Those people were toxic and I'm glad I got rid of them because I don't need that in my life. When Calum and I got together, I started becoming more and more happy as the days went on. I sit in my room and do the last of my weekend homework when I hear my phone start to ring. I pick it up and see that it's Calum calling. A smile grows on my face and I drop what I'm doing so I can answer him.
"Hello?"
"Hey, I just landed."
"You did?" I say excitedly.
"Yeah and I'm on my way to your house right now."
"You should see your parents first, they probably miss you a lot."
"Well I wanna see my beautiful girlfriend first and then we can go to my house and see my mom and dad."
"Okay fine. I'll see you when you get here. I love you."
"I love you too baby." I smile as I hang up the phone. I get up and start cleaning up my room a little bit. I take my hair out of the messy bun I put it in and I put the hair tie around wrist and grab my phone. I head downstairs and see my mom in the kitchen.
"Hi honey. Did you get your homework done?"
"Almost, but I got a call from Calum."
"Is everything okay with them?"
"Yeah everything's really good. He's on his way over here."
"Oh so he's back?"
"He just landed and he should be here soon."
"Okay, well make sure you get your homework done and you should also check the mail. You got a letter from one of the colleges you applied for."
"I did?"
"Yeah. I got an email about it."
"Did-"
"It didn't say, but the letter will." I nod my head and walk outside. I go to the mailbox and grab the only mail that's in there. I look at the letter and see that it's from the university of Sydney. I take a deep breath in and walk back in the house. I sit on the couch and hold the letter in my lap. I'm terrified to open it because this pretty much determines my future. I've wanted to go to this collage since I was ten and if I don't get in, it'll feel like all my hard work was for nothing. I'm almost too busy staring at this letter to notice Calum walk through the door. I look up and see him. I set the letter on the table and run up to him. I jump into his arms and he spins me around. He puts me down and presses his lips to mine. When we pull apart, we walk over to the couch and sit down. I see him look at the letter and then back at me. Before I can grab it, he does.
"Why haven't you opened this yet? This is your dream school."
"I know, but I have a feeling I already know what it says."
"You'll never know until you open it." He hands it to me and I smile. I turn the letter over and begin to tear it open. I take the paper out of the envelope and unfold it. I look at Calum.
"I'm scared." He puts his hand on my shoulder.
"You can do this Car, I know you can." I smile and look at letter. I read the top line.
Dear Carly,
We are delighted to inform you that you have chosen to attend the University of Sydney.
I look up at Calum after skimming through the rest of the letter. "Well?" He asks.
"I got in."
"You got in!" He pulls me into a tight hug and I look at the letter once more. I feel tears forming in my eyes. Finally for the first time in a long time it feels like my life is my own again. For the past few months it's felt like someone else had the wheel and was driving like a maniac, but now it feels like I'm back in control of everything that felt so out of control. Calum and I let go of each other and he looks at the letter. "I'm so proud of you." He says and then kisses my temple.
"You know what we should do?" I ask.
"And what's that?"
"We should celebrate. We should get the guys and Rose together and go out to eat."
"That sounds like a perfect idea." I smile and pull out my phone. I shot a quick text to the group chat and soon replies start rolling in. I didn't tell them what exactly we're celebrating, but that's okay. I head up to my room and get changed into nicer clothes and when I come down stairs I see Calum with a huge smile on his face.
"What's this for?" I ask while poking his cheek.
"I'm so happy to see you happy."
"Me too. Now let's go before they all get there and we aren't there." He smiles and holds out his hand. I grab it and interlace our fingers together. We walk out the door and get into his car. We drive to the restaurant and see Ashton and Luke pull in a few minutes after we got there. We wait for them to park and Cal and I walk over to them.
"Why did you two come together?" Calum asks.
"Luke was over at my house because his mom was working and he didn't want to sit in an empty house alone, so I took him to my place."
"Let's head in before Mike and Rose get here." I say jokingly. We walk into the restaurant and get seated. We wait for Michael and Rose to show up before looking through the menu. When we all get our food, I decide that it's a good time to tell everyone. "So the reason I wanted everyone together was so I could tell you guys something." I see Rose's face morph into sheer happiness.
"Oh my god, are you pregnant?"
"No, I got accepted into the University of Sydney." She puts her hands over her mouth.
"That's even better than a baby! Congrats Car!" She stands up and walks over to me. She hugs me and then sits back down.
"That's amazing news Carly. You've talked about going to the school for such a long time now." Luke says.
"I've been wanting to go there since I was like ten. It's been my dream school for so long and now I get to go to it."
"Hey, and you won't be far away either since we live here in Sydney." Calum says.
"That's a plus." Ashton says. Michael has been oddly quiet this whole time, but I don't think too much of it. We eat dinner and have a really great time, but Michael hardly says a word. I'm not sure why it's scaring me so much, but it is. When Calum drops me off at my house, I get a phone call from Michael.
"Hello?"
"Carly, you need to get over here, fast."
YOU ARE READING
Sting :||: Michael Clifford
Romance"Mikey, you're awake." I say as I walk into his hospital room. I sit down on the bed and begin to talk. "I was worried that you we're going to be awake. How are you feeling?" "I-I'm feeling fine, but I have a question." "Ask away." I say with a smil...
