Say You Want Me || Calum Hood

4.0

4.0

————

-INDY-

I ran my fingers through my hair, practically pulling at the roots out of sheer stress. Words, phrases, and melodies ran through my brain at the speed of light. I sighed and rubbed my eyes as I took a sip of the iced coffee in front of me.

I was currently sitting at a corner table of a small coffee shop in Los Angeles, struggling to finish the song I've been working on for weeks now. A vision for this song popped into my head a while ago, but now I just can't seem to be able to finish it. I knew it was just a bit of writer's block, which is normal. I've been trying to ease back into writing more frequently lately, but the lack of inspiration has been holding me back. Again, it's just writer's block, I know that. But sometimes I worry that I'll never get out of this funk I'm in.

So in an effort to get myself back into my creative ways, I've been going to different places to try to write. Yesterday, I sat on a bench in the middle of Rodeo Drive. I also spent the day last week at the beach in Malibu. I've just been trying to put myself in new environments to see if it will help. Today, I'm at a coffee shop that I've never been to. It's definitely a more chill atmosphere than my other writing locations, and all I want is for something, anything, to just pop into my brain. If I can get even one small verse done today, I'd be satisfied; but my brain felt like a blank slate. No inspiration, no visions, no creativity whatsoever.

The sound of the bell above the door chiming broke me from my cloudy trance of staring viciously at my journal. I raised my head and looked up across the room to where the noise came from, and that's when I saw Calum Hood walk in.

I hadn't seen or heard from Calum, or any of the 5SOS boys for that matter, since the VMA's last month. Not that that upset me really, I wasn't necessarily expecting to be in contact with them right after the show. But there was something in me that hoped that one of them, Calum specifically, would get in touch with me. On the night of the VMA's, I only talked to them for a few minutes. It was awkward small talk in its purest form, but somehow, it was a nice awkward small talk. I could just see myself becoming good friends with those boys.

Once again, I was broken out of my little trance when Calum saw me in the corner. He smiled at me and then walked over to my table.

"Hey you," I said to him, offering him a smile back. I closed my journal without really noticing as he reached my spot.

"Hi, Indy. How-" he cleared his throat, seeming a little nervous. "How are you?"

"I'm alright. How are you? Are you good?"

Calum nodded, still standing before me. I had to tilt my head back just a bit so that I could see him properly, being that he was tall and I was sitting. "I'm okay."

He was quiet, maybe even shy. This was an observation I'd made back at the award show. He didn't have that same confidence that his bandmates had when they spoke. There was nothing wrong with that, in my opinion; it was just something I picked up on. His sentences were always short and straight to the point. Maybe he was one of those people that you just need to get to know a little bit more before he opens up.

The two of us sat there in a bit of an awkward silence, me still looking up at him with a small smile when he stood in front of me, fiddling with the rings on his fingers. Eventually, he spoke up again, though.

"Can I get you a refill?" He nodded towards my nearly empty glass of coffee, and that's when I realized he hadn't even gotten himself a drink yet.

I accepted his polite offer and told him my drink order, and then he made his way over towards the counter to order. I took this time to observe his appearance. He looked effortlessly attractive in a green sweatshirt that read 'empathy' in white letters, along with grey sweatpants and black and white checkered Vans. Truly, there was no denying that he looked good without even putting much thought into it.