Meet You There | Calum Hood

7

"So what's up with you?" Ashton asked, eyeing his friend carefully across the small table they sat at just outside the small coffee shop.

Calum glanced around, noting the heavy foot traffic that passed them on the busy side street. "Can we talk about this later?" He asked simply and Ashton gave a small nod, obliging his request and unspoken desire for somewhere more private to discuss his love life or lack thereof.

The faux red head tapped his fingers against the plastic cup of iced coffee he'd purchased and tried to asses his best friend's behavior.

"This melancholy mood, is it because of the girl?"

Calum's head snapped up and he gave Ashton a look that told him if he wanted to continue this conversation they would need to move to a more discreet location.

Ashton gave no protests, standing quickly, the bottom of his chair scraping against the concrete, coffee still in hand, as he led the way back to his car.

When both men were settled in their seats, Ashton started the engine and pulled away from the curb where he'd been parked.

"So spill. This isn't like you."

"First of all, her name is Holland, and secondly, I don't know, Ash. I thought things were going great. I took her to the gardens, the ones you took Kay to a while back? We just talked and walked around and it was just so...nice. She seemed to like me. We had good conversation. She didn't know anything about the band really, so I couldn't be a disappointment to any preconceived notion. I know I haven't been on a date in, literally, ages but I really thought we were hitting it off. I held her hand and had my arm around her and it felt completely comfortable."

"But?" Ashton asked, sensing the lingering remainder of the story would better explain his friend's current behavior.

"But then my stomach growled and I asked if she wanted to go to get food and she totally shut me down. She said it was because of a diet for gymnastics—Did you know UCLA had a competitive team for that? — anyways she was having no part in it so I took her home."

"Fuck man. You weren't like overly pushy? She didn't seem to hate the fact that you were a musician or anything?"

"No, mate. She literally showed no signs of being anything but content to be out with me up until that point. I was totally blindsided and honestly, embarrassed. I haven't felt like that in God knows when."

"I don't know what to say, Cal. It doesn't make sense."

"You're telling me." Cal scoffed, sinking down into the passenger seat he occupied.

"I'm sorry. I know you were really looking forward to that date."

" 's fine. Not the first date I've had end poorly, probably won't be the last."

The city passed by outside of Ashton's car as he drove the pair of them to the rehearsal space the band had been holed up in the past several months.

They greeted Luke and Michael and began their set up for the days rehearsal. They were preparing for tour, an opening slot for a popular electronic group. It wasn't really the band's ideal tour but it was different than their usual gigs and they hoped to win over some new fans by the venture.

If Luke or Michael wondered about Calum's current disposition or it's cause, they gave no indication.

The band gathered their instruments and continued to craft their setlist. They'd been in and out of rehearsals for the past weeks determined to  show up to these stadium shows with the most cohesive and well rehearsed set they'd ever come up with.