Trouvaille

Chapter 2

Calum asked me about my family and work as we drove, and I was surprised at how easy it was to talk to him. Most people I'd met since moving here had been really nice, much to my surprise, as I was expecting shallow, fake people. However, most of the people I worked with on the TV show had been friendly and incredibly passionate about what they did. In spite of all of this, I hadn't really formed a connection with anyone other than Tom.

I told Calum how Tom and I had cracked the casting director up on our first screen test together- landing us both the role without even a callback. We had immediately become fast friends, and by the time the pilot had been picked up by ABC, we'd moved in together. Tom had always had my back, and I had his, and there was no one else I loved more in the world.

'So,' Calum paused, 'there's nothing romantic between you two?'

This was the first time I'd heard Calum sound hesitant, and I felt the atmosphere in the car change suddenly.

'Well,' I said slowly, 'No.'

'Oh,' Calum sounded relieved, and that gave me a rush of confidence.

'What about you?' I asked nervously.

'I can assure you I don't have any romantic feelings towards Tom Holland.' Calum reassured me, smirking.

I smacked him on the shoulder, and he laughingly brushed my hand off. Something about his touch awoke something in me, but I pushed it down as I questioned him again.

'No,' he said, and something in my chest loosened a bit, 'NOthing romantic at the moment.'

The song on the radio played its last chords and faded into silence, 'Good,' I breathed, aware of his presence, aware of the warmth coming off of him , aware of the tension in the air.

'So,' I said, my voice wavering a bit, 'How long till we get to where you brutally murder me?'

Calum chuckled, 'How do I know you won't murder me?'

'You're the one who came up with the idea of leaving, and you're the only who's taking me to some surprise place.'

'Well, how do I know that you're not a psychopath who's stalked me extensively and find out details about me and manipulated me into doing this?' Calum asked, 'We're here,' he added, parking the car off the side of the road. There was nothing but plain road extending in front of us, with kind of dense plants on either side.

'Good job, Mr. Hood, you have truly found a good place to be murdered in,' I said, mimicking an evil laugh.

'What was that?' Calum asked, laughing.

'An evil laugh,' I replied, doing it again.

Calum was leading the way through the bushes, and he stopped for a second to lean against a tree and laugh. 'Please don't do that again, hyenas will answer your mating call.'

'They're going to come anyway- attracted by YOUR BLOOD,' I shoved him, and he lost his balance for a second before regaining it.

'Come on,' Calum said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along as we reached a clearing. 'Isn't it beautiful?'

The clearing led onto a sharp drop, below which Los Angeles lay sprawled, lights sparkling. Above us, the stars were clearly visible. Irregardless of the loud city below, the clearing was silent, seeming suspended in time. Seeing the city below me, I wished I could jump off and take flight, letting the cold air flow over me as I flew through over the beautiful sights of the world.

' I used to come here a lot,' Calum said, settling himself down, ' When I missed home. I'd lie down, look at the stars and for a minute, forget myself. It would be like I'm back home again.'

'Um, have you ever looked at the sky in Australia?' I asked, sitting down beside him.

'Why'd you ask?'

'Well, because the sky is entirely different in the Southern Hemisphere, so looking up at the sky here would just be completely different from the sky you would have seen in Australia.'

'You nerd,' Calum said, shoving me, 'Can you just let me have my deep moment?'

'Never,' I said, shoving him back.

Before I could take my hand back, he grabbed my hand and pulled me down with him, so we lay on our backs. He pulled me against him, with one arm cushioning my head. He was extremely warm, and I fought the urge to wrap my arms around him.

'Look,' he whispered, pointing up at the clear sky, 'Isn't that beautiful?'

I had to agree with him- the sky was dotted with sparkling orbs and spread as far as the eye could go. The world was infinite and you were just small.

'And to answer your question,' Calum said, 'The stars are different. But wherever I go, I can always spot Orion's belt. And it always grounds me- whenever things are too much, and I felt like I could not go on like this anymore, I'd search for Orion's belt.'

'My sister taught me to find Orion,' I said, pointing up at it. 'Has it been hard? This entire journey?'

Calum told me about how it had been one of the most amazing and the most difficult things. The constant attention, the people who had told them that they'd never make it, the racism, the scrutiny but at the same time- the fans, the fact that he got to make music with his best friends, of friendships that had grown into family, and of the passion he felt about everything that he did. The silent night sky twinkled down on us as he told me stories about how life had changed drastically for him, and how he had to make a lot of mistakes before he made it to who he is now.

Listening to him, affection swelled in my heart. The journey that these boys had had, and how they had figured themselves out and learned to do their own thing in spite of the million voices that tried to drown them out.

Soon, even he grew quiet, and I began to grow drowsy, leaning my head against his shoulder and trying to stifle my yawns. Calum propped himself up, looking down on me, 'You ready to head back?'

'Yeah,' I said, 'Why'd you decide to bring me here?' I asked, curious. 'We just met today.'

'I saw your eyes fill up when you were talking about your dog, and then you talked about how lonely you felt. I felt the same way when I moved here and well, I liked you.'

'Hmm,' I said, smiling up at him, 'Thank you.'

Calum just smiled at me, before getting up and pulling me to my feet, giving me a quick hug before taking me back to the car.

I texted Tom, who told me he and Ann were at our place, binge watching Netflix.

'So, where do you live?' Calum asked, yawning himself.

'It's about a half an hour from Mike's place,' I said, resting my head against the glass.

Calum groaned sleepily. It was around 3 am, but it was Los Angeles, but a quieter version of LA.

'I can take an Uber from your place,' I said, 'You're sleepy.'

'Nooooo,' Calum denied, 'I'm notttt. Wait, how about you crash with me at Michael's for today? You can meet Crystal and Ashton.'

'Mmm, are you sure that wouldn't be intruding?' I asked, realizing that I had talked to this guy for the first time around 6 hours ago.

'Yes, yes!' Calum said, pulling into Mike's driveway. 'Come on in.'