i hate you | l.h

seven

"what do you mean luke's in trouble?" i said, startled. calum looked distressed, his eyes frantically scanning his phone.

"he-" calum looked like he was at a lost for words, "has a bad way of coping with things, i guess you could say."

"what exactly does he have to cope with?" i asked cautiously, not sure if i was on a sensitive topic. i knew that he and luke were friends, but based off of the way that calum reacted, i knew that they were close to each other whether they showed it or not.

calum tensed up for a brief moment as if i had hit a particular nerve, but then relaxed as if nothing had happened. "family issues," his eyes were still glued to the screen, fingers silently tapping away.

he snapped his head up, locking his dark eyes with mine. "this may sound really weird, but i need you to do a favor for me," he started to ask, making sure his eyes were wide open while pouting.

"no, you are not going to get away with that puppy face," i shook my head; my hair falling forward across my eyes, and brushing it away impatiently.

"please, i wouldn't ask you if it wasn't urgent," his teeth caught onto his bottom lip and started biting it nervously. "i know that you and luke don't like-"

"hate,"

"hate each other," he finished, letting me off with a glare when i interrupted him. "but this is important,"

i sighed and rolled my eyes in hesitant agreement. "alright, what do you need?"

"luke is at some girl's house and i'm afraid he's going to do something incredibly stupid. not that he already does stupid things but i'm usually there with him to make sure he doesn't get too wasted," he explained.

i nodded, signaling for him to continue.

"so, i need you to go pick him up and bring him here please," he pleaded with desperation in his voice. i was struck by how concerned he was. my stomach dropped, realizing that it was more serious that i had thought.

i caught his hand in mine, rubbing it reassuringly. his gaze drifted from his phone screen to me and his eyes softened. "i texted you the address, i wish i could go pick him up but my sister's home and-"

placing my finger on his lip, i shook my head. "it's fine, i'll go."

calum gave me a small grin, and kissed me. "thank you, this means a lot." he murmured, his forehead leaning against mine. i wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a small smile.

"anything to help you out. now, where are your keys?"

he separated from me, digging his hand into his pant pockets, which seemed like an impossible task because of how tight they were, and pulled out his car keys.

"i trust you with my car, just get luke back here as fast as you can. make sure that luke is alright before anything bad happens." calum said in an urgent tone, rushing me outside to the front door of his car.

unlocking the door, i slipped into the driver's seat, "don't worry, luke will be fine."

he looked down at his feet as if with doubt. finally looking up at me, i noticed he didn't look like the same confident calum i have gotten known to. following the awkward moment of silence, i closed the door, and with just directions, i was on my way to find luke in who knows where.

***

it had been twenty minutes, and i was still trying to find luke. the directions leading to where luke apparently was, had included traffic and road blocks. i didn't want to spend the rest of my day trying to find him, but after seeing calum frantically worry about him, i knew that i had to.