Meet You There | Calum Hood

30

Their Saturday together flew by in much the same fashion as the day before had. They stayed cuddled up in the hotel bed until bus call and then in Calum's bunk until the tour fleet arrived at the arena in Wisconsin. They'd gotten a late lunch before Calum's band had taken precedent and Holland had been more than content to observe as he and the boys sat through another round of press and sound check. The show had been even better than the previous night and from Holland's perspective the same could be said about the night that had followed in she and Calum's second shared hotel room. The boys deciding to get a hotel in Madison had meant an early wake up and bus trip to Milwaukee but the night had been well worth it.

Holland was desperately trying to enjoy every moment with Calum but it was hard with her ten pm flight home hanging over her head. It felt like she had only just joined Calum and now it was almost time to say goodbye again? It had her feeling incredibly conflicted as her excitement for her promised date with Calum was rising.

She had no clue what to wear, Calum had told her to dress casual but given no further advice and that had her a bit perplexed. With her hair and makeup perfected she sorted through everything she'd brought with her and sighed, not ecstatic about any of her choices but settling for a pair of ripped black jeans and white cut off t shirt. She slipped her leather jacket over the top and set off in search for him. It was only eleven but he had told her to be ready early, wanting to make the most of their last day together.

She found him inside of the arena, though they didn't have a show that night it was still used for the press he had this morning and the crew was hard at work setting up so they could have the next morning off. Calum was in the hallway between the band's green room and catering, his arm braced against the wall as he spoke with the other boys about something that Holland couldn't hear, the lot of them quieting as she approached.

"Hi." She said with a small wave to the group.

"You look lovely." Calum said, taking her hand and tugging her forward gently, his lips pressed against the crown of her head as he hugged her.

"Thanks."

"Would you hate me if I suggested we eat in catering? Just to save us one less place to get caught out together?"

"No, that sounds fine. Restaurants make me anxious anyways, you know that."

He nodded because he did know, he'd watched the way she had practically seized up last time and he didn't like the idea of her being so uncomfortable again.

"Great." He grabbed her hand and they entered the room that had been set up each grabbing a plate and taking their fill. He a plate of some vegan pasta dish and she a smorgasbord of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Calum sat across from her, trying to be less obvious as he watched her eat. He hadn't noticed before the way she never finished her meals, Lexi had messaged him last night though, filling him in on her struggles and asking if she had been consuming enough daily and he felt incredibly guilty for the fact that truth be told, he had no clue.

He'd never witnessed the struggles of someone with an eating disorder, Holland didn't seem to fit his idea of what it looked like. Sure, her diet had seemed incredibly strict but he had chocked that up to being regulated by her coach, until Lexi had informed him that all the girls on the team were on the same one and they were encouraged to indulge in small cheats a few times a weak, something Holland never participated in.

He picked at his own food as he eyed her, wondering what else she was keeping from him and if he was letting her down by not being keyed in to all of her struggles.

"You got enough?" Calum asked as he cleaned off his own plate and Holland pushed hers away, part of her meal left untouched.

"Yeah, I'm good. Not that hungry." She smiled at him and he wanted to say something but wasn't sure what to say or if it were even his place. He made a note of what she had eaten and decided he'd message Lexi back later to see if there was more he should do.

"So, where are you taking me?" She asked, her hand comfortably held in his as they walked out of the arena and towards the car he had gotten them for the day.

"Guess you'll just have to wait and see." He smirked, climbing in the back seat of the SUV and leaning towards her until their lips met.

"I'm terrible at waiting." She pouted and he only laughed as the driver left the secured parking lot and headed towards their destination.

"So, I have a confession." Calum told her, his thumb tracing the side of her hand.

"Okay?" She asked.

"We aren't going to be alone for this first bit. I made the mistake of mentioning what I wanted to do around the guys and they just had to join in but, I think it might actually be more fun with more people."

She raised her eyebrows at him but promised him it was fine for the other boys and Crystal to crash.

The car stopped and she tried to see out the tinted windows but was unable to. The curiosity built within her until Calum held out his hand to help her from the car and she finally saw where he'd taken her.

"I thought it might be fun, and different." He said, his eyes watching her carefully as she took in what they'd be doing.

"Oh heck yes. You're going down Hood." She grinned at the sight of the go kart tracks.

"Okay, so you like it? I wasn't sure if you'd be into it."

"Stop. This is going to be so fun."

He smiled at that, feeling a bit proud that he had picked an activity that had her so outwardly excited.

"Well, alright then. Just for the sake of being honest, I'm not going easy on you just because this is a date."

"Oh, sweetheart, it's cute that you think you stand a chance." She beamed at him, her teeth biting down on her bottom lip.

He snorted and she giggled just as the other car bearing the rest of his band entered the parking lot.

The boys had rented out the entire track, giving them free reign to enjoy their free day.

They entered the building and were all fitted with helmets and given the safety rules before being allowed to load up in the cart. They could have paired up but decided instead to each race their own cart.

Holland and Crystal exchanged glances, determined to beat the boys. They were given the green light and took off, Ashton spun Luke out almost immediately and a loud laugh bubbled from Holland's chest as she chased down Calum who had quickly taken the lead. The pair were neck and neck for the next two laps fighting side by side as the rounded the last turn before the finish. Holland tapped the corner of Calum's kart sending him into the wall and claiming the victory for herself.

"You're so lucky I love you." Calum said, walking up and sliding his arms around her waist, his helmet in his hand. "That was dirty." He whispered into her ear before kissing her cheek.

"All's fair in love and go karts." She smirked, turning her head to kiss him back.

"Oh it's on, now." He told her as the all loaded back up to go again.

•

"That was so fun." Holland praised as they departed the go cart center. They'd spent hours testing out all the different tracks and everyone in their group had one at least once, even Luke, though they had all kind of assisted on that win.

"I hope you'll say the same about the rest of the day."

"There's more?"

"A little bit, it's just gonna be us for this part though."

"I think I'm okay with that." She said, slipping back into the car she and Calum had taken and waving goodbye to the rest of the group.

An: what else do you think Cal has planned?

How will their goodbye go?

Lmk your thoughts!

Ily,
Sav 🖤