End Up Here

pack up all your bags stay true to north, you're the only one i do this for

After just a second, the door is pulled back, revealing Cal. He has a big goofy grin on his face, clearly excited about what the day will hold.

"Hey Nova! Nice shirt," he winks.

"Thanks, some local gave it to me last night. Didn't get his name though. He was pretty cute."

"I bet I could hook you up with him."

"Hmm, no thanks."

He momentarily looked shocked.

"I'm kidding! Thank you again for being so cool last night."

"Of course, come in babe."

Babe. He called me babe, wowowowowow. Unable to control my expression, I begin to blush. I grab his hand and he takes me into the dorm.

"Where is everyone?" I ask. The room felt so much emptier without Michael and Luke playing video games on the couch like idiots, while Ashton tells them to do their homework.

"We all decided to pack at different times that way we can make our last moments here with our gals more special."

"You mean so you guys can...make your move on us?"

This time Calum is the one who blushes.

"Well, maybe the other guys think like that. But I just wanna spend time with you."

I roll my eyes. "Okay, Hood. Let's get packing then."

We go into his room and I'm surprised to see that the suitcase on his floor is empty.

"So, you haven't done any packing? At all?"

"Uh, my bathroom is done."

"You have literally three things in there! That doesn't count. You're gonna need more than a toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant with you." I point at his hair. "What about all that?"

"Shit." he says under his breath. "You're right, I do need shampoo."

"Oh my God. What on Earth would you do without me?"

Together we go through the items in his bathroom and pick out what he needs to take. It turns out it was a lot more than he initially thought. You know, razors, lotion, hair products, loofas, all those things people need to function. Once we finish, we move onto his closet. He is much better about picking out clothes, probably because he's excited to wear cool outfits in San Francisco. As we pack, he explains to me that the boys will still technically own this dorm over the summer, since they need a place to be able to come to when they visit. I wish that's what I was doing with Lia, but we decided to take summer classes too late. Since someone had already reserved the one we were in now, we will have to move dorms and may not be roommates.

Once Calum threw his last outfit into the suitcase, he sighed and took another look around his dorm.

"Shoot," he said. "What am I gonna do about Duke? I can't take him back and forth all the time."

"I could take care of him! He doesn't seem like too much work. And I don't know who I'm gonna have to live with in the summer, so I could use a buddy."

"Are you sure? You really don't have to!"

"I would love to."

"Thanks so much, you're really saving my dumbass."

"I owe it to you. You really helped me through so much these past few weeks. Speaking of generosity, I have a surprise for you."

"Stop it! You're too good to me!" he exclaims.

I pull out my phone and open the voice memo of "End Up Here." Before I press play, I drag him to the beanbag and we both plop down. I take a deep breath and hit play.

"You walked in, everyone was asking for your name... You just smiled and told them 'Trouble.'"

The song continued, and as it played, Calum grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a kiss.

"You're incredible," he breathed, as we paused to take a breath. The song was still going on in the background, and my heart was beating fast. "This is exactly what the band needs for the record. I'm so grateful for you. I promise we'll make this a hit, because you deserve it."

We went in for another kiss, and continued to makeout on the beanbag even past when the song ends. It felt like the room was no longer there, and it was just us. We drew even closer to each other, and he ran his hands through my hair. It was all so much and it felt so good, but I could only handle so much. After a minute, I pulled away.

"Babe, are you okay?" Calum asks, confused.

"Yeah, that was amazing. I just need to take things slow or I'll get overwhelmed."

He nods. "Well you know me. I just want you to be comfortable."

I smile sadly. "I'm gonna miss you so much."

"Well lets make this last day count. Wanna watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?"

"You read my mind."