𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚 ⚣ 𝙘𝙩𝙝+𝙖𝙛𝙞 ✔

9

remember when that pic came out and all the calum stans died

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The party, although not being a surprise, was perfect. Calum's parents couldn't stay long, but they did come by and wish their son a happy birthday, which was more than Calum could've asked for. The rest of the guests consisted of Michael, Luke, Haisley and Calum's sister Mali-Koa. So it was less of a party and more of a small get together.
But it was still wonderful.

Everyone was advised not to drink too much, since Haisley was young, but it wasn't a problem. No one needed to drink much, they were just happy to be together. Plus, Michael promised Calum that he'd take him to the bar another time and let him get shitfaced. Calum told Michael that he didn't need to get drunk to have fun, but he insisted, and Calum wasn't about to argue with him. Michael could be very strong willed and stubborn. He and Luke knew that best.

Calum felt terribly awkward and guilty having a party thrown for him. He didn't think he deserved it. He hadn't done anything but survive another year, which everyone else had done too. Michael told him that was why he deserved a party. His year had been tough, a lot tougher than most of his friends had been, and surviving it, according to those friends, meant he deserved to be celebrated.

Calum had specified that he didn't want any gifts. Michael and Luke had reluctantly agreed. Mali had found a loophole of sorts and instead bought treats for Duke (which wasn't technically benefiting Calum, but in a way it was). He was grateful. He loved being thought of. Whether it was a song, a movie, a TV show or even something as simple as a word.

One of Calum's favorite things to hear was 'this made me think of you'. He didn't care what it was, the fact that someone had seen something and thought about him made him ecstatic. Ashton used to tell him that a lot. They'd be cooking dinner and Ashton would start singing a song because it reminded him of Calum. They'd be walking down the street and hear a random passersby say something irrelevant about a display at a shop, and Ashton would pick the most beautiful thing he could find about it and still tell Calum that he was more stunning.

He hated that all of his thoughts circled back to Ashton. He knew it wasn't healthy, but what was he supposed to do about it? He had been perfectly fine, had been moving on, and all of a sudden Ashton had showed up again and brought all that to a screeching halt. Why? What was he getting from all that? Why did he like hurting Calum?

Maybe he didn't even know he was hurting him. That idea did a lot of damage. When they were together, if one of them said something to upset the other, they'd voice their feelings, deal with the issue, and continue on with their day. They couldn't do that now. Calum didn't want to see Ashton anymore. He absolutely hated that he kept showing up everywhere.

For hours, they laughed, played games and snacked. At one point, Haisley spilt juice on her shirt (Calum had been busy paying attention to something else) and Michael and Luke rushed to console her and clean her up. Mali had been in the bathroom at the time. While the two parents dealt with their daughter, there was a knock on the door.

As Calum was the only one who wasn't occupied, he stood, crossed the floor to the door and pulled it open. Who stood on the other side made him groan. He glanced briefly back into the apartment to make sure no one saw before shuffling out the door and closing it quietly.

"Look, I don't know what your fascination is with me lately but you need to cut it out. You're in a relationship, I'm in a relationship, and quite frankly, this is getting a little old. What the actual hell do you want?"

"Wow." Ashton hummed. "I just...I think I had too much t'drink-"

Calum interrupted him with a huff, "Jesus, Ash, it's barely even five."