noted → calum hood | #Wattys2015

thirty six

Melanie's laughter and Calum's vocals fills the car. Melanie had always known Calum was great at singing, but him practically serenading her as he drove was a whole other story. "What I like about you..." Calum pats Melanie's leg to the rythm. "You know that if I wasn't driving right now, I'd be doing a whole dance number for you."

Melanie giggles. "That doesn't seem to be stopping you."

Calum shrugs and retreats his hand, putting it back onto the steering wheel. "You know what I really like about you, Mel?"

She smiles. "I hold you tight?"

Calum rolls his eyes. "Oh, shut up." He ruffles his hair. "What I like is the fact that you think you can make me fall in love with you by the end of this little experience, but you never took into consideration you falling for me."

Melanie takes one leg from the floor and puts it on the dashboard, her knee in the air as it pops out from the tear in her jeans. "I'm over it, to be honest."

"Really, now?"

She nods her head. "It's just so stupid, ya know? I mean, we agreed to keep things strictly a friendship and it's done pretty well for us." She turns to look at the boy next to her, who has his eyes focused on the road. "I just find it silly for us to try and change that for our own satisfaction."

Calum nods. "Understandable." It seemed awfully sudden for Meanie to just give up her antics. They had been going on their fourth week of traveling, and Calum wasn't going to admit to Melanie that she had been getting close to winning that bet.

Melanie sighs. "I'm tired."

Calum makes a quick glance to the digital clock on the radio. It reads nearly five in the morning. "I could see if there are any hotels nearby that we could stop at? We'd have to skip spending the early morning on the beach, though."

Melanie thinks it over. "I'll make it."

"You sure?"

Melanie nods. "Yeah, don't worry about me." She had proposed the idea of spending the morning on the beach. Watching the sunrise, walking while it was practically baren. Having it been the first thing she had planned for the roadtrip thus far (that Calum agreed to, anyway), Melanie really didn't want to skip out on the opportunity.

The drive to the beach doesn't take much longer, with the roads being abandon at this hour. Calum parks not far from the entrance, and hands Melanie a few quarters. "Go pay the parking meter for an hour." 75 cents didn't seem to be too much to give her; Calum had been here before, he knew how the payments worked.

Melanie steps out and pushes the coins into the meter. Once she's sure it reads only an hour, she walks to the sandy, wooden stairs where Calum is waiting. "Are you sure we're allowed on the beach this early?"

Calum nods. "It's a public beach, Mel. The only thing you have to worry about is not getting sand in my car when we're done here."

She smiles softly and follows Calum down the steps. The sand crunches beneath her bare feet, and slows down her walking slightly. "I'm cold," she sighs, rubbing her exposed forearms. "Can I borrow your jacket?"

Cal chuckles. "Get your own jacket." He continues walking in the direction of the shallow water, but stops as he sees Melanie walking back toward the car. "Mel, wait. I was just joking." She stops and turns around, allowing Calum to jog up to where she is. Not wanting to completely give up the jacket, he comes up with a plan. "Stand in front of me," he offers. Pulling his arms out of the sleeves, he spins Melanie around and pulls her back against his chest. "Put your arms in the sleeves."

She shakes her head. "Cal, this isn't going to work. It's easier if I just go get-"

Calum cuts her off; "Just put your arms in, Melanie." She tries to do as he requests, but the jacket simply is not large enough. Laughing, Calum slips out from under the back and fixes his hair. "Just keep it for now, it's not worth the effort."

"Are you sure?"

Calum nods and continues walking a small bit forward before sitting down. "Come 'ere." Calum states, gesturing to the ground. Melanie sits at his right side and zips up the black jacket. Calum wraps his arms around her waist, and with a yelp of surprise from Mel, pulls her between his legs. "This is nice." Calum rests his head on top of Melanie's shoulder.

She scoffs. "Not that sudden movement; you scared me!"

Calum shrugs, wrapping his arms back around the girl's waist. "I'm having fun."

"As am I."

"It's kind of weird, you know? It's been nearly a month; another day and we're somewhere new."

Melanie exhales the breath she was holding loudly, leaning back into Calum's grasp. "I can't believe the trip is halfway done."

"Was there at least something memorable for you?"

Melanie tugs at her lip, thinking. "Honestly, nothing apart from fixing our friendship."

Calum nods. "Sorry I had to go and screw it up."

"It wasn't entirely your fault," Melanie says. "Just most of it."

Calum smirks. "Yeah, I know. We're better now though, right?"

Melanie stops biting her lip. This is what Luke had warned her about before she left. Ashton had mentioned it once or twice, but Melanie was sure that Luke had only convinced him to agree. Since when was Ashton one to stop Melanie from going with her heart? "I don't... I don't know," she watches the small waves ripple up onto the sand and pull away, leaving some foam behind. "No. Not entirely, no."

"Oh." Melanie feels Calum loosen the hold he has on her as he lifts his head up. "I must've misunderstood."

"Cal-"

He shakes his head. "It's fine, Mel. You have every right to still be upset with me. I can't really blame you; I'd be angry too."

"I'm not angry, just," she pauses as she racks her brain for the right word. "Conflicted."

Calum lets the topic go, not wanting to start off their day on a bad note. "Aren't we all?"

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an: I know this chapter wasn't showing up for a lot of you; is it now?

don't forget the character ask!