Shy // Calum Hood

*•Reveal•*

Calum's P.O.V.
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"Mum!" I yelled once we were inside.
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I heard footsteps patter downstairs before my mother showed herself. A huge smile plastering across her face the moment she saw Bailey, and an ever bigger grin arose when she realised we were holding hands.
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I blushed proudly, still not over the fact that she actually did like me back, not Eden. "Can I talk to you in the lounge for a moment?" I asked her, squeezing Bailey's hand.
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"Yeah of course. Bailey honey, why don't you go up to Calum's room and put your stuff down." She suggested kindly, reaching out and giving Bailey's upper arm a squeeze before her features froze.
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"Whatever happened to your cheek dear?" She asked, lifting up Bailey's chin to inspect the nasty looking bruise in the light.
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"She walked into a door mum, can we please talk?" I asked impatiently, silently hoping for her to drop the topic. My mother had a way of finding out absolutely everything, and I'm sure Bailey did not want her knowing about this.
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"I have some cream in my top drawer, it'll really help that." She winked at Bailey before scurrying me into the lounge. I took a sigh if relief.
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"Can Bailey stay round tonight?" I asked, wasting no time as we entered the room.
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She nodded, placing a palm on my shoulder. "Of course honey, but you know my rules." She raised her eyebrows.
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"Yeah, no sharing a bed, whatever." I tried to refuse the blush that was creeping up my cheeks at the thought.
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"So are you two dating yet?" Her eyes twinkled at the topic.
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"Mum!" I groaned, embarrassed more than anything else. I didn't even know what me and Bailey were.
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She chuckled, shaking her head slightly. "Alright, alright. You kids have fun, but not too much fun." She raised an eyebrow and this time I couldn't stop my cheeks from burning furiously.
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"And, I have a surprise for you in the morning." She chuckled and I grinned, excited. I loved surprises.
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"Oh and mum?" I stopped her before she vacated the room. She turned back and waited for me to continue."Bailey um . . . Gets these really horrific nightmares, and if you hear screaming in the night, just don't panic okay? I got it." I warned, thinking ahead.
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Her face hardened. "Calum Thomas Hood! Are you trying to say you and Bailey will be doing certain things tonight, and I shouldn't come in? Because I tell you something young man, not under my roof. I-"
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"Ohmygodmumpleasestop." I rushed out, beyond humiliated.
"Bailey really does wake up screaming in the night, I'm just letting you know don't be worried." I groaned, leaving to my room before I could get embarrassed any further.
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When I reached my bedroom, Bailey had perched herself politely on my bed. I dove next to her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her down with me.
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My phone buzzed and Ashton's face appeared causing me to groan, I thought we'd sorted this out.
I shuffled away from Bailey slightly and accepted the call impatiently.
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"You called her?" He asked straight away. I rolled my eyes.
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"Why is that any of your concern? I thought you guys had stopped talking, it was just that one date?" I snapped, shuffling further away from Bailey.
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He huffed and I could almost hear him drag his palm down his face, the way he always did when he was stressed. "She just rang me for the first time since the date, she's changed Cal. She really has."
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I sat up, sighing deeply. "Um no, no she hasn't." I responded flatly. I wandered if Bailey could hear Ashton's side of this.
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"If you just gave her a chance to explain things you'd realise it's because she misses you!" He argued further. Was he insane? He had no clue what he was talking about.
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"I don't care if she misses me Ash, she makes my life a living hell, not to mention everyone else's." I pointed out. This was exactly what I knew would happen. How does she wrap everyone around her little finger?
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He groaned and I could tell he was taking in what I was saying, but it made me mad that he was even considering her stories to be true over me.
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I calmed down slightly, feeling more pity than anger now. He had no idea that she was the one way ticket to hell. "Ashton please, I'm begging you quit while your ahead. She's manipulative, you know what she did to me. Don't let your nice personality deceive you." I urged into the phone, I didn't want to loose him.
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". . . You're right I'm sorry, are we still on for tomorrow?" He asked, his voice softening.
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"Yeah, I guess." I shrugged even though he couldn't see me. I didn't waste anytime before hanging up.
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"Are you still mad at him?" Bailey asked carefully after a few moments of silence.
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I looked up at her, shrinking back down and snuggling back up to her. "I'll get over it, but right now . . . Yeah. I'm really mad at him." I picked up a strand of her beautifully soft hair that was dangling aimlessly, and tucked it behind her ear.
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"Don't take this the wrong way or anything okay?" She asked. I nodded, bracing myself for what she was about to say. "Ashton never said he liked her or anything like that. He just felt as though a date was the right thing to do after a drunken night together. It sounds like he was only doing a nice thing."
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I swallowed hard, trying my hardest not to get angry. "Klara doesn't deserve nice, she deserves pain." I said slowly, unable to look her in the eyes.
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She was silent for a few moments, pondering over separate thoughts in her head, but I knew what she wanted to ask. "Cal . . . Please tell me what happened?" She urged, her eyes begging me.
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I didn't respond, I hated talking about how I used to be. I looked down at my feet, suddenly uncomfortable.
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She took a short sigh. "No offence or anything, but I just told you about my dad. That's something I wasn't planning on ever telling anyone. Do you know how humiliating it is for me that I'm related to somebody like that? Do you understand how hard that was for me to tell you?"
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A pang of guilt hit my stomach as I realised my problems were so minuscule compared to her situation, and she had trusted me. I should trust her too. "I'm sorry Bailey. You're right I'm being an idiot." I apologised, kissing her forehead gently.
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"So . . . Can you please explain?" She asked, looking up at me, our faces inches apart. The ultimate position for such a secret.
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I nodded slowly before taking a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
"Okay, you know how I said before that me and Klara were friends?"
She nodded. I sighed before letting out an awkward cough. "We were actually a lot closer than that. She used to be my girlfriend. I used to be such an idiot back then, I was one of them. Me and Eden were best friends and I'd do whatever he asked. I used to bully so many people, get in fights all the time, I was so rude to the teachers."
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I watched as Bailey listen patiently, waiting for her reaction to become a frown, but it never did. "Okay?" She said, and I realised I'd stopped speaking.
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"I got excluded for a while because I punched a teacher, and yeah. Anyway. I did all these awful things and me and the boys didn't talk for a full year. They hated who I had become, and frankly I don't blame them." I fiddled with the ends of my shirt.
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"Anyway, One time me and Eden were both in a fight against this one kid, and he got really hurt. He had to go to hospital and it was the first time I started to feel guilty. I decided I needed to change. At the time I thought I loved Klara, but then after that fight, I wanted to visit the boy. Apologise for what I'd done you know?" She nodded slowly, still taking in everything I was saying.
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"She wouldn't let me. Telling me he deserved it because he was a nerd. We ended up in this huge argument later that night because I found out she'd been cheating on me the entire time so I broke up with her. And then the next day . . ." My stomach churned as I bit my lip and fiddled with my fingers.
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"The next day, there were posters everywhere, photoshopped pictures of me and Klara covering every wall. She had told everyone that I had . . . that I had . . ." I took a deep breath as Bailey squeezed my upper arm soothingly. "She told everyone that I had raped her. Everyone hated me from that moment on, Eden refused to talk to me because Klara's his cousin. They all started bullying me and I just closed up, I stopped speaking to everyone until one day I saw Luke in the park and we spoke and I just poured my heart out to him. Apologising for being such a jackass and eventually becoming friends with them again. Everyone at school believed her over me and I lost everything. I was a bad guy then, I know that. But I'd still never do that."
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I didn't even realise I was crying until Bailey wiped my cheeks with her thumb and kissed me gently.
"Is that why Eden hurt me?" She questioned carefully, trying to put the pieces together.
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I nodded slowly, beyond ashamed that it was most likely my fault but wanting more than anything for it not to be true. "I think so . . . I'm so sorry Bailey, you have no idea." I sniffed guiltily.
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She shook her head, dismissively. "They weren't your real friends if they didn't believe you. There's no way you would do that." She whispered.
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I smiled, relived she was being so cool about all of this. "I see it as a good thing now, I could of still been that way. I would've never of known you." I grinned happily. "But, Ashton still knows that he shouldn't be around her. He knows how manipulative she is." I sighed, feeling more concerned for Ashton than my own feelings for Klara.
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She nodded understandingly before my mother burst in. "Calum, how many times? No. Sharing. A. Bed." She said In between hitting me with a pillow.
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My cheeks light up at my embarrassing mother. Bailey found it hilarious. "We aren't sharing a bed! We're just sitting down. I'll go and get the blow up mattress now." I groaned, getting up and walking down the hall.
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Bailey's P.O.V.
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As soon as Calum left, Joy sat down next to me on the bed.
"How come we didn't see you for a while last month?" She asked concerned.
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I shuffled uncomfortably, sitting up. "Me and Calum got in a bit of a . . . Misunderstanding." I blushed, hoping she wouldn't think I had been mean to her son.
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"Well that explains why he was all sulky for so long! Did you put that cream on?" She lifted her hand to my face and inspected my cheek.
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I nodded. "Yes, thank you so much for that by the way. I'm so clumsy sometimes." I forced a chuckle, consciously rubbing the bruised skin. I was yet to see how awful it looked this time.
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"Anything for you dear. You're so much nicer than that Klara girl. I want you to know that Calum talks about you all the time. I've never seen anyone make him so happy." She smiled, reaching out and squeezing my upper arm.
"You're welcome round here anytime, you know that?"
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I nodded, grinning. "Thank you." I felt my heart flutter with happiness. I'm so happy I moved.
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"But seriously," She looked around to make sure nobody was watching, leaning forward slightly as if she was revealing some big secret. "I bet Michael has told you this already, but, I swear he blushes whenever your name comes up, and he grins every time without fail. Me and his friends made it into a game the other night at dinner and-"
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She was interrupted my a stern cough from a very red Calum who was standing irritated in the doorway.
"I think you should stop talking mum." His face deepened to the next shade of beetroot.
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Joy only laughed, shaking her head and walking out, but not before giving me a quick wink.
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"I'm so embarrassed." Calum groaned, hiding his face in his t-shirt after he slumped the mattress down on the ground.
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"I love your mum." I laughed, getting up to help him set up the mattress.