End Up Here

it's only a matter of time now

I wake up the next morning cuddling Cal and I realize that the alarm has been going off for way too long. I nudge him and he grumbles. 

"Calum wake up, you've got five hours of driving and you're supposed to leave in 20 minutes!"

His eyes burst open and he yells, "Shit! I wanted to get breakfast with you. I promise I'll make it up to you soon."

"It's alright. Let's just get ready. I don't want the boys getting mad at you for being late."

We get ready in a rush and somehow make it down to the van with minutes to spare. Michael, Luke and Ashton are already done packing the van and are lounging around the vehicle. Lia and Evie are there and we all say goodbye to the boys. With a final hug, they leave. As they drive away, I see Calum waving at me from the passenger seat. 

Alone on the curb, Lia, Evie and I give sad smiles to each other. 

"There they go again," Evie sighs.

"It feels like they just got here and now they're gone for a whole week!" Lia exclaims.

"I don't know. I'm kinda looking forward to them not being here for a bit. I feel like I'll be able to focus on school more. And get on speaking terms with Maisy hopefully," I say.

Lia raises her eyebrows. "What kind of speaking terms?"

I glare at her as my cheeks burn red. She should not be bringing that up right now since Evie has no clue what happened. But to my surprise, Evie looks knowingly at me and says, "Yeah, good point. What kind of speaking terms, Nova?"

I feel like I'm about to pass out. Did Maisy tell her?

"I-What? How do you know?"

"You really think that my best friend wouldn't tell me she kissed you? Like, no judgement. But don't go around thinking everyone is dumb. Calum might not know, but you can't keep hiding it forever," Evie says.

I gulp. She's right. I'll have to tell him this weekend. "Thanks for the honesty."

"It's all good. Just thought I'd let you know. I gotta go though, I have a shift at the record store. See you guys around!" Evie tells us. 

We wave goodbye and then it's just me and Lia.

"That's crazy," I mutter to Lia. "I really didn't realize that more people know about this than just us."

Lia shrugs. "It'll work out fine. It was nothing, right? And I know you'll tell him soon."

I nod. "I miss rooming with you and having all those late night discussions about this stuff. Even if I did forget my keys every day."

"That reminds me," she says. "Do you wanna give me your spare? Because I know you'll lose it eventually."

"That's a great idea! Thanks." I rummage through my backpack and hand her the key. If there's anyone I trust on this campus, it's Lia. "Well, guess I should go back to hell and try and straighten things out with Maisy."

"Straighten? Really? Nice choice of words." We laugh and part ways. But there's a pit in my stomach about this next week.

---

Back in the dorm Maisy tells me she doesn't have work today so we're gonna have to put up with each other. It's a good opportunity for me to bring up the weirdness between us, but I'm scared to say anything for the first hour or two. I start to notice the music that she's playing, and realize it's Panic! at the Disco. "Nice music." I comment. She flashes a smile for a fraction of a second. I then realize she's playing "Casual Affair" and take it as a sign to bring up the kiss.

"So... I think we should talk about something." I say. She turns off her music and sits up.

"Yeah?"

"I know we're not on the best terms right now. I just want to straighten a few things out." I cringe internally at my word choice.

"Oh, so this is where you apologize to me? Haven't we already done this?"

"Well yeah but my apology was shit. I'm sorry for this whole situation. I like you so much as a person and never wanted to hurt you. I should've thought about my feelings more before we kissed. And I should've considered yours. Can we please be friends? I don't wanna live like this for the whole summer."

"Yeah, friends. We can be friends..." 

"Well don't say it if you don't mean it. What can I do so that you can stop hating me?"

She shrugs. "Get me drunk."