You're Not Just A Teenage Dream | C.H.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Calum was laying on his bed, throwing his soccer ball against the wall, trying to throw his feelings away too. Each throw got successively harder, until one went wide and knocked his guitar down. He tenderly picked it back up and sat down with it. Without realizing it, he had started playing "Beside You" and hummed the lyrics. When he got the bridge and started singing, he found that he couldn't sing the line "So close but so far away"; it had taken on a whole new meaning since he had met Dakota. He set his guitar back in its stand and flopped back onto his bed.

"Why do I always get feelings for the girls who like drummers?" He asked himself out loud. Before he could ponder that further, his phone went off.

Lukey: Hey, jam session at Ash's? I'm bored.

Luke had texted him. Calum sighed, knowing that Dakota would still be there, and that he probably wouldn't be welcome right now. He tried to think of an excuse.

Me: Sorry, helping Mum and Dad pack for their trip. Maybe tomorrow at my house after they leave. 

He knew Luke probably wouldn't buy it, but he didn't have the energy to explain what was really going on. Since his phone was already in his hand, he decided to check his social media. His personal Facebook was more of the same, so he went onto the band Twitter to see what was going on. There were a lot of picture edits and meet ups that he retweeted, but even more tweets about Dakota. His jaw clenched a little when he saw the things the fans were still saying about her, and then he saw the pictures they had found of her and her ex-boyfriend.

"He doesn't look like he would hurt anyone, especially her. They look so in love...how could he do that to her?" He wondered out loud as he looked at them. There were pictures of them from what looked like two dances; in the second one she was wearing a yellow dress that matched her personality perfectly, and Calum felt his heart skip a couple of beats. There were more of her on stage it looked like, and a lot of pictures that seemed like they were from Disneyland. He had to stop looking; the later the pictures got, and the less happy she looked; he could guess why. He closed out of Twitter and opened his Snapchat. Ashton had posted something to his story, so he watched it. They were videos of Ash, Luke, and Michael jamming, but he couldn't figure out who was recording, until he heard a girl quietly singing harmonies to their songs.

I knew she was still there... He thought as he watched the different snippets of songs. At the end of the last one, Ashton looked right at her and the camera, and Calum could see how his smile spread and his eyes lit up, and right then, he knew that Ashton felt the same way he did, but that now, Dakota would definitely choose him. That was confirmed with the next picture, a selfie of Dakota and Ashton kissing, with Luke and Michael looking disgusted in the background. As that was the last thing on his story, Calum put his phone down and felt his chest tighten.

I've never fallen like this, and I can't do anything about it. Fuck me. He punched his bed out of frustration.

—-

"So, would you like to go out to a proper dinner with me tonight?" Ashton asked Dakota after they said their goodbyes to Luke and Michael.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, I know Twitter has kind of calmed down, but...I dunno...I also have my first day of classes tomorrow and it's already kind of late..." Dakota's anxiety level rose again.

"People out here are nicer than they are in Sydney, I promise. Besides, it's just dinner, as far as anyone knows, we're just friends." Ashton gave her the smile he knew that she couldn't resist. Her resolve broke down.

"You keep smiling at me like that, everyone is going to know we're not just friends!" She giggled and tackled him.

"Whoa! Apparently not!" He laughed and started tickling her. She smacked his arm and trapped his hands, trying to catch her breath.

"Okay, okay! Let's go!" She kissed him and tried to get back up. He grabbed her waist and pulled her back down, nuzzling against her neck.

"Mmm...but now I just want to stay here and snuggle you..." he murmured. Dakota smiled but wriggled away from him

"Oh no, you promised me food, so we're getting food!" She grabbed his hand and tried to pull him up. "Don't make me drag you off of this bed, I'm strong enough to do it!" She dropped his hand and grabbed his ankles, pulling his legs off the bed.

"Alright, alright, I believe you! Let me go so I can put jeans on and we can go!" Dakota just laughed again, let him go, and then headed up the stairs. She didn't realize she still had Ashton's phone, so she opened his Snapchat again to see who had viewed the videos she posted from earlier. Surprisingly enough, she saw Calum's username. She wasn't upset with him anymore; instead, she felt grateful that he made her tell Ashton, so she decided to text him.

Me: Hey, I'm sorry about earlier. My emotions were just running really high, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Friends still? She pressed send.

—-

Calum was on his fourth beer when he got Dakota's message. He laughed out loud.

—-

Calum: Hahaha oh don't worry about it. Of course we're still friends! Just don't expect me to feel bad when Ashton cheats on you! ;)

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Dakota slid her phone into her purse, trying to decide whether or not ask Ashton what Calum meant. She heard him coming back up the stairs. Damn, how am I supposed to be mad at him when looks like that??? She thought when she saw that he was wearing his regular black skinny jeans, his black boots, and his black "Weekend" tank top.

"Ready to go?" He asked her, fixing his curls underneath his bandana. She melted a little and nodded yes. "Let's go then!" He gave her a quick kiss before grabbing his keys. I guess it could wait...but I will ask him, eventually...