Chapter 29

                                    

                                          
Chapter 29

**Calum's POV**

1 week later

I was sprawled out on Ashton's bed, as I had been every night for the past week. For some reason my friends seemed to never have time for me. Luke was always out with Hannah and Michael was always going out with this new chick he had just met. And worst of all, Valerie was always going out with Adam, every night of the week.

I still hate Adam. 

So lately to fill the void that has been present in my life, I've been hanging out with Ashton. He's actually a pretty cool guy, and I feel like I know him as well as the other boys at this point. He's basically an open book.

"Cal, ya can't just lay around, sulking all day," He interrupts my thoughts, giving me a playful punch on the shoulder, "Let's do something,"

"Like what?" I mumble, as I continue to stare up at the ceiling.

"I don't know," Ashton shrugs. I turn my head to face him and watch as the One Direction poster that is lightly taped against the wall, floats to the ground. "No, not the poster again," He scowls, quickly running over to secure it back against the wall.

I laugh at how much he cares about the poster, and treats it like its some sacred object, and if it touches the ground, he'll be cursed for life. That's another thing I liked about Ashton. All he had to do was be himself and he could have me laughing so hard, I'd be gasping for air. He was just a naturally weird guy, but I liked that about him.

"So do you have any suggestions for what we could do yet?" He asks, taking a seat beside me at the edge of his bed. 

"Nope," I sigh, focusing my attention back to the ceiling.

"Well....we could talk about our feelings," He suggests.

I slowly turn my head to face him, expecting to see an amused smirk spread across his face. But when I see complete seriousness in his eyes, confusion takes over me.

"You're joking right?" I clarify, letting out a small chuckle. Talk about our feelings? He can't be serious.

"No," He murmurs, his gaze shifting to his foot, which is tapping lightly against the hard-wood floor, "It just seems like you have a lot on your mind, and it might make you feel better if someone would listen to you rant about it. I'm here for you mate, you can tell me about whatever's bugging you. Maybe I could help,"

"I appreciate it Ash, but there is nothing bugging me." I lie. I really do appreciate the gesture, but I'd feel weird telling him about how I'm in love with Valerie. Or maybe he's right. Maybe I need to get everything off my chest, and explain to someone how I'm feeling. Maybe that will lighten things for me and make this whole situation much easier.

"Hey man, it's cool if you don't want to talk about it," He chuckles lightly, "But you don't have to lie,"

"What do you mean?" I try to look at him with complete sincerity.

"You know what I mean," He punches me jokingly in the shoulder again. I continue to stare at him blankly, waiting for him to explain, "Give it up Calum, I know all about your whole crush on Valerie, it's quite obvious to everyone actually. Even Adam,"

"Quite obvious to everyone, but her," I mutter, "But how did you know?"

"Calum, didn't you forget that I was with you when Adam approached you in the parking lot last weekend. Or are you suffering from Amnesia and forgot everything that happened?" He laughs, "What's my name? How old are you? Do you know where we are?" He chuckles as he asks all the stupid questions to make sure I'm not dealing with memory loss. 

"Your name is Obama, I'm 78 years old, and I have absolutely no idea where we are," I play along with his joke, both of us soon burst into laughter.

"Well it appears to me that you remember everything," He snickers, pushing the hair that fell into his face away, "Tell me what happened,"

My mood completely changes to one of seriousness, as I stare at the ceiling trying to remember what happened exactly. Even though it was last week, the picture is still clear in my mind, "Well you and I were heading back from Michael's dorm when Adam came stumbling over to us. He told me to stay away from Valerie or else he'd kill me, but he was obviously drunk, so he didn't mean it. Then he punched me and I hit him back and blah, blah, blah the rest is history, "

"Drunk or not, he could have killed you easily. Have you seen him?" Ashton points out, "And I care about Valerie, but I don't know if I'd be able to fight a guy like that for her. Calum I can tell, you really care about her, but she's happy with him. I don't know why, but she is,"

"I want her to be happy and all but why does it have to be with him?" I sit up, and run my hands through my hair,

"That's just how things worked out, I guess," Ashton shrugged, 

"But he's gonna hurt her," I yell, getting up from the bed and pounding my fist against the wall,

"Cal-"

"He's gonna hurt her," I cut him off, my tone more muffled this time and filled with sadness as I rest my head against the wall. When he doesn't respond, I turn slowly to see him sitting with a reassuring smirk, plastered across his face.

"I agree with you. He's gonna use her and when he is no longer pleased with her he's gonna break her heart. But this way she'll be able to learn from her mistake, and stay away from guys like him for good," He does have a point, but I can't bare to see his arm around her waist or her fingers intertwined with his one more time.

"But I don't want her to have to go through the heartbreak," I mutter under my breath. I hate when I turn all sappy, especially in front of other people. But there is no way to get my feelings out without being sappy.

"I know you don't, but everyone goes through heartbreak, it's part of life," He reminds me with a sigh,

"She's already been through enough heartbreak, I'm not going to allow her to go through anymore," I state confidently, sitting beside Ashton on his bed.

"Calum," He looks at me like I'm being ridiculous, "How do you suppose you are going to do that?"

"I'm gonna talk to her, and I'm gonna warn her about him," I explain, feeling satisfied with my plan, "If only she'd give me the time of day,"

"Well tomorrow is your birthday," He mentions with a cheerful grin, his dimples getting deeper as his smile gets wider, "She's ought to pay some attention to you,"

"Hopefully," I mimic his grin. Tomorrow I'm going to be nineteen. And tomorrow my life will hopefully begin to head in the right direction.

✴ ✴ ✴ ✴ ✴

The next morning, Ashton and I were walking aimlessly around campus, with no set destination. We had begun to debate about which superheroes were better than the others, and we decided we could use some fresh air, instead of staying cooped up inside his dorm.

"Batman would so beat Captain America. He always studies his opponent well and comes to his fight prepared. He would definitely find a way to beat Cap..." Ashton trails off, as we walk lazily through the court yard. Discussing superheroes was a good way to start my nineteenth year off. 'I am clearly becoming very mature' I think sarcastically to myself,

"But Cap has enhanced super strength," I retort. Everyone walking around us probably doesn't understand what we're saying and probably thinks we're psychotic, "Which means he has strongest incarnation,"



And then Emily walked by.



"Hey Emily," Ashton waves as she continues past us.

"Who's Emily?" I ask.

"Not really sure," He shrugs. We continue walking, our debate picking up again, "Have you forgotten that Batman has silent ninja-like moves?"

"Big deal," I groan sarcastically, "Captain America has personally trained most of the best superheroes, which means he basically is the bes-"

"Hey guys," A voice interrupts my train of thoughts. Ashton and I look up in unison to see Valerie standing in front of us, her lips curved into a small, content smile.

"Hi," I reply in a dumbfounded manner. Her eyes travel from Ashton to me, and my breath hitches in my throat as her gaze lingers on me for a few seconds before she focuses her attention back to the ground. I can't help admire how cute and innocent she looks, and I don't want Adam take that innocence away from her.

I wait patiently for her to mention my birthday, but she doesn't.

"What's up?" Ashton's voice breaks the awkward silence, and I sigh, looking sorrowfully towards the ground.

"Nothing much," She mumbles, tucking a loose strand of of hair behind her ear, "I was wondering if you guys were busy later?"

My head shoots up excitedly as I glance in her direction, "Nope, we're not busy," I smile sincerely, nudging Ashton with my elbow, "Right Ashton?"

"Nope, we're not busy," He repeats my words,

"Great," She exclaims, "Can you guys be at Brown Alley at like 8 tonight?"

"Sure we can," I answer for both of us, excitement present in my tone.

"Yay!" She cheers, hugging us both briefly, a chill running down my spine even from the smallest touch, "See you then," And with that she was off.

"I can't believe she's having a surprise party for me at Brown Alley," I smile widely at the thought, as Ashton and I head back to his dorm. Brown Alley is Melbourne's premiere underground night club, and I having been dying to go.

"How do you know it's a surprise party for you?" Ashton smirks,

"You saw the way she acted all innocent and didn't mention my birthday. What else could it be?"

"Good point," He admits, as we continue walking. Ashton brings up the whole 'Batman vs. Captain America' discourse again, but I decide to give in and admit that Batman is superior, because my mind is not focused on superheroes. It's focused on Valerie and how perfect tonight is going to be.



I glance at myself in the mirror one last time. I straighten out my red tee and brush any lint off of my black jeans. I want to look presentable at my own birthday party. I do my hair in a mohawk which is something I really only do for special occasions, but I guess this is one, so the mohawk is acceptable.

Ashton said he would text me to meet him at his car when he was ready, so when I see no new messages, I decide to walk back over to the mirror. Since I already know about the whole surprise, I need to at least act surprised. I begin to make surprised faces in the mirror, trying to determine which one works the best. When my phone vibrates in my pocket and a message from Ashton appears on the screen, I decide that I'll just wing it.

When we arrive outside the club, I can hear the music blaring. For some reason I begin to feel really nervous. I'm just afraid that I'm gonna say or do something that will make Valerie hate me. I guess I haven't really gotten over the whole 'always assuming the worst' thing. I swallow the lump in my throat as I follow Ashton down the stairs and into the club. I am all prepared with my surprised reaction but when I come inside no one even notices my arrival. I glance over to see Valerie talking to Hannah and the girl that Michael has been seeing. Their standing amongst a big group of people. However, I don't recognize a single person in that group.

I follow Ashton farther into the bar, the bright, fluorescent lights blinding me. Out of nowhere, I feel two people jump on top of me, me stumbling back from the unexpected gesture. 

"Happy Birthday mate!" They cheer in unison, and I instantly recognize the voices. Luke and Michael.

"Thanks guys," I smile widely, "Bring it in," I open my arms wide, as we have a big group hug, "I'll be right back," I tell them, retreating from the hug. I make my way through the crowd towards Valerie. I tap lightly on her shoulder, and a relieved grin fills her face when she turns around to see me.

"Calum!" She yells over the loud music, her arms gripping firmly around me. I smile at the gesture, quickly wrapping my arms around her tiny waist, "You're just in time." She whispers before pulling away.

"In time for wh-"

"Everyone he's coming," She cuts me off. I watch as the entire group goes silent, Luke, Michael, and Ashton finding their place next to me. 

My eyes head to the entrance, when I see a boy I have never seen before head down the stairs. However, following shortly behind him was Adam.

"Surprise!" Everyone yells, except for me and the four boys, for we are all slightly confused.

I hear various members of the group chant "Happy Birthday Adam!" and watch in pure anger as Valerie leaves my side and walks over to him. Her arms snake around his waist, and his lips soon find hers.

She forgot my fucking birthday.
                          
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Okay sorry for the authors note but I just wanted to make it clear that I know that Calum is not actually turning 19! As you obviously know this story is completely fiction. They are in college and all so it only makes sense for him to be turning 19 or else he would be a year younger than Valerie and they wouldn't be in the same grade and the whole story wouldn't make sense. Sorry if this is really confusing, I'll stop now. 

AND BTW 90K IS INSANE THANKS SO MUCH YOU GUYS I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO MUCH!!!!!!