Social Casualty

Michael* Chapter 5
2010

He’s going to kill me. I know it. Calum pulls into the driveway. He casually walks up the drive. WALK FASTER!
I open the front door and smile.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey.”
“What took so long?” I ask. He took forever.
“Sorry, I had to wait for Addy’s brother, Ashton to arrive at my house,” he explains, stepping in the door. I wait for Calum to slip his shoes off. I sit on the couch. Calum follows me and sits facing me.
“What’s up?” he says, with a look of ease.
“Umm, so…I have something really important to tell you,” I say, worried.
“You can tell me,” he says, smiling.
“It’s about your sister.” I wait for him to tense. For a moment I think he won’t but I see it. He slightly tenses. Just barely.
“Okay, what about her?” he asks.
“You’re going to be mad. Like, really mad,” I say. Why don’t I just tell him? I’m such a baby.
“No I won’t. I promise.”
“Ugh, fine.”
“Tell me!” Calum shouts.
“IreallylikeReign!” I say really fast.
Calum inhales in shock. “No way!”
“Are you mad at me?” I ask. That’s a yes.
“Umm, I don’t know, Mikey. It’s just weird because I just talked to her about someone. I need to talk to him though.”
“Who is it?” I ask, hoping he says that it’s me.
“It’s…it’s…it’s Luke,” he says. I feel the anger boil up inside.
“Luke? Luke Hemmings?” I ask angrily.
“Yes. She really likes him. By the way, you’re dating Amber,” Calum says, trying to make me happy.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t like other people!” I say.
“Well, do you love Amber?” Calum asks, seriously.
“Yes!” I shout.
“Did you know that Ashton is dating Hayley?” Calum says.
“Hayley Lyman?” I ask in shock.
“Yeah, I’ve been texting him. We became friends. I’m going to ask out his sister, Adelaide. Apparently, she talks about me “all the time” and I like her as well,” Calum goes on about other people.
“That’s cool,” I say, saddened.
“Sorry about Reign and Luke.”
“It’s fine. Hey, listen, I need to go over to Addy and Ashton’s place, so I’m gonna head out. Bye, Mikey.” Calum waves and heads over to the door.
“Bye,” I say. As he walks out, I look over at the T.V. Call Of Duty?
*Ashton*

“Addy! Reign!” I shout up the stairs. They come running down the stairs at the same time, shoving each other and laughing.
“What, Ash?” Adelaide asks.
“Listen, Calum will be here any minute so stay down here,” I say.
Addy groans. “Okay, whatever. We’re going to the den.” Our den is very comfy. The girls are always in there. The whole room has pillows and blankets everywhere. There is a loft bed with a slide, and a tent to sleep under.
“Okay.”
They walk away and I silently follow them and stand outside the door.
“I can’t believe you like him, Addy!” Reign says.
“I know, he’s just amazing! I mean, he got your name tattooed on his arm, Reign! How sweet is that? He acts all tough but really he’s a softie on the inside. He’s nice, caring, funny, and sweet. Also known as, perfect boyfriend material!” Addy says, going on and on about Calum.
I’ve heard this conversation about a million times and walk away from the door. I sit down at the island in the kitchen and stare at my phone. I hear Calum pull into the driveway and hop up.
I open the front door and he walks in.
“Hey, Cal,” I say. He follows me back to the kitchen and we sit at the island.
“Can I tell you something, Ash?” Calum asks.
“Yeah, of course.”
“I like your sister. A lot.”
“Seriously?” I ask. I’m not even mad. Almost happy.
“Yeah, would you care if I asked her out?” he says, hopefully.
“No, I don’t care. It’s her problem. Not mine,” I say, laughing.
“Just wondered. Does she have anything to do right now?”
“Nope, just talking to Reign about how “amazing” you are.”
“That’s funny,” Calum says.
“Adelaide!” I shout. “Calum’s here!” She immediately races into the kitchen when she hears that Calum is here. Reign is right on her heels.
“Hi, Calum,” Addy says, acting all cool. Reign holds back a laugh. I look at her and just laugh.
“Hey, Addy. Do you wanna go get some ice cream?” Calum asks.
Addy turns and looks at Reign. Reign nods frantically. “Yeah, sure,” Addy says, turning back to face Calum.
“Okay, cool. I’ll drive,” Calum says. Addy follows him out the door to his car. They pull out of the driveway.
Reign sits down at the island and sighs.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Problems. So, I like this guy, but Calum won’t let me talk to him until he does. The problem is that this guy always talks to me. All the time. Constantly.”
“Luke?” I ask. Sounds just like him. I see him talking to Reign constantly, as she says.
“How’d you know?”
“I see him with you all the time. Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe.”
“Thanks, Ashton.” She stands and hugs me.
“You know, I’m going to give you a nickname,” Reign says. She sits and thinks for a moment. Her face lights up suddenly. “Teddy Bear! Because you’re soft and cuddly like a teddy bear!”
I laugh. “I’ll call you Honeybun because you’re so sweet,” I say back.
“I think that we’ll be best friends, Teddy Bear,” Reign says, grinning.
“I think you’re right, Honeybun.”
“Love you, gorgeous,” Reign says, in a sassy girly voice.
“Love you, beautiful,” I say back, in an even sassier voice.
We both bust out laughing.
“Wanna grab some Starbucks?” I ask.
“Duh!” Reign says.
“Kay, let’s go,” I say.
“Race you?” she asks. I nod and we race to my car.
“Ha! I won!” I say.
“Nope, you cheated, Teddy Bear!”
“Sure, that’s what they all say,” I laugh as I get into the car.

Notes

Just in case you were wondering, Reign and Luke are dating, Calum and Addy are dating, Ashton and Hayley are dating, and Michael and Amber are dating.
-Emily x