Love is an Act of War

I'm walking from the store back to the house, when I smell it again. It's like it's following me. I turn around, expecting to see nothing, as I have the past four times, but instead, I see Calum two inches away from my face. My breath gets caught in my throat.

"What are you doing here." I ask softly, more like a loud whisper.

"Adria, I have to talk to you." He whispers, looking around frantically. "Not here." He grabs my arm and pulls me behind the store I was just in.

"What do you want, Calum. Make it quick before someone sees you." I say, irritated. He chose to not risk it, which is fine by me, but I haven't seen or heard from him in a month, so I'm back to being focused on my priorities.

Ashton came back, and he never told anybody, and he said that he just went to a bar for a while, which is normal.

"Adria, Luke knows." He says.

"Knows what? About your ego? Because we've all known about that for a while."

He ignores the comment, "He knows that we met those three times a month ago. He knows about the first time and how we..." He says.

"We? No, Calum, that touchy feely stuff was all you."

"Whatever, either way, he knows about everything."

"So? He's like your best friend. Ash knows also." I shrug.

"Ashton knows too?! Ugh, no, Adria, Luke knows and he's threatening to tell my gang. This could get me demoted or even kicked out." He says, like four inches close to my face. I put a hand on my hip.

"Some best friend you have."

"Adria. ASHTON told Luke. Luke saw him at a bar and was about to kill him when Ashton started blabbing our personal life to him!" I freeze, but then remember who I am.

"We don't HAVE a fuckin' personal life, Calum." I whisper.

"You know why we don't. Reasons like these." Calum says. I roll my eyes.

"NO, Calum, we don't have a personal life because you're the leader of a gang that my brother is trying to destroy. We're enemies, and we're nothing. That's why we don't have a personal life."

Calum's POV

Those words hit me like poison, and they are killing me.

Back To Adria's POV

"Adria..." He whispers and looks down in defeat, "This isn't about us-"

"The us we don't have?"

He sighs, "it's about my title being taken down!" He finishes. I laugh.

"Why the fuck do I care about that?" I ask.

"Wow." He whispers. "You've... Changed."

"A lot happens in a month. Plus, I'm just being how we were before anything happened."

"Fine babe." He smirks, remembering who he is, too. "You just reeeaally made it seem like you cared." He whispers into my ear, and then walks off. I do care.

"Wait- Calum." I say, he turns around, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"What do you need?" I ask. I cannot believe I'm doing this for him. He walks closer, our noses are practically touching. I hold my breath. He looks at me.

"Jeez A, can't you get a little more..." He looks around, grabbing my back and pulling me forward so our bodies are together. Why does he keep doing that. "Comfortable." He whispers, rubbing circles on my back with his thumb.

The question I just keep thinking about finally comes out, "Do you like me?"

He laughs a little into my ear, "Nah. It's just business." Calum whispers.

"Huh." I say, kinda going along with it. He starts pressing soft kisses against my neck. "Mm." I smile. No. No no. I slowly grab the knife and slide the side that isn't sharp on the back of his neck.

"I said... What do you need?" I ask. He smiles against my skin and looks at me, knowing I'd pull something like that.

He whispers something into my ear, kisses the edge of my ear, making me shiver.

"Goodbye Adria." He whispers and walks away.

I can't believe I'm about to risk my life for an enemy.

2 hours later***

I knock on the door, keeping my head on the knife in my pocket.

"WOW, you got a LOT of nerve showing up here, princess." Luke says, looking me up and down.

"I'm no PRINCESS, Luke. Can we talk?"

"We've been wanting to kill each other for eight years, now all of a sudden you wanna have a little tea party?" He asks. I roll my eyes and walk away, knowing he'd follow me.

"What do you want, princess?" He asks.

"If you don't shut the hell up about a COUPLE encounters Calum and I had, I'll kill you right here." I threaten.

"Nah. First off, you and Calum met on PURPOSE, what's up with that? Second, I don't even understand why YOU are in the best gang of the town. You're just a sad little princess whining about dresses." That's what everyone thinks of me.

"Luke..." I put the knife against his gut, "Don't."

"Don't what, sweetie?" He asks.

"Shut up."

"Aw, that's all you can come up with?" I grab his hand, and cut his palm. He sucks in his breath.

"More?" I ask.

"I'll shut up about you and Calum, but if I ever see you two again, I'll kill Ashton. And Calum will be kicked out." He says. I shake his bloody hand, and then wipe the blood on his shirt, walking away.

Calum meets me two miles away.

"Did it work?"

I nod.

"Adria..." He says, inching closer.

"Yeah?"

He's about to kiss me when he realizes.

"Thank you." He says, shaking my hand. I nod and walk away. Each footstep feeling like pain. I miss Calum again.

Notes