Luke's POV---
"No, you're over complicating it." Michael laughs, waving off Ashton's theory. "There are only three kinds of love, sexual, romantic, and platonic." I listen to them debate about how many kinds of love there could be, while Calum sulks in the corner and I blush at pictures of me and Riley on my phone. It's been I think a month and a half now, since we've been long distance.

"No, but aren't sexual and romantic the same thing?"

"No, you idiot, romantic is like, you want to hold their hand and learn about them and kiss them and do nice things to make them happy, all that stuff, and then sexual is you just really want to fuck them." Michael laughs.

"That's stupid. Shouldn't those two just tie in together?"

"I mean, they usually do, but like, in Calum's case," I look up for a second, ready to see what kind of insult Michael has planned this time. Usually he's always on my case but because of their little war over Max he's focused on annoying Cal. It's great. "He usually doesn't feel romantic love, he feels sexual love. So like he just wants to have sex with most of the girls he's with, he doesn't want all the sweet cute stuff." Eh. That wasn't really an insult, that's just true.

"Oh." Ashton says, looking over at Calum. "That's sad, mate."

"Shut up." Calum grumbles.

"Luke what kind of love do you have with Riley?" Ashton smiles at me.

"All of it." I say simply, scrolling through my photos.

"All of it?"

"Yep."

"So you're in love with her platonically too?" Michael raises his eyebrows.

"Yeah." I shrug, and look up at them.

"So you wouldn't mind if she just wanted to be friends?" Ashton frowns.

"No I mean, it'd be shitty but it wouldn't destroy me. I don't know, I just like being with her. If she decides she just wants to be my friend again, that's okay. I fell in love with her, not what's under her clothes or how soft her lips are." I shrug.

"Damn. That's poetic." Michael nods. I laugh.

"When are you going to get off your phone and talk with us? We've still got to write an album you know." Ashton chuckles.

"Don't rush it." Calum says, "Just let it come to you."

"Oh but Calum, not all of us are in touch with our inner hippy like you clearly are right now." Michael laughs.

"Shut up, I'm serious. Music sounds better when it's not thought out."

"Wow, that sounds a lot like your relationship logic, too." Michael rolls his eyes. Ashton raises his eyebrows, and backs out of the room, probably in case something gets physical. We don't usually hurt each other, because we all love each other, but they've been at this forever now.

"Okay, I swear to God Mike, you're with her now, I'm not! You don't have anything to be mad at me about!"

"Yes I do!" Michael says, his voice getting louder every word, "Because I'm actually in love with the girl, and she's still broken and confused as to why I feel like that about her because of what you did. You are the reason she gets all flustered and overly happy when I compliment her. Because you never complimented her. I mean sure, you fucked her and played with her emotions, but you could never find time in your busy schedule, packed full of girls, to tell her you like her hair! Or what she's wearing! Or how when she laughs she gets a little fucking sparkle in her eye and it looks like everything you've ever needed out of life, or how you just wish you can make her laugh for the rest of her life because she's so beautiful, and you just want her happy forever, or how you're so damn lucky to have her, considering for the first fifteen or sixteen years of your life your parents let you do whatever you wanted and you got into some really bad shit and almost messed up your whole life, but she is grace, and love, and happiness, which is something you've never really had before and," Michael wipes the tear off his cheek and huffs, "and I really just don't know how you couldn't love someone like her." I cover my mouth with my hand, and watch Michael walk out of the room.

"Jesus." Calum whispers, and goes after him. I poke my head out the door just to see what happens. "Mike, come on. The compliment thing isn't all my fault, she was like that before we even got together."

"That doesn't justify it." Michael mumbles, sitting with his head in his hands.

"I.. I know that, don't you think I know that? Believe me, I'm not incapable of loving people, I just didn't.. Love her."

"Yeah no shit Sherlock." Michael rolls his eyes.

"Because you're supposed to."

"What?" He frowns, and looks up at the nervous idiot in front of him. Where is he even going with this? Calum is poetic, but not verbally. He's poetic in music, that's his strength with words, when he's really in a conversation he never knows how to explain himself. As long as this doesn't end with someone getting hurt or iced out we're good.

"I've been trying to figure out for nearly a year why I didn't love her back, it wasn't just something I brushed off, trust me. After hearing you say all that stuff I- think I get it? I didn't love her, or whatever, because you're meant to."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I just- I mean.. Maybe.."

"She's the one?"

"Well. Yeah."

"I already know she's the one." Michael says. "I've known that since she managed to beat my high score in hours of playing video games and actually winning." I smile. Those nerdy angels are made for each other. "That doesn't mean you treating her like shit is any better."

"I know.. But you can show her what love actually is. I can't do that, that was a year ago, it's like ancient his-"

"Not for her." Michael shakes his head.

"Right.. Well I don't know, I could be nicer to her-"

"No, I mean she's still in love with you, Calum." Michael says slowly, and sharply. Calum just stands there for a second, unsure of how to approach this. I'm pretty sure only Ashton would approach this correctly, but that's because Ashton's like a thirty year old graduate ready for life.

"How- how do you know that?"

"Every time she has to bring your name up she looks sad obviously, but she also has this thing about her I only see when she says my name."

"Mate, I mean, that's just-"

"It's true." Mike mumbles a little. "Don't feel bad for me though, it's okay, she's just in love with two guys who are in the same band and like brothers, and I'm already with her, but you know, it's fine." He rolls his eyes, and walks into his room.

Calum huffs, and sits back down next to me.

"I assume you saw that?" He asks.

"Yeah." I nod, "Poor Michael."

"Poor Michael?" Calum raises his eyebrows. "No, poor me. Michael's already with Max, he already has her, she's not going to leave him for a piece of shit who never remembered to make her happy." He pauses, and the sighs, slouching into the couch. "I haven't even checked out another girl for like, ten fucking months." I look over at him. "All I can think about is what her face looked like when I told her I didn't love her back, and how much better my life would be if I said it back."

"But Calum, you didn't feel love towards her. You did the right thing not saying it back. I mean, in your own Calum way." I shrug.

"Yeah well, the Calum way is seeming really idiotic lately." He looks over at me, "You know every time I see a short girl with brown hair in public I immediately feel guilty? I can barely breathe and my stomach is on a roller coaster. It sounds fucking awful but I want to like.. See her? I don't want to have sex with her, but I want to see her? Just to see how she's doing? I don't do that. I don't care how a lot of people are doing."

"So. Maybe you love her, but just platonically?" I guess. It sounds like he might love her romantically too, according to Michael and Ashton's logic, but I'd rather not suggest that and get slapped by Michael for putting that thought in Cal's head.

"Maybe." He mumbles. "She'll probably punch me if she ever sees me again though."

"Eh, I'd just let her. You kind of deserve it after the crap you pulled with her."

"Aren't Max and Riley coming for like three days soon?"

"Yeah. A couple days." I blush.

"Oh god, I'd better go buy earplugs." He sighs, and I laugh.

Notes

This chapter was just Calum&Max update and shit, like all that drama xD I'm starting school soon (I'm transferring but it's taking forever) so I'm not sure when the next update will be, but I'll try to make it a little more regular like it was before this update.

Thank you sooo so much for all the views and subscribers <333 I didn't think this story would be that popular, thank you so much! :D

xx
-RooftopSinning