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highfivecalum · 5 years

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Cynosure {Best Friends Brother!CH}

a/n: okay so i don’t really know what this is tbh i kind of got lost towards the end and just ..... lost sight of what i actually wanted to write but! i hope you still enjoy 13k words of best friends brother!cal even tho it’s kind of all over the place and if it flops we’ll just pretend it didn’t happen thanks!! happy reading :)))

Cynosure: something that strongly attracts attention and admiration

Summary: Shy Elena gets more than she bargains for when her best friends cocky brother moves in with her.

“Sorry I’m late.” Elena slid into the booth that Mali was sitting in, a glass of wine in front of her and one on the table across from her that she ordered for Elena, knowing that she would be late. She wasn’t the most punctual of people, that was one of her many flaws.

“I’m used to it by now.” Mali chuckled and closed the menu she had been looking at for the ten minutes she waited for Elena to arrive. They were meeting for their weekly Friday night dinner and it was Mali’s turn to pick the restaurant. It wasn’t like they didn’t see each other almost every other day, but they enjoyed sitting down in a nice restaurant and getting to hang out just the two of them, without their other friends.

“Ha-ha.” Elena rolled her eyes and sipped her wine. They chatted for a little while, talking about their days, until their server came back to take their food orders. And as they waited, Mali finally cleared her throat and changed the subject to what she originally wanted to talk to Elena about.

“So,” Mali cleared her throat nervously, looking at her younger friend, and Elena could tell instantly that her best friend was nervous about something. Cocking an eyebrow, Elena put down her glass of wine and waved her hand, urging her to speak. “Calum, you know my brother, is moving back here.”

“Oh? Why don’t you sound more excited?” Elena knew that Mali and her brother were close, the best of friends even, and she had heard so much about him and seen pictures of the handsome man Mali that called her brother, but she had never met him in person. She wasn’t sure why Mali didn’t sound excited about the news of her brother moving back to New York from California.

“I am excited! Trust me - I am, it’s just, he needs a place to stay until he gets a job and enough money to get his own place and get up on his feet and… I know that you have an extra bedroom that nobody is using, so I was wondering if he could stay with you?” Mali’s voice was high pitched at the end, full of hopefulness and wishing.

“Oh, uh, well why can’t he stay with you?” Elena wasn’t completely opposed to the idea of Mali’s brother staying with her, she was just a little hesitant because she had never met him before and she wasn’t sure if she would be able to live with such an attractive man, especially since it was her best friends brother, without feeling uneasy about it. And, to say she was shy and awkward around attractive men, and really anybody she didn’t know, was an understatement.

“He and Marco don’t get along. Remember?” Marco, Mali’s boyfriend, wasn’t a big fan of Calum and vise versa. Elena nodded her head knowingly, having forgotten about the story Mali told her of Calum and Marco getting into a physical fight a few years back, and never resolving it. “Please, Elena? He really needs a place to stay and I wouldn’t ask you if he didn’t need it. You know that. He hates when I do things for him.” Mali batted her eyes and jutted out her lower lip. “And he’s so quiet! You won’t even know he’s there.”

Elena gnawed on her lower lip, deep in thought as she decided what to do. Even if she really wanted to, even if she was totally and completely opposed to it, Elena really couldn’t say no to Mali. Her best friend needed her help and Mali had helped Elena out before when she needed it, so she owed her one, and she wasn’t going to let her best friends brother be homeless. If Elena was Calum’s only option - she was going to help him.

“Please, El?” Mali clasped her hands together, dragging out her words as she watched Elena, chew on her lower lip in thought. “I know you’re shy and I know you’ll feel weird at first since you don’t know him, but Cal is great, really! And I’ll forever be in your debt.”

Exhaling a heavy sigh, Elena nodded her head. “Alright, fine.” She finally spoke and Mali’s face lit up, clapping her hands and cheering. Elena was happy to help, she really was, but she wasn’t sure what would come of it.

***

“Hello?” Mali called out excitedly, letting herself in Elena’s house like she had done so many times before, motioning for Calum to follow her. He did so, hesitantly, and adjusted the bags he was holding. He didn’t have a lot, just two big duffel bags full of clothes, and a guitar or two in the car outside of Elena’s house in her driveway. “Elena! Where are you?”

“Kitchen!” Elena called out, licking her finger clean of brownie batter that was on it. She looked up at the sound of Mali’s high heels clicking against her wooden floors and smiled at her best friend. Her smile just barely falling when she saw Calum enter the kitchen behind Mali. God, he was so much hotter in person than in pictures.

It’s not like Elena had forgotten that Calum was going to be moving in that day, if anything, she really couldn’t stop thinking about it. She was nervous, to say the least, but seeing him in person made it reality.

“Cal, this is Elena, my best friend. El, this is Calum, my brother, obviously.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Elena smiled genuinely, but nervously, at the man in her kitchen, that was now also his kitchen, and let her eyes trail up and down his body as he looked around. He was gorgeous, that much was obvious. In a pair of navy and green plaid pants and a plain black t-shirt, his beauty was effortless.

“Yeah, you too, Elena.” Calum nodded his head and she gulped at how easy her named rolled off of his tongue, how appealing her name sounded coming out of his mouth. His smile, just barely there, was already making Elena’s stomach churn. She couldn’t tell if it was a good or bad thing. “Heard a lot about you.”

“All good things I hope.” Elena laughed, looking at Mali who just shrugged innocently.

“Can’t promise you that,” Calum chuckled and winked at her, successfully making her pale freckled covered cheeks heat up. She looked away from him, hoping that he hadn't noticed her blushing, and turned around to put the brownies she made in the oven. “So,” Calum clapped his hands together. “Where am I sleepin’?”

“Do you want to show him, Mali?” Elena asked in hopes that her best friend would do the honors and she wasn’t stuck being an awkward mess around him.

“I’ve actually got to run now.” Mali checked the time on her watch and started walking backwards to the door. She looked between her brother and best friend and grinned, holding two thumbs up. She felt bad that she couldn’t stay any longer to be an ice breaker, but duty calls, and she was already late to work. “Have fun, you two!”

Suddenly, Elena felt even more insanely awkward and anxious. Being alone with Calum and just having met him had Elena not knowing how to act around the attractive man. She was in the comfort of her own home, and she was going to be living with him, and it’s not like he was a total and complete stranger, so why the hell was she so anxious?

“I, uh, I’ll- I guess I’ll give you the grand tour.” Elena laughed nervously and wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans. She showed him around the average sized house, the basement, the backyard that had a pool and a nice porch that Elena loved, the bathroom that he would be using, and finally, his bedroom. “It’s, um, it’s kind of small. Sorry about that.”

“No worries. I’m just glad you’re lettin’ me stay with you.” Calum smiled down at her and entered the room completely, dropping his bags down by the queen sized bed and looked around. Elena was right, it was a small room with a dresser across from the bed and a TV on top of it, a small closet next to that, and a good sized window next to the bed that had access to the roof. “You’re really savin’ my ass, Elena.”

“It’s no problem,” Elena waved her hand dismissively. “I’m glad I can help, you and Mali. I’ll let you, uh, get settled. Make yourself at home. Mi casa es su casa.”

Elena smiled once more before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her, resting her back against it and letting out a deep sigh. Mi casa es su casa? Since when did she speak Spanish?

Some of her anxiousness had subsided, just barely, but she still wasn’t fully calm, and she knew that if she was going to comfortably live with Calum, her best friends annoyingly hot brother, she needed to get her shit together. Fast.

***

“So, are there any house rules I should know about?” Calum spoke as he jumped up on the counter in the kitchen. Elena was sitting at the table in the corner of the kitchen and dining room that were combined, eating her Cap’n Crunch.

“House rules?” Elena cocked an eyebrow and dropped her spoon in her bowl that was now only filled with milk. She wasn’t a huge fan of milk, but refused to eat cereal plain. Getting up to pour out the milk and put her dish in the sink, Elena had to reach around Calum, who was strategically in the way of the sink. Her arm rubbing against the side of his thigh just slightly.

Her hand just barely grazed his leg, but she felt an electric shock and a fire from his leg against her hand. It was crazy, really, the effect he had on her. She had slept with a handful of men, all rather attractive, but she hadn’t ever found them as attractive as she did with Calum. He had barely even touched her and she was a blushing nervous wreck. She hated it.

“Yeah, you know, like am I not allowed to eat your cereal, or drink milk out of the carton, or like, bring home girls?” Calum asked as he chewed the leftover brownies that Elena had made for him as a welcome home gesture. He appreciated it, and her, for letting him stay with her. And she appreciated him being polite and asking what she did and didn’t like in her own house.

Elena laughed quietly and shook her head. “I’m not really big on rules. I don’t care if you bring home any girls, just be quiet, if you do.” Elena couldn’t think of anything else, really. She didn’t mind if he ate her cereal or drank milk out of the carton, even though that was kind of gross. “And just don’t smoke in the house, okay? That’s my only rule, really.”

Calum wasn’t sure how she knew that he smoked, he guessed that Mali mentioned it before he moved in, but he didn’t care how she knew or that she did, it would have come up one way or another with them living together, but he was going to respect her wishes and not smoke in her house. He wouldn’t have smoked in the house anyway, hating that the smell of cigarette smoke lingered and stuck to everything.

“I can live with that.” Calum jumped down from the counter and chewed the rest of the brownie that was in between his fingers. “Maybe livin’ with you won’t be so bad after all.”

Furrowing her eyebrows, Elena turned around and crossed her arms over her chest insecurely and defensively. “What- what does that mean?” She shook her head in confusion.

“I wasn’t too keen on movin’ in with my sister’s hot best friend, you know? Felt like kind of a loser with my sister asking you to let me crash here. But,” Calum smirked and stepped closer, moving a piece of hair out of Elena’s face, his knuckles grazing the apple of her cheek every so lightly. “With the way you baked those brownies, I think I can live with it for a little while.”

With that, Calum dropped his hand and walked away, leaving a very stunned, and very blushing and confused, Elena with wide eyes and a hanging jaw. Had he just called her hot? Directly to her face? Shit. She really needed to pull it together.

***

Elena could have killed Calum. It was enough that he was annoyingly attractive and borderline cocky, but did all of his friends have to be hot, too? Elena looked out her bedroom window when she woke up at noon, she was one to sleep in often, and groaned when she saw her backyard filled with Calum and his hot friends doing cannonballs into her - their pool.

She wanted to lay out by the pool, since she didn’t have to do much work and it was nice and not raining for the first time in days, but she didn’t want to crash their party. She didn’t feel like she was invited to hang out outside, even though it was her house, she just didn’t feel welcomed. And honestly, she would probably be an awkward, blubbering mess around four attractive men. Shirtless men.

Elena stood in the kitchen, a cup of iced coffee in her hand that she made the night before, and a piece of toast in front of her. She was still groggy from just waking up and her actions were slow and lazy. “You just now wakin’ up?” Calum asked her, knocking her out of her daydream, and she turned around slowly to see him in nothing but a pair of swim trunks and water droplets dripping down his body.

His attractiveness wasn’t fair, Elena thought. “Uh, yeah.” Her voice was sleepy and raspy and Calum looked her up and down, taking in the oversized t-shirt and lack of pants she had on. Her hair was thrown up in a bun and her face free of makeup and Calum decided right then and there that he thought she was adorable just post sleep. “I’m not a morning person.”

“Yeah, Mali told me.” Calum laughed and ran a hand through his wet hair. Elena let her eyes trail over Calum’s body and face, almost catching his eyes but looked away before she could get caught, and pretended to look curiously out of the kitchen window. There were the three attractive men, laughing and messing around with each other in the pool. “Sorry, I guess I could’ve asked if the guys could come over.”

Elena furrowed her eyebrows at the grown man in front of her that sounded more like a teenaged boy talking to his mother, and the corner of her lips turned up just slightly. Shaking her head, she assured him, “You’re living here, too, Calum. You don’t need to ask my permission for anything.”

Calum nodded his head and pointed his thumb behind him in the direction of the backyard. “Well, we’re outside swimmin’ and drinkin’ some beers,” Calum ruffled his wet hair, spraying water all over the floor, and while that would usually annoy Elena, she couldn’t help but not care. She was too tired and too distracted by Calum’s bare chest and stomach to care in that moment. “If you wanna join?”

Elena was thankful for the offer, but she still wasn’t sure if she wanted to hang out with Calum and his friends. She barely knew Calum in the first place, and she definitely hadn’t met any of his friends, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to sit through that with her being so awkward around new people. “I don’t want to impose.”

Elena was shy, that much was obvious, but Calum found it kind of endearing. She was gorgeous, but didn’t seem nearly as confident as she should have been. Calum was used to girls throwing themselves at him and flirting nonstop, but Elena was the exact opposite. She didn’t like to be in a room with him alone for too long and she wasn’t even close to flirting with him. It was weird for Calum to not have a girl he was living with to throw herself at him, but he was also glad for it. He wouldn’t have enjoyed living with a girl who was constantly trying to make moves on him.

“It’s your house, Elena, I’m practically just a guest.” Calum reminded her with a small smirk. He didn’t want her to feel unwelcome in her own house and nervous around him and his friends, and even though he hadn’t known her for longer than two weeks, Calum knew she wouldn’t have stepped foot outside if he hadn’t invited her. And, Calum definitely wouldn’t have minded seeing her in a bathing suit. “You wouldn’t be imposing. And the guys wanna meet you. So, what do ya say?”

The charming smile that graced Calum’s face had Elena biting her lower lip and nodding her head, giving in way too quickly to his boyish charm. Elena would have felt like a loser, holed up in her house while her roommate and his friends were outside having fun, anyway. “Let me just go change and I’ll meet you out there.”

Calum saluted her before grabbing two beers out of the fridge and making his way back outside to the pool. Elena rinsed her cup out and headed up to her bedroom to change. Gnawing on her lower lip, she looked through her bathing suits and tried to choose one that wasn’t too revealing- which weren’t many.

Elena settled on a yellow two piece string bikini that she had just purchased and hadn’t worn yet, figuring it would be a good time to wear it. Grabbing a towel out of the linen closet, Elena made her way back downstairs and outside to the pool. She had her towel wrapped around her body, held tight against it, since there were now suddenly four pairs of eyes on her.

“Calum’s new roommate! Hey!” A blonde guy with long curly hair waved to her from the float he was sitting on in her pool with a beer in his hand. “Come join the party!”

Elena did so, reluctantly, and took the only open lawn chair that was next to Calum’s. Calum introduced her to his friends- Michael, Ashton, and Luke. She waved and introduced herself shyly and finally dropped her towel so she could lay in the sun. She wasn’t facing the guys, except Calum, but she could feel all pairs of eyes on her.

“Here,” Calum held out the second Corona he grabbed from the fridge just before. “I got you a beer.” Elena eyed it hesitantly, not knowing for sure if she wanted to drink at just half past noon, but figured that if she drank a few beers it would loosen her up a bit around the men she didn’t know and, hopefully, not be as awkward. “You do drink, right?”

“Uh, yeah, I do. Thanks.” Elena smiled shyly as she took the already opened beer with the lime in it. Elena wasted no time as she chugged down half of it in one gulp. She drank often, but not in excessive amounts out of fear of doing or saying something embarrassing.

Calum looked at her with an amused smile on his face as she chugged it down, not expecting her to drink so fast and willingly, but enjoyed watching her nonetheless. He continued watching her as she stood up and opened the bottle of sunscreen that Michael brought, and bit his lip as she lathered herself in it. Elena tried to reach behind her to cover her back, but huffed in annoyance when she couldn’t reach and get it all covered.

“Let me help.” Standing up, Calum took the bottle from Elena and gestured for her to soon around, and she did so hesitantly. It seemed everything she did around Calum was hesitant. Hesitance should have been her middle name. Breath hitching in her throat, Elena tensed when she felt Calum’s hands, cold from his beer, on her exposed skin.

Calum took his sweet time, lathering the sunscreen on her back, finding it amusing that she was so tense and nervous around him, but he loved it. He could feel his friends eyes on them and could see Ashton smirking from where he was sitting, but he ignored them, with a smirk of his own on his face. He knew what he was doing to Elena, how he was making her feel, and he kind of felt like an asshole, but it also made him feel good. He loved the effect he already had on her.

“Thanks.” Elena mumbled once Calum told her he was done and she finally laid back on the lawn chair. Sighing in content, Elena felt the sun beat down on her and let herself be distracted by the music that was coming out of Calum’s speaker. Elena, momentarily, forgot that she was surrounded by attractive men she didn’t know.

“So, Elena,” Elena opened her eyes to see Luke holding himself up on the edge of the pool, his chin resting on his crossed arms, as he looked at her. She sat up to see him better, not wanting to be rude or disrespectful as he spoke to her, and adjusted the sunglasses on her face. “Tell us about yourself. All we know is that you’re Mali’s best friend.”

“What, uh, what do you want to know?”

Luke shrugged carelessly. “Just, you know, the basics.”

Elena went on to tell Luke, and the rest of the boys because she knew they were listening, that she was twenty-two, her favorite color is yellow, she met Mali through mutual friends and they hit it off, she was a journalist and her job gave her the luxury of working from home most of the time, only going into the office once or twice a week. That’s really all she could think of to tell them. She didn’t find herself that interesting of a person.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Luke asked, surprising Elena but not Ashton, Calum, or Michael. They just laughed at Luke’s nosy behavior. They were used to it, but Elena, not so much.

“Uh, no. I don’t.” Elena shook her head.

“Why not?” Luke tilted his head to the side in curiosity. He thought she was gorgeous, just as Calum did, so he couldn’t understand why she was she single. “I mean, you’re a solid ten, so it just doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Elena’s eyes widened and her cheeks were on fire, she was sure, as the guys, minus Calum who was shaking his head and glaring at his best friend, laughed at Luke’s clearly tipsy confession.

“I-I don’t know,” Elena laughed sadly and awkwardly. Relationships weren’t her fortay, the last three she hadn’t ended too well and she wasn’t going to put herself through that again. And, also, she hadn’t met any guys interested in her enough to be her boyfriend, but honestly, Elena was fine with just casually sleeping around. For now. “Guess I just can’t find a guy interested enough.”

Luke clicked his tongue and started to swim away. “What a shame.”

Elena sat there, confused and blushing at Luke’s words, and continued to drink her beer that had gotten warm from the sun. She finished the rest before it got too warm and cleared her throat as she stood up. “I’m, uh, I’m-I’m going to get another beer.”

Elena excused herself and quickly walked inside, sighing happily at the air conditioning that was blasting through the house, and wiped the sweat off her forehead that wasn’t just from the heat. Luke’s words and his so openly telling her that she was attractive made Elena extremely flustered and borderline embarrassed. She hated being the center of attention, so Luke putting her on the spot like that made her extremely nervous.

Calum made himself known in the kitchen and grabbed a beer out of the fridge just as Elena did minutes before. She was already halfway through her new one to ease her nerves and anxiety. It didn’t seem to be working as well as she would have liked.

“‘M sorry about Luke,” Calum leaned against the counter next to Elena and inhaled a sharp breath through his nose. He could smell Elena perfectly; her vanilla shampoo and the sunscreen he had put on her and the small amount of sweat on her body, and his swim trunks, that were already a little bit tight, tightened. He was overwhelmed by the smell and sight of her. He couldn’t understand why he found her so attractive, but he wasn’t trying to fight it. That would have been pointless. “He has no filter. Especially when he’s drinking.”

Elena could tell that Luke was the most talkative one out of the group. She had only heard Michael and Ashton say a few words and had obviously talked to Calum dozens of times with them living together, but Luke, out of all of them, was the most talkative and the most confident, it seemed. He exuded confidence and self assurance. He and Elena were the opposite.

“I know you’re, like, super shy, and Luke isn’t, so-“

“I’m not that shy.” Elena interrupted defensively, crossing her arms across her chest and propping her hip against the counter. It wasn’t a complete lie, that Elena wasn’t that shy, because she wasn’t. Around her close friends she was talkative and confident and kind of crazy in a good way, but around people she didn’t know well? She was closed off and kept to herself, only talking when somebody started a conversation with her and when it was necessary.

“No?” Calum smirked and took a step closer to her. They were standing the closest they had ever been, with their breath fanning against each other’s faces and their chests nearly touching. Calum tucked her hair behind her ear and slowly, teasingly, ran his thumb over her lower lip. He had never wanted to kiss somebody so badly. “Then show me, Elena. Show me you’re not as shy as I think you are.”

Elena gulped audibly, Calum heard it and tried not to smirk, but she regained her composure and took half a step closer. She was trying to be confident, and it seemed to be working, well, in Calum’s eyes it was, in hers, she still felt awkward. Calum’s bare chest was now pressed against Elena’s with her cleavage spilling out of the top of it, and she put her hands on his shoulders, pulling herself up on the tips of her toes. Their lips were a bear centimeters away, almost touching, and Calum’s hands on Elena’s hips were burning her skin. They both leaned it, lips just barely grazing, when the door burst open.

They jumped apart, both of them clearing their throats and running their hands through their hair, to compose themselves, acting as if nothing had happened. Or nothing almost happened. It was Michael who had walked in and who was now cocking an eyebrow, rolling his lips into his mouth to hide his smile. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Nope.”

“No.”

“Not at all. Nope.” Calum repeated, picked up his beer, and nodded his head at his best friend, making a beeline for the door.

It seemed as if it was easier for Calum to compose himself, unlike Elena, who still had red cheeks and sweat on the back of her neck and on her forehead. Her entire body was on fire and all she wanted to go was take a freezing cold shower.

“So, you and Calum, huh?” Michael finally spoke up. He didn’t want to pry, having just met the shy girl, but the scene he just walked in on had him curious and wondering just what the hell was going on between his best friend and Elena.

“What? No.” Elena shook her head nervously. “There’s- there’s no me and Calum. Definitely not. No.”

“You sure about that? You looked pretty cozy.”

“I’m positive.” Elena swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and watched as Michael continued to stare at her in thought. Finally, he let out a sigh and nodded his head, mumbling a quiet ‘if you say so’, before exiting the kitchen to return to his friends in the pool.

Elena let out the sigh she was holding in and closed her eyes, shaking her head, trying to forget how good Calum smelled and how close she was to kissing him. Looking out the window, Elena caught sight of Calum leaned back on the lawn chair, beer in hand, and wide smile on his face. As if he could feel her gaze on him, he slowly looked over, locking eyes with her, offering the most panty dropping smirk. Living with him was definitely going to be more challenging than she thought.

***

Elena was happily content on her couch, alone in the house for the first time in a while, with reruns of her one of her favorite shows playing on the TV in front of her. Sprawled out on the couch, shoving popcorn in her mouth; Elena’s mind was finally off of Calum. Seeing him and being around him in the same house everyday, it seemed that he was all she could think about. He was clogging her senses and she desperately needed a night away from him.

So, when Mali suggested the three of them get dinner and go out for a few drinks afterwards, Elena politely declined, telling her best friend that she wasn’t up for going out, so they made it a sibling night. Elena couldn’t be happier. Normally, Elena did suffer from FOMO when her friends went out without her, whether it be she had to work on something her boss assigned her or she didn’t feel like going out, in that moment she felt the complete opposite.

Just around midnight, Elena heard the front door open and shut quietly and Calum putting his keys in the glass bowl on the table beside the door, and the sound of him taking his shoes off and hanging his jacket up on the coat rack. She didn’t bother pausing the show, figuring that Calum would just acknowledge quietly her and then head straight upstairs, but was proved wrong as he lingered in the living room.

“How was dinner?” Elena’s voice, quiet and hoarse from not speaking all night, brought Calum’s attention from his phone to her, and the corners of his lips turned up at the sight of her. Looking as cozy as ever in a sweatshirt that he was sure was his and shorts, hair up and out of her makeup free face.

“It was good.” Calum pursed his lips and pointed to the article of clothing she had on. “That my sweatshirt?”

Elena looked down and furrowed her eyebrows. “Oh, uh, it- it might be? It was in my laundry.” She then realized that she had indeed seen Calum wearing it a few weeks ago. She wasn’t sure how it ended up in her laundry and not his, but she was a bit embarrassed about wearing it and not noticing it was his. “I-I’m sorry. Do you want it back?”

She reached for the end to take it off, since she had a shirt on under it, but Calum shook his head and waved her off. “Nah. Looks better on you.” The boyish grin graced his face and Elena blushed with a shy smile. She could tell he was a bit tipsy by the lazy smile on his face and his droopy eyes and how talkative he was being. Ever since their encounter in the kitchen, they hadn’t spoken many words to each other. “Whatcha watchin’?”

Elena folded her extended legs when she realized that Calum had started making his way over to the couch, and she was taking up all of the space. Even though it was her couch, he did live with her now, and she didn’t want to hog it. “Mad Men.”

Calum got comfortable on the couch and hummed in thought. “Never seen it.”

“What?” Elena exclaimed loudly, surprising Calum and embarrassing herself with her sudden outburst. “It’s, like, my favorite show ever. I’ve rewatched it at least three times!” Elena, still excited, quieted and settled down, and cleared her throat. “We can, uh, I can start it from the beginning if you want?”

“You sure?” Calum thought it was sweet, and a little bit nerdy, that she was so excited about a television show, and about wanting him to watch it. “I don’t want to interrupt your you time.”

“I don’t mind.” Elena shook her head with a sweet smile on her face and Calum found himself giving in, nodding his head and smiling as he watched her go back to the homepage of Netflix to find the first season.

“You can stretch out your legs again, if you want.”

They both knew that if she extended her legs out all the way, that they would end up in Calum’s lap, but he didn’t mind and Elena found herself surprisingly comfortable with resting her legs and feet in Calum’s lap. Calum’s hands absentmindedly rested on Elena’s shins, his thumb grazing the exposed skin as he engulfed himself into the show that Elena was so excited about him watching.

While Calum watched intently, reading the subtitles that Elena had put on were saying, Elena could focus on quite literally nothing else but Calum’s thumbs tracing and rubbing her skin absentmindedly. She tried to focus on the show, but since she had already seen the first season a million times, she didn’t need to pay attention to it, already knowing what happened, so the only thing her mind could focus on was the way Calum’s fingers felt on her skin. They left a fire in their wake, but it was oddly comforting to Elena.

Calum, on the other hand, was so entranced by the show that he didn’t notice Elena’s body completely relax and melt into the couch. After three episodes, Calum looked over at an oddly quiet Elena, and smiled fondly at the image of her completely asleep. She looked so peaceful, the most at ease Calum had ever seen her, that he didn’t stop the motions on her skin and didn’t get up to carry her to bed.

They fell asleep like that; Calum’s hands securely on her legs that were in his lap, Elena stretched out fully, and Calum, not so comfortably, resting on the couch. Calum knew that he could definitely get used to that, even if wasn’t the most ideal sleep position, if Elena was content, then so was he.

***

“Anybody home?” Mali called out, slamming the front door to Elena and Calum’s house shut. Her heels clicked against the floor as she walked around the house, checking each room to find either her brother or best friend.

Her face lit up when she found both of them, plus Michael, sitting on the patio in the backyard with beers in front of them and music playing through the speaker that Calum didn’t go anywhere without.

“Mali-Koa!” Michael waved at her happily, a huge grin on his face as she neared the table. Calum and Elena looked behind them, since they were both sitting with their backs towards her, and greeted her with smiles and happy hellos.

“Hi, loves!” Mali plopped down on the chair next to Elena and rested her feet on her lap, sighing happily as she no longer was walking on her heel clad feet. “What are we up to today?”

“What we do best,” Calum held up his half empty beer and pointed it in Mali’s direction for her to drink the rest of. She did so happily, chugging it down and craving another instantly after her long day of work. “What brings you by, sis?”

“Just wanted to see my favorite people.” Mali grinned and patted Elena’s leg. “Oh, and Michael, I guess.” Michael rolled his eyes, but laughed along with everyone else since he knew she was joking.

Michael had known Mali for just as long as he knew Calum and he thought of her like a sister, like he thought of Calum like a brother. They were close and would often text each other throughout the week just to see how each other were doing. Their relationship was one similar to Calum and Mali’s, or Elena and Mali’s.

“But actually,” Mali started up again. “I need some drinks and the bar is calling my name. Who’s joining me?”

Everyone agreed to go along with Mali, but before they could go directly to the bar, Elena insisted she touch up her makeup and change out of her sloppy clothes she had been wearing all day to something cuter, more bar appropriate. The four of them met outside at Mali’s car, her getting into the driver’s seat, Elena in the passenger, and Calum and Michael in the back.

The bar was dead, considering it was a Tuesday evening, and the group was happy that it wasn’t overly packed. A chill, empty bar is just what all of them wanted. After ordering a round of drinks, Mali dragged Elena to the pool tables and the two of them got lost in trying to beat and out play one another, while Michael and Calum sat at the bar and caught up.

“What’s up with you and Elena?” Michael finally asked the question that was in the back of his head since he walked in on them not-so-subtly almost kissing in the kitchen.

“What do you mean?” Calum wiped the foam from his beer off his upper lip and quirked an eyebrow at his best friend. “There’s nothin’ going on between us, Mike.” Calum told him. And it was the truth. Sure, there were some lingering touches here and there and longing stares when the other wasn’t looking, but as far as anything happening between them? It was nothing.

Michael snorted, clearly not believing Calum’s words. “I walked in on you guys almost kissing, I’ve caught both of you, on multiple occasions tonight, staring at each other when the other wasn’t looking,” Michael went on, listing them off on his fingers. “Clearly, there’s something there, Cal.”

“I mean, yeah, she’s hot and everything, but that’s it.”

Michael stared at him knowingly. He was lying and Michael knew it. “You like her.” Calum avoided all eye contact and drank his beer, trying to act like Michael’s words didn’t affect him. “Why don’t you just make a move on her already? I could cut the sexual tension with a knife.”

“Just make a move? What do you mean just make a move? She’s Mali’s best friend, dude. I can’t just make a move.”

“Why not?”

“Because, well, what if I did and she rejects me? Then it’ll be weird living with her and it’ll be weird with Mali and it just-” Calum ran a frustrated hand through his hair, tugging at the ends as he shook his head in annoyance. “It’d just be weird.”

“I can guarantee you that she will not reject you, Cal.”

“Oh yeah?” Calum scoffed. “How so?”

“Because she’s been undressing you with her eyes all night.” Michael told him before sliding off the bar stool and joining the two girls they were just talking about at the pool tables. Calum’s eyes followed Michael, landing on Elena who’s eyes, just like Michael had factually told him, were only on him.

They stood and sat in place, staring and paying attention to nothing but each other, and Calum cursed under his breath. Michael’s question rang through Calum’s head; why didn’t he just make a move already?

Elena finally looked away when she heard Mali calling her name, telling her it was her turn to shoot in pool, and Calum watched her. Weighing the pros and cons of potentially hooking up with his roommate and his sister’s best friend, he was interrupted by the bar door swinging open and the familiar voices of his friends hollering.

“Elena!” Luke grinned happily at her, slinging his arm over her shoulder as Mali took her turn to shoot in pool, and Calum’s jaw clenched as he watched Luke touching and standing so closely to Elena, clearly and openly flirting with her.

Luke had voiced his attraction to Elena many times since he met her and Calum tried not to be a dick about it, since he really had no reason to be, and he tried to play it off, but it was harder than he thought it would be. He was overly attracted to her and was a bit scared that Luke had a better chance with her than he did.

Elena didn’t seem as interested in Luke as he was in her, obviously, and even though Calum could see it in her face and mannerisms, he couldn’t stand to watch it. Standing up, Calum made his way to the bathroom, his eyes locking with Elena’s as he passed her.

Elena bit her lip in thought, politely excusing herself from Luke and from the rest of the group since she had lost against Mali in pool, and carelessly shouldered through the few people that were in her way. She wasn’t sure what had come over her, but all she could think about was getting to Calum.

She didn’t bother knocking, just walked right in, clearly startling Calum in the process and walked into the one person bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. Their eyes locked in the reflection of the mirror and Calum slowly turned again, crossing his arms across his chest and leaning against the sink. “Elena,” Calum looked her up and down, taking in her outfit that consisted of a pair of tight jeans and a tight shirt that showed off her curves. “What’re you doin’ in here?”

Elena took a few steps closer to him, already being in his personal space since the bathroom was so small, and inhaled nervously. “I think you know why I’m in here, Calum.” Another step closer, her heeled boots clicking against the tile floor. She had never been so bold before, never so confident. She had never pursued a man before, always letting them go to her. “You told me to show you I’m not as shy as you think I am.”

Calum didn’t make any moves as she wrapped her arms around his neck and without another thought, without even thinking about chickening out, she pressed her lips against his. Finally, Calum’s hands were on her waist, gripping them and spinning her around so she was against the sink now. Elena hopped up on her own, like she was reading Calum’s mind and spread her legs for him to step in between them.

Their lips moved feverishly together, tongues battling for dominance, Calum’s winning easily and Elena let out a moan in his mouth. He nipped at her lower lip before letting his mouth trail down her jawline and neck, his mouth hot against her skin.

Just as Calum’s hands slipped up her shirt, there was a loud pounding at the door, breaking them apart from each other. “Hurry the fuck up!” A voice neither of them knew yelled over the music.

Elena panted, Calum too, as they stared at each other with lust clouding their vision. Elena opened her mouth to speak, to suggest going home to finish what they had started, but Calum backed away before she could. “Should probably get back out there before they notice we’re missin’.”

With that, Calum left the bathroom, leaving Elena breathless and confused, and still on the sink. Well, that’s not what she had expected him to say.

***

Achoo, achoo, achoo. Each one sounded closer to Calum as he stood in the kitchen eating his late lunch. It was three in the afternoon and he had been awake since around ten and still hadn’t seen Elena. She hadn’t left her room, from what Calum could tell, and he was close to checking on her to make sure she was okay.

Groaning, Elena turned the corner and into the kitchen, sniffing and rubbing the tip of her red nose. Calum raised his eyebrows at his clearly sick roommate and frowned. “You okay?” He asked.

Elena looked up, startled, like she hadn’t noticed Calum was in the kitchen with her. She closed her eyes tiredly and shook her head. “I think I’m sick.”

Calum set his fork down onto the plate and stalked over to her, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead. She definitely had a high fever. “Jesus, Elena. You’re burnin’ up.”

Elena hadn’t been able to sleep the prior night due to her stuffy nose and sore throat, so, waking up at three in the afternoon made sense. She knew that she got sick from one of her coworkers a few days before, the one day she decided to go into the office to run something by her boss, she ran into a girl she had been working with for a few months, coughing and sneezing all over the place.

“Have you taken any medicine?” Calum questioned worriedly. Sure, she only had a cold and a fever, but he still wanted her to feel better. Shaking her head groggily, Elena informed him that she hadn’t bought any in a few months. She wasn’t prone to getting sick. “Alright,” Calum grabbed his keys from the counter and checked his pocket for his wallet. “Go and lay on the couch and I’ll go out and buy you some medicine and soup, yeah?”

“I can go.” Elena offered, trying to take Calum’s keys from his hand and he scoffed.

“You’re practically asleep, Elena.” Calum put his hands on her shoulders and spun her around, walking her to the couch. He lightly pushed her down and she obliged, her butt hitting the cushion with a huff. “I’ll be back in twenty.”

Elena rolled over, her head resting on the middle cushion and her knees to her chest, laying in the fetal position, as she hummed a quiet and barely audible goodbye.

True to his word, Calum was walking back inside with three different kinds of medicine and different soup options since he wasn’t sure what Elena preferred. “Hey,” Elena forced her eyes open to see Calum sitting on the coffee table across from her. He had set all the medicine on the table next to him and held up the different soups. “Which one?”

Without speaking, Elena pointed to the one in Calum’s left hand and sniffled. Calum got right to cooking, filling a pot with water and letting it boil before he poured the soup in it. It only took a few minutes, but to Elena, it felt like forever.

She had taken DayQuil as opposed to NyQuil since she was already half asleep, and popped a cough drop in her mouth. Calum came back into the living room shortly after with the bowl of soup in one hand and a mug of tea in the other. Elena forced herself to sit up, huffing and groaning, as she took the soup from Calum. “Be careful it’s hot.”

“Mmm,” Elena hummed in delight as she took the first bite, it nearly burning her tongue off but feeling amazing down her sore throat. “Thank you, Cal. You’re an angel.”

Calum grinned widely, never having heard her call him by the nickname his close friends called him, and almost found himself blushing when she called him an angel. He took a seat on the other end of the couch to give Elena space and, mostly, so she wouldn’t breath her sickness on him.

After eating her soup and drinking some of her tea, fatigue took over Elena’s body and she was falling back onto the couch, her head landing on Calum’s lap in the process. “Will you play with my hair?” Elena asked, her voice muffled by her arm that was covering her face, sounding like a little girl. “Always makes me feel better.”

Calum did so, with no hesitation or reluctance, and laughed quietly when Elena let out a happy sigh, the first he had heard from her all day. He felt her melt into him, her hand now resting on his thigh, and Calum knew she was close to asleep.

Weirdly, Calum wasn’t bothered by her sickness or how needy and helpless she was. In fact, Calum found himself enjoying being able to help her feel better. He could’ve done it a hundred times over.

***

“Fun night last night?” Calum cocked an eyebrow at a very hungover Elena who looked like a train wreck.

“Oh, God.” Elena hid her red blush covered face in her hands. “You heard it?”

“Well, not so much you, but I heard him.”

Elena, after finally getting rid of her cold, went out with Mali and the rest of their friends, and ended up very intoxicated, stumbling inside her house with a random guy she met at the bar. Obviously, they slept together, and Elena tried to be quiet about it.

“I was trying to be courteous.” Elena mumbled into the cup she was holding that was filled with a premixed cocktail. Truth was, if the sex had even been slightly enjoyable, Calum would have been able to hear her moans with them sharing a wall and all, but, the sex sucked, so Elena had no reason to be vocal. She didn’t even pretend it was good.

“That right?” Calum cocked a challenging eyebrow. He knew for a fact that a drunk Elena, or a drunk any girl, would have made at least some noise while getting laid drunkenly. But he hadn’t heard a peep come out of her mouth last night. “Or you just didn’t enjoy it.”

Elena nearly choked on her drink that was in her mouth, but quickly swallowed it and shook her head frantically. “I- what? Why wouldn’t- why wouldn’t have I enjoyed it?”

“If the sex was even remotely good all courteousness would’ve been out the window, Elena.” Calum inched closer to her, invading all of her personal space, and reached out to trail his finger up her bare arm. She shivered at his touch. “He didn’t make you cum, did he?”

Elena swore her eyes almost popped out of her head. She hadn’t talked about her sex life with anybody but Mali, really, definitely not her guy friends. And definitely not Calum. She was flustered, her body covered in heat from the blush that arose, and Calum couldn’t help but smirk.

“I’m not having this conversation with you.” Elena wanted to walk away from him so badly, but it seemed she was stuck in place.

“Just answer me and I’ll drop it; did he make you cum?”

Elena gulped and no matter how much she didn’t want to admit it to Calum, she more so wanted the conversation to be over. So, she told him, “No. He didn’t.” Elena shook her head. “Are you happy now?”

“Now why would I be happy about that?” Calum’s hands were now grazing against her bare thighs due to dress she had on, and they inched dangerously close to where she wanted him the most. Calum leaned in closer, his mouth barely brushing against her ear, as he spoke, “I bet I could make you cum with just my fingers.”

Elena was breathless, speechless, as Calum’s pointer and middle finger reached her clothed core, rubbing agonizing slow against her clit. Mouth agape and eyes squeezed shut as his fingers worked her. But, before they could get any further, a knock at the door interrupted them.

Calum pulled away, a permanent smirk on his face, and hummed. “Our friends are here,” Calum looked at the door behind him. “Wouldn’t wanna get them waiting, would we?”

With that, Calum walked away with the utmost confidence and went to answer the door. Elena leaned back against the counter, her hands gripping the edge of it so hard that her knuckles turned white. Elena was so lost and caught up in Calum so close to her, touching her where she craved him the most, that she had forgotten that they were expecting company for the little get together they planned to have.

She was flustered and hot and bothered and totally and completely did not have her shit together. As she heard the familiar voices of her and Calum’s friends mixed together, Elena stared up at the ceiling and took a few deep breaths. She had to get herself under control, but with Calum around and near, she knew she wouldn’t be able to.

***

Their eyes met and locked all night long. As they mingled and consumed their drinks, their eyes would somehow, always, find one another. It was like they were challenging each other to see who would cave first, who would make the first move. Neither of them would budge.

“You look great tonight.” Aaron, one of Elena and Mali’s friend complimented her as he opened another beer. Elena was outside on the patio, coolers surrounded her with guests beer, since it was BYOB, and Calum and Elena didn’t want to provide alcohol for everyone in their house.

“Thanks, Aaron.” Elena smiled gracefully and moved her hair behind her shoulder. They found themselves lost in conversation and Elena could feel Calum’s eyes on her the whole time from across the yard. He was smoking a cigarette and chatting with some of his friends.

When Aaron’s hand found Elena’s hip to pull her closer, that’s when Calum excused himself from his conversation, put his cigarette out, and stalled over to them. “Hey, Elena,” Calum interrupted, gripping her elbow with his hand and tugged her towards him. She stumbled slightly and gave Aaron and apologetic smile. “Can we talk? In private?”

Calum didn’t give Elena the chance to object or say goodbye to Aaron as Calum dragged her through the house and up the stairs. Once they reached Elena’s room she opened her mouth to speak. “Calum, what the hell-“

Calum shut her up by pushing her against her bedroom door, slamming it shut in the process, and pressed his lips against hers in a heated, overdue, kiss. Their lips worked together feverishly and Calum only pulled away to attach his lips to her jaw and neck. He dropped to his knees, hiking one of Elena’s legs on his shoulder to gain better access to the place he had been thinking about all night

Pushing her thong to the side, Calum attached his lips to her clit and sucked, flicked, and licked his tongue. Calum slipped one finger in at a time and Elena threw her head back, ignoring the dull ache from slamming it against the wooden door.

“Oh, fuck.” Elena moaned loudly, thankful for the music that was playing downstairs and tangled her fingers in Calum’s long hair.

Calum said that his fingers could make her cum, but it was his tongue and mouth that did most of the work that made her come undone embarrassingly easily and quickly.

Calum moved her thong back in place and Elena slumped against the door, leaning on it for support once Calum placed her foot back on the floor and stood up. He connected their lips once more and Elena deepened it, letting her hand trail down his stomach to palm him over his pants.

Calum caught her wrist in his grip and pulled away reluctantly. He wanted her so badly, more than he wanted anyone else, but it wasn’t the time for that. “What’s wrong?” Elena breathed against his lips. “Want you, Cal.”

“I want you, too, God you’ve no idea how bad I want you, but not right now. Not like this.” Calum shook his head and took a step back. “Not when there’s a houseful of people right below us.”

Calum placed one last gentle kiss on Elena’s lips and smiled down at her, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Yeah, okay, you’re right.” Elena nodded her head and let Calum pull her back downstairs with him.

All night, just like earlier in the night, their eyes would meet and Calum would wink and smirk, and Elena would blush. God, Calum was going to be the death of her.

***

It had been days since that night and Calum and Elena hadn’t seen much of each other. Calum had picked up extra shifts at the bar he had gotten a job at and Elena was running around doing errands and hanging out with Mali. It was weird, hanging out with Mali, when just days ago her brother was giving Elena the most pleasure she’s had in a while, but while the two of them were together, Elena tried her hardest not to think of how her best friends brother had gone down on her.

It was half past one in the morning when the front door slammed shut and Calum came trudging inside of the house. Elena was still up, having slept until the middle of the afternoon that same day, eating a bowl of ice cream as she scrolled through her phone mindlessly.

“Hey,” Elena greeted Calum, looking up from her phone to offer him a smile and he simply nodded his head at her, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and headed upstairs. Elena huffed in annoyance and followed him to his room, completely forgetting about her half eaten ice cream. “What is your problem?” Elena finally asked Calum after days of him avoiding her.

Calum turned around, shirtless in only his jeans now, and furrowed his eyebrows at Elena, who was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. She looked pissed and annoyed and Calum hadn’t ever seen her look like that. “What are you talkin’ about?”

“You know damn well what I’m talking about, Calum.”

“You’re gonna have to elaborate, Elena.”

“Oh my God, seriously? You’re so annoying!” Elena scoffed and took a few steps inside of his room, that she had only ever been completely inside of once. “Ever since you had your head between my legs and devoured me like a fucking feast you’ve been avoiding me like the Goddamn plague!”

Calum nearly laughed at the words that left Elena’s mouth, never having heard her speak so foully and confidently, but the matter wasn’t funny, Calum knew that.

“Jesus, if I had known you would have started acting weird I would’ve have let that happen.”

Calum stopped his actions, leaving his belt undone but still on, and looked at her annoyed expression. He hadn’t expected her to react the way she was. “What are you saying?” Calum challenged. “You regret it?”

“What? No. That’s- that’s not what I said.” Elena shook her head in exasperation and confusion. She wasn’t even sure what she was trying to say. She wasn’t expecting to have this conversation at nearly two in the morning, but she was fed up with Calum’s immaturity.

“Then what, Elena? What the hell are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that you’re a grown man acting like a fucking teenager! If you regret it, then that’s fine, just stop acting like a child.”

Elena waited for Calum to respond, to say anything, and when he didn’t, she scoffed and turned to leave his room, but before she could get any further, Calum was gripping her arm and stopping her. With their body’s flush together, Elena’s lips captured in Calum’s in a heated kiss, she knew that he didn’t regret it.

***

Elena groaned into the pillow as she was woken up by Calum shuffling around the room and shortly after opening the curtains that were covering the window, letting the sun shine through his room. She rolled over so her bare back was facing the window and covered her eyes with the duvet.

Elena heard Calum laughing and let out a tired sigh. “What time is it?” She mumbled into the pillow.

“Just a little after ten.” Calum told her and, once again, she groaned tiredly and grumpily. She definitely was not a morning person even though Calum was. “Get up, sleepy head.”

Calum moved his duvet out of her face and smiled at the sight of her; comfy and cozied up in his bed, nude from the night before. He couldn’t believe it had actually happened, but he didn’t regret it.

Rolling over so she was on her back, Elena rubbed her eyes and let a yawn rip through her body. “This is the earliest I’ve been awake in months.”

“You gotta seize the day, baby.” Calum chuckled and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips, not caring that neither of them had brushed their teeth yet. “I invited the guys and Mali over for a pool day, so get up and get ready, yeah?”

Elena propped herself up on her elbow and closed her eyes. Mali. Shit. How was she supposed to act normal around her after having sex with her brother just the night before. “Fuck,” Elena cursed under her breath, although Calum heard.

“What?”

“Mali. Shit.”

“What about her, Elena?” Calum questioned.

“How am I supposed to be normal around her now without being weird? Oh God, I just had sex with my best friends brother. Oh God.”

Calum pursed his lips and nodded his head disappointedly. “Is that all I am to you? All this is?” He laughed sadly as he gestured between the two of them. “Your best friends brother?”

“What? No.” Elena shook her head and sat up properly, hugging the blanket to her bare chest. “That’s- that’s not what I meant, Calum.”

At the sound of the doorbell ringing, Calum shoved his swim trunks up his legs and grabbed the towel that was hanging on his door knob. “Right. Well, they’re here, so you should probably get dressed.”

Leaving his bedroom, Calum slammed the door behind him and Elena huffed, falling back onto his bed. Running her hands down her face, she shook her head at herself.

What had she gotten herself into?

***

Elena decided against joining Calum, Mali, and the guys for their pool day, opting to stay in bed and wallow in self pity, it seems like that’s what she did best. She was sure if she was around Mali she would start acting weird and if Mali asked her what was wrong, she would know instantly if she was lying. Calum was pissed at her, too, so she didn’t think joining their small pool party was the best idea.

Hours later, Calum was coming back inside after Mali and his friends left and hopped in the shower, washing the sun, sweat, and chlorine off of his body. He decided against drinking while everybody else did, so he wouldn’t be tired and even more drained from his long day.

After getting himself dressed in only a pair of sweatpants, he lingered outside of Elena’s bedroom door. It was shut and he could hear her TV from outside the door and he hesitantly hit his knuckles against the wood. “Come in.” Elena’s voice was muffled by the door and the TV and Calum slowly opened the door to see Elena under her blankets, only her head showing, with her eyes on the TV.

“Uh, hey.” Calum walked in, shut the door behind him, and stood at the foot of her bed.

“Hi.” Elena’s voice was quiet and nervous, almost, just like she acted when she first met him. Calum sat down on the side of the bed Elena was on and huffed, leaning his elbows on his knees as he turned his head to look at her. He stayed quiet and Elena gwaned on her lower lip. “I-I’m sorry about earlier.” Elena finally broke the silence.

“‘S fine.” Calum shrugged.

“I just- Mali is my best friend and she’s always come first, you know? So my first reaction was to think about her and what- what she would think and say about it.” Elena stumbled over her words and Calum’s hardened features softened.

“I get it.” Calum took her hand in his and rubbed the skin on it lightly. “I just like you, is all, and hearin’ you say that I’m just your best friends brother caught me off guard because I thought you liked me, too.”

“I do!” Elena exclaimed wildly as she sat up and let the blanket fall down her, now clothed, body. “I do like you, Calum. I’m just scared she’s going to be mad at me and I’m gonna lose her as a friend.”

“Mali is reasonable, El. She’s understanding and she doesn’t get mad easily,” Calum reminded Elena. Elena knew that already, it was common knowledge to know that if you were close with Mali, but she was still scared. “If you explain it to her, I’m sure she’ll get it.”

Elena sighed heavily and licked her lips. “You’re right.” Elena admitted and, finally, Calum smiled at her.

“I want to tell her, but if you don’t want to yet, that’s okay.”

“I’ll tell her soon, okay?” Elena assured him. “But can we just- can we stop talking about this right now?” Calum nodded his head and kissed the top of her hand. “Do you want to cuddle and watch movies with me the rest of the day?”

“Wouldn’t wanna do anything else,” Calum laughed and crawled into Elena’s bed with her, wrapping his arms around her middle and pulling her back into his chest. He placed light, feather like, kisses on the side and back of her neck as her body melted into his.

Calum didn’t know what to expect when he moved in with Elena, but it sure as hell wasn’t him falling for his sister’s best friend.

***

Elena twisted the ring on her finger as she waited for Mali to arrive at the restaurant they agreed to meet at. Elena had been avoiding and ignoring Mali for a solid week straight, trying to get her thoughts in order, and trying to figure out what she was going to say to her best friend.

She felt bad for ignoring Mali and blowing her off every time she asked to go out or just hang out at either one of their houses, she just didn’t know what to say to her. Elena, for once, was at a loss for words when it came to Mali.

“I never thought I was going to see you again,” Mali joked as she took the seat across from Elena, her grin falling as she noticed how nervous Elena looked. Mali knew Elena well enough to know that without her saying anything she knew something was wrong. “What’s going on? Why are you acting weird?”

“I-I have to tell you something.” Elena spoke nervously.

“Okay?” Mali furrowed her eyebrows, dragging out all of the letters in the word, gesturing for Elena to continue speaking. She stayed quiet, gnawing on her lower lip, and Mali was getting progressively more worried. “You’re freaking me out, Elena.”

“Okay, I- you might hate me but-“

“I could never hate you.” Mali interrupted to reassure her best friend.

“Calum and I, we-we kind of, hooked up?”

“And what? He got you pregnant?”

Elena shook her head rapidly. “What? No. No- we just- we had sex. And, well, I think we might be a thing now?”

“And that’s all?”

“Um, yeah?” Elena laughed nervously.

“That’s what you were freaking out? That’s why you were avoiding me?”

“I- yeah. Wait, you’re not mad?” Elena was thoroughly confused. She thought for sure that Mali was going to be pissed at her, shun her, and never speak to her again.

“Why would I be mad, Elena?” Mali laughed and shook her head at her over dramatic and paranoid best friend.

Mali couldn’t have cared less that her brother and her best friend had slept together. Honestly, if anything, she was glad it was each other that they were sleeping with.

“I-I don’t know because you’re my best friend and Calum is your brother? And I had sex with him?”

“Honestly,” Mali took a bite of the garlic bread that their server had given them, and wiped her hands on the napkin on her lap. “I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”

“Wait, what?” Elena laughed incredulously. “You knew this was going to happen?”

“Well, obviously I didn’t know, but I had a feeling.” Mali shrugged with a sly smirk on her face. Elena still looked confused and a little bit nervous, so reaching across the table, Mali rested her hand on top of Elena’s. “Babe, I’m not mad at you, okay? I’m happy that you two are getting together. You’re two of my favorite people and I know that I already like you for Calum, obviously, and I approve of him for you.”

Elena finally smiled and let out the breath she had been holding in since she revealed the news to Mali. A grin overtook her face and she laughed, finally feeling all of the nervousness subside, and finally, enjoyed a nice meal with her best friend, with nothing to hide.

***

Elena sighed sadly at the half empty glass of wine in front of her on the dining room table. It was her birthday, and all of her friends were, unfortunately, busy. Mali insisted she would cancel her plans with Marco to spend time with Elena, but Elena simply nodded her head, letting her know that it really wasn’t that big of a deal.

Calum had an earlier shift at the bar, letting Elena know that he would be home at around ten, although Elena hadn’t even told him it was her birthday. She didn’t want him to miss work just because of her, and they technically weren’t even completely official yet, so she didn’t want him to do ditch work to celebrate with her.

The door shut and Elena checked the time, seeing it was only nine-thirty, and furrowed her eyebrows. Calum wasn’t supposed to be home for another half an hour, so when he appeared in the kitchen, the corners of her lips turned up.

“Hey, love.” Calum greeted her with a tired, drained smile. He noticed that her smile didn’t reach her eyes, and also didn’t miss the glass of wine on the table and the bottle next to him. He didn’t know her to drink alone, never had since he moved in with her, so he was concerned. “What’s wrong?”

Elena shook her head with a quiet laugh leaving her lips. “Well, it’s uh- it’s my birthday, and I have no pla-“

“What?” Calum exclaimed wildly, sliding into the chair next to her. “It’s your birthday and you didn’t even tell me?” He frowned, taking her ring clad hands in his own and squeezed them. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to miss work and, really, it’s my twenty-third birthday, it’s nothing special.”

“Twenty-three or not, it’s your birthday, El.” Calum furrowed his eyebrows, a thought popping into his head, as he tugged on her hands and pulled him up with her. “C’mon, go get dressed. We’re goin’ out.”

“What?” Elena laughed in confusion. “Going out where?”

“Dancin’ and drinkin’!” Calum clapped his hands in excitement and Elena couldn’t help but smile as wide as he was. “I’m callin’ the guys and making them meet us, yeah? ‘M not letting you spend your birthday all sad and alone.”

Elena nodded her head, not being able to hide the smile on her face at Calum’s excitement and did as he told her; going upstairs to change out of her leggings and shirt into something more birthday presentable. She laughed as she heard Calum shout from downstairs to ‘look sexy, even though you already are!’ and changed into something that made her ‘look sexy’.

“My God,” Calum groaned at the sight of Elena in skintight black jeans, a red shirt that showed off her cleavage perfectly, and a pair of red boots to match her shirt. “How’d I get so lucky?”

His hands slid around her waist, clasping them together to pull her closer, and hers wrapped around his neck. Their lips connected, and Calum pecked them a few times before pulling away to grin at her. “Most beautiful birthday girl.”

Elena giggles, bowing her head to hide her blush, and shook her head bashfully. She reluctantly pulled away, her boots tapping against the wooden floor, and nodded her head towards the front door behind them. “We should go. We got dancing to do, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Calum grinned, placing one more kiss to her lips before guiding them to the door and out to his car. Elena wasn’t too upset about spending her birthday by her lonesome, but she was so glad that Calum was taking her out.

Pulling up the very crowded club, Elena’s nerves spiked and she nervously chewed on her lip as her and Calum waited in line to get in. Calum sensed her nerves and squeezed her hand. “Whenever you wanna leave, let me know, yeah?” Calum knew she wasn’t too big a fan of huge crowds and clubs, so he wanted to make sure she knew that if she wanted to leave, he was ready whenever she was.

“Just get some drinks in me and I’ll be good.” Elena assured him. Calum pecked her lips and their moment of cheesy PDA was interrupted by his rowdy friends approaching them in the line.

“Birthday girl!” Luke cheered happily, pulling her into a short and quick hug, letting Michael and Ashton take turns hugging her and wishing her a happy birthday. Luke, once Calum told him that he and Elena were kind of together, backed off of Elena and calmed down with the touching and comments. Calum was glad for that, knowing that if his best friend knew he liked Elena, he would back off.

“Drinks on us,” Ashton grinned.

“All night!” Michael added for good measure and Elena thanked them as they flashed the bouncer their IDs to get inside.

Drinks were being downed left and right and the dancing never stopped and Elena thought that even if she did hang out with her other friends, she definitely wouldn’t have been having as much fun as she was with Calum and his friends. Who, Elena now, considered her own.

Elena swayed back and forth slightly, leaning against Calum’s body for support as he smoked a cigarette, a permanent drunken grin on her face, and Calum looked down with his own grin. He was drunk, too, but not nearly as drunk as Elena. But he didn’t mind how drunk she was, it was her birthday, she deserved to celebrate it.

“You havin’ fun, birthday girl?” Calum smiled down at her.

“I’m having a blast. Thank you for taking me out tonight.” Elena admitted, hiccuping a few times, followed by a shiver. Calum shrugged his jacket off, and draped it over her shoulders. “Thanks, Cal.”

“Of course,” Calum kissed the top of her head. “Anything for you, baby.”

Elena rested her head on Calum’s bicep, a content and drunk sigh leaving her lips. And honestly, she couldn’t have imagined her birthday any other way.

***

“I’m bored.” Elena huffed as she slumped onto the couch next to Calum, laying her head in his lap. It was their lazy Sunday, and while they usually spent that day wrapped up in each other, watching movies, and pigging out, Elena wanted to do something different.

It was a particularly nice day out and the sun was to set within the next hour, and Calum agreed, after their third movie- he was bored, too.

“Wanna go for a drive?” He suggested, running his fingers through Elena’s hair. “We could just drive around and watch the sunset.”

“That sounds nice,” Elena hummed as Calum’s fingernails lightly scratched her scalp, and although she wanted to get up and do something, she also would have loved to lay there all night and fall asleep to the feeling of his hands in her hair.

“Don’t fall asleep on me,” Calum laughed and shifted, sitting up and bringing Elena with him. She huffed but rubbed her eyes and tried to wake herself up more. “Get your shoes on, I’ll meet you at the car, yeah?”

Elena hummed in response and he kissed her lightly before he pushed himself up from the couch. He had early all pairs of his shoes by the door, while Elena had carried hers upstairs just a few days before. So, after sliding her sandals on and hopping down the stairs, she finally reached Calum’s car and slid into the passenger seat.

They drove in a nice, comfortable, silence with only the radio playing, their hands intertwined as Calum drove down the highway. Elena wasn’t sure where he was headed, it seemed like he had a certain destination in mind, but Elena didn’t mind. She rested her head on the window, feeling Calum squeeze her hand ever so often, and listened to him hum along to the radio.

He had a lovely voice, Elena figured out after some time of him living with her. She would hear him sing quietly in the shower, around the house while he cleaned up or cooked lunch or dinner for them, and she loved it. At the beginning, Elena really didn’t think that Calum could have gotten any more attractive, but when she heard his voice for the first time, she realized she was wrong.

The car stopping and the music cutting off was what pulled Elena out of her thoughts about her boyfriend and she finally looked in front of her, eyes widening at the sight. They were on top of a hill, she was surprised she hadn’t noticed them driving upwards, with a perfect view of the city and the sun that was about to set.

“Pretty, right?” Calum laughed, gauging her surprised reaction. Elena nodded her head and Calum motioned his, letting go of her hand so they could both get out of the car. “C’mon.”

The pair sat on the hood of Calum’s car, his arm around Elena’s shoulder and her head resting on his chest, settled in silence and watched the sunset slowly. It was beautiful, Elena thought, but Calum thought that she was even more beautiful.

Looking down at her, he mumbled into her hair, “Can I tell you something?”

“Anything.” Elena assured him, lifting her head up as Calum slid off the hood, coming to stand in front of her in between her legs. His hands rested on her hips and he stared intently at her. “What’s up, Cal?” Elena laughed, almost nervously and anxiously like she had when they had first met.

“This is gonna sound crazy,” Calum warned her and she tilted her head to the side, now more curious than ever. Taking a deep breath, Calum spoke the words he had been thinking for days now. “I think I’m kind of in love with you, Elena.”

Calum knew it was crazy, knew that it was so soon, considering they had only known each other for a few months, but how could he not love her? Getting to know the side of her that wasn’t shy, that was smiley and giggly and so open, it drew him in instantly. Her smile and everything about her, how could he not fall in love with a girl like her?

Her eyes widened and she was stuck frozen from his words. Frozen and silent for a good minute, but felt like an eternity to Calum, and he was about to open his mouth, about to tell her to forget he said anything, when she finally broke out into a shit eating grin.

“That is kind of crazy,” Elena nodded her head in agreement. “But I think I’m kind of in love with you, too, Calum.”

And Elena, she knew it was crazy how short of time she fell for him, but how could she not? Past his cocky exterior, he was sweet and kind and so caring with the way he took care of her and made sure she was comfortable and okay at all times. It was impossible, for Elena, not to fall in love with him.

He kissed her, their teeth clashing together due to the smiles that wouldn’t leave their faces, and Calum wasn’t sure how, but he knew he had struck gold, and he knew, the only person he had to thank for it, was his sister.

***

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