Calum strode into the bleak white room casually, like he owned the place. It was that kind of killer confidence that made a lot of girls swoon, and a lot of guys--especially the ones he knew--roll their eyes. The secretary didn't bother to look up as Calum came to a stop in front of them, which was quite rude in Calum's opinion.

He tilted his head to the side slightly as he watched the secretary take a spit from a beer can, he learned from Michael that it was never too early for a beer but having one at work was out of the question.

"One, you can probably get fired for that. Two, are straightedges even aloud to drink beer?" Calum asked, eyes flitting down to the black X inked onto the man's hand.

The blond looked up immediately, a smile stretching across his face. "Holy guacamole, hello. Uh, first, probably. And second, being straightedge doesn't mean you're not aloud to do certain things, it means you abstain from them, like drugs, alcohol and such. Stuff that's usually associated with being punk or hardcore. Besides, have you ever heard of nonalcoholic beer?"

He stomped on the recently emptied can and threw the crushed remains over his shoulder in the general direction of the trash can, which bounced off the wall and nearly landed right back at Luke's feet.

"Flawless," Calum complimented sarcastically, choosing to help Luke out by actually depositing it into the trash. He leaned onto Luke's large desk casually as the blond looked back at him with calculating eyes, clearly wondering what the raven haired boy was doing here.

Luke scratched at a Blink 182 tattoo on his arm, "How have you been?"

"Do you want the short or the long version?" Calum asked casually, shoving a hand in his pocket as he examined one of the trinkets on Luke's extremely neat desk. This one in particular almost made Calum chuckle, it appeared to be a penguin raising a sword clad in knight's armour and he had absolutely no idea where one would find this.

"What's the difference?" Luke asked, adjusting the angling of the penguin as soon as Calum placed it back on his desk. He fiddled with it for a few long seconds adjusting it perfectly so it corresponded with the rest of the things on his desk.

Calum snatched the next thing that caught his eye, this time it was a penguin with an electric guitar and a fluorescent green mohawk. He ran a finger along the plastic that made up its towering hair, "Well, the short of it is an umbrella term. It's unlikely that you'll really be able to tell how I've been because the term will end up being pretty vague but you feel better about yourself because you asked me and I didn't respond with something that will make you regret you did ask. The long of it will be the blatant truth and maybe even a little sarcastic, but in the end you will probably know me better and you won't feel terrible for asking but you might want to avoid asking me again."

The blond's eyebrows flew up in surprise, he hadn't seen the other lad in months and here he was wondering if Luke really did want to hear him say that he wasn't feeling stellar. Given their chilly farewell, Luke assumed that things would forever be left on a sour note but Calum had picked up right where they left off.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to hear the long." Luke stood and produced a second office chair from somewhere when Calum wasn't paying much attention. He patted the seat to imply Calum should take it, which Calum really did appreciate.

Luke sat back down in his seat and crossed his ankles under the desk, he immediately began adjusting the punk rocker penguin as soon as Calum's fingers released it.

Calum opened his mouth to speak when he paused. He couldn't help but realize that Michael could walk up to say something to Luke at any minute while he was pouring his feelings out to the very same blond, he'd been here for a total of maybe ten minutes and he hadn't even asked about Michael.

Luke looked up to find the football player staring towards the door that lead to Michael's nerd dome, he realized then that Calum hadn't asked about Michael the entire time he'd been here, that must have been why he came. Definitely not to talk to Luke about straightedges and his feelings.

"He called, saying he probably wouldn't make it in until one," Luke stopped to check the silver watch strapped to his wrist. "Which isn't for another hour."

Calum relaxed visibly in his chair, he could barely stand the thought of having Michael walk up to tell Luke something only to find that Calum had been here the whole time too. It would be awkward on a new level, Michael would probably feel a little sad that Calum didn't come and see him as soon as he landed for whatever reason.

Luke finally aligned the punk rocker penguin with the rest of the penguins lined up at the edge of his desk, "How have you been, Calum?"

"Fan-fucking-tastic, thanks for asking." Calum spat like he was biting back after Luke insulted him. The blond didn't even flinch at the sudden change in tone, allowing Calum to become as snappy as he wanted if he felt like it.

Calum let out a breath, "I feel like I haven't slept in so long."

It was a simple statement but Luke was already reading into it, going through his mind to look for other actions or sentences that would hint to what Calum was thinking or feeling.

"Would you say it's because you haven't tried sleeping or . . . ?" Luke trailed off, leaning forward in his chair as he asked.

Calum thought about it a few fleeting moments before he could form a response, he let out a huff. "I dunno, it just feels like I'm loneliest at night, and it gets pretty cold too."

Luke nodded understandingly, as if he was used to doling advice about loneliness--and in a sense he was, Michael happened to be having quite a few problems himself since the pair went their separate ways. Luke thought it over for a bit, "Have you tried seeking company?"

Calum's face heated up immediately, "It's not like that!"

Luke raised his eyebrows at the snappy tone Calum was using.

"I mean," Calum paused, looking down at his scuffed black vans as he searched for what he really meant. "I just want someone to lay with me--I don't want to sleep with someone, I want to sleep beside someone."

Luke nodded slowly, leaning back further in his chair. The minutes ticked by between them and Calum was beginning to wonder if Luke could sleep with his eyes open. Then he blinked, with a thoughtful tone Luke finally began to reply, "I'm going to call Michael."

"What?" Calum blurted out in surprise, nearly falling out of his own chair when he jumped.

"I'm calling Michael, he's late for work." Luke repeated, saying the words heavily like they were supposed to have some kind of hidden meaning behind them. Luke looked at Calum intensely as he pulled out his phone.

"Go into his office and hide!" Luke eventually spat in a whispered tone, realizing that Calum couldn't take a hint if his life depended on it.

Calum scrambled out of his seat then, just as Luke's expression changed into a sweet smile, "Hi Mikey!"

Calum really didn't know why he was rushing, Michael wouldn't be arriving anytime soon. Once he made it down stairs in Michael's creepily dark workshop he turned on his phone to find that Michael was no where near being late. Luke was just a freaking asshole.

Calum didn't even know where the light switch was either.