g w e n:

Homeroom dragged on.

Having both Luke and Calum in the same room together was awkward even though there was no interaction between the two boys. Luke and I sat in our normal seats towards the back and against the wall with Charlie sitting next to Luke. On the other end of the room, in the very back was Calum-- who of course sauntered in late.

I haven't told Luke that Calum and I were partners for our English project, nor did I tell him that he gave me a ride to the outreach center yesterday afternoon after missing the bus. I don't know why I was feeling so paranoid about it-- I could just tell Luke the truth and hope that he won't freak out about it. But the thing was, Luke would freak out about it. He's already warned me about Calum, and they have some taboo history together that is still unclear to me. Luke has become like a best friend to me while here in Sydney and Calum-- he's become more of a headache.

"Psst, Gwen,"

I turned my head slightly to catch a glimpse of Luke in my peripheral vision, "what?"

"Calum keeps looking at you," Luke informed.

"Huh?" I whispered. Quickly, I turned my attention to the back of the room where Calum was, and just like Luke said, the dark-haired, tattooed boy was indeed staring right at me.

I redirected my attention back to Professor O'Connell who was standing at the very front of the room explaining end of the semester exam schedules and where tutoring will be held.

"Why does he keep looking at you? What's his deal?" Luke questioned, his breath tickling the back of my neck

I shrugged in response. I didn't know why Calum was looking at me. Maybe it was because I was sitting with Luke? Which still didn't make sense to me-- he knows Luke and I are friends.

The bell rang and like reflex, everyone stood up from their seats, hastily throwing handouts into their binders that was sure to crinkle. I however, slipped the papers neatly into one of my folders.

"So why was Calum staring at you?" Luke brought up again.

"Calum was looking at you?" Charlie chimed in.

"You couldn't feel his devil eyes piercing your back?" Luke scoffed. Charlie just raised a brow at his statement.

"Luke," I sighed, the pair looking back at me, "I don't know why he kept looking at me. But just let it go... maybe he likes my hair or something."

"Did something happen?" he guessed, "I know you have classes with him."

I placed my books and binder into my messenger bag and looked up at Luke, whose face was still bruised, "no, nothing happened. But..."

Luke looked at me with suspicion, "but what?"

I looked at Charlie and she glanced back at me with a shrug.

Here goes nothing, "Calum and I are kinda partners for our English class--" Luke opened his mouth to try and interject but I quickly continued, ceasing his attempts, "I already tried talking to the teacher about switching but she won't let me."

"You're going to end up doing all that work by yourself," Luke told me.

"I won't let that happen. Calum will help me," I pressed.

"Just be careful Gwen," Luke advised, proceeding out the door and into the crowded hallway as Charlie and I followed suit. "He's not the greatest guy to get close to."

"I know and I promise I will be careful around him," I reached my hand to give Luke a reassuring rub on the arm, "and thank you for your concern... Lucas."

He rolled his eyes, "no problem... Gweneth."

"Well, we have to get to class now," I announced, referring to both Charlie and I.

"For sure, me too. But do you girls want to join my friends and I for lunch again?" Luke asked. He wasn't as jumpy around Charlie anymore but he still seemed to carry flushed cheeks whenever she was around.

Charlie looked at me, waiting for my cue, "uhmm..."

"Yea sure," I answered for the both of us.

Luke grinned, "awesome. Same table as the last time. I'll see you guys there."

"See ya Luke," Charlie and I said at the same time, watching the blonde boy turn on his heel and walk down the opposite side of the hall.

"Do you know what happened to Luke?" Charlie asked me, and I already knew she was referring to his black eye and swollen lip.

"Apparently he and Calum got into a fight the other night," I replied.

Her eyes widened with great intensity, "no way! What the hell happened?"

"Nothing... I don't know. Luke told me that he didn't say anything to provoke Calum but there's part of me that doesn't fully believe it," I disclosed, pulling Charlie in closer to me so only she could hear my words.

"No I'm with you," Charlie agreed, "Luke totally said something to him. Calum's a fighter, but he's not one without a reason. He's a bad seed for sure but I really doubt Calum would just pounce on Luke for no reason."

"I just don't why Luke would lie to me you know?" I wondered out loud, "it's not like I'm going to hate him."

Charlie shrugged, "I wouldn't know his motives."

I was over this topic. The drama was giving me a headache.

"Speaking of motives," I began, a smile forming on my face, "you totally know that Luke's crushing on you right?"

"I know," Charlie giggled, "he makes it so obvious that a freaking blender would know."

"A blender?" I chuckled.

"It was the first thing that popped into my head," she justified, "but I don't know how I feel about him yet. Sure he can be nice and yes, he is very good looking but... I don't know. I'd like to get to know him more."

"Sounds like a legit plan," I nodded my head, following her into our English class.

The desks were already placed in sets of two, letting me know that we'd have to work on our projects in class today. Considering Calum's change in mood yesterday afternoon, I hoped that class would be better than how it went previously.

"Good luck," Charlie whispered to me, her eyes on Calum who was already sitting in one of the pairs of desks.

"Thanks," I grumbled, making my way towards Calum and sitting down in the desk across from his. I ignored him, taking out my English folder and pen instead.

"No good morning?" Calum asked.

"Morning Calum," I haphazardly responded, not looking at him, but keeping my gaze on the project guidelines before me.

"Damn, what got your panties in a twist? Was there sugar alternative for your tea this morning?" he taunted.

"Nothing's wrong," I told him, "I just want to review the project guidelines since I didn't exactly get to do so yesterday. I'm sure you know why."

Calum let out a drawn out groan, slamming the pencil that was in his ear to the table, "Gwen how many times do I have to tell you that I'm sorry? Jesus!"

I didn't respond, nor did I look at him. He seemed sorry for his words and I think I could forgive him but not until we laid down some ground rules.

"What would make you happy? Huh? Do you want to write out stupid rules for me to follow? Do you want me to drive your ass to the outreach center everyday after school?" Calum bartered. He leaned forward, lacing his fingers together in a pleading way, "don't single me out Gwen. Don't fùcking be happy as balls with Hemmings or Charlie and then act like I'm some piece of shit when you're with me."

I put the packet that was in my hand down and sighed, "I will forgive you Calum, but on a few conditions."

"What conditions?" he questioned, an uneasy expression on his face.

I gave him a smirk and I could already feel his nervousness unfold as he waited for my terms.

"Well first of all, can you please keep your cursing down to a minimum? You can sprinkle in the f-word for emphasis every once in a while, but you're a walking R-rated film," I explained. Calum cringed at this first rule. If he was unhappy with this, I'm not sure if he could handle whatever else lingered in my mind.

"I can't make any promises," Calum started with a roll of his eyes, "but I'll try Gwen Guzman."

"That's all I ask," I smiled at him, "I also would really like it if you helped me out with this project. I don't want to do it all by myself and according to our professor, you're apparently a smart kid."

"Did you really think I was going to let you do all the work? Baby dumpling, I'm offended," Calum rested his hand on his heart in mock-distress. He opened up the folder on his desk and threw a piece of paper in my hands.

"What's this?" I asked, taking a look at the 3-holed, lined paper before me.

"My project proposal," Calum declared, "when you left me hanging yesterday, I went through the guidelines and wrote down a list of things we should do for the project."

I was impressed.

"It says that we have to teach the class on our book choice and since learning about old-ass books is fu--,"

I shot Calum an angry glare, reminding him of my rules.

"Freaking," he corrected, annoyance in his tone, "boring... I was thinking we do something more fun than a simple poster with glitter on it."

"What were you thinking?"

"If you look right there," Calum pulled the paper in my hands down and pointed to a blue scribble at the top of page, "I suggest that we take iconic scenes from the book and rewrite them as if they were a modern movie. Then maybe we could film it. We have an audio-video club here that could possibly help us with equipment and editing. We have a theater department filled with actors and three months to pull it off."

I couldn't help but to smile, intrigued by Calum's ideas and his initiative to throughly think this project through. I liked his ideas, and it was something I never would've thought of doing. I was just going to suggest a power point, but it was obvious that his brain was more on the creative and artsy side than mine was.

"I like it," I professed, "let's go for it."

"Fùck yea!" Calum whooped, a large grin forming on his face. His eyes got smaller and tiny crinkles formed at the edges. It was such a genuine and beautiful smile that I wanted to capture it. This was the Calum I had hoped for.

"Did you just drop the f-bomb Cal?" I threw my hands to my hips.

"It was for emphasis baby dumpling!" he retorted, mimicking my movements.

"Whatever... baby dingo," I teased. "So, why don't we aim to have the book read by the end of next week and then afterwards we can talk about which scenes we want to re-create for our short film."

"Sounds good to me," Calum nodded his head. "So, did you tell Hemmings that we're partners?"

I nodded my head, "yea, but why do you care? It's not like he's going to sabotage our project."

"You shouldn't trust him," he advised, ire in his words.

"Look Calum, here's another rule for you to follow: no more talking smack about Luke, okay? He's my friend and whatever drama you have with him is between the two of you. Don't drag me into it,"

Calum glared at me angrily. His mood morphed back into the usual bitterness as he slumped into his chair and crossed his arms like an upset toddler. I knew his change in attitude was too good to be true.

"Fine, I won't talk about Hemmings when I'm with you," he assured, "but I'll tell you this one last thing Gwen and I'll shut up about your precious blonde boy. Luke Hemmings is dangerous and manipulative. And if you end up on the wrong side of it, don't say I didn't warn you, because Janet Riley sure as hell didn't get any warning... I'm sure you know what happened next."

//

Ooo... chills! From creative and cute Calum to angry and mysterious Calum... I can't keep up! And Luke is totally fishy don't ya think? i wonder what could it be? Hmm... ;)

I hope you liked this chapter. If you did please do vote, comment, and tell your friends about it! Thank you super much for taking the time to read my story!

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