Chapter Text
You jolted awake, hearing shouting coming from downstairs. You threw the blanket off of your body and quickly – but quietly – hurried to the staircase. You calmed down a bit after realizing it was just your friends shouting at each other as they played Mario Kart, but made your way to them anyway.
"Guys!" Calum yelled in whispered tones, "Shut up before you wake Y/N up!"
"Too late, Cal," you said softly as you came into the room. Calum groaned lightly.
"See?!" he said a little more loudly this time.
"Sorry," the other three boys mumbled in unison, not looking away from the screen.
"It's fine, Cal," you giggled, climbing in behind him as he sat on the front edge of the couch. You wrapped your arms around his waist, laying your head on his back. "I couldn't sleep anyway," you murmured.
"Why not?" Michael asked you.
"My stomach kept growling," you sighed.
Ever since the apocalypse started four months ago, you would have to keep reminding your four best friends that they couldn't eat as much as they used to. It was incredibly dangerous to even step outside for a few minutes with zombies and looters everywhere, so you weren't always able to go out and find food. On the rare occasions you did – or Luke, Michael, and Ashton rather as Calum insisted you stay with him and make sure everything at camp was okay – they would bring back as much food as they could fit in their backpacks.
"Is it safe to go out yet?" Luke asked, pausing the game so you could all look at each other.
"I'll check," Ashton said, getting up. He left the room, opening the front door just enough so he could peek outside. When he came back a few moments later, he nodded, "Looks pretty safe to me. We better head out before any jokers show up though." You immediately let go of Calum, getting up.
"What are you doing?" Calum asked, tossing his controller onto his seat as he stood.
"I never get to go!" you pouted, "I hate being locked up all the time."
"Luke and I can stay behind this time," Michael chirped, "My legs are still tired from walking for four hours yesterday."
"Same," Luke agreed, "We'll have everything under control." Calum chewed on his inner cheek for a moment before grabbing his backpack and flinging it onto his shoulder.
"Let's go," he said, heading to the door. You and Ashton hurried to get your backpacks as well, following him outside.
~
"Think this will be enough to last us a few more months?" Ashton asked while you were making your way back to the house.
"It better be," you chuckled, "Although I'm so hungry, I feel like I could eat a killer whale." The two boys laughed lightly at your comment.
You walked for a while longer until the house was finally in site, but you were starting to feel weird.
"Guys," you said randomly, "I need a break for a minute."
"But we're almost there," Calum said, looking back at you since you had been trailing behind him and Ashton.
"I know, but... I can't..." Your heart started to feel like it was going to beat right out of your chest and you began seeing double.
"Y/N," Ashton said, "Are you okay?"
You reached your arm out, grabbing the first thing your hand found – Calum's forearm. Your vision started to fade and your legs went weak, making falling against Calum the last thing you remembered.
~
You let out a soft moan, opening your eyes to see nothing but darkness. Looking at the clock, you noticed it was well into the night – about 2:30am. You felt an arm around your waist and something pressed against your back. You turned your head to find Calum sleeping soundly next to you. You remained there, admiring him for a moment, before deciding to wake him up. You carefully turned around in his arms so you were now lying face-to-face with him.
"Cal," you whispered, prodding his cheek gently, "Calum. Wake up."
"Hmm?" he mumbled, stretching his legs.
"Calum."
Calum's eyes shot open at the sound of your voice, finding you staring at him. He wrapped his arms tightly around you, flinging himself onto his back and pulling you on top of him.
"What happened?" you asked, unable to keep yourself from smiling at his actions.
"You passed out," he mumbled into your neck, "We were almost home from getting food and you said you had to stop and then you just fell on me and I carried you back here and I tried to wake you up but I couldn't and I was so worried and-"
"Cal, calm down," you cut him off, "I'm awake now."
"I thought I lost you, princess," he sniffled, tightening his hold on you once again.
You didn't respond; You simply let him hold you for a couple more minutes until your stomach growled.
"Here," Calum whispered, helping you sit up and reaching onto the floor. He returned with an already opened box of granola bars and two bottles of water. "You need to eat now," he said. You took a granola bar and water with a small smile.
"Thanks, Cal," you said quietly, ripping open the packaging and taking a bite.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again," he ordered.
"Not on purpose," you replied, leaning forward and kissing his cheek softly.
The two of you ate in silence for the most part – the only thing heard being the other three boys still arguing over their video game downstairs. It wasn't until they went quiet that you got worried. You and Calum looked at each other, both wordlessly agreeing that the red flag just went up.
"Guys!" you suddenly heard Ashton's voice as footsteps raced up the stairs, "We've gotta go!" He, Michael, and Luke burst into the room, going straight to the window.
"What's going on?" you asked, your voice laced with panic as Calum grabbed your hand, pulling you up off of the bed.
"Walkers all over the front yard coming toward the house," he answered, climbing out onto the roof, "We don't have a lot of time."
Michael and Luke had already scaled the side of the house, ready to help you, Ashton, and Calum as well. However, the faint sound of glass breaking downstairs caused Calum to perk up.
"Calum," you stated firmly, "Don't even think about it."
"You guys need a distraction!" he exclaimed, "Don't worry about me! Just get out of here and get to safety!" Another broken window seemed to break you as well.
"I'm not leaving here without you, Calum Thomas!" you yelled at him, using his middle name so he knew you were being serious.
"Yes, you are, Y/N!" he shouted back before snapping his head toward the window, "Ashton!" The brown-haired boy looked back, rushing back to the windowsill upon seeing Calum motioning for him. "Take her," he ordered, grabbing your wrist and dragging you toward Ashton, slapping your hand in his.
"No!" you screamed, tears now freely falling down your cheeks as you struggled to get out of his grasp, "Not without you!" Calum sighed upon seeing you cry. He gestured for Ashton to let go of you but stay where he was.
"Y/N," Calum said softly, gently cupping your face in his hands, "I will find a way to find you guys, okay? But I have to distract these walkers so you can get there safely."
"C-Cal," you choked.
"I'll be fine, princess," he promised you, "Please just go with Ash." A loud crash downstairs made the three of you jump. "Please, Y/N," he begged, "Please go with Ashton."
You stared into your best friend's eyes for a moment before doing something that surprised both him and Ashton. You grabbed his face, pulling it to yours and pressing your lips together roughly. Sure, maybe this wasn't the best time for that, but should he not make it, you would never be able to keep going if you didn't let Calum know exactly how you felt.
The moment you pulled away, you were startled by yet another crash – this time, however, it sounded like it was right down the hall. Calum immediately pushed you to Ashton and began walking toward the door.
"Cal!" you cried as he opened it and peeked out. Ashton's hands gripped your waist, carefully tugging you out the window. "A-A-Ashton..." you whimpered, tears beginning to form again.
"I'm sorry, Y/N," he sighed, leading you to the edge of the roof where Luke and Michael were waiting on the ground below to catch you.
You looked over your shoulder and you and Calum locked eyes for a brief moment before he turned and disappeared into the hallway.
~
Three months later
You and the boys hadn't heard from Calum since that night and to say you were terrified was an understatement. Usually, when one of the boys stayed behind to fend off any walkers, he knew exactly where the rest of you were going and would find you within a matter of hours.
But this time was obviously different.
This time, none of you had any clue where you were going, you were just running for safety. You didn't know how long you'd been running, but you finally found it, taking shelter in another abandoned house where you were able to take regular showers and such, but none of that mattered to you – nothing mattered when a piece of your heart was missing.
You were sitting on the couch one night, Ashton's head on your lap. You were mindlessly playing with his hair, both of you so silent, you could hear a pin drop. Michael and Luke were outside on their shift as lookouts, watching out for both walkers and hoping Calum had managed to find you all.
"Ash," you whispered.
"Yeah, Y/N?" he replied just as lowly.
He wasn't sure why you two were whispering, but he could tell by the look on your face that something was bothering you. You twirled Ashton's hair around your fingertips, your eyes watching the fingers in his hair, not daring to meet his gaze.
"Y/N," he repeated at his normal tone, sitting up, "What's wrong?"
"Do you think I was wrong to kiss Cal?" you swallowed thickly, now playing with your fingers.
"It was a split second decision, Y/N," he shrugged, "You were just-"
"Can you just be straight with me, Ashton?" you let out a frustrated sigh, looking over at him, "I don't need you to try to make me feel better, okay? I just need to know if what I did was wrong."
"I mean, it obviously wasn't the best time for you to have done it," he answered bluntly, "But, you know, you did it, and there's really no taking it back now."
"Do you think things would be weird?" you sniffled, "Like, if he's still-" You bit your tongue, not allowing yourself to think he was really gone.
You heard footsteps running toward the room, but you could tell it was just Michael and Luke. You hated when they ran though because you knew something was about to happen. You couldn't care less though; All you wanted was Calum.
"If he came with us, do you think he would hate me?" you finished your thought.
"I don't think he would," you heard a voice behind you say as they came in. Your heart stopped and you spun around as you stood up. "I could never hate you, princess," Calum gave you a small smile, "You know you can't get rid of me that easily." He was covered in tiny cuts and bruises, but he was there and he was alive – and that was all that mattered.
"Cal!" you cried, running over and jumping into his open arms.
Your arms were wrapped tightly around his neck, his holding your waist. You felt him sigh deeply, his breath fanning out across your skin. He peppered a few kisses here and there before you lifted your head off of his shoulder. With your stomachs still pressed together and the other boys now in the other room, you held his face in your hands and simply stroked his cheekbones.
"You're really here?" you whispered, swallowing the lump in your throat, "I'm not dreaming?" Calum let out a light chuckle, his stomach shaking against yours.
"No, you're not dreaming," he returned just as quietly, "I've told you, princess; I'm always gonna come back to you." He noticed your face fall a bit and his grip on your waist tightened. "What's wrong?" he asked you.
"Cal..." you trailed off with a small sigh, making him tilt his head, waiting for you to go on. "About what happened back at the house... I didn't... I mean... I shouldn't have kissed you."
"Why not?"
"Because you're my best friend and best friends don't kiss each other," you muttered.
"Then why did you do it?" he countered. You shrugged in response, but he wasn't going to take that answer. One of his arms released you, only to snake its way under your knees to pick you up.
Calum carried you back to the couch where he sat down on the front edge, placing you on top of him. You moved to wrap your legs around his waist so you were more comfortable. He looked at you intently and when you didn't say anything, he continued talking.
"You and I both know you didn't kiss me for no reason, Y/N," Calum said firmly, "And I'm pretty sure I know what it was."
"If you already know, then why are you asking me?" you swallowed, keeping your eyes on the bottom hem of his torn-up shirt which was now balled up in your hands.
"I want to hear you say it, Y/N," he whispered, his face coming dangerously close to yours. Your breathing hitched, causing a small smile to pull at the corner of his mouth.
"Ca-"
"Say it, princess," he breathed, his thumbs digging into your hips, earning a low groan from you.
"I love you, Calum," you admitted. Your voice wasn't merely above a whimper, but it drove him absolutely crazy.
Calum instantly pressed his lips to yours, kissing you rougher than you'd ever been kissed before. Your hands made their way to his neck – one hand resting at the base on his shoulder, the other on the back, playing with his hair.
"I love you, Y/N," Calum mumbled against your mouth in between kisses, "I'm so in love with you." You pulled back, your eyes fluttering back open.
"You are?" you asked, your voice breaking slightly.
"I am," he assured you, rubbing your sides a bit, "I know I should have told you earlier or at least told you after you kissed me, but I guess we both have terrible timing, don't we?" You giggled involuntarily, your hand sliding off of the back of his head to his cheek. Your thumb ran back and forth on his cheekbone as you stared at him intently for a moment.
"I'm really happy you're back, Cal," you whispered.
"Me too, princess," he smiled, leaning forward and kissing you again.