Chapter Twenty-Eight: Sharing Sweatshirts
Josh' POV
*edited*

"Cal!" I hollered listening as Callum knocked stuff over in the bathroom.

"What?" He hollered back.

"Can I wear one of your sweatshirts? Mine are all dirty!"

Callum poked his head out of my bathroom, shirtless. "You don't gotta ask." He said dismissively, "Go ahead. But not the green one I was gonna wear that today." He said, going back behind the door and closing the door.

I grumbled as I opened the drawer full of most of Callum's stuff in my dresser. I pulled out one of Callum's gray sweatshirts, tugging it on.

Honestly, I probably had a clean sweatshirt somewhere, but Callum's sweatshirts were bigger and more comfortable because he had so many that the insides of the sweatshirt were less worn down.

When Callum came out his hair was messy and wet and he had a thin gray shirt on. It truly gave me perspective of how much wear and tear Callum's body had on it.

It made me sad.

The way parts of his skin were thick with scars of broken beer bottles or thin scars from sharp nails scratching deep enough. It was sad, but, it really just gave me more of a reason to envy his strength.

I mean Callum... Callum was so strong. Physically and mentally. The guy hardly cried, he hardly showed when things were really really paining him until it really truly broke him down straight into the ground.

But besides the thickness of his scars, the tight gray shirt showed the thick muscles that he had.

How the man had it bewildered me too. I mean as far as I knew he ate whatever the hell he felt like, went on runs but I'd never physically seen him do something like push-ups or pull-ups.

"I like that sweatshirt" He joked, Grabbing his green sweatshirt and tugging it over his head. "Where'd you get it from?"

I glared at him, "Shut up."

His jaw dropped, "Bro, Joshy, bro that hurts. That one really hurts. Very ouch."

"I think my grandparents are coming over." I said, tugging at the strings on the sweatshirt, unable to get them even. "Which you know them but they've been extra old recently. And if it upsets you so much why don't you cry over it?"

Callum groaned, brushing my hands away from the strings on his sweatshirt. "You're so bad at this." He grumbled, tugging on the strings himself. "And you're so annoying."

"I don't wear sweatshirts every single day." I snapped jokingly, "Unlike somebody."

Callum rolled his eyes, "But when you do, it should give you training to do this." He grinned, kinda goofily. "This is kinda like those movie scenes where they tie the tie for the other person. You know?"

Callum was really close, standing directly in front of me, both of us looking down at his hands which were fiddling with my sweatshirt. His lips were so close to my forehead and all he's have to do was lean forward an each to press a kiss to my forehead.

My heart was pounding so hard I worried that Callum could hear it.

I laughed to change the subject from my pounding heart, "those scenes in movies are always stupid."

Finally Callum pulled away, smiling at the even strings. He grinned at me, "You're stupid."

My jaw dropped, "How am I stupid?"

He flicked my forehead.

"What-"

"Shhh." He shushed, flicking my forehead again. "Hear that?"

"What?"

"It's the echo of emptiness."

I used the longness of his sweatshirt, hitting him with his own sleeve of his own sweatshirt.

"Ow!" He said but he laughing along with it. "Ow! This is why I don't let you borrow my stuff!"

I hit his head, "I let you borrow- no! Steal my socks!"

"But that's different because my poor feet get cold, do you want my feet to get cold?"

I hit him one more time with his sleeve, "Than I need your sweatshirt to stay warm."

Callum rolled his eyes, "You're already around me 24/7 and I'm hot, what more warmth do you need- hey! Ow! Stop it!"

~~~

"Callum!"

"Hello Lauren." Callum said, hugging my grandma. "How have you been?"

"Oh I've been good." She said, "Getting older everyday you know how it is."

Callum nodded, "I do. I feel like an old man every waking moment and then the way Josh is constantly nagging on me?" He groaned dramatically, "Exhausting." He shook his head.

My grandpa chuckled, patting Callum on the shoulder. "You've gotten so tall, wow." He shook his head. "Josh when do you plan to grow as tall as Callum?" He teased.

"Why doesn't Callum just shrink to my size?" I asked, "That'd make thing easier."

Callum laughed, "Because then I can't do this." He snatched my phone out of my pocket and held it above his head.

"Not this again!" I groaned.

Callum laughed, "okay okay." He gave me back my phone, "I don't want you ruining my sweatshirt."

"Josh you're wearing Callum's sweatshirt? Why aren't you wearing you own?" My mom asked.

My face flushed, feeling called out.

"Because mine are better." Callum said, shrugging. "And you think about it really... I smell pretty good so if Josh wears my sweatshirt." He shrugged, "He smells good. It's a good thing too, sometimes Josh is a little." He pinched his nose and made a waving gesture.

I glared at him. "You're trash." I insulted.

"Lauren... you see this abuse?"

My grandma laughed, "Kids." She said.

"So Callum you have a girlfriend?" My grandpa asked.

"Oh I uh... no?"

"Is that a question?"

"Well it's..." he coughed, "Complicated?"

I spun towards him, "What? You're seeing someone."

He shook his head, "No! No not like that." He said quickly, very very quickly.

It was jumping to conclusion, and I didn't want to do it, so I didn't dig into it. But what did complicated mean? Most of the time when people said that they mean that their relationship was complicated...

"I just... I'm not looking for anyone." Callum said, grinning. He threw an arm over my shoulder. "I don't need a partner when I have to take care of Josh 24/7."

I glared, "You take care of me?! I always take care of you! Name one time when you took care of me."

Callum grinned wonkily down to me, a fond look in his eyes. "When you busted your ass on a rock?"

"That was-"

"Boys boys enough flirting. You're all annoying." Sylvia interrupted.

"We weren't flirting!" Callum and I said at the same time, we looked at each other with grins of our own. Laughing at our mimicked defenses.

~~~

Around the middle of the night Callum got a phone call that just threw him all sorts of off. He excused himself and when he came back he was flustered by everything. Awkward and shifting and not quite laughing at as many jokes as he normally had.

When the whole family had migrated back to the kitchen Callum tugged me into the hallway.

His head dropped in the crook of my neck.

I didn't know what was going on or why he was randomly hugging me, but he seemed flustered and worried so I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him back.

"What happened?" I asked, "Why'd you leave in the middle of hanging out?"

He inhaled deeply before laughing, "You do smell like me." He said before shaking his head and pulling away. "My sister called. She called but the service cut out and I couldn't even ask her if she was okay or where she was." He flushed.

"But she called." I said, grabbing his hand and interlacing our fingers. "Which is good?"

"Yeah but I dunno... where could she be where her service just cut out?"

I laughed, "Anywhere out of town really."

He sighed and groaned, "I just wished she would've said more." He sighed, "I'm glad I got you." He said, "Sorry it was random that I just pulled you aside I just... I wanted to let you know since you're, you know, the most important person in my life."

I flushed, warmth piling in my chest. "I am?"

He groaned again, "Who else would it be?" He ruffled my hair, "Stupid."

"Well I dunno." I shuffled, "You mentioned that it was complicated if you had a girlfriend so... I dunno."

"Nope." Callum said, "Stop it, stop Josh. I mean... you think I wouldn't tell you? I'm not interested in a girlfriend."

"No? You don't even want one? I mean we hang out all the time, but you don't want anyone?"

"Well do you?"

I flushed bright red.

"I mean we are always together so if it goes my way... it's gotta go yours too."

"I-I mean- I- of course not." I grumbled, "I like hanging with you." I felt like a sheepish toddler, digging my toes into the sand.

He grinned, "Than it goes my way too."

He adjusted the strings on his sweatshirt one more time. "It looks good on you, you should keep it."

I flushed, "Go on out I have to use the restroom."

Callum nodded his head smiled at the door, "Thank you for ditching them to come into my room with me."

Once Callum had left the room I felt my heart pounding in my chest. Maybe I wasn't looking for anyone... maybe I was okay with just Callum...

But the reason for that was because I was completely and utterly falling for him.

I just wonder how he feels...

———————
This chapter has been rewritten completely <3 so if you've read the story once it will be different a second time!

Hope you guys enjoyed and I'll see you next chapter <3

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