Sequel: Love Always Remains ›
Status: FINISHED! Sequel 'Love Always Remains' has been posted!
The Words to Define These Feelings
Forget everything you know
Paige's POV
I bit my lip as everyone glanced around the room, trying to spot the currently missing Caleb.
“I have no idea where he could be. Anyone seen him?” Kyle asked and everyone shook their heads.
“I haven't seen him since lunch,” Jonathan said with a sigh.
“He's got to be around somewhere,” Austin said, “I'll call him.” We all watched as Austin pulled out his cell phone and waited impatiently for an answer, “Voicemail,” He said, then left a message, “Hey Caleb, where are you dude? We have a sick show to play, but that might not go over so well with a missing guitar player. Get your butt in the venue,” He hung up and everyone looked around, bewildered.
“Maybe someone should go look for him...?” Phoebe suggested.
“Yeah, but none of us can leave, we have an interview” Jonathan said, and I took a deep breath. I couldn't believe what I was about to say.
“I'll go look for Caleb,” I said quietly, and everyone looked at me. The awkwardness shared between Caleb and I was no secret, after all.
“You don't really have to do that Paige,” Marc said, and I shook my head.
“It's no big deal guys. Don't worry,” I smiled, heading for the back of the venue. I decided the most logical place to check would probably be the bus, so I typed in the 'secret' combination on the keypad and yanked the door open. The bus seemed deserted. I almost didn't bother to walk all the way on, but something pulled me forwards towards the bunks. I should at least check his bunk, right?
“Caleb?” I tentatively called, looking down at the closed curtain on his bunk. I glanced at the ceiling nervously, unsure of whether it would be okay to peel back the curtain and see if he was sleeping in there or something. I gently placed my hand on the curtain and pulled it back as slowly as I could, giving him plenty of time to protest if he was down there. My search proved fruitless as the empty pillow came into view, and a mixture of annoyance and relief spread through me. Then I realized that a thin line of light peaked out from the closed bathroom door.
I stepped up to the door and quickly rapped on it three times before I could change my mind. I heard shuffling and then the door was yanked open and there stood Caleb, his costume practically a mirror image of mine. He looked a little ruffled, shirt collar unevenly yanked up and sweater only halfway buttoned. Why did we both pick to be Hogwarts students? I braced myself for an insult, but instead he held up a tie and looked at me in defeat.
“You don't happen to know how to tie a tie, do you?” He asked. I hesitated, then nodded. Maybe he was going to be nicer to me now, for some unforeseen reason.
“Yeah, yeah, give me that,” I said, taking the tie from his hands and moving to place it around his neck, “The guys are all looking for you. Austin left you a voicemail,” I said.
“They are? Crap,” He said, pulling his phone out from his pocket and seeing the missed call. I stood there awkwardly fixing his tie while he fiddled with his phone, then gently smoothed his collar down around his neck as I pulled the knot into place. I stepped back once I was done, and he seemed to realize what costume I was wearing for the first time.
“Who are you supposed to be? Hermione Granger or something?” He scoffed, and I rolled my eyes. So much for being nice.
“Yes, I am. And who are you supposed to be?” I replied, and he pointed to himself as though it should be obvious.
“Oh come on, red hair? Ron Weasley, duh,” He said, “You'd think someone as smart as Hermione would be able to figure that one out.”
“I'm only pretending to be Hermione, though...” I said, creating an awkward silence.
“Oh, yeah...” I trailed off, “They needed you inside for an interview and stuff.”
“Shoot,” He said, grabbing his toy wand from his bunk and walking past me, “Hey, uh, thanks for coming to get me and helping me with my tie,” He said, darting off the bus before I could get in another word. I stayed frozen in place for a few minutes, staring at the door he had just disappeared through. I'd just had an interaction with Caleb that wasn't completely terrible. I would even call it semi-friendly, maybe. Replaying the past ten minutes over and over again in my head only brought me to one conclusion: everything I thought I knew about Caleb Turman was probably false.
I bit my lip as everyone glanced around the room, trying to spot the currently missing Caleb.
“I have no idea where he could be. Anyone seen him?” Kyle asked and everyone shook their heads.
“I haven't seen him since lunch,” Jonathan said with a sigh.
“He's got to be around somewhere,” Austin said, “I'll call him.” We all watched as Austin pulled out his cell phone and waited impatiently for an answer, “Voicemail,” He said, then left a message, “Hey Caleb, where are you dude? We have a sick show to play, but that might not go over so well with a missing guitar player. Get your butt in the venue,” He hung up and everyone looked around, bewildered.
“Maybe someone should go look for him...?” Phoebe suggested.
“Yeah, but none of us can leave, we have an interview” Jonathan said, and I took a deep breath. I couldn't believe what I was about to say.
“I'll go look for Caleb,” I said quietly, and everyone looked at me. The awkwardness shared between Caleb and I was no secret, after all.
“You don't really have to do that Paige,” Marc said, and I shook my head.
“It's no big deal guys. Don't worry,” I smiled, heading for the back of the venue. I decided the most logical place to check would probably be the bus, so I typed in the 'secret' combination on the keypad and yanked the door open. The bus seemed deserted. I almost didn't bother to walk all the way on, but something pulled me forwards towards the bunks. I should at least check his bunk, right?
“Caleb?” I tentatively called, looking down at the closed curtain on his bunk. I glanced at the ceiling nervously, unsure of whether it would be okay to peel back the curtain and see if he was sleeping in there or something. I gently placed my hand on the curtain and pulled it back as slowly as I could, giving him plenty of time to protest if he was down there. My search proved fruitless as the empty pillow came into view, and a mixture of annoyance and relief spread through me. Then I realized that a thin line of light peaked out from the closed bathroom door.
I stepped up to the door and quickly rapped on it three times before I could change my mind. I heard shuffling and then the door was yanked open and there stood Caleb, his costume practically a mirror image of mine. He looked a little ruffled, shirt collar unevenly yanked up and sweater only halfway buttoned. Why did we both pick to be Hogwarts students? I braced myself for an insult, but instead he held up a tie and looked at me in defeat.
“You don't happen to know how to tie a tie, do you?” He asked. I hesitated, then nodded. Maybe he was going to be nicer to me now, for some unforeseen reason.
“Yeah, yeah, give me that,” I said, taking the tie from his hands and moving to place it around his neck, “The guys are all looking for you. Austin left you a voicemail,” I said.
“They are? Crap,” He said, pulling his phone out from his pocket and seeing the missed call. I stood there awkwardly fixing his tie while he fiddled with his phone, then gently smoothed his collar down around his neck as I pulled the knot into place. I stepped back once I was done, and he seemed to realize what costume I was wearing for the first time.
“Who are you supposed to be? Hermione Granger or something?” He scoffed, and I rolled my eyes. So much for being nice.
“Yes, I am. And who are you supposed to be?” I replied, and he pointed to himself as though it should be obvious.
“Oh come on, red hair? Ron Weasley, duh,” He said, “You'd think someone as smart as Hermione would be able to figure that one out.”
“I'm only pretending to be Hermione, though...” I said, creating an awkward silence.
“Oh, yeah...” I trailed off, “They needed you inside for an interview and stuff.”
“Shoot,” He said, grabbing his toy wand from his bunk and walking past me, “Hey, uh, thanks for coming to get me and helping me with my tie,” He said, darting off the bus before I could get in another word. I stayed frozen in place for a few minutes, staring at the door he had just disappeared through. I'd just had an interaction with Caleb that wasn't completely terrible. I would even call it semi-friendly, maybe. Replaying the past ten minutes over and over again in my head only brought me to one conclusion: everything I thought I knew about Caleb Turman was probably false.
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