Sweet Catastrophe

“CAAAALLLLIIIIEEEEEE!!!” I heard Kyle whine as I opened my eyes up. “I looove youuu” he whined again before passing out on the floor. Awesome, my brother’s wasted again and thank god he didn’t puke on the couch. There was a party last night at the All Time Low bus and as always, the guys were present since they would never let a single party pass them up. The whole bus had the strong smell of alcohol, and the bunks were empty because Caleb, Austin, and Kent probably passed out before they could get into their own bunks. They were sleeping on the floor together with my two brothers, and nothing felt greater than having the whole couch by yourself. I leaned my head on the couch and as I was looking at the wood ceiling, I felt my phone vibrate and when I looked at the caller ID, I gasped and went out of the bus as fast I can without waking one of the guys up.

“What the fuck?!” I asked nervously.

“Uh… hi?” It was John.

“What do you need?” I was looking at the bus back and forth ‘cause if one of the guys saw me talking to someone over the phone outside the bus, they’d start getting suspicious.

“Nothing, really. I’m just excited for tonight. I’ve already got plans for this date, you know” I could feel him smile through the way he talks, but I didn’t let this get into me.

“Yeah, whatever” I rolled my eyes as I shoved my hair upwards.

“What’s with the shitty attitude?”

“None of your business. Call me later, the guys would get suspicious if they see me here talking over the phone, and if that happens, you’re gonna spend the night by yourself” I said in a duh tone.

“Alright. Just text me if I already have your permission to call you” he smirked, then I hang the phone up. I was starting to get more nervous as I climbed in to the bus again and thought about how I’m going out with John tonight without anyone else knowing. Then I figured out I needed one person to cover up for me, but the problem is… I got no one to trust so much here except for my brothers.

Oh wait… Bethany. I think I could trust her, and just when I was about to call her, I remembered how much she hates John. Of course, I could still trust her, but I don’t think she can cover me up so I could date John. I mean, if I’m going out with someone else but John, I’m positive that Bethany’s the first person I’d run up to. I gave in a heavy sigh and placed my palm on my face. Suddenly, I felt someone sit beside me.

“You alright?” I looked up to see Caleb who obviously just woke up, looking a bit worried. I nodded as I leaned my back on the couch, trying to look as fine as possible. “I don’t think so. What’s wrong?” he asked sweetly, and as his brown eyes flickered on mine, he seemed really sincere and I felt kind of safe around him. But then, I shook my head and bowed down, looking at my hands. “How about… let’s go grab some pancakes and we’ll talk about that?” he invited, and I can’t help nodding. He was a total sweetheart, he grabbed my hand and we walked out of the bus as quietly as possible.

“You should take some rest. You guys partied real hard last night” I told him before walking away from the bus.

“I didn’t drink too much” he said, draping his arms around my shoulder. We then climbed in to his car and went to grab some pancakes. “So… maybe you could tell me now” he said, and I find this really sweet of him that he was making an effort to make sure I’m okay.

“I can’t” I shook my head, stabbing my fork on the piece of pancake. He didn’t say a word, but he just stopped eating and never took his eyes off of me. Ugh, awkward. “Caleb, I appreciate everything bu-“

“Why can’t you tell me?” he cut me off, but not in a mad way or something. “You can trust me” he flashed a small comforting smile.

“Promise me you won’t tell Kyle or Marc or just anyone else”

“Promise” he clearly said, putting his right hand on his chest. I then sighed, and then decided to just open up to him. He was right, I could trust him, and maybe he could cover me up for tonight.

“I uh… I’m going out with John tonight” I mumbled, and though I was expecting him to smirk, he did nothing but listen more attentively. “And I have no idea on how I can do that without anyone else knowing it”

“That’s all?” he asked. “I can cover up” I almost gasped when I heard him say that. I mean, he thinks John’s a jerk and he’s going to cover up so I could go with him?

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’ll tell them you’re going with me, and when you’re already on your date, I’ll go somewhere else” he said comfortingly.

“Wow. You’re going to lie to your best friends just to cover me up? So I could do something that they’re probably all against with?” I asked, having a hard time believing in what Caleb has been planning.

“Give the boy a chance. He’s shy, he rarely asks girls out, he’s awkward, and he’s a virgin” he said, trying to stop himself from turning into hysterics.

“He’s a what?!” I asked, almost flipping out to find out that John, who’s flirty as fuck, is a virgin.

“Virgin” he whispered. We pretty much spent the next two hours in the restaurant, just being hysterical and all. Caleb was even cooler than I’d ever thought. I loved his humor, and he knows how to keep up a good conversation with a girl. He was beyond amazing, and I know for sure, that he’s really someone I can trust, and someone who’s worth spending time with. He then paid the bills since he persuaded that it’d be his treat. We walked out of the restaurant and climbed unto his car. We jammed to New Found Glory’s self titled album and sang along as we were on way back to the venue.

“Caleb?” I mumbled before he could open his door. He flickered his eyes on mine, waiting for me to continue. “Thanks. Thanks for this. Thanks for everything” I smiled.

“Sure. Anytime. Anything for the girl who gave me my bunk” he winked then smiled back. “C’mon, we better return to the bus now. They’re probably all awake already”

We then climbed out of his car and walked together towards the tour bus. We walked in, and well, they’re all awake, and Marc doesn’t seem very happy.

“Where the fuck have you two been?!” he exclaimed then looked at me like he’s going to eat me.

“We just went out to grab some pancakes” Caleb answered for me, but I’m sure Marc wasn’t satisfied with the answer.

“You should’ve called, or text, or even woke me up” he told me, now I’m even more sure that he wasn’t really mad at Caleb, he was mad at me. Just me. Oh, brother.

“Uh… you were sleeping on the floor. You know how hard it would be for me to wake you up so that I-“

“Oh, here you are” before I could explain it to Marc, Kyle walked in with the exact same expression Marc had a while ago. “Got a new friend?” he asked, but I could tell the annoyance and anger in his face.

“Kyle, I was with Caleb” I tried to make it up to Kyle, but he still seemed mad. He walked out of the bus and as I heard the door slam, I threw myself on the couch, and wasn’t able to stop my tears from falling. Sure, you may be thinking Kyle’s being immature or something, but he’s shameless for that. Caleb sat down on the spot next to me and started patting my shoulder.

“I’m sorry” he uttered, planting his face on the palm of his hands. “This is all my fault, I shouldn’t hav-“

“No, don’t blame yourself for this. Kyle’s just… being Kyle” I said, trying to convince Caleb that he got nothing to do with this.

“He’s overreacting, isn’t he?” he asked, but I just shrugged it off and managed to stop sobbing. “I’ll go talk to him. Get some rest for now” he said before walking out of the bus.

CALEB’S POV

I felt really bad for Callie, but I guess her brothers are doing that to her for a reason. Maybe they just want her to be the safest since she just entered a world full of guys and you know how dangerous that might be for her. I told Callie to stay in the bus and get some rest then I walked out of the bus and searched for Kyle. I had a hard time finding him, but after asking a few people if they saw him, I finally found him, and he was alone in the dressing room.

“Hey” I uttered, but he didn’t turn his head nor say a word. “I’m sorry for taking her out without telling you or something”

“Nah… I was just… I overreacted” he said, looking down at his hands. “I panicked, and you know how worried I can get when it comes to her” he added.

“I understand, man” I said in comfort, tapping his shoulder.

“Thanks, dude” he mumbled, but he doesn’t seem alright.

“We should get back to the bus. You and Marc have to talk to her” I said before we went out of the dressing room and walked on our way back to the bus. I could tell that Kyle almost cried, and it amazes me to see how much a brother would care for his sister. I mean, sure, I got sisters too but Kyle and Marc’s brother-sister relationship with Callie is just different, it was as if she’s the only family they got. When we reached the bus, we immediately walked in and Callie was still sitting on the couch with Marc talking to her. When he saw us approaching, he quickly stood up and offered the spot to Kyle. I sat on the other couch with Jonathan and Bethany and kept quiet so the two siblings could talk properly and privately. A couple minutes later, I saw them hugging and I was happy to see Callie flashing her adorable smile again.

There was something about her that has always attracted me since the first day we met, and I find it hard to get it over with.