Just Two Kids Stupid and Fearless

✫ C ✫

The first thing that Calum notices as he walks into the little room is that it's really not so little and it's actually filled with a lot more people than he thought there would be. He forgets sometimes – how big 5 Seconds of Summer really is getting.

The second thing he notices is that there are also a lot of hot girls – quite a number of them possibly being Calum girls, since he saw the way more than a handful of them had their eyes lingering on him for longer than the other boys, some of them not even bothering to divert their wide-eyed gazes to the others. He gets it, though, because he understands that he's attractive and yeah, maybe, sometimes he kind of uses it to his advantage. But, like. He's a horny teenage lad who barely had any luck with girls before the band was a thing that was successful. No one can really blame him for wanting to take advantage of the fact that he's got girls who are literally telling him that they want to fuck him and that's all they want to do.

Calum notices something else, though. He notices this one girl – out of so many – and she's got dark hair and dark eyes and she's so pretty but not, like, Zayn Malik type of pretty where you just had to stare and she's just standing there, with her hands buried in the pockets of her jacket. She looks so normal, she doesn't really stand out at all amongst the other various pretty girls – but she's got Calum doing a double take before he's freezing in his step with his head turned towards the crowd, looking right at her.

Half of her body's hidden by the person in front of her though, so no one can probably tell that it's her that Calum's staring at.

But Calum knows. Calum knows it's her and he can't stop staring and his lips are parted and he thinks he's going to start crying. He's not even being bloody sarcastic about it – he probably is going to start crying because he hasn't seen her in so fucking long and she's there, she's right there, standing and smiling at him (in a way that could almost be classified as a smirk) and. And – fuck.

His eyes are watering. She's not real. She can't be, right? He's hallucinating – that's what's happening. She's back in Sydney, on a hospital bed, unconscious. It's his mind playing tricks on him, innit?

Calum takes in a deep breath, slowly turning his body so that he's facing the crowd fully now. The other boys have settled onto their stools – probably haven't noticed that Calum's literally frozen in his spot. His eyes are literally watering. He takes a cautious, slow step forward, gulping down the bit of saliva that's gathered in his mouth. His teeth sink into his bottom lip. The girls in the crowd are starting to cheer, getting excited, because well. He is going to them, so.

But he's not going towards the crowd for them. He's only got intentions of getting closer to her – to see if it is her. He takes another step, then another, and then another. He's already having to step his way carefully so that he doesn't accidentally step on someone, or kick them in the face, or summat. He can hear Michael asking what the fuck's he doing, but it fades into a blur of a backing track.

It's when he's four or five steps away from her, in the middle of the crowd, that he finally breathes out a shaky exhale. "You're here," he mumbles, voice no higher than a breath's whisper and he's pretty sure that no one can actually hear what he's said but from the small quirk of the lips from her, Calum knows that she's read his lips or summat.

"You're here, oh my God, you're here," he chokes out and then he's taking the largest steps that he can towards her and then as soon as she's in arms reach and she's pulled her hands out of her pockets, he's wrapping his arms around her waist so tightly that she should probably complain, but then she's hugging him back as tightly as he is, her. He clings onto her so tightly, like he's a man stranded in the middle of the ocean and she's the buoy keeping him afloat, and buries his face in the crook of her neck and he's full-out crying now – it's almost embarrassing but Calum really can't find it in himself to give a shit.

Calum pulls away finally, not even registering that fact that there are other people in this room and that almost everyone in said room is dead silent, staring at him embracing this mystery girl that none of them have ever seen before. He's pulled away, but he brings his hands to either side of her faee, "You're okay. You're okay. Oh my – fucking. Christ. You're here, you're okay. You're alive, oh my God," he splutters out, mumbling over and over again, dark eyes darting all over her face and taking her in as though he's seeing her for the first time in his life.

And then another few tears drip out of the corners of his eyes and he's wrapping his arms around her again, forearms resting on her shoulders as he practically cradles her head to his chest. His lips land on her forehead and he's pressing a hard kiss onto her skin, eyes shut, holding onto her. He sniffles unattractively and more tears slide down his cheeks and he just really, really does not give a shit anymore.

"Hey guys!" Michael's voice drifts into his ear and Calum startles slightly, kind of only just remembering that they're not alone. He's about to reluctantly let her go, turn around or summat, but then Michael's talking again, "Let's give 'em some privacy, yeah?" Calum really loves Michael. "Well, we are 5 Seconds of Summer and – "

Michael keeps talking but Calum's stopped listening. He's back to being completely absorbed and practically drowning himself in everything that is this beautiful, beautiful girl in front of him, and he does not want to let her go. So he doesn't. Until he finally does, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand, glancing around the room and offering small smiles to the few still staring at him curiously. Then he's tugging on her hand, bringing her out the door that the fans had come through to get into the room (the boys came through another door).

And when they're in the corridor that's mostly void of people, save for a few people who work there lingering around, minding their own business. And, like. They're right in the middle of the corridor – hallway, whatever – and Calum just takes one look at her before he's wrapping his arms around her again, pulling her tight against his body. "Nisa Photirat," he breathes out against her skin. "You fucking dickhead."

Nisa breathes out a laugh and the sound, though not even a full-on laugh, sends an array of emotions through him. Calum tugs her closer, smiling as he feels her start to run her fingers through his hair. "Missed you," she murmurs back and fuck – it's so nice to hear her voice, hear another Aussie accent.

"Missed you so much more. So much more. Like. You don't even understand how much I've missed you, fuck – " Calum ends up cutting himself off, shaking his head and pulling back, taking in a deep breath before leaning forward so that his forehead's pressed unto hers. The corner of his lips quirk up into a small grin, "You've made me cry more than anyone ever has, I reckon. I hope you're happy."

"Ecstatic," Nisa grins back and Calum pulls his forehead back, breathing a laugh as he finally lets her go.

Calum takes a small step back, eyes trailing from the top of her head to the ends of her toes because it's. She's. She's awake and it's so – Calum feels like he's in a dream, and if he is then he reckons he doesn't really want to wake up. It's been way too fucking long and she's there and smiling and. Christ.

Nisa Photirat and Calum Hood – once an unbreakable pair. Though not as co-dependant or summat as Michael and himself, they were still the best of mates, always had been and probably always would be. She'd never met the other boys but she'd been to his shows, and really, it didn't quite make sense, but it's really just Calum being selfish and wanting to keep Nisa all to himself because she's his best friend. It's a bit of a childish thing to do, possessive, almost, but. He can't help it. He couldn't risk losing her to his other best mates.

It's not, like. He wasn't in love with her or something. (At least, he wasn't, at that time.) He just. He didn't mind her having a boyfriend and other best mates and stuff, but, like. To have her be mates with his best mates was, like. He didn't want that. So they never met, and the boys know of her existence but they don't know her name or what she looks like because Calum's told stories of adventures that the two got up to sometimes – never using names and instead using the words "my best friend" and "her/she" as he retold the story.

And now... Now they're reunited. She didn't move away or summat. She'd stayed in Sydney whilst he went on tour – like his family and other mates he left behind (temporarily). They're reunited because she's been in a coma, for the past year and a half, and he hasn't seen her awake since then. Hell, she's supposed to be in Sydney and he doesn't really understand how she's in Washington, of all places, but he's not really caring about it now because he's got her back and he'll willingly die a happy man right now.

"Why're you staring at me?" Nisa's voice brings him out of his daze, and then her thumb's drawing small circles on his cheek and he can't help but lean into her touch, eyes fluttering shut.

"You're here," he mumbles in response, slowly blinking open his eyes. "You're here and you're okay and I – shit. I just. I'm so happy."

Nisa smiles at him and her smile's so sweet and so familiar that he feels right at home – even when he's thousands of miles away. "'s good. I am, too, yeah, but, um." Calum raises a brow. "You kind of 'ave to be, you know. In there – " she nods over to the door they'd just come out of.

"Oh, shit. Yeah. Fuck," he curses, about to move away to go in, but then he's pausing. "Are you coming back in?"

She shakes her head, "Don't think so. Just came to see if you guys got any better since I last saw you," she teases with a grin and Calum chuckles. "Won't get to see now, 'cause, like. Your fans will be looking at me, an' stuff. Reckon I'll just. Stay here. Maybe grab a drink from a coffee shop or summat, maybe go back to the hospital."

"Yeah, hey. How come you're here?"

Nisa shakes her head. "Later, yeah?" Calum pouts his bottom lip slightly, but Nisa only laughs, shaking her head once more. "Later. I'll call you, maybe."

Calum snorts, "Right, yeah. Take away that 'maybe' and then I'll go back to the acoustic show 'm supposed to be doing. You will call me. Call my Australian number, for all I care. Just. Call me. Just got you back, 'm not letting you go just yet, okay?"

Nisa breathes a laugh, a giggle, almost, and Calum's instantly smiling at the sound. Calum also really wants to kiss her – but no. He can't do that. Not yet, anyway. "Deal. Now go. You've literally got a room full of people waiting on you."

Calum grins, wrapping his arms around her once more. As he pulls back, he's planting a kiss in her hair, exhaling a long breath as he tightens his arms around her for a bit before letting go. "I'm really glad that you're okay, you know?" Nisa hums in response. "Life's been hell without you. Never do that to me again, alright? Promise me."

"I promise," she smiles softly at him; holds out her pinky. "I pinky promise."

"Good," Calum nods once as he hooks his pinky around hers. "Because I don't think I'll be able to survive another year without you," he says, softly but with a tone of finality. And really, Calum's not over-exaggerating at all.