#ashton’s who keeps the group together when it all threatens to fall apart

[calumthoodshands]

- 5SOS edit exchange -

5SOS as Stranger Things AU for Adi aka @sunfleursky

5/5 Ashton as Steve/Robin: the unassuming protector

I II III IV ...

[sarcastically-defensive17]

There’s going to be a part three to benefits right? Like I don’t think I can live without knowing the end of the story.

Conclusions? - C. Hood

Final part of the ‘Benefits?’ Series.

I had planned to release this when my hiatus ended but I have made y’all wait too long, and I was far too excited. This is my fav set of fics that I have done and I’m so glad that people liked them!

I hope you enjoy! Thank you all for reading, you have my love.

Xoxo - Cas

Original story by sarcastically-defensive17

Against her better judgement, Y/N had listened to Youngblood as an album on repeat for weeks after it dropped. The songs were powerful, perfect even. She had relished in the sound of their voices, the way they worked their instruments perfectly. She longed for her friends every time she listened, and the pain became addictive. Yet, she found comfort in ‘Moving Along’.

Things had been extra tense since her conversation with Calum. Another week had passed, and they were in another state, the men jumping around on stage, singing their hearts out, putting on a show for all of the people who came to see them.

But... Calum wasn’t himself. He shied away from the flashes of the camera. He still sounded perfect in all of the songs, yet he was dejected. Turned in on himself almost. Shy, hurt.

Per the fans requests, she snapped many shots of Calum, adding them to the plethora of shots of the other guys. She was paid to take photos, after all. She may as well earn her money, even if she struggled to look at Calum without feeling hot tears burn at her eyes.

Moving Along started and she smiled slightly. She especially enjoyed the song, moving her feet to the high energy chorus, ignoring the sting the lyrics left in her heart.

What she didn’t expect, was to turn to take another shot of Calum, and have his eyes staring straight at her.

His verse came, and he tore his eyes away from her faster than expected, and her photo turned blurry.

“Is it bad that I’m hoping that you’re broken? Is it bad that I’m wishing you’re so broken?” His voice broke, crackling as the words danced off of his tongue.

It was subtle, not noticeable to those who didn’t know Calum. Who didn’t know his little quirks, the little aspects of his being that alluded the general public. Y/N knew.

From her position at the front of the stage, she could even see the tears threatening to fall from his eyes, and the way he rubbed his face on his shoulder, disguising it as an adjustment of his ear piece.

It was the second last song of their set, the collaboration with the Chainsmokers being their last, and then Calum would be off stage.

Watching Calum sing the lyrics struck a chord inside of her. The first verse was full of such anger, but as it progressed, Luke’s verse portrayed sadness. Regret. Everything Calum had been trying to tell her the other day.

The feelings were overwhelming. She was furious. She knew that there was another song for Calum to write, having heard many parts of the other songs the guys were working on, but the pieces worked themselves together in her mind.

She had her speculations, but chose to divert her thought pattern. Every time she cast her eyes on him, she felt a ache in her stomach.

For so long, she had near constant emotion flooding her eyes. She couldn’t disregard her anger.

The songs moved quickly, and she climbed on stage to get photos of the group performance to close the pre-show. Andy had already agreed to take the pics for the Chainsmokers, knowing the tenseness of the past week for her. Y/N was looking forward to escaping to her hotel room and mulling over her thoughts.

For 5 days she had been contemplating whether or not she should stay on the tour. She had savings, enough to rent an apartment in another state. She could find photography work elsewhere.

But, she also couldn’t stand to be away from Calum again. There was a sense of hopefulness existing between them. She was far too scared to grace the topic again, and history had told her enough that Calum wouldn’t attempt to converse with her about it again, but still - she had hope that she would work up the courage to move past her anger and the sadness of her broken heart.

She was looking for a new excuse to forgive him every day, and she found them. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to talk to him. To tell him that she was sorry for leaving.

She couldn’t bring herself to apologise, when he pushed her away.

She worked up the courage and booked a flight. It was a week away. They had no concerts scheduled for the next two weeks, taking a small break in between states.

She had only told Andy, Alex and Drew about her news so far, knowing they would be the most relaxed. Her relationship with Drew had been near non-existent. She had been using him, but when Calum came back into her life, she could barely be in Drew’s arms without comparing them to Calum.

It was cruel of her to do so, so she made the shift to simply friends. Neither of them missed the benefits connection all too much, and their relationship was already friendly enough.

The days moved along faster than expected until she was three day’s out from leaving.

She had planned to break the news to everybody the next day, but she found that the hardest part was already done when a knock sounded on her door.

Calum was bleary eyed. It had been rare for him to be seen without blood vessels visible in his sclera, and he looked no less worse for wear now as he stood at her door.

She stood in shock when the opening revealed his figure. He looked heartbroken, the same as he did in Ashton’s hotel room a few weeks back.

She fought with herself not to embrace him.

“D’you mind if I come in?” His voice was small, making her heart feel smaller.

Her voice wouldn’t work, instead she moved her body aside to make way for his large frame. He was shrunken. His shoulders sagged slightly, his hands clasped together. A clear sign of his nervousness, to Y/N.

She could often read him like a book, and she could see that he was hurting.

She had been looking for a resolution before she left, and she couldn’t help but think that this could be it. Her stomach was vibrating from the force of butterfly wings, and she watched Calum sit carefully on the edge of her bed.

She watched how his eyes fell over the bed, settling on a familiar green blanket. He had gifted it to her a few years back, knowing she hated to use hotel linen. She adored the soft fabric, taking it everywhere when she was in unfamiliar dwellings.

She forced her eyes away from him, clearing her throat to kick her voice box into the right gear.

“What do you need-“

“You’re leaving.” He said, more of a statement than a question. Her eyes grew in size slightly. She had planned to tell them all the next day, so she couldn’t understand how he had come upon the information. “Andy is a big mouth. He can’t keep a secret to save his life. You should see how he acts when he has content that he can share. He’s as giddy as a kid on Christmas.”

He refused to meet her eyes.

“I was planning to tell you all tomorrow. My planes booked for a few days time.” She hadn’t realised that she had folded her arms, her right hand rubbing along her left elbow. “I didn’t want to leave without telling anybody. Without telling you...”

“Like you did last time?” The words were intended to be venomous, but the sniff that followed told her exactly how he was feelings.

However, her anger still flared, “You know why I did what I did.”

He nodded softly, pawing at his eyes gently, turning his head to look out the window of her room. The sun was setting, the horizon mesmerizing.

“When you first left, I was so angry.” His hands were wringing together again. “I started to hate you. I wanted you to be as broken as I was - as I am. But then...” he blinked, a tear slipping down his face as the light of golden hour washed over his sun kissed skin. “Then I wanted you back. I would get drunk, I would sit there with my phone in my hand and want to call you. I wanted to apologize every day that you were gone, but, I didn’t deserve you. Hell, I still don’t deserve you. I’m the one who said those horrible things to you.”

She stepped closer, watching the way his eyes locked on the scenery outside of her window. The picture in front of her was reminiscent of the night in Ashton’s room, except this time Calum is the one who can’t bear to look at her, for fear of breaking.

“I wanted to talk to you before I left.” She spoke honestly, brushing hair away from her eyes. No matter how hard she fought herself, she wouldn’t look away. Who knew when she would see him again, and she was falling in love with the lines of his face all over again. “I wanted to tell you why I was leaving, but... I don’t know, I was scared of telling you why I can’t stay, and finish discussing what we did that night. I couldn’t start the conversation. I guess I am now, because I can’t keep fighting with myself anymore.”

His brows furrowed, his head slowly turning towards her. “What do you mean, Y/N? What conversation?”

Surprising herself, Y/N felt the butterflies disperse. The man in front of her was Calum. Her Calum. Her best friend for years, the man who knew her inside and out. The man who broke her heart, and who pushed her away.

The pain she felt couldn’t be amplified any more. She knew she could live without Calum, but she also knew that every day would be a new kind of pain. She had decided in that moment that she couldn’t make their situation any worse than it was.

“I mean, I love you, Calum. I love you so much that being around you hurts me.” There were no tears, and her eyes were locked on his. The way his face contorted in pain, and the droplets that’s fell down his round cheeks broke her heart, but she couldn’t let her facade fall. She needed to get this out before she left. “What you said the other night, about loving me - I have wanted nothing more than to hear that for so long. But when I finally told you, you rejected me. You did more than that - you made fun of me.”

He was on his feet, face red, eyes bloodshot. “If I could take back every word I said that day, I would in a heartbeat.” His voice was cracking again, she could feel the emotion dripping from him. “Nothing hurts more than when you’re not around. Everyday since we met up again, I wake up and hope that I can do right by you but I know I can never take back what I did. The things I said to you... I hate what I did. I hate that I destroyed something so perfect. Somebody so perfect.”

She felt tears prick at her eyes once again. She wanted to fight it. She didn’t want to spend another night crying over Calum, but the tears weren’t for Calum. They were for the loss she felt. The way she sobbed at night when she wanted nothing more than his presence.

“Don’t, Cal.” She cleared her throat, stepped back. She was retreating in on herself. “Being here, with everyone, it hurts. I spent so long looking for you in somebody else, and now that you’re here, I can barely focus. Every day is like an old wound being reopened. I hear the words you said to me, remember how much it hurt. I just- I can’t be around it anymore,” her voice was a bit higher than a whisper. Neither of them dared to look at the other any longer.

“Moving Along is about you, Y/N,” He sobbed.

It was agony to see him so broken.

He had taken steps towards her and refused to pull her eyes from his face. She wanted to check for any semblance of a lie in his facade. She could read him like a book, and she needed to know his intentions before she chose her next words.

“I have loved you for as long as I have known you, Y/N. I love the way you know nothing about Star Wars, how you’re not afraid to speak your mind. I love you so much that I write countless songs about you. I cant even fucking sleep without thinking of you before. I can’t do anything without remembering the way you smell, the way you smile, the way you fucking do any little thing,” he sobbed again, breathing between his words. “I would do anything, if it means I could have you back in my arms. I would give up all I had, just to see you smile at me again, to tell me that you love me too.”

He walked up to her, hands on either side of her face, forehead against hers. Their heaving breath mixed together, and Y/N fought to keep her cries in.

“Please, Calum,” he felt her tears fall onto his hands. “You can’t want this.”

“I would give up everything, I would leave the band, the public eye, the fans for you. Y/N I would do anything you asked, just to prove to you how much I need you.” He opened his eyes, gauging her reaction. She had pulled back slightly to look into his eyes.

She knew it was a horrible decision, but she kept the thought in her mind that she couldn’t make things worse and she pressed her lips against his.

Their tears fell still, the kiss soft and sad. Calum held her face as if he would slip away if not for the feeling if her skin. Her fingers clung onto his shirt so tightly, afraid that he would push her away again.

He pulled away first, eyes still closed. “If you want to leave, then I don’t want to stand in your way. I just need you to know that I have loved you for so long, Y/N, and I will love you for the rest of my life. Nobody will ever mean as much to me as you do, even if you’re not with me.”

It was as if all of the pieces fell into place. She knew what she wanted, and she knew that they had the time to do it. Once again she reminded herself, what could go wrong?

“Come with me.” She stated, more than asked.

“Sweetheart, I can’t-“

“I’m going back home. There’s just over a week until the next show. Come with me, spend some time, just us. If things go well... I’ll one back.”

“And if they don’t? What happens if we can’t get back to us?” He looked hopeful but the fear was hiding deep beneath his chocolate eyes. “I can’t lose you again, Y/N.”

She offered a small smile, raising her smaller hands to wipe the tears still on his cheeks. “Then I guess we will have to make things go well.”

~~~~~

Despite the comfort they shared in her hotel room, the first few days in L.A. were odd. Tense, but Y/N had never felt more at ease than she did in Calum’s house, her spirits hopeful and a smile on his face whenever his eyes fell on her.

By the fifth day, they were dreading returning to the tour. Y/N had decided that she would go back. They had already booked their flights to Chicago, their next stop.

For now, Y/N sat on Calum’s lounge, her eyes glued to the television as she finally allowed herself to watch Star Wars. They were on the third prequel, and Y/N was fighting back tears as she watched Anakin surrender to the dark side.

Calum was laying on his back, his head resting in Y/N’s lap, his gaze focused on her face.

He was following the curve of his nose, the slight swell of her lips as she unconsciously poured at the television. She was mesmerizing.

He couldn’t bring his eyes off of her. He knew that she was going back to the tour with him, but the thought of losing her again was terrifying. She was his oxygen, and he had spent almost a year struggling to breathe.

“If you keep starting at me, I’ll poke you in the eye. This movie is actually decent, stop distracting me.” She grumbled, pouting further when Obi-Wan and Anakin we’re battling.

“I can’t help it. I’ve missed you,” he said without thinking. The past few days had been about honestly, rekindling and catching up. He saw no reason to hold the truth back now.

His words elicited a smile from her, a slight blush peppering her cheeks. “Suck a dick, hood.”

He snorted, “But that’s your job.”

Her fingers were running through his hair absentmindedly; her heart beating fast. This was Calum. Her Calum. The same Calum that knew her inside and out, yet, he still made her nervous.

The last year has been a rollercoaster, but now, she loved him, and he knew, and he loved her as well. He was free from his fear, knowing that nobody else could amount to the woman that Y/N is.

“I love you,” she whispered, casting her eyes down on him. Her smile was small, adorable and it forced a grin to split across Calum’s face.

“I love you,” he answered. He pulled her hand from his head, pressing a kiss to her fingers. “What do you say to getting some Mexican food and binge watching Friday the 13th with your favourite guy tonight?”

She deadpanned, blinking at the tv screen. “How can I do that? Ashton isn’t in L.A.”

“Fine, no Mexican food for you,” Calum huffed, sitting up and crossing his arms in protest.

Y/N pouted, latching onto him like a koala and peppering kisses onto his cheeks. “Baby, I’m sorry! I need Mexican food!”

It was safe to say, Y/n got Mexican food that night.

Friends with benefits relationships are always the most dangerous. It is so easy to develop feelings, sharing such an intimate part of yourself with a person, both as a friend and a lover.

Sometimes things are rocky; but other times, the benefits outweigh the negatives.

Tag list: @starshonerose @mantlereid @another-lonely-heart @theanswertoeverythingisl0v3 @poetnstuff @snookiebrookie @oyesmendes

[oyesmendes]

wildflower pt4 - calum hood

a/n: this is just gonna be snippets of their lives from now on. hopefully u like karla and calum as much as i do!

summary: after a nasty breakup, Karla Rivera finds herself working as one of the new producers/songwriter for 5SOS. She had no intention to fall in love right now, but one conversation struck a chord with her. In between producing a smashing album and writing hit singles, Karla finds herself entangled in the arms of a man who she never thought she’d end up with.

He stands in front of a white door, almost similar to the one at the beach house. He’s biting his bottom lip, feet bouncing as he waits in front of the door with a bouquet of dahlias - her favourite flowers, in his hand. He hears her boots hit the ground as she rushes to the door, having gotten home a few minutes before he arrived. The door swings open and hits the wall with all the excitement flowing through her and they both grin - so wide that they physically feel their cheeks hurt. Karla is in his arms before he could even comprehend and she was pulling him into her apartment by the neck. They kiss, deep and loving, sparks flying across the room. Calum doesn’t even remember the bouquet of flowers that he was holding, now pressed to her back as he holds her tight in his arms.

“I fucking missed you.”

“I fucking missed you too.” He peels her away from him, finally handing the flowers to her. She takes a whiff and then leaves it on the counter before smothering him in kisses. He basks in the attention, feeling every inch of her body mould in to his - like two perfect puzzle pieces. He then remembers the song he had waited the entire week to play to her, wanting nothing more than to see her reaction in person. He pushes her off suddenly and she’s taken aback, almost hitting her hip against the counter.

“Oh I have something to play for you!” Calum says almost too excitedly. Karla opens two beer bottles as he sets himself on the kitchen counter, pressing play on his phone.

She hears the intro with the beautiful harmony and her ears perk up, she raises her brow at Calum who had the proudest look on his face.

I hear you callin' out my name

I love the sound, I love the taste

And I can see it in your face

You've got a side you can't explain

Karla grins when she hears his voice, bopping along to the 80s style music. When they get to the chorus her face turns a bright shade of pink, knowing what the exact words mean. Sure Calum insists it was up for interpretation but anyone could tell it was about her.

“So I’m your wildflower huh?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Maybe…” She places herself in between his legs, and when Calum leans down for a kiss, she turns to her cheek just to get him riled up.

“Oh you seriously wanna be a tease, Rivera?”

“Try me, Hood!” Karla abandons her beer and bolts to her room, Calum following closely behind.

They somehow end up on the couch dressed in comfy clothes (Calum borrows her brothers sweats, though it was a little too short but he didn’t mind), with take out boxes strewn all over the table. It reminded them of the first night they met but better, now that they were alone with each other. There’s a romcom playing on TV but the pair couldn’t be bothered, their attention only on each other. He feels so attached to her, like she’s become apart of his life and then he starts to worry. The comfortable silence between them slowly turning uncomfortable as he’s left with his thoughts. He thinks about tour and how he’s going to be apart from her for long periods of time. Then he overthinks their relationship and how she would think of leaving him when things get rough. Calum doesn’t notice his hand dropping from her waist and his brows furrowing. But of course she does, she always has and always will. Karla knows about his habit of getting inside his own head too much, hell it happened twice already and they’ve only been together for less than a month. She’s patient, so patient that the rest of the boys think she’s a god sent when she spends almost two hours on the phone with him the second day she left the beach house, just to assure him that she would stay no matter what.

“You’re in there again.” She says, poking his forehead. It makes his face scrunch up and she giggles softly at him.

“I am” He admits it this time, knowing that she was right. Karla kisses his cheek and runs her fingers along his torso. She remembers how he said her touch brings him back to reality, reminds him that she’s still there. So she makes a deliberate effort to touch him, to have that physical connection. Calum closes his eyes and focuses on the contact of their skin, and he throws those thoughts out of his mind. He pecks the crown of her head and she knows he’s trying.

“Always gonna be here.” She reminds him, and he softly thanks the heavens above for creating a blessing like Karla Rivera.

-

“You nervous, petal?” Calum squeezes Karla’s hand as they make the short walk to Ashton’s place. It was the first time she was meeting the boys since the beach house, and this time with their girlfriends as well. From what Karla knows, the girls have known each other for years and are close as fuck. So to say she was nervous stepping into their group was the biggest understatement of the year. She gives Calum a tight lipped smile and nothing else, but he knows her, the anxiety was written on her forehead.

“The girls will love you, trust me. If the boys like you, I don’t see why their girlfriends wouldn’t.” They arrived at Ashton’s and let themselves through the gates. The rest of the couples had just arrived as well, all mingling with one another. When they notice Calum and Karla, all the boys cheered and clapped, teasing Calum as much as they could. Sierra was the first to approach Karla, offering her a big warm hug.

“You must be Karla!”

“And you must be Sierra.” She returns the hug, then proceeds to introduce herself to KayKay and Crystal. They were warm and inviting, and all four of them fell into conversation easily. The girls got to know Karla better, and even asks her to join them for girls night on Friday. They talk for what must have been three hours before all their boyfriends were beginning to get needy due to the lack of attention. Calum wraps his arm around her waist protectively, and traces her skin up and down while she was talking to KayKay about skin care or some topic he was totally disinterested in. She stops his hand from squeezing her side, which only sends KayKay into a fit of giggles.

“Calum Thomas Hood, I am trying to have a conversation here.” She scolds and he pouts at her, crossing his arms and sinking back into the couch.

They call it a night at around 1AM, and Calum was quick to pull his girl out the door. She shakes her head as he practically drags her behind him, until they’re out of sight from the house and he pulls her into his arms immediately.

“You’re such a needy boy huh?” She scratches the back of his neck as they both stand in each others arms in the middle of the street.

“I’m never bringing you out again. Only want your attention on me.”

-

Calum paces the room for the hundredth time, and Karla thinks the tiles on the floor are starting to thin out. He’s nervous and rightfully so, they were releasing wildflower today, along with the music video, and he also wants to tell the world about his girlfriend. Not that the fans didn’t already suspect anything, Karla was often pictured out with the boys, but more recently she was seen having lunch alone with Calum and that sent the fandom into a frenzy. They’ve managed to avoid the questions and rumours, but Calum wants to show his girl off to the world, and he feels that wildflower was the right chance.

“Babe, that tile on the ground is going to pop off if you keep pacing.” He pauses, looks at the floor underneath his feet and back at her before he sighs. Karla gets off the love seat and approaches Calum, cupping his face in her hands. She smooches him on the lips, making a faint smile appear on his face.

“All better?” He nods, then changes his mind quickly.

“But do you think-“

“No I’m not thinking.” She looks at him with sympathy, the worry lines prominent on his forehead, “Stop thinking, gorgeous. It’ll be fine, the song is amazing, and the video even better! You have nothing to worry about.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?” Karla questions, she’s making him a hot tea to calm his nerves.

“Are you not afraid of the hate?”

“Baby,” she hands him the pink mug which he accepts gratefully, “I’ve been pictured with more male artists in my life, speculations flying across the room like paper aeroplanes. My ex is Jonah Marias for goodness sake! I know what I’m getting myself into - a hot mess. But you’re worth every moment of it.”

Calum feels an overwhelming sense of relief from her words and he finally sits down with his tea. They wait for the release of the song, and soon the comments started rolling in after his post on Instagram.

@calumhood: This one’s for my wildflower. I hope you like it as much as I do xx

A picture of them from the beach house, the day after they announced their relationship to the boys. Calum’s face was pressed against hers, the smile on their faces couldn’t get any wider. Karla picks another picture, where Calum was grabbing her waist and threatening to throw her into the sea. She has Ashton to thank for catching such a moment. One last look at her caption, and she’s hitting post.

@karla_rivera: I guess I’m your favourite fantasy. Glad to be a part of this one, sweet pea <3

[prettywordsyouleft]

The Sex Contract - Chapter 24

Genre: friends to lovers au / friends with benefits / mature content / romance / angst

Characters: Shim Changmin x Kaia Ashton (OC)

A/N: Due to the overwhelming request I have followed your encouragement to bring back one of my older stories. This was back in a time where OCs were everything and writing one chapter in each main’s point of view was the trend. I hope that even though I have edited this drastically, that you can appreciate this story comes from my older style of writing. I definitely still read this often and find it enjoyable so I hope you will too.

Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 - FINAL

Chapter 24 – Kaia’s POV.

The buzz was audible before Kaia even entered the office and she gulped, wondering how bad the news was after her disappearance on Saturday evening. She had already seen the photos of Changmin in the Press pit with Abby, but the girl was keeping tight-lipped about the entire ordeal. It made Kaia concerned and with all the noise as she climbed the stairs up to Korea Star, she became nervous as to what her punishment was going to be. Opening the door, Kaia stopped in her tracks once inside, blinking rapidly. The two figures were still there as she refocused and Kaia dropped her takeaway coffee, barely aware that it had emptied over the floor.

“Kaia!” Keith called her name and she snapped out of her reverie. The visitors to the office turned at the sound and Kaia stared at the taller one with an incredulous look. “Are you surprised at our guests to the office? Come and have a look at what we’re working on!”

“Okay,” Kaia said softly, walking slowly over to her desk and placing down her bag. Still shocked, she looked over at the group of staff and shook her head in attempts to clear the cloud forming in her mind.

“You look stunned.” Sungra smirked. “Even I reacted better when I saw them enter the building earlier than you are right now.”

“So I’m not imagining Yunho and Changmin in our office?”

Sungra pinched Kaia’s lower arm and she yelped. “Apparently not.”

“Kai, come over here,” Changmin instructed, moving over to her and grabbing her upper arms. He prodded Kaia over to Abby’s computer and pushed her gently into a free chair. “We have a plan.”

“For what?” Kaia glanced up at him and he pointed at Yunho who seemed quite pleased with himself. “Yunho?”

“Changmin explained the situation to me about Kaori after the concert. He handled it poorly rushing in to grab your friend Abby here, but the three of us were able to get an idea together to remove Kaori from Changmin’s side.”

Kaia blinked slowly and nodded, snapping her focus to the older man. “You’re what?!”

“Changmin was threatened by Kaori regarding you before going on stage. She told him that she had seen you,” Abby explained and Kaia nodded.

“She told me to be careful and that if she caught me around Changmin again, I’d have no future here, but I still don’t understand what you’re up to.”

“It’s rather romantic don’t you think?” Hyurin commented and Kaia glanced at the Korean in bewilderment. “Though you look really confused, Kaia.”

“That’s because I am.”

“We’re creating a semi-false report right now,” Yunho announced triumphantly. “We’re going to explain that Abby here was witness to a conversation between both Changmin and Kaori regarding their fake relationship. Then we’ve also got an inside report from a member of Kaori’s staff stating that the model was using Changmin for her debut as an actress and planned to drop him as soon as she had established her career. Your boss has agreed to contact SME regarding all this and letting them know before running the story.”

“But we won’t be able to, it’s not a real story,” Kaia rebutted, and Abby raised her hand to refute it.

“Yet I’ve been captured in the company of Changmin. It will simply be seen as his attempts to tell me not to run the story.”

“And thus SME will have no option but to cancel the contract of my relations with Kaori Kimura,” Changmin concluded happily.

Kaia nodded and then looked at the men. “But why are you going to such effort, apart from removing the Witch? Don’t you think this is a little dramatic?”

“It’s drama worthy really!” Keith exclaimed and grinned. “The idol who fell in love with his best friend. It would make a really good story!”

“Woah, what?!” Kaia was lucky she was sitting down, her knees instantly becoming incredibly weak.

Changmin coughed awkwardly. “Ah, let’s go talk somewhere, yeah?”

Eventually, Changmin stopped walking and Kaia took a seat in the tiny park, her eyes darting around the area. “Uh, are you sure we should be seen in public like this? I know it’s empty but Min-”

“I couldn’t say what I have to in another setting. It would seem too, well it wouldn’t be right.” Changmin ran a hand through his hair before sitting on the park bench beside her. “Kaia, let’s talk.”

“We are,” she said with a smile, nudging him lightly. “You haven’t been this nervous in front of me since the first night we attempted to have sex.”

“I didn’t expect to revisit that memory,” he admitted with a chuckle and he seemed to relax a little. “Are you okay though?”

“In what way?”

Changmin cringed. Kaia smiled; he had always been so awkward talking about his inner thoughts. “Are you happy with how your life is right now?”

“Without you in it, I’m guessing you meant to add on.” He nodded sheepishly. “I miss you every day but I just can’t be your friend anymore. The contract, well it ruined that.”

“I don’t want to be your friend, Kaia,” he said and Kaia glanced at him, nodding lightly. Her heart began to pound and her face felt hot. She knew she was going to cry, but she tried not to let the tears form just yet. “Being your friend, well I enjoyed the time we spent together, but you’re right things have changed. It took me a while to realise it had.”

“Oh,” Kaia murmured, clamping her eyes closed and trying to settle her emotions. She nodded once. “Well, I’m happy still.”

“You, you are?” She had thrown him off.

“Yeah, Jaewon has become a good person within my life. I don’t see him often but when I do, well we have fun.”

“Oh.”

Everything fell silent then, and Kaia wondered if Changmin would be able to move on now. She hated hurting him, throwing Jaewon in like a cheap shot, but Kaia was struggling just being in his company. There were so many things she wanted to express and the longer she was around Changmin, the harder it was to suppress them.

Changmin’s phone went off and he held it to his ear, looking dejected. “Yeah hyung, I remember our schedule, don’t worry I’ll be back soon.” He ended the call and Kaia got to her feet, smiling lightly at him.

“Well, sounds like you need to go.”

“Yeah.” He got up as well, nodding softly to himself. Kaia rocked back and forth in her sneakers, hoping he’d leave so she could succumb to the feelings rising within her chest. He stepped away and then stopped, surprising her a little. Kaia had to sniff back the beginning of her tears, blinking the emotion away as fast as she could. Changmin turned back to face her, his dark eyes searching hers for an answer. He then swiftly moved in front of Kaia, grabbing her jaw in his hands. “I have to do this.”

His lips pressed against hers passionately and for a moment Kaia was too stunned to react. As they caressed her mouth she snapped out of it, sliding her arms around his neck and kissing him back. The tears began to fall from Kaia’s eyes, wondering why she was allowing herself to have this last embrace. Eventually, Kaia found the willpower to pull away, covering her mouth with her hand and trying to settle her crying.

Changmin sighed. “I’m not sorry for kissing you. In fact, if I could, I would kiss you over and over. But that’s selfish of me to push my feelings onto you when you don’t want the same thing.”

“What?” Kaia snapped her eyes back to his face and shook her head. “What did you say?”

“Kai, why do you think we’re taking time out of our busy schedule right now constructing my escape from Kaori? I don’t want her coming after you. I don’t want to lose you because of her. I’ve already lost you because I was too blind to see I had fallen in love with you! But there was no way-”

“You, you love me?” Kaia breathed and Changmin’s cheeks flushed with colour. “You actually love me?”

“You said, in the beginning, these kinds of arrangements usually went one of two ways. The pair either split up wanting more from the world or fall in love, remember?” Kaia nodded. Changmin smiled and brushed her curls away gently. “I fell in love with you. I’ve been in love with you for weeks now. I just did-”

She cut him off with her lips, kissing him with demand. Changmin managed to balance Kaia’s attack, gripping her body hard within his arms and meeting her hunger completely. They kissed until breathless and then he leant his forehead against hers.

“I love you too.”

“I think that was apparent by the way you just leapt on me.” He chuckled. “Yunho told me you must have left because I was too blind to see you were in love with me too, but I didn’t believe you did; I thought I had done something to make you hate me.”

“It became too hard to bear the weight of my feelings around you,” Kaia confessed and Changmin laughed. She pouted, and then let out a whine. “Why are you laughing?!”

“Because we are complete idiots, just like Yunho has been telling us all along.”

Kaia rolled her eyes but smiled all the same. “It took you forever to figure it out. You’re more of an idiot than me!”

“Oh really? Why did you just think right now that I didn’t want anything to do with you?” He smirked and Kaia pouted again. Laughing, he pulled her against his chest and held her close. “It doesn’t matter now. I have you in my arms, and I’m not letting you go.”

Kaia snuggled into the embrace, closing her eyes and smiled happily. She didn’t want to let go either.

_________________

Part 25

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[calumsbtich-blog]

Bittersweet Generation - Germany, Munich

Requested: based on this request

Pairing: tell me who you’re rooting for here

My other series:  Paid to be Popular - The Purpose of Love

Official description: Four band members all hopelessly in love with the lead singer for their opening act. If they just could see clearly to find out what was really going on on tour.

Summary of this chapter: Ashton has to get something off his chest and chooses to tell about his secret crush to Rosemary, the mysterious guitarist. 

ALL PARTS HERE

“So, did you guys get anything written yesterday?” Luke walked into the dressing room with a water bottle in his hand. His black hoodie was hanging loosely around the blue t-shirt as he threw himself onto one of the couches in the middle.

Bittersweet Generation and 5 Seconds of Summer had always shared a dressing room. They had two dressing room, but they normally only used one of them. They were all that close and they could share stuff like that with each other. Unless you were in love - and it just so happened to be the four boys all falling head over heel for the same girl.

“Nah, not really,” Naomi answered and poured up yet another glass of juice, standing beside the couch Luke was sitting in.

“We did, however, learn some very interesting things about each other,” Michael added and gave Rosemary a small nod. She only stared at him as if he was the devil and dumped lower in the couch she was sitting in, earning an elbow from Luke who was sitting beside her. Clearly, she was not happy with the thing Michael was going to say.  In the other sofa, Michael, Naomi and Y/N was sitting, all waiting for the embarrassment to hit Rose.

“For example, Luke, did you know that our dear, dear Rosemary here used to have a crush on you?” Michael continued and Rose gave him an unforgettable death glare. Calum who was sitting on the floor with his head on his phone, completely ignoring everyone, laughed at the fact while a big smirk smeared across Luke’s lips.

“Is that so?” He teased and gave a small nudge to Rosemary.

“A minor crush. For like, two days.” She corrected and sat straight.

“You wanted to marry him!” Michael yelled and pointed her while Luke was only smirking bigger and bigger.

“Don’t we all?” Ashton exclaimed, and sat down beside Calum with a gloomy smile.

Rose shook her head in deny while everybody in the room teased her about it, including Luke.

“You should have just told me! I’m sure you’re great in bed, Rose!”

“What would their shipname be? Lukemary?”

“You would be one of those clingy, annoying couples. That kind that always makes out in public!”

“I think you two could be the new Jelena.”

Terri rushed inside the dressing room, slamming the door after her, making the jokes stop instantly so they all looked at her.

“What are we talking about?” She was standing just behind Calum with a confused look on her face and glanced around the group of people. Now, the two bands were together. All in one room. 

“Just how in love Rose is with Luke.” Y/N answered and chuckled, earning yet another death glare from Rosemary.

“Well, who could blame her?” Terri joked. Terri was used to joke-flirt with every living creature so it wasn’t a big deal. Still, Luke couldn’t help but feel there was a deeper meaning behind her words. 

Rosemary got up from her seat beside Luke and she hurried out of the room. 

“C’mon, Rose, I have good news!” Terri screamed after her.

“Tell me later! I don’t feel like hanging out with your fucking idiot brains today!” Then Rosemary slammed the door and everything went silent in the dressing room. Michael, who was sitting beside Y/N, was almost afraid of breathing. They all knew someone should go talk to her, but they also knew that someone would be torn apart.

“I’ll go talk some sense into her,” Ashton murmured and stood up while the others were praising him for doing the duty. Nobody wanted to talk with Rosemary when she was mad because shit happened to the person who tried to cheer her up. Y/N once swore she saw her threaten a stranger because she was in a bad mood. 

None of them actually wondered why Ashton volunteered but there was one specific reason why he needed to talk to her. Yesterday, when him, Rosemary, Naomi and Michael were playing Truth or Dare, Michael revealed how in love he was with Y/N. How much he wanted to be with her and it hurt Ashton to the bones. Michael, of course, didn’t know Ashton loved Y/N just as much but it still was painful to see them, sitting together on the couch. Not even touching each other, but Michael being closer to Y/N than he himself was freaked him out. He wanted to keep the secret to himself, but he knew he couldn’t handle that. He knew he had to tell someone, to get some advice. And that’s where Rosemary would come in.

“Rose! Wait up!” Ashton yelled as Rosemary was already on her way out of the arena. Normally, Rose would just go for a walk when she was upset and when she returned, she would be fine. Nobody knew what she did. Maybe she just walked, but something told Ashton that it wasn’t just a walk. He had tried to talk to her about it, but Rosemary really enjoyed shutting people off. Not on purpose, she couldn’t help it. Feelings scared her more than anything.

“I don’t feel like talking.” Her voice was already calm as she stopped and looked the curly-haired lad in the eyes. Ashton nodded understanding and caught up with her, walking beside her as they walked out of the arena together.

“Just let me talk then, alright?” He questioned. He needed to talk, he needed to get it all off his chest. The pain, the feelings, the love. Rosemary nodded and he began his story.

“You know, how Michael revealed how in love he was with Y/N yesterday? Well, it’s just-“

“You’re in love with her, too.” Rose finished off his sentence with a smirk. Ashton widened his eyes and fumbled with his words.

“How did you know?” He whispered as if she was some sort of psychic - and for a moment, he actually thought she was.

“You boys are very easy to read.” She chuckled. It was true. Rosemary was probably one of the smartest on tour when it came to people and feelings. Even though she hid most of her own feelings, she was very good with others.

“Are we all easy to read?” Ashton questioned, almost forgetting his real problem.

“Yeah, pretty much. However, Calum is the hardest. Sometimes you just don’t know what’s-“

“Going on in that boy’s head, yeah. We’ve been trying to figure that out for years.” Ashton joked, making Rosemary chuckle. She seemed completely different. Ashton had always imagined that after one of her temper-filled breakdowns, she would take a long time to relax again. Apparently, it only took her a couple of minutes.

“Another quick question: do you ever… think we’re, like, not as smart as you?” Ashton asked and Rosemary let out a loud snort while opening a door to go outside. Ashton squinted as if he was a vampire at the sun and waited for Rosemary’s answer patiently.

“You mean if I ever need a break from the seven of you?” She corrected him. “Yeah. I think we’re very different and we all need a break to be alone and… do our own thing. I just need it more often than you guys.”

Ashton knew that was why she had walked out, slamming the door. She simply just needed a break and the only way to get it, was to get mad. The two of them had gotten outside, walking on an empty lot.

“Well, back to, uh, Y/N and stuff.” Ashton coughed. Rosemary was good with advice, they all knew that. But he was still nervous talking about Y/N and his problems to her. Mostly he dealt with his own problems, not needing help from anyone.

“Sure,” Rosemary said emotionless. “Don’t do anything about it.”

Ashton widened his eyes. The command was clear, almost as if Rosemary was begging him to stay away from Y/N.

“Nothing at all?” He questioned with a hurt tone. He didn’t expect Rose to be that harsh-

“No. Ignore your feelings. At least until tour is over, Ash.” She sighed and stopped in the middle of the walking, looking at him. “And please, don’t tell anyone but me. Especially not the guys. Michael made a huge mistake last night.”

“What does that mean?” Ashton chuckled as if it was all some joke. “What, are we all in love with he-“

“Just go inside, Ashton. And don’t worry about it anymore.” Rosemary said and turned around on her heel, long, ginger hair swinging over her shoulder. Ashton knew he shouldn’t be following her anymore as she walked further away from him, but he felt the attraction. He wanted a more detailed explanation but instead, he walked right back inside. And tried his best not to worry about Y/N.

However, a red-haired girl had taken over his thoughts instead of his own crush.

A/N: Y’ALL KNOW YOU SHOULD GO INTO MY INBOX AND TELL ME WHO YOU’RE ROOTING FOR BC IT MAKES ME RLY HAPPY!

Masterlist // Tell me who should be with who