Calum pledged for a fraternity his freshman year of college not because he really loved the crazy college partying life but truthfully, he just didn't want to share a room with some nerd in general housing. Why? Well, because Calum had some things he wasn't ready for everyone to know yet. Behind his punk demeanor and careless attitude, Calum Hood was just a boy who was trying to tame his own demons. His past was a dark one, one he tried his best not to relive, but how far can you run until you have no where left to hide? Tonight was one of the many parties the house was hosting for some occasion that was just used as another reason for everyone to get drunk. He could hear the bass from the speakers thumping against his floor boards as the party had just begun downstairs. Looking at the clock at seeing it was just a bit past 10, he decided he should probably make his way downstairs. Making his way through the slowly increasing crowd, he headed over towards the kitchen to grab what would be his first of many beers for the night. Popping the cap off against the edge of the countertop, he lifted the bottle to his lips and let the cool beverage slide down his throat like silk. He headed over towards the living room and plopped down on the edge of the couch scoping out tonight's crowd. Two hours and 6 more beers later, a very drunk Calum was laughing at anything and everything while he sat amongst a group of friends. Feeling his phone vibrate for what had to have been the hundredth time that night in his pocket, he finally decided to check and see what whoever was bothering him wanted. 16 missed calls from his sister, 24 texts and multiple other calls from various different people in his family. His smile was immediately gone as fear began to course through his veins like all the alcohol he had consumed. "Where ya going, mate?" his friend Luke had called after him, but he was already stumbling towards the staircase, desperate to get to the seclusion of his room. - - - - - Frat parties, well any social gathering shared with a bunch of drunk strangers, wasn't really your thing. But tonight you were feeling open to something new so you had agreed to your roommates request of your company tonight. You had to admit it was more fun than you would have guessed it could be but by around midnight you had your fill of 'new experiences'. Desperately needing to find a bathroom, you assumed your best bet would be somewhere upstairs. After only walking in on one horny hook up, you felt relief wash over you when you found the correct door that led to the bathroom. After washing your hands and checking yourself over once in the mirror, you went to head back downstairs. Well, at least that was the plan.. until you thought you heard something obviously being thrown and then shattering in the room to your left. Carefully approaching the door, you pressed your ear up against it to see if you could hear anything else. From what you could make out, someone was cursing to themselves as they paced back and forth across the floor. As you debated wether or not to check on whomever was on the other side of the door, you noticed the steps had stopped. So, against your better judgement, you decided to go in. Opening the door and peering in, you were greeted by the image of a very disheveled boy slumped over on the floor, back pressed against his bed. When he looked up to see who his intruder was, you saw his eyes were red and puffy, tear stains streaking down his cheeks. You immediately recognized him. Calum Hood. A.k.a the boy who was always making some smart ass remark towards you, clearly viewing himself above you. The only boy who made you feel small and pathetic, who's taunting words would echo in your mind even hours after he had said them. You could see he recognized you as well as he immediately used his sleeve to wipe his eyes and send you a menacing glare. "What the hell do you want?" he barked out at you, irritation replacing the sadness that was just on his face. "N-nothing, I.. um, I-" you stuttered, only to be quickly cut off. "God, of course it would be you to fucking show up at a time like this," he said, glaring at you. "Can't you just leave already? I didn't ask for you to be here, I don't want you here. Nobody wants you here! Go!" Wether it was the alcohol or you just being fed up with his nasty treatment of you, you decided tonight you would fight back. "You know what?! Fuck you, Calum! Fuck you! Did you ever stop and think that maybe if you weren't such a fucking douchebag, you wouldn't be crying in your room all alone?!" you fired back at him. For the first time in his life, Calum Hood was speechless. He just stared back at you with a look of shock and even a hint of sadness on his face. A triumphant feeling washed over you and you decided to bathe in for another moment before turning to walk out the door. "I'm sorry," you heard him say quietly just before you could leave. Now it was your turn to be shocked. "I know i'm an asshole, I think everyone knows, and you don't deserve it. I'm not good with the whole 'dealing with your emotions' thing and quite frankly, you were just an easy target. The way you smile at everyone and treat them all with respect no matter what their reputation may be, you're just so.. you're the opposite of me, but you're the me I wish I was," he admitted, sad eyes looking up to meet yours. As he leaned forward to run his hands through his hair, you shut the door and made your way over to him, sitting next to him on the floor. Progress could be made between the two of you tonight and who were you to pass that up? "I'm not going to say it's ok because it's not. You treated me like shit and that definitely isn't ok.." you began, unsure of what to say next. "But it's obvious something's wrong, so.. do you want to talk about it?" His phone began to buzz next to him again and he looked down at it before staring blankly in front of him. "What's there to say?" he sighed. "My phone has been going off all night and that can only mean one thing. It means when I check my phone it will probably be my sister asking me to call her back.. Why does she want me to call her back? Well, considering the last time we talked I hung up on her because I couldn't handle what she was telling me, she's probably now calling to inform me that my mother is dead." Your eyes went wide as you looked over at him. That was definitely the last thing you were expecting. "She called me two days ago saying my mom was moving to hospice, that she didn't have much time left and I should say goodbye while I still had the chance.. but being the asshole I am, I hung up. I wasn't ready to hear that! Hell, I'm still not..... but now it's probably too late," he sighed, tears beginning to slip down his cheeks again. Not sure what you should do, you decided against using words and instead used the comfort of touch as you wrapped an arm around him and pulled him in to your side. He immediately began to sob in to your shoulder, his body shaking with the force of his own guilt consuming him. You gently rocked back and forth all while holding tightly on to the broken boy in front of you as if you were the only thing keeping him from falling apart. "Shhh, Calum, breathe," you cooed, trying to comfort the fragile boy. This whole time you had thought Calum was just an asshole who didn't give a damn about anyone. Little did you know it was just how much he really did care that was consuming him. His inability to cope with it was what made him so hard around the edges. ---------------------------------------------- Frat!5sos for hulkcalum and irwinpvnk's blurb night! (kind of got carried away, i'm sorry!)