Imagines and One-Shots (Book Three)

Can't Help Falling in Love (Calum Hood) - Part 1

happy valentine's day fraaaaaaans

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Calum's POV

Calum's eyes landed on you the moment you opened the door to the school, rubbing your eyes with your sweater sleeve as you yawned. He thought it was cute that no matter how many times you woke up at 6:30am, you'd never get used to it. You still smiled when you saw your friends waiting beside your locker though, all of you greeting each other happily.

Once you put away all of your things, you closed your locker door and started walking with your friends toward the cafeteria for breakfast. Calum opened his mouth as you approached – 'hi', 'good morning'...anything – but you just walked right by him, not even noticing him in the slightest.

That fact didn't surprise him – he knew he was invisible to everyone in the school – but that obviously didn't mean it didn't still hurt. Though, Calum did focus on the positives in living seemingly off the radar.

He was essentially a fly on the wall – he knew about all the drama happening and why friends were upset with each other. He listened to talk of fights and parties and even heard one kid brag about how he'd broken into his parents' liquor cabinet – though, that one wasn't brag-worthy as far as he was concerned.

The only downside was that girls didn't notice him – well... You didn't notice him.

Calum had a crush on you ever since you were in your shared History class one day and perfectly answered your teacher's complex question about the subject, only being asked because she'd accused you of not paying attention. You were smart and funny and kind and considerate and you didn't take shit from anybody – not even the teachers – and he was sure that he didn't have a chance in the world with you.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't try to get your attention.

~

Your POV; The next morning

You walked into school as you always did, meeting your friends at your locker before going to get breakfast. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary – just another Wednesday – as you ate and talked and laughed with your friends. When you all finished eating, you all went your separate ways to prepare for your first period classes. You didn't even notice the boy watching you from a little ways down the hall, continuing to your locker. And that was when you spotted the difference.

The cassette tape and player were taped to your locker right at eye-level, making you tilt your head. You read the short note on the tape – the scribbly words that simply read 'From Calum' – as you slowly reached up and took it off your locker. You looked at it for a moment before looking up, trying to see if anyone was around that was watching you, but no one was there – Calum could tell you were looking at him but you weren't seeing him, though his heart did skip a beat when you smiled slightly, turning back to your locker and immediately taking the cassette player off as well so you could listen to the tape.

~

Three months later

Throughout the next four weeks, you would receive more cassette tapes and listen to them the moment you found them. The last one you'd gotten was probably your favorite – and one that made your heart race the most when you'd first heard it. It was a cover of Elvis Presley's Can't Help Falling in Love by Haley Reinhart, and it was probably one of your favorite covers ever.

'Calum' had been making tapes with songs he thought you'd love, and each tape usually had a theme – songs to dance to, songs to cry to, songs to sing along to in the car – but the one with that cover on it was the only song on there. To be honest, it made your heart ache that 'Calum' hadn't come forward – especially since you were now moving and would probably never know who he was at all – but you certainly did enjoy these unconventional interactions with him. And you enjoyed them so much that you finally decided to return the favor.

Calum's POV; After school

Calum walked down the long hallway on his way out of school, his head down and his hands in his pockets. He hadn't seen you since History and it had him feeling rather down. He didn't know why he felt so strongly about you having never actually spoken to you before – all he knew was that he did.

As he was approaching where your locker was, Calum looked up, only to stop dead in his tracks in the middle of the hallway. His heart skipped a beat as he stared at the cassette tape on your locker in the same spot he'd left so many before, a neatly printed 'From Y/N' written on it. Calum smiled in awe as he walked over to the wall, grabbing the tape and pulling it off. He held it for a moment, looking at your name, before flipping the tape around. And his heart sank at the 'Goodbye, Calum' message you'd left for him.

Calum's head shot up, looking to his right and then his left before finally spotting you – he must have just walked right past you without realizing since his head was down. He was curious as to why you were holding a box as you smiled with your friends. They were all saying they were going to miss you and to have you message them when you got to your new house so they knew you made it safely. You waved to them before walking with two of your other friends to the staircase, heading downstairs.

Calum quickly put the cassette in his pocket and hurried to the edge of the staircase, looking down as you were halfway down the second set. And that was when he noticed that the box seemed to contain all of your locker's contents, silently telling him that you were moving.

He leaned his forehead on the wall, thinking about all the moments he'd watch you smile when you saw the newest cassette taped to your locker and the way you'd yawn as you walked into school every morning and how you always had something to add to a class discussion.

And he didn't want to be unnoticed anymore.

So he bolted down the stairs and ran after you.

~

Your POV

You sighed as you got into your dad's car after saying your final goodbyes to your friends. Your dad assured you that you'd adjust to the move but, although you knew that, that didn't make leaving any easier.

To avoid the inevitable 'you're going to love it there; you'll make a ton of new friends' spiel, you simply took your cassette player out of your backpack and put your headphones on. You were listening to the Can't Help Falling in Love cover when something – you didn't know what – told you to look in the side mirror on your door.

And that was when you – finally – noticed him.

"Stop," you said suddenly, pausing the tape.

Your dad glanced over, "Why-"

"Dad, just stop!" you insisted. He did so with a small sigh, figuring you'd just forgotten to say goodbye to one of your friends. He turned to fully look at you as you unbuckled your seatbelt, threw the door open, and got out, spinning around.

You and the boy now standing in the middle of the road stared at each other for a solid ten seconds before you found the words you wanted to say. You slowly took your headphones off, swallowing the lump in your throat.

"Calum...?" you asked softly – so softly that you were almost sure he hadn't heard it. But he barely nodded, causing you to toss your cassette player onto the seat before you hurried toward him.

Your arms flew around his neck as you crashed into him so you could hug him tightly, and his own wound around your waist, keeping you just as close. You could both hear your classmates whispering to each other, asking their friends and the people around them what was happening and who Calum was and why you were hugging him... But neither of you cared – all that mattered in that moment was each other.

~

inspiration: "The Boy Nobody Could See" by Centrepoint https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BFxz78hUpY

song mentioned: "Can't Help Falling In Love" cover by Haley Reinhart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npwHNcGqueE