Imagines and One-Shots (Book Three)

Holiday Cheer (Calum Hood) - Part 4

The next morning

"Good morning, everyone!" Calum chirped as he walked into the kitchen. Everyone was already gathered at the table for breakfast, just waiting for him.

"Oh my God, he's smiling," you said, your eyes wide as he sat down in the chair beside yours, "Everyone else is seeing this, right? Tell me I'm not dreaming." The group chuckled while Calum rolled his eyes.

"You know, I do actually smile from time to time," he reminded you, trying to keep himself from grinning at your antics.

"This is the greatest day of my young life," you placed your hand over your heart.

"And the day's only just started," Dylan shook his head, "It's a new record."

~

After breakfast, you and Calum broke away from the group to get some manuscripts read. It was quiet for the most part – other than the occasional 'have you read this one yet?' or 'do you want something to drink?', neither of you spoke.

You could sense Calum glancing up from his reading every once in a while to look at you, but you didn't respond. You didn't know what was up with him, but if he had something on his mind, you figured you'd just let him come to you rather than trying to pry it out of him.

And apparently, deciding to take a step back worked with him.

"You haven't mentioned Miss Wright's book in a few days," Calum said randomly, surprising you a bit – that's what's been on his mind all morning?

"No use in suggesting ideas I know are going to get shot down, is there?" you shrugged, not even looking at him.

"I've never shot down your suggestions," he shook his head.

"No, you just read one paragraph and call it a day."

"Y/N, come on," he sighed, "I said I was sorry."

"You tell Holly you were sorry?"

"I haven't seen Holly since that day."

"Maybe you should make the effort to look for her then."

~

Later that evening

After sunset, you decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to see all the Christmas lights. Your mom offered to go with you, but you assured her that you'd be fine alone. 

Though, you weren't even alone for that long. You'd been out of your house for all of 5 minutes when a voice coming from behind you made you turn to look over your shoulder.

"Hey, Y/N!" Holly hurried to you, slowing her pace to match yours when she finally caught up.

"Hey, Holl!" you greeted her with a smile, "What's up?"

"Have you been talking to your boss about me?" she asked.

"Here and there," you admitted with a shrug, "Why?"

"I was at Stacey's when he came in today," she informed you, "Said he saw me sitting by the window and came into the diner to talk to me." You furrowed your eyebrows, allowing her to see the confused look on your face. "You know, I'll be honest, I didn't expect him to be the kind of person to apologize," she said, "But he said he came in to tell me he was sorry for the way he treated me and my book."

"Wow..." you trailed off, not really too sure what else to say.

"So... Does this mean he's giving the book a chance...?" she asked shyly. You chewed on your bottom lip for a moment.

"I don't think he's even picked it up since the day all that went down," you answered honestly, "He just knows I'm mad at him for how shitty he was to you."

"Well, I'll admit it's a little disappointing to hear that," she nodded, "But thank you. It means a lot that you still care that much about my feelings after all these years."

"I'll always care about you and your feelings, Holl," you grinned, wrapping your arm around her waist for a side hug.

"Thanks," she laughed. You and Holly talked for a while longer before she had to head back home, leaving you alone again.

You spent the next 10 or so minutes admiring your neighborhood's decorations when you were approached again. This time, however, it was by someone you hadn't necessarily expected to see.

"In the mood for someone to join you?" Calum asked as he came up beside you. You cocked an eyebrow as you looked at him.

"Are you offering to do something Christmas related with me?" you returned, "Who are you anymore?"

Calum simply smiled at you, "It was either this, or go around singing Christmas carols with your mother."

"Fair enough," you nodded, "Even I'm not too big a fan of caroling."

"You?" he gasped obnoxiously, "The Queen of Christmas?" You rolled your eyes but didn't say anything, deciding to change the subject instead.

"I ran into Holly a little while ago," you told him, "She said you apologized."

"Figured I should," he put his hands in his coat pockets and looked down at the sidewalk in front of him, "As terrible as it sounds, apologizing to her hadn't even crossed my mind until you brought it up."

"Might be terrible," you shrugged, "But at least you did it." Calum hummed in response, and it was silent between the two of you for a moment.

"You know, all these decorations are kinda nice," he said.

"Haven't you ever decorated for Christmas before?" you asked.

"Not since I was a kid," he shrugged himself, "After I moved to the city, I never lived anywhere that really went all out for the holidays the way everyone here does."

"Not even when you were...you know...married?" you replied carefully.

"She was never much of a decorator," he told you, "And I never really cared for decorations much myself anyway, so we never did. But the ones around here are nice."

"Are you saying all this 'holiday cheer' is finally rubbing off on you?" you cocked an eyebrow, a small smirk on your face.

"Well, I don't know about that," Calum shook his head.

"Nope! I think I've finally worn you down," you smiled, not even noticing that it made him do the same.

~

inspiration: "Home For the Holidays" on the Choices app