Hollyoaks – Heartbeat.
"Please give me one good reason why I should stay". Callum gives George a reason to stay. Set after the mini-bus crash. This is for Beth:)Stugfan!
Callum wasn't sure why he was in shock now, was it the deaths of his friends Neil and Jono, or was it the death of his ex-girlfriend Maddie or was it how beat up George looked. Callum studied the unusually quiet boy sitting there in front of him. Various cuts and bruises littered his face, a nasty looking gash along his arm and propped up on the bed beside him was his injured ankle. But what Callum thinks is shocking him the most is the lack of life in George's eyes, Callum remembers watching that spark slowly fade away as George told him the events of the day.
"You can stop staring at me now, I'm not going to cry anymore" George said breaking the silence and Callum's train of thought.
"Sorry. I didn't realise I was staring" Callum said placing his gaze down on George's injured foot.
"No tears left…" George said with such sorrow that Callum nearly let a tear fall himself.
Callum didn't know how to answer to George's revelation, he could see the sorrow in George's eyes and he actually felt hurt by it. He's so used to George the loud, talkative, confident fashionista who wore bright colours, but the one in front of him of was dull like the clothes he was wearing. Instead of his usual jackets and tight pants, George was wearing a plain white t-shirt and some light grey tracksuit bottoms that actually belonged to Callum.
"Are those my pants you are wearing?" Callum raised an eyebrow offering George a slight smile.
"Yes, I didn't think you'd mind, besides with my ankle all bust up and swollen, none of my pants would fit properly" George said putting on a fake smile, which Callum could see through.
"Never thought I'd see the day, that the great fashion magazine himself that is George Smith, in plain clothes" Callum said faking shock to George's amusement and for the first time that day a genuine smile appeared on his face.
"First time for everything" George replied smiling back.
"And if I do say so myself, out of all the people who've worn them you wear them the best" Callum said playfully flirting with George.
"Why thank you kind sir" George said letting out a small laugh.
"Yes! Got you to laugh" Callum announced pulling George into a hug.
"Yeah, you did, thanks Callum I really needed that" George said laying his head down on Callum's chest. The sound of Callum's heartbeat was soothing but it also confirmed that the nightmare of losing his friends was not a nightmare at all, it was reality, a reality they'd all have to live with every day until the day they all eventually die.
Callum couldn't explain how he felt right now, having George in his arms felt so natural to him, he felt like apart of him was complete, it reminded him of how he felt like when he was with Maddie… Callum tried to shake the thoughts of her out of his head, despite everything that happened between them, he was still in love with her. But the way he felt for George recently, felt the same as the way he felt for Maddie. Did Callum love George as more than just a friend? The two were very close, and both shared a bond with one another that couldn't be broken. It was weird for Callum if he did love George like that, he was actually ok with it, isn't this the stage where he was supposed to freak out and try to deny it? But why wasn't he, when looked down at George's half asleep form resting on his chest, his question received an answer.
"So who else wore these comfortable things then?" George asked yawning halfway through his question.
Callum went to answer his question and his thoughts went back to Maddie, besides George and Callum's sister Lacey, Maddie wore them too. Callum's heartbeat started to pick up a bit of pace, something George picked up on.
"It was Maddie, wasn't it…" George said as a statement more than question.
"…" Callum couldn't reply but it confirmed George's question/statement.
"I can take them off…" George offered. Callum's heart paced again, for a different reason this time.
"No, It's ok and I said it to you earlier you look good in them, better than me" Callum said avoiding the sensitive topic.
"Thanks" George said lifting himself up and smiling at Callum.
Their faces were so close to each other, George was looking at Calum with a smile on his cut and bruised face, while Callum was staring at Georges lips, an battle going on inside Callum's head whether or not he was going to act on what he was feeling. Before he had a chance to decide what he'd do George laid his head back down on Callum's chest.
"We need to get you better dvd's, you lack good taste in entertainment" George commented yawning again.
"Haha, thanks" Callum replied laughing at George's comment. Not long after that Callum listened as George's breathing slowly evened out, soon after Callum realised George fell asleep in his arms, he too soon dozed off.
Callum woke up later on during the night, it was still dark outside but the only the room was still lit by the television which had been left on earlier on the night. Callum looked down to see that George was still asleep in his arms but what he saw then broke Callum's heart, George was crying in his sleep.
"Hey mate wake up." Callum said lightly shaking George who stirred awake.
George looked up at Callum, sleepy but still unaware of the fresh tears flowing. He wiped run of his eyes and realised what was happening and why Callm woke him up. He pulled himself up out of Callum's arms, much to Callum's dismay and sat up in the bed. He took a deep breath before drying his eyes.
"I had a dream about Maddie, Jono and Neil. It was the same as before but the what if's and all that stuff…" George mumbled out through his hands. Callum placed his hand on George's shoulder to comfort him.
"You can't dwell on that anymore George, It's in the past, as much as we don't want to accept it we have to" Callum said not sure of his own words. George wasn't the only one who was dreaming. Callum had two dreams, a dream where he and George where more than just friends and the second was a nightmare, where he lost George in the crash, if there was anything those two dreams thought him, it was that he loves George more than just a friend.
"After everything that's happened, I don't know how I'm going to stay in Hollyoaks anymore…." George admitted unknowingly setting Callum into a panic.
"You can't leave!" Callum blurted out quickly
"Why not?!" George spat back getting emotional again.
"…" Callum couldn't think of an answer.
"See, all this place is to me is suffering, I was homeless, presumed dead by my own parents, if it wasn't for you or Phoebe, who also lost her adoptive father, I'd probably be dead or somewhere around the UK being sold to men to have their way with! Oh yeah what else is there, Neil is dead! Jono is dead! Maddie is fucking dead! Our friends are dead, I keep seeing them everywhere I look, even when I close my eyes… So Callum please give me one good reason why I should stay in this hell hole!" George said as more tears started to stream down his face again.
"I can think of one good reason" Callum says.
"Oh what's that?" George sarcastically replies.
"This." Callum says catching George by surprise and pulling him into a kiss.
George didn't know how to react to what's going on, here is his best friend, if he can call him that now, kissing him! Something he dreamed about and never expected to happen. George eventually relaxed into the kiss, he could feel his own heartbeat in synch with Callum's. If this is a reason for George to stay, it's a pretty good one. The continued for a few more minutes until the need for air surfaced and both boys hesitantly broke apart.
"So is that a good enough reason for you stay?" Callum asks lying back down on the bed.
George's wide smile gave Callum his answer. George laid back down beside Callum placing his head back onto Callum's chest, he really liked to listen to the sound of Callum's heartbeat. It was relaxing to listen to. Not long after both boys feel asleep again with smiles on their faces.
Ok ignore the crap ending I wrote this at 2:22am and was falling asleep on the laptop so excuse any spelling mistakes. I try usually write one-shots and sometimes I take requests. But I won't write any Stendan fanfics because I don't like Stendan. So anyway read and review and tell me what you think.
Z xx