You're on the phone with your girlfriend she's upset; she's going off about something that you said, 'cause she doesn't get your humor like I do...
It was a Sunday night. They were at his apartment. They had watched and live tweeted the episode of Austin & Ally that had aired for the first time that night, and they were now watching SNL from the previous night on the DVR.
Well, they HAD been watching SNL until he got a call from his girlfriend, who seemed to be very angry about something.
Pausing the TV, Calum apologized to Raini, saying how he had to take this call and he'd make it as quick as possible, making his way down the hallway.
Raini sighed after he left. This had been a reoccurring thing. They would be hanging out, he'd get a call from his girlfriend, he'd excuse himself, Raini would wait, he'd come back minutes later irritated and exasperated, and the light and easygoing mood they had been enjoying would have been killed.
And it's not like the things she got mad about we're even worth getting mad about.
Like what she was currently mad about: Calum had tweeted a joke bashing on a politician's incompetence in having such a job. She said it was rude and insensitive and that he should take down the tweet immediately. He refused, saying it was a joke and that literally nobody liked the politician in question.
Raini sighed again. Personally, she thought the joke was funny.
"I guess she just doesn't get his humor like I do." she thought.
I'm in my room it's a typical Tuesday night I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like and she'll never know your story like I do...
It was a Tuesday night, she was cleaning her room by herself, listening to every song from every Broadway show known to man; singing along at the top of her lungs.
She bent down and picked up what appeared to be some scrap paper, only to find that it was one of her old scripts.
And it wasn't just any old script.
It was the script for the episode where Trish and Dez finally revealed their feelings for each other and shared their first real kiss.
A wave of nostalgia suddenly overtook her.
She slowly sat down on her bed, feeling as if tears could start forming in her eyes at any moment.
"You're being stupid" she told herself, "this episode hasn't even aired yet."
But then she remembered the way she felt when she had first read this script, she was sitting in the exact spot she was currently sitting in.
She was ecstatic that Trish and Dez were finally becoming a couple, because as a fan of the show she had wanted this for so long.
But as the woman playing Trish De La Rosa, she couldn't help but get butterflies in her stomach when she read the part where Trish and Dez kissed; the thought of actually kissing the man who portrayed Dez (the always charming, Calum Worthy) who also happened to be her best friend, almost made her swoon.
She wouldn't deny that she found him attractive. I mean, who didn't? He was gorgeously built, his face and body making her weak in the knees whenever she saw him; he had the bluest eyes she'd ever seen, that were always lit up with happiness and laughter and filled with warmth and kindness. And he had an amazing personality; he was always so sweet and genuinely cared about people, he was incredibly witty and funny; an all around charmer.
Ok so maybe she had some feelings for him that were more than friendly.
"But it doesn't matter, because he has a girlfriend." she reminded herself.
Placing the script inside the drawer of her nightstand, she thought about him and his girlfriend.
They had been dating for 3 solid months now and everything seemed to be going great.
Well, mostly great.
It seemed to Raini that she only knew the Calum Worthy of today and not the entire history of him; which really annoyed Raini for some reason.
She thought back to one particular moment that really rubbed her the wrong way. They were at her 22nd birthday party. Ross, Laura and Calum had thrown Raini a surprise party (it was Calum's idea) and she couldn't have been happier.
As the night went on, Raini found herself standing with his girlfriend while Ross and Laura retrieved another surprise (Raini suspected a cake) and Calum went to get drinks.
"Without love" from Hairspray started playing over the loud speakers and Raini couldn't keep the smile off her face, knowing Calum was the one who made this playlist because it had every single one of her favorite songs on it, including the songs they used to sing together in their dressing rooms inbetween takes back on set, like the song in question.
"Ugh what's with all these dumb show tunes? When will they play some actual GOOD songs that came out this CENTURY?" Raini heard his girlfriend remark.
Thank God Calum had come back just then or else Raini would not have been able to hold her tongue about what she had just heard.
He handed his girlfriend her drink then pulled Raini onto the dance floor, singing along with the song and urging her to do so too like they used to on set.
Raini began to sing along, letting Calum twirl her. In that moment, she wished more than anything that Calum could be her blue eyed soul.
It wasn't until later that night when she was back in her bed, the party long over, when she realized how mad Calum would've been about that "dumb show tunes" comment.
He grew up in the theater; performances in musicals is what got him to where he was today. They held a place in his heart just like they held a place in hers.
But his girlfriend didn't know that. Raini didn't even think she'd be able to tell you the year Austin & Ally premiered; or even his character's last name. She only knew the current Calum Worthy, she didn't know his past.
"I guess she'll never know his story like I do." Raini thought as she drifted to sleep.
But she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts...
They were at the Teen Choice Awards. Calum and Raini got to walk the red carpet and do interviews together to represent the show (which was nominated) since Ross and Laura couldn't make it due their tours.
Raini was so excited about the night until she saw him arrive with her.
She looked gorgeous. She was wearing a short, blue, strapless, bodycon dress with a sweetheart neckline; paired with a pair of white, 6 inch stilettos.
She embodied the sexiness that Raini never felt in herself.
Sure she was confident in herself; but that doesn't mean that she didn't get upset when she saw how smoking hot the girl who the guy she wanted to be with was dating.
She looked down at her floral skater dress and flats and suddenly felt a wave of self doubt and insecurity.
That is until Calum made his way over to her and hugged her tightly, saying how much he missed her, and then telling her how amazing she looked.
"Stop it you're just saying that to be nice." she replied to him, looking down shyly.
"Raini" he said seriously, placing his hand under her chin to bring her eyes back up to meet his.
"You are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen; inside and out. I am so lucky to be able to call you my best friend" he said, smiling down at her.
Raini then threw her arms around Calum's neck and pulled him to her in a tight hug.
"I missed you." she whispered to him, her face buried in his shoulder.
"Not half as much as I missed you, Rains." he replied, nuzzling his face in her hair, taking in her scent that he had missed so much.
"C'mon" he said, breaking their hug a few moments later "let's go give the people what they want" winking at her slyly, taking her hand and pulling her towards the carpet where all the interviews and photographers were waiting for them.
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers...
They all sat together for the show. Calum inbetween the two girls, Raini in the aisle seat.
It felt like nothing had changed as the two of them whispered whatever random stupid jokes popped into their heads to each other during the show; holding back their laughter until there were tears in their eyes.
Raini sat beside him contently; almost forgetting that the girl he was dating was right on the other side of him.
Calum won for favorite TV actor in a comedy and they were so excited. Raini was so proud of him, clapping and cheering madly as he stood up.
Her mood changed however when she watched him lean down and place a quick, but sweet and passionate, kiss on his girlfriend's lips.
Using the skills she had acquired from nearly 12 years of acting, she kept her face from falling to reveal how broken she felt on the inside.
They broke apart moments later and he began to make his way down the aisle to the stage, not forgetting to give Raini a high five as he left his seat.
In his acceptance speech, he thanked: his parents, Kevin and Heath, Disney Channel, and Raini, Ross and Laura; calling them the greatest cast in the world and the best friends he could ever ask for.
He ended his speech by thanking his girlfriend for supporting him and being his number one cheerleader. The crowed aww'd as Raini held back a scoff.
She knew she should be happy for him; and she was. She just wished that she could have been the one receiving the kiss instead of the one receiving the high five.
Dreaming 'bout the day when you wake up and find what you're looking for, has been here the whole time...
She finally gave in and told Laura about her feelings for him. Laura was anything but surprised; she'd known for like, well, ever.
And Raini obviously knew about her not-so-secret feelings for Ross (Laura had broken up with her boyfriend a month earlier when she realized she still wasn't over their blond costar).
And yes, they had those nights where they'd be mad about everything. They'd be mad at the boys for dating other girls and making them feels this way. Mad at the girls they were with for dating the boys the rest of the world viewed as theirs.
But, they were all still best friends. And as their best friends, Raini and Laura were happy for Calum and Ross for finding such amazing girls (even if it did kill them inside).
What they each didn't understand, was why they were dating those girls when they were so obviously in love with the other one, they would think about each other.
"I honestly don't even know why he's dating her, Rains." Laura said out of the blue one night.
"What?" Raini replied, confused.
"I don't know why he's dating her when he's so obviously in love with you!" Laura exclaimed.
Raini blushed.
"Well I could say the same thing about Ross with you!" Raini retorted.
"Yeah, so could all of our fans; hell, the entire WORLD could say that and they'd be right." Laura laughed.
"Wait if you're so aware of how in love Ross is with you, then why don't you tell him?" Raini asked.
"Because I don't have to." Laura replied simply.
"Huh?"
"It doesn't matter if he's dating someone. It doesn't matter if I'm dating someone. We both know how it's gonna end. We both know somehow, someday, we're going to end up together. So it doesn't matter what happens now, we've got the future all to ourselves."
"But why don't you just say something now?"
"Well that wouldn't be a very interesting story, wouldn't it?" Laura said with a wink.
Raini sighed.
"Why is all of this so complicated?" Raini asked, turning to face her.
"Because they're idiots. Ross and Calum. Both of them. Idiots. I love them dearly, but they're idiots." Laura said.
They both began to laugh at the accuracy of what she had said.
"You and Calum have the same thing as Ross and I, you know. You're going to end up together eventually. It's just fate" Laura said seriously.
"Psshhh, yeah right. How do you know that?" Raini replied.
"Because you're Calum and Raini!" Laura said, smiling.
"You're best friends! Nobody thinks of one of you without immediately thinking of the other!"
Raini smiled at Laura's words.
"Thanks Laur." Raini said, pulling the brunette into a hug.
"Wanna have a Harry Potter marathon?" Laura asked, pulling away from their hug.
"Laura, you know when Harry Potter is involved the answer is always yes." Raini replied, laughing.
Walking the streets with you and your worn out jeans, I can't help thinking this is how it ought to be. Laughing on a park bench thinking to myself: hey isn't this easy?
They still weren't used to not going to set every morning, even though it had been 5 months since they wrapped.
So Calum and Raini had taken to getting up at the crack of dawn to go hiking. Not every day, just once or twice a week; but Raini looked forward to it as if it were Christmas morning itself.
It would still be dark outside, he'd come pick her up, and they'd drive to whichever park they felt like hiking in that day.
This particular morning they had chosen to hike up one of the many mountains there are in Los Angeles.
They got to the top just as the sun was beginning to rise.
They sat down on a bench that was at the top and just took in their surroundings. The sky was a magnificent mix of pinks and oranges and the sun came out to greet them, the Hollywood sign and all the cars and buildings looked minuscule from where they were and you could see the ocean stretch over the curve of the earth.
It was one of the few times when they were together when they didn't need to talk. They could just sit. They could just be.
It didn't feel weird. It didn't feel awkward. It felt nice and soothing that they could sit there silently, just enjoying being together without the distractions of words. It was easy.
And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town, I haven't seen it in a while since she brought you down...
She missed his smile. Sure, he still smiled just as much; but most of the times it was fake. She could tell.
When he really smiled, you could see it in his eyes; they would light up with joy and wonder. Now he would smile, but his eyes would show stress and exhaustion.
The last time she had really seen him smile was a few days prior, when they had hung out with Ross and Laura, for the first time in what felt like forever.
And it was just the four of them. No boyfriends. No girlfriends. No siblings. No work. Just them. Being best friends.
She couldn't even remember the last time she had seen him really smile when his girlfriend was present.
She missed his smile.
You say you're fine, I know you better than that. Hey what 'chew doing with a girl like that...
The holidays were quickly approaching. It was a Sunday and they were hanging out, watching Austin & Ally and SNL, as they usually did on Sundays.
She asked him how things were going with his girlfriend.
"Fine." he replied.
She gave him a dry look.
"Calum. C'mon. I know you better than that. What's up?"
He sighed.
"It's just- Well... I don't know." he expressed, running his hands through his hair.
"Things were great when they started and then I guess it just kinda fizzled. Like the spark is almost gone. And I'm actually starting to wonder if there even was a spark in the first place." he said.
"They why are you still dating her?" Raini asked.
He sighed again.
"Because I realized I was so focused on my career, I completely forgot to have a social life. I mean we were lucky with Austin & Ally, our social lives were built into the show because we are all best friends, but still. And it's not that I'm not attracted to her, it's just the honeymoon stage has worn off, I guess."
Raini wanted to say so many things to him right then, but she didn't. She chose to hold her tongue, even though it killed her inside.
I remember you driving to my house, in the middle of the night. I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're about to cry...
After one particularly rough fight between him and his now ex girlfriend, Calum found himself driving to Raini's house in the middle of the night. He threw rocks at her window for a few minutes, then when he realized that wasn't working he just texted her.
She groggily checked her phone to see what in the world anyone could want with her at this hour of the morning, when all she saw was a text from Calum saying "look out you window".
So she did. And there he was standing in her back yard. She then motioned for him to come around to the front.
She quietly went downstairs, opening the front door to let him in and then making their way down to her basement.
He told her about their fight. He told her that they broke up. He told her he didn't know what to do.
She told him it was gonna be ok. She told him that everything was going to be ok.
They spent the rest of the night making each other laugh until they fell asleep, her head on his shoulder and his resting on top of hers.
I know your favorite songs and you tell me about your dreams. Think I'd know where you'd belong, think I'd know it's with me...
She was always amazed by how well they knew each other. They knew each other better than they even knew themselves.
Calum always joked about being in love with Taylor Swift and what people don't understand is that he's not joking. He really is in love with Taylor Swift. And his favorite song of all time is "love story", yet he would never tell a soul but her.
She was also amazed by how supportive he was of all her dreams. Like whenever she had a movie come out or a guest starring role he would go crazy in promoting it; he couldn't help himself, he was just so proud of her.
She was supportive of all his dreams, too; even though she had this small feeling that when he became incredibly famous (like the Beyoncé of TV and film, because let's face it, it's gonna happen) he would forget all about her and the little Disney Channel show that started it all.
But she knew that fear was completely irrational and that it would never happen, because that show and the people involved in it mean too much for him to just forget it.
Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you, been here all along why can't you see, you belong with me...
To anyone else, it was just a regular Sunday night; but to them, it was one of the saddest days ever.
It was the day their second to last episode ever aired. Which meant, it was the last time Calum and Raini would ever do their tradition of watching Austin & Ally then SNL from the previous night.
Since the next episode was the last episode ever, they would be watching it with the entire cast and crew at Heath's house in just a few short weeks.
Sure, they would continue this tradition; maybe even move it to Saturdays to watch the show live as it was intended. But it was still sad.
The impending series finale looming over them, coming closer and closer, seemed to be making everything sad.
They fought back tears as they watched the episode, watching as all the story lines tied themselves together, bringing everything back around full circle.
They were very glad when they could watch SNL and just escape from the reality they were trying very had to deny.
After the show ended, Calum bid Raini goodnight and left her new apartment (where they had been watching the episodes).
Raini got up to clean up the snacks that had been left around carelessly by them, then making her way to bed.
Suddenly, she heard a knock on her front door.
She knew it was Calum. It hadn't even been 10 minutes since he left. She assumed he had forgotten something.
She opened the door and saw him standing their, his hair slightly more wild than it had been; he had been running his hands through it, a nervous habit he had.
"What is he nervous about?" Raini thought.
"Did you forget something?" Raini asked him teasingly.
"Yes." he replied seriously.
"Oh, what was it?" he asked him moving back to the living room, looking for an object that he could've left. "I mean I cleaned up pretty good in here and I didn't see anything you could've-"
"You." he said simply.
Raini turned to look at him, puzzled.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"You. I forgot you."
Raini stood there, now more shocked than confused.
"I'm in love with you, Raini." Calum admitted. "I always have been. And I always will be. I used to think these feelings were just like actor fog from working so close for so long but wrapping the show and dating someone else made me realize they're more than that. You are more than that. You're my soulmate, Raini. And I'm tired of waiting around for everything to work itself out so I'm taking initiative: I want to be with you." he finished, letting out a breath after talking for so long.
She stood in silence.
"Raini?" he asked.
No reply.
"Rains, please say something, I'm dying here."
She didn't say anything; she did however wrap her arms around his neck and pull his face down to meet her lips in a searing kiss.
He responded immediately by wrapping his long arms around her short torso and pulling her close so their bodies were flush up against each other; running his tongue along her bottom lip, pleading for entry which she happily granted.
She moved her hands into his soft ginger locks, tugging at them slightly, a soft moan escaping into her mouth from him as she did so.
He moved his hands from around her body to cup her face, slowing the kiss down but never dulling the passion.
As the need for air became more and more necessary, they slowly pulled apart, gently pecking each others lips one last time before resting their foreheads against each others, panting softly to regain their breath.
Standing by you, waiting out your back door. All this time, how could you not know baby? You belong with me...
"Took you long enough." Raini said teasingly, their foreheads still pressed against each other.
Calum rolled his eyes and leaned down and pressed another short kiss to her lips.
"I don't care how long it took." she whispered, their lips centimeters apart. "You were worth the wait."
He smiled widely as he kissed her again, closing the door to her apartment with his foot, knowing he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
"Oh and I'm in love with you, too." Raini said quickly, pulling away from him.
"I figured that much on for myself." Calum replied, kissing down her neck as she backed them toward her bedroom.
"Yeah but I realized I never actually said it out loud, I just kissed you."
"Do you hear me complaining?" he replied, softly biting the soft skin of her collarbone.
She moaned as he did so and his smile grew wider on her neck.
He brought his head up from her neck to look at her. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were swollen. Her eyes were sparking and slightly darker than they usually were. He had never been more turned on in his entire life.
"I love you so much." he whispered, inching his lips closer to hers.
"Right back at 'cha coppertop." she said before crashing her lips to his and falling backwards onto her bed, pulling him down on top of her.
You belong with me.
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