Bit of Callum Lacey fluff, will start to get into the plotline more in chapter seven

Callum's POV

I woke up to the sound of soft moaning. I checked my alarm: 2:57 AM. At first, I yanked my duvet over my head and tried to drown it out, but the noise penetrated the sheet and attacked my ears.

I stumbled out of bed and into the hallway, listening to see what room it was coming from. I knocked on the door to my left, getting no response. Panic ran through me, and humiliation. What if I woke up the wrong person? That would be so embarrassing! Connor would never let it go if he found out.

Instead, no one came to the door. I opened it slightly, peeking inside. "Hello?" My voice was surprisingly quiet. My eyes danced around the room, seeing no posters on the walls, no pictures, only a desk filled with textbooks and bed with mussed up sheets.

The sound of retching bombarded my ears. "Hello?" I called again, slipping into the bedroom and softly shutting the door. I silently glided over to the bathroom, flicking on the light. Lacey weakly lifted her head to look at me, her eyes red and puffy, her face pale and sickly. She was leaning over the toilet bowl, lid up. "Do you need a medic?"

She shook her head. "They said I should expect to have nightmares. Well, they were right. Got so scared I started throwing up again." Her eyes widened and she leaned back over the toilet, her body shaking as she dry-heaved. "Nothing's coming out," she said. "It stopped getting messy a few hours ago."

"You've been at this for hours?" The girl nodded and folded back against the bathroom wall.

"I'm so tired." How she managed to smile was beyond me. I would have been so frustrated at that point.

"Come on, let's get you to bed." I reached down and helped Lacey stand up. She seemed fragile, like her legs were going to fold under her at any moment. Even when I held her I was afraid I was going to press too hard and leave bruises on her skin. "Easy now," I whispered as we reached her bed. She gingerly lowered herself onto the mattress. I brought the duvet to her chin, smoothing her silky hair from her face.

"Thank you," she murmured. "Callum." Lacey began coughing again, and I retrieved her trashcan and placed it by the side of her bed.

"Just in case," I said.

Her hand fluttered to one of mine, squeezing gently. "Thanks," she murmured again, closing her tired eyes. "You're very nice Callum."

"Thank you Lacey."

"I like it when you say my name," she smiled. "It sounds pretty."

"Pretty name for a pretty girl." I was surprised at how smooth that sounded; what was more surprising was that I meant it. Even when she was incredibly sick, something about her made my heart beat a little faster. She was average looking by most standards, but to me she looked unique. Her hair wasn't just blonde, it was moonlit gold. Her eyes weren't just blue, they were swirling orbs of the most beautiful ocean.

"You're sweet." She flashed a brilliant smile. "Especially when you blush."

"I'm not blushing!"

"Liar." Before I could argue, she closed her eyes. "I'm tired," she sighed.

"Then go to sleep. I'll be next door if you need anything." She nodded, burying her face into her bed sheet. I reached out a hand and hesitantly touched her cheek. "Good night Yank."

( ( () ) )

Lacey's POV

That day, I was tired, I was anxious, and I was lonely. Zeke couldn't go to lessons with me. Instead, he was stuck in his room, doing homework and watching TV. However, I still had to stick to my training schedule, even though I had almost died days before.

I was jogging to the dojo, my black gi flapping as I struggled to tie it together. I had only just finished putting on my black belt when I stepped inside.

A stern Japanese woman approached me. I bowed.

"Sensai, it is an honor."

This woman obviously didn't have the patience for formalities. She ripped right into teaching. "You go fight with blonde boy in corner." I was rather surprised her English was lacking. The woman pointed to a familiar face. Callum was drilling in a corner of the dojo, fighting an invisible enemy. I bowed to the teacher before making my way over to him, avoiding the sparring kids that dueled around me.

"Sup," I said. "Sensai told me you'd be my fighting partner."

Callum froze mid kick. "Really?" he beamed. "I'd love to. You really want to fight with me?"

"I'm not as weak as I've been portraying." I bowed to him respectfully. "You ready for this Brit?"

Callum took up a fighting stance. "Always Yank."

I attacked first, aiming low for his exposed belly. Callum twisted away and sent a sharp kick to my side, which I deflected with ease. Callum was pretty decent at fighting, but I was better. He knew fancy moves that he tried to hit me with, but in the end, fighting is fighting. Cut the fancy crap and just start throwing punches. In the end, that was how Callum was pinned to the mats, my smiling face an inch from his.

"Silly Brit," I giggled. "Cut all that fancy footwork out."

"I thought it was working fine!" he smiled.

"Yeah, and that's how you got pinned below me."

"That's not a bad thing." Cheeky blighter.

I jumped to my feet and hauled him upright. "You want a round two or you need a break?" I asked, adjusting my uniform again.

"Only if you don't go all aggro on me again." Callum gingerly touched his side. "I know I'm not the best fighter in the world but I thought I could at least take you." I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really?" I growled.

"Yeah, 'cause you're tiny. Come on, let's try this again."

Behind me, footsteps ruffled along the mats. "Hold on," a voice called. "I want to watch!"

I turned around, grinning as Bruce and Gabrielle came jogging up. Behind them, James was struggling with his sister as they grappled on the floor. "Can she beat him?" I asked, nodding towards the two.

Bruce turned around. "Lauren? Eh, she wins a little more than half of them with James. She's small, so she can move faster."

I nodded. "You hear that Callum? She's small."

"Lay off Yank. Are we gonna do this or what?"

I held up my fists. "Ready when you are."

Callum leapt out of the way as I faked a knee to his groin, swiveling around with a clenched fist and aiming at my head. I ducked and jabbed at his side with my fingers, making him yelp.

Callum jumped and propelled himself behind me, wrapping one arm around my neck. Instantly I grabbed onto it and flipped him in front of me. Callum took both arms around my legs and pulled, sending me down with him.

He rolled on top of me and held both arms down. "Give up?" he breathed, his crafty eyes inspecting my face. I tried to move my arms, my legs, anything to buck him off, but nothing.

"Never," I grinned. "Hey Callum? You ever been kissed before?"

"You aren't going to distract me with stupid questions," he grinned. "I've got it all figured out."

"Really?" I slammed my head forward, crashing our mouths together. Callum's eyes widened, his arms faltering for only a moment. That was all I needed.

I twisted my arm free and hooked it around his neck, squeezing tightly as he clawed at my arm. "Tap out," I panted. "Tap out or I'll strangle you." Callum's hand reluctantly pounded on the mat. My arm slipped away, leaving him gasping for air.

I wiped my lips with the back of my hand.

"Don't get cocky," I snickered. "Need a hand up Brit?" Callum accepted it and I helped the boy to his feet. He looked stunned.

"Mate, she got you good!" Bruce cackled.

"Oi, you ever been kissed before?" Gabrille jibed, holding her stomach. "You should see the look on your face! Callum, ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

His face was blushing again.

I loved it.

Callum's POV

My lips tingled, and electricity spiked through my spine. Every nerve was on fire, and my head was high in the clouds.

Everyone was laughing, but God, that felt amazing. I didn't care that I just got my arse whipped—twice—from a girl. I just got kissed by the mysterious USA girl. No one else here could say that.

Beautiful. Connor was gonna go barmy when he told him! Some dishy girl went up and kissed him, just like that! Bleeding hell…

"You okay there Callum?" Lacey asked, suddenly worried. "You look out of it. Did I hit you too hard or something?"

"No," I said, smiling a moment later. "No, everything's peachy. Did that really just happen?"

"What? You taking a fancy to her?" Bruce chimed in. "I want to fight her next if she's just giving them out!"

I shoved him away. "No girl's gonna give you the time of day Bruce. Get lost."

"Lacey!"

Lacey turned around, her face lighting up with a grin. "Arif! Techno!" She ran to a pair of boys, both wearing black CHERUB shirts. The three collided in a community chest bump, then Lacey was picked up by the Indian boy. "How are you?" she cried. "I've missed you both!"

"Us?" the Indian boy said. "You nearly died!"

"How'd you survive?" added the red head. "Smalls was all upset when he came back to campus to get us!"

Lacey glanced over at me, pointing. "That boy there saved me guys. Go and say hi."

Next thing I knew the two boys were racing towards me, tackling me to the ground with a bunch of "thank-yous" and "you're awesomes" ringing in my ears.

"Heel boys," I heard Lacey say. "Let's not smother him, yeah?" Red Head and the Indian boy reluctantly got off and embraced the girl again. "You guys see Zeke?"

"He's healing up," agreed Red Head. "You should be in bed. You're shivering!"

Lacey shrugged them off. "Side effect. Anyway, guys, I want you to meet some people." The boys looked at me. "That's Callum—he has a twin brother, Connor—over there is Lauren and James—siblings—Gabrielle and Bruce. Everyone, this is Arif," she motioned to the Indian Boy, "and Techno." She pointed to Red Head. "American agents."

Everyone shook hands with the agents, before they both picked Lacey up and ran off with her.

James staged up to me, panting. "Eh mate, did I just hear this right? Bruce said the girl kissed ya."

I licked my lips at the memory. "Sure did."

"You take a fancy to her mate? If I were you I'd try to get with her."

I shoved James off. "Don't be daft. She wouldn't give me the time of day." I wiped one hand through my sweaty hair. "I'm bunking off. See you guys later."

Instead of going immediately to the shower, I changed clothes and headed over to the track. It felt weird not having Connor right by my side—truth was, I missed him, a lot—because we did everything together. He was my fighting partner and we ran together, even had the same timetable too. He was my other half.

As I ran, I noticed the three Americans were out along the field. Someone that looked an awful lot like Large was with them, ordering them to run through the obstacle course. I watched them whenever I was facing their direction on the track, letting their agony distract me from my own pain.

One step, step, step, breathe, step, step, step, exhale. Mac had said I was good at long distance—Connor too, of course—and I owed it all to my own personal technique. But as I was running, I kept losing pace, going too fast or too slow. Thanks to the Americans, I was getting distracted, and by the end of my laps, I was fighting a nasty stitch in my side and a fire burning up my lungs.

But it was worth it if I was watching her.

Connor was going to be so jealous.

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