Welcome To My Life

As soon as Alex parks in front of Jenna's house, she comes running out. I barely get the chance to get out of the car before she enthusiastically hugs me.
"You're free!" she exclaims.
"I texted you that," I say wryly.
"I know but I had to see it with my own eyes," Jenna lets go of me. "How are you?"
"I'm fine now," I reply smiling.
"Good," Jenna replies, smiling broadly.

"So, now that I know you're in good hands I should get going as I still have some homework to do so that I can actually do fun things this weekend," Alex says. "So, I'll see you?"
"How about... a movie tomorrow?" I suggest, tilting my head.
"Deal. You pick a movie and let me know when to pick you up," Alex winked.
"Okay, see you tomorrow then," I agree.
Alex quickly kisses my cheek and walks around the front of his car.
"See you," he says before he gets in the car and drives off.

"So... Things are going great between you two huh?" Jenna asks grinning.
"I suppose they are," I nod.
"Did he ask you to be his girlfriend yet?" she asks.
"Not yet," I reply while I turn around and head for the front door.

"Actually, if you don't mind I think I'm gonna go for a walk. You know, clear my head, enjoy my freedom," I tell Jenna and I turn around again.
"Sure," Jenna nods. "Don't go around breaking noses please."

I give her a look.
"Too soon?" she asks, and I nod in reply.
"Well, okay, just don't stay out too late okay? And don't get lost."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," I promise her.
"Good. Go clear your head then," Jenna says smiling before she heads back into the house.

I head the other way, down the street. I open Spotify on my phone, pick a Fall Out Boy song and put my earphones in. I walk for a while until I get to a park and sit down on a bench taking my earphones out. I just enjoy how quiet it is. In jail there was hardly ever silence and I hadn't realized how much I missed it until now.

"Excuse me?" a voice interrupts the silence.
I look up to find a dark haired boy towering over me.
"Yeah?" I reply.
"I was wondering if you happened to know where Caroline Street is," he asks.
"Uhm..." I start but I quickly realize I have no idea where it is. I honestly don't even know the name of the street Jenna lives on, let alone I know any other streets in the area. "No clue, to be honest. I haven't been living here for very long. I don't even know what street I live on."

The boy raises an eyebrow.
"I mean, I've only been living with my friend here for a couple of days and due to uhm... personal circumstances I haven't exactly been able to explore the neighborhood," I quickly explain. "I wish I could be more helpful... Why are you going there anyway?"

"Well..." the boy starts.
"Oh sorry, that's none of my business, I'm sorry I asked that. I just haven't been able to talk to people a lot the last couple of days," I say.

What am I doing? This boy must think I'm really fucking weird. He just asked for the way and I'm telling him all these things he probably doesn't give two shits about.

"It's okay," he replies grinning. "I live there, but we just moved here yesterday and I'm kind of lost..."
"Oh, I get how you feel. It happened to me on my first day here. I got lost on my way home from school because my cousin decided to leave me at school," I explain. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling, I don't usually do this... I'm sorry I'm making such a fool of myself."
"You're doing fine," the guy replies laughing. "You're actually the first friendly face I meet here."
"I'm not usually this friendly," I reply wryly.

This boy was definitely gonna think I had like, a thing for him because I'm being so stupid. Should I point out I have a boyfriend? Wait, I don't have a boyfriend. I want to punch myself in the face.

"How about I call my friend to ask where your street is?" I suggest to change the subject before I actually tell him I have a boyfriend or how I just got out of prison.
"That would be great. I'm Calum by the way," he says, holding out his hand.
"Liz," I reply as I hold out my hand. "So you just moved here?"
"Yeah, I moved here from..." he starts.
"Let me guess, Australia?" I finish his sentence.
"Yeah, how'd you guess?" he asks.
"My friend, the one I'm living with, is Australian as well. I recognized the accent. Except that yours is a bit thicker than hers as she's been here for like two years," I explain. "But I'll just go call her or we'll still be standing here an hour from now."

I get my phone out, walk away from Calum a bit and dial Jenna's number.
"Please tell me you're not in trouble already," Jenna says as soon as she picks up.
"No, don't worry. I just met this cute Aussie who just moved here and can't find his way home," I answer.
"So why are you calling me? Because you can't understand him because of his accent and you need me to translate?" Jenna jokes.
"No smart ass, because I don't know this neighborhood either, so I need you to tell me where he lives," I reply.
"So you can save the damsel in distress?" Jenna teases.
"No it's not like that!" I protest.

"Okay, well, where does he live?" Jenna asks.
"Caroline Street," I reply.
"Oh, that's right around the corner from here," she says. "Just walk back to my house and then it's the side-street on the left side of my house."
"That was very helpful, thank you," I reply.

"And uh, cute Aussie? Should I warn Alex?" Jenna joked.
"Nah, what he doesn't know won't hurt him," I reply with a serious voice.
"Liz!" Jenna exclaims. "You can't do that to Alex."
"Okay, one: Alex is not my boyfriend, two: don't worry, I barely know the guy," I assure her. "Bye Jen."

I hang up and walk back to Calum.
"Turns out you live pretty close to my friend. I'll walk you there," I tell him.
"You don't mind?" he asks.
"No, I should get home anyway. I mean, not really because I live with just my friend so I can basically do whatever I want but it's been a strange week and I should get to bed," I tell him.
"Well, let's go then," Calum agrees.

We walk in the direction I had come from to make sure we wouldn't get lost.
"So, you mentioned you haven't lived here for very long. Where are you from?" Calum asked.
For a moment I thought about how much I was going to tell Calum.
"I'm from Illinois originally," I reply. "I moved here to live with my aunt and uncle but they kicked me out so now I live with a friend."
"Oh okay..." Calum replies, seemingly unsure of what to say.

"That's the simple version of the story," I shrug.
"So why did you have to live with your aunt and uncle...?" Calum asks carefully.
"Well, that's kind of a long and personal story so..." I say quietly.
"Oh yeah, I'm sorry, that was inappropriate," Calum quickly says.
"My parents are not... dead, or something. I just don't have the best relationship with them," I say as I didn't want him to feel bad.

In order to get to Calum's street, we had to pass Jenna's house.
"Uh, this is me," I say as I halt in front of the house. "Your street should be right around the corner. Do you need me to walk you home or...?"
"No, I think I'll be fine," he grins. "Thanks, if it weren't for you I would probably never get home."
"No problem," I say as I notice Jenna sitting on the bench on the front porch.
"Well, I'll see you around, I guess?" I tell Calum.
"Yeah, probably," he nods. "Bye."
"Bye," I reply and Calum walks away.

I walk up to Jenna and sit down on the bench next to her.
"Well, you sure weren't lying," she says.
"About?" I ask.
"He is cute," she grins.
"I know right. His name is Calum and he's cute ánd Australian," I give her a meaningful look.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asks laughing. "Are you trying to set me up?"
"No, of course not. He might not even be single," I shrug. "But I'll find out if he is."

"Just so we're clear: you're not trying to set me up with him because you want me to get over you because you feel guilty or something, right?" Jenna asks with a serious face.
I shake my head. "No, I promise. I just honestly think you might like him. It wouldn't hurt getting to know him. He's a nice guy, for as far as I can tell."
"We'll see..." Jenna says. "I wouldn't mind getting to know him, I can tell you that much."
"That's the spirit," I say grinning.

"I missed this," Jenna says.
"What?" I ask.
"Just being able to talk to you," she replies.
"It's only been 5 days," I joke.
"Still..." Jenna replies.

"So hey, didn't you have a show today?" I ask her.
"Yeah, tonight," she replies.
"But it's already like 11," I say confused.
"We don't play until 1," she answers. "The guys are picking me up in about half an hour."

"I don't even know your bandmates!" I exclaim.
"Well, after today you will," Jenna says.
"Can I come to the show?" I ask hopeful.
"Of course," Jenna says. "You can ride with us."

Until Jenna's bandmates come to pick us up we just talk. About school, Alex, Calum, prom, anything but jail really.

Notes

I decided to write Calum into the story and then I wrote the previous chapter with the 5SOS thing and then I realized Calum would be in 5SOS but I didn't want to delete that scene because I liked it too much. So.. let's just say this Calum is not in 5SOS, although he is based on Calum Hood.

Title credit: The Edge Of Tonight