"It's Not Love If It Hurts" //5sos

/27/

  They sat in the car. Calum was driving, and explaining to Annie all the implications of being his girlfriend. It felt like signing a contract, and honestly Calum wouldn't be too surprised if Annie backed out. They had a good relationship in their house- but if they ever wanted to take it outside, they'd need permission. It made Calum a little annoyed that he needed approval getting a girlfriend, but that's just how it was.

  "I'm sorry it's annoying," he was saying, "But my handlers are super restrictive. They see any relationships we might have as either good or bad for the band, no in between."

  Annie nodded. "I get it."

  Calum parked in the parking lot of the restaurant, sighing and looking down. "There is one other thing."

  "Yeah?" Annie asked, nervously.

  "You're probably going to get hate. Like, a lot of it."

  Annie laughed lightly, surprising Calum. He glanced up, and she was actually smiling. "After everything this past year? I think I can handle it. Besides, I used to be a fan, remember? It's a given."

  Calum chuckled, shaking his head. "There is another thing though. Some of the boys weren't really sure, if this was a good idea or not. They were wondering.... they want to come over later."

  Annie sucked in a breath through her teeth.

  "Just Luke and Ash, and it's not a huge deal. They're just worried."

  Annie nodded. "That's fine, they have a right to be worried. But let's not ignore the elephant in the room any longer."

  "The elephant in the room?"

  Annie bit her lip, looking at Calum and he realized.

  "Oh, you mean... oh." Calum took a deep breath, tapping his fingers on the driving wheel. "If everything goes well, then our relationship will only become public in a few weeks. And, after that, you don't have to be around the band as a whole a ton. And when you are, I'll be there the entire time. I'm not going to let him even touch you."

  Annie let out a breath she had been holding in, nodding. "Cal?"

  "Yeah?"

  "We can do it."

  He inhaled deeply. "Let's do it then."

  With that, they left the car and went into In and Out, getting their food and driving back home. It was a nerve racking expirence, the whole ordeal- but Calum genuinely wanted to be with Annie, and Annie with him. It'd be all worth it in the end.

***********************************
 
  When they got back, Ash and Luke were already there. Luke had a key, so they were both already inside.

  Annie and Calum carried their bags of takeout as they walked inside, and Annie tried to reassure herself. It was all going to be fine.

  "Hey Cal!" Ashton exclaimed, coming up and giving Calum a bro-hug, as if they hadn't seen each other just earlier today.

  "Why hello there Annie," Ashton said in his normal chirpy voice, taking the bag out of her hands. "I see you brought me dinner."

  Annie laughed half-heartedly. She spoke through gritted teeth, a forced smile on her face, "I swear if you don't give me my food right now I'm going to kick your beautiful face in."

  Ashton's eyes widened, holding the bag of food protectively. "Calum, she's scary!"

  Calum rolled his eyes. "Don't be rediculous. You took her food- you can't take a girls food without serious consequences."

  Ashton chuckled, handing the bag back to Annie. "Right, right. A girl's food- does that mean I can take yours-" he tried to snatched the bag from Calum's hands, but he was expecting it.

  Calum stared Ashton down, glaring at him as if he had just tried to kidnap his child. "Do you need to leave?"

  They laughed, and went to sit at the couch when Luke came out of the kitchen. "Oh good, you brought food."

  "Food for us, yeah," Calum replied instantly.

  "You can't hoard food!" Luke complained. "Especially when you don't have anything good to eat in the kitchen."

  Calum rolled his eyes, and passed his bag over to Luke, after getting out his own burger.

  "That's more like it." Luke mumbled, digging through the bag. Annie got her own burger out of her bag, passing one to Ashton.

  It was quiet for a moment, as they all ate.

  Then all the boy's phones beeped in harmony, and they quickly went to check them. Calum paled.

  "What?" Annie asked.

  He wiped his face with the back of his hand, frowning. "Johanna and John- our handlers- they want you to come with me to the studio so they can meet you then. I thought we'd have more time..."

  Annie frowned. "At the studio? You have practice tomorrow, don't you?"

  They all nodded, and Annie realized. They didn't have practice- 5sos did. All of it did.

  Meaning Michael would be there.

  "Oh... okay then." Annie looked down, setting her burger on the coffee table.

  "Don't worry Annie, we've got your back," Ashton said, and he sounded serious for once. The others agreed, and it did make Annie feel better.

  But then Luke cleared his throat. "Cal... have you told her yet?"

  Calum shook his head and turned to Annnie, biting his lip. "The interview process is pretty rigorous, with a fee steps. First, Johanna and John want to meet you. Then, they want to see how you handle the hate, and then probably a few other steps. Including seeing how you act around the other boys."

  Annie nodded slowly. "How I act around... the other boys."

  Calum's throat felt dry. "Yeah."

  She nodded slowly. "Okay then. I can manage."

  Calum loomed up, surprised. "What?"

  "Well its worth it, isn't it?" Annie argued. "I can handle it, because I know what I'm fighting for. You."

  And maybe that'd be enougn.