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

/28/

Skinny jeans and one of Calum's dark shirts, Annie was supposed to feel comfortable. She always felt more comfy in Calum's clothes- it was reassuring almost. But she wasn't comfortable now.

They were in the parking lot, walking hand in hand towards the front door of the studio. Inside, their relationship would be analyzed and prodded at, and people Annie had never met before would decide if she was worthy of Calum. Inside, she would be judged, and neither she nor Calum had control over what would happen.

And, even worse, inside was Mikey. He was inside, he was in this building right in front of Annie. Soon she'd be in the same building as him, and they'd see each other, and she would have to stay calm. She couldn't freak out. She couldn't.

Taking a deep breath, Annie readjusted her grip on Calum's hand. They were about to go in, when he pulled her aside.

"You good?" He asked.

Annie bit the inside of her cheek. "Yes."

He smiled down at her. "We can do this. Just, whatever you do, be confident. Even if you're not- fake it til you make it."

Annie nodded. "But, before we go in..." she smiled a little, and stood up taller, kissing Calum. "We've got this." she repeated.

Hey, fake it till you make it.

With that, they walked inside.

It was a little warmer inside, and Calum led Annie through a series of hallways, to the room they usually practiced in. It was empty besides someone setting up sound equipment in the corner.

Two figured walked in, practically exact replicas of each other, except one was a woman while the other was a man. They were a bit shorter than Calum, but a little taller than Annie. With dark brown hair and a confident stride, they immediately singled out the two of them and marched towards them.

"They aren't related, but they aren't dating." Calum whispered to Annie, answering the question she was about to ask. They both looked perfectly in synch.

"Good, you two are here." The woman stated, extending her hand. Calum shook it, and she stepped to look at Annie. "Annie Cresta, nice to meet you."

Annie shook her hand, forcing a smile. "You too. By the way, how'd you know my name?"

Johanna laughed. "Calum told me, of course. So John and I looked you up, of course. We're not complete amatures." She laughed like it was a joke, and Annie laughed too, though in all honestly, it was a little uncomfortable. They looked her up?

"You looked her up?" Calum asked, smirking a little fakely. "Anything interesting?"

Johanna took out her phone and tapped on something, reading from the screen. "Oh, nothing much. Records of a drug ring, attempted murder, juvie."

Calum looked at Annie with surprise, before Annie laughed. "She's joking, obviosuly." Annie had never been to juvie, and definitely was never involved in a drug ring. The attempted murder was true, but it wouldn't be on her permanent record.

"Oh," Calum chuckled lightheartedly.

Johanna winked. "You should see what is on there though."

Annie rolled her eyes lightheartedly, though she couldn't help thinking about everything she'd done that might be on her perminant record.

"Let's go then, shall we?" John suggested, and the two of them led Annie and Calum down another hallway.

Calum squeezed Annie's hand reassuringly as they walked into a room. There was a small table in the middle, and a long mirror on the side. It looked like a police interigation room, except a lot cozier and better kept.

Annie let go of Calum's hand for a moment to walk to the mirror. She pressed her finger against it, and looked at the reflection. "A two-way mirror?"

Just one look at the handlers, Annie could see they were slightly impressed. "Yes," Johanna said. "No one's behind there though, so don't worry. This is where we will conduct the majority of our interviews."

Annie nodded, and they gestured to the chairs across the table from them. After Annie and Calum sat down, they started with the interview.

They first told Annie some things she already knew- how the interview process worked, how she would be assesed, and why. Then they started asking questions.

"Can we see your drivers license?" Johanna asked, though it wasn't really a question. Annie smiled and passed it over, glad she had remembered to bring it.

They examined it, John writing down the information on a notepad.

"This is going to expire in a month," Johanna noted.

Annie agreed, lying and saying she had already made an appointment to get it renewed.

They then asked her how old she was, and compared it to the license. The questions started out like that, normal questions you would find on a normal application.

Then the more interesting questions started. "Have you ever self harmed in any way?"

Annie was surprised, but said no. They asked to see her wrists, saying they'd check other parts later, which sounded quite ominous. But Annie showed them her blank arms, and John scribbled something on his notepad.

"Do you or have you ever had an eating disorder?" Johanna asked. "Anerexia Nervosa, Bulimia, to name a few?"

It was a no.

"Do you have depression? Or anxiety? I don't know- PTSD?"

Annie shook her head, though couldn't help but ask. "What's PTSD?"

"Post traumatic stress disorder? Where something happened in your life that was traumatic, like going to war? Or being raped? Things like that?"

Annie felt her palms go clammy as she responded with a no.

"How did you meet Calum?"

Annie looked at Calum, not knowing what the correct answer was. "I had backstage passes to a show, and met the band that way."

"Lie!" Johanna announced, making Annie practically jump in her seat. "You didn't have a backstage pass to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, but that's fine. That's what you would tell interviewers if they asked- that you had a backstage pass to a show. But we aren't the press, so I wouldn't suggest lying to us."

Annie nodded, feeling less and less confident as the minutes went on. At one point, they told Calum to leave, and Annie gulped as he left her obbidiently. Where did she go to school? What did she like about Calum? What did she think of this celebrity? What'd she think of the color of Johanna's shirt? Tons of questions, some making sense, others completely unrelated to why she was there.

Finally, John and Johanna looked at each other and decided it was enough. They told Annie she could leave, and to tell Calum to come back in.

Annie went and forced a smile, telling Calum it was his turn.

When he left, Annie slumped against the wall tiredly.

Ashton had been walking down the hallway, and he stopped to ask her how the interview was going.

"Great," she murmured. "Just great."

"They can be intense sometimes." He agreed. "You just wait for this afternoon."

Annie was already dreading it.