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

/39/

  It was the day after Annie and Calum's singing in the car escapade. Only two more days until the interview where Calum would 'just happen to avoid' answering if he was dating anyone. All day, Calum was at practice, so Annie decided to something special.

  She peaked in the fridge, finding the necessary ingredients, and started cooking. Annie really ought to go to the grocery store with Calum sometime, but she still had trouble leaving the house. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been, but it was a very intense experience. Annie would find herself tensing up, being constantly alert of anyone and everyone around her. Calum noticed, and he would intertwine his hand with hers, as if saying I'm here, things are different, you are safe. It calmed her down, but it was still so intense; it was as if the entire outside would was saturated and painfully bright, while their house was just perfect.

  So Annie was going to start going to the store with Calum, it was decided. She was just lucky there were the ingredients in the refrigerated that she needed- chicken, eggs, some spinach. They were still renting the house, so there were already some herbs and seasonings in the cabinets from the previous owners, and Annie made do with what they had. Finally, after some searching, she found some candles. Some scented, some plain, and none of them matching. Annie put as many as she could in the table, trying to match scents the best she could. Their living room would just smell interesting.

  Everything was finished, and Annie put the chicken on two plates, trying to make them look the fanciest she could. She couldn't necessarily dim the lights, so instead she turned off the main lights, and kept the hallway light on. It'd have to be enough.

  The candles were lit, the food was ready, and the mood was set. Now all that was left was Calum.

  Annie stood by the counter, then sat on the couch and waited. She hadn't slept the best the night prior, so she felt her eyes getting heavy. Annie just closed her eyes, practically a blink, but when she opened them it was at least an hour later, and Calum was there.

  "Oops." She muttered. He grinned, his smile more contagious than small pox. At least, in Annie's case it was.

  "Silly, silly Annie. Trying to burn down the house without me, tsk tsk," he jokes, and Annie realized what he meant. Her eyes grew wide, and she sat up, looking at the coffee table. Some of the candles were still burning, but a few had completely burned out, leaving clumps of multicolored wax on the coffee table.

  Calum stood above her, laughing at the carnage. He bent over and blew out the candles before turning back to Annie, and sniffing the air dramatically. "What's that smell?"

  Annie crossed her arms over her chest, smiling shyly. "Don't be mean."

  "No, no, I smell something, very specific." He scrunched up his nose, sniffing the air dramatically. "That's it! It smells like someone set Christmas on fire!"

  Annie laughed, grabbing Calum by the collar of his shirt and pulling him down into a kiss. "You're ridiculous."

  "Such flattery."

  This caused Annie to laugh uncontrollably, and she didn't even know why. She just didn't expect him to say that, so when he did it surprised her. She was also just so happy, the way she always was around Calum, at least recently.

  Calum sat in the couch next to Annie, one leg bent underneath him and the other dangling off, and he rested his arm on the back of the couch. Annie had a bit of a fangirl moment- in practically all of their interviews, the boys were constantly resting their arms on the back of the couch, and it drove Annie nuts. Her little fangirl heart just couldn't handle it.

  So Annie was trying her best to remain calm when Calum asked what she wanted for dinner, and she puffed up with pride. "I actually already have that taken care of," she announced, walking over to the oven and pulling out the plates. She had put them in the oven (which wasn't turned on) just to keep them warm, so luckily they hadn't cooled off. Annie proudly presented them to Calum, and gave him his plate and silverware.

  This feeling was abnormal. It was like pure and utter contentness. Annie felt so relaxed, so comfortable, there with Calum, and he felt the exact same.

  Once, when Annie was little, she was asked where her happy place was. Then, she hadn't been sure. She had said the movies, or in her bed, or on vacation with her family. She was never really sure where her happy place was, and it never mattered that much to her anyways. But now, she realized that she'd found it. This was her happy place; sitting, with Calum, here in there house. For a moment, Annie imagined kids running on the floor, laughing and shrieking with joy. Then she shook those thoughts out of her head- where did they even come from in the first place?