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

/52/

  "I've never had a sleepover before," Annie commented. She was sitting crosslegged on the couch, as Johanna scrolled through the TV guide.

  "It's not a sleepover." Johanna commented immediately.

  Annie laughed. "Right, because you're an adult."

  Johanna raised her eyebrows, thinking it was a strange comment. "You're an adult too."

  Annie waved it away, as if it was a ridiculous comment. "Adults go to work, pay taxes, balance checkbooks and buy cleaning supplies. I'm as much of a kid as I was when I lived with my parents."

  Johanna considered it. "You don't have a job?"

  "How much do you know about how I met the boys?"

  Johanna turned around, looking at Annie. She really did look like a kid, now that she thought of it. "I found the outtaken video footage from the Ellen Show. Security footage. Records." Johanna was proud of her findings, but Annie just rolled her eyes.

  "Come on, that's nothing. That's just the first day I met them. What happened then?"

  Johanna raises her chin, accepting the challenge. "I found the footage of them dragging you out of the studio." Annie made a go on gesture, and Johanna hesitated. "And I put it all together to deduce that they kidnapped you, and you'd been living at their house for the past year."

  Annie gave Johanna a look, like I'm not an idiot. "Nice fairy tale. Now tell me how you actually found out."

  Johanna laughed. "I corned the boys, one at a time, and asked them. Guess who broke first."

  "Luke." Annie guessed.

  "Yep."

  They laughed. Obviously it'd be Luke- there would be no way he'd be able to come up with a story on the spot. He'd crumble under Johanna's glare.

  "So the point is, I know just about all of it. Why does that effect why you have no job?"

  Annie cracked her knuckles, looking at the ground. "At first, they wouldn't let me get a job. I know I can now, that I live with Calum, but for the past few months I've been too busy recovering, and besides, getting a job wasn't super necessary."

  Johanna grimaced. She had gone through a lot of jobs before she found this one, and a lot of times had to sacrifice luxuries like healthy food or reliable electricity just to pay her rent. She never got the chance to take a few months off for herself, like Annie was doing. And she definitely never had a rich boyfriend who could pay for both of them without it mattering.

  Regardless of how she felt towards Annie's financial situation, she generally liked Annie. She reminded her a lot of John- observant, good at planning ahead, and knowing a lot more than she let on.

  "Johanna?" Annie asked, snapping her out of her daze.

  "Hmm?"

  "You zoned out."

  "Oh." Johanna mumbled, trying to focus back on in on the conversation. "What was your other arguments about how you're still a child?"

  Annie laughed lightly, the idea amusing her. "I don't buy cleaning supplies, I don't balance checkbooks and I don't pay taxes. Ashton says that Calum's my sugar daddy."

  Johanna grinned, having been thinking something along the lines of that. "I can definitely see that."

  "Oh, not you too!" Annie exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "Me and Calum had already argued about it. None of you take my side!"

  Johanna chuckled lightly, imagining the conversation. It didn't sound like much of an argument- more of a joking disagreement. Nothing like the screaming debates she and John had.

  Or, used to have, Johanna reminded herself bitterly.