stranger \\ cth

"she was oxygen, and he was suffocating"

"You see that color right there, the babyish blue color?" Calum said, pointing into the sky. "That's my favorite color."

The sun was settling on the horizon, dropping lower as the minutes ticked by. Ella and Calum were laying on a colorful blanket in a near by park, watching the sunset as the sky began to resemble the cloth they were sitting on.

"It's pretty..." Ella hummed, her voice matching her carefree mood. "See that color?" She pointed to a soft, pastel coral color. "I love that one."

Neither said it, but they had both had one of the best days in a while.

First, they went out for lunch, Ella's heart swelling as she got to first hand experience interaction with Calum and his fans. Some cute girls, probably around seventeen years of age, came up to him asking for hugs and pictures. Ella laughed because a year ago, she would have done the exact same thing. Calum was so sweet, talking with the girls and constantly checking over his shoulder to look for Ella. She'd smile at him, and he'd smile back. The girls glanced at Ella, smiling softly, as if they knew what was happening.

They went as far as asking Calum if he was doing okay, and Calum turned speechless. After that, all he could do was nod, and give the girls one last hug before saying goodbye.

People cared.

Calum took Ella to his favorite hidden coffee shop.

They went to an arcade and she kicked his ass in skee-ball.

They ordered in pizza and watched Big Hero 6, Calum trying, and failing to not cry.

He grabbed one of her spare guitars, playing her a part of a song he was working on.

And then they found themselves at a park, talking about their favorite colors, and watching the sunset.

The wind picked up slightly and they both shivered. Calum laughed, sitting up and wrapping the blanket around the two of them. They sat on the grassy hill, together.

"Today was really great," she said, leaning her head against his shoulder. His arm found its way around her waist. 

"Today was really great," he restated, agreeing.

It was silent for a few minutes, but Calum's mind was so loud. Finally he couldn't take it anymore. "El," he started.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For not giving up on me. For caring. For being here."

"Cal, you know I wouldn't leave. I promised, you know," she smiled, thinking about their conversation before the concert and how it all seemed so long ago.

"I know. But still, thank you. You just, and this is going to sound so damn cliche, but you mean the absolute world to me."

Ella let out a breath that she didn't know was in her. She felt herself relax and sink into his chest.

The pair was silent for a long while. The sun had gone down and they were just together, floating in the comfort of each other. It was the best feeling either of them had experienced in a long time.

"You know, if you think about it, we're so cringey," Calum laughed after a long bit of silence.

Ella adjusted so she could see his face. "What do you mean?"

"Like, this whole ordeal could have been completely avoided had we just been honest with each other."

"Cal,  I thought we agreed not to talk about it."