Cryptic (A Calum Hood Fanfiction)

Chapter #1

Annabel's POV:

It's Friday afternoon and I'm meeting up with my two bestfriends, Josie and Georgia for coffee at our local cafe, Java. A little bell rings due to my entrance and I discover that I am the first one to arrive, so I stroll over to the counter to order myself a drink. "Hi, how may I help you?" I am greeted by a lanky boy with dark brown eyes and matching dark brown hair; he looks to be half Scottish and half Kiwi and seems to be around the same age as I.

"Hello, can I please get a tall soy latte with two shots of hazelnut, dry?" I request.

"That'll be $3.00," the boy replies, kindly. I hand him the amount due as he gets to work on making my coffee. As he does so, I find myself admiring his beauty; there's no denying that he's attractive, but he disperses a sense of mystery that intrigues me. "Here you go," he smiles, passing my coffee to me and interrupting my thoughts.

"Thank you," I retort, smiling as well. "Y'know? I haven't seen you around before, are you new?" I wonder.

"I suppose you could say that," he replies, shrugging.

"Well, my name is Annabel, welcome to London," I acknowledge.

"Thank you," he nods. I take a seat at a nearby table and within a few minutes, Josie and Georgia arrive. They both wave to me, before padding over to counter and ordering coffees for themselves.

"Hi Anns," Josie greets me, taking a seat to my left.

"Hi Jo-Jo, hi Georgia," I reciprocate, giving them each a hug.

"Are we still on for tonight?" Georgia asks, taking a seat to my right.

"I suppose so," I chuckle, shaking my head. Somehow, Georgia convinced both Josie and I to join her for a karaoke night downtown at our local bar/club, Luke's. We all happen to be good friends with Luke, so we'll often stop by for a drink or two over the weekend.

"Michael and Ashton will also be meeting us there," Josie shares; Michael is her boyfriend, while Ashton is Georgia's. Both of them have tried numerous times to set me up with Luke, but we're best friends and practically siblings; that's all we'll ever be. We continue to chatter and banter as we enjoy our coffee, before parting our ways and planning to meet at Luke's at 8:00 p.m. Currently, it's 4:30 p.m., so with the remaining time I have left, I take the opportunity to shower before getting dressed and ready to meet with my friends. I decide on wearing a simple black dress with an elegant white color, pairing it with a pair of nude heels. I put on a light amount of make-up with a natural tone and once my hair is dry, I straighten it. Finally, it's 7:30 p.m. and I'm on my way to Luke's, arriving there at 7:45 p.m. I stride inside and spot Luke right away, setting up the equipment for karaoke night.

"Hemmings," I muse.

"Garner," he teases back.

"How's life?" I question.

"Well, and you?" He replies.

"It'd be better if I had a drink in my hand," I answer, smirking.

"Apple martini?" Luke checks.

"Two olives," I remind him as he wanders behind the bar and returns with my drink.

"Where are the others?" Luke inquires.

"They'll be here in about 10 minutes," I retort.

"The boys and I have a friend we'd like you all to meet," Luke shares.

"Oh, really?" I nod.

"He promised to stop by later tonight since he's in town for the week; nice lad," Luke tells.

"Well, in that case, I look forward to meeting him," I say, popping an olive into my mouth and chewing thoughtfully. I look around the club and see that it's quite crowded, but I manage to spot the rest of the gang as they enter. Everyone orders a drink and we take a seat at our usual spot in the V.I.P. section, watching as others take a shot at karaoke. Some of the singers are fairly decent, but others have us doubling over in laughter at their despair. Finally, it's our turn; Josie, Georgia, and I have been practicing our performance for a solid two weeks now and I have to admit that we sound pretty good. After debating, we chose to sing "Move" by Little Mix, a mutual favorite song between the three of us and decided I would take on Jade and Perrie's solos, while Josie takes Jesy's, and Georgia takes Leigh-Anne's. Once the music begins, we start our performance and at first, I'm a little flustered and embarrassed, but by the end of the first chorus, I've let loose.

"Don't you know a girl likes a boy who moves?" We sing in unison as the song ends. The whole audience erupts into applause and the girls and I take a turn bowing, before we exit the stage.

"Great job," Ashton compliments.

"Very impressive," Michael adds, flashing a thumbs-up sign.

"Thank you," Josie replies, flipping her hair over her shoulder jokingly. The girls go up to dance with their boys, but I pass, walking to the ladies' room. As I'm doing so, I run into something... Or someone.

"Oops, sorry," I apologize, carelessly dropping my drink and having a little spill onto the person's shoes. I look up to find the same boy that took care of my order at Java this morning.

"No worries," he replies, smiling. "I don't suppose I can buy you another drink, can I?" He asks.

"That'd be lovely," I answer, following him to bar.

"One apple martini, please," the boy requests; I have yet to have learnt his name.

"Two olives," I add, slightly blushing as the boy chuckles.

"Do you always like things in twos?" He wonders.

"Huh?" I inquire.

"You also got two shots of hazelnut in your latte this morning," he reminds me. The bartender hands me my drink as the boy hands him the amount due.

"Well, I've never thought of it before, but I suppose so; even numbers give me a sense of balance in my life," I tell. We both take a seat at the bar-stools and continue conversing over random topics such as the weather and the many flavors of shots that Java provides for their customers, until we're interrupted by Luke.

"Anna, I see you've met my friend," Luke notices, shaking hands with the boy.

"This is your friend? I hadn't even realized that, we met at Java this morning," I share. Luke nods his head, but he hurries off due to a technical difficulty with the karaoke equipment. "By the way, I never did catch your name," I say to the boy, who smirks.

"A sideways 'U' is your first clue, the symbol for Aluminum is number two, a hesitation or pause when in thought and my name will undo," he replies, standing and disappearing into the crowd.

Author's Note;

So, this is the 1st chapter of "Cryptic", what do you think?

I'm really excited about this fanfiction & I can promise that there's greatness to come.

Btw: if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them; just comment

Also, I imagine Annabel as Emily Rudd & I will be updating on Mondays or Tuesdays

-Carly