Deal // Calum Hood

Sleepy.

Annabelle.
.
What the hell was I doing here? Seriously. Why? What had possessed me to believe that this was ever a good idea? Calum wasn't even here to show that I wasn't boring.
.
Frantically I turned to leave once the adrenaline had fled from my body and I was left a nervous wreck. I have to admit, sneaking in was exciting, but now I was actually here, I was petrified. Surely someone was going to notice my presence and kick me out.
.
It was safe to say that leaving a party like this, most certainly was not as simple as entering. The house had flooded with even more people, and I wasn't entirely sure where the front door even was at this stage. I squeezed and pushed past the majority of my year, when a girl in the year above came out of nowhere and grasped my hand.
.
I gasped, my heart stopping as I stared guiltily back at the pretty girl. My breathing irrational and my heart beat now thundering hard against my chest. I was about to die. I was so sure of it.
"Where are you going? Come grab a drink with me." She laughed. Even from where I was standing, I could taste the alcohol on her breath.
.
Every muscle inside of me relaxed as I realised the poor girl had reached a stage where she was unable to distinguish faces, and thought I was one of her friends. If her over friendly behaviour didn't give it away, the fact that she kept calling me Sky did.
.
"And for you, Sky." She grinned, handing me a red paper cup half full of clear liquid. I sniffed at it subtly. Vodka. Grimacing at the strong smell I went to place it back on the side but my new friend stopped me. "Drink." She pushed the cup to my lips encouragingly. "It will help you forget about Christopher." She yelled over the head banging music.
.
Taking a deep breath, I copied her actions, taking a large gulp hard and fast. She cheered and before I could respond, death had found me. I clasped my throat as this morbid burning began attacking my tonsils, coughing and spluttering everywhere. My new friend found it hilarious, but was quickly getting danced away by a recognisable stranger.
I poured myself more.
The thing was, I was completely terrified, and maybe, just maybe, this would help.
.
•*•*•*•*•*
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Three hours later.
.
•*•*•*•*•*
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I stumble clumsily out of the back door and into the brisk, night air. Absolutely everything is spinning and each pounding bass beat feels like a hammer to my skull. Clutching onto the strangers wall, I slowly guide my frail body down to sit with my back propped against the cool stone. Within seconds of doing so, I receive this overwhelming sense that I must fall asleep right here, right now.
.
All the adrenaline and excitement that had filled my body after my interactions with the girl in the year above had drained out of me. There was no other word for it, I was exhausted. I tried to think of what the time could possibly be, but everything was so damn fuzzy to me.
.
I drunk far too much to fill the void of fear, but now I was only left drunk and scared. I had drunk and drunk, waiting for the anxiety to melt away, but it never did. My eyelids became increasingly heavy, and it felt so good to close them.
Without fully intending to, I rapidly find myself falling into a deep sleep.
"Annabelle?"
.
I should be startled, but I'm too tired to care.
"Shh, now quiet time." I tell the deep voice, my eye lids not stirring. I picture the voice belonging to Obama, and it makes me snort out an unexpected sort of cackle.
.
The voice sighed as though I was frustrating him heavily. Right before I was about to apologise, because it was the president after all, he spoke again.
"Annabelle. What are you doing out here by yourself?"
.
My shoulders tensed.
Calum.
It was Calum's voice. I swallowed thickly, but my eyes remained firmly closed.
.
"I want to be a rainbow." I say eventually. "Do you think rainbows ever feel as tired as I do right now? No." I told him, and begin manically grinning. Dreaming of rainbow me, not a care in the world. Perhaps I'd even let Calum use me as a slide, if he asked nicely.
.
"Oh Christ." He sighed again.
"You're wasted."
.
"No, you're wasted." Eyes closed. Closed eyes. "You're always wasted, remember? You're the fun one."
I scoffed, and I could feel him wince beside me. My eyes cracked open a peak. He felt bad.
.
A moment passes and the two of us are silent. The yells coming inside drown out instead of turn up as I try to focus a little more on reality. He slumps down beside me and my throat tightens.
.
"What are you doing here?" He sounds so disappointed. That's not what I had wanted. Not what I had wanted at all.
.
I can feel his gaze on me, but I only watch the few others dancing around out here.
"Showing you I'm not boring."
I admitted the pathetic truth, seeing
as I currently had no filter whatsoever.
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"I know that you aren't boring." He says, without any hesitation.
". . . But you also aren't this girl."
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My eyelids feel like 50-tonne weights as I shut them once more, my head collapsing further into the uneven brick wall. "No, no." He panicked. "You can't sleep out here, Annabelle." His hands clasped my shoulders and he squeezed them gently, I could hear as he moved about and by the way his breath was labouring against my skin, he was currently kneeling before me.
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"Shh." I brush off his words, everything inside of me haggard, as I shuffle slightly to become a little more comfortable.
.
Suddenly, Calum makes a lot of movement before me, it should be distressing, but I'm far too out of it to care. I only want sleep. And then he whisks me up in his arms and is carrying bridal style back into the party house. I begin to giggle uncontrollably as I float all the way through the thick crowds, all the way through the intense music.
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"I'm floating." I sigh happily, half asleep, half awake.
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I feel his chest vibrate as Calums patience peaks.
"No you aren't, I'm carrying you."
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"Am I heavy?" I panic, my eyes bolting open as I see we're heading for the front door.
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"Yes." He said shortly. "You are."
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My lower lip pouts out and my eyes cloud with tears. "I can't believe you think I'm fat." I sniff.
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His laughter rumbles against my head and I watch his own face shake, light heartedly. "Everybody is heavy, Annabelle." He promises, and I feel a little better.
.
Just as I begin to feel comfortable, I'm delicately shoved into a car seat, and I groan loudly as Calum clips in my seatbelt. He closes the heavy door and I'm worried that he's left, but then I discover he's my driver.
Many minutes of my long, insane blabbering passes and the car comes to a gentle halt.
Calums gets out and comes around to help me out too.
.
I comply, only to stop dead in my tracks when I see where we are.
He turns around, curious as to why I stopped and I shake my head furiously.
"No." I feel like I'm sobering up a little, but I know deep down that this won't be happening for a while.
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His face scrunches up in confusion as he goes to take my hand, leading me to my front gate.
"Come on, Annabelle. Don't you want to tuck up in your nice, warm bed?"
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"No." I repeat, sheer panic coursing through my veins. "No, no, no, please." I beg, helplessly. "Please don't make me go in there."
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I snatch my hand out of his as my fear turns to anger. His face is confused. Very, very confused.
"You don't understand." I whisper, my voice shaking. "They'll be so angry, you have no idea." The fright hidden in my words becomes clearer as Calum seems to take pity on me.
.
His large palm reaches out and squeezes my upper arm reassuringly.
"Hey, it's okay." He promises. "All parents get angry." I hadn't noticed that I was crying until he wiped my sodden cheeks with his thumbs.

My head is still shaking vigorously because he just doesn't get it. They aren't 'all parents'.
"Thanks for taking me home, I'm going to sleep out here." I gesture to my front garden.
.
He isn't convinced at all, so I go and lay down on the damp grass to prove my point. I could make this work. It will do for tonight. My eyes close again, and this time, I really do fall asleep.