The Best Days - c.h

Chapter 9

"I don't feel like myself either."

Ava's P.O.V

We were in the middle of the third Harry Potter film when I needed a break. I had no idea what was wrong with me but I just wasn't in a good place mentally right now. I was overwhelmed with the idea of Calum possibly loving a girl someday & I should not care but here I am caring way too much. This was too much for me to handle & I needed space. I couldn't process anything in a room of seven people.

"I think I'm going to go start dinner." I sat up since I was currently laying in Calum's lap, another completely normal thing that we've done plenty of times before except today I just couldn't.

"We can just find something quick later, you don't have to cook." Marcy told me.

"It's fine. I've seen the third way too many times."

"Do you want help?" Luke then asked me.

"Nah, it's just spaghetti. It's easy."

"Are you sure?" Calum asked as I stood up from the sofa.

"Uh-huh. I'm sure. I'll let you guys know when it's done."

The kitchen was my getaway, it was where I could really forget about whatever was happening & just focus on something else. I could zone & escape.

Sure, spaghetti was easy but I was attempting a new sauce recipe so I pulled it up on my laptop before I began preparing & getting lost in it.

I put some music on as well just so I could escape my thoughts even more & get lost in a song along with the recipe.

Luckily, it was working & soon enough, I was singing along to Rixton & chopping up tomatoes instead of thinking about Ca-.

"Hey." Calum then peaked his head around the corner into the kitchen. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Just a dance party for one." I laughed at myself.

"Can we make it one for two?"

"Aren't you watching the film?"

"Nope. You're right, I've seen the third way too many times too & then I remembered it was because we have watched it plenty of times together so I decided to see what you were up to instead."

"Oh. I'm just chopping tomatoes."

"Do you need help?"

"Nope."

"Can I just hang out here?"

"If you want, sure."

"Cool." He sat down at the stool behind the counter. "So are you sure you want to be a chef because you could do music performance with Luke if you want, I mean what was just happening in here was pretty impressive."

"Stop." I shook my head at him. "I was just joking around."

"I know. But it was cute to walk in on."

"I'm tone deaf so it was far from cute. I'll leave that to Luke."

"Whatever you say. But hey, Ava?"

"Yea?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yep, why?"

"Well you've been sort of spacey today & I mean don't take this the wrong way but it feels like you've been sort of distant from us all since we got to the house this summer."

"Oh."

"Yea, oh." He repeated my response, or lack of, to me. "So is something up?"

"No. I just uh, I'm getting overwhelmed thinking about being in Italy for an entire year. I mean my parents are going to come see me about halfway through but I'll be gone almost an entire year & I just think like I'll miss all of your birthdays, I'll miss so many holidays, I'll miss all of the group hangouts & I guess I'm coping by starting to distance myself now." Shoutout to me for thinking of that on the spot. I hadn't thought that far yet about actually being in Italy for an entire year but I was able to spit that out for him & I thought it seemed convincing.