10:53 [calum hood]

14

➸ c a l u m

"Fuck!" I cursed, almost dropping the pot of boiling water on the floor. I drained the water from the macaroni and divided it into two bowls, one for each of us, before adding cheese and mixing it together. I could hear footsteps coming from upstairs, meaning that Riley was either checking out my room or coming downstairs to eat.

Wait, what if she was checking out my room?

Dear God, please don't let her see the box. That was supposed to be a surprise and a Christmas present for her. Plus, the writing on top probably freaked her out, because I was not proposing to her. Not yet, at least.

The box was the only one that I could find, and it just happened to be the box that my grandpa placed the wedding ring for my grandma in. I decided that it seemed fitting for Riley's Christmas present since my grandpa was sharing his love in a similar way that I was trying to.

"Ry, the macaroni is ready!" I callled, hearing something clunk against the ground from above. Shit, I probably startled her.

"Coming!" she called back hoarsely, and I could hear her footsteps pounding down the stairs until she appeared in the kitchen. Riley kept her head down as she walked by me, grabbing a seat on the kitchen stool.

I placed a steaming hot bowl of macaroni and cheese in fron of her, watching her intently to see if she would acknowledge my existence in any way. "Thanks," she murmured, picking up a few noodles and plopping them in her mouth.

"Ry, what's wrong?" I asked, concern clear in my voice.

Riley shifted uncomfortably in her seat and chewed slowly. "Nothing, I'm fine."

I sighed and rolled my eyes, tapping my foot on the ground. I pulled the bowl of macaroni away from her as her head snapped up. She narrowed her eyes into a glare and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not giving you your macaroni back until you tell me what's wrong."

She let out a little huff and I could visualize the steam coming out of her ears. "Fine. I saw the box upstairs and I was wondering why the hell you would think about proposing to me when we just became friends again, like, three weeks ago."

I stared at her for a long moment until I couldn't contain my laughter any longer. I doubled over and howled until tears were flowing out of my eyes. Somehow I knew that she would see the box and get paranoid about it.

"What?" she asked, confused and annoyed by my reaction.

"You didn't look inside the box, did you?" I choked out, suddenly worried that my present to her was spoiled.

"No, I was too distracted by the damn writing on the box."

"Good," I replied, finally regaining my breath. I slid the bowl back across the counter to her. "Eat, then maybe I'll give you your present. I was supposed to wait until tomorrow, since it's Christmas, but I just can't wait any longer."

I watched her eat anxiously, waiting until she popped the last noodle into her mouth before springing into action. I grabbed the bowl and her fork and practically threw them into the sink, running the tap water to rinse it out. After scrubbing and rinsing the bowl and fork one last time, I placed them on the drying rack and took Riley's hand, dragging her upstairs.

"Why are you so excited?" she giggled, seeming a little relieved yet still annoyed. "You're not seriously proposing to me, are you?"

"No, of course not," I answered, giving her a wink. "Not yet, anyway."

Riley punched my shoulder playfully as I led her to the bed, motioning for her to sit down. I took a deep breath and paced across the room, covering it in four long strides. I stared at the small box, which was placed carefully on the corner of my desk, obviously by Riley.