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fake smile by ariana grande played through your earbuds as you jogged down the street. it was early may, a cloudy day that day but still a little warm nonetheless in california. you were out for your morning run, deciding to elongate it today as you felt energized and didn't have to work until later. unfortunately, mother nature wasn't in your favour that day, and decided to cut your run short as it began to rain.
you didn't notice the man following you until about two blocks from your house. you didn't bother worrying until you realized that he was trying to hide. quickly, you slipped into the house and watched the man from the window. he was dressed in grey, hood over his head while he stood across the street, staring at the house you were currently inhabiting.
"y/n?"
"oh, Jesus!" you jumped, spinning around and knocking over a picture frame off the table beside you. calum, your boyfriend of one year, chuckled at your skittishness, placing a hand on your shoulder in an attempt to calm you down.
"you alright?"
"yes, i'm fine. sorry, you just scared me." you let out a sigh, moving past him into the kitchen. he followed. "how was your day? i didn't think you'd be up when i got home."
"yeah. the thunder woke me up. how was your run, love?" calum asked, hopping up onto the counter while you took off your runners and threw them in the closet. you shrugged, grabbing your water bottle and emptying it's remains into the sink.
"it was alright. 'm kinda bummed it got cut short, but whatever." you placed the reusable bottle in the dishwasher, closing it before turning to your boyfriend. "there was a guy following me home, i think."
calum frowned. "like, the paps?"
"no. he didn't have a camera," you said, crossing your arms. calum urged you on, intrigued but also concerned. "i don't know if he was following me but something seemed... off. i don't know. i'm probably just being paranoid or something."
"no, this is important," calum said, pulling out his phone. "what'd he look like? did he get close to you? were you able to see his face?"
"cal." you reached a hand out to place on his arm. "it's fine. i'm sure it was nothing. no need to call management or anything."
your boyfriend sighed, nodding. "okay. but if anything else happens, and i mean anything, tell me and i'll talk to steph-"
"i know." you cut him off with a kiss, your hands on his arms as calum held your waist firmly. you pulled, smiling at the sweet boy. "i love you. i'm gonna go shower."
the next day felt weirder. you were out with calum, around 12pm, grabbing mcdonald's on your way over to the studio. you and calum were always to last to arrive, so it was your duty to grab food for everyone at the studio. today they wanted chicken nuggets and fries.
"fuck, i'm so excited to eat these fries," calum mumbled as the two of you walked back outside, you carrying the drinks while he carried the bags. laughing, you nodded in agreement. you turned your head to check before crossing the parking lot and that's when you saw him. the guy from yesterday.
your breath caught in your throat and you let go of the drinks. they spilled along the ground, some of them salvageable but most of them not. calum looked over at the scene, cursing under his breath before looking up at you. you were as pale as a ghost.
"babe, what's wrong?"
"i- he was right there."
"who, love?" calum had set down the bags of food now, helping you over to your car. you pointed a shaky finger across the parking lot, over to the bushes where you saw the man from yesterday. "baby, there's no one there."
"he was just there, i swear to God."
"come on, love. get in the car." calum helped you in the vehicle and you apologized for spilling the drinks, but you couldn't keep your eyes off that spot. you'd saw him again, whether anyone else had.
this time a week had gone by before you saw the man again. calum had contacted management so you weren't as anxious, but still on edge of course.
you were getting out of your uber when you saw him across the street. he was hiding in the bushes, and darted around the corner before you could really take a look at him. you hurried inside but didn't bother telling calum right away; it would only stress him out more.
it wasn't until later that night when it came up. you were in one of calum's shirts, washing your face as calum laid in bed on his phone. you spread some moisturizer on your face, leaning in the mirror as calum asked how your day was. he'd only gotten home an hour ago so you hadn't had much time to talk; today was one of your busy days.
"it was okay. met up with jen for a bit, worked out, ubered home." you paused, dropping your hands from your face once you remembered. "i saw that guy again today."
calum looked across the room at you. "fuck, why didn't you tell me sooner? babe, we gotta tell management this shit."
"it's fine, cal. he ran away once he noticed i saw him anyway," you mumbled, continuing to wash your face. you rinsed the moisturizer off after letting it settle and finally climbed into bed beside calum. "i think it's okay. he's probably just a fan or something, nothing to worry about."
"baby," calum turned onto his side, looking at you, "if you think something is wrong—"
"i don't," you said. calum wasn't sure if you were trying to convince him that, or yourself. you weren't too sure either. "i'm tired, babe."
calum kissed the top of your head before leaning over to shut up the lamp. "get some sleep, babe. i love you, y/n."
