𝟓𝐬𝐨𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐕𝐨𝐥.𝟏

Storm (Calum Hood Smut)

"So, we have no lights, no heat, no way to cook, no warm water. There is a storm going on outside, which makes the whole house cold." I panic, sitting on the couch with my legs on top of each other. Calum is sitting across from me, with Duke on his lap, petting him as the dog whines at the thunders.
"You need to calm down. Here. He helps a lot." He says, placing Duke on my lap.
"We have candles. Well, I know you have a ton and I have a couple of big ones. And we have torches, so in case of an emergency, we can use them. We have snacks that need no cooking, we will split them to last at least 3 days. We will use blankets, hoodies, extra layers to keep warm. And as for the water. Well, we either power through cold showers, or dry cleaning... We will be alright, we are safe in here." He tries to comfort me, stroking his thumb over my knee.
"No phones, no TV, no internet, no entertainment." I point out and he scoffs.
"We will keep our phone batteries in case of emergency. And we have books, board games, old school entertainment. It will be kinda like unplugging, a bit of detox." He chuckles. He is handling this better than I would.
"I have the Solar Charger we can use. And you laughed at me when I bought it." I chuckle and he rolls his eyes.
"I am still going to laugh at you. How are you going to get the charger to save up sun during the storm, smartypants?" He asks me through chuckles.
"At least we have the power banks for an emergency." I sigh, bringing Duke in the ear to kiss his cute little snout.

The storm has only gotten stronger since night fell. Calum is with Duke in his room, long sleeping since there is not much to do in the house now that darkness has fallen in it. Until 6 maybe, we could read books and magazines, Calum did some writing too. After that we played some cards, betting on house chores to make it a bit more fun. But it soon lost its interest, so he excused himself to his bedroom and called it a day.
But the darkness, combined with the noise going on outside makes everything scary for me, so I can't sleep, no matter how much I twist and turn.
So I made my way to the living room, lit up a few candles, and wrapped myself in my blanket to battle the cold. I have a book on my lap, an anthology of Poe's greatest works, which doesn't help at all with calming the fright in my spine.
"What are you doing up?" Calum asks me. I jolt and nearly scream, the suddenness of his words breaking the silence making my blood chill in my veins.
"You scared the crap out of me." I clutch my chest, looking at him as he takes a seat on the couch. His face is swollen, his hair is messy, and he is wearing his usual sleep attire which is just a pair of boxers and nothing else. How he can be naked in such piercing cold is beyond me.
"Sorry. But you kinda scared me too. Thought you were asleep. What are you doing awake?" He asks me, yawning through the words.
"Nothing." I mumble, shrugging my shoulders.
"Dude, it is 4 in the morning, you are surrounded by candles and you are reading Poe. Is this some kind of ritual? Have I been living in the same house as a witch?" He asks me; his eyebrows are furrowed and he is making his funny face, which makes me smile a little.
"You are going to make fun of me if I tell you." I sigh and he scoffs.
"Have I ever made fun of you?" He gasps, sarcasm thick in his voice.
"I can't sleep. I am scared of the storm and I hate darkness. So I thought I should find something else to do, in hopes I will get tired and fall asleep." I admit, making him hum.
He gets up from the couch, leaving the living room without a word.
I sigh, frustrated by his behavior; Calum and I haven't been the best of friends, and he was always distant, at least more distant than I'd like him to.
But I never expected him to react like that after I opened up to him.
I go back to reading my book, leaning my head against the back of the couch.

Calum walks back into the living room not even 5 minutes later. He is holding his pillow and duvet, along with his acoustic guitar. Now he is wearing a hoodie with his boxers, and he looks adorably sleepy as he sets his stuff on the couch.
"What are you doing?" I ask him, setting the book on the arm of the couch.
"I am sleeping here. You'll feel less scared if I am here to protect you, right?" He asks me, plopping on the couch and fixing his pillow.
"You don't have to..." I mumble but he shrugs his shoulders.
"I know. But I want to. Plus, I really think you are doing some kind of ritual to worship Satan, so I have to keep an eye for that." He replies, making me bite my tongue while I smile.
"What's up with the guitar?" I ask, pointing at the instrument that is resting on the floor.
"I brought it in case someone tries to break in, for protection." He replies, but the smirk on his face gives away he is just teasing me.
"I thought maybe some music will help you feel calmer. Well, it will help a lot more than reading Poe, that's for sure." He explains, picking it up from the floor.
I relax on the couch, watching him strum his fingers over the strings
"Any requests?" He asks, making me hum as I contemplate.
"Maybe Babylon. I always wanted to hear the acoustic version of it." I shrug, making him chuckle wholeheartedly.
"You vixen..." He giggles, fixing his fingers on the guitar.