Chapter 1

"Cal! Calvin! Where the hell are my glasses?!" I heard Grian yell from the living room. I groaned. Why couldn't he lose his glasses later in the day? And he knows that I'm not a morning person.

I glanced at the clock. It was quarter after five. In the morning. The world doesn't exist at this time. It only exists if you pull an all-nighter. It doesn't exist otherwise. It shouldn't exist. Ever since he decided to take a job as a professor at Cambridge University, he had been getting up extra early. And he had put making YouTube videos on the back burner.

"Calvin! I need my glasses to see you know!" He yelled again, this time sounding even farther away. I heard pots and pans banging. Ok I heard a lot of kitchen stuff hitting other kitchen stuff. Grian did most of the cooking. Grian did all of the cooking.

"Did you check the bathroom?" I asked. It was where they always were. He took them off before he showered and always forgot where they were. Every single morning. It got annoying, but it was cute at the same time.

There was a moment of silence. "Thanks, love. Don't know what I'd do without you," he called, from the bathroom.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I'm the best. Sleep now," I called back.

"Do you have a kiss for me my love? Or are you too tired? Are you awake? You alive?" he asked, jokingly.

"No, I'm dead. And apparently I'm in hell, because NO ONE is letting me sleep," I yelled.

"I'll be back at five. Try not to permanently damage anyone's flesh today. And don't forget that we're going to see that new flat after supper," Grian reminded me as he opened the door. I heard the door close behind him.

I lay on my back trying to get back to sleep. It was no use. Stupid Grian, with his stupid job and stupid early hours. Now I had adjusted to his insane sleeping pattern.

I got up, cursing the time in my head. I hated getting up early, but I rarely got a chance to sleep in. My foot touched something soft. I screamed. A very manly scream.

"Codswallop, you scared me," I exclaimed, picking up the adorable white cat that Grian had gotten me or my last birthday. At the time, Codswallop was my favourite British word. Hence the name Codswallop.

Codswallop purred as I stroked his white fur. He was adorable. I loved him almost as much as I loved Grian. They were both so sweet.

I carried Codswallop into the kitchen and placed him down next to his water bowl. He didn't often drink very much. He mostly liked to put his paw in the water, then lick it and repeat. He was an odd cat.

I grabbed a box of cereal from the cabinet. It was empty. That was my fault. I needed to go shopping and I was too lazy to throw out the box until I got a new one. I decided to go a healthier route. Frozen waffles. Luckily, we had enough of those.

After breakfast, I showered and got dressed. I had to get to the tattoo parlour by nine. I loved working there. It was creative, something new every day and art that I got paid a pretty penny for. Enough that Grian and I were buying a new flat in a safer area. He's been thinking about kids a lot lately. I still wasn't sure that I wanted one.

There was a knock on the door, jolting me from my thoughts. I trudged to the door. Who would be knocking so loudly this early?

I opened the door and gasped. There he was, Smith, a man I hadn't seen in years, standing on my doorstep.

He smiled. "Can I come in?"