It was a very normal Saturday evening in the Ludwig household and a normal evening meant a date night with Caelum and Astrid cuddled up on the couch watching a movie with bowls and bowls of popcorn at the ready. It was getting warmer and warmer with each passing day and it was already Early March before either of them had realised it.

And it was also the second month anniversary but each of them thought that the other had forgotten.

The movie that was playing was a classic and one of their top favourites by now but then again, could Pixar and Disney ever fail? It was an animation and one that both of them had enjoyed since their childhood – Frozen.

It was his top favourite because he had gone to the movies with his mother to watch it and hers because she had always longed for a sibling and she had strongly related to Anna from the film. God knew that she had watched that one over a hundred times but it was still a favourite.

In many ways, Astrid related to the younger sibling and watching that movie together with Caelum for the first time in her life, she could not help contain her excitement as she screamed the lyrics of 'Love is an open door' with the character.

And Caelum chuckled in glee as she danced around the room in front of the TV. She pulled him off his feet and though he had never been a good dancer and was rather a walking disaster, for Astrid, he'd dance. Hell, for Astrid, he'd do anything.

As the song ended and the scenes continued, he asked her, "Do you like Hans, Astrid?"

Her face turned into an upside-down frown and she replied, "God, I hate Hans with a very strong passion."

"Then why don't you curse him when you're watching the movie? It kinda seems like you're glad he was there? Don't get me wrong, but I've seen other girls watching Frozen because of that one time Trevor dragged me to the movies and girls wouldn't stop screaming at Hans."

Astrid smiled that special smile and then said something that would be lodged in his memory for a very long time, "Hans – though evil – had taught Anna what love was not. It's quite unbelievable for many but it is true about how you can learn about the things love is not by being with someone you thought loved you."

Cal felt short next to that and was still left pondering those words in his mind as she turned to watch the movie once more.

It was indeed quite an odd predicament.

But sometimes, just because it was odd or hard to believe did not mean it wasn't true and the more Caelum thought about the things Astrid said, the more it made sense.

However, everything was interrupted when Astrid's phone began playing the song 'Beautiful People' that she had set as her ringtone. A frown between her brows she tried to locate her phone that was somewhere inside the pile of blankets.

Caelum was the one to find her phone and hand it over, he noticed the caller ID and froze for a moment before handing it to her.

And she had a similar reaction to it.

Ryan fucking Stelberg.

She looked at it and the song kept going for a while but then decided to ignore it. Silencing it, she placed it aside as she told Caelum not to worry about her and went back to watching the movie and munching on her popcorn.

It had not even been six minutes before the phone rang again and it was from Ryan again.

She pursed her lips and then told Cal, "Give me just a moment, don't start the movie without me!"

"You know I won't sweetheart," he smiled at her.

She gave him the gentlest of kisses and then grabbed her phone and made a mad dash to their bedroom.

Well his, but spending most of her night there and she considered it hers too.

She took a steadying deep breath before she locked herself in the bathroom and picked up the call.

"Hey, Astrid-"

"What do you want, Ryan?" she asked straight to the point.

He laughed a peal of roguish laughter and yet so suddenly that it startled her out of her skin, "Oh Astrid, you're so pretty..."

She had the oddest look on her face as she asked him, "Are you drunk?"

"No, no, absolutely not!" he roared into the phone. "Just heard that you're with that shit literature kid – Hey Myers, what's his name you said?"

"Oh Caelum, man," came a response from Ryan's background.

He clicked his tongue, "Ah, yes, Callum-"

"He's not shit, alright? And it's pronounced Ka-lum not Cal-lum-"

He cut her off, "Who the fuck cares what he is called, he's still shit and I can't believe you downgraded so bad, Astrid. How fucking low has your taste gone down after me?"

Astrid did not say a word for she feared she would erupt if she did so.

"What? Too scared to defend your boyfriend?" he mocked. "Scared that he can't protect you?"

And she had reached the end of her patience as she screamed. "What the hell is your fucking problem, Ryan? Huh, really what is it that is your problem?"

He replied, "Get back together with me."

But she wasn't going to let him catch her off guard again and she retorted. "Oh, so now that I'm moving on with someone new, you're here asking me to take you back-"

"Wait wait wait," he interrupted. "I never ask- asked you to take me back. I'm demanding you to get back your stupid ass with me."

And god for a moment, Astrid had forgotten words because of the level of livid she was, she would have broken something.

"You. do. not. the. fucking. rights. to. demand. me. any. shit."

She gritted her words out, "You never had and let me remind you, you were the one who left me crying in the cafeteria claiming all shit lies about how I am a prude. You were the one who told me to get the fuck out of your space. You were the one who did not listen to any of my voicemails. So, don't act like you ever fucking cared."

"And don't you dare call me again."

She cut the call and in rage, she slammed her phone face down in the bathroom sink.

Astrid let out a guttural cry from the back of her throat and kicked the wall. She was filled with rage and she really wished that she could just punch Ryan's stupid face for ruining a night that was going so well. And before she had realised it, she was punching the wall over and over again.

But she wasn't used to punching walls and her knuckles hurt and she slid down against the wall, tears spilling against her cheeks as she struggled to breathe and think straight.

The world was starting to spin and she was slowly sinking into unconsciousness but then she felt something soft against her cheek.

A voice telling her that it was alright. That she was alright.

It was all a blur of moments and to Astrid none of it was comprehensible but she heard Caelum's voice in the midst of it, telling her that she was going to be alright.

"I love you, Astrid," she heard.

And that was the moment, she was focused and she could see those brown eyes she adored looking back at her.

"Caelum?" she whispered.

And his arms immediately went around her as he pulled her into the tightest embrace of her life. She hugged him back with just as much strength and she was slowly starting to gain consciousness of her surroundings.

"You scared me," he whispered, fear in his voice. "Don't ever do that again, love."

She pulled away from him gently and looked into his eyes when she asked, "Did you say that you loved me or did I make that up?"

It seemed that he himself hadn't realised all the things he had been saying and he replied after a moment.

"I hadn't intended for me to say that I love you like this for the first time, but the truth of it is that I do love you. I have been for a while and I'd like to believe that I always will."

She pressed her lips against him. One where it was their touches that did the talking because she had never ever felt that way before. She did not know what to say to him and so, she hoped that her deeds could prove what she was trying to communicate to him.

When she pulled away, she told him, "I have been loving you for a while too, sunshine. And I'd like to keep it that way. Always."

Caelum nodded his voice thick with emotion. He was scared that if he spoke, the spell would be broken and she would realise what a mistake everything was and leave.

But a sudden cry from her and he was in a different mind-space altogether as they both stared at her bloody knuckles.

He looked at her tear-filled eyes and her knuckles and he placed a gentle hand on her wrist, "Wait right here, I'll be back."

He dashed out of the room and to the kitchen where they always kept the first aid kit. It might seem illogical to keep one in the kitchen – Eliza surely thought so – but growing up he only ever got injured cooking. He slammed the box and groaned at his own incompetence for never replacing used-up things. The only thing in the kit was a roll of cotton and expired bandages. And the rest were all pills that expired except for the migraine ones.

He pursed his lips and then remembered that maybe he had a bottle of hydrogen peroxide in his drawer. He quickly shuffled through it and Astrid chuckled when he took it out, "What's a bottle of hydrogen peroxide doing in your drawer?"

He smiled, "Ask no questions, hear no lies."

And with that, he took her by the wrist and told her, "This might sting a bit."

When he poured the liquid on her hand, he was attentive to her reaction and she just slightly bit on her lower lip as she watched the liquid slide down her fingers and drip on the floor like glimmering gems. He tore a portion of cotton from the roll and drenched it in more of the solution, he swiped them against her bloodied knuckles and told her, "As a kid, I fell a lot."

He glanced at her and continued. "It wasn't uncommon for me for my knees to be bruised or my arms to be covered with tiny cuts. Mumma didn't always have antiseptics and disinfectants, she taught me to use Hydrogen peroxide. She used to say, if you don't have that either, ask for a woman's makeup remover. Worked like a charm."

Astrid cleared her throat before responding, "You must have had a strong bond with her."

He hummed in response. "We had a great bond. Sure, we fought often, but at the end of the day, we stayed together. I used to sleep with mumma all night regardless of whatever she said. The only time I didn't was when dad used to come home occasionally and even then when mum was not on speaking terms with him, she would send him to sleep on the couch and I'd sleep with her."

"She seems pretty badass," she responded her eyes trained in the way he tied her hand with cotton and bandages with ease.

"She really is. Resilient, stubborn as fuck and god, does she never give up," he smiled as he tied a tiny bow with the ends of the bandages.

They were both silent as she placed her right bandaged hand on her lap and he sat next to her. Gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, he asked, "Wanna talk about it?"

She sighed and looked at him, "I don't know what there is to talk about. He's just jealous and said some things that are not acceptable and I lost my cool and just, yeah-"

Caelum sighed, "I know that sometimes people say shit about you that you don't like and it's especially hypocritical of him but my darling, punching walls wouldn't hurt him. It would hurt just you and-"

"He didn't say shit about me," she paused as she looked at him. "It was about you."

"Astrid, sweetheart, listen to me," Cal said. "It doesn't matter what people say about me, alright? People say subjective things all the time but that doesn't mean it's the ultimate truth. Beauty is subjective, wit is subjective, intelligence is subjective. Just because someone says that you aren't pretty doesn't mean you aren't. Maybe for them, you aren't what they would consider pretty but maybe, just maybe, to someone else, you're more beautiful than aurora borealis."

She held him tight in her arms and buried herself in his embrace. "I'm sorry, sunshine."

It was a while before either of them let go.

"Just say that you won't do it again, my love."