* i always make such expensive mistakes

“Hey!” Teagan smiled as she saw the fellow Artist walk up to the stand. Truth be told she hadn’t seen Amelia too much lately, probably due to her checking out at school a lot lately. “I get a lot of breaks, like one every couple hours. It’s not that bad though, I still get to talk to everyone while I’m behind the table.”

“Not sure a togetherness fair will help anything, but I’m down to eat funnel cakes until I’m too miserably full to care anymore. That powdered sugar is like my cocaine.”

the major difference between gatherings like this back in miami was not only obviously the weather but also the people there. they were usually drunk out of their minds. heading down to the beach in the middle of the night and disturbing the public. their old city was huge compared to northlake and this, this was alright. “won something i didn’t need but hey it’ll keep you warm at night.” he joked.

nash almost looked at her as if he was surprised, lips pressed to his cheek. “hasn’t some guy said that to you for the longest time but he kept getting friend zoned? can’t remember his name..” lowering his head, laughing and lets his arm slip down her shoulder to playfully squint at her whilst giving the teddy bear a gentle tug.

amelia pulled herself closer to nash’s side, not realizing how cold she had become until she found herself shielded from the wind. at his comment, she couldn’t help but smirk, leaning up to murmur into his ear, “i’d rather you keep me warm at night.” that was more forward than amelia normally was with nash, but maybe it was time she gave back what he gave her.

after meeting up with a few friends, nash then automatically ended up at the dart stand since both elias and wolfgang were there. arriving with amelia and his plan was at some point to leave with her as well, not sure where they’d end up though the night was long unless cut short. this was suppose to be some togetherness fair though he couldn’t really sense it at all probably because he didn’t care about any of it.

grabbing the teddy from the boys, he let out a content sigh. “good enough.” mainly he had been there to chat it up but paid one game to win one prize. nash turned and rested his free arm over her shoulders, smiling. “if it was basketball it would’ve been better but we take it as it comes.” his eyes wandered down over her, rubbing lips together when handing the teddy over to her. “you know for when i’m not there and your mom is being a bitch to you.” a soft but very honest chuckle escaped him.

the atmosphere of the fair itself almost reminded her of back home, minus the cold weather of course. the lights reflected different colours across her fellow classmates faces, and it made her smile-- she had become a bit more sentimental since her dad passed, but she guessed it kind of just came with the territory. she waved with a smile at elias and wolfgang when she approached -- she didn’t know too much about them, but her interactions with them had been pleasant enough that she could at least greet them.

cold air bit at soft cheeks, but amelia felt warm inside. was it the apple cider that was supposed to be for ‘adults only’ that they had taken anyways? probably. but something else was making her feel warm -- maybe, just maybe, it was the fact that the talk she had with nash left her feeling hopeful. hopeful that they would truly work in the long run... not that there was any doubt before, partially because there was no way in any shape or form that nash would end up like her last boyfriend, but mostly because she knew that nash cared about her.

it wasn’t the first time nash was asked who’d protect him, he never answered since he’d manage on his own until he couldn’t anymore and that’s it but this was were loyal friendships came in. “your mom is a real piece of– she’s a handful. though if you ever need a place to crash at i’m sure wilder wouldn’t mind it, our home is a lowkey hide-out.” he chuckled. amelia’s mom howsoever was a utterly ridiculous person that put the word mom into shame, he could only imagine how it was to live with someone like that.

“of course they ain’t less human and i honestly feel more comfortable with them around.” he was sure she understood that. nash took a deep breath as he came to a door and pushed it open which lead to the apartment building. “i know a few of them, no idea exactly who they were when i first met them when i came but it’s easy to see who you can put your trust in.”

amelia had often wondered how nash had took care of himself while he went away, but she assumed that it was how he always managed to take care of everything. “don’t tempt me, you’re not going to be able to get rid of me with that invite,” she joked, a lot of times she missed nash’s mom -- she was always sweet to amelia, both of his parents were. “your mom was amazing... you don’t me to tell you that of course,” her voice was soft and she pressed a gentle kiss to his shoulder.

if it had been any other song by any other band, jd probably wouldn’t have even heard it with how faint it was- but when he finally realized he was, in fact, hearing what he was hearing, he followed the sound without much thought. he’d come back into the school after realize he was missing something- like always- only to be following the sound of an all too familiar song he loved quite a bit himself; only to find himself grinning when he realized who was playing it, and why. he couldn’t help but chuckle a little when she seemed startled after spotting him, waving a hand at her dismissively as he gave her a lopsided smile. “my bad, didn’t mean to scare ya! don’t let me stop you, though,” he encouraged her sincerely, leaning in the doorway near the stage. “you were on a roll there.”

being someone who cared so little, someone who was so fearless but a single thought of losing her was terrifying. it was his ultimate weakness. “i wanted you to not worry or stress. i know you, if you knew were i went you wouldn’t be able to move on. i don’t regret changing my number, i’m glad i haven’t tried reaching you because in a sense it gave me the chance to try move on as well. i tried. i tried forgetting about you. it didn’t work.” taking a deep breath, letting the cold air fill his lugns when looking up at her. “i gave you my word a long time ago that i would look out for you and somehow i’ve managed. you’re here now and i will continue keeping my word.” nash smiled at her, shielding his face with one hand and gave her a gentle tug so they could continue.

“so my apartment isn’t too far away, it’s a mess.. i have a roommate. his name is wilder not sure he’s there though but he’s a southbank kid. hope that won’t bother you?” he wasn’t sure how amelia felt about everything happening at school, she must’ve known about it. nash almost knew she wouldn’t care, she wasn’t the one to judge. after all the old nash wasn’t very different from the southbank students. “where are you living though now when you’re here?” he slipped both their hands into the pocket of his jacket.

amelia could sense that this was something he had thought about before, she could see it in his eyes. “it almost sucks sometimes how well you know me. i can never get away with trying to pretend i’m okay,” she laughed softly. she couldn’t hide the fact that it hurt a little to hear him say that he tried to forget about her -- she didn’t want to ever forget about him. “i think the thing i hated the most about it, was that i never knew how you were...” a small squeeze to his hand as the cold breeze ran down her neck, “you made a promise to protect me, but who would protect you?”

for as long as nash could remember he had always teased her about things like how he’d be the best boyfriend, why she should date him and whenever he got the chance he’d mention it. nash did it because he could but he knew what was up though so he never pressured her. in that sense he was a good guy. “i’m stupid and that is way worse then being dumb.” he pulled the hood over his head to cover his neck and smiled at her very fake. “it’s tropical weather here. don’t complain.”

“hu-, yeah perfect.” he could feel the cold pinch a his cheeks, pointing towards what direction they should head. “you’re capable of getting into trouble without me though uhm, i told xander and the guys to keep you safe. you can’t expect me to leave and not care about you, amelia. i talked to xander basically everyday and still do. i told him not to be obvious or anything, only keep eyes and ears open. if anything happened to you.. i’d never forgive myself.” the male stopped in his step to look at her, giving quite the serious expression. high school back home was not like you walked on flowers but more like barb wire on the bad days. “what if i came back and they told me you weren’t around..”

amelia knew she was in trouble with this one when they first met -- trouble in the sense of amelia could tell that she was going to fall for him. but in the beginning she was almost certain that it would be one sided. never in her wildest dreams could she imagine that not only would he feel the same, but he’d be so adamant to get them together. “dumb and stupid are different?” she raised her eyebrows, reaching her cold fingers up to touch the back of his neck, “don’t be a tease or i’ll show you the real cold.”

he chuckled at her, shaking head and used his free arm to lovingly wrap it around her waist and made her walk backwards when guiding her through the mall, through the people. “aright ice queen, how about you just give me all the loving and actually let me love you?” despite feeling quite playful at the moment since that was nash, he was completely genuine with his words. “you’re being kinda dumb though can’t help it’s quite cute.” leaning back, taking her hand as they got out from the mall and he squinted at the cold air. perks of living in the center of northlake was, nash had it close to everything and his apartment was right there in the mix.

“oh a boys apartment? sounds like some netflix and chill moment but with a touch of serious talk then passing out on the couch.” his head lowered to look at his shoes, needing a moment to let this all sink it. it had happened so fast. first she wasn’t there now she was and he knew she was alright back home since his boys back in miami had kept an eye on her since nash had told them to. “did my guys keep an eye on you though before you left?” he trusted his friends but wanted to make sure she had felt okay with it. nash made it clear they shouldn’t helicopter her and keep their distance.

an almost content sigh fell from her lips as he guided her through the mall -- she enjoyed his touch and leaned into him a little bit, “well, you know i--” she stopped her words before they were able to come out. you know i love you is what she wanted to say, but she knew that would just spark another round of him saying she should date him. “you know, saying i’m being dumb isn’t a good way to get me to give you all the loving,” she said while she happily intertwined their fingers once more. “fuck i forgot how cold it is here,” amelia said with a sigh, using her free hand to pull her jacket tighter around her.