leigh

You and Cole had been at the mall for nearly 2 hours now, dragging him into almost every store just to see what they had. Most of the time, you didn't but anything, even though Cole urged you to. You felt bad spending his money, especially since you guys had only been together for 3 weeks.

You walk into a random thrift store and start scanning over all the clothes when your eyes almost immediately land on a pair of baggy jeans. You dart over to them, nearly yanking Cole over, and hold them up against you.

"You like?" You smile, posing with the jeans held up against you. Cole nods, giggling a little. "Yeah, you look beautiful," He smiles, pulling out his phone and taking a quick picture. You almost swat the phone out of his hand. "Hey, delete that!" You pout as he holds his phone high above his head. He shakes his head and tuts at you. "Oh, no, never. You look gorgeous." He shakes his head, dismissing your argument.

"Cole Taylor Preston, if you don't delete that, I swear—" You frown. "You swear what?" He smirks, giggling at you, trying to seem tough. You pout even more, crossing your arms over your chest, admitting defeat. "I hate you." You roll your eyes. "Yeah, I know you love me." He smiles back at you softly. You frown even more, but a small smile creeps onto your face.

You hold your hand out with the jeans in it, holding them to Coles chest. "Buy these for me?" You almost whisper with a soft smile. He laughs. "For the girlfriend who hates me? No way." He says, grabbing the jeans and already walking towards the cashier. You smile wider and follow him close behind.

You hold onto his arm, leaning against him. "Thank you." You whisper up to him. He nods a little, smiling widely. "Anything for you." He smiles back. God, this man was genuinely perfect. He looks so pretty, and your heart flutters every time he smiles at you, genuinely making your heart flutter.

He thanks the cashier, handing her the money before walking out the store with you still clinging to his arm. You look around, searching for another store to probably buy nothing, but you just wanted to spend the most amount of time with Cole as possible.

You begin to do another lap of the mall, making sure there were no stores you missed or if you wanted to get anything from a random store. Cole was very persistent on you going in almost every store. He just wants to make you happy and get you what you want, though, you argued against this, not wanting to spend his money.

Your legs were starting to ache, and there just so happened to be a small bench in the centre of the mall. You dragged Cole over to it, slumping down like you were about to pass out. "You okay?" He held you against his side tightly, but still very worried about you. You nod, looking up at him with a smile. "I'm good." You grin back at him. He smiles wider at your smile. "You're so pretty, y/n," He whispers softly. Almost instantly, there is a blush on your face from the unexpected compliment. He chuckled, noticing the blush. "Shut up," you nudge his shoulder, feigning anger.

He wraps an arm around your shoulder, pulling you in closer. "Stop being silly," He smiles, knowing what you're like. You give in and hug his side, your eyes still on his. Life feels so right in this moment. You stare into eachothers eyes for what feels like forever until the noise of the busy mall eventually reaches your ears again. You clear your throat, looking away from each other, eyes scanning around the mall.

That's when you spot a photobooth. You chuckle, pointing at it. "Cole, pleaseeee?" You insist, tugging at his arm. He looks down at you, a fake annoyed pout of his face. "Are you serious y/l/n?" He rolls his eyes with that stupid fake annoyance. He lets out a long sigh. "Fine, I'll do it." He says, with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. You almost jump for joy, practically dragging him over to the photobooth.

"Woah, hey, only if I get to keep the pictures." He smiles with his eyebrows raised. You tutt at him. "Okay, in that case, we will just do it twice then." You shrug, feeling like you beat him at his own game before sliding through the curtain, sitting down in the photobooth. Cole has to crouch to fit in. That's what he gets for being tall.

He slides in next you you, inserting the coins into the machine before the countdown begins on the screen. "I don't know how to pose," He chuckles as he waves his hands around trying to pose, clearly failing. You put your arm around him, pretending to kiss his cheek, when he turns to look at you.

You immediately stop puckering your lips, and both of your expressions drop. The air is dense and thick all of a sudden. There's no way you almost just kissed. It's way too—

Your thoughts were interrupted by his lips crashing softly onto yours. You kiss him back just as passionately. Like this was a normal thing for you guys. Your hands find his face, and his hands find your waist, holding you politely. Absolute chills get sent through your body as you taste his lips on yours after weeks of waiting for this moment. It was perfect, and it felt so right. In that moment, you knew that it was okay to say—

"I love you." You murmer as you both pulled slowly out of the kiss, your foreheads still pressed together. His eyebrows shot up for a quick second before his expression softened, a smile gliding swiftly on his face. "I love you," He replied. Not too. Just, I love you. Yeah, he is perfect.

You giggle, both sitting there even though it wasn't taking pictures anymore, trying to calm down after what just happened. You two just had your first kiss. That was a big thing. Your hands fell together, gripping each other tightly.

"We said I love you?" He chuckles a little, kind of astonished. "I mean— not that I haven't wanted to say it, because I do love you. I just didn't want to scare you off." He rubs the back of his neck anxiously, smiling a little but clearly nervous now. "You? Scare me off?" You laugh. "You're never getting rid of me, Mr. Preston." You giggle, pulling him in for another kiss, melting completely into each other, as if you were made for each other. But maybe that's because you are.

After a few minutes, you slowly came out of the photobooth, collecting the pictures that it had taken. They were adorable. "I'm keeping this one," Cole exclaims, taking one of the slides from your hands. "Wow, thief." You scoff. rolling your eyes overdramatically. He laughs, "Yeah, cause I stole your heart." He teases with a smile. You shake your head dismissively, but your smile is bigger than ever. But he wasn't wrong. He did steal your heart, and you love him more than you have ever loved someone before.

You were doing your makeup in the mirror, just putting lip gloss on to finish the look. Cole walks up behind you, putting his hand on your waist.

"You know... you don't need that, baby." He says softly, and he kisses your temple. You look up to the right to meet his eyes. You frown at him softly.

"When can I do your makeup?" You pout. He smiles a little before grabbing your arm and drifting over to the bed with you not far behind him. He holds you close to his chest, kissing your forehead before sitting down and the bed.

"Right now, babe." He smiles pretty. You chuckle to yourself and know he is going to regret this. He moves his legs onto the bed, gripping on your waist to pull you on top of him. You instinctively fall on top of his lap, giggling and grabbing the makeup off the bedside table, yours and Cole's shoulders touching. His hands trail down to your hips and then your ass, holding onto it gently.

When you sit back up straight with the makeup in your hands, you put it on the bed before looking at Coles face. Pinker than pink. "Hey, what's up, baby?" You whisper softly, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, tilting your head a little out of curiosity.

"You're sat on my lap. What do you expect?" He almost whispers, speaking more hoarse than usual with a small smile. You chuckle a little, kissing him softly. That was until he gripped your thighs. Something inside you ignited, and you instantly slung your tongue into his mouth, kissing him deeper than ever. His grip tightened and he moaned into your mouth before speaking

"Baby— Are you sure?" He pupils huge and his face now almost completely pink. You could feel how hard he was through his joggers, but you weren't going to give it to him right now. "Let's do your makeup." You smile softly after an awkward pause. Cole, let's out a sigh of relief whilst you put primer on his face.

Every single time you pick something up, he tries to guess what it is for. He calls mascara "Brow Busher", he calls lip liner "Eye Liner", and calls contour "Chisel thingy". You laugh every time, even though it was stupid. It wasn't even funny, but because he said it, it was. That's the sort of love you had for him.

"Stop it." You chuckle as you put a third layer of concealer on his face. He frowns a little with a smile, "Genuinely, what do you mean?" He almost giggles. You point a finger at his cheek. He attempts to look but fails. He shrugs his shoulders. "What about my cheek?" He looks around confused.

"I haven't even put any blush on you yet, and it's all I can see with three layers of concealer. I'll get off your lap if I'm distracting you that much, I mean—" you begin to get off before his hands grip your thighs tightly. "No, please stay, baby." He pouts at you, pupils dilating again as he looked into your eyes. God, how could you say no?

You shuffle back into his lap where you previously were. He lets out a small hum of satisfaction. "So needy," you whisper under your breath teasingly with a smirk. You peer up at him, knowing he's going to be even more sassy now. "Oh, sorry, I love my girlfriend." He pouts, crossing his arms. You just chuckle at his antics. He was such a child, even though he was 3 years older than you.

You finish off the makeup by putting on vaseline because he claims lip gloss is "too sticky." You smile and admire your work, kissing his nose. He is completely smitten. Once again, you can see the blush creeping through. "Gosh, you're impossible, Cole Taylor." You chuckle, and he just acts clueless before kissing you again.

"Do you feel pretty?" You smile widely, giggling to yourself. He nods proudly. "Yeah, but never as pretty as you, my beautiful girl." He smiles, looking at you, blush so evident yet again. You kiss him softly at first. But, something happens, and the kiss deepens so quickly.

"Time to finish what you started earlier." He whispers, flipping you over in one smooth motion so you were below him. He kissed your neck and trailed kisses down to your chest...

You were backstage just before Wallows show in London. It was your first time seeing them in months as they have been on their tour. They don't often come to London, but when they do, you always hang out.

You were waiting in anticipation for them to get to their dressing room for you to surprise them after sound check. But, mainly, you were nervous because you had been crushing on Braeden extremely hard these past 8 months waiting to see him again.

It started when you guys were all hanging out before they were leaving London. You had other friends over, too, playing drinking games and having fun, as you do. It was the sort of party you threw to say 'See You Later'. You were going to miss them terribly. You already had that gut feeling because you always missed them when they left.

You were drinking a beer when Dylan turns to you and says, "Who wants to play Spin The Bottle? I'm soooo bored right now. Can we spice it up? 7 minutes to heaven action? Anyone?" There was a collective sigh from two of your friends sat next to you, who later decided to join in anyways.

You scoff, shaking your head until Cole and Braeden opt in for it. "Fuck it. Give me the bottle." You sigh. You didn't wanna be left out and seem like a pussy.

Braeden let out a low whistle. "Cats got the claws out," He teases, like he always did. "Feeling brave?" he raised an eyebrow, clearly drunk.

"You're dumb and drunk. Shut up." You playfully reply, a small smirk appearing on your face. You spin the bottle, hoping it lands on someone you actually wouldn't mind kissing. It eventually begins slowing down, and what'd ya know? It spins straight to Braeden, who is sat on your right.

"Lucky you." He chuckles a little, pouting and blowing imaginary kisses towards you. You put a hand over his mouth to stop him as you pull his arm to go into the closet to start 7 minutes in heaven.

As soon as you step in the closet, Braeden turns to you, seemingly sober. "You don't have to do this if you want, I'm just overplaying so that the guys think I'm really drunk when in reality I've only had 2 beers." He blurts out, trying to keep the noise down. You chuckle, covering your face slightly. "Wow, really? That's funny." You laugh a little, patting his shoulder.

The moment suddenly becomes tense as he grabs your wrist. Your breath catches a little as you look up at him, now biting your lip slightly but drunkenly. You've had a few beers and a few shots of vodka. Braeden had had 2 shots of vodka and 2 beers. He only did 2 shots of vodka as that was the original plan, but you opted for 3 instead.

"We only have 6 minutes left, and I've been waiting 6 hours for a moment like this." He whispers, smiling a little, still griping your wrist. It's not tight, but enough to show that he means every word he says.

After an awkward pause, you put your hands on the side of his face, kissing him heavily. The kiss deepens and becomes hungry, as if you'd been waiting just as long as he has. His hands are roaming all around your torso, your boobs, your waist, your hips before landing on your ass, gripping it a little, pulling you closer to him. His hands slide to your thighs, pulling you up around his waist and pinning you on the wall as if it were the end of the world. He pushes forward so you can feel the bulge in his trousers in between your legs. You moan into his mouth before breathlessly saying his name.

You are interrupted by the knock of the closet door, which causes you two to basically break away from each other almost instantly. Your hair is dishevelled, along with his, and there is a slight blush across your cheeks. You fix your hair, sitting back down as if nothing happened.

Dylan let out a low whistle. "Damn, I didn't think you'd actually do something in there." He chuckles a little. "We didn't, we just... talked." Braeden argued, not angry, but defensive. Dylan shakes his head, not buying it. Cole chimes in, saying, "Oh yeah? Is that why your boner is practically poking my eye out right now, from all the... talking?" Braeden almost chokes, sitting down and rubbing himself into his jeans.

That's where the memory ends.

You bit your lip, reminiscing on the memory. But it was just a drunken mishap, right? You guys were drunk and horny. That's the only reason it happened. Well, that's what you kept telling yourself anyway.

You shake your head as you hear voices down the hall. You rush in a panic to sit down on a nearby couch, acting casual as if you weren't already going crazy at the sound of Braedens voice right now as you hear it echoing down the hall; you stare blankly at the door, waiting for it to open, and when it does...

Braeden right there, with Dylan behind him on his right and Cole slightly further behind on him left. This moment didn't last long, but his face dropped, and then almost immediately lit up again. "Y/N.." He smiled breathlessly as if he'd just had a punch to the gut. Your eyes burnt onto his as if it were only him there, looking at him fondly. You couldn't believe that he was actually there, but he couldn't believe that you were there either. This moment felt like forever, when in reality, it was only a few seconds.

He came pacing at you, lifting you up and hugging you tightly. "Oh my God, I missed you so so much, y/n." smiling bigger than ever before. He finally puts you down on the floor, grounding you again. "You look better than I remember." He chuckles, clearly teasing, as he always does.

You playfully shove his arm. "Is that a compliment I hear?" You raise an eyebrow, smirking. Your eyes literally never leave each other, completely forgetting that Dylan and Cole are even there. They lean against the doorway, watching the interaction unfold.

"Maybe, maybe not. I'll decide later." Braeden chuckles, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. You laugh. "You're so stupid," rolling your eyes, shaking your head. Braeden holds your gaze, smiling softly, looking into your eyes. The moment feels more intimate than ever now, and the butterflies swirl unbelievably fast in your stomach. Well, that is until Dylan clears his throat.

"Did you miss me too, y/n?" Dylan pouts overdramatically, mocking Braeden. You stick your tongue out, roll your eyes back, and sigh loudly. "My God, you're insufferable. Yes, I missed you, too." You say, walking closer to Dylan, wrapping your arms around his neck. He hugs you back, laughing.

"Hey, where is my hug?" Cole protests from next to Dylan. You chuckle, moving to hug him too. He let's out a small "Hmmm" as he melted into the hug, burying his chin into your shoulder. He holds you tighter. He clearly missed you, too. Almost 30 seconds pass, and he is still hugging you just as tight. "I missed you, too, Cole." You say as if a signal for him to let go. He finally lets go, letting out a sigh as he does so.

"Was starting to think you'd never let go then." You laugh little. Cole pouts at you before you turn back to look at Braeden. His face lit up as your eyes met, "What's up?" He nodded a little in your direction. You shake your head dismissively with a small smile before going to sit back on the sofa.

"So, what's the gossip?" You say as you flump into the sofa, Braeden following closely behind, sitting down close next to you. He was like a lonely puppy, but in reality, he was just a lovestruck 30 year old man.

For the next hour, each of them tell you stories of things that have been happening on tour and in their life in general. "We have missed you more than anything, though, right guys?" Braeden says, looking at Cole and Dylan for their reassurance and confirmation. They both nod. "Of course you guys did." You smile widely as Braeden pulls you into his side tightly. You squeeze him back, looking up onto his eyes with that familiar look. He looks back at you, his look softening and pupils dilating almost instantly. You close your eyes, melting into his touch. You missed this. Being close to not only him but Cole and Dylan, too. Because, even though you love Braeden, you still missed them too. They were like your brothers.

Cole pulls out his phone and takes a picture of you two, posting it to his Instagram. "We should take a comeback picture." Cole suggests, snapping you out of the moment with Braeden. Braeden reluctantly looked away and sat up straight. "Right, okay." Braeden said, nodding. You stand up and walk over to the vanity. "Here," you guide the guys over, posing and snapping pictures in the mirror.

After a while of taking pictures, you're all slumped on the sofa, legs tangled together, scrolling on your phones. Cole is trying on Instagram filters, Dylan is messaging Isabella, Braeden is scrolling through Instagram, and you are taking pictures of the guys every few minutes, annoying Dylan but Cole just poses. Braeden just smiles, looking behind the phone and at your face.

Cole angles his body, so he is facing the wall and towards Dylan. Dylan is too focused on texting Isabella and rubbing his jeans every few seconds before he finally gives up and says, "I'm gonna... go use the bathroom." He says, almost sprinting out of the room. You all chuckle at him, knowing exactly why he is going.

You and Braeden stare at each other for a minute before Cole sighs and speaks. "I need a cigarette." He says as he stands up, going down the hall and out the exit door. And for the first time in 8 months, you're alone with Braeden again.

You and Braeden just stare at each other for a minute, the silence heavy and tense. He is drawing lazy circles on the back of your hand whilst he stares into your eyes. You fiddle around with the chain around his neck before your eyes trail down, looking at the shirt he is wearing. Red and hugged his biceps perfectly. You bit your lip a little as your eyes trail down further. He is wearing grey baggy jeans, which he usually did. You look back up at his face as if trying to memorise it.

"Pretty." You hear him mumble a little. You tilt your head curiously, smiling and raising an eyebrow. "You're pretty." He whispered like it was a secret he didn't want anyone else to know. "You're pretty." You reply, speaking a little louder than he was. You toss your right leg loosely over his waist, and you feel the bulge in his jeans almost immediately. His hand slides down, gripping the underneath of your thigh, rubbing small circles. He lets out a small groan and parts his lips slightly.

You stay like this for a second before moving your face closer to his to feel his breath on your lips. He looked into your eyes like a puppy. Fucking hell. "Kiss me," you finally break the silence with a whisper.

Braeden didn't hesitate as he quickly pulled you by your tight onto his lap so you were straddling him, the other hand on the back of your head as he pulled you face closer to his, kissing you passionately. You began moving back and forth, grinding down on his lap. He whimpered a little as his head fell into your neck, kissing it as you sped up.

His right hand slid down to your neck to keep it sturdy as he kissed the right side of it. His other hand slid down to your ass, griping it tightly, making you squirm. You moan his name.

"Fucking hell, y/n" He says breathlessly as he looks into your eyes, eyelids heavy and lips parted. He looked so fucking needy, you almost took off his jeans. You rolled your hips going in circles, to which he moaned straight into your neck. "You sound so pretty, baby," you whisper into his ear breathlessly.

He grips your thighs tightly before speaking "I'm going to cum, you need to get off." He almost whimpered into your ear. You almost immediately. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" He hushes you. "It's okay, beautiful. Don't worry. Caught up in the moment, I get it." He says reassuringly. You smile at him softly. He just gets you.

5 minutes later, you're curled up next to him, and his head is thrown back against the sofa. You draw lazy circles on his bicep as you kiss it. As you do this, Cole opens the door. It almost immediately smells like cigarette smoke.

"Sorry, i was so long, I saw a pretty girl." He says, shrugging his shoulders. He immediately clocks that something had happened, but not sure what. He can see the faint blush on Braeden and your cheeks.

"What did you guys do?" He raises an eyebrow as he sits down on the other sofa. Braeden shakes his head. "We were just play fighting. She was making fun of my haircut." He sighs. Cole nods slowly, slightly buying it, but not really. He was the dumb kind of cute at the end of the day.

The door suddenly bursts open as Dylan is catching his breath. He comes in, shuts the door behind him, and falls down on the sofa next to Cole. You all just look at each other in pure shock. "Isabella is a keeper then, I'm guessing?" You tease. Dylan nods, completely lost before he snaps back to reality. "Well, yeah, but all.. all I did was go to the bathroom." He frowns. You slowly nod, clearly not buying it.

It went silent again. The only noise that could be heard was Dylan taking deep breaths 10 feet away whilst laid down on his back, looking at the ceiling. You were curled up into Braedens' side, and he rubbed your back in small circles.

You slowly drift off to sleep, completely unaware that they had their show in just 2 hours. You wake up suddenly and in a panic. 4 hours had passed, and they were just finishing their set on stage. You curse under your breath, sprinting down the hall and going to the side of the stage. You can hear the crowd screaming and the guitar strings echoing through your head as you watch the boys put their instruments down and head off stage.

Braeden instantly notices you, wrapping his hands around your waist. "Hey, sleepyhead. I didn't want to wake you." He whispers softly as he looks into your eyes. Your arms hang loosely around his neck. "It's okay, at least I'm here now." You smile up at him, and he chuckles a little.

God, his smile was the most beautiful thing you'd ever seen, well, besides his absolutely gorgeous eyes. He was the prettiest and purest human you'd ever seen, which is why, without thinking, you pulled him in and kissed him. He was shocked at first, but almost immediately melted into he kiss as if he had waited all set to do this because he had. You hear Dylan let out a low whistle, clapping his hands slowly. "Cole and I were waiting for this day to come." He confessed. "We saw all the glances and heard alllll the stories about you that Braeden would tell us when we were in the US. He is crazy about you. Clearly, you're crazy too." He gestures to you two. You chuckle, gaze shifting from Dylan to Braeden again. "Maybe a little..." You smile.

You guys make your way back to their dressing room as they drink water and get in the cold plunge. Braeden argues against a cold plunge and argues that he wants to use the shower down the hall. "Go ahead, man." Cole doesn't even try to protest. Braeden swiftly takes off his shirt, revealing his torso. You curse under your breath and admire him.

"See something you like?" He raises an eyebrow playfully. You walk closer to him, placing a hand on his chest. "I think you know I do. You're so handsome." You whisper with a smile. His hand instinctively moves to your waist before he plants a soft kiss on your lips. He slowly walks away and down the hall to the showers as you stand where he used to be. You turn around, facing Dylan and Cole.

"God, dude. You guys are crazy in love, " Cole chuckles. You shake your head with a smile before turning around to face where Braeden just was. You sigh before rushing down the hall, calling out his name for him to stop. You catch up to him, putting your hands on his shoulder.

"Hey, pretty girl." He smiles at you. You catch your breath, even though you barely run. "Are you in love with me?" You say breathlessly. His eyes widen for a second, taken a back, but they soften again. "You really have no idea y/l/n?" He whispers softly as she kisses your forehead. "That's not a yes or no." You pout. He chuckles a little, causing you to smile.

"Jeez, do I have to spell it out for you, y/n. Yes, I am in love with you. Deeper than you will ever realise or know." He says, almost as if he couldn't believe he was actually confessing this to you. "Since our first London show and I saw how excited it made you. 7 years ago. How could you be so clueless?" He chuckles a little at the end.

"I love you." You blurt out because that's all you can manage to form right now. 7 Years? He was right, how could you be so clueless, and why had it taken you so long to realise you felt the same. "I love you." He replies, giving you a small kiss and wrapping you in his arms.

You stay like this for a few minutes before he speaks. "Can I have my shower now?" He chuckles. You slowly pull away and pout. "You're leaving me?" He shakes his head. "You're unbelievable." He says as he swings the door open for the showers, gesturing for you to go in. You break out in a huge smile, kissing him again.

You were just finishing the song "Calling After Me" on your guitar, just like Mr. Lemasters had suggested for you. He always spoke about how proud he is of his son, Braeden, and the band he is in. He said it was a pretty simple song to learn, and that's what you figured out quickly when looking at the chords. You could play through extremely well, almost as good as the original.

You sent a video to "Mr Lemasters 🎸 " of you playing the entire song. It's pretty quiet until he replies, 'Sounds just like the original, keep it up!'

A huge smile spreads across your face. He was always so supportive, and an absolutely amazing teacher. He was extremely skilled himself, and knows how to correct you whilst still being respectful.

Considering this, you made an impulsive decision to message him again a few minutes later. It was your 18th birthday tomorrow and you were having a party with a few close friends and mutual friends. You decide to text him, "Hey, I know this might seem kind of odd and I'm sorry, but it's my 18th birthday party tomorrow and I was wondering if you'd like to come? It would be great for my mum to meet the man who is turning me into a future rockstar! It would mean the world to me if you could come!"

Roughly 20 minutes go by. You're strumming random chords on your guitar, waiting with anticipation, when your phone screen lights up.

"Would love to! Is it okay if a bring a guest or three?"

You chuckle, sending him a "Yes, of course!" straight back, knowing who he is subtly hinting to.

You smile to yourself as you put your guitar back, turning off your phone and getting ready for bed.

THE NEXT MORNING

You wake up to the surprise of balloons and banners all around your room, multiple presents at the end of your bed, and birthday cards. You sit up with a smile, wiping your eyes as your mum walks in the room.

"Good morning, sweetheart! Happy birthday!" A huge smile spreads across her face as she pulls you in for a hug. "I just want you to know... I am so proud of you. And I will always be so proud of you, even when you aren't my little girl anymore." she says, tearing up a little. "Mum, of course I always will be. Even when I'm 60, looking like you, I will still be your little girl. Even when I'm taller than you, I'm still your little girl. Even if I fall in love, I'm still your little girl. You're my mum." You smile back, sniffling a little.

You exchange smiles before leaning forward to open the presents, loving every single one. Your mum and dad knew you so well and always got the things you wished for. It's what you love most about them. They never discarded an interest, only fueled it, and believed in you.

After this brief moment of present, hugs, smiles, and tears, you get dressed and go to eat breakfast (even though it's already nearly 11am — your parents let you sleep in as long as you want on your birthday).

You quickly eat breakfast, your favourite, because you're just looking forward to the day ahead, dying of anticipation as you were pretty sure you were going to be meeting Braeden Lemasters, David's son, but also his band mates, Dylan Minnette and Cole Preston.

You had seen a few pictures of them before, but never truly looked, or truly listened to their music. I mean, yeah, sure, you will play it sometimes. But, that's only for background noise if you were studying or something, making it almost inaudible.

For the next few hours, you spend time helping your mum around the house whilst your dad went off to work, as he always did. But, you also spent time scrolling through your phone, getting a Wallows song every so often. You swear, up and down, that your phone listens to you. You never used to get Wallows videos or songs on your phone until David started teaching you. It was kinda creepy, but also a send from heaven as their music was genuinely pretty amazing.

You do whatever you can to pass the time until friends start coming over, completely fixated and excited for this chance to meet Wallows. Even though you were a casual listener, who didn't know basically everything about them, it was still a extremely surreal moment, especially since you were very sure it was going to be them.

You were sat on your phone, scrolling through Instagram, waiting in suspense. It was almost 3pm now, so guests were bound to start arriving soon. You put Wallows music on to 'set the vibe'. The song Are You Bored Yet? ft. Clairo started playing, bring back a lot of memories and nostalgia. It made your stomach flip and turn all around, making you reminisce on old thoughts. That was until you were interrupted by three knocks on the door...

You stomach drops and you stop the music, dying with suspense. Who could it be? You soon found out when you practically sprinted down the hall towards the door, fixing your hair, and making sure your outfit looked amazing. You knew that it couldn't be any of your friends as they always texted you when they were outside, making sure you knew they were there. You clear your throat as you slowly open the door with a smile on your face.

There stand David Lemasters and behind him, 3 pretty tall, and beautiful men. They come piling in with a smile, each shaking your hand and wishing you a happy birthday.

First is Braeden Lemasters. He is pretty tall, 5'10 at best. Gorgeous brown hair, beautiful green eyes. "Happy Birthday, Girl!" he says bubbly as he shakes your hand. He is wearing a white 'The Beatles' shirt, which seemed pretty in character for him, and made sense just looking at him. He was wearing tan pants and blue & white reebok shoes.

Next, Cole Preston. He was also pretty tall, maybe 5'11? Slightly taller than Braeden. Curly black hair, incredibly brown eyes. He is wearing a dark green jumper and black trousers with doc martins. "Happy Birthday... y/n?" He smiles, as if making sure that that is your name. You nod, shaking his hand too.

As he walks past you, you tuck a strand of hair behind your ear and look down at the floor. As you look up, you're blinded by one of the most beautiful humans you have ever seen.

Dylan Minnette.

I mean, you kind of knew he was a charmer, the handsome one, the fan favourite, but you weren't expecting him to outdo all expectations.

He was wearing a slightly big *NSYNC t-shirt with extremely baggy jeans, showing the waistband of his underwear. It makes you giggle. He has beautiful blue ocean eyes, with dark brown hair that sits perfectly. As he leans in to shake you hand, his eyes stay on yours, causing your breath to get stuck in your throat for a second. You smell his cologne which ascends you even further. "Happy Birthday, Y/n, you look beautiful" he smiles.

Your mouth hangs open a little bit as your hands stay together a little longer than usual. "Uhm, thank you. Yeah, thank you so much. You look beautiful too, " a small pink spreads across your cheeks. Not a lot, but enough for someone to notice if they were in close proximity, just like Dylan.

You pray he doesn't notice, but you hope he doesn't as your hands fall apart from each other as he walks past you into the back garden where everyone else had gone.

You take a deep breath, sturdying yourself, fixing your dress and hair before following them all out to the back.

As soon as you get out there, all eyes turn to you, but your eyes are only drawn to one. Dylan. He is genuinely so breathtaking that you don't understand how this moment is real. You feel like an 8 year old with a crush. You know that Dylan is roughly 10 years older, and he would never go so low in age, so you straighten yourself, clearing your throat and getting yourself together.

You sit on your decking outside the house as the sun pulses down. Cole, Braeden and his dad are stood at least 10 meters away by the punch bowl. Braeden is throwing his head back with a hand on his chest at something Cole had said, which doesn't shock you at all. You look around, seeing that many mutual friends had arrived and a few of your own.

But you're only looking for one person.

You look back down at your lap, twiddling your thumbs as you were unable to find him in the now suddenly crowded back yard until you feel a weight sit down next to you. Not too close, but close enough to smell that absolutely beautiful cologne from earlier. Dylan.

"It's great to finally meet you." Dylan says, putting a hand on your thumbs to get your attention and stop you from twirling them. You turn your head slightly. He was so close. Sat so close. So intimately close. Well, that's how it felt, but it was more a friendly distance.

"It's amazing to meet you too, David never stops talking about you guys because I'm learning how to play guitar." You smile at Dylan as if your stomach didn't feel like it was on fire. He chuckles a little, but he is clearly listening to you.

"That's pretty awesome. Maybe one day you will be as good as me. " He winks with a smile. God, he was so charming and perfect. You shake your head dismissively, smiling wide as if you weren't internally dying.

You were so caught up in the moment that you don't notice Braeden, Cole, and David gesturing over to you, watching the interaction from afar. Braeden is playfully nudging Cole and mumbling. "Look at these two lovers," He teases to Cole under his breath. You don't hear this, obviously. You're too lost in Dylans eyes.

"So.. 18, huh? Finally, an adult. How does it feel to be mature and grown?" He says, clearly trying to continue the conversation. His eyes never leave yours, making you extremely nervous, but you don't dare look away. And grown? Adult? What is he getting at..?

"It feels great. Now, my dating age has no limits." You chuckle, but hope he knows what you're hinting at. You almost immediately correct yourself, wanting to take it back until he smiles, laughing a little.

"I guess you could say that." He smiles, tilting his head a little. God, kill me. You think to yourself. He was so perfect and looked completely adorable like this. You just wanted to kiss him all over his stupid, beautiful face.

You laugh a little at his comment, biting your lip a little bit, not meaning to, but he definitely noticed and noted it down for later. He could tell you were into him. You just didn't know he felt the same... yet.

At least 4 hours go by. You're all playing games, having fun. You've opened presents by guests and everyone is here. The sun is going to set soon, and you want to watch it, as you do every night. So, whilst everyone is playing games, you sneak off to the front of your house so you can get the perfect view of the sunset down the street. You begin walking when you hear faint footsteps behind you. You don't dare look back, but you know who you want it to be.

When you reach the corner, you can see the sun setting. The sky is beginning to turn pink and it looks beautiful. Looking at the sky was one of your favourite things. Favourite things to sing about, favourite things to draw, favourite things to take picture of, favourite things to admire. It was just so pure and gorgeous. You were completely lost in the moment, looking into the sky when you hear a familiar voice.

"Almost as pretty as you," Dylan. Your breath catches in your throat. You spin around to see him walking closer with his hands in his pockets. He slowly brings the out, messing with his hair a little, as he always does. You noticed that about him in the 6 hours you've been spending around each other.

"Really?" You smiley widely, almost confident. A small blush was appearing across your face, and your heart was beating incredibly fast. You could've sworn it was hitting Dylan in the face if you didn't have a rib cage.

He nods, almost nonchalant. But, it wasn't. He was blushing. He was nervous, fiddling with his thumbs, almost mimicking the movement you were doing earlier. He was smiling down at you as he finally stood in front of you. He was 3 feet away. 2 feet. 1 foot. He takes a deep breath.

"Did you enjoy your birthday?" He smiles but very curious. He wants the answer to be yes so bad. It would make his day, his year, even. "Yeah, of course. I am surrounded by my favourite people in my favourite place. Everything was perfect." You speak softly and reassuringly.

"Almost. I never gave you your present." He stumbles a little at the end. Is he really nervous? you think to yourself.

You tilt your head, smiling. "Oh yeah? Well, please may I have it?" You look up at him, almost admiring him. He chuckles, admiring how cute you look right now. "Close your eyes and hold out your hands," He replies softly.

You immediately listen to him, smiling widely. You eagerly hold out your hands, squinting your eyes so much that you're almost completely blind. You feel his hands touch yours. They stay they for a second, completely freezing your body in an instant. The smile drops a little, feeling a little too intimate for this moment. But the real shocker is when you feel his cool hands cup your cheeks. Your stomach completely drops and explodes. Holy shit you think to yourself. You put your hands on his shoulders to hold your balance.

"May I?" You hear him almost whisper. You don't know what to say. You can almost hear the smile on his face and see the blush spread across his cheeks. You slowly nod, and the smile reappears on your face.

As soon as your head lifts a little to nod, he pulls you in, quickly but softly, to plant your lips with one of the most beautiful and cinematic kisses ever done. He kisses you slowly and softly, clearly experienced. You melt into each other as your hands wrap around his neck, and his right hand falls loosely around your waist. His left hand, however, slides to the back of your head, pulling you in more to kiss you more accurately and closer.

After what felt like forever, you pull away from each other. "You are one of the most purest and beautiful girls I have ever laid my eyes on. You're amazing, truly. And... if its not too late... would I be able to.. I don't know.. be your boyfriend?" He stumbles a little, clearly nervous. A small smile spreads across his face, hopeful.

It was only 10am and you were already out of bed, showered, makeup done, outfit on and messaged in the Wallows group chat.

You're sat on the balcony of your apartment smoking a cigarette whilst waiting for your uber. Well, you were, until the vibrating of your phone distracted you. You take one last hit before tapping the ash off the end and shoving it in an ash tray.

You turn to grab you phone as you stand up, hoisting your small prada bag over your shoulder. Dark Red, matching with your heels, of course. You walk back into your bedroom, adjusting your skirt to a professional length, but just enough to catch attention too. You make sure your blouse is wrinkleless as you fiddle with your blazer.

Without thinking, you glance at your phone screen.

Wallows + Y/N ::

Braeden: Y/N, when will you be here? Cole needs calming down. He is hella stressed.

Cole: Don't listen to him, I am completely fine. He is a child.

You chuckle at the screen before turning it off and putting into your bag. You blow yourself a kiss in the mirror, fix your hair slightly and head towards the elevator.

Meanwhile, in the studio...

Cole is pacing around, just as he has stated in Quarterback.

"Dude, I'm sure she feels the same. We have known her for 4 years. If she doesn't see how great you are then.. Well, that isn't possible." Braeden reassured Cole.

Dylan nods in agreement. "Cole, you're amazing, buddy. And, at the end of the day, she is just a girl, yknow? There are plenty of fish in the sea."

Braeden points at Dylan as if he had made a really great statement, took the words right out of his mouth.

Cole is shaking his head, playing around with his hair, making sure he smells okay, making sure he doesn't look dishevelled.

Back with you...

You approach the uber, telling him where to go as you look at your phone again. You go into the Wallows group chat where Braeden has sent a photo of Cole ruffling his hair.

"Full mental breakdown, SOS." he messages.

You chuckle to yourself, typing rapidly across the screen, nails clicking everytime it hits the phone.

"He is such a big baby. Feed him some yoghurt and put him in a cold plunge. He will be just fine. I'm on my way, don't worry."

You click onto Spotify, putting on their music, listening to the way it's composed, truly listening to lyrics and the instruments. It takes your breath away every time. You're so proud of these guys, your best friends.

Back at the studio...

Cole is sat down, finally, with his head in his hands. "You guys don't get it. She isn't just a girl. She is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life. I love the way she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear when she is nervous. I love the way she always knows what we need. I love the way she fidgets with her fingers when she is conflicted or worried. I love the way she sticks her tongue out slightly when she is focused. I love the way she exists, so effortlessly magnificent." He sighs as if he had just read out all the digits of Pi in one breath.

There is a slight awkward silence. Braeden and Dylan look at each other with a look that says, "Oh shit, he is in love.".

Cole clears his throat. "You say there are plenty of fish in the sea, well I don't want plenty. I want her. Have you ever felt this way before about a girl?" He says, clearly vulnerable and sincere.

Dylan closes his eyes, knowing this feeling all too well. "I do, buddy. And I'm telling you, you have to go for it. I know you have got this. We know you have got this." He nods as he speaks as a way to reassure him.

Cole looks up at him and nods back at him, understanding that he has the support of both him and Braeden through this incredibly significant time in his life. He sighs, calming down... that is until you knock at the door.

Cole sighs dramatically again in a panic before the door swings open and sees you. He immediately looks into your eyes, stands up and smiles.

"Hey, Y/N! We were starting to worry about you, thought something bad happened like a car crash or some—" he was interrupted by Braeden nudging his arm as if to say calm down.

You chuckle. He is so cute like this.

"I'm okay, don't worry" You shoot Braeden a wink, knowing wink. Braeden gives a small nod and smile in response.

You sit down on the couch, scrolling through your phone. "So, you guys have an interview next Saturday, I'll send you the address later but it's about details and or hints about the new album." You nod to yourself as you speak before looking up, seeing Coles eyes locked on you from the other side of the room

"Sounds great." He smiles at you, a small blush creeping on his face as you hold eye contact. He clears his throat. "I think I need some water."

Dylan and Braeden look at each other.

"I'll come with. I need some too." you smile, standing up and walking over towards the door frame where Cole was stood.

"Yeah! Yeah– okay." He replied softly, taken aback. He glances back at Braeden and Dylan before jogging a little to catch up to you in the kitchen.

You grab a glass from the cabinet. Then another. "Do you want ice or not?" You turn around to Cole stood infront of you, leant up against the counter, rubbing the back of his neck. Clearly nervous.

"Jeez, you scared me." You chuckle until you look deeper into his expression, the way he is standing, the way he is acting.

"Cole." You say softly. "What's wrong?" You put a hand on his shoulder to ground him. He slowly looks up a little, looking into your eyes.

"Y/N..." He whispers, so quiet, you almost don't hear him. You nod, assuring him that you are listening to him.

"I need to tell you this before I back out, okay? But I need you to listen to me. Like, really listen." He says seriously but soft, just making sure you knew he really meant this.

"Of course, you know I listen." You reply softly, now looking into his eyes with concern.

He takes a deep breath before looking into your eyes. Here goes... everything he thinks to himself. "Y/N, ever since I've gotten to know you, I think I fell for you. Maybe a little bit. Or maybe.. a lot? I just love everything you do. The way you talk, the way you pronounce certain words differently, the way you stick your tongue out when you focus, the way you always listen, the way you are always so selfless, the way you crack jokes like nothing when in reality, I'm struggling not to explode into a million pieces looking into your beautiful eyes. Y/N, I love you. I loved you yesterday, 6 months ago, 2 years ago, and I will love you today, tomorrow, 6 months from now, 2 years from now. Forever. I promise you that, if would would just give me a chance, please. I need this, I need you. So badly. You, and only you. Always and forever."

There was now a large blush across his face, a few strands of his hair sticking to his forehead from where he had now started slightly sweating. You're completely frozen, taken aback and shocked. You don't know whether to kiss him senseless or fall to your knees crying. No one had ever been so observant, so caring, so... sure about you before. And Cole knew that.

"Cole..." You whisper, giving no emotions away.

He looks up at you, complete puppy dog eyes. He already knows it's coming. Rejection, just like he always knew. Unless...

His thoughts were interrupted by your soft lips pressing against his. Your hands on each side of his face, pulling him in, kissing him like the world was about to end. As if it was your destiny. And that kiss, it conveyed every emotion Cole needed it to. His hands almost instinctively fell you your waist, holding you carefully.

You pull out of the kiss after what felt like forever, pressing your forehead against his, chuckling a little as you both caught your breath.

"So... you feel the same?" Cole smile a little, being playful and unusually confident in this moment.

You push his shoulder playfully, and he acts as if you just Tyson Fury-d him. "Don't be such a baby." You chuckle, pulling him in again to kiss him, as if that was the only thing that mattered right now until you stopped just centimetres away from his face.

"Wait... what does this mean for my job? Will I be fired? Will you need a new manager? You can't. I love this job. It's my whole life—" Cole interrupts you, chuckling a little.

"Don't worry, you're staying right here. Don't think we will be getting rid of you any time soon, well actually, ever. You're stuck with us." He smiles, pulling you in for another kiss. But, this time, it's deeper.

It's like he is trying to savour this moment, trying to remember what your lips feel like against his. His grip on your waist tightens as he pulls you closer, if that's even possible. You feel the bulge evident in his trousers. You pull away from his mouth to chuckle, "Cheeky. Didn't know Mr. Innocent could get turned on." You tease him.

He shakes his head. "Well, you're infront of me. What do you expect? I've dreamt of this moment since the moment you shook my hand 4 years ago saying you were our new PR manager." He smirks a little, kissing you again.

You have been lifelong friends with Sombr. People always notice how close you are because of the way you always call him by his real name, Shane. And people have started to notice the way his eyes linger on you in every awkward silence. Shane had invited you as his "date" (not officially a "date") to The Grammys, just because.

Now, you're in your apartment building, trying on dresses when all of a sudden, you hear the doorbell ringing. It's a long annoying buzz, which means it can only be one person.

You chuckle at the childish antic as you speedily walk towards the door.

You open the door swiftly to see... Not Shane?

You kind of just stare at each other for a second before the clearing of his throat sent you back to reality.

"Oh, hey, I'm sorry. I thought this was my friends room. Apologies." He spoke softly and with a smile.

"Hey, it's okay. I thought you were my friend, so I guess it's equally embarrassing for me." You chuckle a little, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

He nodded a little, still smiling before speaking again. "Again, I'm sorry." he said softly, smile never leaving his face and his eyes never leaving yours.

Except, yours do leave his because God, was he absolutely beautiful.

"It's okay, truly. Have a nice night." You chuckle a little as you speak, swallowing the lump in your throat, and smiling as if you didn't just fall in love with this man in 5 seconds.

You slowly close the door as he walks off down the hall. As soon as it clicks, you turn around, pressing your back up against the door. You look down at the floor with a small smile, squealing internally.

He was so handsome, so polite, so sweet, and funny.

Just as you were reminiscing on the memory, you hear a soft knock at the door.

Immediately, you spin around, snapping you back into real life. Of course, you look through the peep hole this time, seeing Shane looking back at you through it.

You chuckle, undoing the door.

"Hey.. woah. You look... gorgeous." Shane stutters out as he takes in the dress.

"Well, thank you, Mr. Boose, but I have other options. I still have one to try on." You chuckle, closing the door behind him.

He walks over to the sofa, sitting down, adjusting his outfit, making sure he looks perfect.

"Well, are you gonna keep standing there, or are you gonna show me?" I raises an eyebrow with faux annoyance.

You roll your eyes at him with a small smile before you scoot off into your room. You talk at him through the door.

"Hey, what people are gonna be on our table? Or do you not know?" You sort of shout so he can hear you as you strain to take off the dress.

He chuckles.

"I'm pretty sure that we find out when we are there. Maybe I have a rough idea, but I can't be certain." I shrugs a little as if you could see him.

You let out a long sigh. "Okay, who have you requested, then?"

"Well, there's a guy everyone says I look like. Cole Preston. He is in a band called Wallows. I requested for those guys to sit on our table." He says as if it's no big deal, but you're scrambling to grab your phone and search them up.

You hit your knee on the end of the bed as you hop over to the bedside table. "Fuck!" you yell out a little louder than expected.

"Are you okay?" Shane immediately stands up, rushing towards the locked bedroom door, clearly concerned, but can't reach you.

"I'm fine, don't worry. I'm just clumsy." You chuckle as you manage to put on your tights, sitting down on the bed, grabbing your phone.

Your fingers tap so fast because what if it was Cole who was the guy who knocked earlier? Or his bandmates, maybe? There was a miniscule possibility, but it was worth a search.

"Wallows" you mummer under your breath as you search them, immediately going to members.

Oh, he was there, alright. But... it wasn't Cole. It was Braeden Lemasters.

Your eyes widen as you scroll through pictures of him. God, he was so handsome. So handsome. His smile was brighter than the sun in the sky. His eyes were more beautiful than emerald pendants around a queen's neck. His hair sat perfectly on his head every time.

"Oh my God." You whisper to yourself.

A knock on the bedroom door scares the life out of you and gives you a reality check, causing you to toss your phone next to you.

"Are you done yet? Taxi will be here in 10 minutes." Shane's voice echoes through your head.

You stand up, adjusting your dress in the mirror as you walk over to the bedroom door, opening it slowly.

It's a beautiful dark red dress that highlights all of your figure beautifully, hugging you in all the right places. It's comes down to just above your knee, showing the tights you had struggled to put on earlier.

Shane's breath caught in his throat. "There is no one like you, y/n. My god."

You do a small twirl for him. "You like?" You ask with a smile.

He shakes his head. "Like? I love it. I'm sure everyone else will, too. You look absolutely beautiful." He smiles, looking down at you.

You grab his arm as you lead him towards the door. "Go downstairs. I'll meet you in the taxi. Just have to put my heels on." You smile as he kisses your forehead.

He nods before leaving.

You quickly put on your heels, rushing to the elevator before it closes. It is opened by three guys.

"Door bell guy." you say, completely shocked, but not disappointed.

You step into the elevator.

"Beautiful girl from earlier." he replies, chuckling.

"Though, I do prefer being called Braeden."

You look at the other two guys. Dylan and Cole.

"And, hey, I prefer to be called y/n" you smile as Dylan presses the elevator button behind you to floor 0.

"Well, y/n, where are you going looking to snazzy?" Dylan smiles softly, knowingly.

"The Grammys. I'm a date." You chuckle awkwardly. "But, not like actual date, yknow? Like, best friend date. Like last minute date, yeah?" You rapidly reply for reassurance, clearly hinting at something.

Dylan and Braeden chuckle a little, and Cole smiles to himself.

"We will see you there then... hopefully?" Braeden smiles at you. Your heart starts beating out of your chest.

"Hopefully.." You repeat softly.

The ding of the elevator and the door opening sends you back down to earth. You spin around, walking swiftly out of the elevator and towards the doors to get to your taxi. There, you see Shane.

You walk speedily up to him, practically yanking him in the taxi.

"Woah, calm down y/n. Are you okay?" He says, teasing but concerned.

"I'm good. Don't wanna talk about it." You say, acting annoyed, but a small smile gives you away. Shane nods at you before the taxi begins driving.

25 minutes later.

You arrive outside of the building, before almost immediately getting escorted inside and to your table. And that's when you see all three of their names at your table.

"Shit." You mumble under your breath, looking up at Shane as he moves in front of you.

"Look I know you're nervous, but it will be alright, okay? You got this Y/L/N" Shane rubs your shoulder and smiles down at you.

You smile up at him before someone accidentally barges you from behind. It's not hard, but it is enough to bother you.

You spin around to see...

"Cole?" You raise an eyebrow.

Cole looks down at you, completely puppy dog eyes. "I am so sorry, I tripped over these stupid new shoes. Wait... how do you know my name?" He was now the one raising an eyebrow as Braeden and Dylan made themselves evident behind him.

"Shane. Sombr. He... he told me." You nod, smiling a little as you spin around slightly to gesture towards Shane, who stood only 2 feet behind you.

Cole nods with a smile when he gets interrupted. "Hey, are we ever gonna find our table?" Braeden says obnoxiously loud, making sure you can hear him.

"Oh, you guys are sat here. Same table as us." You smile, eyes drifting to Braeden instinctively.

Braeden glides past Cole, taking the chair next to you. "What are the odds?" He whispers with a smile.

You chuckle to yourself as you sit down, Braeden on your left, Shane, on your right.

Braeden speaks to you nearly the entire time the ceremony is going on. Shane, who is sat your your left, is evidently feeling left out. He sees the way you looked at Braeden. How Braeden looks at you, too. He silently wishes to himself that maybe it's just a crush or maybe you just think he is interesting. Or like their music..? Anything to not admit to himself that this is really happening.