i have died everyday waiting for you.

Finley hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright." She said quietly, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Still a little surprised, she turned back to the rack of jumpers that she'd been browsing through. Once she'd found her size in the ones that she liked, she headed over towards the register. She really wasn't sure why she was so surprised that he was giving them to her, but she was. Maybe it was the fact that this whole thing hadn't turned into a complete train-wreck just yet. He hadn't really asked her how old she was or anything like that, so she wasn't technically lying to him, but she was sure that he assumed she was older. Most people who didn't know her did. Of course, she didn't know that he wasn't being completely honest with her either.

---

Josh was honestly rather relieved to find that she would be staying the rest of the summer. He would have really been quite bummed if he learned that she was leaving at the end of the week or even the end of the following week. It wouldn't have given him enough time to really get to know her and hang out with and well, frankly, that would have fucking sucked. "An art major, huh?" He asked, his eyebrows raising in surprise. She didn't really come off as the artist-type, but now that he looked at her, he could definitely picture it. "Where do you go to school?"

Oliver met her up at the cash register, taking the clothes from her and taking the security precautions off easily before bagging them up and handing it over to her. "There you go then. Great choice by the way, that was one of my favourites," he said, walking around the corner. "Anything you'd like to do now?" He so wished that she wouldn't say that she would like to go meet up with her friend or go home. Oliver wanted to be with her a little more at least. Sure, it was pretty obvious by her accent that she lived around here, so he could see her any time, but he wanted to spend more time with her now

---

Piper couldn't really tell if he was happy or not about her staying the rest of the summer. "Yup, I'm super messy about it, like I'll get paint or charcoal all over my hair and everything," she said, being true. Piper was awfully messy at most anything she does, it not mattering if the project was supposed to be messy or not. "Um, Bates College," she just picked one of the colleges she thought was in the state at least. She knew so many tha was halfway across the country she didn't even look too much at the ones in her own state.

"Thanks." Finley said quietly as she took the bag from him. "I do recall you saying something about getting ice cream earlier." A small grin tugged at the corners of her lips. She wasn't ready to go find Piper just yet. She was sure that her friend was still with Josh anyway, and she wanted to spend some more time with Oliver right now anyway. She had the rest of the summer to be with her friend, and she was sure that Piper wouldn't mind anyway.

---

Josh chuckled quietly at her words. "I'm sure you look cute though." He said honestly, sending a grin her way. And he really meant what he said. He could just picture her right now with paint in her hair and some charcoal on her face. He nodded at her later words. "Where's that?" He hadn't heard of the school before, and he was curious to see if she went away to school or if she stayed close to home or what.

Oliver couldn't help his grin when she brought up his ice cream offer from earlier. He guessed that meant that she really did want to hang out with him more. "Cant forget the ice cream, can we?" he laughed, leading her out of his store. After a quick thought, he decided to take the long way to the ice cream parlor, not thinking that she would mind it or anything. It was a nice day after all.

---

Piper could only smile and giggle a little when he said she would look cute covered in paint and charcoal and whatever else she was playing with. "I don't know, it's like a five year old messy to it," she said before going on to answer his question, "Uh, it's close to home so I can just drive there and not have to deal with crazy room fees and everything. School is just way too expensive." It made sense to her at least. She just really didn't know how he thought she was a college kid. Did she really look that old? She had only just gotten her license a few months back.

"Of course not!" Finley said, letting out a quiet laugh as he led her out of his store. She really was liking hanging out with him, and she was sure that Piper was having a good time with his friend as well. "So, where are you traveling to next?" She asked curiously. She really did envy him for it. She wished that she could travel. She really hoped that she had the opportunity to do so in the future.

---

Josh chuckled quietly, a small grin tugging at the corners of his lips when he heard the cute giggle that escaped hers. "I'm still sure that it's cute though." He said, winking at her. He nodded at her later words. He'd heard about how outrageous university prices were, so he could see why she wouldn't want to pay extra just to dorm there or whatever. "That's good."

Oliver read his mind when asked where he was travelling to next, not coming up with anything. "I'm not sure actually. Might just buy a ticket and go somewhere, throw a dart at a map or something," he shrugged a little. He couldn't remember if the record company said that they were going off anywhere or not. He hoped they had a good while off. So much touring and it started to really drain a person.

---

Catching his wink, Piper smiled larger and ducked her head a little. "How can you afford to go travelling all the time? I can imagine it gets quite expensive with places to stay, food, and plane tickets or gas and all," she asked curiously. It really did seem like an expensive hobby to go on with; it'd be fun, but expensive. Maybe he was some rich kid, or maybe he had an actual job that let him just take off randomly with a huge burst of wanderlust. It really didn't matter how, she was jut curious.

Finley nodded. She wished that things were that simple for her. That she could just randomly decide one day to buy a ticket and just up and leave London for however long. She hoped that in the future she could do something like that, but there was a part of her that highly doubted that that was even remotely possible. "What are some of your favorite places you've been to?"

---

Josh really should have seen that question coming. It wasn't really all that surprising for her to be curious as to how he could possibly afford to travel all the time, but he wasn't quite sure that he wanted to tell her the whole truth just yet. He liked having her think he was just some guy named Josh who lived in London and traveled a lot. It just made him feel normal and like she liked him for him, not Josh Franceschi, frontman of You Me At Six. "I have a clothing line. It's not really all that known, but it gets me by. That's and I started saving up money a while ago." He shrugged.

Oliver had been to so many places he wasn't sure if it was possible to name just a few of his favourites. "Well, I've always liked just going around the UK with my friends, Chicago's really cool too, and a few places in Australia are really nice. Funny lot, they are actually," he said, thinking back to a few times he had been there and some of the things the boys had gotten into. "I think any place is fun if you have the right people along with you, though." It definitely did make a difference who he was touring with. He loved most of the people he went touring with, but then there was usually that one guy they were stuck with that he couldn't stand at all.

---

"A clothing line, aye?" Piper murmured, but could definitely see it. He seemed a bit artsy, able to design his own clothes to sell. "That's pretty awesome. What's it called? I'll have to look it up and see some things," she asked, even if she would probably forget the name and have to ask him again later. It was cool though that he really did have some source of income to pay for all these adventures he went on, that he had actually took time to save up as well.

Finley was honestly a bit envious. She wished that she could travel to places like he was listing. She really hoped that she would get to at some point in the future, though she couldn't help being somewhat pessimistic and thinking that that more than likely wouldn't happen. "Yeah, I can see that." She said. It was probably a lot more fun when you were with your friends. She couldn't imagine going with someone she didn't like. That would be terrible.

---

Josh nodded. "It's not that big, but yeah, it is." He said. He really hoped that she would forget the name when he told her, since he knew there was stuff on the website about touring and stuff like that. He knew that he'd have to tell her the truth eventually, but he didn't want to just yet. "Down But Not Out." He told her.

"You'll get to travel someday. Just put your mind to it and you will, definitely," Oliver said, seeing the little ice cream shop up ahead and opening the door for her when they were there. He glanced to the menu board, humming to himself as he looked it over, trying to figure out what he wanted to get. Ice cream was so much harder to pick than coffee was. "Any idea what you'd like?" A large twist cone with rainbow sprinkles sounded amazing right then and there. Maybe he'd get that.

---

Piper nodded her head a little, thinking that she would have to remember that that was what it was called. She grinned seeing the Eye up ahead, being so close to it. "C'mon," she said, grabbing his hand and running to it since they were already so close, laughing. She hadn't even realised that she had taken his hand then, not even caring when she would eventually make that realisation that she had, just smiling a little wider.

Finley was pretty surprised by his words. He'd honestly caught her a bit off guard. Was she really that easy to read? She hadn't realized that her facial expressions made her thoughts all that obvious. "I hope so." She said quietly, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I think I'm going to get mint chocolate chip...or maybe cookie dough." There were so many options. She often found she took forever to decide.

---

Josh was surprised when she grabbed his hand. It wasn't so much that he didn't like it as he hadn't expected her to do that. He chuckled, running with her towards it. He glanced over to her, the smile on his face widening. This girl just amazed him. She was really something else. He already liked her a lot. "The view's absolutely amazing." He told her. "You're going to love it."

Oliver had been in her position. He had been a kid in high school that so wanted to get out of this damned place, and when he couldn't even use his mind for an escape, he had started to self harm. But he at least knew how it was to want to get out and travel. He had set his mind to that and the band, and that was successful along with his very own clothing line and had so many wonderful friends. She would get to the point to where she could leave and she would love every minute of it, Oliver was positive. "Hard decision, they're both amazing," he said with a little nod, leading her to the counter before ordering his cone, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket to pay for the both of them, even if she wouldn't want him to. He was the gentleman in the situation, he would open doors and pay for her and he didn't have a problem with any of it at all.

---

Piper eventually slowed back down to a walking pace again when they were close enough, her grip on his hand loosening, but not pulling her hand from his. If he wanted to let go, he would, and she very so guessed that he would let go so there was no need for Piper to get her hopes up that he wouldn't. "Oh gods, I can't wait." She jumped a little, unable to contain her excitement. Going to littler, lesser known places of or around London was amazing, but the actual tourist places like the London Eye, it made her feel like this was actual. Like Piper was really here in England with a pretty boy who wanted to show her the place.

Finley nodded wordlessly and thought about it for a moment before finally deciding on what she wanted. She allowed him to lead her to the counter and after he ordered his cone, she ordered her cup of mint chocolate chip. She didn't even get a chance to tell Oliver that she'd pay for hers though. "You didn't have to pay for mine." She said quietly, a slight frown tugging at the corners of her lips. She felt bad. He'd given her free stuff from his store and now he was paying for her ice cream too. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the gesture, she did, but it didn't mean she felt any less bad about it.

---

Josh couldn't help grinning as he looked over to her. This girl was seriously just...amazing. She was almost indescribable actually. "Well, I wouldn't want to keep you waiting too long then." He said as he led her over to the entrance. There was a line which really wasn't all that surprising seeing as it was the London Eye. It was a major attraction in the city, one of the places where tourists practically flocked to. As he led her over, he didn't let go of her hand. Not once.

Oliver got his cone back, he grinned and took a good lick from it, enjoying the flavour and rainbow sprinkles. "It's fine, love, it's just ice cream, it's nothing, really," he told her with a laugh, "now cheer up, yeah? No frowns." He lead her over to a table before sitting down, trying to lick it all up before it would melt, which would be catastrophic. "Are you in uni, then?" he asked, curious. She looked like she would be, studying something very interesting. Oliver couldn't see himself in a university, studying day in and day out at something that he wouldn't find useful at all, or even studying something he liked. Studying. He liked going out and doing it, not wasting time to try and learn about it. It was rubbish.

---

Piper could feel herself beam a little when he didn't pull his hand form hers, feeling so much more like a middle schooler crushing hardcore. She had only just met this guy today, just a little bit ago, but that was long enough to form such a crush, infatuation with the boy who travelled and had his own clothing line. She looked up, seeing just how tall the thing really was before glancing back to Josh. "We're going to go really high up aren't we?" It wasn't that she was scared of heights or anything, it just fueled her excitement. Piper would have to get right to the bars of the little pods, able to be right there at the edge looking out.

Finley felt a small smile tug at the corners of her lips. "Alright." She said quietly as she was handed her ice cream. She followed him over to a table, taking a seat across from him and eating a spoonful of mint chocolatey goodness. For a moment, she was surprised by his question, but she managed to compose herself rather quickly before responding. "Yeah, I'm a psychology major." She lied smoothly. That was what she was hoping to do when she finished college the following year. But she couldn't quite tell him that, could she?

---

Josh glanced over to her when she spoke, nodding at her words. "Yep. Don't tell me you're afraid of heights." He teased. She didn't seem to be afraid or nervous or anything of the sort really. She actually seemed really excited and eager, and in all honesty, he thought it was extremely adorable. She reminded him of a little kid on Christmas morning what with the way her eyes were shining brightly and she had this huge smile on her face too.

Oliver nodded his head a little, "Psychology was always really interesting. Took a class of that when I was still in school and had really enjoyed it," he mused lightly. He could see her as a psych major, all analytical and philosophical and just amazing. He could really see that. "Do you know what kind of like, department of it, I guess. Like working with the crazies or human resources or what?" he asked then, curiously. He couldn't decide what part he could really see her as, and he was sure whatever she would say, if she had any idea what he focus would be, would definitely fit her then.

---

"Nope, spiders creep me out more than being just a little high up off the ground does," Piper replied with a little laugh, "and they don't scare me either." Not much scared her, but whatever would, would terrify the girl; she was a brave little one. "Even if I was, you would protect me, right?" she asked a little coyly, batting her eyelashes a little as she looked up to him. Piper shouldn't be trying to be coy, or hold his hand or flirt or anything, Piper should have just been there with him to be shown around and tell him that she was only sixteen, turning seventeen at the end of the summer right before school started up again with her being one of the youngest in her grade. But she didn't. She lied and would flirt and giggle because she thought him cute and lovely.

"I'm not really sure to be completely honest." Finley said. "I know it must sound silly. I should probably know what I want to do with the rest of my life, but I don't. I just know that, one way or another, I want to help people." That was the truth. She didn't know exactly what she wanted to do once she finished college and uni. Yes, she wanted to be a psychology major, but the degree was useless if she didn't know what she wanted to do with it. That was how she saw things at least.

---

Josh smirked slightly at her words. "I suppose so." He shrugged his shoulders. He saw no harm in flirting with her. "I mean, I'm assuming that you'd give me some sort of a reward if I did protect you, right?" Of course, he had no idea how much younger than him she actually was. He had no idea that he wasn't the only one who wasn't completely being honest with the other.

Oliver could only smile at her words, liking to hear that she wanted to help and not be selfish completely selfish in her career choice. "I'm sure whatever you eventually choose to do will help a lot of people," he replied. Psychology was one of those departments where anything you did helped people, as did much of any job choice there was, there was always a way to look at it as 'helping'. But there was always another way to look at it as selfish, and he much so believed that a job depended on the way someone looked at it to be defined as helping or not. "So you like uni and all, then?"

---

"Of course," Piper confirmed as she nodded, "hero's always get rewards, right?" It would just be a summer fling anyway. He was a wandering soul, and she was one stuck living in an overprotective household, attending high school for the final year. Maybe she would get away with not telling him how old she really was. It'd be over when the summer ended when she flew back home and he stayed in the magical land of England, never going to see each other again. That could work, and it could be so lovely. "What kind of reward would my hero be looking for?" she asked, walking a little when the line moved up slightly.

Finley smiled. Most of the time people told her that she should probably start trying to figure out what she was going to do when she told them she had no idea. Some just seemed so beyond shocked when they found out that she didn't have the slightest clue. It was refreshing in a way having someone say something totally different. "I hope so." She said before nodding at his later words. "Yeah, a lot more than I liked college."

---

Josh shrugged his shoulders, a cheeky grin on his face. "I might know of something." He said, winking at her. What could he say? She was cute, and was the first girl who he really took such a great deal of an interest in since he and Abigail had ended things. What did it matter if he flirted with her a bit? There was no harm in it. At least, he didn't think there was anyway.

"It'll all come and slide into place. You'll figure it out," Oliver told her before agreeing that uni had to be better than college had been. "It sucked for me," he said, thinking that if the band hadn't gotten together, college would have been the sole reason he hadn't gone onto university. "Oh Jesus," he muttered as his ice cream was melting a little faster than he cared for it to, licking up what had dripped onto his inked knuckles because he was a boy who didn't think about using a napkin instead.

---

"And what would this something consist of?" Piper was playing innocent, as if she couldn't put the little puzzle pieces together. She wasn't so innocent though, as what she would like herself to believe. Piper was no slut, no continuous one night stands and teasing just to tease. No. She had really only done anything once, and that wasn't something she would like to think about because of how it had all happened. Still, Piper didn't believe Josh was anything like that guy, so flirting had to consequences to it.