Put Your Heart Where Your Mouth Is

“Excited?” Alyssa asked as she parked up the car and switched off the engine.

“Ridiculously so,” Leanne replied with a wide smile.

Alyssa nodded in agreement, “Me too. Are you ready then?”

Leanne made a quiet noise of agreement and took off her seatbelt, looking out of the windscreen at the mass of people, “Yeah, let’s go,”

The two girls got out of the car and began to make their way through the crowds, weaving and dodging people. They searched for any familiar faces.

“Alyssa Kennedy,” A voice came from behind them and they turned around, “Well, there’s a face I haven’t seen in a while. Leanne as well? It must be my lucky day,” A bright smile greeted them.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my favourite red-head,” Alyssa beamed, a joking tone in her voice.

“Nicholas Santino,” Leanne grinned at him.

The boy wandered over to the girls, enveloping Alyssa in a hug first, “It’s good to see you,”

“It’s good to see you too, Nick,” She replied, hugging him back.

“How are you?” He asked after he’d hugged Leanne.

“We’re good thanks, how’re you?” Leanne smiled.

“Great thanks. Having a kickass time,”

“Good. And Justin, Eric and Andrew- They’re good too?”

“Yeah, we’re all great. I suppose you’re looking for your boys?” Nick spoke knowingly.

Alyssa and Leanne both nodded in unison.

“Well, they’re playing a set right now but I can take you to their bus if you want?”

“That’d be perfect, thanks Nick,”

“No problem. Come on, it’s this way,” He gestured for them to follow him and wandered off, “John-Oh told me about you and him finally getting it together after all these years,” Nick glanced over at Alyssa who blushed slightly, her dark blues falling to the floor, “Took you guys long enough,” He chuckled.

Alyssa shrugged with a quiet laugh, “Better late than never, right?”

Nick glanced over his shoulder and smiled at her, “Right,”

The group made small talk as they headed for the bus. Nick left when he got the girls safely to the right place as he was needed at the merchandise tables. Leanne and Alyssa managed to get themselves inside the bus and took the liberty of giving themselves a tour, playing the ‘guess-whose-bunk-this-is’ game.

Around twenty minutes later, Alyssa was lounging in John’s bunk and Leanne was sitting in the opposite one when they heard the bus being invaded by a bunch of rowdy boys.

“Hey, John-Oh, Kenny- Nick said that he left a surprise in your bunks for you,” Garrett spoke as he came in a few seconds after the rest of them.

John frowned hesitantly, “If he’s fucked with my bunk I’m going to kill him,”

“Me too,” Kennedy agreed as the two made their way to the bunk area.

The second Kennedy walked through, Leanne pounced on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him like her life depended on it.

“Lea!” Kennedy exclaimed, stumbling backwards as he fell off balance back into the main area where Leanne was enveloped in a group hug.

Alyssa poked her head out of John’s bunk, waving slightly at him with a small smile. Her heart leapt at the sight of him just two metres away from her for the first time in one and a half months. They didn’t say a word to each other as John wandered over and Alyssa pulled herself out of the bunk. She stood up and John arrived in front of her, standing so close there was barely a hair’s breadth between their chests.

Alyssa stayed almost perfectly still as she watched his eyes scan her face. John felt his heart pound against his ribcage. His skin was tingling as he reached up, his fingers hovering so close to her cheek without touching.

She blinked slowly and carefully bit her lip, desperate for his fingertips to just close the gap. As she opened her eyes, John sent her a small smile which she returned.

Within a split second, John grabbed the back of Alyssa’s neck and pulled her body to his, fusing their lips in the kiss that they’d been craving since the moment they’d parted. Their lips moulded perfectly and slowly together, moving and parting to deepen the kiss and bring each other closer.

At that moment, Alyssa really didn’t care that John had just come off stage and was relatively sweaty. All she cared about was the fact that he was back in her arms again and it was all she wanted.

After a minute or two, John pulled away, letting out a blissful sigh as he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.

“Hey,” He whispered.

Alyssa smiled and took his face in her hands, “Hi,” She murmured.

“Fuck, I’ve missed you,” He breathed after opening his eyes so he could see those dark blue orbs that sent his stomach into a frenzy of butterflies.

She nodded slightly, closing her eyes to enjoy the feeling of his skin against hers again, “I know. I can tell. I missed you too,”

He grinned again and pressed a kiss to her lips that was so gentle she barely felt it. He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist so she was firm against his body, “You cut your hair,” He noted, reaching up to twirl the end of a lock of her dark hair between his fingers. What was once way past her shoulders now rested neatly just past them.

“So did you,” She replied, ruffling her fingers through his now tamed mop of hair, “I like it this length,” She complimented.

He settled his arms back around her waist, “I like yours too,”

“Lyssa, you better get your ass in here love so we can hug you!” Pat yelled through.

Alyssa laughed and released John so she could walk back into the main area. She was bombarded with hugs, “Ah, I’ve missed you guys so much!” She squealed excitedly, hugging Garrett and Pat then Jared and Kennedy in double embraces.

“We have so much to show you and tell you guys,” Garrett spoke excitedly, taking Alyssa and Leanne’s hands and tugging them towards the door.

The girls giggled lightly, “Garrett, you just got off stage, take a second to chill,” Leanne laughed.

“But I’m buzzing!” He threw his arms out to the side which caused the girls’ to go with them.

“We know,” Alyssa beamed at him.

“So come on! It’s incredible out there!” He tugged on their hands again and they followed him outside, “Wait!” He stopped and pulled them back inside, “Go on, you can kiss them goodbye,” He rolled his eyes and let them go.

Leanne jumped over to Kennedy and gave him a quick kiss before heading back to Garrett. Alyssa wandered over to John and gave him a quick hug then pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Love you,” John whispered, squeezing her hand.

She smiled at him, “Love you too,” She mumbled back at the feeling of her heart swell at the words.

She made her way back to Garrett and allowed herself to be pulled off into his excitable ramblings.

The small greeting that Alyssa and John had shared had completely reassured her of their relationship. All she’d ever wanted was a relationship like the one she’d witnessed Leanne and Kennedy share for years. She wanted something that was strong enough to survive even when they’d been apart for a while. She wanted someone to love her unconditionally and indefinitely and for them to know that she loved them back in exactly the same way.

Everything was precisely how she wanted it.

Her heart still raced, her stomach still fizzed, her skin still tingled and her whole body still went wild twenty times stronger when John was in the room with her then when she just thought about him. It didn’t matter what they’d been through, all that mattered was that they were still together.

They were still best friends. They were still in love. They were still perfect for each other.

And, just as she’d always prayed for, the one thing she wanted was true-

Absolutely nothing had changed.

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'Unconditional, Unoriginal, Always By My Side
Meant To Be Together, Meant For No-One But Each Other
You Love Me, I Love You Harder'

Hey Monday

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