Just Another Reason I Could Never Forget You.

"I love you, Jasey. I really, truly do."
"I love you, too, Alex. More than anything," I replied, head resting on his chest in my bed, in my Phoenix apartment.
"I'll always love you more."

It had been three weeks. Three long, long weeks. I hadn't heard his voice talking to me in all that time, and it still felt harder than the last time I had had to let him go. He'd left me a note, nothing more. I'd heard John's voice mail first, telling me not to come out to Vegas, that they had someone else covering for me so I could stay at home if I wanted, or go out with Alex.
Then I saw the note. Sat on the table next to my answering machine. It felt like last time with our roles reversed.
'Holly, Jack's picking me up in a minute to go to Vegas. Don't come out, I need some time. I just need to work things out first. If I don't call you before November 20th, come out anyway. I love you. - Alex xx'
And that's where I was. I'd spent the past three weeks working back in Walmart so I could keep my apartment, using the last of this year's holidays on the next nine days. I was currently parked outside of my parents’ house, trying not to look at Alex's house. I didn't even know if he still lived with his parents or not, I knew Jack had moved in with Marissa years ago to help with the rent, but I had no clue about Alex. I sighed, finally getting out of the cab and making my way over to the door with my luggage.
"Holly!" My mother cried, flinging her arms around me.
"Jesus, you were calmer last time," I laughed, hugging her back. "Why are you so excited?"
"Oh, you'll see!" I raised my eyebrows at her, amused smile still playing on my face.
“You’re not a normal person,” I told her sweetly. She merely smiled and pulled me into the house.
“Well, Marissa’s coming over with Jack in a few minutes, and then we’re all going out for a bit!” I looked at her incredulously. I’d spent the past few hours on a plane and she wanted me to go out with everyone? I turned to my father.
“Have you heard her?”
“Yes, dear. We both thought of it,” he replied, the same knowing smile as my mother on his face. I frowned at the pair of them, holding back a growl.
“Can I at least go for a shower? I’ve been travelling all day; I’m disgusting.” My mother’s eyes brightened, suddenly grabbing my bag and thrusting it into my hands, pushing me further into the house toward the stairs.
“Hurry up! We don’t have long!” She ordered, still pushing me. I could hear my father tell to calm down, but she paid it no mind, pushing me until I reached the foot of the stairs and then shooing me until I started walking up there.
Half an hour later, I came downstairs to an almost full house. Jack and Maria had come over with Rian, Kara and Zack, though Alex was nowhere to be seen. I felt a slight sting at the thought that he hadn’t even bothered to come and see me when I finally came back after three weeks of not talking, but pushed it aside at the excited looks on my friends’ faces.
“Jasey!” Jack, Maria and Zack all shouted, Kara and Rian looking on as the three enveloped me in hugs.
“Damn girl, as if you didn’t tell me it was you!” Zack scolded.
“I didn’t tell anyone,” I laughed. “Maria worked it out, and you know that girl can’t keep a thing from Jack.” I pulled away from Jack, Zack and Maria and looked shyly at Kara and Rian. “No hugs?” I asked innocently. Rian and Kara looked at each other with raised eyebrows for a second, before Rian turned his dazzling white smile to me and engulfed me in a huge hug.
“We missed you, you idiot,” he laughed as he pulled away. I grinned sheepishly, giving Kara a hug also.
“I’m sorry for leaving, you guys. But, I’m back now! Well, not back for good, but definitely for now, and you know where to find me if you need me.” Maria bit down on her lip, trying to hide a smile. I looked at her curiously, but she just looked away as though she hadn’t seen my expression. “Where’s Gaskarth, anyway?” I asked, feigning cool curiosity. Every single person in the room looked at each other nervously.
“Um, he’s kind of busy right now,” Jack said slowly, looking at his girlfriend for confirmation.
"I don't even wanna know what he's busy doing." They all smiled weakly at me. "So, where are we going?"
"McDonald's!" Maria squealed. We all turned to look at her. I suppose this was the reason why she and Jack got along so well.
"She's joking," Jack told me. "We're clearly going to Burger King." I shook my head, closing my eyes to try and shut the pair out.
"We're going to this chinese buffet that just opened up. These two," Rian jerked his thumb toward the bickering Jack and Maria, "haven't been there yet. And apparently they 'need' to, so they talked us into it." I grinned, realising how much I'd missed the two people I had called my best friends for so many years.
"God damn it I missed you idiots," I told them all. The seven of them grinned back up at me, before my mother decided it was finally time to get us all out of her house and into my father's and Maria's cars. I rode with Jack and Maria in her car (after a large argument between myself and everyone else), the other three piling into the back of my father's car. "I missed you guys and all, but I think my parents want to spend time with me," I chuckled from the backseat.
"We love you more," Jack stated simply from the passenger seat. I rolled my eyes. Unbelievable.
"Guys, where the fuck are we going?" I asked, watching my father's car take the opposite turn off to the one we had taken.
"In a minute, Jasey," Maria told me, looking intently out of the front windscreen. She pulled up outside a white house a couple of minutes later, and ordered me to get the hell out of her car. I raised my eyebrows at her, but Jack dragged me out and up the path toward the house. It was gorgeous from the outside alone, I couldn't imagine what it was like inside - nor why I was here. I stared in awe at the interior, it was the perfect size, not too small or too large, and everything was decorated like I'd always loved.
"You like?" A deep voice whispered in my ear. I jumped, hand going across my chest before I turned to face Alex with a glare.
"Way to go, douche bag, you almost gave me a heart attack," I mock-scolded. He pouted.
"Aren't you happy to see me?" A smile spread on my face.
"More than anything." He grinned widely, bringing me into a tight hug. "But, why are we here?"
"I told you I needed time, I just didn't know how much. I didn't need time to think about me and you, that was always the one clear thing in my head," he told me, forehead pressed to my own. "I needed time to set this up. I bought this place just before I went on tour, but had no time to decorate. Three weeks was all it took, and we all helped because we all knew too much about you. Holly, baby, I want you to come home. I want you to stay here, in this house, with me, forever."
"Are you asking me to move in with you, Alexander?"
"It depends; are you agreeing to move in with me?" I bit my lip to hide my smile and nodded vigorously.
"Oh thank God!" Jack shouted from the doorway. I had forgotten he was even there. Alex flipped him off and looked back down at me.
"I love you, Holly," he smiled softly.
"I love you, too, Alex," I said, returning the smile.
My heart sped up as he leaned down and pressed his lips softly to mine. It felt right again, the aching in my chest stopped completely, as though it had never been there in the first place. I felt like I could stay right here forever.
And that's exactly what I intended to do.