Lost In The Stereo Sound

Natalie's POV:
I woke up early the next morning to my mother whisper-yelling to me with a raised eyebrow. I rubbed my eyes and turned over to find myself face to face with a sleeping Alex who was drooling on my pillow. Suppressing a giggle, I slid out of bed and grabbed a hoodie. My mother was growing impatient, so I hurried over to the door and quietly closed it behind me as I entered the hallway.

"Natalie, seriously?" my mother said putting her hand on her hip.

"What's your problem?" I asked getting extremely irritated.

"My problem is that my seventeen year-old daughter who I thought I could trust is sneaking her boyfriend over in the middle of the night. Did you honestly think that you could hide this from me?" my mom said sternly.

"No, of course not. It's not like I was sneaking him over either. You can trust me! I'm almost eighteen and I can make my own decisions," I said in an attempt to defend myself.

"Natalie, he's your boyfriend! Imagine how that would look to a parent especially considering I walked into your room to find the two of you in bed together!" my mom said shaking her head.

"You act like you caught us fucking, Mom! Nothing happened! And even if it did, it's none of your business. We're not stupid," I explained.

"I will not have you make the same mistake as I did!" my mom said putting her hand over her mouth.

"What?" I asked not understanding at all what she was saying and why she was so surprised at what she had said.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... Nevermind, Natalie," my mom said turning around to retreat to her room.

"No, tell me," I insisted.

"Another time," she said continuing to walk.

"No," I said following her. "Now."

"When I was nineteen, I got pregnant with you... and our parents forced us to get married. I loved your father, Natalie, but it was a mistake to get married at such a young age. And not that I don't think you are a blessing to me, but it complicated everything very quickly. I don't want you or anyone to go through what I did. Does that make sense, Natalie?" my mother said uneasily.

"Yeah," I said slowly.

"We were young and in love. We were stupid. I'm just trying to protect you," she said with a sigh.

"Mom, I can take care of myself, alright?" I said.

"I know, but I'm just being a mother," she said smiling. "To be honest, I don't care that Alex spends the night... he's a good guy, Nat."

"I know," I agreed.

"Just... be careful," she said making a weird face. "And don't hesitate to ask me for... anything."

"Mom, stop," I said making the same face.

"I'm sorry," she said grimacing, "I have to say these things as your mother."

"And you did, so let's not talk about it again," I said with a smirk.

"I made some blueberry pancakes. Wake up Alex," my mom said getting up from her bed and heading downstairs.

"Mom, don't say anything, ok?" I pleaded.

"Natalie, I'm only thirty-seven," she said shaking her head. "I get it."

I padded back to my room to find that Alex was still sleeping soundly. He'd shifted and was no longer drooling on my pillow, but he still looked adorable while he slept. Instead of hugging me, he was spooning with my pillow. I took my hoodie off and climbed back into my bed. Facing Alex, I kissed his nose. He wrinkled it in response and sniffed. I put my hand on his cheek and gently kissed his lips. His eyes slowly opened and blinked several times before focusing on my face. Alex smiled sleepily and wrapped his arms around me.

"Good morning, Natty," Alex whispered.

"Good morning, Gaskarth," I replied. "My mom made us some blueberry pancakes."

"No. Fucking. Way," Alex said with his eyes wide.

"Yes, babe," I said kissing his nose again. I jumped out of bed and grabbed a pillow. Hitting Alex, I said, "Now get your ass out of my bed."

"You womenfolk are crazy," Alex said sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Fuck you, Alex," I said pretending to be mad and storming off into my closet. I slipped off my shirt and shorts and rummaged through my closet to find a bra, t-shirt, and yoga pants. I couldn't find pants, but I found a pair of sport shorts and quickly slipped them on. Unable to find a bra that wasn't dirty, I went on searching for a t-shirt.

"Natalie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Alex said trailing off.

Realizing my attire, which only consisted of shorts, my hands immediately flew up to my bare chest, but I knew it was too late. Alex's mouth was practically on the floor.

"I wasn't mad at you, Gaskarth," I said laughing. "And close your mouth, you asshole."

"No," he said with a smirk.

He walked closer to me, still covering my chest with my hands, and pulled me against him. Placing his hands on my waist, he leaned down and kissed me. A wave of goosebumps passed over my body when his skin touched mine.

"Alex, come on," I said breaking away from his kiss. "I'm half naked."

"Exactly, Natalie," he said raising his eyebrows.

"Let's go eat," I said pushing him with my shoulder toward my room and out of my closet.

"Nope," he said pushing back.

I just glared at him. The look on his face was like he was having an epiphany. I literally saw the light bulb go off in his head as he turned to face me. An almost evil grin flashed across his face and he walked toward me.

"You, sweetie, are in for a real surprise," Alex said with a silly grin.

"No," I said adamantly.

He continued to walk toward me and before I knew what was going on, he began viciously tickling my stomach. I tried to double over but he wouldn't let me. I was on the verge of silent laughing and near collapsing when he began to tickle my neck. Immediately and reflexively, my hands felt from my chest to my neck.

"Aha!" Alex said stopping and pointing at my boobs.

"Fuck you!" I said laughing. My hands covered myself and grabbed the first shirt I could find. "You are such an ass," I said turning around to put my shirt on.

"I forgot boyfriends were never supposed to see their girlfriend's tits," Alex said shrugging apologetically. "They're very nice, by the way. I don't know why you were even trying to hide them."

"Shut up," I said hitting him as we exited the closet.

"Are you mad?" Alex asked seriously. "Because sometimes I cross lines and I don't know it and-"

"Gaskarth," I said putting my hand over his mouth, "it's just boobs. It was only a matter of time before you saw them you freak."

"I'm sorry," he said grabbing my hand as we walked down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Would you stop it already?" I said slapping his ass.

After practically coming on to my mother ("Mrs. Laurent, you are the world's best cook! I love you!", etc.), I kicked Alex out of the house and began to furiously study for the many finals I had coming up next week. As much as I tried, I couldn't get Alex out of my mind. Everything reminded me of him or was something that I thought he would laugh at. Well, fuck. I was turning more and more into a lost cause by the second.

Alex's POV:
As I drove home from Natalie's house, all I could think about was what an amazing person she was. I couldn't believe that I had a week ahead of me where I wouldn't be able to see her. Finals consumed her and she was an overachiever to say the least.

When I got home, I plopped down on the couch and turned the TV on. Though I was trying to relax, I couldn't. I missed her and she was only two miles away. I needed to make a decision about where our relationship was going... and fast. How could I even think about going on tour where I would be hundreds of miles away from her when I could hardly stand being away from her for six days?