A Lot of Potential

The morning of leaving for Vegas came quickly. I sat on the curb at 5:30 in the morning, looking down to Alex's poorly lit house. I expected him to be running out any second to say his goodbyes. Everything was packed away into Ella's black SUV and everyone else was inside eating breakfast. I wasn't hungry so I went outside into the slightly chilly weather and sat on the curb. I did feel a little dumb for wearing a hoodie and jean shorts with my hair pulled up into a ponytail. The porch light to Alex's house flipped on and I heard a loud bang come from the door. I giggled seeing Alex pick himself up off the ground and began to run down the street.

I stood up from the curb, walking out into view so he could see me. He ran quickly, not bothering to slow as he got closer. He threw his arms around my waist and pulled me off the ground as our bodies smacked together, creating a loud thud. With my arms wrapped around his shoulders and legs wrapped around his waist, I found his lips, giving him a small kiss. "Good morning, love." he smiled, taking in a deep breath and letting me to my feet.

"Good morning to you too. You're energetic today."

"Well, I did get a goodnight sleep last night." he laughed, grabbing my hands. "But my bed was lonely without you."

I rolled my eyes, pulling my hands from his and throwing them around him. "I couldn't stay last night. I would of if I could."

"I know baby. What time do you leave?"

"At six."

"Damn, if I would've known that I would have came sooner." he sighed, leaning his head on mine.

"I'm not looking forward to this trip." I said wistfully, shaking my head.

"I wish you could come with me instead."

"So do I." I frowned. "But luckily you'll get to join me in my misery Tuesday night, I believe?"

"Late Tuesday night, early Wednesday morning." he smiled, kissing my forehead.

"I'm going to be insane by the end of this week."

"Why?" he asked, pulling me to the curb to sit down. He pulled me into his lap and rested his chin on my shoulder, looking up at me to listen.

"My sister brought Cat." I bit my lip, placing my left hand on his chest.

"Well, that's gonna be fun. Enjoy your trip, babe." he winked, making me slap his arm.

"Asshole." I gigged, kissing his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too baby." he said, leaning in for a kiss on the lips.

"Haley, are you two almost done?" I heard Ella ask behind us, making Alex freeze.

"Um, yea." I said, awkwardly standing up. He stood up too, wrapping his arms around me.

She didn't answer, she just got into the passenger seat of the car. I looked up at him carefully, eyeing his expression. I pushed myself on my toes, placing a sweet kiss on his lips. He smirked, pulling me back in for another one. "Be safe, baby. I love you."

"I love you too." I frowned, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Okay, don't kill me." he laughed, making me loosen my grip. "I will most definitely see you in a couple days, Love."

"Okay." I nodded, pulling back from him. He grabbed my hand and walked me to the car, helping me into the backseat.

"Don't miss me too much, babe." he smiled gorgeously, making me feel sad. "Bye you guys." he waved to Ella, and took a step back. He shut the door and disappeared in sight. I sighed, tapping my foot on the floor mat.

"You two are so cute together, it's not even funny." Ella laughed from the front seat, turning her pregnant body around to face me.

"Ella, can you keep a secret?"

"I kept the baby secret, so I think I can keep another secret." she nodded.

"Yeah, I may have let that one slip to my dad on accident. But we don't have to let Alex or my sister know anything of that." I shrugged.

"What do you need to say?"

I took a deep breath before saying the big secret. "When I went to New York with Alex on Valentine's day, he proposed to me." I blurted out quickly, showing her the diamond engagement ring I had on the wrong finger, trying to disguise it.

"It's on the wrong finger, you know that right?" she laughed. "But I'm so happy for you both!"

"We're keeping it a secret for now. Until he talks to dad anyway." I choked, looking at her with fear. "And Tuesday night after the show, he's flying to Vegas to be with us."

"That's good! Did you tell your dad?"

"No."

"Haley, you need to quit being shy and tell your dad these things." she said, turning around before my dad got in the car. He got in the driver's seat adjusting the steering wheel and things while Bella and Cat crammed into the backseat with me.

"Well, who's ready for Vegas?" my dad asked, hearing no cheers. "I said, who's ready for Vegas?"

"Woo." I sarcastically said, sticking my hand in my pocket. I felt a unidentified object there, wrapping my hand around it. I pulled it out to see it was Alex's iPod with a tiny note wrapped around it. 'Here's my iPod to help down out the sound of annoyance. I love you.' I read, smiling as I stuck the note back into my pocket. I placed the two ear buds in my ear, turning on some All Time Low, listening to Alex's angelic voice and letting it remove all doubts. He was such a serious life saver.

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Alex's POV:

I must have fell asleep sometime after we left for New Jersey for the first show of two we were opening for Fall Out Boy. I heard Jack and Zack yelling at each other, pulling me out of sleep. Then I realized we were on the side of the road. "Okay, why are we stopping?" I mumbled, blinking away my tiredness.

"Kaylyn has a nose bleed." Jack said, helping his girlfriend out of the van. Oh for the love of god.. I sighed in frustration, grabbing my phone and checking for texts from Haley. "We need to find something to use as a tissue!"

"Just do like what they did in that movie 'She's the Man' and use a tampon." I laughed hysterically as I laid my head back on the seat.

"Erm, I haven't got any.." she replied shyly, looking at her feet.

"Hold your head back." I suggested, rolling my eyes.

"Here, I have one." Kara giggled, grabbing her purse and handing me the tampon to hand to Kaylyn.

"I don't want this." I shook my head, handing it to Jack. "Here bro, take care of your problem."

"Fuck you man."

"Maybe later." I winked, hopping the seat to the very back. After a few minutes of them bickering, they all got back in the van and Zack and Rian switched driving places. I felt myself going back onto the verge of going back to sleep as I listened to them all talk about random topics.

I most definitely fell asleep. I woke up to Kara slapping me in the face to tell me that we were at the venue. We were given our tour passes and was allowed to do whatever until it was seven PM. The guys talked about going to get pizza or something, me personally, didn't really give a fuck what I did. I didn't feel the same without Haley here. I agreed to go eat with them, but I was still pretty spaced out. We sat at a table together. Rian and Kara sitting together, Jack and Kaylyn, then Zack and I.

I sat there nibbling a bit off my pizza, staring blankly into space. "Alex!" I heard Jack yell, snapping me out of my gaze.

"What?"

"I swear to god, you space out so much." he rolled his eyes. "As I was saying, have you figured out when you and Haley are getting married yet?"

"No." I automatically answered. "I haven't talked to her dad yet, and I'm pretty sure it'll be after she graduates."

"That's along time to be engaged for." he said back and mumbled some more that I just blocked out. I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket, giving me the urge to flee from the pizza parlor.

"I'll be back in a minute." I said, getting up and walking to the door. "Hello?"

"Thanks for the iPod." I heard her sweet voice, bringing a needed smile to my face.

"Is it working well?"

"Very, it's getting rid of the annoying sounds." she giggled.

"Where are you guys at?" I asked, readjusting the beanie on my head.

"We're in Grand Junction, Colorado, for the night. We have about another seven hour drive then we'll be there. Have you made it to Jersey yet?"

"Yup, we're here. We're eating now and fixing to head back to the venue and play the show, then head on off to Philly." I laughed. "Jack and I get the night driving shift tonight."

"I thought you didn't like Jack driving."

"I don't honestly, I'm probably going to end up dead."

"No!" she shrieked and began to giggle. "I miss you."

"I miss you too." I sighed, turning my shoulder to see everyone leaving the parlor.

"Hey babe, I gotta go." she sadly said and sighed.

"I believe I do too. I love you and i'll call you later tonight."

"Okay." she whispered. "I love you too."

"Baby wait." I breathed, not thinking about what I was fixing to say.

"Yeah?" she asked quickly.

"Nothing. Never mind." I said, shaking off the thought of asking her to marry me in Vegas.

"Bye." she giggled, making me laugh along with her.

"Bye, love." I sighed, hanging up. I threw my phone back into my pocket and caught up with the guys at the van.

"Alex got nervous." Jack teased me as I got into the van.

"What?"

"You stuttered when you told her to wait."

"Are you eavesdropping in on our conversation now?" I rolled my eyes, pulling my hood over my head.

"Yes, totally. What were you going to ask her?" he asked, smiling at me.

"I, I was going to ask her to marry me in Vegas." I stuttered and smiled.

"Dude! No! If you're going to get married, it needs to be a normal wedding. And you need me there to be your best man!"

"Bullshit! I backed off because I didn't want to freak her out."

"I don't think it would freak her out, maybe just catch her by surprise." he shrugged.

"Plus, I'd be in a bad place to tell her to marry me then and there. Her dad may get pissed off and punch me in the throat." I laughed a little. I had a feeling that would be his reaction when I ask him for Haley's hand..
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The night got here and we were fixing to start our set. We were opening with Break Out! Break Out! which was strange. We usually always open with The Party Scene, but not tonight I guess. The crowd chanted our names as we ran out. I introduced ourselves, making the crowd go insane. I began the first chords of the song, bringing Jack and Zack into it with me.

I smiled as we finished playing the outro to The Party Scene, listening to the crowd scream. I felt really lucky as we walked off the stage, the crowd still shouting our names. We got our instruments packed up and put into the trailer of the van. Putting me in the driver's side, I drove the whole 45 minute drive from Trenton, New Jersey, to Philadelphia. When we got there, we all crashed in the van for the night.

The next night we basically did it all again. Only I wasn't driving us back to Baltimore. I was catching a taxi to the airport heading straight to Vegas to be with Haley. I got the tickets for the next flight out, texting Haley the when I would be in around. I told her not to worry about coming to get me.
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Haley's POV:

I ignored Alex when he said not to come get him at the airport. I got out of the hotel room while Cat and Bella finally passed out. It was just a little after 4:15 AM, and Alex's flight wasn't supposed to be in until 4:35. I wanted to get there early, but I kinda overslept. I knew the airport wasn't far from the hotel we were staying at so I knew I wouldn't be late to surprise him. I never anticipated something so much in my lifetime. I was just ready to see him so he could make my trip way better. I got out of the taxi at the airport entrance, running to the door. I walked quickly to the front desk, giving the woman a shy expression.

"Can I help you?" she smiled.

"Can you tell me where the terminal for the 4:35 flight from Philadelphia is?"

"It's terminal A." It's on the left wing of the airport." she nodded. "Have a nice day."

"Thank you." I smiled, taking off into a run. I followed the signs to terminal A, stopping in the designated waiting area. I looked up at the flat screen TVs that had the flights, scanning to find that his flight was on time. I looked at the clock on my phone seeing it was a little after 4:35, giving me butterflies in my stomach. People from the plane started coming through the exit, meeting their loved ones in the waiting area or going to baggage claim. I grinned as I saw him dragging his feet as we walked through the exit, not paying a bit of attention to his surroundings. I walked into his view, seeing his tired face turn happy.

"Baby, I told you not to worry about it." he said, pulling me into a hug.

"I couldn't sleep so I came." I lied, trying to hold back a yawn.

"Sure you did. You just missed me that much."

"Shut up and lets get to the hotel before anyone wakes up and realizes I'm gone." I smiled, pulling on his hand.

"Okay, okay." he yawned, wrapping his arm around my waist. We walked to the baggage claim, finding his bag on the first rotation. He threw it over his shoulder and pulled me along with him to the front entry of the airport, flagging down a taxi for us. I told the driver what hotel to take us to as I smiled up at him. I've never been so happy to see him in my life.

"How was your flight?" I asked, grabbing his hand.

"Rough. I did get a glass of champagne. Then I fell asleep afterwards and I really have to pee." he said, making me laugh.

"That's nice. We're sharing a room with Cat and Bella for the night so prepare yourselves."

"Joy." he scrunched his face up. "Oh well, a bed sounds really nice right now. Last night we crashed in the fucking van and it sucked."

"Why didn't you all stay in a hotel or something?" I questioned him as I saw the hotel come into view.

"Because I don't know. Everyone was already passed out so I didn't bother listen to everyone bitch about me waking them up so we stayed there for the night."

"Good move." I giggled, paying the fare and pushing the door open and getting out. I grabbed his hand and pulled him up along the side of the building, finding the door to the room I was staying in. I searched my jacket pocket for the key, sliding it in the lock and pushed the door open. "Be quiet." I told him, taking his bag from him as he ran to the bathroom. I decided to put my pajamas back on while I waited on him to come out. I slid off my shorts and flip flops, pulling my sleeping shorts on in replacement.

He walked out of the bathroom, walking over to the bed. "My god, I feel so much better right now." he laughed, kissing my forehead.

"I bet you do." I quietly giggled, pulling my hair up into a messy bun. "Now get your ass in bed and lets cuddle."

"Damn, hold on."

"I've been holding on for two days, enough waiting." I smiled as I watched him pull his shirt off.

"Should I keep my jeans on since they're like.. here?" he raised a eyebrow, touching his belt.

"It's not like they've never seen a guy in boxers before." I rolled my eyes, now getting impatient.

"True." he said in consideration. He pulled his shoes off and slid his jeans off his legs, crawling into bed afterwards. I pulled the blankets over us to cover us from the cold air of the room. "Falling asleep in five, four, three, two, one." he quietly laughed, kissing my nose.

"Fine."

"I love you." he smirked, setting up to kiss my lips.

I pulled away and bit my lip, trying to control my strange desire for him. "I love you too." I whispered back, laying my head down on his chest.

"I've missed this."

"I have too." I said, snuggling closer.

"Goodnight babe." he whispered, rubbing his hand up and down my back.

"Night." I smiled, closing my eyes and falling asleep easily now that I was comfortable.
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I felt a poking in my side, making me open my eyes to see what the hell was going on. My sister stood at the edge of my side of the bed with her arms crossed. "When did Alex get here?"

"At like five this morning." I yawned, wiggling out of his grip.

"Thanks for telling us."

"I told Ella." I shrugged, falling back onto the bed.

"You don't ever tell me anything Haley." she rolled her eyes, setting down on her and Cat's bed.

I shrugged again, placing my hands over Alex's hand. He snored lightly still after the loud talking which was good I guess. "I just don't really have much to say anymore." I said, hearing a knock at the door. "Fuck."

"It's just Ella probably."

"Hopefully." I sighed. "Where's Cat?"

"In the shower." she said, getting up to get the door. She pulled it open looking at me strangely. "Morning Dad, Ella." she nodded, letting them in.

"Morning Haley, and Alex?" my dad said, raising a eyebrow.

"I'll explain later." I laughed, shaking Alex lightly. "Alex, wake up."

He didn't respond at first but after a moment he came out of his sleep. He opened his eyes and pushed himself up, yawning and stretching. "Morning everyone."

"Good morning, Alex. It's nice to see you here?" my dad laughed, shaking his head.

"I may have taken a flight from Philadelphia to here earlier this morning."

"That's good." he smiled at him. "So Ella, you wanna take the girls out for a little girl time and let Alex and I have some guy time?"

My eyes widened, looking down at Alex. He had a fearless expression on his face, yawning and stretching still. "Okay, I can do that. I think they're all almost ready to go."

"I just need to put my jean shorts back on and I'm good to go." I shrugged, pushing myself out of the bed. I grabbed them and walked to the back of the room where there was a tiny closet I could change in was. I took off my sleeping shorts and pulled on my jean shorts, walking back into the other room and slipping on my flip flops. I redid my messy bun and did my eye makeup so I can at least say I looked decent.

"Well I'll take them and we'll go." Ella smiled, pushing Cat, Bella, and I out of the door. I felt a little nervous for Alex, but he needed to have this time with my dad.

Alex's POV:

After Haley and the girls left, I felt sudden fear. I kinda felt like this was sudden death for me. I grabbed my jeans off the floor, pulling them back on. I walked over to my bag, pulling out a clean shirt and slipped it on my body. I took a seat in one of the chairs across from the bed Rob sat on.

"Alex, I think you and I need to have a talk." he started, making stomach flip and flop.

"I've been thinking the same, sir."

"Son, I know you've been dating Haley for about a good six or seven months now and I want you to know that I trust you." he took a deep breath, making sure I was understanding him.

"R-really?" I stuttered in shock.

"Yes son, I do."

"That's good to know."

"I do after hearing about yours and Haley's lost baby." he sighed. I quit breathing for a second. How the fuck did he know? "There's so much to be said right now, I just can't think of the way to say it."

"I'm sorry about everything, sir. I'm a dumbass." I sighed, feeling really guilty.

"It's okay. Things happen." he shrugged it off. "I don't want to freak you out with this next part, so promise me you'll stay with her after I tell you this."

"I have no intentions of ever leaving Haley."

"Good, good. If something happens and I'm not around to give you my blessings of marrying her, you have them, Alex."

"Please forgive me again sir, but I already proposed to her along time ago. I just didn't have the guts to ask you then." I shook, preparing myself to get hit. "And not around? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Alex, in September, around Haley's birthday I was diagnosed with Leukemia. They told me I didn't have long. They said maybe six months to a year. They offered treatment, but I turned it down." he said with his voice cracking. "That's why I jumped into things, proposing to Ella, buying a new house, going back to school. I'm trying to fulfill my dreams before I die."

"What?" I breathed.

"Haley doesn't know. Nor does Bella. I don't want them to be worrying about me." he sighed. "I'll most likely be around to see Bella graduate but not Haley. I'm honestly not sure what's going to happen with Ella and I's baby."

"Why do you think that? You have to be positive!" I said, taking in deep breaths to calm myself. "I'll marry Haley as soon as I can, I promise."

"If I can't see her graduate, I'd love to see her happy." he nodded.

"Hell, I'd marry her right now if I could. It would upset my parents though because it's not traditional and they didn't get to attend." I laughed a bit, trying to lighten the mood.

"Alex, please take good care of Haley for me please. I've never seen her any happier than she is when she's with you."

"I will, forever and always. I love her more than anything. I'll marry her this summer." I said, watching him nod his head.

"That's fine with me. I'm completely okay with it. Just keep taking good care of her. Please. Now get you some sleep son, you look exhausted." he said, standing up.

"Yes sir." I nodded, shaking his hand. "Thank you so much."

"No, thank you Alex. You're a really good guy and I really mean that." he smiled as he opened the door and left. I felt a weight being taken off my shoulders, but a little more added. I was going to somehow convince Haley to marry me this summer.