A Lot of Potential

He held on to my hand as we walked down the white sand before sundown. He held a acoustic guitar in his other hand as we walked, stopping close to the water's edge. He sat down, pulling me on top of him. "Alex, what are we doing?"

"I wanna watch the sunset." he smiled, stroking my face.

"You're a fag now? That's cool."

"No! Just for something to do. Get out of the little villa." he said, looking back towards the groups of housing units we were staying in. "It's kinda noisy, don't you think?"

"That's true." I shrugged, leaning me head into his shoulder. "So what to talk about while we wait.."

"There's a lot of things to talk about."

"Like?"

"This summer, what's gonna happen when you have to go back to school. Basically our future." his lips parted into a small smile as he pushed his hair out of his face.

"Alex, I don't wanna go back to school." I sighed. "I wanna stay with you."

"I don't know how we could manage that though love. I'll always be on the move." he sighed also, closing his eyes as he leaned his head into mine.

"I know."

"You don't have to go to Dulaney if you don't want to."

"I think I should though. At least graduate from there." I frowned, putting myself in misery by thinking of going back to that hellhole. "Or I could do online school."

"As much as I want you with me, I do want you to graduate from a actual high school." he shook his head in disagreement.

"Home school me."

"I'm not smart enough for that bullshit." he laughed, kissing my forehead.

I rolled my eyes, sighing in defeat. "Alex, I learned more from you than I actually did from the teachers. You're actually probably the only reason I didn't fail my junior year." I watched him narrow his eyes at me.

"I don't know, baby."

"You have all the time in the day to teach me too."

"We'll see when September gets here." he said, changing the subject. "So, we start tour in about a couple of weeks."

"Cool." I calmly said, playing with the hair tie around my wrist. "You'll be out wherever, and i'll be stuck in Baltimore."

"Ha! No." he snorted. "I'm taking you with me and you're staying with me."

I looked at him like he had lost it. "You're sure about this?"

"Positive."

"How positive?"

"HIV positive." he joked, flashing me a smile.

"Ew, I'm not having sex with you again." I joked back, watching his smile turn into a horrified look.

"Aw, come on baby, I have needs!"

"Are you enjoying this sunset?" I smiled, looking over the horizon of the beach.

"Yeah, actually I am!" he laughed, wrapping a arm around me to pull me closer to him. "Actually, I didn't really wanna see the sunset, I just wanted to bring you out here to play you something I wrote. I'm waiting for the sun to go down so it'll take full effect."

"I kinda caught on to that since you brought your guitar with you." I giggled.

"But I have two. Maybe three I wanna play. It'll kill the time for the last one if I start now." he said, picking up his guitar. He slid his body through the strap and played a few simple chords. "I like this one. It's called 'Stay Awake.'"

I listened to him start it off, singing the first verse. I listened to the words, taking them in. His voice was angelic, but wasn't it always? "Stay awake, get a grip and get out, you're safe from the weight of the world. Just take a second to set things straight. I'll be fine, even though I'm not always right. I can count on the sun to shine. Dedication takes a lifetime but dreams only last for a night."

He brought it to a end, giving me a heart stopping smile. "What'd you think?"

"You're a perfectionist at writing lyrics." I smiled widely, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "Play another one."

"Alright. This is 'Let It Roll.'" he said, starting to play the intro to the next song. "I can't wait to start adding the real shit to these." he paused, before he started to sing. 'The top of the clock reads half-past four, I'm wide awake keep thinking with my pillow on the floor. Maybe I was wasting my time dreaming in a harsh reality, I don't wanna wake up just to find I've been deceived.'

He finished it, looking up at the dark sky that now was above us. Stars twinkled up there, illuminating us. "Now, I'm curious for this last one." I laughed, moving closer to his side.

"I think this is my favorite one." he laughed, playing chords on his guitar. He started to sing, catching my attention by the first word. 'Meet me on Thames street, I'll take you out though I'm hardly worth your time.. In the cold you look so fierce but I'm warming up 'cause intentions like a fire. We'll hit South Broadway in a matter of minutes and like a bad movie I'll drop a line. Fall in the grave I've been digging myself, but there's room for two.. Six feet under the stars.

I smiled, looking up at the stars again. "Perfect." I whispered.

"I should of known better than to call you out on a night like this, a night like this. If not for you I know I'd tear this place to the ground. I'm alright like this, alright like this. I'm gonna roll the dice before you sober up and get gone. I'm always in over my head."

I listened to him, leaning my head against his shoulder. "Six feet under the stars." he whispered as he stopped playing. He took his guitar off and laid it gently in the sand, turning to face me. "Did you enjoy them, love?"

"Why are you so perfect?" I giggled, latching my arms around him.

"I don't know." he shrugged. "It just happens. Why are you perfect, baby?"

"I'm not."

"Bullshit. You are to me."

"No." I shook my head, receiving a 'shut up' kiss. "I hate it when you do that."

"I don't." he smiled. "You're perfect, that's that."

"No, I'm not."

"Haley Noel Gaskarth, you're perfect to me. Now shush." he smiled, laying back in the sand and pulled me down with him.

"Don't shush me!" I shook my head. "Alexander William Gaskarth."

"Yes?" he smirked at me.

"I love you."

"I love you too, baby." he kissed the top of my head, looking up at the stars. We stargazed for a while, insulting each other in a loving manor. I never could imagine Alex and I as a married couple, laying in the sand in Fiji stargazing.

"Look Alex!" I pointed up. "A shooting star! Make a wish."

"I have my wish right here."

I blushed, hiding my face in his chest. "Crazy enough, you're mine too."

"You've always been mine." he laughed, pointing towards the water's edge."There's a turtle."

"I like turtles."

"No way! Me too!" he grinned, shaking his head.

"You're a idiot." I slightly smiled, pushing my hair behind my ears. "When do we go back to America?"

"In a couple of days." he sighed. "I wish the trip could be longer."

"I like it here. Can we just live here?"

"Sadly, no." he laughed. "I wish, but no."

"Boo."

"Did I tell you what Jack told me the other day?"

"No?" I looked up at him curiously.

"Jack said he's gonna propose to Kaylyn soon." he smiled. "He's totally copying us now."

"Damn straight." I rolled my eyes playfully. "But aw! That's cute!"

"He's gonna wait until we're on tour so he can take her somewhere pretty."

"Copying you now?" I giggled.

"I don't even know." he shook his head. "I think proposing to you was the first time I actually got nervous."

"You didn't have trouble putting the promise ring around my finger though.."

"But that's just a promise that I would propose to you and marry you. Just coming down to surprise you and do it was the hardest part." he laughed at his own stupidity. "And marrying you has been the biggest accomplishment in my life."

"Besides All Time Low?" I looked at him cautiously.

"Besides All Time Low."

"Wow." I giggled. "You love me more than your band. Even though it came first."

"You mean everything to me." he whispered, kissing my jaw as he moved his lips to mine. "I love you."

"I love you too." I whispered back, settling back down to his side. I stared up at the half moon, listening to the sound of his heart beat in his chest. He played with my hair as we laid there, still staring at the stars. I didn't want to move.