Run Away With Me.

He had less than twenty-four hours.

Less than twenty-four hours till he would see his beautiful fiancée in a wedding gown. Less than twenty-four hours till he got to see her arm hooked through her best friend's as they walked down the aisle. Less than twenty-four hours till he would finally be able to call her his wife.

Alex Gaskarth was a right mess, even though it wasn't even the day of the wedding yet. His best friend couldn't even sit him down and tell him to take deep breaths, for all Alex could do was second-guess himself. He knew that he wanted this, but did Riley want this as much as he did? He wanted it more than he wanted anything ever in his life. So why was he only freaking out now?

"Jesus Christ..." Jack mumbled under his breath in annoyance, shaking his head. "Gaskarth!" He shouted, making the frazzled twenty-six year old look in his direction.

"Listen. To. Me." Jack stated slowly, placing a hand on either of his shoulders. Alex looked so lost, but he nodded anyway. "I want you to close your eyes."

"Are you going to kiss me?"

"What? No."

Alex breathed what seemed to be a sigh of relief, earning a thwack to the back of his head from the taller gentleman. "Just, close your eyes." Jack all but demanded once more.

The brown-haired man did as he was told, feeling Jack bring him to sit down on his couch. He wondered what the hell Jack was doing but hey, Jack had his moments. Sometimes.

"I want you to think about the day you skipped out on Warped to come back to Baltimore for Ri."

Alex nodded, humming. "What about it?"

"You told her that you could marry her, didn't you?" Alex nodded again, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Then she said that if you asked her in a couple of years, she'd say 'yes', right?"

"Well, technically, she said --"

"Alex."

Alex breathed a chuckle. "And?"

"You asked her to marry you on that same day, in 2013. Correct?"

Alex smiled. "Yeah."

"And she said yes. She didn't say no. She didn't say 'maybe', she didn't run for the hills, she said yes."

His lips tugged up into a bigger smile as that day replayed in his head. He was supposed to be on tour that day but he came home, knowing exactly what had happened on that same day the year before.

Alex walked into the café, a smile instantly coming to his lips as he heard the melodic laughter that belonged to his girlfriend as she laughed softly at something a customer said.

She'd started talking again, but talking still wasn't as normal to her as it should've been. Having been silent for so long, she sometimes had flashbacks of her past, instantly fearing that she would lose someone else if she spoke. Those were the days of her mental breakdowns, and Alex was usually the only one who would be able to calm her down. Linc and Charlie could calm her down, yes, but with Alex... He only needed to pull her into a hug and whisper sweet nothings into her ear - instantly calming her down.

It was clear to anyone that the two were soul mates No more, no less. They were always meant to meet.

Alex went to the counter, ordering a coffee from Linc and smiling lopsidedly when the black-haired male gave him a knowing look. Since Riley had no parents, and she lost contact (and didn't necessarily want any contact) with her aunt and uncle, Alex had gone to Linc and Charlie to ask for Riley's hand in marriage. He didn't have to, true, but he wanted to. He knew how much the two meant to her and her happiness was, ultimately, his happiness.

He then walked over to his normal table, setting his acoustic that he'd brought with him down on the floor. Then he waited, drinking his coffee. When Riley finally came to the table to refill his cup, he'd grabbed her wrist and made her sat down in the chair opposite his own. She'd let out a small squeal of surprise before breaking out into an adorable grin as she spotted his familiar face.

"What are --"

"Shhhh." Alex had hushed, placing a finger upon her lips.

He grabbed his guitar, clearing his throat. He'd earned the curious attention of the patrons of the café already and Riley just looked at him, amused and confused at the same time. He began strumming, singing the first few lines to the song, making her chuckle lightly as she leaned her side against the back of the chair, watching as he serenaded in the café.

Wendy, run away with me
I know I sound crazy
Don't you see what you do to me?

I wanna be your lost boy,
your last chance,
a better reality, yeah

Wendy, we can get away
I promise if you're with me
Say the word
And we'll find a way

I can be your lost boy,
your last chance,
your "everything better" plan

Oh, somewhere in Neverland

"You promised." He said as he ended the song, over the applause of the patrons of the café.

Riley raised a brow. "What?" She laughed, confused.

"You promised that you were with me when I said that we'll find a way to run away together." He elaborated, a cheeky grin on his lips.

"I guess I did." She laughed again.

"I don't believe you, though."

She eyed him, blinking with a small smile on her lips. "You don't?"

"Well..." Alex trailed off, slinging the guitar so that it rested on his back as he dug into his pocket with one hand, going down on one knee. "Marry me. Marry me and then I'll believe you."

A collective 'aw' echoed around the café's confinements. Riley looked shocked for a moment then she chuckled, biting on her bottom lip. "I thought I told you to ask me in a couple of years? It's been a year." She teased, earning a shrug from the other man.

"I'm taking that as a yes." He grinned, leaning in to kiss her on the lips, arms immediately winding around her waist; smiling as soon as he felt her smiling.

"Yeah, it's a yes." She breathed against his lips.

Alex laughed, pulling away, turning to face their little crowd. "I'm getting married!" He exclaimed, fist-pumping in the air, making them all erupt into laughter. He turned back to her, desperately slotting his lips in between hers.

"I love you."

"I love you more."

"Impossible."

"Nothing's impossible, love."

Alex hummed in response, nodding a little. "True. I never thought I'd ever get the guts to even talk to you and yet here we are."

"Here we are."



"Nervous?"

"Absolutely shitting my pants."

Alex laughed on the other end of the line. The laugh turned into a sigh as he settled down on the roof of his house. He'd always found a sense of comfort in high places - which was pretty ironic, seeing as how someone could easily fall off and, well, die.

"Getting cold feet?" He asked again, looking out at the horizon.

"Surprisingly... No." She laughed. "Are you all handsome yet?"

He glanced down at his outfit. He was in boxers and his shirt - no pants, yet, because his groomsmen - a.k.a his band members and tour manager - had threatened to skin him alive if he got his suit dirty before he even got married. Heck, they were nervous and they weren't the ones who was getting married in a few hours!

"Kind of. I'm sorta half naked."

"And you're on the roof of your house?"

"Our." He corrected immediately. She'd moved into his house just a month or so before he had proposed (after much persuasion on his part), and yet, she still referred to the place as his house. She said that it was because he didn't let her pay half of the bills and stuff, so she didn't feel like she had the right to call the house hers, as well.

"Whatever." She mumbled, making him chuckle. "I should get ready. Cass is giving me a migraine."

"I heard that!" The aforementioned woman shouted in the background, making Alex laugh, shaking his head.

"Love you, really!" Riley's muffled voice replied. "And I love you, too. See you in a few hours."

"I'll be the one next to the priest."

"I'll be the one in white."

"The most beautiful woman there, obviously."

Riley laughed. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

"And as the beholder, I'm saying you're the most beautiful human being I've ever seen. Now, accept it, I love you, and goodbye."