No One Does It Better

Josh's P.O.V

‘I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, my day of relaxing had been suddenly changed when Oli dragged me out of the bus and down the unfamiliar streets; promising me that it would be worth it. I didn’t protest as the lanky man dragged me around the twisting and turning pavement, and despite the fact that my legs were on fire, I was absolutely thrilled to see what he was so eager to share with me.

“Ta da!” he proudly proclaimed as we found ourselves inside of a decent sized park, there was a large picnic basket set out under a tree that he was ushering me towards and I couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re taking me on a picnic?” I practically squealed, Oli shot me sly grin as he let go of my hand and undid the clasp on the wicker basket, pulling out the traditionally colored red and white cloth. He laid it on the ground with precision before offering to help me down; I giggled but nonetheless, accepted the help. He browsed through the container and pulled out several items, mainly food; along with a few candles and some candy hearts.

“Oli this is awesome, what’s the occasion?” I pestered with a cheeky grin, he simply shrugged as he handed me a sandwich wrapped in aluminum foil, I thanked him quietly as I unveiled the sandwich from its coverings. A large lump was in the center of the bread, and for some reason that peaked my curiosity. I lifted the bread up and to my utter surprise, a ring was placed carefully in the center; I gawked at it before giving Oli the most confused look I could muster. Tears rose to my eyes as he stood up from his spot and looked down at me, he held his hand out, which once again, I took without hesitation.

“Oli…what on earth?” I commented as I gripped the ring and decided to drop the sandwich back onto the blanket, he chuckled.

“What? Don’t like it?” he whined playfully, I shook my head quickly,

“No, it’s beautiful…wow…what’s the occasion?” I asked cautiously, there was no way he was…

“Well Josh, if you must know…today is a very special day. It’s the day that I want to show you how much you mean to me. You’re the light of my life Josh, and nothing could ever change that. I couldn’t imagine a day without you and I never want too, it took losing you to make me realize what I had; and I can't let that happen again.” I was crying profusely at this point, and when Oli dropped down to one knee, I felt time stand still. Everything was in slow motion, when he took my hand in his and looked up at me, it felt ages apart. Only did I come back to reality when I heard five words pass through his lips, “Josh, will you marry me?” I didn’t think I could shake my head fast enough. He smiled brighter than I had ever seen him as he took the ring from me and placed it gently on my left ring finger; before I could blink he had me in a bone crushing hug. One that I eagerly returned. The prospect of spending the rest of my life with Oli was something out of a story book, and it was the most surreal moment I have ever had. He was squeezing me tightly, planting kisses on my cheek while he muttered how much that he loved me and how much I meant to him, and it was then that I realized how stupid I had been in the past.

Oliver Scott Sykes was beyond perfection, he was everything a girl could dream about, everything a guy wish he could be, and vise versa. The way he carried himself dared to resemble comfortableness and humility, but his smile was confident and charismatic. He could say anything and it would still sound like music to my ears, he could be dressed in sweats and still be the most beautiful person in the room. He was everything I wanted, everything I could ever need. I was selfish to think I didn’t deserve him; it was increasingly obvious that he needed me as much as I did him. I may be an in-perfect human, I have scars and flaws, not to mention unruly hair and a little chub around the waist; but I was a good person. I needed, no I deserved someone like Oli, he made me happy; he made me want to live and he made me want to constantly better myself. That was more than enough proof for me. He was my soul mate, he was the one in seven billion I was destined to spend eternity with; and to think that I had found him was unreal.

“Oh Oli, you don’t have a clue how happy I am. I love you so much, thank you.” I whispered as I picked him up and spun him around, he giggled childishly as I placed him back on the ground. A loud round of applause startled me as my eyes tore away from his and towards a large group of people who surrounded us, I hadn’t even noticed them. My band mates, my sister, Oli's band, his brother, plus countless other people who had made this happen for us. Tyler. Hannah. Everyone.

“Did you plan this?” I questioned as I slipped my arm around my now, fiancés, shoulders. He smiled and nodded his head;

“I may have had something to do with this.” He giggled when everyone made their way over to us, giving us hugs and lots of congratulations; something inside of me was reignited along the way. My inspiration was back tenfold, my happiness tripled, and my head was as clear as day.

“Okay, time for some pictures!” Tom yelled excitedly as he brought out the camera that was housed in his ruck sack, Oli dragged me to the side and asked Tom what he wanted us to do, I laughed when his brother shrugged.

“Fuck if I know! Do what engaged people do! Kiss and show the ring off or something?” he laughed as he positioned the camera towards us; Oli mumbled a “fuck it,” before reaching up and bringing my eyes level to his, without hesitation I pressed my lips to his. He kissed back gently as his hand snaked around my arm; he brought my hand out to the side so that Tom could get a clear picture of the ring and us;

“Perfect! You all can stop sucking face now.” Tom commented, we reluctantly pulled apart; and I could see the disappointment in Oli's eyes. I leaned down and kissed the tip of his nose apologetically, mouthing “later.” To him, he smiled and a dark blush decorated his cheeks, but nonetheless, he winked and poked me in the side with elbow.

“Time to get to the venue guys, sorry to ruin the moment but the show won’t play itself!” Nicholls proclaimed whilst approaching Oli and I, the drummer slung his arms around our shoulders and pulled us down the street alongside everyone else. On the way back to the venue, I could help but keep my eyes locked on Oli, seemingly enough, he was doing the same. It felt like we were in our own world, and if it hadn’t been for the incessant ramblings of our friends, scratch that, family; then I could have sworn that we were alone. It was exciting and scary to think what would become of us now, but in my heart I knew this was only the beginning. This was the first step to a life full of no regrets and more happy moments than I could imagine…you could say I was ready for that. A lifetime spent besides Oliver Scott Sykes…yeah, that...that was definitely something I could deal with. -Joshua James Alphonse Franceschi-Sykes ’

“Josh! It’s time to go; we can't keep the guys waiting forever! Plus, Oli is probably already a nervous wreck! It is your wedding day after all.” Tyler, my best man, proclaimed as he clapped me on the back, I reluctantly shut the leather bound journal and set down my pen, the black haired man raised an eyebrow.

“A journal…Oli and I both wrote our views on how we met and how everything played out for us. We’re giving them to each other later as presents, pretty corny huh?” I chuckled as I kicked back from my chair and pulled my clothes from my body; I reached for the suit on the back of the couch and began to slip it on. Tyler laughed,

“Hardly, that’s actually quite adorable. You two are the most perfect couple,” he added as he helped me slip my suit jacket on, luckily my nerves weren’t too bad today. Not after my best friend styled my hair perfectly and even went as far as to shave my face, he was too scared that I would mess up and nick myself.

“Psh, and you and Hannah aren’t? Give yourself some credit!” I chided as I buttoned my sleeves, well more like struggled too, Tyler was quick to help.

“She is a godsend, I can't thank you and Oli enough for the hook up, not in a literal sense obviously.” He retorted while I looked myself over in the mirror, I was a few pounds lighter, a few months older and a lot happier now that Oli and I had been engaged for eight months; he had affected me in the best of ways.

“You think we’ve changed? I mean, Oli, me, you, all of us?” I inquired while I turned back around to face him, he nodded his head happily.

“I think we have, I think we are all in the place that we need to be. Life worked out well for all of us in the end,” he smiled genuinely as he snatched his keys up from the table. He opened up the front door and motioned for me to exit, I rubbed my hands together nervously as I took the first step out of mine and Oli's flat and into the hallway, this was becoming real for me. I was on my way to marry the love of my life, and if you could go back in time three years ago and ask me where I would be today…I wouldn’t say the same thing. I was happy, I was proud, and I was one hundred percent sure that my life was on the right track; and it was all thanks to Oli. Note to self, sometimes life throws you curveballs, sometimes you get water dumped on your head by the man your destined to marry; but it’s always worth it in the end. Keep smiling, keep in happiness, keep in touch with yourself, because one day it’s all going to be worth it. I pushed my bands newest CD, Sinners Never Sleep into the disc player as Tyler and I made our way to the venue, one track was on repeat the entire way. No one does it better.