Andy, You're A Star

When we made it to Matt's for the show, I could hear the thumping from the house music pulsing beneath us. The whole ground floor of the house was vacant, with very few lights on. If it weren't for the noise in the basement, I would have never guessed there were people here.

I was about to make my way down, to let everyone know we were here, but Oliver's arm snaked around my waist, pulling me to him. I wrapped my arms around his narrow torso, sliding my hands under his jacket so only the thin cotton of his shirt seperated my fingers from his skin. He smiled, brushing my cheek with his thumb.

He had that familiar gleam in his eye, and I knew what was coming before he moved a muscle. I met him half way, pressing my mouth to his and pulling him tighter to the front of my body at the same time. At the moment, there was nothing I would have liked more than to stand like that forever, feeling Oli's warm breath on my lips when he pulled back just centimeters to whisper 'I love you'. But of course, like always, Curtis came barreling up the stairs and interrupted us.

"Hey mates, shows in the......WELL, what 'ave we 'ere?" he grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. Oli was suddenly unenthused, his fingers still pressed to my back.

"Piss off, Curtis. Can't you see we're busy?" Oli snapped, and I cringed at the harsh tone of his voice. It wasn't much different than how he usually addressed Curtis, except this time there was a certain tension in his words. I was probably the only one who noticed, because Curtis continued to prod at him, making the matter worse.

"Ol, I know it's your birthday an' all, an' i know you'd like to sit 'ere snoggin' all night, but people are waitin' on yeh," his words were very slightly slurring together, which didn't surprise me. I felt Oli take a deep breath, like he was about to go off, but I interupted quickly.

"Thanks Curtie. We'll be down in a sec," I told him, and his eyes shifted to me, and back to Oli's fuming figure, before he shrugged and went back downstairs, muttering a 'sure thing, boss' on the way.

"What's wrong, Ol," I asked as soon as the basement door was shut again. I looked up at his face, and his expression softened when he met my eyes.

"I don't know, Andy. I'm just stressed, I guess," he shook his head, feeling bad about snapping at his best mate.

"Well you won't be for long, love," I smirked, slipping my hands down his back and over his bum, "not after you get a few drinks in you." His eyes searched my face for something, and once he found it his lips formed a matching half-smile.

"Why don't we just go home now? I don't feel like partying tonight anyway," he suggested, and with his hands on me, it was hard to say no. But I put a lot of planning into tonight, and I wasn't about to throw it all away for a shag that could wait until later.

"Nope. I put a lot of hard work into this. We're going to enjoy it. Now lets go break the news to everyone before I lose my nerve," I told him, and he kissed me again for another moment, before taking my hand and leading me down the stairs.

The music crashed into us like a tidal wave once Oliver opened the basement door. It was some new school metal band with a lot of double-kick and shrieking guitars. Oli was greeted left and right by various old high school friends and aquaintances he'd kept in touch with somehow, and new friends of the band that just showed up recently in his life. They all looked equally excited to be a part of the fun, so I didn't pay much attention.

Once Matt caught sight of us, he steered us toward the "stage", which was actually just a small area where the instruments were crammed together with speakers, and a mic stand right in the center of it all. The music was cut, and the basement was flooded with the sound of voices, until Matt spoke up.

"Okay everyone, shut the hell up. Our guest of honor is here, so how about a round of applause, yeah? He made it here in one piece," he laughed, speaking into the microphone. I parted with Oli before Matt's little speech, standing in the rim of people surrounding the area. Cheering errupted around me, and Oliver was looking around with a huge smile, obviously overwhelmed.

I'd never seen this basement so crowded in all the years we've been having shows here, and I figured it was in part because of the boys' new found popularity. Matt continued, "It's been a long, strange friendship, mate. But I wouldn't trade it for all the booze and bitches in the world." He slung an arm around Oliver's shoulders, and somebody handed Oli a bottle of beer.

"And with that, we're gonna bring the first band up so we can get these people moving. I want to see all you motherfuckers moving your bodies," he laughed, putting the mic back on the stand. He patted Oli on the back, and Oliver returned it before coming to my side.

-Oliver's POV-

The show was going great, and it was turning out to be one of the best birthday's I've had in a long time. It was great to see all my mate's together again, just like our old parties.

More than anything, I was so grateful that Andy was here with me. After the way her morning went, I expected her to be exhausted. But so far, she hasn't shown any signs of stopping. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. The way she watched the bands with a sense of childlike wonder was absolutely beautiful. She stared with wide eyes out at the crowd behind her, like they were her closest friends. Many of them were, and many others she didn't know, but she was amazed by them all the same.

When she turned to me, peering up at me through her long lashes, my heart skipped a beat and I couldn't hold back the smile. She swung our hands between us, smiling back at me with those beautiful, straight white teeth. There wasn't a thing in this world that made me happier than the thought that I might be lucky enough to spend the rest of my life with her, to have a family with the only woman I loved, that wasn't my mum.

I had been nervous before, about telling everyone our happy news. Now I was excited. I couldn't wait until everyone knew that she was mine, for good. Nothing was going to tear us apart now. Not after everything we've made it through. After the final band had finished, we'd been there for nearly three hours. Curtis and the rest of the guys picked up their instruments, and Matt said into the microphone by his drumkit "Alright, now we're going to sing Happy Birthday to the little prick, and I'm told he has something important to share with us. Don't forget, the real party starts at Kean's house, so be there, or be left out of the festivities. It's up to you, really. Here we go..."

The house was filled with hundreds of voices, heard above the band's version of Happy Birthday, but all I could focus on was Andy. She leaned into me, singing so softly that I couldn't hear her voice, but I could feel it echoing through her and into me. When the song finished, I kissed her once before Matt beckoned me to the microphone. I pulled it off the stand and smiled, looking around.

The place fell silent, and I thought of what I was even going to say. I cleared my throat, and spoke, everyone listening to every word I said.

"What's uuup?" I grinned, and everyone cheered before I continued, "So I have some good news, but before I get to that I just want to thank you all for bein' here with me. Some of you I've know since we were just mini's, and some I've just met, but you're all great, and I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you guys. Now I'm assuming you all know my girl, Andy, right?" I paused as everyone hooted and cheered and whistled. I winked at her, and she scrunched up her face real cute, embarrassed. The noise died down, and I continued, "Right, right. We've been datin' for a real long time, just got a new apartment a while ago, and a few weeks back, we found out she's havin' a baby. You know what that means, right? Any of you pricks so much as look at her wrong, and I'll have your head. Now, who's ready to party?"

When I finished speaking, the crowd went crazy, and I was attacked by my band mates.

"Congratulations!"

"Shit, Ol, you're gonna be a dad!"

"Poor kid...."

"How far along is she? I can't even tell."

"Alright guys, move aside," the only female voice in an ocean of men's, and I knew exactly who it was before she shoved Curtis and Lee out of the way, and met me with a smile. I wrapped an arm around Andy's shoulders and pulled her to my side, pressing my lips to hers for a moment before a chorus of complaints sounded.

Andy surprised me then, by flipping them off and connecting our lips again. I smiled into the kiss, holding her against me.

I knew there was a reason I loved this girl.

-Andy's POV-

It felt like a weight had been lifted after Oli broke the news. Congratulations and best wishes were sent our way, up until the very last moments of the party at Kean's house. I didn't drink, of course, but Oli had enough to relax a bit. I talked to Shauna for the most part, and we discussed how unbelievable these last few years had been. But soon enough, Tom came and stole her away, and with Oli off entertaining his guests, I was alone.

I wandered to the upstairs, finding a semi-quiet, empty room. It was very plain, but it was a charming guest room. A wave of exhaustion hit me like dead weight, and the neat bed was extremely inviting. I sat down on the edge and took a few deep breathes. My stomach was a bit uncomfortable, but it was probably because I hadn't eaten much today. After recognizing the fact, I felt like I was starving. My stomach rumbled loudly at me, but I chose to ignore it until Oli was ready to leave. It was his party, after all.

I decided after a few moments in the quiet room that it would be to my benefit to lay down for a bit, just to rest. I'd been on my feet for a long time, and my back was aching like crazy. It felt amazing to lay down, and I shut my eyes, curling up on my side.

Sleep evaded me, which was good, because when Oli was coming down the hallway, asking people if they'd seen me, I heard him right away and was able to get up and go out to him.

"Ah, there you are love. Are you feelin' alright?" he asked, his voice colored with worry. His eyes were heavy-lidded, and his movements were lethargic, so I assumed he was getting tired as well.

"I'm fine," I smiled, and he stopped about a foot in front of me, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"This party's no fun without you," he pouted a little, and I laughed.

"You're having plenty of fun, Ol."

"I was for a while. But I'm bushed. Mind if we head home soon?" he yawned, and I shrugged.

"If you want," I said. I didn't like the space that was between us, so I stepped closer, and Oliver instantly pulled his hand out of his pocket and offered it to me. We made out way downstairs and said our goodbyes. A lot of people had cleared out of the house. It was mostly people who were probably gonna end up crashing here, and a few scragglers.

The drive home didn't take as long as it seemed to. Oli kept yawning, and I focused hard on the road, even through my sleepy mind.

Oli fumbled with his keys at the door, but he got them without my help, and pulled me inside. It had been such a long day that the relief I felt when we were finally home was enormous. Apparently, Oli felt the same. He kicked off his shoes just as I had, locked the door behind us, and followed me to the bedroom without a word. He stopped at the bathroom to brush his teeth while I undressed and pulled on one of Oli's big shirts. After my teeth were clean as well, and Oli was down to his boxers, we crawled under the covers together.

I cuddled against him, and he held me to his chest, taking a deep breath.

"Mmm, this is nice," he commented, and I could hear the smile in his voice. I pressed my lips to his neck, and had to agree.

"Yeah. Looks like things are gonna be borin' for a while, huh Ol?" I joked, my words coming out slowly. Sleep was pulling at both of us, and I welcomed it gladly.

"Fine by me. As long as we get to do this every night," his hand found it's way under my chin, and tilted my face upward. When our lips met, it was soft and slow, and extremely enjoyable. I smiled when I pulled away, resting my head on his shoulder.

It was quiet for a few minutes, before he spoke again.

"Hey Andy?"

"Hmm?" I muttered, hardly able to form a coherant thought.

"I've been thinkin'. You should marry me," he said casually, and I froze for a long moment. His words shocked me; they came out of nowhere. But as I thought about it, it seemed like a brilliant idea, and I wondered why the thought hadn't crossed my mind before.

"Okay," I smiled, readjusting my head.

"Really? You wanna get married?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah."

Even though I was half-sleeping and barely able to speak, I meant it.