𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐫 || Completed

𝐅𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 & 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞

A/N: This chapter was almost past 2000 words. WHEW CHILE. It's still a little lengthy but luckily I figured how I wanted to split it up. I liked the title too much.

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Jazmine rolled over and grumbled. She knew he wanted to get up early, but not this early. The sun had barely come up.

"Come on now, I got shit to do today," Ant commanded grabbing her by the ankle and shaking it. "I'm about to carry you out of the bed."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaant," she whined loudly clinging to a pillow.

"Get up Jazzy!" He whined back. When she closed her eyes again he lost his patience. Pulling the covers back he suddenly scooped her up tossing her over his shoulder.

She squealed loudly, surprised by how strong he was. "Put me down! I want to sleep!"

"And I want to get home on time, let's go, princess!" Hiking her up, he carried her into the bathroom and then sat her on her feet in front of the mirror. "Splash some water on your face, let's go."

Huffing she looked in the mirror patting her cheeks, realizing there was no use in fighting anymore. She still had bags under her eyes, and her face was pale. "How are you all up and cheery? You went to sleep later than me."

"When you do as much running around as I do, you get used to it."

They both washed their faces and brushed their teeth. Ant showered while Jazmine gathered all of her belongings, begrudgingly, and vice versa. They were moving like a well-oiled machine. He took their duffle bags down to the car as she stayed back to fix her hair and put on her face. They checked out right on schedule.

As soon as they got in the car Jazmine curled her small body up in the passenger seat, going right back to sleep. Ant decided to leave the radio off for her. He drove to LAX in silence.

She didn't wake up until they had arrived on the tarmac. Staff had already started loading their things onboard and Ant reached over shaking her leg.

"Hey," he called out softly. "Jazzy we gotta get on the plane."

She muttered something inaudible in response.

Sighing to himself, he got out walking to the passenger side. Once he got the door open he unfastened her seatbelt and carefully lifted her out. "Close that for me," he called out to a worker. Feeling Jaz snuggle into him he mumbled against her sleeping head, "you're a real pain, you know that?"

He laid her onto a couch, then took a seat.

The flight lasted a little over 4 hours. Jazmine woke up halfway through to eat. The staff served them both an omelet and mimosa. She took a few photos of their plates for Instagram. Once they finished eating they sat in silence. Now that the excitement had passed, Jazmine was left with reality setting in. There was no turning back now.

She looked out the window and weighed the possible outcomes. As much as she wanted to deny it, there was indeed a 50/50 chance between the two ways Daffyd could react. This could all be a waste of energy. He could pull it together and chase after her or just move on with his life. Sadly, Daff moving on wasn't any worse than her staying and dealing with his mess. She had nothing to lose.

She concluded that if all she got from this was spending time with Ant, that would be enough.

Returning from her thoughts, she could finally see Lake Michigan approaching as they passed over tall buildings. She gasped softly, then looked back at Ant who offered a warm smile. For the first time in years, she was back home.

When they landed there was already a driver waiting for them on the tarmac. By the time Ant and Jaz deboarded the plane their things were packed into the large trunk. Anthony made an effort to thank everybody they passed. Jaz followed suit, but it had been a while since she'd seen somebody be so polite. She remembered her father doing the same thing whenever they flew in her childhood. Daff didn't do that.

Holding the car door open, Anthony let her climb in first and then joined her in the backseat.

"Hey Al!" he shouted vibrantly as he patted the shoulder of his chauffeur. "This is Jazmine, you're going to be seeing a lot of her for a while."

She gave an awkward smile crossing her legs. "Hello."

The driver raised his eyebrows and then looked at Jaz through the rearview. "Oh, nice to meet you. You found you a good one."

"I wouldn't say that much," Ant joked. He flinched as she pretended to hit him then laughed. "See, she got a temper on her."

"Don't let him fool you, I'm an angel," she chuckled already feeling more comfortable.

All of the lavish treatment was new to her. Anthony was on a different level than even Daff or her and Ant's respective parents had been. It made her feel out of place. This feeling was magnified when they finally pulled up to Anthony's estate.

It was a mansion hidden behind trees and shrubbery. The whopping eight acres of land held the estate standing three stories tall with floor-to-ceiling windows. There was a pond followed by an inground pool in the back, just feet away from a fire pit along the lakeside. The long winding driveway led them past a guest house the size of most average-sized homes to a garage that could hold dozens of cars. Jazmine's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Are you kidding me? What the hell is this?" she asked Anthony hitting his side.

"My house. What you think?"

"This is insane." She got out of the car before the chauffeur could reach her door. "It's like a damn hotel Ant!"

He laughed shaking his head. "Ima take your bags in, and you can look around. I know you're a scardey cat so I'll put you in the room next to mine."

"Who a scardey cat?"

"You." He gave her a knowing look. She sucked her teeth and ignored him walking up the steps into the home.

The inside was even more insane. It had a formal entrance with a grand piano and gorgeous chandelier twinkling onto the marble floor. A double staircase led up to the second floor, and beside it-

"is that a fucking elevator?" Jazmine asked as he carried her suitcases to it.

"Indeed," he replied pressing the button. "Crazy as hell of you thought I'd be walking from the basement up to my bedroom every night."

"Good, cuz I can see myself falling down these stairs. What's in the basement?"

"A theater, a bar, and my studio." As soon as he finished speaking he stepped onto the elevator. "I think you'd have more fun looking at the kitchen first,"  he suggested nodding to her right as the doors closed.

And he was correct. Jazmine gawked loudly when she walked into the huge kitchen. The marble counters, the spacious island, and the 12-burner stove were from her dreams.

From there she explored the first floor, then the basement, and slowly worked her way up to the third floor. After peeking into nearly every room, she found the bedroom where her belongings were congregated. It was more spacious than she could have imagined. The bathroom was much larger than that of the one at The London. The shower alone looked like an entire room. It had a walk-in closet with a display table that sat in the middle.

This place was a palace.

The first thing on her mind was to fill the closet. She eagerly began unpacking her bags, taking time to carefully hang and place her shoes in clothes. After some time, Ant peeped in smirking.

"Getting settled?"

"Yes! This place is everything," she said looking up from the floor.

"Good. Me and my engineer gon' be downstairs in the studio working for a couple hours. If you need me come holla' at me. Help yourself to the kitchen."

"Alright," she shot back. He turned to leave out but she suddenly shouted out to him. "And Ant!"

He poked his head back in raising an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

She stood and walked over to him, kissing his cheek.

"What was that for?" he asked grinning.

"For being a good friend."