The Meeting

Home Bird

As the song came to a close, I thanked the crowd once more and exited the stage. As always, I jumped into Gavin's arms as he spun me in circles before setting me down to celebrate with the rest of the crew. The atmosphere and the feeling of finishing the last date of the tour was something I can't even explain to anyone. It was always the most emotional night.

We got a quick behind the scenes picture but all I could think about was Leah. I knew by now they'd have left their seats and be on their way backstage to see me. Why do I still get so nervous to see her?

Before I could answer the question in my own head, I could hear Leah's laugh. I could recognise that laugh anywhere. I ran towards her, my feet not moving fast enough for how much I wanted to be in her arms. I could see her smile widened as she watched me running to get to her. Her family moved out of the way to allow me to jump into her arms without knocking anyone else over. I wrapped my arms around her neck, hers holding my legs around her waist. I didn't even give her a chance to speak before I pressed my lips against hers, not caring that everyone was watching. I pulled away and rested my forehead against hers.

"I love you, Le." I said, softly.
"I love you, Alex. Always." She responded.

I kissed her again before she placed me back onto the ground. I turned to her family, who were watching on with hearts full of love. I knew her mum loved to see Leah happy. She knew how much I loved her daughter and that made her trust me with Leah's heart, completely.

"Amanda, thank you for coming!" I smiled, wrapping my arms around her.
"Don't be silly, no need to thank me. You were incredible, we're so proud of you!" She said, meaning every single word.
"Thanks Amanda. It means a lot that you think that." I replied.

I could see Jacob grinning at me, almost smirking and I knew what was coming.

"Jacobbbbbbbbb!" I shouted, making everyone laugh.
"Alexxxxxxx you are such a simp!" He joked.
"Got to make sure she knows I love her." I responded, now laughing at Jacob's pretend disgusted face.
"I think they might already know that, you know." He laughed, giving me a hug.

Jacob and I had met a few times. We got along straight away which meant a lot to Leah. Both of us enjoyed sarcasm and most of our conversations were light and fun. Deep down though, I knew that I would have him to deal with if I ever hurt Leah. He pretended to have a hard exterior but he was a softy, that loved nothing more than his big sister.

We headed for the tour bus, which was taking us to the venue booked for the after party. Jacob went to play PlayStation with the boys, whilst Lydia, Amanda and I sat around the table discussing the crowd, Amanda's new hair colour and Leah's never ending shoe collection. We FaceTimed with my Dad, he couldn't make it tonight because he had to work but I always liked to thank him after my gigs, I wouldn't have got here without him. As always, Dad was more interested in talking to Leah than me. My Dad thought the world of Leah and watching them speak warmed my heart.

As we arrived to the party, Amanda and Lydia continued their discussion of hair colours, the best shampoos and of course, Lydia's insistent belief that Gavin should've proposed by now. That meant I had Leah to myself, something I hadn't been able to experience since her last visit. We found a quiet spot away from the hustle and bustle of excited friends and family and poured ourselves two drinks from the supply of beverages we had been given. I couldn't stop looking at her, she looked absolutely beautiful. Leah had this ability to pull off anything she wore. Tonight, she had put on some fitted trousers, a blazer and trainers. Her hair was down, hanging perfectly straight around her cheeks. The light from the ceiling landed just above her eyes, making them dazzle as she looked at me.

"I've really missed you, Le." I told her.
"I can't even explain how glad I am to see you again Al, honestly." She said, sighing but with relief.
"Your live question made me laugh earlier, I thought I wasn't going to be able to hold it together." I laughed.
"About that, I need to talk to you." She looked a little more serious now and I was worried that I had said something wrong.
"Yeah? What is it?" I asked, trying not to show her that I was frightened.
"It's not a big deal or anything, just during that live you said you are a home bird. Does that mean you don't ever see yourself moving from Belfast? I know you travel for all of your shows anyway but I just kind of -" She didn't need to continue. I knew what she was meaning and to be honest, it had been on my mind a lot recently too.
"You're my home." I said to her softly.
"What does that mean?" She asked.
"You're where I consider home. Right now, I feel like I'm home. When I hugged you in the arena earlier, that was home. When I saw you in Germany. That was home. I don't care where I live, I just want to be home. That's with you."

I saw Leah's lips begin to smile, she tried to stop it but if you watched closely enough, as I was, you could tell her eyes were glazing over. I knew she couldn't speak for fear of crying in front of everyone so I carried on the conversation for her.

"I have been away from you now, apart from a couple of nights here and there, for almost a year. Your life is in London. You train there, you play there. I know that you can't move from there. I've always known that. But I don't want to spend one more night away from you Le. I want us to move in together, if you want to obviously. If you don't I'll -"

I could say no other words, Leah's lips were now firmly pressed against mine and I could feel the wetness of her cheeks as they touched. She pulled away from the kiss and pulled me into her chest. I could feel her heart thumping, her chest moving up and down as she tried to calm herself.
"I thought you'd never ask." She whispered into my hair.

We sang, danced and laughed into the early hours of the morning. Leah and I headed back to her apartment, dropping her mum and Jacob off on the way. As I stepped in through the doorway, I immediately felt Leah scoop me up into her arms, she pushed the door closed with her foot and carried me into the bedroom, lowering me down onto the bed gently. She lay beside me, running her hands through my hair and making circles on my cheek with her fingers.

"We made it, Alex." She spoke with such happiness in her voice that I felt a lump in my throat.
"What do you mean, Le?" I asked, reaching my hand up to pull her closer to me.
"When I got your letter, I knew you were going on tour again. I was so worried that we wouldn't make it. But we did. We made it." She closed her eyes, smiling gently as I kissed her cheek.
"Yeah Le, we did." I pulled her closer than ever before, feeling the intense presence of butterflies in my stomach.

Leah was right, my last tour had been the thing to end us. We took a risk but it had more than paid off. With all odds stacked against us, we made it.