He's Giving Me a Reason, an Emblem3 Fan Fic (Sequel to Riptide)

Chapter 47

"So what are you up to today?" Wes flopped down onto my bed. I tossed the blanket over the two of us and snuggled into his side.

"Not much. I need to go pick up my textbooks from the bookstore, and then Adrianna and I were going to go grab some lunch or something." My fingers clutched his t-shirt lightly. There was something about laying there: nuzzled into his shoulder that I felt so relaxing. When I was in his arms, I could just close my eyes and feel like I have all the time in the world- keeping my breaths in time with the rise and fall of his chest. "What about you?"

"I was thinking about hitting the studio with the guys." He responded casually, but I could see the excitement glinting in his eyes.

"Any new songs?" I nudged him in the side playfully. He chuckled slightly and rolled over, wrapping his tan arms around my body. Seconds later I felt his chin nestle into my neck.

"Nah, not yet. We were just planning on doing studio recordings of Indigo and Sunset Boulevard." I could feel him grinning wildly as he kissed my neck softly. All of a sudden I couldn't concentrate. It took every ounce of energy that I had to restrain myself from jumping him right then and there. So to keep calm, I took a long breath in through my nose.

"Sounds awesome." I said, still kind of distracted. The sleeve of his shirt hung slightly off his shoulder, and I found myself reaching out to feel his soft skin. I heard the breath hitch in his throat, and I attempted to bite back the smile forming on my lips.

"You know, I'm liking the dorm bed." Wes whispered, shocking me out of my thoughts. I readjusted myself so I could look into his eyes, only to find him playing with the comforter. "We could blow off everything else to... break it in?" He raised an eyebrow at me suggestively. My eyes widened and I hit him in the chest.

"Wesley Trent Stromberg!" I cackled out loud. For obvious reasons I didn't know what my face looked like, but I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. I heard his bubbly laugh ring out from beside me. "So not an option." I protested. But in my mind I knew that wasn't true. If Adrianna wasn't sleeping in the bed next to me, I might actually take him up on his offer. But just as I was about to abandon all my common sense, Wesley kissed me on the temple and untangled himself from my sheets.

"I've gotta be at the studio by eleven." His eyes twinkled with excitement. "I'll send you an MP3 of the songs when we finish." I hopped out of bed and met him in the doorway, kissing him goodbye.

"Ugh can you guys get a room? You know, one that's not this one?" An oh-too-familiar voice chimed in from the bed next to mine. Adrianna pulled her covers over her eyes. I started giggling and shoved my boyfriend out the door lightly.

"Love you." I trailed my finger down his cheek.

"I love you too. I'll text you; maybe we can meet up for dinner?" He raised an eyebrow in my direction.

"I'd like that." I told him. And after another quick peck on the cheek, he was gone.

"You guys are starting to get sickeningly cute." Adrianna was now standing in front of the vanity mirror attempting to twist her hair into a messy bun.

"Shut up." I laughed, smacking her as I passed by. I hated being compared to those lovey dovey couples that you see all over the city. You know the ones: they're always making out, and playing with each other's hair, and holding hands, and giving each other stupid pet names... That was someone I never wanted to be.

"Okay, you're not that annoying. I'm just jealous I guess." A deep sigh escaped her lips as she flopped down onto her bed.

"So how are things going with Drew?" I pressed her for details. She's been 18 years old for a while now, but I didn't see any progress being made in her relationship with Drew.

"They're not." She huffed.

"What do you mean? Everything's okay now, you guys can date." I made the point of reminding her in case she forgot. But who could forget something like that.

"Yeah, we can date: in secret. Even though we can date now, we just aren't. I don't see the point if we have to hide our relationship." She sighed. "We were so in love, and then ripped from each other's lives. How did we ever think that we could just pick up where we left off?" The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. It made me question my own relationship as well. I was his girlfriend that he was hiding from the press; his dirty little secret. Will we ever be allowed to announce our relationship? Or will I just be living in the shadows for the rest of my life. I love him, but is it really worth it?

I was shocked out of my thoughts when I heard Adrianna start to cry. "I love him, but our relationship will never be the same." She choked out. "We don't even know each other anymore." My heart was breaking for her. As her best friend, I felt it was my duty to offer words of encouragement.

"Ade don't worry! You can get back to that place, all you need is a little time." I started rubbing circles into her back lightly in attempts to comfort her. But the tears didn't stop.

"Time is the only thing we don't have. In a month or so the boys are headed back to Cali for the show. And then they'll become super famous and Drew will forget about me. In the end, all I'll ever be was some stupid summer fling." I adjusted my posture, allowing myself to slink back against the bedframe because I was at a loss for words. What could I possibly say to make this better.

"Hey guys do we need to bring our licenses too? I was thinking we could get our school IDs done while we were-" I looked over to the doorway where Owen stood, frozen in place, wondering what the heck was going on.

Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, I was in DC looking at colleges, thinking about the future and what not :) 70 votes and 10 comments for the next chapter? :)