Heart Flutters; [afi]

[18]

Present Day, October 18th, 2014 || Age 20

"Lexi!!"

I'm pummelled by Liz, who's legs were moving at the speed of light to reach me. I catch her with a loud 'oomf!' of surprised, staggering back slightly. Kaelan jogs over, a smile plastered across his face, his dimples pop on each cheek as he reaches over Liz to hug me tightly. The grin on my face is enough to almost break my cheeks and I wrap an arm around each of my siblings, squeezing tightly. My dad closes the front door to the house, his face brightening as his eyes lay on me. He shoots me a smile and makes his way over, fighting through Liz and Kaelan to finally give me a hug.

The plane ride felt like forever, even though it was just under two hours. I had too much time to just sit and think about the photo of Ashton, his lips on another girl's carelessly. It's like I didn't exist in his world anymore, I'm just a fragment of who Ashton Irwin used to be. I thought I knew him and if I was right about who he used to be, he'd never do this to me. There was a couple of times where the stewardess tried talking to me, but I was too lost in my thoughts about what happened to even care. I ended up falling asleep toward the end of the trip, only to have terrible nightmares about Ashton, 'cause I'm not haunted by him enough in real life.

"Hey guys! I miss you all!" I exclaim happily as my siblings peel themselves away to get a better look at me. Liz grins, her arms still wrapped firmly around my waist, her head resting in the crook of my stomach. Kaelan blushes, since being a teenager and giving hugs isn't necessarily the 'cool' thing to do anymore. My dad makes his way forward laughing as he outstretches his arm to wrap me into a tight, familiar hug.

His long arms wrap tightly around my shoulders and I bury my head onto his shoulder, missing the familiar feeling of just being at home. I've forgotten how much I love my dad's hugs, they always find a way to make me feel better, even at my worst. Right now, this helps more than ever, especially since the chances of me seeing Ashton this week are high. Dad pulls away after a minute or two, the happy smile still visible on his face. Liz giggles to herself, still holding on tight to me, despite the fact that dad had hugged me at the same time.

"I missed you a lot, baby girl," Dad says wrapping his arm around my shoulders as we make our way toward the house. I half-smile, swiftly picking up my suitcase on the way in. Kaelan reaches over and snatches it out of my hand with a laugh, taking a moment to pause and stick his tongue out at me before entering the house.

Nothing's changed much, it still smells like cinnamon pinecone poppurri. All the furniture is in the same place, the coffee table of the living room covered with various papers and pens from dad's work. There's a new flower arrangement on the table, the bright lilies enlightening the kitchen. Aside from that, everything is the absolute same, as it was the day I left home.

I slip off my vans and paddle across the tile of the kitchen, making my way toward my favourite cup to make some coffee. Kaelan comes back down the stairs, brushing his hair from his forehead with his large hand. He steps over toward me and leans against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I finally asked that Mindy girl in my class on a date, amazingly enough, she said yes," He grins, then nibbles on his lower lip. Kaelan's grown taller, his lanky frame is slowly building muscle and it's strange to me, my little brother is growing up and dating girls.

"Mindy. Mindy Reynolds? I don't remember meeting her, I think I 'ought to meet her first," I tease and pour coffee into my hand-painted cup. Kaelan rolls his eyes at me, but a playful smile is still evident on his lips.

"Look, the only reason why I wanted to tell you is because I need advice on what to do for a date. I remember you always whining about how dinner and movie dates get so old, and how you wish Calum would take you somewhere other than Nando's," I blush in embarrassment and sip at my coffee. "I saw how happy you'd be after dates with Ash and I just want to know, what's something I can do to make this fun? I really... I like her, I mean, I like her a lot."