"I did it, I did it!"


Tom, Nate and myself all jumped out of our beds in unison. There were high pitched screams coming from the room across from our own. At first, we all looked angry, like we would have to beat the brakes off of some guy for messing with our girls, and then we heard Mr. Dawson's heavy footsteps coming down the hall. Followed by that a manly 'woo-hoo.'


"No way," Tom mumbled, slipping out of bed. He slid on his shirt and flashed a smile at Nate and myself. "I think it's Aubs."


Nate and I, much less of morning people than Tom, took the time to stretch and rub the sleep from our eyes. We both let out a groan as we climbed out of bed, and together, we made our way to the room that was already packed with bodies. Stella and Aubree were holding hands, jumping down on the bed. Under normal circumstances, I would find this hot, but I was seriously just too confused to care.


"I'm done!" Aubree's girlish scream hurt my ears. "Suck on that, High School! I'm done with you!"


I rose an eyebrow to this. So Aub had actually done it, huh? She beat me to the finish line. I could make out a few of the words on the paper her dad was holding, since he was so close to me. Yep, that was a temporary certificate. I was jealous, indeed, but pride filled my gut at the thought of one of my best friend's finishing school.


"Congrats, Aub," I pulled her into a hug, once she was done hugging Nate and Tom. "We knew you could do it."


Aubree was still so excited she couldn't stand herself. At this, I decided I'd snatch a shower while the girls celebrated. It was a delightful feeling, knowing that I could move as slow as I wanted to today. By the time I finished my shower, Nate was clean as well, having used the other bathroom. We piled up on the couch and mumbled a few words to each other before Nate, Stella and Aubree appeared in the room. All freshly showered and looking good.

Except for Tom, that is.


"So Jack," Stella batted her eyelashes at me playfully. "What did you have in mind for today?"


"I- I was supposed to plan for today? Tom," I whined. "What did I plan?"


"Can't help you here, bro," Tom laughed, clinging to Aubree. "This is your date, not mine."


"Well, what are you guys doing?"


"We're taking Nate to the movies with us," Aubree beamed. "Then we're all going out to celebrate with my dad."


"How romantic," I crinkled my nose. "Stell, what do you want to do?"


"I'm gonna go grab a jacket, just in case the wind picks up," she winked at me. "You can figure it out."


I glared at my other three friends as they slid on their shoes and began leaving the house. Well, at least I had a one-up on them. I could take te van! This meant that Stella and I could go somewhere special.. But where was special around here? There had to be something she wanted to do, somewhere she wanted to go. She's a girl - They always have these picture perfect plans in their mind, and if I don't deliver, it'll be my ass.


"Are you ready?"


I nodded, a small smile on my face. Stella let out a giggle and tossed me the van keys. See? I already forgot something. Holding the door open for her, we stepped into the mixed August air. July's heat was still around, but September's wind was welcoming itself, as the month was just around the corner. I held the door open for my girlfriend and then climbed into my own seat, cranking the van. Stella began humming along to the music. This gave me time to think. She had to eat, right? With that thought in mind, we pulled into a small diner. Leading Stella inside, we took a seat at a small booth, waiting on someone to take our order.


"I'm glad we get a day to ourselves," Stella grinned, flipping through the menu. "I can't wait until we're done with this record. I miss home."


"Yeah," I frowned. "I do, too."


A few moments passed in silence, until a waitress came to take our orders. She didn't appear to be much older than myself, eyeing us like we were up to no good. I rose an eyebrow to Stella as she left, but my girlfriend simply shrugged her shoulders.


"So what are we doing next?"


"I don't know," I glanced around the diner. "I've completely forgotten what it's like to be a normal kid. Do we go to the movies? Do we go to the mall? I'm a little sick of being perfect."


"Awe, don't sorry, Jack. You're far from perfect."


I stuck my tongue out. She knew exactly what I meant. We go to bed when we're told, we record when we're told, we do our work when we're told. We're permitted certain hours for recreation, and we that just as we're told. Even when we tour with our dads, we're forced to do exactly what we're told.


"Here's your food," the waitress broke my thoughts. She stood there for a moment after setting down our drinks and food, smiling brightly. "I'm sorry, I just have to ask.. Are you Stella and Jack.. From Serenading Sirens?"


"Yep, that's us," I laughed, watching her face light up.


"Oh, can I get a picture with you guys? Tammy, I told you it was them, come take a picture!"


She pushed our plates out of the way and plopped down on the table, tugging at mine and Stell's hands so that we stood up beside her. It was awkward, admittedly, but it was also nice to think that people know who we are. Once the camera flashed, she hopped off the table and thanked us over and over again. I could tell that my girlfriend was getting irritated. Can't say I blame her, this was supposed to be our day, after all.


"So are you guys going to the carnival?" Her eyes flickered to Stella, but mostly stayed on me. "It's not really exciting till the sun goes down, but there's tons of games and a few rides."


My attention snapped to Stella. She seemed amused by the idea. Maybe this is exactly what we needed. I spoke a little more to the waitress as we ate our breakfast, asking her where the carnival was located and whether or not there was a fee to get in. I hadn't thought to bring a lot of money with me, but the fact that it was free meant I had extra money to spend on Stell.


We left the diner and made the short drive to the carnival. It was only about fifteen or twenty minutes out of the way. By the time we arrived, cars were already packed into the parking lot, though the gates seemed pretty empty. I opened Stell's door and grabbed her hand, leading her into the cotton candy and funnel cake scent that made me feel my youth burning deep down in my soul. She grinned as we made our way inside, her fingers wrapping around my hand just a little tighter.


First, I took her through the petting zoo, letting her love on the assortment of animals in their cages. Apparently they were all family owned, so they were fat and loveable, even the baby goats that tried to eat Stella's infamous Gaskarth hair. The squeak that came out of her lips when the goat tried to nibble on the strands will forever stand as one of my favorite memories of her.


From there, we scrubbed our arms and made our way over to the foodstands. Stella wasn't much hungry since we'd eaten not too long ago, so she settled for cotton candy on a stick, which we decided to share. By the time it was gone, we were both a sticky mess.. But I kind of liked the way she tasted, coated in sugar.


Then we made our way to the games. Stella wasted two dollars playing a game where she had to snatch a duck out of water, for the simple fact that she won a prize every time. With two tiny stuffed animals in her hands, she declared that they would be gifts for Noelle and Liam when she made her way back home. This brought a smile to my face.


"My turn," I grinned, pulling Stella to a dart game. "Since you got something for them, I'm gonna get something for you."


"Jack, this is probably rigged," she sighed, staring at the large stuffed animals. She was probably right, considering it was five dollars for one dart and those were the only prizes they had. "Don't waste your money, babe."


"Too late," I snickered, sliding the money to the man. He flashed me a smile before giving me a single dart. "Are you ready to be embarrassed by an unusually large stuffed pig?"


"What if I want the monkey?"


I rolled my eyes playfully and tossed the dart. I expected to miss entirely, but to my surprise, the balloon busted loudly and Stella clapped her hands like a small child. As she requested, we got a large pink monkey that was holding a banana, which read: I love you this much! Stell shoved the small animals into her purse and toted around the big monkey with pride. God, she was beautiful.


From there, we spent the rest of the day watching animal shows and making jokes about the live, country music. It had never been either of our style, but we had to give props to the sixty-year-old men who were rocking the socks off the crowd. We were nearly exhausted by the time the crowd started to flood in, but there was one more thing I wanted to do before we called it quits for the day.


I took Stell's monkey from her and dropped it by the ferris wheel. She gave me a questioning look as I paid the man to let us on, and we took our seat in the rocking ride. I wrapped my arm around her body and tried to relax as our seat moved back and forth against the wind. It was so peaceful, yet it scared the shit out of me because the ride felt like it would fall apart at any given second.


"I've had fun today," Stella mumbled into my shoulder, her doe eyes looking up at me. "I'm glad we had the day off."


"I love everyday that I have with you, working or not."


She giggled into my arm, tensing up slightly as we were stopped at the top so people could get on and off the ride. I pulled her closer to my chest, trying to take a mental picture of how she looked under the glow of the carnival lights.


"I love you, Stella," I murmured into her forehead, a smile playing on my lips. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."


"What are you talking about, silly? Our life together has already started."


"Yeah," I grinned, feeling her jump as the ride started again. "But I mean, I can't wait till we're old enough to do things our way. When you can move in with me, when we can get married. Hell, I can't even wait to propose to you."


At this, she lifted her head, her eyes holding nothing but wonder.


"You really want to propose to me, Jack?"


"Duh," I laughed, kissing her forhead again. "But not until you're ready. Not till we've had a few years to coast off our new album, you know? I want you to enjoy one major change in life at a time, and let's face it, music will always come first with you."


With that, Stella lifted herself off the seat a little, not even caring that we were rocking in the air again. Her lips roughly, yet romantically, pressed against my own. A love induced intoxication took over my brain. The perfect end to a perfect day.

Notes

D'awwwe. <3.