The Bryland Tragedy

Gotta Be You

*Brooke P.O.V*

"Thank goodness he finally is taking you out." Kaylee comments handing me an outfit she picked out.

I just roll my eyes and laugh. I pull on the pink sweater and jeans. Kaylee giggles, fluffing up my curls with her hands and stepping back.

"I'm good, aren't I?" She laughs.

I peak in the mirror and smile. It's been so long since I've worn anything pink. And if might seem weird but it was almost peaceful to see it in my reflection. The sound of a car pulling up snaps both our eyes up.

"Oh my goodness, cats!" I cry trying to hide.

"No. Go get him girl." Kaylee demands pushing me out of my room.

Cautiously, I walk down the stairs. My hands are shaking and I feel giddy. I try to take a deep breath and remind myself it's only Ryland. But thinking of it as a first date again makes me grin stupidly. I look upstairs one last time and meet Kaylee's eyes. She gives me huge thumbs up. With a deep breath I open the door.

"Hey."

*Ryland P.O.V*

"Pink..." I struggle to find the right words to describe this moment. "Pink looks... g-good."

Brooke and I are standing face to face. We're both obviously at a lost for words, but it isn't awkward at all. It doesn't seem possible that I literally just saw her just a few hours ago. God, she looks beautiful.

"I mean, you look good, not the pink." I shake my head and nervously let out a laugh. "Not that the pink doesn't look good, because it does, but-"

Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Kaylee standing behind the window gesturing a shooing motion to me. Suddenly, I realize that all I've been doing for the past few seconds is ramble Brooke's ears off.

"Sorry." I sheepishly apologize, but the happy grin on her face reassures me.

"You're nervous too, huh?" She avoids making eye contact with me as she asks. I notice that her hands remain clasped tightly in front of her and her feet stumble from one to another.

I shake off all previous feelings of worry and anxiety. "No." I confidently state, raising my hand to comfortingly stroke her cheek. "Of course, not. I love you."

She doesn't say anything in return, but her eyes show how relieved she is. Brooke takes a deep sigh and reaches up to grab my hand.

"Well, then let's go."

*Brooke P.O.V*

"So where are we going?" I ask, hoping to relieve the soft silence that had fallen.

"It's a surprise." Ryland has a confident smile at his words.

I just sit watching him as we drive along. He looks happy. It wasn't like I'd never seen him happy before, but this was different. His eye were lit up and the smile on his lips never completely faded. After a few moments her looks over at me. I look away and blush lightly as I pretend to be watching the passing cars. When I look back over he quickly looks back to the road. A small laugh comes to my lips.

"Why can't you tell be where we are going?" I beg and put on a pouty face.

"Because if I told you honey bear it wouldn't be a surprise." He says as though he's talking to a child.

I continue to pout and cross my arms. Ryland rolls his pretty ocean colored eyes and parks the truck. Our eyes meet and he leans over to plant a soft kiss on my lips. Then he hops out and comes to open my door.

"You can't stay in there forever." He jokes pulling me out of the car.

My mouth drops open when I get to the sidewalk. We are near One Harbor cafe. At the cherry tree where so much has happened between us. The cherry blossoms are twinkling with strings of lights. A blanket and food are placed on the bench. Hot tea and the smell of fresh coffee fills the air. It screams Kaylee, Easton, and Louis, but I adore it even more thinking that he would ask for help.

"Well...." Ryland says nervously.

"It's wonderful."

*Ryland P.O.V*

I'm trying to avoid making direct eye contact with Brooke. My stomach is twisting and turning, and I literally feel like I have to puke. God, help me.

"This is really amazing, Ryland." Brooke's soft voice breaks my train of thought. "Thanks, again." The genuine smile on her face instantly washes away all of my worry and doubt, and I curse myself for making things awkward.

I smoothly scoot closer to her on the blanket that I had laid out and wrap my arms around her body. She responds in intertwining her hands behind my head as I pull her tightly into my chest.

"I'm just thankful you're here..." I sigh in contentment burying my head in the crook of her perfume scented neck. "...with me."

We sit together in silence, simply enjoying the presence of one another. I really couldn't have asked for anything more.

*Brooke P.O.V*

The silence is easy going and welcoming. Nothing awkward fills the air. Just the happiness of being so close to someone I love. Ryland laughs softly and I look up at him. I kiss his cheek and he smiles back at me like a small child.

"What?" I ask giving him a teasing look.

"I was just thinking..." I motion for him to continue, "About us, you know. Everything that has happened. The seven months I spent trying to convince myself that I couldn't fall in love. And then the next bunch of months trying to convince you that I had. It seems crazy to think that after this whole year...we end up like this."

"Everything's okay now, we're together and we're happy.I love you so much Ryland." I assure him trying to take the worry from his eyes.

"I love you too..but...its just that....happily ever after isn't how it ends for most people, especially my parents."

"This isn't their ending Ryland. Its ours...and sure there will be bumps in the road. We'll fight and slam doors. But we'll work it out. Cause that's what you do when you love someone. You fight for them. And It's safe to say we both have experience in that at this point. Don't worry okay cause when it all comes down to it....I don't want happily ever after. I just want you."

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Thanks to all the rainbow of idiots who inspired this.