Now or Never (An Austin Mahone and Crew Love Story)

Mall Fight

He tossed his head back. “It was supposed to be a surprise for you, but we all got separated. I have to figure out how to get you back inside… I wish I could drive.” I saw him staring at the gap between the two front seats like he wanted to climb through. 

“Don‘t.” I pulled out my phone and found messages and calls from Alex, Scott, Austin, and numbers that had to be the other guys. Alex tried to call me again. 

“Olivia?”

“Alex!”

He sighed in relief. “Why‘d you take so long to answer we‘re all so worried. Where are you?”

“I was being mobbed. Drew scared the crap out of me and saved me. We‘re in the car.”

His voice rose slightly. “Oh my God. Are you okay? I can‘t believe we let this happen. This was such a bad idea.” He pulled away from the phone. “Dave! They‘re stuck out in your car. You have to go get them!” He came back. “Liv?”

“Alex, I‘m fine! It‘s not your fault. These girls are nuts. Calm down. I‘m safe.”

I could picture him shaking his head with his eyebrows scrunched together as he responded. “It‘s my fault though. This was partially my idea. You could‘ve gotten hurt.”

“Alex. You can‘t worry about me so much. If you keep saying ‘You could’ve gotten hurt,’ then you‘ll always be worried. I could‘ve gotten hurt walking down the stairs this morning. I could‘ve gotten hurt taking a shower. Heck I could‘ve gotten hurt doing my math homework. The point is that I didn‘t get hurt.”

“You‘re emotionally scarred right now. Don‘t deny it.”

I threw my head back. “Stop blaming yourself and being overprotective. Life‘s boring without a little fear. The point is that I‘m alive and there‘s some form of an epic surprise waiting for me inside.”

He didn’t laugh like I wanted, and I couldn’t hear the smile in his voice when he told me Dave was on his way out to save us and sneak us in some random back door. 

“Alex!”

“What?” He sounded stressed. 

I fought for words because I didn’t know what to say. “Just… Be happy. I have a huge hug waiting for you.”

He didn’t make a positive response. “I‘ll see you inside. Bye.”

My face fell completely. “Bye.”

Drew was watching my face when I hung up. “Dave’s coming,” I said. 

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “I know. I could hear him.” We were quiet for awhile. “He‘s only like that because he cares about you. He‘s so afraid he‘s going to get you hurt without trying. Sometimes I‘m not sure if he thinks of you as a girlfriend, and best friend, or a little sister.” He paused. “Don‘t take that the wrong way though. He really loves you enough for you to be all three of them and then some.” 

“He really loves me?” It seemed like everyone outside the car disappeared and faded away. 

Drew nodded. “Yeah. He really does.”

I sighed. “But you like me too.” There was no questioning it. He was acting exactly like Alex had when we first met. 

I watched him blush out of the corner of my eye. “What‘s not to like? You‘re talented and beautiful, but best of all you go out of your way to care for other people. Your selfless and innocent. I love that in a girl, and none of the girls around here have that. Alex is insanely lucky, but I‘m not getting in his way. He loves you so much more than I ever will.”