On My Way • Why Don't We | ✓

thirty

July 18, 2017 ; Vancouver, Washington
Daniel

I watch as Zach wraps two arms around Nova, picking her up. She hits him, laughing. Beside me, Jack rolls his eyes.

"Gross."

"You have to admit it's cute," I nudge Jack.

"Yeah, Jachary," Nova chimes in while attempting to get away from Zach.

"Jachary?" Jack asks.

"We can't act like my boyfriend isn't going to cheat on me with you," Nova laughs at Jack's face.

"Hey!" Zach shouts, aghast, "You weren't supposed to expose me like that, Nova."

"What," She mimes surprise.

To this, Zach breaks into a huge smile, kissing her forehead. I shoot a look at Jack, who's now jokingly throwing up in the corner.

"You can't hide your jealousy," Corbyn jokes with him.

Jonah and Ev wander in the room, Ev blatantly attempting to get Jonah to admit that he likes River.

"You guys text every freaking day," Ev rolls her eyes, "That has to be something."

"It means we're friends. You're right," Jonah smirks.

"Mr. Romantic won't admit he likes River," Ev sighs, and Nova immediately shakes her head.

"You never know what I'm planning," Jonah laughs, standing next to Corbyn.

"I gotchu, bro," Corbyn jokes along.

"What?" Ev turns abruptly from Nova to Jonah, "Spill."

"We were kidding," He shakes his head with a smile, "C'mon, Evelyn."

"I give up," Ev throws her hands up.

"Everyone is in love nowadays," Jack groans.

"Nope," I immediately shake my head.

"Seconded," Ev sighs, "By the way, have you guys announced your relationship to the fans and what not?" She asks Nova and Zach.

Zach shrugs, "Maybe in a few weeks. We've only been an official thing for a few days, and I think we both want to take it slower.

"Yeah, maybe keep it private for a few more weeks and then decide," Nova agrees.

"That's cute," I chime, and Ev turns to me, laughing.

"Jack disagrees," She jokes, and we all begin to laugh again.

. . .

Evelyn

Nova snaps rapid photos as the boys finish up their performance of Something Different. I watch as Zach glances toward his girlfriend multiple times throughout the performance, just as he has been so far the entire show. I can't help but smile, happy for Nova, because every time Zach glances at her his eyes seem to light up a bit more.

"Thank you!" Daniel shouts into the mic as the crowd screams.

My attention drifts off as I check my phone. Confused, I notice I received a text from an unknown number. When I open the text, I realize it's an image. Attached to the message is a screenshot of a photo from a fan account.

On my screen, Nova and Zach holding hands while Zach leans down to press a kiss to her temple. The caption includes as many exclamation marks as there are question marks. I stare at the photo before returning to the number.

Evelyn
i'm sorry, but who
is this?

Elizabeth
it's elizabeth. i got
a new number and
removed myself from
the groupchat, but i
recently saw this and
thought you guys should
know, whether it's real
or not.

Evelyn
oh, okay, thank you.
i'll be sure to
handle it

Elizabeth
okay thank you

I sigh, confused on what happened. Nova and Zach had been dating for a few days, and the last two days have been spent on the bus or around Daniel and I's homes. I return to the photo and make out the minimal surroundings, which are grainy due to the low lighting. However, I immediately recognize the sign lit in the distance: the movie theatre. Nova and Zach are clearly in the parking lot, and due to the low lighting, I'm assuming they both thought they were in a relatively secluded area where they believe no one was paying attention.

"Hey, you good?" Daniel's voice interrupts my thoughts.

I snap my head from the photo before shaking my head, "It's not good."

"What," He asks, obviously worried.

"Here," I hand him my phone, and immediately, he frowns.

"Someone texted this to you?"

"It was Elizabeth. I guess she saw it. She also got a new phone," I explain the situation quickly.

"Oh," Daniel squints at the image again, "That is not good."

"As long as everyone takes it well, it'll be okay," I reassure him, but Daniel continues studying the image.

"We have to tell them," He responds after a minute.

I nod, and we return to the group, where Nova and Zach are laughing at Jack, who is ravaging through everyone's bags in search of gum.

"Nove, I have bad news," I sigh, and Daniel nods slightly.

He unlocks my phone and shows the image to her.

"What?" Nova asks, her eyes growing wide.

I just wanted to say that I am so proud of the boys and absolutely cannot wait for their full-length album! "Trust Fund Baby" is so good that I'm lowkey obsessed. Much love to them ♡
» Melody