Simple As This - A Jake Bugg Fanfiction

Chapter Thirty-Two - Christmas

It's so hard to believe that Simple As This is nearly at 15,000 reads - I was excited when I got 10! You're all wonderful, beautiful, amazing, perfect people that motivate me and cheer me up when I'm down; I love you all so much with all my heart even though I've never seen your beautiful faces! Whenever I'm sad, I just look at all the comments I get on here that tell me to keep going and I get through it - there's been some stuff going on recently and a lot of you guys have helped me to pull through! <3 <3

But, on a serious note, I wanted to say thank you all so so so so so so so much and I'd give you all a hug if I could! Xxxx

And another serious note, I'm super sorry if you're reading Familiar Strangers - my Alex Turner fanfic, if you haven't checked it out yet I think you should ;) - because I'm the queen of procrastination and I'm writing that one on the go so i apologise for the inconsistent updates; but thank you all for reading, voting and commenting on that one, too <3

Anyway, you're probably here just for the chapter and not for me to ramble on, so, here you go!

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"Katie!" Jake jumps onto the bed, narrowly missing me. "Wake up!" He shouts.

"Jake, shh," I giggle, laughing louder as he grabs my hands, pulling me out of bed.

"It's Christmas, c'mon!"

"Oh yeah!" I remember, jumping up from the bed and hugging Jake excitedly. I must've forgotten to stay awake to some stupid time in the morning whilst Jake was singing to me with that darn perfect voice of his.

"Come on!" Jake laughs at me failing to get dressed, awkwardly pulling a shirt over my bra.

"Wait a sec-" I start, only to burst into fits of laughter as Jake scoops me up and opens the door.

"Oh," Jake stops dead in his tracks, putting me down as I blush. "Morning." He smiles timidly.

"Morning, you two." My mum smiles back,trying to suppress a laugh as I look at Jake guiltily. His cheeks are pink.

"Good morning." My dad grumbles, shooting a quick smile at myself and Jake as we all walk downstairs, Jake trailing behind a bit.

"I can't believe that just happened." He whispers in my ear, making me smile. I laugh softly, and Jake's breathy chuckle behind me lights the warmth of a fire inside my stomach.

We all come downstairs, and I find my hand in Jake's as we all sit down.

"Joe said he'll be here in a bit." My mum smiles. "Why don't we have some breakfast whilst we wait?"

"Yeah." I grin, watching as my parents get up and go into the kitchen.

-- A Few Hours Later --

"Jake!" I gasp. "What is this for?"

"Well, I have an announcement to make." He looks round nervously, clearing his throat a little:

"As you all might know, last month I asked Katie to move in with me. That day was one of the best of my life, and when she said yes..I got this feeling. This feeling like I was right where I was supposed to be, a feeling of absolute happiness. Katie completes me."

I blush. Jake turns to smile at me.

"And, that little house you showed me a few days later? The one with the shutters and the stone pathway and the one with the blue door that reminded you of the tardis?"

My family laugh, and I smile eager to see what Jake has to say.

"Well, when we went to see it, something clicked. The way you smiled that beautiful smile of yours even though, inside, the house was nearly falling apart and it needs so much work, yet you told me that you were prepared to work on it? To love it and make it good again, right?"

I nod, Jake takes my hand.

"That house is like me. You fixed me, you loved me even when I was falling apart. You were prepared to work on me, and you never once gave up on me."

Everything is silent. I hear the fast pounding of my heart against my ribcage, and the butterflies in my stomach flutter.

"And that's why I bought it. Open the box."

My fingers tremble as I look down at the little brown box tied with a thin, pink bow.

"Are you sure?" I whisper, smiling. My whole body is shaking.

"Of course I'm sure." Jake smiles, and my family laugh again.

I open the box, and stare at the inside. A tiny gold key sits in the middle.

"Our own little house." Jake whispers, smiling. "So, what do you say?"

"Jake, of course I'll move in with you!" I smile, close to tears, as I hug him.