Powerless {A.K.}

27.

"Good morning." I say as Zack runs up beside me, stopping. 

"There's no way you're faster than me." He says, looking at me in shock.

"Believe it bud, it's happening." I nudge and he laughs some.

"Good morning to you too. You're up early." Awsten says, glancing back and forth between Zack and I.

"Yeah, figured I needed the exercise. And needed some time with Zack. You understand, right?"

"Yeah." He says sternly and I internally roll my eyes. Jealousy.

"Breakfast is on the table. See you later." I say, running again. Zack follows behind me and we continue our journey around the entire block.

"What was that about?" Zack asks as i slow down to let him catch up."

"He's weird right now. I need space." I say and he doesn't question it. We finish our first lap, getting to the buses before Awsten does.

"Okay, I won't go easy on you this time." Zack says and I laugh.

"We'll see, Merrick." We line up at the sidewalk and Rian says start. We burst out onto the sidewalk, speeding past everything.  Once again, I beat Zack back to the buses.

"I really need to get back into shape." Zack says, leaning against the bus. I laugh some, tossing him a gatorade. I glance over at Awsten who was sitting on the stairs leading to the venue, watching us.

"Enjoying the race, babe?" I ask and he nods some.  I walk over to him and plop down onto the stairs beside him, taking a long sip of my blue Gatorade.

"So, what's up?" I ask and he shrugs.

"Just thinking."

"Too much thinking leads to too much everything." I say, looking up at the clouds. They were white and fluffy.

"You're right but what I'm thinking about isn't a bad thing."

"Well, inform me."

He turns and gets in front of me, kneeling on the stairs. I look down at him and my eyes widen.

"Awsten woah hold up i-"

"I'm not proposing, dipshit." He laughs and I sigh, relieved.

"Okay it's wayyyyy too soon for that." I say and he laughs some.

"Not proposing, but I am proposing an idea." He says, holding out a box. I narrow my eyes, looking at it.

"That's a ring box Awsten." I say, opening it. A small golden band was place inside. It had a small hollow heart and an engraving on the inside of the ring. I lift it out of the box to look. Forever.

"I want to propose a promise. A promise to not let the madness change us." He references the banner I used and I smile. He places the ring onto my finger and I look down at it, smiling. 

"Awsten this is too much.."

"It's not enough. I planned this last night. I'm sorry I was distant. I didn't want to ruin the surprise. I know it was bad timing but It was time. Ciara doesn't mean a thing to me anymore. She didn't even stay for the show. She left, ashamed. She saw me and ran. She doesn't mean a thing to me. You are my world. Only you. And I love you, Tori. Forever." He says, smiling up at me. I cover my mouth as tears slowly fall.

"Fuck Awsten. I love you too, Forever." I hug him, crying tears of joy. He holds me tight, spinning us around. We let go and he wipes away my tears, kissing my forehead.

"It's 9 in the morning and there's already tears. What the fuck did i miss?" Alex asks, walking off the bus. I hold up my hand, showing the rings. His jaw drops.

"YOU'RE ENGAGED?" Alex yells, shifting his stare to Awsten and his eyes narrow.

"PROMISE RING, ALEX, PROMISE RING!" Awsten yells back and Alex sighs, relieved.

"Stop fucking yelling, I'm tired!" Rian yells, walking out with Jack. Geoff and Otto peak their heads out of their bus, confused and half asleep.

"Oops. Good morning guys." I say, laughing some. We all get up and share the excitement before getting ready to set up for the next show.

"Can I see?" Jack asks and i nod, showing him the ring. He smiles some.

"I love seeing you happy." He says and hugs me, I hug back.

"I love being happy. I'm sorry that things didn't work out for us, but I have a feeling you have an admirer." I say and we pull back. He looks at me, confused.

"Ashley, smart one, Ashley." I say, running the bridge of my nose in disappointment. Sometimes he was so clueless.

"Wait, really?" He asks, looking over at her as she unloaded the AMP cart.

"Yes, make a move."

"Okay." He smiles some and goes over to her, using a horrible pick up line that made her laugh. That's my Jack. I smile some, walking onto the bus to change out of workout clothes. I change into a blue tiedye waterparks shirt, black skinny jeans, and blue vans. I put my hair into a messy bun and walk out.

"I really need to dye." I say, sitting on the stairs.  Everyone looks at me weirdly.

"Dye my hair, not death. Jesus I'm cynical not suicidal." I correct myself and they all understand what I meant. I laugh and shake my head at the situation.

"What color do you wanna do next?" Awsten asks and i shrug.

"You pick."

"Really?"

"Yeah, why not?"

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After 2 hours of dying my hair, it was finally done. I looked in the mirror, shocked.

"Out of all the colors you could've picked, why green?" I ask and he shrugs.

"It's your favorite color. It just fit."

I hug him and go into the bathroom to fix it before the show. He follows me, hugging me from behind. I smile, leaning into him.

"I love you, you know that, right?" I say and he nods.

"You know I love you too, right?" He asks and I nod. We sway some, just enjoying the moment.

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Everyone wanted fluff so take your fucking fluff.