FALLING AROUND YOU ➵ DANIEL SEAVEY ➵ SEQUEL

22 ➵ The News

I nodded as I pulled myself closer to him. My head rested on his chest as his arms wrapped around my back carelessly. "I missed this," I whispered in his chest. "I miss our stolen kisses, the light conversation, the long car rides. I like it when there's no more drama around us," I looked up towards him.

With the weight of his love, I usually felt like I was sinking –drowning even– but not this time. That smile on his face was all I needed to be lifted back to the surface. The Seavey boy looked at me before pulling a stray strand behind my ear. "I've missed us too, the simple us, I mean."

I grinned at his words slowly leaning in for another kiss, but he quickly stopped me. "No, no. I am not kissing you until you brush your teeth," he laughed. "Gross."

I gasped, slapping his chest a bit with the playful insult. Quickly, I grabbed a pillow and chucked it at the newly blonde boy. I could hear his giggles muffled from behind the pillow. "It's true, okay? You threw up last night! You can't blame me!"

"You really are the same guy I fell in love with, huh?"

He looked at me amused. "You think I changed?"

I rolled my eyes at him once more before throwing another pillow at him. He caught it anyway. Though, I took his advice and headed towards the bathroom. There, I quickly swallowed some pain relieving medication for the growing hangover and started the brush my teeth. When I finally finished, that's when Daniel pulled me closer for a kiss, but I happily denied.

"Nope," I raised an eyebrow. "That's what you get for being sassy this morning."

He huffed, "Come on!"

I shrugged my shoulders quickly grabbing my phone before running off downstairs with the Seavey boy right behind me. I didn't realize how late in the afternoon it was as three boys were scattered downstairs in mists of conversation. Zach telling a dry joke as the other two looked at each other in a bit of confusion. Christina was by Corbyn's side scrolling on her phone.

"Hey guys," I spoke up as Daniel pulled me closer finally grabbing me.

Jonah snickered, "Ah, the love birds finally woke up!"

I looked up at Daniel before he rolled his eyes, "Excuse me! I was up hours ago! The little alcoholic over here was the one that just woke up."

Small giggles were exchanged by the group of friends. It felt nice for things to go back the way they once were. I remembered how close the boys and I were, how close they were with my once best friends as well: Kendra and Allison. It wasn't as if we weren't friends any longer, but life became too hectic to see either one. Kendra was still in Europe and Allison was still deep in her studies of music theory upstate.

Thinking of them felt like a distant memory because it was.

It was almost hard to believe that I did everything with them, but maybe that's what growing up meant. I wasn't going to be with the same group of people forever, but that didn't mean that they were toxic to me. I've always liked the idea of how people grow from experiences and how life changes, molds you into something new. I just never would have thought that I would outgrow the people around me; especially them.

I couldn't even imagine myself sitting in a room with those two people I still love while they are smiling and yelling, and that use to be me too, but it's not anymore. I think I've done more growing than either of those two, and they aren't catching up anytime soon. The world I'm living in doesn't fit them anymore, and that's okay. That just shows that it's time to move on.