Dee and Judah were sat in the tent he had arranged for their date and were laughing non stop. It had only been roughly 20 minutes since he asked her to be his girlfriend so they were both in very good moods.
"So who even helped you set this up?" She asked him, looking around her, admiring how cute it all looked.
"Whilst you were out getting your nails done, Nash, Hayes, Tez and I set it up" he told her.
"Wow, even Hayes helped you" she chuckled.
"Yeah the only reason I didn't think he would was because of Meala, but she just stayed in his bedroom without any complaining so it was alright I guess" he chuckled softly. Dee smiled and took a cookie from the snacks he had bought.
"Can we talk about when we're next seeing each other?" He asked her curiously. She nodded as she had shoved the whole cookie in her mouth so couldn't speak. He laughed at how puffy her face looked thanks to the cookie and carried on talking.
"I wanna spend New Years with you...and I think it would be cool if you'd meet my family as well. I could arrange a flight for you to come to LA?" He suggested to her, hoping she would be onboard with this idea too.
Dee nodded and smiled at him.
"I'd like that" she told him, grinning from ear to ear.
"Ooo! BUT, it's Nash's birthday on the 28th so I need to be here for that, but then I'm free anytime after" she chuckled, making it clear to Judah she couldn't leave any earlier than that date.
"That's fine, I'll probably book a flight for you on the 30th or something" he told her. She nodded in agreement.
"That works" she smiled at him, resting her head on his shoulder, feeling happy and content within the moment.
Meanwhile, everyone else was inside watching TV, except for Elizabeth, Skylynn and Johnnie, awaiting on updates for how the couples date had gone.
"Do you think she said yes?" Tez questioned the group.
"Oh 100%" Taylor nodded, knowing this was what the girl wanted and how she couldn't say no to all the surprises he had arranged for her.
"Awww, isn't this just so exciting!" Nash claimed, putting on a feminine voice in a jokey way as he said so.
Taylor and Tez laughed at him whilst Hayes and Meala sat next to each other with blank faces.
"You know guys it's not hard to act happy for your friends" Taylor snapped at them, causing silence to fall from Nash and Tez.
"I'm not her friend" Meala snapped. Taylor raised her eyebrows.
"But at least have a little respect when you're just a guest in the house she lives in" Taylor warned her. Hayes still remained silent, not wanting to cross the wrong side of Taylor. Meala glared at her before looking up to Hayes.
"Are you going to let her talk to me like that?!" She screeched. Hayes locked eyes with the annoying brunette and shrugged.
"...she's kinda got a point, Meala..." he trailed off. The girl gasped in disbelief, being over dramatic as usual. Taylor rolled her eyes in reaction to this and gave Nash a 'I'm gonna lose it' sort of look.
The girl continued to have a go at Hayes for not backing her for a few minutes before Tez spoke up.
"Okay girl, I don't even live here but if you continue with your complaining I'm gonna have to ask you to leave" he warned the girl, shutting her up immediately. Nash reached over and fist bumped the guy before earning another glare from Meala.
Hayes sighed and stood up before heading to the kitchen. He grabbed himself a glass and filled it up with water before sipping from it. He stood by the window and looked outside to see the set up he and the guys had helped Judah with. He noticed the couple sat in the tent, laughing together as that sat closely next to one another.
He sighed once again, feeling frustrated with himself. He knew having Meala here didn't do anything but make matters worse. Once he finished his glass of water, he put the glass in the sink and headed back into the living room where the others were.
As for Dee and Judah, they were simply having fun and enjoying each other's company whilst they chilled in the tent.
"We should probably head inside soon, you need some sleep before your flight tomorrow" Dee told him, feeling sad about the thought of it. He half smiled, knowing she was right.
He placed his hand, gently on the side of her face before glazing his thumb over it and bringing his face closely to hers.
"Just five more minutes..." he told her, no louder than a whisper, before placing his lips back on to hers once again.
***
"Wait, Hayes, where the heck is Meala?" Dee chuckled, noticing she hadn't seen her in the house this morning as she sat in the backseat of his car.
"She left early this morning" he told her, glancing to her from the rear view mirror as he drove his car to the airport.
Dee, Hayes and Tez were taking Judah to the airport for his flight back to LA. Dee and Judah were in the back, whilst Tez was in the passenger seat and Hayes drove.
"She sure was a character Hayes..." Judah told him as he stared out the window and then turning to Dee and smirking slightly.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about how rude she was sometimes" Hayes mumbled, not wanting to talk about the girl at all.
Tez then changed the subject by asking whether burgers and hot dogs count as a sandwich, sending the whole group into some massive debate for the rest of the car journey.
When they finally arrived to the airport, Dee felt her heart drop. This was the moment she had been dreading since the second she met Judah three weeks ago at the ice skating rink.
The group got out of the car and walked inside the airport, Judah and Dee slightly ahead of the other two, holding hands and not saying a word.
Hayes, Tez and Dee stayed with Judah till the final point that they could before having to say goodbye to him.
First to say goodbye was Tez.
"Goodbye brother, I'll see you in a few weeks" Tez told the boy, pulling him into a 'bro hug' and patting his back.
"Yeah, see you soon man" Judah told him with a smile.
Hayes then stepped towards him and pulled him in for a hug.
"Thank you for inviting me here man. I've had an amazing time" Judah told the boy as genuine as he could. Hayes shook his head.
"You're my bro, anytime man" Hayes told him with a smile.
"Take care of her for me until I see her next" Judah told him, knowing Hayes will always have a form of protectiveness for Dee and knowing how the girl can overthink so easily. Hayes half smiled and nodded.
"Always" he reassured him, patting him on the shoulder one last time before stepping aside and letting him and Dee say their goodbyes.
Dee was already welling up in the eyes, not wanting him to leave.
Without any words spoken, Judah pulled her in for a tight hug. He rested his hand on the back of her head, playing with her hair slightly as a form of comfort for the girl.
When they pulled away, he brought the same hand to her face and cupped her cheek whilst the other was resting on her waist.
"I'll see you in LA on the 30th" he smiled down at her, feeling down about not being able to see her for three weeks. She smiled too and nodded, feeling a tear roll down her cheek. He wiped it away with his thumb before placing a gentle but long kiss on her lips.
"I promise I'll call you everyday" he told her, letting go of the girl as the intercom called his flight for boarding. Dee stared at the ground, not wanting to cry at all because she knew it was silly, but also not being able to control her emotions. Noticing this, Judah placed his hand on the back of her head and pecked the top of her head one last time.
"I better get going" he spoke awkwardly, looking over to Hayes and Tez as well.
"Have a safe flight bro" Tez told him as the two boys approached the couple again.
Judah said his goodbyes one last time before walking away with his last bag in his hand. When he handed his ticket to the lady on the door, he glanced back at the group one last time and waved them goodbye before disappearing through the door and heading for his plane.
Dee sighed once he was out of sight. She felt drained and sad but she was also still buzzing from the night before. It was all so bittersweet.
***
Dee didn't talk for the car journey home. In fact, when the three of them got back she went straight up to her room and shut the door behind her. She laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling feeling bored and lonely for the first time in a few weeks. In a time like this she would go downstairs and find Judah to annoy. Her thoughts were cut short to a knock on the door.
"Yeah?" She called, waiting for them to come in. The door slowly opened and Hayes popped his head through the gap.
"Can I talk to you quick?" He asked her, hoping she would say yes.
"Sure" she told him, sitting up from her position on the bed and leaning against the headboard. He came into the room and closed the door behind him before sitting at the foot of her bed.
"I just wanted to come in here and apologise for Meala's behaviour whilst she was here. I shouldn't have even brought her here in the first place, it was wrong of me to do and I'm sorry" he told her, feeling ashamed with himself.
"It's okay, Hayes. I appreciate the apology. But, why did you bring her here in the first place?" She questioned him. He shrugged.
"I knew it was time to get on with my life and leave you be so I figured if I had a girl to distract me it would make me feel better. And believe me, I know it was the dumbest idea. I was just out of ideas at the time" he told her. She half smiled at him, feeling sorry for him.
"Just focus on yourself, Hayes, nobody else." She told him, leaning over and hugging him before pulling away. He thanked her and told her he would leave her be before leaving the room and leaving Dee on her own once again.