Leah and I spent the next few months being a normal couple. Doing normal couple things. We were heavily papped but neither of us minded, we weren't wasting a single second we had together worrying about the little things. We enjoyed days out together as much as we enjoyed days in. We spent a lot of time with both of our families, even introducing them to each other.
We moved into our new home just two weeks after we had spoken about moving in together. We had the money to buy one of those fancy houses that everyone shows off but neither of us felt the need to do that. We just wanted to be somewhere that we could be in the company of each other, somewhere that we were happy. We moved into a little detached house, not far from Leah's mum. I admired that Leah was so family orientated, her family were the backbone of everything she did.
Today was the second last day I had with Leah until the Olympics and I wanted to do something special for her. I had spent weeks putting the final preparations in place, with a little help from Lydia because my organisational skills were horrendous. Leah was oblivious to all of it so when her mum text asking to meet her that afternoon she agreed. I told her I had to meet Gavin about my new writing schedule, which didn't actually exist but she bought it.
Just after Leah left, Lydia lifted me and we headed to pick Ellie up from the airport. The three of us travelled to an airbnb that I had rented for the night, I needed a place that was big enough for the plans I had, picking somewhere that was far enough from other houses to ensure any noise didn't disturb other people.
We spent all afternoon decorating. It was nice to have Ellie back, to be back as a three again after such a long time apart. She was still the same Ellie, being away hadn't changed a single thing about her. I felt so lucky to have these two people by my side through my whole life. They accepted me for my flaws, for my annoying habits and treated me like I was normal despite my face being plastered across billboards 24/7.
Once we were finished we headed off to get ready, taking a moment to admire our work and sharing a hug. The guests started arriving, Gavin arriving first as he had to be sure that he wasn't late or Ellie would kick off at him. Gavin was closely followed by Jacob and Leah's Grandma. Holly, Ben and Natalie arrived soon after, all looking as glamorous as ever. As more and more people filtered through, I started to get nervous. What if she wasn't in the mood for a lot of people? She might be tired and just want her bed. I was snapped out of my thoughts by the arrival of Alex.
"The best Alex has arrived!" She shouted to me.
"I see that head of yours hasn't gotten any smaller!" I joked to her.
"She's going to love this!" She said, excited.
"I hope so, I'm panicking a bit now." I said, genuinely nervous.
"She will love it. I promise." Alex said, placing her hand on my shoulder for reassurance.
My phone buzzed and it was Leah.
L - What time will you be home? Mum and I are going to meet Natalie. She has hired a house for the weekend and is having some people over tonight. I won't be long though, I miss you❤️
A - I'll be another few hours. Have a great time and I'll see you when you get home. I love you.
The plan had worked, Amanda must've been very convincing, Leah had no idea what she was doing. She had no idea that this house was actually full of people who meant the most to her. Every room was decorated to resemble a country that would be taking part in the olympics.
Everyone took their places, awaiting the arrival of Leah and Amanda. We heard both car doors closing and my heart was racing in my chest, I was terrified she would think it was a silly idea. The front door opened, as we all stood in silence, waiting to see Leah's reaction. Leah appeared in the doorway and a huge cheer of 'good luck Leah!' echoed throughout the house.
Her face was priceless, making it worth all of the stress and worrying. She held her arms out to me, her eyes filled with tears as she realised everyone she loved was packed into this one room. I pecked her lips, burying my head into her chest.
"Do you like it? Is it too much?" I whispered.
"This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, Alex. I love it and I love you." She kissed the top of head, squeezing me a little tighter.
"There are other people here that would like to hug her too you know, Alex!" Ella giggled from the crowd.
"Ellie!!!!!" Leah shouted, a huge grin appearing on her face.
"I couldn't miss your big send off!" Ellie said as she hurried over to hug Leah. This was the first time the two of them had met again since that night at the Brits and I knew that despite speaking on FaceTime, it would settle Leah to know that Ellie still loved her, just as she did the first day they met.
Leah moved around the room, greeting everyone that had came to show her support but constantly staring over at me with a smile and then blushing when I caught her eye. I knew I still made her feel nervous, the way she made me.
When she came back over to me, I gave her an envelope, it didn't have anything written on the front of it.
"That's from my Dad." I said.
Leah opened the card and began to read it. He had told her he was proud of her, that he would look after me while she was away and that he couldn't wait to see her again when she came back. He thanked her, as he always did, for making me so happy. Leah welled up again, trying her best not to cry but with every line she failed a little bit more.
"Alex, I don't even know what to say, you have thought of every little finishing touch. I don't know what I did to deserve you." She said, cupping my face with her hands.
"You never gave up, that's what you did." I said, placing my hands on top of hers.
"And I never will." Leah placed another soft peck on my lips.
Having everyone Leah loved in the room was such a special moment for me. It was the moment that I realised that this was our life now. It was no longer Leah's life and Alex's life. It was our life and that's exactly what I wanted.
As the night drew to a close, I sat down on the sofa beside Leah. She was talking to Holly and Jacob, both of whom had exceeded themselves with their alcohol intake. I hadn't sat close enough to Leah for her liking so she grabbed my hand and pulled me towards her, I rested my head on her shoulder and my hand snaked around her neck, fingers gently stroking it as I listened to her speak.
"I don't know, I'm not really into the whole relationships thing though." I heard Holly say.
"Why not?" Leah asked.
"I don't know, I just can't see myself in one. I'm happy going it alone. Do you remember we both used to say we would be alone forever?" She recalled, laughing as she spoke.
"Yeah, I've kind of let you down haven't I?" Leah laughed.
"Yeah, you did actually!" Holly pretended to be huffing but was giggling at the same time.
"I think you just haven't found the right person yet. Before I met Alex, I was happy on my own. I think that's the best place you can be before you meet your person. That's how I knew she was the one, she made me want to make space in my life for someone else." Leah spoke, sounding more sincere than ever. She gently stroked my leg and kissed my head as she finished her sentence.
"Yeah but you and Alex are like a one in a million chance. Things like that don't happen to everyone." Holly said, through slurring words.
"Only if you never give up." Leah replied.
They talked a while longer but I zoned out after that, almost falling into a sleep on Leah's shoulder a few times but waking myself back up. The rest of the taxis pulled up, everyone said goodbye as I stood there trying to hold myself upright but with heavy eyes. The tiredness was worth it though, Leah had the best night tonight and her beaming smile from the moment she saw everyone was worth it. I would never sleep again if it meant she would be happy.
Leah locked the door and walked towards me, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing my forehead. I placed my arms around her waist and for a few minutes, we stood like that. Hearts beating at the same time, just happy to be in the company of each other.
"Let's get you to bed, all this party planning has you exhausted." Leah said as she walked me towards the bedroom.
"I know, being organised is really hard." I said, my voice croaky with tiredness.
"I know, imagine doing that like every day!" Leah laughed, she always made fun of my lack of organisation.
Leah pulled the covers back for me, placing me down onto the bed and finding my bag on the floor of the bedroom. She took out my shorts and baggy top that I had brought for bed. She gently removed my trousers, placing my feet into my shorts and pulling them up for me, then moved to my top repeating this. She was so delicate and attentive as she got me changed for bed, I think she enjoyed this. She enjoyed looking after me.
Once Leah had gotten changed, she climbed into bed beside me, I immediately moved my head onto her shoulder and kissed her cheek, drawing circles on her shoulder with the tips of my fingers. She wrapped her arms around my waist, whispering in my ear that she loved me. I don't remember much else after that, I fell asleep almost right away, safe in the arms of a girl I was now certain I wanted to marry.