Waking up with Kai's arms wrapped around me is something I'll never get used to. He was still snoring when I opened my eyes. I carefully unwrapped his arms and went downstairs.
Surprisingly, no one was down there.
More quiet for me.
I went down to the kitchen, in hope for some food. Like always.
"Surprise!" Voices scream out, jumping out from behind the counters and the table. I scream.
"What the fuck? You scared the shit out of me!" I shout with my hand over my chest. I nearly had a heart attack.
At the ripe age of 21.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic." Bonnie rolls her eyes. "We have something for you."
They all give me a smile, and I look at them confused.
What kind of Pennywise bullshit is this?
Caroline walks up to me slowly, but she still has a smile on her face.
"We need you to close your eyes." She whispers. I look at her in confusion, but she gives me a serious look. I oblige and clamp my eyes shut. Even with my eyes shut, I can see the room get darker, and I hear shuffling.
"You can open your eyes, E." Bonnie states. I smile.
E. It was an infamous nickname Bonnie had always called me when we were younger. I'm surprised she remembers after all these years.
I open my eyes, glancing around and adjusting to my surroundings. Everyone is still in their places they were in before I closed my eyes. There's one exception, though.
Kai is standing in front of me with a big smile on his face and a small pink gift bag in his hands. He pushes his hands out, indicating for me to take it. I do. I raise my brows in confusion and try to peak in the bag.
"Open it." Kai whispers with a giggle. I rip out the tissue paper, throwing it on the ground. When I look into the bag, I get even more confused.
It's two keys.
They each have two keychains attached on them. Matching 1994 chains and the other two make my heart melt. One has an E engraved on it, and one has a K.
I pick up the one with the E on it. I have an idea of what these are for, but I still need reassurance.
And I need to hear those words coming out of Kai's mouth.
"What are these for?" I ask. Kai reaches in the bag and grabs the other key and takes my hand.
"They're for us. For our new place." He smiles at me. I can hear a few giggles in the back as my eyes begin to water.
Don't cry. Don't cry.
"You got us a house?" I ask, moving my hands to his cheeks. His face drops a little bit.
"Well- I got us an apartment. I know it's not as good, but it's our own place and-" I cut him off by kissing him. I can feel his smile against my lips.
"You're not upset...?" He asks, pulling away.
"Of course not. I could live in a trash can with you and be happy. I just want to be with you." I whisper.
"I love you." He whispers to me.
"I love you, too." I reply, wrapping my arms around his neck. He puts his hands on my waist. He kisses me again but more roughly this time.
"Okay, okay we get it." Damon says in annoyance as Jeremy makes fake gagging noises. I laugh and look around at all my friends.
My family.
"I'm going to miss you guys." I state.
"You're literally moving like 15 minutes away." Jeremy replies.
"I don't care." I state with a smile. I walk over towards the big group, and we all hug. Even though I'll still see them the same amount, it will be a little different to adjust to.
But living with Kai is something that I want so much.
"You ready to go see our new apartment?" Kai asks, and I nod in response.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
Jeremy was right. The apartment is really only 15 minutes away. It's close to the city but also far away from the noise.
Perfect.
Kai has already been to this apartment, including everyone else. He had wanted their opinion even though they said it didn't matter. They said that it was his choice and what mattered is if me and him would be happy with it.
We pull into the small parking lot on one side of the building. The building itself looks old, but it also looks...vintage. I don't know if that's the right word, but it's still cute.
We check the apartment number on the keys and push the button on the elevator. Kai is literally trying not to giggle with excitement. I'm going to have to hold him down. The elevator dings, and the doors open. We walk out and walk down the hall, stopping in front of a door a little way down the hall. Kai reaches his hand out to unlock the door but stops. He looks at me.
"You do the honors, baby." He says with a smile. I take my key and put it in the lock, turning it. I open the door, my mouth falling open. The apartment is beautiful. It's bigger than I thought it would be, too.
You walk into an entrance and there's a place to put your keys and shoes. On the left is the dining room and straight ahead is the kitchen. Once you walk into the kitchen, you can see the living room on your right. I turn in circles, finally looking at the ceiling. There's small chandeliers hanging down. I turn and see a small hallway with a few doors. I walk down opening them all. One is a quest bedroom, I'm assuming. The bathroom is beautiful. And it's not even the main bathroom. I walk further down the hall and see the main bedroom. The room is huge, and it has two walk-in closets and a bathroom that has a tub and a walk in shower. This place seems so expensive, I'm afraid to look at anything. I just keep spinning in circles. I fall back on the bed in amazement, and then I hear Kai let out a laugh. I sit up in my elbows.
"This is-" I start.
"Amazing?" Kai cuts me off. He walks over and sits next to me. I grab his hand and toy with his fingers.
"Too much. I told you that I could live in a trash can as long as I had you. It just seems way too expensive and I don't want you spending your money and-" I can hear my words starting to run together. Kai grabs my face gently with his hands.
"Elle. It doesn't matter how much it costs. This place is for you and I. And I want it to be perfect." Kai says. He checks his watch and stands up.
"C'mon, let's go." He grabs my arm, helping me up.
"Let's go where?" I ask.
"We have plans to meet up with everyone for dinner. It's sort of a celebration." He explains. He turns, walking back towards the front door.
He's cute.
Once we're outside, Kai opens the car door for me and gets in the drivers side. As we're driving, I'm looking at the window. I whip my head around when I feel his fingers interlace with mine. He brings our hands up to his mouth, kissing my hand. I let out a giggle.
"What?" He asks, smiling.
"You're cute-" I blurt out.
Kai giggles. "So are you."
We decided to meet at the Grill. The Mystic Grill is always the place to find anyone you need. Matt and Jeremy work there, too, so it's nice to see them.
To be honest, though, Matt gets on my nerves sometimes.
Don't tell anyone.
Kai pulls up into a parking space, stopping the car. He lets go of my hand and turns his body towards me.
"Let's go." He whispers. We get out of the car and go inside. I look around for everyone, and I see them in a corner booth, laughing and talking to each other. I sit next to Caroline and Bonnie, and Kai sits across from me. He joins in quickly on the conversation the boys are having.
"Did you like it?" Caroline asks. I giggle.
"Like is an understatement. It was breathtaking. And expensive." I reply. Bonnie and Caroline smile.
"How's the bed?" Bonnie asks in a whisper. Her and Caroline burst out laughing. I playfully slap their arms.
"I just saw it! We didn't do anything." I respond, almost scolding them.
"Not yet." Bonnie jokes. They continue to laugh loudly.
What did they drink?
I shake my head, fighting a smile. I look up and see Kai smirking at me. He definitely heard everything. He usually does. He starts to grab my hand, but the waiter walks up to our table. We already have our drinks, so he's just looking at every single one of us, taking our order. I just now notice what Kai is wearing. Jeans and a button up shirt. The shirt has a couple buttons undone.
Now, that's hot.
"Miss?" The waiter asks impatiently. Caroline nudges me.
"He's asked for your order like ten times." She whispers.
"Oh, I'm sorry." I apologize, telling him my order quickly. He leaves, letting out an annoyed sigh. I look to Kai to see that he's staring at me again.
"I'm going to get some more drinks." I state to Caroline and Bonnie who obviously don't need one. I get up and walk to the bar, sitting down. I sit there for a few minutes before the bartender walks up to me.
"What can I get you, beautiful?" He asks, looking me up and down.
Not this. Now, I'll have to sit here forever, trying to ignore his flimsy flirting attempts.
"I'll have a few tequila shots, please." I respond.
That is not what everyone wanted.
But I had looked to the table and saw Kai staring daggers at me. That made my breath get caught in my throat.
"Okay, anything else? Like something to eat...?" The bartender runs his fingers up my arms, making me stand from my seat.
"What's wrong, baby?" He asks.
"You're disgusting." I spit out. I run to the bathroom.
I stand in front of the mirror, trying to calm myself down before I feel hands grab my waist. I let out a relieved sigh when I notice that it's Kai.
But he looks mad.
"I thought you were someone else." I whisper, but he doesn't say anything.
"I'm sorry, I had to go to the bathroom. I should've said something. It's just the bar-" I get cut off.
"I know. I saw what happened. I heard what happened." Kai growls.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"You don't know how hard that was to watch. To watch someone try to flirt with you? I almost ripped his head off." Kai says. He keeps looking around as if he's still thinking about ripping that guy's head off. He probably is.
"Calm down, Kai. It's over with. Let's just eat and go home." I respond.
"Calm down? That guy practically asked you if you wanted to fuck him! How are you so calm?" He nearly yells the words.
"Do you know how hard that was to deal with? Were you ever going to ask me how it made me feel? Or were you just going to continue ranting about how you wanted to rip his head off? I'm calm because women go through that all the fucking time. It's not the first time that's happened to me, alright? So can we please just eat and go home?" I ask. Kai looks at me with shock but nods his head after a little bit. We walk back to the booth. Everyone is already almost done eating.
I wasn't that hungry anyway.
"What were you guys doing in there...?" Caroline asks. Bonnie giggles.
"Will you two shut the fuck up for once?" I snap. Their eyes widen, and I mumble a sorry that they probably didn't hear. I walk outside, sitting on the curb and looking up at the sky. I close my eyes, feeling the wind move my hair around my face.
"I'm sorry." I open my eyes. Kai is sitting next to me looking down- looking ashamed.
"I'm a dick. I wasn't thinking clearly, and the first thing I should've done was ask you if you were okay. I just couldn't stand watching someone flirt with you, and it sent me into a rampage, but I know that doesn't make it okay. I'm sorry, Elle." He apologizes. He puts his hand on top of mine.
"It's happened to me before." I whisper. Kai looks at me in question. I haven't told anyone this story except for Bonnie.
"I had gone to a high school party with my friends. It was before I met Jackson. We were all on the dance floor, and senior walked up to me, wanting to dance. I agreed and danced with him. After the song ended, I had to go to the bathroom. I thought I had locked the door. A minute later, the same senior comes barging in. He said some really bad pick up lines and tried to make a move on me. I was a freshman, I didn't know anything about that stuff. I told him no several times and pushed him. He slapped me, and I fell to the ground. He yanked me back up and held me in one place. He ripped my clothes apart and h-he..." I don't even notice I'm crying until Kai pulls me towards him, comforting me.
"I am so sorry, Elle. I know sorry doesn't help but no one should go through that. Who was the guy?" Kai asks. I wipe my eyes.
"I don't know. I think he still lives here in Virginia, though." I respond, sniffling. Kai's eyes flash with an idea, and I sit up.
"No, Kai. It's fine, it was a while ago. I was 14, I'm 21 now. It's a small problem that was dealt with." I state. Kai stares at me. He knows I won't give up.
"You know I would never do something like that to you, right? You deserve so much better than what happened to you. You deserve better than me. I just want to make you happy." Kai whispers.
"Kai. You do make me happy. This is the happiest I've ever been. I love you so much." I whisper.
"I love you, too, Noelle." He says before giving me a soft kiss on my lips.
We had sat on the curb for a few minutes before everyone came out. They had already paid.
So much for a celebratory dinner.
They looked curious as to why we had come out here, but they quickly shut up when Kai glared at them. Bonnie was the only one who saw my glistening eyes.
"Tell me later?" She had asked. I nodded. We all said goodbye and got in our separate cars.
Me and Kai are only a few minutes away from our apartment. He's holding my hand again which I find very cute. His eyes switch between my face and the road.
"Did you see that?" He asks. I glance to the road.
"There was a butterfly on the windshield." He whispers, making me smile.
I hear the faint sounds of my favorite song on the radio: Adore you by Harry Styles. It's just recently become my favorite. It reminds me of Kai. I'd do anything for him.
"I love this song." I say faintly. Kai whips his head towards the radio. He turns the volume up and frantically looks at me.
"This is my favorite." He states seriously. I smile and let out a giggle.
I'm going to marry this man someday.
KAI'S POV
"WALK THROUGH FIRE FOR YOU, JUST LET ME ADORE YOU!" Elle's voice rings out. I laugh, and we turn our heads towards each other.
"Oh honey!" We sing in unison. I laugh, and she starts giggling. She's the cutest person I have ever seen.
"Just let me adore you, like it's the only thing I'll ever doooo!" She sings. The song ends, so I turn down the volume.
"Harry Styles fan?" I ask.
"Who isn't?" She rhetorically asks. I smile.
"Quick. Favorite song, go!" I exclaim.
"I can't choose just one!" She panics. "I love Woman. And She. Wait- To Be So Lonely."
"It's hard to pick a favorite. Do you want to listen to him?" I ask. She nods her head, and I hand her my phone.
"The password is your birthday. Go to Spotify and you'll find my playlist." I state.
My phone is connected to the car so when she hits the play button, the car starts blaring Carolina. She smiles excitedly.
"This is a good one, too," She says, turning the volume up. "She's got a family in Carolina, so far away, but she she says I remind her of home, feeling oh so far from home."
"She's a good girl! She's such a good girl! She feels so good!" I sing, surprising her.
"You sing really good." She compliments with a serious look on her face.
"So do you." I reply. I motion my finger in a come here signal. She scoots in her seat, leaning on the console.
"I sang that part just for you." I whisper, smirking at her when she leans back in her seat. I can hear her breathing become uneven.
"La la la la la la la la la la la!" I sing. She sighs, leaning on her elbow and staring out the window. She pops up when a certain song comes on.
"Yes! She worked her way through a cheap pack of cigarettes-" She sings.
I'm going to marry this girl someday.
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A/N I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while. School started a couple weeks ago for me and I've been in my death bed with school work. Updates may be not as close together anymore, but I will try my best.
also don't you guys love how I incorporated my harry styles obsession into this book??
love you guys🤍