Running Towards A Place

Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas

A/N: this is probably going to be the penultimate chapter I'm afraid, I think it's drawing to a natural end. I hope you've enjoyed it so far and thanks for making it this far. Let me know if  you'd like a sequel or something completely different next. Enjoy Xx

Eddie's POV

Christmas Day was bliss. I genuinely felt so welcomed to by the Flowers family and it made me fall even more in love with Brandon. Seeing him with his siblings and with the kids, it's just warmed my soul. On Boxing Day we visited Steph, seeing as she was working on Christmas Day. We broke the news to her and she wouldn't stop crying, we showed her the Polaroid's and she wouldn't stop looking at them and I all honesty neither could I.

A week had passed and the news was only just settling in. It was welcome as it distracted me from my knee. I was still doing my daily exercises but I felt like I had reached a plateau. The swelling had come down significantly and I could now straighten it a fair amount but the pain was still intense and walking wasn't really a thing yet.

It was midday on New Year's Eve . Brandon was driving us over to Vegas for a bit of a gathering with the band and crew. Only Ronnie new about the engagement so Brandon was a little on edge about making the announcement again.
"My love, the band love you, they don't scrutinise every little thing you say or do" I encouraged him, resting a hand on his thigh as he drove.
"I know but try telling that to my brain" he responded, biting his lip, eyes fixed on the desert road ahead.
"I'm not leaving your side" I told him, rubbing his hand soothingly.
"Good, I'm not leaving yours either" he chuckled, before glancing at me for a brief second, a hint of a smile across his lips.

An hour later the vast open desert was interrupted by a scattering of houses and buildings. Brandon began to shift in his seat.
"We're nearly there" he announced and I wasn't surprised, he was like an excited child.
"I thought we might be" I giggled, admiring the sight.
"What d'you mean?" He did his best to job to pretend  to be offended.
"You, you're like an excited little boy on Christmas Day" I continued to giggle, making Brandon sigh in defeat, a hint of pink flushing his cheeks. "You're so cute" I teased, pushing his arm gently.

10 minutes later, we were cruising down the strip. Having never been before, I was mesmerised. It was utter chaos and I'd never seen so many lanes on a single road. I couldn't stop looking around and taking in all the bright lights and colours. Brandon on the other hand was getting frustrated with the traffic.
"This is amazing!" I beamed, my mouth agape as we passed a genuine cowboy on the pavement.
"This is home" Brandon responded, pulling off the main strip and onto a slightly quieter side road. I couldn't quite get my head around the fact he saw this as home. "I'm gonna treat you to some frozen custard!" He announced excitedly.
"Frozen custard?" I retorted. I had heard him mention his beloved frozen custard a few times but it still sounded like a strange concept to me.
"It's divine, so much better than ice cream" He insisted enthusiastically, "just you wait!".

So no more than 5 minutes later, we were sat in his truck eating custard. I opted for cherry pie and Brandon had the chocolate crisp. Brandon's gaze burnt into me as I placed a spoonful of the desert into my mouth. Boy was he right. It was divine and my involuntary reaction must've proved that.
"Told you it's good!" Brandon chuckled his hearty little laugh and got on with eating his own desert.
"Mmm, yeah it's so good" I admitted, savouring the tantalising taste and texture of the frozen custard.
"Only the best for you baby" he quipped before starting the engine again. As I took my time with the custard, Brandon did less so. He finished before me and so I was still eating when he pulled off out of the car park. "Dean's place is only round the corner" he announced, somewhat less stressed by the traffic now.

We were staying at Dean's place for the night, he had an impressive apartment around the corner from the strip. The view from his huge window was immense, I stood before it surveying the land of wonderful Las Vegas Nevada.
"So yeah, um, we're engaged" I heard Brandon inform Dean, as I pretended not to be listening. I was admiring the glorious view as they chatted.
"Shit, no way! Congrats man!" Dean responded, making me smile. At this point I couldn't take it much longer so I turned around and hobbled towards them in his kitchenette. "Hey, congrats Eddie, even more of a reason to celebrate tonight" Dean spoke to me, noticing me walk unsteadily towards them. We filled him in on all the details before we joined by Ronnie, Olly and Sarah. I hadn't seen Olly and Sarah since the infamous BBQ all those months ago.
"Did we interrupt something?" Sarah spoke cautiously, as they joined us on the sofas. Everyone looked awkwardly at the person across from them.
"So, um, Eddie and I are engaged" Brandon finally spoke up. I watched as Sarah and Olly's faces contorted as the news sank in.
"No! Wha!" They responded simultaneously. "Jheeze, we need to meet up more often!" Olly laughed as Sarah made her way over to investigate the ring.
"Oh girl that is stunning! Tell me everything" she admired the ring and perched on the arm rest beside me, wanting story time. By the looks of it, everyone else wanted to hear the story too.
"Well, I wasn't expecting it at all" I began, trying to keep composed as I felt all eyes on me. "He drove us out to the desert-"
"Yep, that's definitely Brandon!" Olly quipped.
"I was looking at the stars and he was talking about something and then he just pulled it out and asked me out right"
"The ring! She means he pulled out the ring" Ronnie joked, playfully digging Brandon in his ribs. Everyone erupted into laughter then began asking questions and quizzing us.