Celebrity Crush

Chapter 24

Ezekiel's POV:

I roll over after another failed attempt at falling back to sleep and look at the time; it's nearly 1am.

After debating with myself whether it not I should go to Aven's room I quietly get out of bed, careful not to wake Bailey and make my way to his room, I hope he's still awake.

"Aven," I whisper, popping my head into his room.

Just as I turn to go back to my room, I hear a quiet, sleepy, "come here, Z."

I turn around to see him facing me, his arms open for me, both of us with giddy smiles on our faces.

"What are we gonna tell Bailey this time?"

"That I went down to the lake with you," I smile.

His face moves back slightly to look at me, "do you want to go to the lake?"

"Really? That would be cool."

He gets up from the bed, pulling me up behind him, "you're going to love the view, you can see the stars so clearly."

He throws on a shirt while I put on a jumper and we make our way to the lake.

On the walk down there, I trip on multiple things in the dark making both of us laugh and shush each other, making the walk seem longer than it is.

I can't stop the gasp that escapes my lips when I see the view, the moon and stars reflecting off the lake perfectly, and I can see nearly every star, it's amazing.

He sits down and pats the space next to him, gesturing for me to sit down with him, and I do of course.

I cuddle into his side and he wraps his arm around me, no words needed, just enjoying each other's company.

"Happy Birthday Z," he says quietly.

I turn to meet his eyes, "Thank you."

We get lost in each other's eyes and I don't know how much time has passed, but the both of us are looking at each other, taking in the features in the moonlight. I've never had someone look at me like this, especially this close up before.

Our eyes meet again, and he glances down at my lips before looking back at me.

So many thoughts are racing through my head and I can't hear a single one when my eyes are locked onto his.

"Would it be alright if i-" he cuts himself off, looking down at my lips again, before shaking his head, as if he's trying to get rid of whatever he was thinking.

I look down at his lips briefly before looking back into his eyes, waiting for as long as he needs to get out what he wants to say if he chooses to.

"Since it's your birthday," he continues, voice barely above a whisper, looking between my eyes and lips frequently, "would it be alright if I gave you a special birthday kiss?" his voice even quieter at the end and if I wasn't this close, I wouldn't hear it.

My cheeks flush red and the words are stolen from my throat, I don't even know what to say.

Did he really say what I thought he said?

"Ezekiel?" his voice snaps me back to reality, "you alright?"

"Yeah, yep I'm good," I smile, slightly deflated that my thoughts can't ever come true, "what were you saying sorry?"

"I was just saying since it's your birthday, would it be alright if I gave you a special birthday dish. And you get to pick what we eat for the rest of the day," he smiles.

His hand reaching out to grab mine, "are you sure you're alright?"

I smile softly at him, looking down at our joined hands briefly, "yeah I'm fine. The food idea sounds wonderful"

We lay down on the grass in a comfortable silence, enjoying the beautiful view and each other's presence.

While I silently wish that I had the courage to tell him what I was thinking.

*time skip*

A splash of cold water scares me awake and I sit up abruptly, not even remembering falling asleep.

I see a still sleeping Aven next to me and a laughing Bailey in the water.

Stripping down to my boxers and running in after her, determined to tackle her with all my strength.

Neither of us able to contain our laughter while trying to dunk each other under water.

Eventually Aven wakes up and yells out to see if we're all good, making his way back up to the house when we both give him a thumbs up.

"Happy Birthday Zeke," Bailey smiles, giving me a big hug. The smile on my face only growing wider as I hug her back.

We get out of the water, grabbing my clothes, and head back up to the house. Aven brings us both a towel each and tells us breakfast isn't far away.

He still hasn't looked at me.

We had bacon and egg rolls followed by the most amazing presents, including the suit from months ago that Bailey bought after I told her not to. Aven gave me a beautiful necklace with the date of when we first met on one side and the date that he first met drunk Ezekiel on the other. We all had a good laugh but the shy smile he gave me assured me it was genuine.

Aven gestures for me to follow him outside, finally acknowledging me. I follow him outside, only getting more confused when he keeps walking further around the corner, completely out of view.

When I round the corner looking for him, he pulls me in for a hug, kissing the top of my head softly before holding me tightly.

"I'm sorry," he whispers.

"What are you sorry for?"

"I missed being close to you. And I don't think I can handle their teasing when I'm tired and my mind is already racing too fast for me to follow."

"It's ok," I say softly, "I'm not going anywhere, I'd love to just have some us time, but Bailey would enjoy that too much."

He pulls me in for a hug and we stay holding each other for a while and he chokes out a soft "thank you".

I look up at him to wipe the tears from his cheeks, reaching up to place a gentle kiss on each of his cheeks.

"I am always here if you ever need someone to talk to, about anything," I try to comfort him.

"Thank you, Z, I've just a lot going through my head at the moment but I'll be alright," he smiles.

I don't push it, or force him to tell me what's happening, as long as he knows I'm here when he's ready. 

a/n i am LOVING seeing all of your comments it makes me so happy that y'all are actually enjoying this and you like these idiots as much as i like writing them. 

please keep interacting i love seeing what you're all thinking and if i dont reply to comments it's literally just because i dont know what to say, but i read all of them and i love them !! 

cute little shoutout to @yourfavbisexual @RamisaSiddique @CobraKaiGal and @amelie_mayy for being amazing <3