𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚎 ~ 𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚕𝚢𝚗 𝚊𝚞

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝚊 𝚗𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

Ashlyn went through her day like any other day. She was in the middle of eating lunch with Big Red when she got a call. She answered, listened with a huge smile, then hung up. She set her phone down. She let out a squeal.

"What is it?" Big Red asked.

"I just got nominated for song of the year. A Grammy." She emphasized, frozen in shock.

"Ash!" He exclaimed. He got up and hugged her. She was still seated, unable to do much but talk. "Congrats! That's... wow."

"Yeah. Wow," she looked up at him. "This is insane." She leaned back in her seat. He returned to his own.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Then again, it makes sense."

"Oh shut up!" She giggled, the news making her giddy.

"I won't," he insisted.

"Just... how? I mean, it was a good song, but a Grammy? That's..."

"Amazing?"

"Well, yeah. I just can't find words. Oh my God. I'm nominated for a Grammy." She said, trying to get the fact to sink in.

"Yes, you are," he grinned.

"You're coming to the ceremony."

"Really?"

"No one has to know you aren't just a friend. I don't want you to miss that. I want you there. Of course, I always do—"

"I got it," he smiled. "This is big."

"Yeah," she said, a smile forming on her face. "Really big."

"Go on, tell people!"

"Okay. Yeah, okay," she stood up, grabbing her phone of the table.

"And feel free to brag," he joked.

"Ash?" Big Red piped up. It was around 1 in the morning. The two had gotten off various long FaceTime calls with family and friends. They were now attempting to fall asleep, but he found he couldn't.

"Yeah?"

"You're sure you want me to come? If it would cause to much of a—"

"I can't not have the love of my life at the Grammy's with me. What if I won? I would want you there. That's not gonna happen. If I don't win, though, it'll still be a great night. And one I don't want you to miss."

"Thank you. It's just... I don't know. They're so big that people usually bring their significant others. And people know you have one, so..." he trailed off. She sat up, turning on her bedside lamp. She laid back down.

"How long are we gonna do this?" She whispered.

"Do what?"

"Keep this a secret. Us a secret," she informed him. "Don't get me wrong, I get it. I don't want people to know. No, I do. Maybe? I'm sorry..."

"No, I get it. I think. I mean, who knows if we're doing the right thing?"

"I just want to let you lead a normal life. That's all you want."

"Oh, come on, Ash. Turn off the light then come over here."

"Okay..." she did as he said, placing her head on his chest.

"I want to lead a normal life, but... that's not all I want. How could it be? I have you. I want you." He kissed her head.

"That's sweet, really. I just don't want you to sacrifice anything for me."

"Ash, babe, everyone makes sacrifices when they care about people."

"But..."

"It's barely a sacrifice. How bad could it be, for people to know?"

"Not that bad," she admitted. "In theory. But people judge me. That's just... the last thing I want for you. It's hard, and you don't have a reason to be in the public light."

"Except you. You're a reason to. Look, I do like this secret thing. But I also don't. So, if things come out, we deal with it. If they don't, we keep it a secret until we... don't want to. It doesn't have to be a huge thing." He rubbed her back.

"Okay, well... you're coming to it. That's the end of the story." She mumbled into him.

"Alright," he ruffled her hair, before attempting to fall asleep. She drifted off to sleep, arms around him. It wasn't technically the most comfortable, but since they were together, it was.