HEARTBURST,, The Next Step

[3.8] marry me

❝For me, my favourite place in the world is actually The Next Step, because it's where I first met you.❞

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"It feels so good to have you back on A-Troupe," Riley smiled lovingly at her boyfriend as he grinned in response, taking a sip of his red juice as he looked back at her in admiration.

Maxie chuckled, breaking the romantic moment between them as she added, "Yeah, tell me about it, Eldon was quite literally becoming insufferable without you to balance him out."

The couple smiled awkwardly at Maxie, glad she was there with them, however, solely wishing they hadn't invited her out so early on in an attempt to give them some alone time together

"Honestly, I've been so busy with Aunt Kathy's wedding that I haven't really taken it in," James told them with an essence of sincerity in his voice.

The main reason Maxie, James and Riley were sat in Hidalgos was that they were waiting on the arrival of James' Aunt Kathy — the bride-to-be — who had called the three teens down to meet with her since they all played such significant roles in her wedding that she wanted them to meet her fiancé ahead of time.

Maxie herself seemed somewhat proud of landing a role in the woman's wedding, since, despite not knowing the part any of them were supposed to play, she couldn't help but let herself believe that the two brief encounters she'd had with Kathy had so obviously left a good impression.

"Hello, hello," She grinned at the teens as she hurried into the café, taking a seat beside Maxie on the opposite side of the table from James and Riley, an air of hurry and excitement surrounding her.

Kathy leaned forward to place two unexpected kisses on both of Maxie's cheeks, causing Riley's eyes to widen and James to splutter a laugh at the sight, "Oh, Max, dear, it's great to see you again, you've always been my favourite of Deborah's children."

"Aunt Kathy, she's... She's not my sister," James furrowed his brows, clearly confused as to how his Aunt could have gotten it mixed up.

"Oh, honey, I know," Kathy smiled sweetly, sending Maxie another grin before settling into the stool and turning back to the other two.

Feigning emotional hurt from Kathy's last comment, James was quick to brush it off, "So, where's your fiancé? He's real, right?"

"Oh, so funny," Kathy quipped, sharing a look with Maxie and Riley whilst James chuckled to himself at his own joke, "He's just finishing his parking job, he wants to make sure that the car is parked equidistantly between the white lines and the pavement. He's a great parker."

"Boy, the traffic officers must love him," Maxie muttered, earning her a giggle from Riley.

Kathy nodded, "They do, actually. He gets a letter of thanks for keeping the roads organised almost every other month," She informed the girl, her comments unsurprising to the teens who just nodded in understanding.

"So, how did you two meet?" Riley asked, tilting her head with curiosity.

Smiling to herself, Kathy recounted, "Ah, well, Deborah, James' mom, introduced us and it was magic!"

Letting his eyes drift towards the doorway of the café, James snapped his head back to the group with a hint of urgency in his eyes, "That's my..." He trailed off, looking back at the man standing there with his hands in his pockets, "That's my driving instructor right there, he's crazy! He's the crazy one I told you about," He informed them in a hushed tone, "What if he's here to revoke my license?"