After It All

Chapter Fifteen

Riley

"Guys I don't think so" I heard James say as I smiled at Ellie feeding the rest of her food.
Things have slowly been falling back into place I guess. Landon's slowly come back out of his shell, it's been 2 weeks since the incident and we've all fallen back into our routine again.
The boys are due to finish school in an hour, so James would probably be setting off in a minute or two but clearly the boys are talking to him about something

"What's going on?" I asked walking into the living room with Ellie on my hip. She'd started to grow a lot more to the point she's almost confidently walking

"The boys have offered to watch the kids while we got out for the night" James said making me look at West and Eldon who sat in front of us
"I don't know guys, it's still a little too fresh to be leaving them" I said 

"Guys, we get that we really do but if you don't start it soon you'll never want to leave them again" West said making me sigh looking at James
"He has a point" James muttered
"But Landon" I said 
"We'll be here the entire time. The kids will be in bed majority of it anyway" Eldon said 

"Plus I think you both need a night just Jiley" West said 
"But the kids, I can't" I said walking out of the room with Ellie still on my hip 

We ended up back in the kitchen, I placed Ellie on the counter watching as the smile on her face doesn't falter as she looked up at me placing a hand on my cheek pulling my face closer placing a kiss on my lips
It's her newest talent she enjoys

"Ri" I heard James say making me look away from our daughter
"Go out with me tonight" he said but I bowed my head
"James, It isn't that easy. What if something happens and we aren't here" I asked
"That's always going to be a risk. That's a risk right now while the boys are at school but that doesn't mean we should pull them out of school" He said making me sigh

"Just one night" He said making me nod. I wasn't going to be able to talk him down not after the boys had talked him into it

At least the kids will be here with people we trust 

--

"Mummy you look pretty!" Landon giggled as I walked downstairs. The boys stayed here while James went to get the kids 
"Thankyou baby" I smiled watching as James smiled coming over to me
"I think the word he was looking for is beautiful" James whispered into my ear pecking my lip as he pulled me in by the waist 

After three very long goodbye, West and Eldon had officially kicked James and I out of the house, leaving us with a night that we could do whatever we wanted 

"I know just the place" James winked as he started driving, I looked at him confused as we drove deeper into the city. Right until we pulled into a very familiar carpark
"Out of all the places" I chuckled watching as the sigh for The Next Step came into clear view
"Hey, is this not my signature" He winked as we parked up

We walked into the building only to see it completely empty. Just like it usually was whenever we had a date here
It's crazy to think that all those years ago, we were just teenagers dancing now here we are god knows how many years later, 3 kids and still with the same if not more drama 

"How on earth" I gasped as we walked into Studio A. James had somehow set up his usual set up, a table in the middle of the room. Perfectly central to the chandelier above us
"Hey, it had to be perfect" James winked making me smile as he tucked my chair in for me 

When the idea of a night away form the kids was first brought up, I was hesitant. If I could I would never leave our kids ever again. At least not until we had more answers then some mysterious guy grabbing our son

"I have something for you" James said as we took a walk through Parkour Alley that night. We had dinner at The Next Step, our signature slow dance before decided to take a stroll through memory lane
"What is it?" I asked, James chuckled 
"Like I would tell you that simply babe" James laughed guiding me over to the bench in Parkour Alley
The same one we had had our date on after the whole Beth incident.

"It's crazy that this place hasn't changed a single bit" I smiled looking around. It feels like yesterday we were here joking around with the rest of A-Troupe. But those days are long gone

"There is something I've been meaning to tell you Ri" James said making me look at him confused
"We've been together for longer then I can even begin to comprehend. A lot of people never thought we would make it this far" he said making me laugh
"But We've over come a lot of things. From the Dramatics of A-Troupe all the way to recent events" He said making me pout slightly 
"I wouldn't have wanted to have done it with anyone else. You're my person Riley and I wish I had realised that sooner" James said making me smile as I attempted to intertwine our hands

James chuckled lightly shaking my hands out of his grip as he got off of the bench making me look at him confused
"What are you doing?" I asked as he slowly leant down onto one knee
"James?" I said widened eyed

"Riley" He chuckled pulling a small velvet box out of his back pocket making me gasp slightly 

"I wouldn't want to do this without else and I don't ever want to do this without you" He smiled
"So, Will you marry me?" He asked opening the box

I gasped again looking down at the ring before looking at him with the same shock
"Say something babe" He laughed with a slight nervous tinge to his chuckle
"Yes, of course yes" I smiled before James engulfed me into a hug 

He leant down pressing his lips against mine softly but with the same amount of love as the first time our lips ever touched as he slipped the ring onto my finger

But..

Our celebration was short lived by both of our phones going on. Eldon was calling me while West was calling James
I answered it instantly before hearing Eldon's panicked breathing

"El? What's going on?" I asked hearing his breath hitch 
"She's gone Riles. Ellie she's gone" He said making me look at James who had the same panicked expression on his face