Night of the Living Bitches - 5sos

Chapter 82: Chocolate Chip Pancakes

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-Kyleigh's POV-

A loud knock wakes me up and I open my eyes to see Ashton's head popping around the corner of the door, "Morning, campers. Brenton invited us to his place for breakfast. We're leaving in fifteen if you want to come."

"Okay. Thanks," I mumble as he shuts the door. I look over at Luke, whose eyes are still closed even though I know he's awake. I'm not sure when we fell asleep last night, but I know we were both restless. Not because we didn't feel safe, but because of the adrenaline that came from defending the camp.

"Stop staring at me," Luke comments, making me jump.

"How did you know I was looking at you?" I laugh.

His eyes peep open as he looks back at me, "I don't know. I could just tell."

I roll onto my side as he asks, "Do you want to go to breakfast?"

I sigh, sinking into the warm bed, "We probably should."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Luke says and I laugh at how sad he sounds. I mentally prepare myself to get up, and just as I make the move to stand up, Luke wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me back into the bed.

"We still have fifteen minutes," He says, placing a kiss on my shoulder.

I give him a look and his eyes widen, "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that we could stay here a little longer. Actually, I think I would be content staying in this bed for the rest of our lives. What do you think?"

I relax back into the fluffy sheets, "I don't know. I could be convinced," I say, truly meaning it.

We lay there for ten more minutes and I can tell we're both about to fall back asleep, but when we hear Ashton's footsteps walking toward our door, we both spring out of bed like it's our mom waking us up for school.

When Ashton opens the door, we're both just standing weirdly straight by the bed, trying to act like we weren't practically asleep three seconds ago. Ashton gives us a questioning look, "Um. Why do you guys look like that?"

"Like what?" Luke asks, and I have to bite my lip to not laugh.

Ashton gives me a concerned look before shaking his head, "Never mind. I don't even want to know. Are you guys coming?"

"Yeah, we'll be down in two minutes," I answer. Ashton nods his head before shutting the door, mumbling something about us being weirdos.

The two of us hurry to look somewhat presentable before heading downstairs. The entire group walks over to Brenton's house together, and when we knock on the door, Noah opens it, letting us all inside.

"We just finished making breakfast," Noah says as he directs us through the house.

"It smells incredible in here," Reece says as we enter the kitchen. There are several plates on the table, filled with various fruits, bacon, and a huge stack of pancakes.

Brenton takes off his apron and says, "Thanks. Noah and I have been hard at work." Brenton ruffles Noah's hair, causing Noah to groan in embarrassment.

Brenton then walks over and hugs everyone, even Luke, before telling us to all sit down before the food gets cold. We all start passing dishes around and filling our plates.

"You have got to be shitting me," Ashton says randomly and we all pause, "Are these chocolate chip pancakes?"

We laugh as Brenton says, "Yeah. I only make them on special occasions."

"What's the special occasion today?" Luke asks.

I think we all know where this is going as Brenton clears his throat before putting his fork down. "I guess there's no reason to beat around the bush. I thought it was time to ask you guys if you want to stay. To become official members of the community."

No one says anything immediately, all waiting for someone else to speak. After a minute, Brenton adds, "I can speak on behalf of myself, Henry, and obviously Jensen, that we would love to have you. You guys are true survivors, and we could use people like you on our side. Some of the people here, especially the kids, don't know life outside of this community. They don't realize how bad it has gotten, and they don't fully know how to survive outside of these walls. And that's fine. Everyone has their roles here for a reason. But you all have lived and faced the world out there. You know just how shitty it is, and you can understand the strength that comes from finding a community that can band together. Of course, there's no real pressure for you to stay. But I don't really see any alarming reasons for you to leave. Here, you would have always have shelter, food, and protection. Plus, our groups work well together, and that was proven last night. But again. The choice is completely up to you."

Brenton ends his speech, noticing he's rambling. We all glance at each other, trying to somehow read each other's minds instead of speaking.

"You all know how I feel," I finally say, breaking the silence.

"Me too," Reece adds, and Ashton nods.

My eyes flicker between Erica and Luke, knowing they're the ones who were the most hesitant. Even though she hasn't said anything yet, I can tell by Erica's expression that she's on board with staying. But when I look at Luke, I have no idea what he's thinking. His eyebrows are slightly furrowed, like he's deep in thought, but he is showing no other sign of his thoughts.

Finally, Erica says, "I think we should stay. It makes sense."

I notice the way Brenton looks relieved by her statement, but he doesn't say anything as we all turn to Luke. Noticing we're all waiting on him, he turns to me and says in a quiet voice, "You really think we should stay?"

I don't miss a beat, "Yes. I do."

Luke closes his eyes tightly as he sighs, "Okay."

"Okay?"

His eyes open again, his expression a lot softer, "Okay. We'll stay. If that's what everyone else wants. We'll stay."

Cora's chair screeches as she pushes away from the table and runs over to Luke, wrapping her arms around him tightly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Woah," A smile spreads across his face, "I didn't know you would be this excited."

Cora pulls back, "Are you kidding? This place has chocolate chip pancakes. I don't think we could ever find a place better than this."

"In that case, I think it's time we celebrate," Brenton stands up and brings back a champagne bottle. I haven't seen champagne in so long that I almost forgot it existed. Brenton pops it and starts filling glasses as we pass them around. When Brenton only pours enough glasses for the adults, this kids immediately start complaining.

"Dad," Noah frowns, "That's not fair."

"What is that?" Thomas questions as Cora asks, "Can we have some?"

Brenton looks at me and Erica and we both nod, so he pours three small glasses for Thomas, Cora, and Noah. The kids all take a sip at the same time, and everyone loses it as Noah and Thomas immediately spit the liquid back into their glass, gagging at the taste, while Cora casually drinks it.

"Definitely her mom's daughter," Erica jokes, making me laugh.

Everyone finishes eating their breakfast, and the conversation never stops even for a second. The happiness in the room is contagious. This moment feels like the beginning of something new. Something good. And when Luke squeezes my hand three times under the table as he's in the middle of a conversation with Erica and Brenton, I know he feels the same way.