Always There - Part 2 || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 253: You've Always Been My Dream

It was like I had forgotten how to breathe.

The moment I had dreamt about, ever since that first night in our new home, imagining what it would feel like for him to look at me as someone so much more than just the girl who moved in next door, as just his friend, and now he was going to be the father of my child, asking me to be his wife.

I looked down at the ring he held out in front of me; the familiar silver band, looking so much more enticing than I remember, now holding so much more meaning.

"I promise, I will get you a much nicer ring, but for now-" I cut him off, pulling him into a passionate kiss. I didn't care about the ring. All I had ever truly wanted was this, and now that it was happening, I had never been more sure that this was exactly where I was meant to be.

When I finally pulled away, he held his stare on me, his eyes now in that same lovestruck gaze I found myself falling deeper into every time he looked at me like that, feeling myself melting from the inside out.

"Are you only asking me because I'm pregnant?" I joked, wrapping my arms around his neck. He shook his head, giggling to himself.
"Well, that definitely did speed things up a bit. I really didn't intend on this happening until.. long after I asked you this question. But.. sometimes things just happen the way they're supposed to, I guess."

My heart dropped.
The studio.
The record deal.
I hadn't even asked about it.

"Jake, I.. oh my god, what happened today?" I asked, my face dropping. "We.. we didn't talk about that at all." He laughed again, playfully shaking his head.
"Jaime, I promise you, that is the least of my concerns right now." He said softly, now reaching up, gently caressing my cheek. The feeling of this thumb lightly tracing against my skin instantly made me feel a sense of peace, like now that I had him, everything would always be okay, for the rest of my life.

And I believed it.

"I just-"
"I want an answer, Jaime." He said, his smile growing into an eager grin. I sighed, leaning back into a long kiss. He kissed me back harder, his hand now moving into my hair, tightly tangling his fingers within. When he finally moved away, I felt the words fall from my lips so effortlessly.

"Yes." I said. "I'll marry you."
"You mean it?" He asked. I nodded.
"More than anything."

He then carefully slid the band onto my finger, the cold silver instantly warming up against my already blazing skin, begging just to be held by him again.

"So can you tell me what happened at the studio now?" I asked, now eagerly climbing into his lap. He pulled me in closer, wrapping his arms around me.
"They agreed to sign us." He sighed, his face dropped into a relieved grin.
"So you're really leaving me again, huh?" I asked, carefully brushing the hair out of his face. If he really was going to be leaving again, I wanted to memorize every line, every freckle, every shade of gold and brown in his eyes.

In this moment, he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and I knew it didn't matter how far away from me he was, he would be engrained in my memory forever.

Right where he belonged.

"Well, I was hoping.. this time.. you could come with me." He said, leaning in closer. I could already feel my heart beating faster, just the thought of him being taken away from me again, making my chest feel heavy. I knew I couldn't stay behind this time. Not now.

"When would you be going?" I asked. He hesitated for a moment, his eyes moving from my lips back up to meet my gaze. His reluctance made me nervous, already sensing what the answer was.

"Soon." He finally said.
"Soon meaning.." I muttered. He nodded.

It was as if the universe kept intending on testing us, wondering how far we'd go just to be together, how much we'd sacrifice, just to finally make this work. And I knew now that I would give everything.

"What did Josh say?" I asked, just the sound of his name making my cheeks burn with an aching that would never fully go away. I knew now there was nothing I could say that would allow him and I to go back to the way things were, and the idea of being on tour again with the both of them..

"He said he would do it." He muttered. "For me." I nodded, giving him a gentle smile as I ran my fingers through his hair again.
"You know how much he loves you, right?" I asked. He nodded, letting out a deep sigh.
"Not as much as you do..right?"
"Right." I laughed, pulling him into a long kiss.

"I can't leave you back home." He said, his eyes now moving down to my stomach. "Not now." There was no denying how badly I wanted to be with him too, especially considering I hadn't even told my mom yet. But I wanted us to do this together, and I knew that I belonged wherever he was.

"I want to go with you." I said softly. "Last time was hard enough, and.. I don't want to risk-"
"Please don't think about last time. I promise you, that will never happen again, whether you're there or not. I just.. I don't want you to worry about me. You have enough to worry about. I just want to be able to be there for you."

And when he looked at me like that, I believed him.

"You know.. the movie was never really my dream." I muttered, avoiding his eyes. "And it just feels.. unfair that we get to have this, and.. I get to have that too." He nodded, staying quiet.
"And after everything, I can't imagine having to tell him about.. this."
"I can tell him if you want. I think that.. maybe it should come from me anyway." My heart started beating faster, already feeling him wanting to take care of me.

"But.. you're happy, right?" He asked. I couldn't help but smile.
"I am so happy." I sighed. "I just wish that.. we didn't have to deal with everything else. I wish it could just.. be us, even for a little while. That's all I've ever really wanted." He nodded, his smile growing.
"Me too." He said. "But.. we can at least have tonight." My heart jumped as he pulled me into another long kiss.

And in that kiss, I felt as though all of my missing pieces were welded back together, like deep down, this was where I was truly meant to be. It was always meant to be us, and we had finally done it, and I wasn't going to let anything come between us again, no matter what that meant.

But if we were finally going to get our happily ever after, it was only right that I gave Josh the chance to have his too.

"You really want me to come with you?" I asked, pulling away. He nodded, letting out a deep sigh.
"Of course I do." He said. "W-why?"
"Because.. I can't do both." His face dropped, now realizing what I was saying.
"Jaime, I don't want you giving up your-"
"I want to be with you." I said. He stayed quiet, understanding that this wasn't up for debate.

"You've done nothing but believe in me, I'd be hypocritical if I didn't support your dr-"
"I told you, the movie was never my dream. You were." His eyes instantly lit up, his lips curling into a smile.
"You've always been my dream too." He whispered, leaning into another long kiss.

"So, we're really doing this, huh?" I laughed, wrapping my arms around his neck again. He nodded, giggling to himself.
"I guess we are."
"Then.. I need to make a call."