{Allison's POV}
When I woke up the next morning the memories of the beach flooded over me. I could still practically taste the salty air and hear the waves crashing against the shore. The guys' last full day here had been amazing, and now it was time for the dream to end. I rolled through the motions of getting ready and then headed over to Claire's house to pick her up. We were going to meet the guys at the airport. As we started the long ride there I tried to mentally prepare myself for what was about to happen. In a span of a few days I had met my idols, become stuck in a love triangle with two of them, and basically lived out something straight out of a fanfiction. Now I was about to go to the airport to say goodbye to them for who knows how long. Yeah we would text and possibly even Skype, but it wasn't the same. Then another thought protruded from the depths of my mind- there would be paparazzi and fans there. Boy, was this going to be fun. As I pulled into the parking lot my eyes gazed upon a mob of girls, ready to snap a picture with their favorite band. There were also plenty of paparazzi taking pictures every ten seconds.
"Ready to do this?" I asked Claire, unbuckling my seatbelt.
"I guess. I should've known it'd be this crowded, how are we ever going to be able to talk to them?" She sighed deeply, focusing on something in the distance.
"We'll find a way, they didn't tell us to come here for nothing." We got out of the car and walked to the entrance. Suddenly a piercing scream came from the mouths of the many fans, signaling their arrival. I craned my neck to see Luke exiting the limo followed by Michael, Ashton, and then Calum. Michael looked insanely handsome and I couldn't help but stare as he talked to some fans and took a few pictures. As they went inside the airport they motioned for us to follow. Security wouldn't allow anyone to go in, even us until they realized that we were with them. I ran up and instinctively hugged Ashton. Then I went over to Michael, and just so happened to hold his embrace a little bit longer.
"I'm gonna miss you," I whispered in his ear.
"We can text. Every day. And video chat, and call. I'll visit as soon as possible. You mean a lot to me," he whispered back. I looked up to see Calum and Claire kissing, and Luke looking pretty left out. So I went over and hugged him. I went back over to Ashton and kissed him on the cheek.
"Text me. And call me," I said with a smile.
"Of course. I'll see you soon," he replied, wrapping me in a bear hug. Sadly security came and broke up our hug fest to tell the guys that it was time to board the plane. I started tearing up as the doors shut behind them. We just sat their for a minute, processing exactly what had just happened. We linked arms and walked back to my car. Paparazzi crowded around us, begging to hear our stories. We just ignored them and kept walking.
"I'm in total shock. Am I going to wake up tomorrow morning and have this all be a dream?" I commented as I pulled onto the highway and headed home. After a while of silence, Claire spoke.
"It's official," she said.
"What?"
"He asked me to be his girlfriend. And I said yes. I chose Calum." At least one of us had chosen.
--
"So who do you want to be with?" Claire asked me later that night. We were watching a movie, but it had become boring and cheesy so we resorted to an actual conversation.
"I honestly don't know," I said with a shrug. Ashton was so sweet, and such a gentleman. He'd do anything to make me happy and he was absolutely adorable. Plus he was an amazing drummer. But Michael had something Ashton didn't. With his colored hair, skinny jeans, tattoos, and eyebrow piercing, my dad was inevitably going to disapprove. It was a turn on when we had to sneak around because my parents didn't like him. I liked bad boys. Plus he was actually really sweet and funny.
"You're going to have to choose. You can't date them both, and you can't leave them hanging forever. Eventually they'll move on." She was right. And I didn't want that to happen.
"I'll have my decision by tomorrow." We turned out attention back to the movie for a while. Later on that night I got a text from both Ashton and Michael saying they safely landed. A pang of longing and sadness struck me as I imagined them miles and miles away from me, whereas just hours ago their muscular arms had been wrapped around me in a protective manner. I sighed deeply and grabbed myself some popcorn. This was going to be a lot harder than I thought.
--
"Can't sleep?" Claire asked me in a groggy voice.
"Yeah, just thinking."
"Me too. I miss Calum so much."
"This reminds me too much of 'Beside You'. I just want them back." The guys had a show the next day and I figured they'd all be sleeping by now, so it was no use trying to text them. Plus everything was messed up with the different time zones. I rolled back over and stared at the wall in the pitch black room. A grave silence fell over us, and then soft steady breathing came from the other side of the bed. At least one of us would be getting their beauty sleep.
--
The next morning I shook Claire until she woke up.
"What is it? Why are you waking me up this early? You know it's not a good idea to wake me up earlier than noon!" She complained, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"Well I have something important to tell you. I mean, you can go back to sleep and I can wait till later..." I shrugged. I knew she hated when I did this.
"Oh shut up, you already woke me up. What do you need to tell me?"
"I know who I pick."
