Forever & Always [ J.G | C.D ]

1-Carly

- 6 months earlier -

"Carly! Wake up."
I opened one eye slowly, my mothers familiar face inches from mine. I smiled, opening both eyes, "Oh, I'm sorry mom. Good morning"
"It's okay, sweetie. Just hurry up and get ready. Your brothers are waiting for you outside." A faint smile graced her lips before exiting my room.
Shoving back the covers, I jumped out of bed. I sped through my morning routine, excitement coursing through my veins. I slipped on one of Nash's sweatshirts and a pair of dark denim Jeans and tugged on a pair of grey toms.
"Ready!" I called out, hurrying down the stairs.
"Finally! Come on, slow poke!" Nash teased, walking through the front door to greet me at the end of the stairs.
"Okay, I just need to grab my b-"
"Your bags are in the escalade already. Now, let's go before mom changes her mind."
"I heard that, young man!" Mom yelled from the kitchen, amusement lacing her voice.
"Bye! Love you!" We called out to her in unison as we walked out the door.
Throwing me a mischievous grin, Nash quickly lifted me up and threw me over his shoulder before I even knew what he was doing, and closed the door behind us before making his way out to the car.
"Put me down!" I shrieked between fits of laughter.
"Fine."
Oh no.
Anticipating what he was about to do, I braced for impact as he opened the car door dropped me down on the seat roughly right next to Hayes.
"NASH! That hurt my bottom," I sat back in the seat, pouting, as Cam and Hayes laughed.
"Cam, can you kiss it all better?" I puckered up my lips and bat my eyelashes.
"Uhm, no," he gulped "I'm friends with your brother, that would be weird."
"Oh calm down I was only kidding," I teased, biting my lip on a giggle.
Cam smiled half heartedly before starting the engine. I began to feel a little self-conscious so I plugged my head phones in an sat quietly, mentally kicking myself for making things awkward between Cam and I. Closing my eyes I allowed myself to relax, feeling myself slowly drift off.
Feeling a light tap on my shoulder my head snapped up, jolting me awake.
"I wasn't sleeping," I mumbled, sleep fog clouding my mind, my head bobbing up and down as I tried desperately to keep myself from falling back to sleep as my eyelids, still heavy with sleep, began to droop down.
"Sure, sure, princess," an unfamiliar voice answered.
I opened my eyes quickly, looking up to see Jack Gilinsky, another one of Nash's friends.
"Uhm, hey," I yawned stretching my arms, careful not to breath out too heavily for fear of sleep-breath.
"The guys are inside getting snacks. They wanted me to ask you if you wanted anything?" He wondered, brown eyes solely focused on his phone.
"Where are we? And, uhm, an Arizona and some gummies if that is okay," I rested my head against the back of the seat, feeling sleep begin to tug at my consciousness.
"Well, we are in the middle of nowhere at the moment. There's really nothing or miles except this trucker stop. And we've still got about another 6 hours of driving left." Running his fingers through his dark brown hair he backed away from the car "I'll be back with your stuff in a second."
I nodded half asleep only hearing the click of the car door before I was out again.
"Wake up, princess. I have your stuff," Jacks soothing voice gently lulled me awake only for the slamming of the car door to abruptly break the barrier between sleep and wakefulness.
I groaned and sat up straighter in my seat. Yawning I turned my apologetic gaze toward Nash in the passenger seat. "Sorry for falling asleep." I whispered repositioning myself in my seat.
I looked over seeing Jack in Hayes spot in the middle seat, "Where's Hayes?"
"Oh me and him switched about an hour ago," he explained, shrugging off my concern for my baby brother "Here." he handed me a glass bottle of Arizona and a bag full of 5¢ gummies.
"Thanks." Opening the bag and pulling one out slowly, I slid my sly gaze to the front seat, "So, Nash, can you finally tell me where we are going?"
"Nope!" He said with a smile before immediately turning to Cameron to strike up a conversation about who knows what. I keep my annoyance to myself and decide not to push, not really wanting to drag Cameron into the conversation. I don't know why but ever since I meet Cam it has always been awkward between us, so I try my best not to interact with him more than is polite. My blunder earlier when I tried to joke with him at the start of this journey was a good enough reason to keep to myself where he was concerned.
I turned my attention to Jack who typed away at his phone next to me.
"So, Jack, do you know who is all going with us?"
Shutting his phone off and sliding it into his back pocket, Jack turned toward me. "Uhm Carter, Jack, and Shawn are in the other car with Hayes. And Aaron and Taylor are meeting us there. And Matt won't be joining us for awhile," he said pointing at the black truck following closely behind us.
"Ah, well I am glad I don't have to spend the weekend with my brothers friends and Cam" I smiled,a joking lilt to my voice.
My gaze shot to Cam at hearing his snicker, "Like we wanna spend a weekend with you," he grumbled quietly but just loud enough for me to hear.
"What is your problem" I hissed through gritted teeth, not willing to let that comment slide.
"Well, obviously, you." I jolted back in my seat, the words causing more damage than I would care to admit.
"Come on you two, not today please" Nash said, exasperation coloring his voice as he rested his hand on Cam's shoulder.
Gritting my teeth I nodded, quickly putting my headphones in and closing my eyes. Cams hurtful comment effectively killed whatever good mood I had been in today. For the life of me, I couldn't understand what his problem was with me. If I even opened my mouth he got irritated and snapped at me with some hurtful words. I had silently been hoping this trip would be much different but obviously my wishful thinking was all for naught.
A few minutes passed and my anger began to subside. My eyelids felt heavy with sleep once again and I began to drift off.

"Mhm?" I mumbled, balancing precariously in that odd state between blissful sleep and wakeful alertness.
"You can lay on me if you would like, it'll probably be easier on your neck," Jack smiled, "I promise I don't bite."
"Is it okay if I just rest my head on your legs and lay flat?" I questioned kind of awkwardly.
"Mhm, but, can I have a gummy?"
I nodded, handing him the bag, he took out one and placed it in his mouth. Moments later his nose scrunched up, lips twisting into a grimace.
"What's wrong?" I asked as I positioned myself so that my head lay across his lap and my legs stretched out toward the door on the seat beside me.
"Grabbed a sour one, that's all. I guess you can say I am not a fan."
"Ah, can I have a watermelon flavored one?" I turned so my face was towards the roof.
Jack leaned over so his face was directly above mine, "Mhm."
I heard the bag crumple as he searched for one before hovering the candy just inches from my mouth "Open up!" I did as he instructed and felt my face begin to heat up as he placed the candy between my lips. Clearing my throat I mumbled a quick "Thank you," before turning my head so I was no longer facing him. By now the heat had traveled down to my ears and neck.
Oh god, am I really blushing?
"No problem, princess." amusement laced his voice, causing my blush to grow ever brighter but a smile tugged at my lips, one I tried desperately to hide.
Even though I had just met this boy he was leaving quite the impression even though I knew very little about him. All I knew was he was a viner and friends with my brother Nash. Though, I was sure I wouldn't mind getting to know him a little better.