The Draw

The end.

They got back to the bus an hour later. They both took off their coats and shoes and sat upstairs with Kyle, Will, Woody and Evie. All four pairs of eyes were looking up at them, expectantly. Stacey smiled politely and looked up at the tv. Dan smiled politely and checked his phone for messages. Silence passed for a few moments.

'So?!' Kyle burst out finally.

'What?' Asked Dan, confused.

'What did you guys get up to? Anything to tell us?' He was practically bouncing in his seat. Stacey and Dan looked at each other and shrugged.

'What is he talking about?' She asked Dan.

'I don't know...'

'Oh. Never mind then.' Kyle looked downcast. The boys turned back to the tv. Stacey grinned at Dan and nodded.

'Unless you mean this?' Stacey laughed and held up her left hand. And on the finger next to her little pinky, was a small silver band with a little gem on it.

'WHAT?!' The three of them shouted at once.

'For real?' Will asked.

'For real. I've asked Stacey to marry me and she said yes.' Their reaction was enough to set Stacey off in tears once more. She'd spent the last hour sobbing happily. Her cheeks hurt from smiling and her head was spinning. It hadn't been the most romantic of proposals. Just in that little diner. He'd cried. One of the very few times she'd ever seen him cry. She hadn't even thought about the answer. Of course she'd said yes. Then on the way back to the bus they had gone into the drug store and bought the first ring they'd found. He had offered to buy her a new one when they got to Washington, but she refused. She liked her $9 fake silver ring.

There was a mass hugging session, with little Evie very confused in the middle of it all.

'Mummy?' She asked.

'How would you like to be a bridesmaid for Mummy? In your own beautiful dress?'

'Can I have a princess dress?' She asked.

'Absolutely.' Dan told her and scooped her up. He smothered her in kisses until she shouted at him to stop and wiped her face. He dragged Stacey in too and the three of them put their heads together, all smiling. 'My family.' Dan beamed. Stacey touched his face with her hand, tracing his stubbled jawline with her fingers. She took in every tiny detail. The way one of his front teeth was ever so slightly crooked. The small freckles under his beautiful blue eyes. She remembered back to the first time she met him, stood on the doorstep to her house, bags in hand and an electric keyboard under his other arm. His hair had been insanely big and messy. He was so young and shy. And here he was, so much older and so grown up. Only he could make her laugh until she cried. Only he could get into her brain and under her skin. He drove her insane with his mess and his snoring. And there was no one else on earth she wanted to share her life with.

'Our family.' Stacey repeated with the biggest smile on her face.

The end.

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I'd like to just thank every single person who has taken the time to read my story. It's the first time I've written in ten years and thanks to everyone's support for keeping me going to the end! I am currently working on something else right now, so follow me and I hope to give you something different very soon! Kellie x