Adeline|New Hope Club|Blake Richardson|

12: Sandbox

Blake was wide awake. The brunette was currently walking along a path he knew all too well, listening to the dead leaves crunch beneath his feet. The air was bitter and it made Blake's teeth chatter. He was pretty well bundled up but the cold still found its way into the cracks of his clothes and caused goose-bumps to form across his skin. He could hear his slightly labored breathing in the silence of the nine o'clock morning sun and it was all so peaceful.

Blake felt like there was no one else in the world to bother him. He was alone with his own thoughts and his own choices. For the first time in a year, he had everything that he's wanted. His mum was happy with where her life was and so was Blake's dad. Blake's sister was living it up and she was happy too. It was all Blake had ever wanted for his family; happiness. Even Blake was happy.

The New Hope Club boys were all together and living their dreams; they were meant to go on tour again soon. Reece and George had been a godsend to Blake when he was going through one of the roughest times in his life. They may not have known what he was struggling with but they didn't have to. No matter what, they still made Blake feel like the Blake he's always been, even when he was away from Adeline. They've done more for him than they'll ever know. And now, he even had Adeline back.

He couldn't thank his lucky stars enough that she was back in his life. Blake honestly couldn't believe that she'd even considered accepting his company again, nonetheless, actually want to be in it. He'd missed her so much but there was nothing he could do about it when they were apart. But they were finally back together and he was never going to let her go. Blake knew he cared about Adeline more than he'd ever cared about anyone before, aside from his family of course. But then again, Adeline was family.

She'd been there when Blake had his first fight with his sister over something so stupid he couldn't remember it now even if he tried. She'd been there when he was six and broke his leg jumping out of the old magnolia tree in the backyard of his childhood home. She was there when he found out he was allergic to peaches and had a late night trip to the hospital; Adeline was holding his hand the whole time. She was there when his parents figured out they didn't want to be together anymore and she was there to hold him while he cried. Adeline had always been there for Blake. He just wished he'd been there when she needed him the most.

Blake shook himself out of his thoughts and focused on the reason he was out so early. After waking up to the sound of his phone blaring nonstop, Blake had been a bit grumpy. He huffed into the phone but his eyes went wide when he heard her voice. Soon enough, he was dressed and out the door, much to the surprise of Soulla sitting in the family room, trying to enjoy her early morning quiet time. He pulled out of the drive and headed to the agreed meeting spot. The only question on his mind while he was driving the slowly filling streets was, why?

Why had he jumped up so quickly when she called? Why had Blake's heart started beating when he heard her voice? And why did she want to meet him here, so early in the morning? Admittedly, for most people, it wasn't very early. But considering the little group of theirs had been out til late the night before, Blake was tired and she should have been as well. But here they were, meeting bright and early.

When his eyes caught sight of her silhouette, they lit up. It was cheesy for all the right reasons, Blake could feel his heart speed up. It was completely unreasonable for him to look at Adeline like she was the best thing that had ever happened to him but he was. He didn't know what he had been doing without her in his life before but now that she was standing right in front of him, he couldn't help but smile. Blake forgot all about the cold nipping at his bones and the constant voice in his head telling him she's just his best mate. Quickening his steps, he closed the few yards between the two and caught Adeline's attention.