Endless || Jonah Marais ✓

♪ FIFTY-TWO ♪

"Good morning, early bird," Jonah's dad greets Aurora from his seat in the recliner.

"Good morning," she mumbles, clutching the mug of coffee closer to her chest as she stumbles into the living room the next morning. Sitting next to Esther Grace on the couch, she glances up at the TV screen, where the opening credits of a movie are rolling. "What are you watching?"

"Forrest Gump."

"Momma always said life is like a box of chocolates," Aurora drawls, immediately adopting a southern accent.

Tim gasps, placing a hand over his heart as he pretends to wipe away a tear. "You're like the daughter I never had."

"Dad," Esther rolls her eyes playfully. "I'm sitting right here."

"Who are you?" He feigns confusion. "I have never seen you before in my life."

A wide awake Jonah enters the room, stopping the argument from going any further. Claiming the seat on Aurora's other side, he places a kiss on her temple before leaning back against the sofa.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Esther questions, raising an eyebrow.

"I just have a feeling that today is going to be a good day," Jonah states, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

Aurora smiles, sitting back and resting her head on his shoulder, glad to see he had finally stopped worrying so much. "Any plans for today?"

"I was hoping to show you and the others around Stillwater," Jonah admits. "But, if you want to do something else, that's perfectly okay. I just tho-"

"Jonah," she stops him from rambling further. "It sounds great. After all, we still need to find a store that sells decent picture frames."

"Why do you need picture frames?" Addilyn asks, appearing in the room with a plate of pancakes and a pouting Corbyn.

"I have to put my mugshots in something so they don't get ruined," Aurora explains as though it should've been obvious. "Everyone needs to see how fantabulous I looked in that lighting."

××××

"Jonah, you're home!" A rather large man - who reminds Aurora of Uncle Vernon from Harry Potter - greets as the group of four enters the frozen yogurt shop. Leaving his spot behind the cash register, he comes closer, ignoring the customer in line as his gaze lands on Aurora. "And you brought new people with you!"

"Yeah," Jonah chuckles, wrapping an arm around Aurora's waist. "This is my girlfriend, Aurora. Next is my friend, Corbyn," he gestures to the boy with his free hand, "and his girlfriend, Addilyn. Guys, this is Mr. Parker, the owner of the best frozen yogurt shop in the world."

"Any friend of Jonah's is always welcomed here," Mr. Parker says, shaking each of their hands in greeting. "Whatever you order today is on the house, my treat."

"That would put you out of business," Corbyn jokes.

"He's right," Jonah adds. "We'll pay for our food."

"You have to let me do something for you and your friends while you're back in town," Mr. Parker argues, placing his hands on his hips. "You're too old for balloons so I ha-"

"I want a balloon!" Aurora squeals, bouncing up and down.

"Alright," the man chuckles, bustling back to the counter and beckoning for them to follow. He gestures to the bouquet of balloons like a proud parent. "Take your pick."

××××

Aurora taps her chin repeatedly - the balloon's string tied around her wrist bounces - lost in thought as she continue to stare at the rows of picture frames sitting in front of her.

Jonah, Addi, and Corbyn had left a few minutes ago to visit the Starbucks next door, apparently believing Aurora wouldn't cause any serious damage to this store while unsupervised.

A small bell rings as the entrance door is pushed open, revealing two teens she doesn't bother to pay attention to.

"Remind me again why we need picture frames," one of the boys say in a hauntingly familiar English accent.

"My mugshots will end up ruined if we don't put them in something," the other one explains impatiently, as though he's answered the same question a thousand times. "And I look too good in that lighting for that to happen."

"Despite how exciting this seems," the first one says, who, as Aurora watches out of the corner of her eye, steps closer to the door. "I'm gonna go get some Starbucks while you find the perfect frame."

The remaining boy disappears into another aisle, leaving her line of vision. She furrows her eyebrows, momentarily forgetting about the picture frames as she tries to remember who the boy is.

Someone behind her clears their throat, snapping her out of her thoughts and causing her to jump. She whirls around, instantly groaning as she recognizes the blond.

"Why haven't you and your band mates been deported yet?" Aurora questions, throwing her arms up in annoyance.

"Having a perfect American accent comes in handy," Andy smirks.

"If I didn't have frozen yogurt in my hand right now," she beginsz calmly, faking a smile. "I would have already hit you multiple times."

"Excu-"

"Will the two of you please stop arguing?" Rye pleads, appearing by Andy's side, his entrance having gone unnoticed by both of them.

"Why should I?" Aurora snaps, placing her free hand on her hip.

"Because I come with a peace offering," Rye gestures towards the box of Cheez-its in his hands, "and apologies." She opts not to say anything, instead motioning for the Brit to continue. "We're sorry for dissing your boys on Twitter. None of us wanted that situation to go as far as if did."

"And?" She raise an eyebrow.

"And we're sorry for trying to confuse Logan," Rye adds.

"And?"

"I'm sorry for touching your friend and Brooklyn is sorry for touching your boyfriend."

Rye holds his breath, waiting for her reaction, as Andy stares at his band mate, looking absolutely bewildered.

"I'll accept this peace offering," Aurora states, snatching the food from his grasp, "on one condition. No one from RoadTrip is allowed to touch my Caramel or any of the Why Don't We boys again."

"She got our name right," Andy shrugs his shoulders. "That's good enough for me. We'll agree to that."

"They're all still alive," Jonah says to Addilyn and Corbyn as the three enter the store, Jonah in the lead. Stopping at her side, he wraps an arm around her waist. "I'm glad to see you're getting along with them."

"We're not getting along," she informs him. "I'm simply tolerating their presence."

"Good," Jonah chuckles. "Because starting tomorrow morning, we're going to be in there presence for two days straight."

"What do you mean?" She questions, looking up at the boy.

"We're riding with them back to L.A," Corbyn cuts in, throwing his arms up dramatically.

"You're kidding, right?"