flower girl {s.m}

chapter 23: strong

strong - one direction

So, baby, hold on to my heart, oh, oh
Need you to keep me from falling apart
I'll always hold on
'Cause you make me strong

~

They woke up early morning the next day. Shawn woke up first but did not dare move from his spot on the bed, all cuddled up with Crys because: 1. he didn't want to wake her up 2.he shamelessly lay there for a good 20 minutes watching her sleep.  The days of waking up next to her were numbered. Numbered to one more night actually.

When she finally woke, they got ready to leave for the road trip. When Crystal entered the living room, she immediately spotted the multiple large suitcases sitting in the middle as well as a few guitars in cases. Shawn had packed up his stuff for tour when she was asleep last night. She stared at the things for a whole minute before she had to snap out of it when Shawn walked in the room. She acted like she wasn't just glaring at the bags and mumbled something about getting her bag to save both her and Shawn from the awkward situation.

On the car ride, they were silent even the radio was off. A few minutes passed and Shawn began to drum his fingers on the steering wheel. Crystal reached over to turn on the radio, took a deep breath and reminded herself that she may be being too sensitive at the topic of tour.

The drive was not very long. In a little less than 2 hours they were pulling up at  a cabin in the outskirts of town where the neighbors were at least 3 miles a way.

"Wow! Honey, this is lovely." Crystal found herself mesmerized with the house. It looked a lot like her aunt's cabin except the interior was very much modern.

"Isn't it? I love it out here." He said just as the other guys pulled up beside Shawn's car.

They greeted each other with brief hugs and claps on the back. The band: Mike, Zubin, Eddy, and Dave were all present. Connor, one of Shawn's photographers, and Andrew were there as well. Crystal had once mentioned to Shawn that she thought Connor was cute just to tease him Crystal had to make him a whole batch of muffins that he ate all by himself to make up for that.

The boys' greeting to each other were brief because apparently there was a pool that they could not wait to get in to. They were already wearing their swim shorts so they all pulled off their shirts and Crystal heard water splashing somewhere in the backyard.

Crystal was immediately in a better mood, remembering why she came here: to have fun and make memories to keep for when these goofballs are gone. Crystal smiled widely at Shawn which made him smile back then she grabbed his hand and tugged him upstairs to change into swim suits.

They spent the day mostly outside in the pool. They made barbecue and drank cocktails as they lounged around the pool. The guys told Crystal all the crazy things that happen on tour and a lot of Shawn's embarrassing stories.

The sun was setting when they all decided to head inside to wash up but found themselves back outside again in front of a bonfire.

Crystal and Shawn cuddled closely to each other as they sat on a log and shared a blanket. Everybody else joined in and sat around the fire. Zubin brought in a guitar with him.

"Well, guys we're about to start another tour. This will be our third tour and its all still so surreal to me. You all have become my best friends and I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for you guys. Thank you for always believing in me." Shawn began as he draped an arm over Crys' shoulder.

"We're always here for you, man." Zubin replied before he began strumming the guitar.

The other guys smiled and nodded in agreement, the ones closer to him patted is back.