Good Girl // a. i.

Part 28: The Gift

Ashton's pov
We drove around town looking for the jewelry store. It was weird doing this. You usually saw this in the movies. It was kinda cheesy, but I'm the type of guy who puts 2 layers of cheese on his toastie. Luke opened the door for me. I mumbled a thank you and we were immediately greeted by a woman.
"Hi, what can I help you with today?" She asked enthusiastically.
"We, I mean I... need...uhhh." My mind just blanked. I didn't know what to get. I didn't know what she would like. I looked over at Luke for help.
"He needs a necklace for his girlfriend." he pointed at me. I just nodded. I was freaking out inside. "Of course. Right this way." She motioned us to follow her.
"Here are the necklaces. If you want to see one I'll gladly pull it out for you."
"Thanks." Luke replied as he bent down to get a closer look. Holy shit, there were so many of them, I was overwhelmed. I couldn't imagine the pressure of choosing an engagement ring. I could barely choose a necklace. I took a deep breath scanning the necklaces through the crystal clear glass. They all looked the same or weird. I was starting to lose patience when I got to the very last one in the corner.
"Can I see that one?" I pointed.
"Oh nice choice." The lady said as she reached down to grab it. She placed it in my hand and Luke looked over my shoulder.
"I like it."
"Me too." I replied, studying it. I imagined Emma wearing it. It was in the shape of a compass. Simple, but beautiful on a small gold chain.
"Long distance relationship?" She asked with a sad smile.
"Unfortunately, yeah. This is perfect though, I'll take it." I said, handing it back to her.
"I might have a box that you'll like." She bent down and grabbed a white velvety case. She slipped the necklace inside and handed it to me. Inside it said, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams." The words were written beautifully.
Wow, it was perfect. Pretty cheesy, but maybe that's why I liked it so much.
"She's gonna love it." Luke patted my shoulder and I believed him. There was no doubt in my mind. She deserved it too. She needed to know that no one could hold her back. Not me or her.
Emma's pov
"Guys I'm bored." I laid across Calum and Michael's legs on the floor dramatically. Calum laughed before rolling my off. I propped myself up on my elbows.
"Let's do something." I whined.
"Like what?" Calum asked.
"Well the jumper doesn't get picked up until tomorrow morning, so it would be a waste to just let it sit there all night." I replied looking up at him with a smile.
"But it's freezing out there." Calum shook his head.
"Then I guess we'll just build a fort, duh." Michael replied as if it were the msot obvious thing.
"Yeah, duh." I poked Calum and followed Mikey to the back to grab all the pillows and blankets we could find.
"Duh." Calum flicked his hand, mimicking us. I giggled before throwing a pillow at his head.
"Hey!" he pouted as it whacked him across the head.
"Whoops it slipped." I shrugged.
We went outside and turned on the air pump, watching the bouncy castle slowly rise. Suddenly, Luke and Ashton pulled in, the car's headlights blinding me.
"Hey what are you guys doing?' AShton said, pulling me into a hug.
"Building a fort in the jumper cuz it's cold." I replied.
"Ok, that makes sense." He nodded, giggling.
"No it doesn't." I said before laughing into his chest.
"I know, I just didn't want to hurt your feelings."
"It was Micahel's idea anyways."
"Figures." He chuckled.
"No way we're building a fort?!" Luke asked excitedly as he ran up to us.
"Hell yeah we are!" I replied, handing him the pillows and blankets in my arms.
"YEEESSS." He exclaimed, climbing into the jumper with the rest of the boys.
"Let's go in?" I asked, pulling Ashton towards the opening when he stopped me.
"Wait. I need to...I want to talk to you for a minute." He said nervously. He had his hands in his pockets and he was trying to find the right words to say.
"Ok, what is it?" I asked, stepping a little closer to him.
"I, ummmm. I wanted to give you something befre you left. So, Luke and I, I mean Luke came with me so that I could get you this." He slowly pulled out a small box from his pocket. I gasped.
"Ashton..."
He opened it to reveal a beautiful gold necklace in the shape of a compass. Around the necklace it said, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams."
"Oh my god." I looked up Ashton who looked scared. I laughed a little before pulling him into a kiss.
"So you like it?' He asked looking at me nervously.
"It's perfect." I smiled.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to shop for you? You gave me like 3 heart attacks on the way here because I didn't know what I was going to say or do. I was so nervous and I'm feeling a little dizzy right now to be honest because all this adrenaline just left my body and I was so worried you wouldn't it like it. Are you sure you like because I'm really sorry if you don't. I could always get you another one too and-"
I let him ramble for a little so he could get all his nerves out, but I stopped him by covering his mouth with my hand.
"Ashton. I love it. Thank you." I giggled, before removing my hand and kissing him again. I wrapped my arms around his neck and I pressed myself closer to him. His touch around my waist gave me butterflies. The feeling came back like it always did when I was with him and I loved it.
"Can you put it on please?" I asked handing him the necklace,
He hooked it on and I turned to him, striking an awkward pose.
"How do I look?" I said, pressing my lips together.
"Beautiful." he chuckled.
Suddenly, a pillow came flying in our direction hitting Ashton right in the face.
Luke started cracking up before running back inside the bouncy castle.
"I'm going to kill him." He muttered running in after him. I shook my head, smiling a little and folowed them. Leave it to Luke to ruin the moment.
Inside, Michael had begun to build a fort next to the slide. Luke and Ashton were wrestling when Michael yelled at them to stop before they destroyed his masterpiece. I crawled in after him and sat down laying my head on his shoulder.
"It looks good Mikey."
"Go tell that to your boyfriend and Luke so they don't mess it up." He chuckled resting his head on mine.
"We're just going to have to hope for the best because you guys never listen to me." I replied.
"True."
I lightly punched him the arm and he laughed grabbing my hand.
"I'm kidding. You know we love you. Nice necklace by the way." He said pointing at it.
"Thanks. Ashton just gave it to me."
"He really loves you. And so do we. Come back soon alright?"
"Awww you're going to miss me?" I teased pinching his cheeks.
"OK thanks for ruining the moment." He laughed as he swatted my hand away.
"I'm kidding. I love you guys too. I'm going to miss you and your great fort building skills."
"We'll have your welcome home party in a fort then."
"Sounds like a plan Clifford."
Suddenly Luke and Ashton crashed into the side of the fort and landed right in front of me and Michael.
"I worked so hard." Michael shook his head sadly.
"Ashton fix it!" I pointed at the collapsed wall.
"Yeah Ashton fix it." Luke teased.
"You too Luke." I glared at him. Ashton tried to hold in a laugh and Luke pouted before they started putting the wall back up. Afterwards, Ashton came over and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me down to lay on top of him.
"Hey." I said, resting my chin on my hands that were on his chest. It felt good to finally have him all to myself, even if we were only apart for a couple hours. It felt nice to just have him close.
"Hey Em."
"I love you." I smiled.
"I love you too."
"I love you too." Luke replied, again, ruining the moment. I couldn't help but laugh. Everyone else laughed to. It felt good, having them all around me, but I couldn't see myself leaving them. I was happier than I ever was before and I didn't want to give it up. I didn't think I was going to be able to leave tomorrow morning. As much as I wanted to go to Africa and become the person I've always wante to be, I couldn't help but feel complete here.

Hey, I hope you guys are liking this. I am offically done with finals so I will be able to write more and update my other stories as well. Please go read them too. I would really appreicate it. So please feel free to comment or vote and I love you guys!