"He didn't!" Alyssa exclaimed loudly as she squished her cheeks between both of her hands.
Kassi nodded, smiling widely. "I didn't even give him a chance to finish what he was going to say because I was already kissing him."
Alyssa laughed at this before squealing, toppling over on her bed in glee. Kassi was also laughing as she grabbed one of Alyssa's pillows and smacked her with it.
"Kake is goals A-F, Kas," Alyssa announced with a sigh as she laid flat on her back. "I'm so happy for you guys, holy shit!"
Kassi couldn't help the smile that stretched across her lips. "Thank you so much, sunshine. You have no idea how stoked I am!"
"You have every reason to be," Alyssa said, sitting up. "And the fans seem to like the idea of you two together too. It's just - ugh! Oh God, I can't breathe."
"Calm down," Kassi laughed as she blushed. "I also have something else to tell you."
Alyssa gasped but gave Kassi her full attention. "Which is..."
"He invited me to go see him and his family for Christmas," Kassi told her, excitement dancing in her eyes. "Can you believe it?"
"Yes, I can!" Alyssa chirped with a bright grin. "The boys have mentioned it before."
"I know, and it's gonna be so much fun because you're coming along, right?" Kassi questioned with an eyebrow raised.
Alyssa didn't respond right away, resulting in Kassi to shoot her a look. "Right, Lys? Hasn't Calum said anything yet?"
Alyssa shook her head, but shrugged it off.
"Honestly Kas, I'm not expecting anything from him. I mean, I've spent the holidays on my own before, it's no big deal," Alyssa told her, avoiding her gaze.
Kassi scoffed, not wanting to deal with Alyssa's attitude. "Don't be ridiculous, of course you're going. I won't go without you."
Alyssa shook her head again. "Don't be dramatic, it's fine."
"I'm not being dramatic!" Kassi cried out, eyes widening. "I'm not going to spend the holidays with 5sos, in Australia, for Christ's sake, if you're not going, that's just not going to fly with me, alright?"
"But Kassi - "
"Don't you dare argue about this with me," Kassi threatened with a pointed finger. "I'll pack you in my suitcase if I have to."
Without another word, Alyssa sighed as she played with her fingers, knowing there was no changing Kassi's mind.
. . .
"We should do something with Alyssa and Kassi before we go back to work," Ashton declared the next day as they were all sat around the living room, doing nothing.
"I like the sound of that!" Michael exclaimed, grinning. "But what?"
"Give me a moment to think about it," Ashton told him before turning to look at Luke and Calum, who both happened to have their noses buried in their phones. "What do you say boys?"
"Huh?" Luke clipped right as Calum went, "what?"
Ashton frowned but repeated himself. "Mikey and I were thinking about making plans with Alyssa and Kassi before we leave."
Instantly, both boys perked up at the mention of them and Ashton smirked.
"Whipped," he coughed.
Michael chortled, rolling his eyes playfully.
"Shut the fuck up, Irwin," Calum quipped as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Luke just can't get enough of Kassi," Michael drawled teasingly. "Didn't you invite her to Australia for Christmas? What'd she say?"
Luke, unfazed by his bandmates mockery, nodded in confirmation.
"Yes, I did and she said she's coming, so you can shove that look of yours up your ass, Clifford," he remarked, causing Michael to laugh and throw his hands up in surrender.
"What about Alyssa?" Ashton asked, looking at Calum expectedly.
"Uh, I'm not sure," Calum muttered. "I haven't asked her yet."
"You idiot," Michael exclaimed. "Why not?"
"I don't want to freak her out," he admitted, playing with the zipper of his hoodie. "Having her meet my family is a big step and we aren't even official."
"Well, you seem to really like her and who cares if you aren't official?" Ashton proclaimed. "Everyone goes at their own pace... Some faster than others..."
He sent a pointed look at Luke, who made a noise of protest. "Hey!"
Ashton laughed. "I'm just joking, mate."
"I really want to though," Calum sighed. "You know what she told me the other day? She told me that she spends the holidays all by herself in their tiny apartment, while Kassi is up in San Francisco. Like, how sad is that? She says she's used to it, but I'm not buying that."
His jaw clenched at the memory of Alyssa's saddened voice when she told him.
"All the more reason to get her to come with you!" Ashton insisted. "No one likes spending the holidays alone."
"My thoughts exactly," Calum agreed, rubbing his hands together.
"Music festival!" Michael suddenly announced, getting everyone's attention. "There's a music festival this weekend at The Grove! We should definitely take them there."
All of them pondered over the idea before coming to an unanimous agreement.
"Let's do it!" Luke claimed, already heading off towards his room to let Kassi know.
"This is perfect," Ashton mused, still looking at Calum. "You can come up with a really clever way to ask Alyssa at the festival. You'll both be in a good mood, there's no way she'll turn it down."
