"Fix your collar, it's flipped up on one side." I pointed out to Ender who immediately reached up to attend to the wardrobe malfunction.

We were stood outside the school while parents and children passed by us. The look of anxiety and excitement was plastered to Ender's face. The first day of school was always the hardest.

It seemed like it had approached so fast too.

Over the weekend we had went and purchased some back-to-school clothes since our plans to do that had been previously discarded, and then got the needed supplies as well. Though it didn't dawn on me until this morning when I had to wake up early and make his lunch, pack his backpack, get us both ready and out the door, and ride our bikes to town.

But now I was standing outside the school, my hands smoothing down a few stray pieces of his dark, curly locks and adjusting his shirt.

"Are you excited?" I asked, continuing with my nit picking of his outfit.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see Trey and Reid again, but I don't want to do the homework. They said it gets harder this year." He frowned.

"It gets harder every year, but you're smart and I know you'll do great." I assured him.

The loud ringing of the school bell sounded around us and students began to make their way to the red double doors that led inside the long, tan, brick building.

I leant down and gave Ender a hug and a kiss on the head.

"I'll be back at three to pick you up. Have fun. I love you."

"Love you too."

And with that he scampered off into the building, leaving me standing alone in front of the school.

It wasn't until I saw his red backpack disappear  past the door that I remembered how lonely it was during the school year.

In an attempt at partially distracting myself I mounted my bike and rode to the coffee shop in town and had a latte to make myself feel better.

While Ender was at school I spent the majority of the day by myself at the house. It was the first official day of off season but there was still work to be done.

I decided to begin by unloading the boat and placing all of its contents in the shop so I could deep clean the boat. That process normally took several days and was quite labor intensive so I figured I would get it started and then clean it after we got back from Sydney.

After I unloaded the boat I took a lunch break and then sat down at the revamped computer and prepared all of this seasons invoices to be sent out. Once they were all printed out I realised we were in need of envelopes and stamps so I assumed we would go shopping for those after I picked Ender up.

Our typical first day of school routine consisted of me picking him up and then us going shopping for supplies his teachers wanted and then eating dinner at the pizza place on Main Street.

I checked the time and it read 2:30 so I got my phone and wallet and headed off to the school, arriving ten minutes early of the release time.

Waiting by the bike racks, I scrolled aimlessly through my phone which contained very little. By having no form of social media my phone was very blank.

I had seen on Ashton's phone the many apps of social networks and knew he had the accounts. Maybe I could make an account and we could follow each other on there.

A shrill ringing announced the release of the students and the lot of them poured out of the buildings doors.

Ender's small frame bounded up to me and I captured him in a hug.

"How was your first day?" I asked.

"Good!" He grinned up at me, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

"I'm glad. Now let's get your bike."

We retrieved his bike from the rack and then rode to the local art supply store to purchase the things he needed for his new art class.

After that we went to the post office to pick up the envelopes and stamps, and also said hello to Ari's father who owned the place.

One of Ender's teachers required that each student had a yellow notebook with five sections and a red folder with brads so we spent the rest of our afternoon scouring every place we could think of until we found the items.

Now tired and hungry, we made our way to the pizza place and sat down at a small, iron patio table outside.

"If it isn't the Chase's." Joey's loud voice sounded off like an air horn behind us and Ender and I both jumped at the sound.

"Hey, Joey!" I waved and he strode up to us, flicking back his hair.

"Sup guys?" He was at a normal volume now at I smiled.

"Nothing much." I said in return. "What about you?"

"Oh you know, same old same old. What can I get you two to drink?" He shrugged and then took our order.

After he left, Ender pulled out a red sheet of paper from his back pack.

"Hey, Car. So the schools soccer team is having tryouts next week, and I was wondering if I could go." He handed me the flyer and I began to look it over.

"It's a few days after we get back from Sydney." I noted. "Are you sure you want to play soccer?" He had never shown any interest in playing a sport before so his sudden interest was intriguing.

"Yeah. I really want to, please Carter?" He gave me a puppy dog look and I melted.

"Of course you can try out." I smiled at him and he grinned back.

We went back to sipping our drinks when my phone rang from my back pocket.

I was expecting it to be Ashton even though he typically didn't call till later but instead it was his Mum.

"Hello?" I quickly answered.

"Hi, Carter, how are you?" Her sweet voice said across the line.

"I'm good Ann, how about yourself?"

"I'm well. I just wanted to let you know that Ashton's um...work schedule changed and he won't be able to pick you up on Saturday so I will. Is that alright?" She sounded slightly frazzled and worried.

"Yes that's fine. Do you need our arrival information?" I said as politely as I could, she seemed extremely stressed.

"Ashton already gave it to me, but thank you." She still sounded so kind even though I could tell something was bothering her, but I didn't know her well enough to ask.

"Okay, well we will see you on Friday."

"See you then, dear. Goodnight."

After I hung up Ender pounced for information on the phone call I just had.

"What did she say?" He asked hastily and I frowned at his nosiness.

"She just said that she's picking us up from the landing instead of Ashton, relax." I told him and he sat back in his seat.

I was relieved when the pizza arrived so that Ender would stop eyeing me weirdly and I could think about something else besides Ann's strange tone and why Ashton hadn't told me the plan had changed.

Hours later as I was getting ready for bed my phone rang from its station at the charger.

"Hey, Ash." I said as I answered the phone and put it on speaker so I could finish getting ready as he talked.

"Hey, Carter."He replied, his voice not differing from its usual cheery self. "How was Ender's first day of school?"

"It was good. He had fun and it was nice to see his friends again. He even wants to try out for the soccer team."

"Whoa, really? That's awesome! Maybe Calum can teach him some moves while you guys are here." Ashton suggested.

"Good idea. I'm sure Ender would love that." I smiled. "Speaking of us going there, your mum called me today, and it's okay that you can't pick us up. I know you have to work."

"I'm so sorry about that, I really am. I meant to call you but I had to make the plan adjustments with my mum and then she told me she had already told you. My boss added another meeting to our schedule so I won't get back from Melbourne till a few hours after you get there."

He sounded so apologetic in his speech and I felt bad for being annoyed that he hadn't told me himself. I understood that his job doing whatever it was that he did was time consuming and busy.

"It's okay, really." I assured him. "Your mum sounded quite stressed on the phone, is she alright?"

I felt the need to check up on her, just in case.

"Yes she's fine, just a bit stressed trying to make sure everything's perfect for when you get here. She's literally been planning non stop."

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure. And she doesn't need to stress herself out over our visit, we aren't expecting anything."

"I know." He laughed gently. " And this is how she is about everything, trust me."

"Okay." I nodded. "So tell me about your day."

"It was fine. Crazy as usual. Michael and Luke challenged each other to see who could eat the most ice-cream so now they are both sick." He chuckled at the end.

"Wow." I laughed. "Let me guess, did Michael win?"

"Actually it was Luke by two and a half scoops." Ashton snickered.

"Oops." I giggled and he joined in.

"Just think baby...three more days until we see each other." He mused and I could literally hear his smirk.

"Ashton, it's four days." I corrected him with a small giggle.

"Only if you count today." He pointed out with a whiny tone. "And I'm not because then that makes it feel like I get to see you faster."

"Aww." I cooed. "Well I'm excited to see you too."

"Me too, baby, me too."

We chatted on about what I had done today and my plans for the rest of the week until it was late and I knew I had to get up early the next morning to take Ender to school.

"I'll let you get some sleep then, goodnight, babe." Ashton said after I said I needed to go.

"Alright. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Night, Ash."

He said goodnight one more time then I hung up, placing my phone on my nightstand and turning on my alarm.

I fell asleep that night knowing that in four nights and three days I would get to see my wonderful boyfriend again.

--

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"

I slammed my hand down on the alarm and groaned at the intrusion of my sleep but instead of dreading the day to come, my body tingled with excitement and anticipation.

The three days had gone by ever so quickly as we had gotten back into the swing of going to school. Every day I would take Ender to school in the morning and then work on the shop in the afternoon then pick him back up so we could have dinner and he could do his homework.

Ashton called every night like normal and told me about weird thing the guys had done and ideas he had for our visit.

All in all, with every passing night I got even more excited to see him again and to meet his mum.

Ashton's mum had called me on Wednesday and Thursday to go over details of food and activities we could go out and do.

We were all excited and now the day was finally here and I couldn't be more mentally ready to see Ashton if I tried.

Though physically was a different story.

I flipped off my covers and made my way to the bathroom where I proceeded to take off my wrinkled night clothes and get into the shower.

As I lathered the strawberry shampoo into my hair there was a loud clang as the bathroom door flung open.

"Carter! We go to Sydney today! Today!" Ender shouted and I jumped slightly before laughing.

"I know!" I called back to him.

"Can you believe it?! In hours we will be there and we get to see Ashton!"

"Yes, I know!"

"How many hours, Car?"

"Oh my God, Ender I'm in the shower! Go get ready or we won't be able to go!"

"Okay!" He shouted back happily and I could hear his footsteps thudding as he ran to his room.

Shaking my head I let out a small chuckle at his enthusiasm and finished my shower so I could get ready as well.

I dressed in a navy blue tee and white shorts like usual and my matching navy flip flops. Since I was riding a bike to the school I put my wet hair into a bun so I could fix it when I got back to the house.

Ender made toast and sunny-side-up eggs while I flipped the loads of laundry as we scrambled to get ready.

We practically shovelled the food into our mouths as we were running five minutes late and then grabbed his back pack and ran to our bikes.

Pedalling as fast as we could, we made it to the school just as the bell rang and Ender locked up his bike before dashing off into the building.

Nothing like starting the day in a rush.

I sighed in relief before making my way back home so I could get myself ready.

The wind had dried my hair almost fully but I used my moms crappy old hair dryer to finish the job and then her curling iron to make my natural waves a little more neat and presentable.

I applied a minimal amount of makeup and then shoved all of my toiletries into a bag before tossing it in my suitcase that I had dragged down from the attic the night before.

I packed a few tee shirts and shorts for casual outings and one of my nice shirts and skirt ensembles since we were eating out at a nice restaurant while we were there.

After underwear, pyjamas, socks, and my phone charger I was good to go on my things. I set the suitcase by the door and then went to Ender's room to get his stuff.

He had only put a pair of socks and boxers in his suitcase after I had politely yelled at him to pack his stuff last night so I rolled my eyes and began to pack for him.

I chose some tee shirts and shorts for him and a nice pastel green button down and khaki slacks for his more dressy outfit. After throwing in black dress shoes and a belt, I gathered his toiletries and night clothes and put them in the suitcase as well, zipping it up and setting it by the stairs.

By now it was time for lunch and I was more than ready for a break. I ate the leftover Mac and cheese from last night and then watched the weather on the news for a few minutes before turning off the television and heading out to the shop.

The shop was in disarray since I had started cleaning so I just made sure that everything was locked and secure before going out to the boat and doing the same.

I wasn't too worried about leaving the boat, shop and house alone since the Riley's were keeping an eye on it for us, as they were also driving Ender and I to the landing.

I spent the rest of the time between picking Ender up and locking up the shop by double checking the suitcases and finishing the laundry.

Before I knew it it was time to pick up the child so I made my way to the school. I arrived a just as it let out and Ender bolted over to me, the biggest grin on his face.

"Let's go! Let's go!" He chanted and I laughed at him.

"Come on then, get on your bike." I joked and he rushed to unlock it from the rack and then climb upon it.

Ender all but raced me to the house and stashed his bike so he could eat a snack before we left.

After locking up my bike as well I walked in the house to see him shoving green grapes in his mouth while trying to take his back pack off at the same time.

I rolled my eyes at the display before me and quickly took his back pack from his shoulders and snatched his homework folder from inside.

"Okay, you'll do your homework on the boat ride there. Go take your back pack to your room and turn off any lights up there, the Riley's will be here any minute.

With a mouth full of grapes he nodded and did as he was told. No sooner than Ender had come downstairs, the Riley's knocked on our door.

"Thank you so much for the ride and for watching the house while we're gone." I thanked them as Mr. Riley carried our suitcases to his black Corolla and Ender and I both piled in the back.

"No problem. We are happy to help. You'll have to tell us all about your trip to Sydney when you get back." He genuinely smiled.

"Oh yes!" His wife added. "And we are picking you up on Tuesday at 3?"

"Yes ma'am. Thank you." I replied.

The drive to the landing was short and they dropped us off, waving goodbye.

I texted Ashton and his mum that we were about to get on the boat and we would see them in a bit.

After going through security and stowing our bags underneath our seats on the second inside deck, I relaxed. We were finally on our way and I felt like it was finally happening ; we were actually going to visit Ashton in Sydney.

Ender had a page of multiplication problems and a English packet with questions to answer after he read a story.

I left him alone to work on it while I looked out the window at the waves and the seagulls that were flocking at the boat.

There was something really calming about this boat even though I was anxious about our destination. The white, paint chipped, metal seats and the red metal ceiling added to the serene atmosphere of the waves delicately slapping onto the sides of the boat.

The boat ride typically took two- three hours, and we had left Haven Harbour at four, meaning we would get to Sydney around six or seven.

Ender finished his homework quickly and we chatted about the plans Ashton and his mum had made or discussed. We went to the outer deck to look at the water and even took a few pictures of each other standing at the bow of the boat.

There was not much else to do besides talk and look out the windows, so after a while I went and bought us a snack from the counter to help pass the anxiety filled time.

Slowly but surely the minutes ticked by and it seemed like all at once we were docking in Sydney and grabbing our luggage and getting in line to get off the boat.

We moved lazily in the line as people had to give a worker their ticket in front of us but eventually it was our turn and I handed the worker both of our tickets before we walked out into the sunshine of Sydney and to our next adventure.

---

A/N: Hey everyone! So the three week separation is finally over and now Ashton will be back in person! Yay!
Thank you guys for reading and I'll have the next chapter up soon(: -M