The sound of snoring caused me to flutter my eyes open.

The room was silent except for the sleeping sounds of the boys, the television had turned off on its own.

From my position on the couch I could see Michael on the arm chair, a blanket over him as he curled up into a ball. On the opposing sofa Calum and Luke were laying down, their heads on opposite ends, both of their mouths parted slightly.

On the sofa where I was, I could feel Ashton's arms wrapped around my waist, my back to his front as I laid between his legs. My arms were cuddling Ender who was next to me, his childlike snores escaping his lips.

This was what serenity was. Falling asleep with some of my favourite people with me and being at utmost peace. I couldn't fight the smile that was playing on my lips.

I felt Ashton shift behind me and I quickly closed my eyes. Ashton slipped his arms out from under me and I frowned at the loss of warmth but I could feel his muscles flex and knew he was stretching before he wound them back around me, pulling both Ender and I closer to him.

Ash let out a breathy chuckle through his nose and I felt a light kiss being pressed into my hair.

"Pretty girl." I heard him barely whisper and I snuggled my head into his side "in my sleep", just so I could hide my idiotic grin.

The next time I woke up, the soft sounds of voices and clatters of dishes filled the space.

"Does she like coffee or tea?" I heard Luke ask quietly.

"Tea." I heard Ender answer. "There's a box of Lady Grey in the cupboard on the left."

I adjusted my head where it rested and felt a hand slowly brush over my hair, tucking it behind my ear.

"Okay what about waffles or pancakes?" Calum asked.

"Pancakes definitely." Ender answered again.

"How does she like her eggs?" Calum added and this time someone else answered.

"Scrambled."

Ashton's voice came from above me and I remembered that I had fallen asleep on him, he must still be laying on the couch with me.

I stirred again and heard Ashton chuckle.

"Are you awake, baby?" He cooed and traced my cheek with his fingertips.

I nodded against his chest that was being used as a pillow and he giggled.

Slowly I raised my head and looked around.

Calum, Luke, and Michael were moving around the kitchen doing various things and Ender sat at one of the bar stools, a glass of orange juice on the counter.

"The guys wanted to make you breakfast." He explained and I nodded before rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"That's nice, thank you." I gave them a sleepy smile.

"I was about to wake you up anyways, you have work today missy." Ashton teased me and I swatted his chest lightly.

I untangled myself from the blanket and Ashton's arms and stood up, catching a glimpse of myself in a mirror on the wall.

My hair was a mess and makeup smudged across my cheek.

"Oh god!" I flung my hands over my face. "I'm going to take a shower I'll be right back."

I slipped away from Ashton's view and jogged up the stairs.

The shower was hot and fast as I scrubbed away the makeup and conditioned my hair.

When I was done and dressed I went back down to the kitchen where the guys were just setting out the food.

"This looks great guys, thanks." I smiled warmly.

Everyone helped themselves to the eggs, pancakes, and sausage, as I gulped down a cup of coffee.

"End since your arm is broken I'm going to have you work the shop today, I'll run the boat by myself." I made conversation as I poured myself another cup.

"Alright, will you show me where the logins are again 'cause I forgot?" He replied.

"Sure."

I took a bite of my pancake and glanced at Ashton who was attempting to steal a piece of sausage from Calum's plate.

The sound of a phone ringing caused Luke to furrow his eyebrows and pulled his phone from his pocket.

"Sorry, I've got to take this." He excused himself from breakfast and went outside.

Michael shrugged and continued eating.

I started to clean up the kitchen and let Ashton help me since he insisted. When we were almost done Luke came back in.

"Who was that?" Michael asked.

"Just John." He shrugged. "I'll tell you later."

I finished washing the dishes and put away the left over food.

"End why don't you go on and get the radar checked and I'll be out in a few." I encouraged him and he left the room, his little body toddling along.

"Well I have to get to work..." I trailed off, my attention at the boys.

"Do you want help? We are free today." Ashton offered.

"No, no. You guys have already done enough for me the past few days, thank you." I politely declined.

The guys nodded and gave me goodbye hugs, all except Ashton. When the three boys disappeared through the door Ashton got up and rounded the counter to pull me into his embrace.

"Are you sure you don't want us to stay?" He mumbled into my ear as his arms wound around my back.

"I'm fine Ash. You guys should go have a fun day, go surfing or jet skiing or something." I insisted, taking some of his hair between my fingers.

"But I wanna stay here with you." He whined and I let out a little giggle.

"I want to hang out with you too but I have to work and I won't be able to do both. Besides I feel like I'm stealing you from your friends all the time." I laughed.

"No, you're not." He giggled and kissed my cheek. "Alright then, I guess I'll go."

Ash leaned down and gave me a kiss on the lips before walking towards the front door.

"I'll talk to you tonight." He called over his shoulder and I waved as he left.

I was on lunch break in the shop when my phone began to ring on the desk. Ender tossed it to me and I looked at the caller ID before answering.

"'Sup Ari?" I chirped into the speaker.

"Hey doll, are you free tonight?" She asked back, her voice muffled and far away.

"Sure, why?"

"I just thought you might want to come over for dinner tonight, just me you and Ender." She offered.

"That sounds great, we'll be there after closing."

"Great. See you then. Love you!" She called and I said goodbye before hanging up.

"Dinner with Ari tonight." I handed the phone back to Ender.

He nodded and took a massive bite of his sandwich, a little bit of mustard dabbing the corner of his lips

"Saving some for later?" I joked and he rolled his eyes, wiping away the smudge.

The rest of the tours that day were easy sailing except for the last one where a problematic little girl tried to take off her mask underwater...twice.

When we were finally closed I couldn't help but sigh in relief that the long day was over.

I changed quickly before Ender and I got on our bikes to ride to Ari's house. Ender had a little trouble at first with his cast getting in the way of the handle bar but eventually got the hang of it.

The ride was smooth and the wind breezed by giving a perfect touch to the evening.

As we arrived at the Rodriguez home we pulled our bikes into the garage like we normally did and then entered through the unlocked side door.

Ari was in the kitchen pulling a can of tomato sauce from the cabinet when we waltzed in.

"Hey!" She grinned before setting the can down and coming to give us both hugs.

"God Ender what happened to your arm?!" She squeaked and Ender went into a dissertation of how he broke it while I found a sauce pan and began to heat up the tomato sauce.

Dinner with Ari meant spaghetti for dinner because that was all she knew how to make and I usually helped doing half of it.

She already had the noodles boiling and the meatballs in the oven so the sauce was all that was left.

"Car can you grab the plates?" She asked and I did, setting the table.

"I think this is done." She tutted and held up a noodle on the spoon.

"It is, and so is the sauce." I turned the heat to low and moved out of the way so she could take the meat balls out.

Ender grabbed glasses one handed and filled them with ice.

"The usual Ari?" I asked and she called yes and I grabbed the tea pitcher from the refrigerator and made her drink and mine and then a water for Ender.

Ari fixed our plates and then we all gathered at the kitchen table to eat.

"So how is work going?" She grinned excitedly.

"Good, busy this year so I'm hoping it doesn't die down after Christmas." I took a bite.

"I know, we've been so busy at the shop it's insane." She agreed.

Ari worked at a retail shop in the centre of town. They sold overpriced purses and shoes and designer clothes that I swore to her she would never get me to wear.

"Where's your mom and dad?" I asked.

"They're out in Sydney tonight with Jason getting his suit fitted." She smiled at the sound of his name and I could see her eyes sparkle.

"Oh and how is the lovely Jason?" I winked.

"Fantastic." She swooned. "He bought me this necklace yesterday isn't it adorable." She leaned forward so I could see the blue gem dangling from a silver chain around her neck.

"Very pretty." I smiled.

"How's your man miss 'I've got a boyfriend'?" She wiggled her eyebrows and I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Just fine. He's out spending the day with his friends."

"Oh yes, the ones who kept checking me out when I was there." She shuddered.

"That would be them." I laughed. "But don't worry I told them you were taken."

"Thank you." She sighed and took another bite.

When we were done eating and cleaning up our mess, Ender went upstairs to play on Jason's Xbox while Ari and I got comfortable on the living room sofa.

"So tell me more about Ashton." She pleaded and shook my arm for emphasis.

"I mean what do you want me to say? He's nice, very charming, gets along with Ender great. He's just...amazing." I sighed happily.

"And you said he and his friends are just vacationing here right? When does he have to go back?" She asked and I furrowed my eyebrows.

The knowledge that he would have to leave was always there in my head but it never registered with me. No one had brought it up so my mind pushed it to the side. Eventually Ashton would have to go back home.

"Um I don't know, we haven't talked about it." I bit my lip.

"Well he's going to have to go back home at some point right? I mean summer holiday doesn't last forever." She sipped the glass of tea she was holding.

"You're right." I nodded.

"Can I say something without you getting mad at me?" She fidgeted around nervously.

"Sure." I nodded.

"I don't think you and Ashton really thought this through. I know that he asked you to be his girlfriend and everything but I mean shouldn't him going back home after break be something you guys should have talked about? And besides the fact you've only known the guy a few weeks. How well do you really know him? I can tell you really like him but are you sure this isn't just a summer fling to him? I just don't want you to be heartbroken if he ends up skipping town after Christmas." She clinked her nails against the glass of her drink as she spoke.

Ari was right. Well in some aspects at least.

Ashton's plans for after break should have been something we had discussed before jumping into this. Though I knew I wasn't more invested in the relationship than Ashton. His actions this morning were proof enough but Ari wasn't there to see the moments that proved his commitment.

"You're right. I'll talk to him about that tonight, but I know I'm not just a summer fling to him." I scrunched up my face at the word fling. "That we have talked about and I'm certain of that fact that he feels the same and wants a lasting relationship." I replied.

"Alright but like I said, do you really know him? It was months that I knew Jason before he asked me out." She rebutted.

"Yea but Ashton and I don't have months." I explained.

"And that's exactly my point." She nodded. "I'm not trying to knock down your relationship but I want to make sure you thought about this, like really thought."

"No I understand." I agreed with a small sigh.

"Here, prove to me that you know him, we are going to do an Ashton quiz. First question, what is his job?" She sat up, a glimmer in her eyes at the idea of her little game.

"He works for a band, he said. He and the guys do." I combed through my memory to find the answer. That was something he had told me the night of our first date when we were at dinner.

"Okay, what's his mothers name?"

"Anne." I smiled proudly.

"Damn. I thought that one would get you." She muttered and thought for a few moments before having an epiphany.

"Oh! I have a good one! Why did his last relationship end?" She smiled smugly.

"They didn't get along, are you done now?" I laughed.

"Yes but still, I think you two need to get to know each other more before you make it official." She shrugged.

I nodded.

I appreciated where she was coming from but Ashton and I weren't like her and Jason. Every relationship was different. Ari had even told me that.

I can't know everything about the guy in just barely a month, that was something time would take. But Ashton had made it apparent that he wanted to spend time getting to know me more and I planned on doing exactly the same thing.

Ari and I finished the tea and carried on talking about different subjects. She also made me agree on having Ashton over for dinner with her and Jason so she could meet him for longer than two minutes.

It was 10 at night by the time I dragged Ender away from his video game and said my goodbyes to Ari. The 10 minutes it took to get back home in the dark were calm and relaxing.

Once home I locked up and got Ender into the shower before flopping down onto my bed, exhausted.

I kicked my flip flops off and let them fly across the room and let out a long sigh.

I loved Ari with all my heart but talking with her really took the energy out of me.

The buzzing of my phone on my nightstand made my head snap up and Ashton's name appeared on the screen.

My heart began to beat like a drum and butterflies erupted in my stomach as I answered the phone.

"Hey." You could hear the smile in my voice.

"Hey babe." He replied cheerily and it took everything in me not to squeal like a little girl.

"What's up?" I grinned.

"Nothing much, how was your day?"

"It was good, a little busy. We had a girl try to take her mask off under water..TWICE." I exclaimed and he laughed. "And I just got back from having dinner with Ari. How was yours?"

"It was good. We wen't surfing, well Luke and I did, and then we went to the grill for dinner."

"That sounds nice." I smiled. "I'm glad you had fun."

"Yeah. Luke's waving at me and says hi by the way." He laughed. "So I have some news."

"What is it?" I asked as I rolled over onto my stomach.

"So Wednesday is Christmas and I have to leave that night to go back to Sydney for a week." His voice sounded more serious and sad than it did just moments ago.

"Oh." I replied weakly.

"Yeah. But after that week I can come back for a few more days." He tried to sound more positive.

"This is something we should have discussed a while ago..." I trailed off.

"I know..." He sighed.

"So what does this mean?" I asked.

"What do you mean "what does that mean"?"He sounded confused. "Are you asking about breaking up?"

My heart skipped a beat at the sound of his words and my breathing halted.

"That's not an option." He said before I could even think of a reply. "We just started and I'm not giving up on us that easily. We can make it work."

"Ashton, I've never done this before, I don't know how to make it work." I sighed, annoyed with myself.

"You don't have to know, you just do. I'll come back on my holidays and breaks from...work...and you can come visit me in Sydney, meet my mum." He sounded like he had already thought this through.

"Ash..." I sighed.

"Car, don't overthink it. Please." He pleaded.

"Alright." I agreed after a minute of silence.

The line was quiet for a little bit.

"So you're off tomorrow for Christmas Eve?" He asked.

"Yeah." I answered.

"Mind if I come over?" He asked softly, his tone sweet.

"Sure." I answered quietly.

I heard the shower turn off and knew that Ender was about to come back into the room.

"I've got to put Ender to bed..." I let off.

"Alright. Well I'll be over tomorrow. Goodnight, Carter." He said lightly, a small smile in the undertone of his voice.

"Night Ash." I half smiled.

"Hey Car!" He rushed before I hung up.

"Yeah?" I quirked.

"I really do want this to last okay? I promise you." He sounded more serious than I had ever heard him before.

"I know, I believe you." I smiled softly.

"Okay." He sounded like he was nodding. "Night."

"Night."

The line went dead and I locked my phone, placing it on the charger.

"Car?" The sweet voice of my brother flowed through my room.

"Yeah babe?" I turned over to look at him. His curly hair was wet and messy upon his head and his skin had the summer tan on it that made him look that much older.

"My arm hurts." He stuck out his bottom lip slightly and I quickly rolled out of bed to get him a pill and some water.

After I gave him his medicine I tucked him into bed and gave him a kiss on his forehead.

"Night, love you." I said as I turned out the light.

"Love you." He mumbled, the pill already taking effect.

I closed his door with a quiet thud and went back to my room. I curled under the covers of my bed and turned off my lamp, leaning back into the embrace of my mattress.

Today had been long and exhausting, physically and mentally.

Ashton and I had ended today on a weird note and I hoped tomorrow would be better.

-

A/N: Hey everyone (: So i have no idea how you guys are liking the story so far but i hope you are but anyways yea , comment and vote if you'd like and i'm probably going to do a double update today (: much love, xx -m