"Can we go to M&M World?" Michael asked, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

    "If you want, sure." I looked to Ashton who just shrugged. "Let's see if I can remember where it is. Turn right up here." I commanded. We were on the corner of 7th and 45th, having emerged from the subway station on 42nd.

    "Okay, boss." Calum said, turning where I told them.

    "Wait, is that the Disney Store up ahead?" I asked when we were on the curb.

    "Seems it,"

    "Go straight, we're on the right street."

    "You sure?" Michael asked.

    "Yes, I'm sure."

    "You don't want to ask for directions?" He teased.

    "No, I don't, woman, so watch it. I'm driving this vehicle, don't make me turn it around and go home."

    Calum cracked up.

    "Before we called you mom and dad, thinking you were the mom," Calum wheezes, pointing at me," but that's clearly Ashton and you're the dad!" He cackles at his own joke.

    I grinned up at Ash, who was frowning at his friends.

    "Is this 'rip on Ashton's pride' day?" he asked.

    "Pretty much, yeah." Michael nodded.

    "That's every day." Calum added. "But it's especially wonderful now, with her around."

    "Thanks, son," I laid my hand on his shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

     Calum wiped a fake tear from his eyes.

    "I've been waiting to hear you say that for years, dad. Thank you."

    Ashton huffed and leaned down to whisper in my ear.

    "You're going to regret this later, and I'm going to make sure of it."

    I shivered at his tone. It was half a good shiver, like the promise of something good tonight, but also I couldn't help but remember hearing similar words years ago and it put me on edge.

    I threw off my unease, deciding Ashton would never intentionally do anything to hurt me, and left it at that. I didn't want to ruin my afternoon thinking of bad memories. Instead I held on to the promise of later and smirked.

    "Maybe that's what I want." I winked.

    I looked ahead and pointed at the store with my free hand.   

    "Here it is, Mikey, M&M World."

    "Aww yes!" He jumped up and pumped the air with his fist, and an older gentleman growled at him, actually growled since Michael got in his way. He swung his bag at Michael, who was smart enough to duck out of the way.

    "Let's get inside," Ash and I said at the same time. He put his arm around my shoulder to usher me inside, but I stood back and pushed Michael and Calum in first. The old man rolled his eyes and walked away without confrontation as I stared him down.

    "Another thing we're doing later is talking about your lack of concern for your own safety, Viola."

    I rolled my eyes.

    "Okay, father." He was so ridiculous. I'd lived in this city for years, I could take care of myself and I would.

    He shook his head at me and walked away from me and toward a display, removing his coat in the warm store.

    "It's actually daddy," Calum sang in my ear. I whirled around and elbowed him in the gut, causing him to cough before regaining his breath.

    "You are not helping!" I laughed, silently wondering if that was something Ashton was into... I watched him and Michael look at the array of colored M&M dispensers on the wall.

    He reached up to show Michael one of the displays and the star tattoo on the back of his bicep nudged out from under his shirt, the phases of the moons tattooed on the insides of his arms, that bird on the back of his neck. I looked at the leather jacket in his hand, the chunky bracelets on his wrists, his giant hands, those sunglasses he always wore, and decided he most definitely did, if the stereotype was true.

    "No one said I was trying to," Calum quipped, folding his arms protectively over his chest as he watched me size up my boyfriend.

    "You're stupid." I told him and walked over to Ash. Michael had run over to the escalator that went upstairs, calling Calum to join him as he went.

    I stopped behind him while he was astutely avoiding me and looking for his name on the jars on the rack in front of us.

    "Hey,"

    "Hi," he said, still not looking at me.

    "I wanted to apologize." He turned around then, the shock on his face clear that he wasn't expecting that.

    "Really?"

    "Yes. You're right, I'm not usually very concerned for myself." I sigh, playing with one of the name tags on the shelf in front of us. I can't look at him yet. "I've always been a protector, the one in charge, the responsible one, for everyone except myself. I'm not used to thinking about me, or having anyone else care about me. That's just a part of me that you're going to have to accept, because it's so ingrained in me, I'm not sure I'd be able to stop."

    He thought for a moment, tugging his fingers through his hair.

     Hot.

    "Fine. You don't have to be concerned for yourself, because now you've got me. You might have grown up caring for others, but so did I. You will always be my number one priority, and that's just a part of me you're going to have to accept, because I'm never going to stop." He raises his eyebrows, looking at me seriously. "I'll put you first, and you'll put me first, that way we're both always safe, and it's an equal partnership."

    A reluctant smile made its way to my face.

    "Okay, deal."

    He took me in his arms and rubbed small circles on my back.

    "I hate being mad at you." he mumbles.

    "I hate you being mad at me, too. I love you."

    "I love you more." He pulled back and booped my nose.

    "Oh my god, just have babies already." Michael groaned.

    I blushed and turned around, glaring at our friend.

    "Like you should talk, jumping around and giggling like a fool at M&M's," Ashton counters, leaning his arms around my shoulder. I reach up and put my hands on his (absurdly strong) arms, leaning back against him. "At least some of us know how to act like composed adults."

    Michael scoffed.

    "That's no fun."

  "Yeah, you're just jealous you're not as manly as Ash is."

He mumbled, "Yeah, right." and walked away pouting.

    Ashton and I laughed before walking around a bit more.

    Eventually, after Michael and Calum bought a combined 5 pounds of M&M's with their faces on it, we went back outside and wandered. We went into a couple of the department stores, H&M, Macy's, and some of the touristy gift shops.

    Around 6:30, Ashton suggested we call the others and see what they wanted to do for dinner.

    He called Luke, who said they were getting cold and hungry and had seen flyers for Legacy Records, a restaurant in Hell's Kitchen and they wanted to go there.

    "Any protests?" Ash had asked us. The three of us didn't care, so we headed over to 38th and 10th.

    We arrived before the others and I made the reservation for 7. It was going to take about 40 minutes to get a table, but we agreed to wait, as long as we could wait inside. Once the sun went down, it was just not comfortable outside anymore.

    The others arrived and Sammi came and sat next to me on the windowsill we had been sitting on.

    "Hi! How was your day?" I asked.

    She was grinning, her eyes were sparkling with excitement.

    "Sarah needed to use the bathroom when we were checking out the New Years Ball, so she went in somewhere to use one, and when she was gone, Luke kissed me."

    "Are you serious!" I shrieked, looking around once I realized everyone was looking at us.

    She nodded so fast I thought her head was going to fall off.

    "That's so exciting, do you think anything's going to happen?"

    "Not sure, but I hope so!" She laughed. "I'm going to see if he'd sleep in the same bed as me tonight. Maybe I'll ask if he'll cuddle with me before bed and then just fall asleep on him." She thought out loud.

    I laughed at her plan.

    "Go for it, girl. If he likes you as much as I think he does," Or know he does, "I'm sure it'll work out well for you."

    She was holding back her excitement, but I could tell how she felt when she squeezed my hand. It's the same way I feel when I'm with Ashton.

    The waitress came and took us to our table.

    I'd never actually been here before, I rarely went out to eat when I lived here, but the food was as amazing as I'd heard it was. It's a high end Italian joint, and I got some pasta and chicken dish I couldn't pronounce, and it was fantastic.

    We were all stuffed after eating, and couldn't eat anything else, so we turned down dessert. If anyone wanted, we could find an ice cream shop nearby the hotel when we got back.

    "So what does everyone want to do now?" I asked. It was their first night in New York, they could have wanted to go out and party.

    "I'm exhausted." Sarah complained.

    Everyone murmured in agreement. It was 9:00 by the time we were finished eating, after waiting for the table and the food to cook.

    "Okay, let's take the subway home then and have an early night. We have been up for over 17 hours now."

    "Why didn't you warn us that it was this tiring, Vi?" Calum whined as he got up from his chair.

    "I did, you big baby. That's literally the first thing I told you."

    He groaned and wrapped his arms around my shoulders and rested hoods head on me.

    "'M sleepy, Vi."

    "Get off her, man." Ashton growled from across the table. He got up and moved our way to make him, but Calum was quick to jump back.

    "Hey, cool it, dude." I calmed Ashton down, getting between the two friends, running my fingers over my boyfriends arms. He was starting to scare me, was he really that possessive? Was that attractive? Was he going to be anything like my ex?

    "Sorry, Cal. Didn't mean to get so upset." Ashton took a deep breath. Calum put his hands up in a gesture of peace, and everyone walked out of the restaurant. Cal made sure to keep his distance from me and Ash, and hurried ahead with Luke and Michael.

    "Is it bad that I found that super hot?" I whispered to Sammi on our way out, deciding to go with sexy. It was Ashton, after all.

    She just giggled and looked at Ashton before shaking her head and running to catch up with Luke.