Emilia's POV

Saying goodbye to Ashton's family is hard. I'll miss Anne's mesmerizing voice, Harry's exuberance, and Lauren's 'gives-no-shit' attitude (which I've grown quite fond of). I love the dynamics of his family and how it's so much different than what mine was. They show love in their own way, and to be on the receiving end of that love is so rewarding to me.

Luke's, Calum's, and Michael's families are depressed to see their sons leave them once again. Even though they don't have to stay in America anymore, they choose to remain because they each feel as though they have something or someone there for them. Ashton has me. Calum has Julia. Michael has Lola. Luke...he has his own reasons to stay with us. I'm thankful that he is because you only have the privilege of meeting a friend like Luke once, and neither of us want to be denied of our friendship.

Anne wipes the stray tears that have fallen down her cheek after holding her eldest son for an extended amount of time. She turns to me and I feel safe when she wraps her arms around me. "Take care of Ashton for me," she says in my mother's voice. I'm going to miss hearing it in person.

"I'll do my best."

She cups both of my cheeks with her hands and smiles in a way that makes me believe she knows what the future holds for me. When she lets go, I join my friends at the gate and we wave a final goodbye before boarding the plane.

__

The bumpy landing is more than enough to jolt us awake and question the pilot's flight training. All passengers file out of the plane—tired and sluggish—and reunite with their friends and family who are waiting for them in the terminal. And once again, Nolan has left us without a trace.

Lola frantically waves her hand in the air, as if her copper hair doesn't stick out like a sore thumb in a sea of blonds and brunettes. She leaps into Michael's arms when he's within distance, and I think I smile at them but I'm too tired to feel my muscles move.

"I am definitely not going to class tomorrow," Luke says, yawning. "What kind of idiots would take a nineteen-hour flight back home the day before school? Oh, that's right. Us."

"I'm thinking about extending my spring break by one more day too," Calum says. "Who needs a perfect GPA anyway?"

Julia stretches out her arms and leans against Calum for support. "At least you guys don't have to work at the crack ass of dawn tomorrow. Mornings at IHOP are the worst."

I want to complain with them, but instead, I say the only thing that I care about right now: "I'm just happy to be home."

"We got here much later than we were supposed to, but it's still so early." Ashton says. He doesn't look as tired as the rest of us; he slept through the entire flight. Nothing woke him up, not even when I elbowed him in the stomach when I was opening a bag of chips that the flight attendant brought me.

I pull out my phone and check the time. "It's only three. How the hell am I supposed to stay awake for another 8 hours?"

"Determination?" Calum suggests, and I have the urge to flip him off. So I do.

The buzzer for the baggage carousel rings and we congregate around it. Bags begin to spill out and people begin to dive for them like birds snagging pieces of bread that are being thrown at them by an elderly lady at a park.

Behind me, I hear someone call my name, loud enough only for my ears. Nolan stands a few feet away with his luggage by his feet and I wonder how he manages to be so stealthy. "Can I speak to you for a moment?" he asks.

I slowly step away from my friends and quickly eye Ashton, who is busy trying to catch our suitcases and mistakenly grabs an elderly man's bag instead of his. While he's distracted apologizing, I go speak with his dad.

"I want to apologize for how I've treated you in the past," Nolan says. "I was very harsh and unsympathetic, and I know I wasn't the most...likeable of people." He struggles to find the right word, but even so, he's majorly sugarcoating it. "I was insensitive and crossed the line on more than one occasion. I wanted the best for my son, and I didn't realize until recently that he has it. You're a good person, Emilia, and I'm sorry for ever thinking less of you."

The Nolan I see before me is completely different from the Nolan prior to our trip to Australia. He's kinder and approachable, and I don't feel threatened when he speaks to me. He calls me by my name and treats me like I'm Ashton's girlfriend and not just another college student. His change of heart is not only surprising but welcomed. I never asked for his acceptance; however, I'm elated to have it.

"Thank you."

"I'm working to build a better relationship with my son; it's long overdue, and I want to thank you for helping me get this far."

"What did I do?"

His dimpled smile looks exactly like Ashton's. "You helped open his heart just enough for me to get through. He and I still have a lot to work on, but at least we can talk without him glaring at me like he hates my guts."

"I think he would like having you in his life again. He may not show it well, but he appreciates what you've been doing for him. He needed all the support he could get and you helped contribute to give him just that."

"He really did pick a good one," he says under his breath, nodding approvingly. "You're going to do well in Communications." He slings the strap of his leather duffle bag over his shoulder. "I'll see you around campus. Take care, Emilia." He wears a smile as he walks away. It's small, but I can only predict it will grow in time to match the one his son wears almost every day.

I return to my friends and pretend that I've been standing here the whole time; however, they're too drowsy to have noticed that I left in the first place.

"Where's my dad?" Ashton asks, pulling our suitcases behind him.

"He just left."

"Oh." He stares momentarily in the direction Nolan took off in and then back to me. "Are you ready to get out of here?"

"I'm ready for a nap."

Lola drives us all back to Ashton's house. It's a tight squeeze to fit us all in her car but we somehow manage to without suffocating. After unloading our luggage from the car and leaving it in a pile by the entryway, we withdraw to our rooms (except for Julia and Calum, who crash on the couch). Ashton and I try our hardest to stay awake to avoid ruining our sleep schedule but we both agree that that's stupid and we deserve at least an hour nap.

I fall onto Ashton's bed and rest my cheek against his pillow. His mint and soap scent still lingers on the sheets. I don't remember his bed being so uncomfortable. The springs in the mattress prod my skin and it's not as firm as it used to be. "Is it sad to say that I prefer the hotel's bed to yours?" I say.

He lets out an airy chuckle and lies down with me. His arms wrap around me and his lips attach to my neck, kissing every inch of exposed skin. "I don't know," he says, rubbing the sheet with his hand. "But a lot of great memories were made on this bed." A lopsided grin adorns his face and I muster up what little strength I have to pull the pillow out from beneath his head and take it for myself.

"That's okay. I have an extra pair of pillows here." He snuggles up to me and rests his head on my chest. His eyes close.

"I love you."

His eyes don't open, but his hand finds mine. "I love you." After a few seconds, he whispers, "Has heart always beat this fast?"

His head rises with my chest as I inhale deeply. "Not until I met you."

Ashton and I aren't able to sleep long before Candice calls me and asks for us to come over. Julia turns her mother down since she has to work in the morning and wants to sleep, and Calum just doesn't want to go. As for Ashton and I, we drop Julia off at my apartment before heading to my second parents' house.

We drive through a familiar neighborhood and I press my hands against the passenger window. "We're close to my old house."

Ashton slows down. "You've never told me where you used to live."

"We've never taken this route for me to remember."

"I should make wrong turns more often."

When we reach the house, he parks along the curb and I step out. A car and minivan are parked in front of the garage of the one-storey home. An American flag hangs over the front porch, gently swaying. The exterior is no longer painted the light shade of green I remember. It's been a while since I've come down this road, so who knows when the new owners changed everything. I may be biased but I prefer how it looked when I lived here.

"This isn't how it used to look," I tell Ashton when he gets out of the car and stands next to me. "But I still love this house. Mom and Dad always said I could have it when I got older, but they never got around to writing it in their will. It sold pretty quickly once it was put on the market, and I haven't seen it vacant since. I've noticed how there always seems to be a different owner every time I come down here."

Ashton leans back against the car and examines the house. "It's pretty uncommon for there to be so many different owners in a short amount of time," he says. "Maybe it's haunted."

"That would explain the creepy black figures that would stand at the foot of my bed every night when I was little."

"Really?"

"No, you idiot," I tease.

He smiles and looks back to the house. "I like it. It's very you."

"One day I'd like to own it, but until then, I'll continue waiting for the 'for sale' sign."

The front door swings open and a young man steps halfway out of the house with a guarded composure. "Can I help you two?" he asks, holding something large behind his back.

"Sorry, sir," I say and prepare to spill the usual spiel I give when someone would catch me standing outside the house. "We don't mean to trespass or anything. I used to live in this house. We were driving by and I wanted to see how it has changed."

Ashton steps forward. "Sir, have you ever experienced anything strange in this house? Strange noises, odd figures, cold spots..."

"Ignore him; he's an idiot," I say and Ashton laughs. The man continues to stare with confusion, and I take that as our cue to leave. "Sorry to bother you."

Ashton opens the car door for me and then waves at the man. "Have a nice day, sir." He gets into the car and we drive away from the house. His eyes are drawn to whatever he sees in the rearview mirror and he slows down almost to a stop. It's only when we turn the corner that his focus returns to the road.

We arrive at Julia's parents' house a few minutes later. The door is unlocked in anticipation of our arrival, and unlike the first time I brought Ashton here, no one is running out to greet us when we step inside.

"Is that you Emilia?" Candice's disembodied voice asks. The kitchen faucet and dishwasher are running and I can barely hear her over the noise as she hand-washes the remaining dishes in the sink.

"No, I'm a burglar and I'm here to take all your stuff," I say. "Ashton's here too."

"Oh, okay. Be careful with the figurine display, and I'm totally fine if you take all of Hugh's football collectables." I wonder how long she has been nagging him to get rid of his stuff. "How was your flight?"

I push her question to the side and spring towards my dogs that are running at full speed down the stairs, and brace myself for impact. Mila, Lilah and Laila pounce on me and kiss my face. Link completely bypasses me and trots straight over to Ashton. His curly tail relaxes when Ashton scratches the pug's back. Seems like I'm no longer the favorite.

"Long," I finally say. "I have no concept of time anymore, I'm slightly disoriented, and my body feels like it's going to collapse if I don't get any sleep soon. On the plus side, I got a tan."

"That's good, honey. I'm glad you're safe." She must not have heard me. I could be dying on the floor right now and she would compliment my attire without ever seeing me.

Hugh makes his way down the staircase and pulls me into a hug. "Glad to see you made it safe back home," he says. "You too, Ashton. Did you have a nice time back home?"

"You could say that," Ashton says with a shrug. "There were definitely many surprises waiting for me, but I'm glad to be back here."

"You look like you could take a load off. Do you want a beer?" Hugh offers and steps into the kitchen. I stifle a laugh at the familiarity of the question from Ashton's first meeting with him.

"Sir, I really don't think there's a right answer to that question even if it were an appropriate hour to drink. Not to mention I have to drive."

"Smart boy."

"I'll take one," I say.

Hugh purposely closes the refrigerator door loudly and pops the cap off the beer bottle in his hand. "You're funny."

Candice joins us in the living room when she finishes the dishes. We quickly catch up and tell them of our travels, and I give them their souvenirs: an assortment of Australian candy that the boys picked out for Candice and a bottle opener with a picture of a kangaroo for Hugh. It was the best I could find at the last minute at the airport. They appreciate the thought to say the least.

They let us stay for dinner and after a few hours, I notice Ashton getting drowsy and I'm beginning to doze off as Hugh discusses how he may have to lay off a few of his employees at work. Ashton gives his input on the topic and advises he consider temporary pay cuts instead. I never thought listening to Ashton talk business would be so attractive.

"Emilia, if you two ever live together or get married make sure he handles the finances," Hugh says, overly impressed by Ashton's commercial and economic knowledge. I'd go as far to say that he's as attracted to it as I am. "Just think how easy tax season will be with him."

"Looks like you have some competition, Emilia," Candice jokes. "Hugh, get over your crush and stop pressuring them."

Ashton and I share a guilty glance at each other and choose not to disclose our plans to them just yet. However, I do keep Hugh's advice in mind.

Thankfully, Hugh and Candice acknowledge our tired states and don't keep us any longer. It has been a long day of goodbyes and they add to the list, but we promise to visit again soon after the semester ends.

It's getting dark outside when we get into the car, and for the first time I am thankful for time passing seemingly fast.

Ashton starts the ignition but keeps the car door open. "Hold on, I forgot something," he says, jogging back to the house. He steps inside for a few minutes and then returns to the car.

"What did you forget?"

He buckles his seatbelt and checks the mirrors. "To ask for their permission."

"For?"

He smiles a crooked smile and pulls out of the driveway. "That's between me, Candice, Hugh, and your parents."

__

Ashton drops me off at my apartment and helps lug my suitcase up to my room before going back to his house. It was a mutual agreement that he and I stay at our own place since classes start back up again tomorrow. I have last minute studying to do, and I never know what Ashton is doing in his classes, but I assume he has some project-related thing to do.

For now, I ignore my suitcase and my studies and go to Julia's room. Her door is propped open but I knock anyway. She looks up me briefly before returning to unpacking her suitcase and tossing the majority of the clothes into a laundry basket, mumbling how she hates herself for bringing so many clothes. I go sit on her bed and cross my legs underneath me.

"I thought you were going to go to bed early," I say.

"I did," she says, flipping a shirt inside-out, "but then I woke up and now I'm not tired. So I thought, what better way to bore myself to sleep than by doing my laundry?"

"You might want to consider cutting back your wardrobe when we go on trips," I say. "It'd save you the frustration of unpacking."

"Now you tell me," she says with a roll of her eyes. "How are Mom and Dad?"

"They're fine. They liked their gifts."

"That's good."

I continue to watch her sort out her clothes and anxiously bounce my knee. I can't think of any better time than now to tell her, "Ashton and I want to move in together."

She laughs. "You two haven't been together that long and you're already having those kinds of discussions?"

"You and Calum don't talk about that kind of stuff?"

"It comes up now and again but we never stay on the topic long."

"Oh."

"Wait, you're actually serious?"

"Well...yeah."

Julia is struck by my statement and she drops her gaze to her suitcase. She pauses momentarily and says, "How soon did you want to move in with him?"

I shrug. "As soon as we can figure out where we want to live."

She glowers and rips another piece of clothing out of the bag. "Did you even take our lease into consideration?"

I'm shocked by the irritation in her tone. "Of course I did."

"So you're going to leave me to pay for this place on my own?"

My eyebrows furrow and I swing my legs over the edge of the bed. "I never said that. Why are you getting so angry?"

She stands up from the floor and raises her voice. "Because you're finally choosing him over me. We've lived together for years and now, one boy is sweeping you off your feet. You're like putty in his hands and you're agreeing to what he wants."

"What we want." I stand, but she towers over me by a couple inches. "You're the one who encouraged me to continue seeing this 'one boy.' I thought you would be happy for me."

"You don't get it! You've known him for less than a year, and you've put all your trust in him. You're so naïve; you barely know him. Who's to say he won't change into someone you don't like if you live together? That possibility could very well destroy your relationship."

"And we're willing to take that risk," I shout. "I may be naïve, but I know who he is. You know who he is."

She scoffs. "You don't see how distant we've grown since you've been with him. Sometimes I just want my best friend to hang out with me, but she's always with her boyfriend. Sometimes I'd like to feel as if I'm not living in this apartment alone." The more she yells the more tears well in her eyes. "I've been dreading the day you find someone you want to be with because, as happy as I am for you, you don't need me as your protector anymore. You don't need me because you have him. And I hate that I trust him enough to take you from me."

Her out-jutted chin and tear-stained cheeks renders me speechless. It's rare for Julia to cry, and I never thought I would be the cause of it. Everything she said about me and Ashton was just an excuse to conceal the real subject beneath the surface of this conversation. She and I may not spend every day together and I'm aware that Ashton takes up a lot of my time, but she's still a constant in my life. She has never left my side. And after all this time, she never thought I'd be the one leaving her.

"I'm always going to need you, Jules," I say. "I'm not leaving you. You've been around longer than Ashton has, and that by default makes you more important to me. These past several months have been a constant adjustment for us as friends. I'm finally living my life like my parents would want me to, and that has changed a lot between us. But that doesn't mean I don't want to spend time with you or stay here at our apartment more than twice a week.

"Yes, Ashton and I want to move in together, but just know that there's no way in hell a boy will ever come between us. You know I'd never leave family. Plus, the boy I'm with can be an idiot sometimes, and I need someone like you to give me a break from him."

She chuckles at the last part and wipes her eyes. "The guy I'm with can be the same, so you're not out of a job either. I know Ashton will take care of you, and I need to let him. It's no longer going to be just the two of us and that's hard for me to accept."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who picks a fight and you're telling me sorry?" She laughs and hugs me. "Em, don't apologize for loving someone; be proud. Also, you have to invite me over every week for dinner; no excuses."

"Will you be able to handle my cooking?"

"You're right...change it to every other week."

I stay in Julia's room until we're both ready to crash from exhaustion. I don't get around to doing any homework which I'll regret in the morning, but I needed this time with her. After all, I have all to thank her for pushing me to be friends with Ashton. It'll take a lot more than bi-weekly dinners to thank her for him.

Before I step out into the hallway, Julia says, "You guys are getting serious."

"Yeah."

"Are you scared?"

I smile and with my head held high, I say, "Not anymore."

______

Ashton's POV

When I return home, the house is a wreck. The living room is littered with clothes that have been thrown out of their suitcases. Thankfully, mine hasn't been touched. The kitchen has been ransacked. What little food we left behind is gone and whatever remnants are there are scattered along the counters.

"It's been less than 12 hours and you guys already trashed the place?" I yell to whoever will listen to me.

Calum steps out from the dining room. Nervously, he says, "It was like this when we left?"

"Bullshit. Clean it up."

He groans and starts to throw out the trash, while mumbling, "It's been less than 12 hours and you're still a dick."

I laugh and take my suitcase upstairs to my room. With no intention of unpacking, I search through all the jeans in my suitcase until I find the small strip of paper hiding inside one of the pockets. I grab my phone and dial the number written. It goes straight to voicemail and I clear my throat before it records my message:

"Hi, this is Ashton Irwin, Nolan Irwin's son. I'm calling to accept your job offer to paint a mural for your children's hospital. Please call me back as soon as you can with the details. Thank you for this opportunity; I'm eager to work with you."

I find my sketchbook and sit at my desk. With a new page open before me, I grab my colored pencils and push the black and white ones to the side, leaving me with only the bright pigments that make up my world.

______

A/N: Let's play the 'How Many Things Can Rebecca Throw into One Chapter' game. It's been a while since I've written a chapter this long. It feels good. But I'm still judging it because I think it reads choppy. I really hope you all liked it.

THERE'S ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER. Do you know how sad this makes me? And pressured? Because I have to make it perfect and satisfy your reading needs. It probably won't satisfy ALL your needs because that's not what writing is about, but I want you guys to like it and I'm nervous to write it.

Poll time: Would you rather me write the last chapter and post it or wait for me to write the last chapter and epilogue and post them together? Either way you're going to wait for me to write them, but which would you prefer?

Also, GIRLS TALK BOYS. Like. I can't even. I love it. And I die a little inside when I hear Ashton sing.

Anyway, thanks for reading! The journey is almost over, but I hope you'll enjoy it with me.

Love you all! –Rebecca xoxoxoxoxo