*Lilia's P.O.V*

It was now December 31st 2016. New Years Eve. The day before 2017. The day before my sixteenth birthday. Wow, that feels weird to say. I'm going to be sixteen... I know it's not that big of a deal, but to me it is. I'm only four years away from being twenty, I'm only two years away from being eighteen! An adult! I can get a job at sixteen, I get to leave school this year and if I lived in America, I'd be able to get a drivers licence.

We were still in Wiltshire. We were supposed to go back on Boxing Day, but I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready to leave my hometown or Mum, Dad and Joe. Don't get me wrong, I feel perfectly comfortable with Zoe and Alfie, of course I do, but I felt better with everyone about me. Plus... Callum lives in Brighton and I just couldn't go back yet. I am starting to feel like a burden, though. Zoe, Alfie and Joe probably just want to get back to Brighton/London and get back into work, but they can't because I'm so emotionally unstable that I can't even go home. How pathetic is that?

"Lils?" I looked up from my bowl of cereal to see Zoe frowning at me in concern, "Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah, I'm fine." I smiled halfheartedly, shoving a spoonful of Frosties into my mouth.

"Zoe, if I ask you something, can you promise to answer it 100% honestly?" I blurted less than five minutes later.

"Yeah, of course," She looked at me with a mixture of concern and curiosity as she sat down at the dining table next to me, "What's up?"

"Do you mind staying here or would you rather go back to Brighton?" I asked her.

Zoe thought for a moment before telling me, "I mean, obviously I love Brighton and I can't wait to get back, but I love it here, too. I'm never going to mind spending time here."

"I just..." I took a deep breath, needing to get this off my chest, "I'm just starting feel like...like a burden, I guess. Like, you, Alfie and Joe, you all need to get back home and get back to work but you can't because of me." I started to tear up which made me hate myself even more because I was such an emotional wreck.

"Hey, no, that's not it, at all," Zoe put her hand on top of mine and looked me right in the eye, "Listen to me, Lilia, you're all that matters at the moment, but that does not make you a burden. It just means we all love you way too much to make you do something you're not ready for yet. Do you understand?"

I just nodded as Zoe gently wiped my tears away, "I'm going to get dressed." I announced, standing up from the table.

"Alright." She smiled at me and I smiled back before leaving the kitchen. I went upstairs and into my room, where I chose to wear a white knit jumper with pink embroidered flowers on and a pair of light denim jeans. We were going to a New Years Eve firework display at Whitehall Garden Centre later on but we didn't have much planned for the daytime so I just ran a brush through my hair, slipped my glasses on and last but not least, snapped my gold snowflake phone case on before I decided I was ready.

The majority of the day was pretty boring, but around 4-5pm me and Zoe nipped to the shop because Dad realised we were out of milk so I slipped on my light brown lace up boots with a white flower pattern crocheted on the sides, my peachy pink infinity scarf and my green faux fur coat before leaving with Zoe. We went to Asda and it wasn't all that exciting, it was just grocery shopping. We were out for no longer than half an hour and not long after we got back home, I went upstairs to change into something a little more New Years Eve appropriate since we would be leaving for Whitehall soon. I already had my chosen outfit laid out on my bed and after grabbing a quick shower, I put on my black jumper that had a silver sequin fawn on the front, because if you don't have sequins somewhere on your outfit, is it really a New Years Eve outfit? With my jumper, I wore a wine red skater skirt, a pair of tights and I wore the same shoes as I did to the shop. I french braided my hair and briefly took my glasses off to apply some makeup, using a pinky nude colour on my lips. I fastened a silver snowflake necklace around my neck, slipped a silver snowflake ring onto my finger and changed my phone case to a glittery gold one with cat whiskers. I wore a black and white plaid infinity scarf, a black faux fur parka and a nude pink beanie which matched my phone case because it also had adorable cat whiskers on. I feel like Dan and Phil would appreciate this outfit with all the cat whiskers.

By the time I was ready, it was time to leave. We all decided to take Zoe's car and I sat in the back next to Joe, who was between me and Dad. We ended up getting there early and the fireworks display wasn't on for at least another half hour so we decided to get something from the cafe while we waited. While we were waiting in line, I started to feel a bit self conscious in my skirt and pulled it further down my legs. Even though Callum was gone and I had my family reminding me everyday that what he told me isn't true, I can't help but think about all the nasty things he would say to me if he saw me in this skirt, and I can't help but wonder if they'd be true.

Zoe must've noticed me pulling down my skirt and the insecure look on my face because she put a hand on my shoulder and sternly told me, "You look beautiful, okay? You always look beautiful, don't you forget that." My family now know about how Callum basically made me starve myself and the things he said to me and telling them was one of the hardest things I've had to do, but just like always, they've been there for me and like I said a minute ago, they're constantly reminding me that everything he said isn't true.

I ended up getting a white hot chocolate which tasted amazing, but I might have drank it too quickly because I soon needed the toilet.

"I'll be right back." I announced, getting up from my seat. I went to the bathrooms and did what I needed to do but as I exited the ladies room, I ended up colliding with another person.

"Oh, sorry," I looked up into a pair of blue eyes that I'd recognise anywhere.

"Lilia..." He trailed off with a small smile.

"Connor!" I don't know what came over me, but I found myself throwing my arms around his neck. I never thought I'd say this, but I'd missed him. A lot.

"Hey." Connor laughed, clearly taken aback by me launching myself at him but immediately hugging me back. I sighed in content, laying my head on his chest. There was something about being in his arms that made me feel happy, that made me feel warm and safe.

"You seem happier." He stated with a smile after we pulled away.

"That's because Callum's gone," I breathed, tears filling my eyes because it felt so good to say that, "And I should've listened to you when you told me to tell someone, but I didn't, and I'm sorry."

"Hey," Connor gently rubbed my bicep as a form of comfort, "You told someone in the end, that's all that matters." I just nodded, giving him a teary smile before I slid my arms around his waist. I just wanted him to hug me again.

"Am I going crazy," Zoe's voice made me pull away from Connor and see her, Joe, Alfie, Dad and Mark approaching us, "Or did you two just hug each other, voluntarily, without trying to kill each other?"

"Looks like it." Connor chuckled.

"I guess we don't hate each other as much as we once did." I shrugged, glancing at Connor and giving him a smirk which he returned.

"So, do I get a hug too?" Mark then asked with a grin. I just giggle and nodded before going over and hugging the tall Londoner as Connor greeted my family.

It wasn't long at all after that little moment that the display was starting and so we all went outside, where it was being held. However, there was a lot of people out there and a lot of people pushing others around and trying to get to the front for the best view of the fireworks. Somewhere amidst all the commotion, I managed to get lost and I found myself stood in the middle of this rowdy crowd of people all by myself. I suddenly felt lightheaded and I found it hard to breathe, my heartbeat increasing to what felt like maximum speed and my whole body sweating. What was happening? Was I having a panic attack? Is this what a panic attack feels like? How do I make it stop? How do I breathe?

"Lilia," Connor suddenly appeared in front of me, extreme concern etched into his face, "Are you okay?"

"I can't... I can't breathe... I-I need to get out." I choked out.

"Okay, okay, it's okay, just calm down, alright? Come with me," He took my hand and led me out of the crowd, over to a bench that was a few metres away from everyone else.

"Deep breaths, okay, Lils? You're okay now, nothing's going to hurt you." He sat on the bench next to me, his hand never leaving mine as he spoke to me softly to calm me down. I did as he said, taking deep breaths which helped to get my breathing back to normal.

"Th-thank you." I sighed once whatever it was had almost completely passed. I don't know what just happened, I guess with everything I've been through over the last couple months, I just couldn't handle being in the middle of all that commotion.

"You don't need to thank me." He said and I smiled when he ran his thumb over the back of my hand; it felt nice.

"Connor?" I got his attention after a minute or so of silence.

"Yeah, Lils?"

"Remember when you told me you love me?" I paused and he nodded slowly as I gave him a soft smile, my eyes meeting his, "I think... I think I love you, too." Before Connor could respond, people started excitedly counting down and I glanced at my phone to see it was 23:59.

"10...9...8...7...6..."

Connor started to lean in and I did the same, my heart thumping in my chest but for a different reason this time.

"5...4...3...2...1!"

Connor's lips connected with mine in a slow, passionate, magical kiss that made it feel like the world had stopped and we were the only ones on the planet. The colourful explosions going off in the sky weren't the only fireworks I could feel as Connor pulled me closer by wrapping his arms around my waist, my hands moving up to cup his face while our lips moved in sync. After 15 seconds or so, we finally pulled away for air.

"Happy new year, Connor." I whispered, resting my forehead on his, unable to keep the smile off my face.

"Happy new year, and happy birthday, Lilia."

A/N: omg this is definitely my favourite chapter by far 😍😭 but anyways I'm making this a/n for two reasons: one because I thought I'd let you all know that I changed Connor's face claim. He used to look like Charlie Lenehan from Bars and Melody but now he looks like Corey Fogelmanis bc I'm actually in love with that boy. If you don't know who Corey Fogelmanis is, go back to chapter 4 to see what he looks like. rileyparkers I know you know who he is 😂😉 the second reason I made this a/n is to let you guys know that this book only have 2 chapters left 😭 they're not even proper chapters either, one of them's like an epilogue thingy which will be last and you'll find out what the chapter after this will be soon. I'm so sad this book is almost finished, but I will be doing a sequel so don't worry. I'll talk more about that another time.
Hope you liked the chapter guys, love you all 💞
Lucy xx