Chapter Fifteen;

Kris and Emily laughed as they drove away from the store.
 “How insanely ridiculous was that?” Emily laughed, just thinking about everything that happened.
 “Very.” Kris replied, “I better call TK and let him know we left.”
 “Good idea.” She said.
Kris dialed Tyler’s number and waited for him to answer.
 “Hello?” TK’s voice finally said.
 “Hey, me and Emily just wanted to let you guys know that we all left.” Kris told him, making Emily chuckle to herself at how he said it.
 “Okay?” Tyler replied.
 “Yeah, so you’ll have to take Laur and all the stuff back in your truck.” Kris added.
 “Okay, no problem.” He said, “You guys sure made a mess back here, ya know.”
 “Trust me, we know. Just don’t let anyone know you know it was us.” Kris told him.
 “I won’t say a word. But I gotta go. Talk to you later.” Tyler said and hung up the phone.
Kris shrugged, putting his phone back in his pocket. He then turned to look at Emily, whose eyes were focused on the road while her lips formed into a small smile.
 “What?” Kris asked curious as to why she was smiling.
 “Oh, nothing.” She said, not losing focus.
 “It must be something.” He tried.
 “Well, to be honest, I don’t know what it is. I just feel happy, is all. I have this strange, but good feeling and I’m happy.” Emily told him with a smile plastered on her face as she looked at him while they were stopped at a traffic light.
 “Well, that’s good. That’s really good.” Kris smiled back at her, glad to hear her say that.
 “Yeah, it is.” She agreed. She really wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt so overjoyed with life. It could have been from the crazy experience they just underwent. Or maybe it was being alone with Kris again. Anything was possible, but she didn’t really care what was causing it. When life gives you lemons, don’t question it, just enjoy them.
 “You can put on the radio if you want.” Emily told Kris after a little while. He nodded and turned it on 96.1, where the Pittsburgh version of I’m In Miami Trick by LMFAO was finishing up playing.
 “So, what exactly were you trying to prove with the whole ‘you smell good’ thing back before Max destroyed the baby isle?” Kris chuckled thinking about it.
 “I wasn’t trying to prove anything, just looking for reactions.” Emily replied, “Plus, you do smell good.”
 “Oh I see. Well, thanks then.” He said.
 “Yup.”
A second later the song changed to one that was familiar to both of them. Secret Valentine by We the Kings. Emily looked over at Kris, who was looking back at her with a smirk on his face.
 “Are you thinking of us?” She asked, remembering the night they chose the song as their own.
 “Yeah,” He nodded, “And it’s amazing.”



Lauren and Tyler finished putting the grocery bags in the back of his truck and they both got in in front.
 “I’m glad we’re the responsible ones. We got all the grocery shopping done, while all the rest of them did was break things and get in trouble.” Lauren said, shutting the passenger door of the black truck.
 “You’d never guess they were all in their twenties.” Tyler chuckled. He started up the engine and got ready to pull out of the parking lot.
 “Immature, is what they are.” Lauren joked.
 “Exactly.” Tyler agreed with a smirk.
As the couple drove through the snowy city streets, they were mostly silent. Not awkwardly silent, more like peacefully silent. They didn’t have to talk to enjoy the time they spent together.
The truck came to a stop behind other cars while the red light shined overhead. Tyler turned to face his girlfriend and just smiled. Lauren smiled back, not sure what he was thinking but had a feeling it was something good.



 “Ya know, I feel like I accomplished something today.” Jordan said to Ashley as they drove down the road towards his place.
 “What exactly did you accomplish?” Ashley laughed at him.
 “I don’t know, I guess doing something daring and badass and got away with it. And it was kinda fun.” He explained proudly but Ashley just laughed again.
 “Oh please! You didn’t do that on purpose. You just accidentally did something bad and got scared of getting in trouble so you ran away.” She told him and he pouted.
 “Thanks for shitting on my new found pride!” He said as if he were appalled.
 “Shitting on your pride? What the hell, Jordan?” Ashley cracked up at his word choice.
 “You know what I mean! You demoralized me. It’s like you took a big fat shit on my self-esteem and how badass I am.”
 “Okay, first of all, you’re disgusting.” She said with a smirk, “Second of all, you aren’t that badass in the first place so get over it.”
 “What? I am totally badass!” He protested. Ashley rolled her eyes.
 “Oh yeah? Prove it.”
 “Well first off, did you not see my hardcore, totally badass hockey fight yesterday?” He asked her as if it were a given.
 “That was so not badass at all! You and Ginge were just laughing at each other the whole time until you slipped and fell on top of him!”
Jordan scowled at her. “Oh yeah, well what about the time I got arrested?” He said, bringing up the result of his older brother Eric’s bachelor party gone awry.
 “Jordy, you and like twenty other guys were just being loud and annoying early in the morning. How is that badass?” Ashley asked.
 “It’s badass cause we got in trouble with the police! And don’t forget I was only eighteen and I was drinking. That’s two charges in one. So badass!” He said, bringing up his pride in himself again, only to have it knocked back down by his girlfriend.
 “Puh-lease. Like you’re the only teenager who’s ever gotten drunk? And you didn’t even spend the night in jail like your brother and his friends.” Ashley wanted to laugh at the expression on his face, but tried to stay sounding serious, even though she was just messing with him. “Just face it, babe. You are not badass.”
 “That hurts. Right here. That is an intense bitch slap in the face.” Jordan said, shaking his head side to side.
 “Aw, I didn’t mean to make you cry, babe.” Ashley said and placed her hand on his arm. “I still love you.”
Jordan glanced at her for a moment and his face showed signs of a smile coming. “That helps a little. It doesn’t sting as bad anymore.” He said and kissed her lips, stopping the car when they came to a stop sign.
 “Good. You don’t need to be a badass for my love.” Ashley said with a grin.
 “That’s reassuring,” He replied with a chuckle, “But I will eventually prove to you that I really am badass.”
 “I’ll believe it when I see it.”



 “I’m super excited for tomorrow morning!” Ashlen exclaimed, nearly jumping up and down with her phone pressed to her ear as she talked to Sidney.
 “So am I! It’s torture without you here, seriously.” Sid said dramatically, making Ashlen smile.
 “Trust me, it’s just as bad here without you. Probably worse, actually.” She said, falling back onto her bed. She was exhausted from packing and saying her goodbyes to her friends and family. Plus the fact that she stayed up extra late talking to Sidney each night.
 “How did we survive without each other?” Sidney asked melodramatically.
 “I honestly have no idea.” Ashlen responded.
 “I’m having a hard time keeping myself from heading to the airport right now to wait for you. I miss you more than anyone’s ever missed someone else before in the history of the universe.” Sidney gushed making her smile.
 “The whole universe? Sidney, you flatter me.” She laughed, laying on the bed with her eyes closed. She tried imagining she was with Sidney as they spoke. It wasn’t quite the same as really being with him, but it was better than nothing.
Sid chuckled. Even hundreds of miles apart, no one made him smile like she did. “I try.”