This chapter is dedicated to @sad_alysa for voting, commenting and following me! Thank you so much, it means a lot :)

••••

We're back to Skylar's POV!

••••

"I swear he is the hottest man on the earth!" Emma exclaims, leaning over the table to look at Rob with an intimidating stare.

"He is not, Nick Jonas is one-hundred percent better looking than Joe Jonas," Rob replies coolly. "It's obvious, you're just blind."

"Says the one who thinks that Nick can sing better! I mean, come on. Skylar, I need your help here." Emma says, looking over at me expectantly.

I throw my hands in the air, in an invisible act of surrender. "I don't want to get into this." I say honestly, knowing better than to get in the way of Rob's beliefs of pop culture.

"She's being ridiculous, you agree don't you Axel?" Rob says, also turning to his best friend for help.

Axel shrugs in a way that fully shows off his laid-back attitude. Releasing a huff of annoyance at his best friend, Rob turns back to Emma to continue their heated argument.

Rob and Emma continue to fight as Axel and I sip on our drinks, watching amused by the annoyance coming from our best friends. Sitting in one of the campus's cafes, we've all come for an afternoon catch-up. It was supposed to be Rob and Axel's meet-up, but Emma and I decided to tag along as well.

Looking at his watch, Axel lets out a sigh of annoyance. His eyes flicker between the three of us before going back to his watch.

"What's wrong?" I ask, sensing his internal debate.

"Football practice starts soon but I don't want to go." He huffs.

I let out a quiet laugh, squeezing his hand that's currently clasped in my own. "You need to, you are their super hot athlete after all."

"Nah, that's only for you." Axel jokes and my stomach flutters on cue. "I'm just their boring, loud quarterback."

"A very good quarterback, nonetheless." I smile.

Axel grins at the lighthearted praise and his dimples make their rare appearance. His happiness almost floors me, but instead spreads into me. Lifting me up and making me feel as though I'm immune to any other emotions apart from joy.

"Right, okay. I'm going, I'm going." Axel sighs, grabbing his phone from off of the table and putting it into his pocket.

"Have fun." I murmur, which I know it's pointless because Axel will always has fun with football. It's the fuel that keeps the fire of his passion burning, he will always love the sport because it's so effortless and fun to him.

"I'll have more fun with you tonight. Come round at seven." Axel winks.

My face turns beetroot as I try to make my brain produce a comprehend-able sentence.

I've got nothing.

"See you then." I nod dumbly.

Reaching over, Axel grabs both of my hands in his before giving me a soft kiss on my lips. He's obviously not bothered about the people around him and the feeling of his lips on mine, in a way that's so carefree, makes me melt into him. Keeping it soft and gentle, when he eventually lets me go, my body thrums with adoration.

After waving goodbye to Emma and Rob, he leaves. Turning back to the table, I soon realise that he's actually just left me alone with my two best friends who look like they've put their argument to rest to interrogate me instead.

Fantastic.

"Well, that was a nice goodbye." Emma drawls, addressing the elephant in the room.

I nod in agreement, not having the mental capabilities to form a sentence that defends myself yet.

"What's tonight?" Rob asks, looking genuinely confused.

His words actually confuse me more because usually when Axel makes a plan, he tells Rob about it. By not telling him, I'm suddenly anxious to see what Axel has got planned for tonight.

"Dinner at his place." I shrug, the more romantic side of my brain squealing with the thought.

"That sounds very intimate." Emma says, her tone sounding like she's not really here with us at all - instead somewhere in the clouds, dreaming of the possibilities of tonight.

Which I have been doing for the past week since he suggested the date.

But a pull in my heart, signals to me that no amount of thinking will bring me to be prepared for what will happen tonight.

••••

"God damn, he is gonna burst into flames when he sees you." Rob whistles as he applauds.

"I agree, I don't think he knows what coming." Emma nods as she assesses my outfit.

Which I'm also doing, standing in front of our floor length mirror. My navy blue dress hits just above my knee and sticks to my curves.

My hair is done up in a bun, with wisps of hair on each side of my face, to give it some more shape. My make-up is minimal but a red lip creates a look of elegance, which only a red lips seems to be able to achieve.

"Do you think it's too much?" I ask, spinning in a circle so that they can see the full effect of the outfit.

I'm responded to by a series of scoffs before Rob decides to speak up.

"First of all, no. But second of all, who cares? You look fabulous." He grins, nodding in approval.

"I actually think you're right." I laugh. "Right, I need to go."

"Have fun."

"Be safe! In every sense of the word."

You can guess who said what.

Throwing a long black jacket over my ensemble, I make my way out of the door. I quickly arrive at Axel's place, my mind clouded over with thoughts of what could possibly happen.

This is because dinner at his place isn't Axel's typical style. Usually he wants to go out and experience something new. Do something fun and creative, an activity that will create everlasting memories.

These are dates that I enjoy, but he knows himself that I enjoy more laid back dates. Ones that are casual and can range from making dinner together to even just watching a film. The simple, intimate and cozy memories are usually the ones that mean the most to me.

So knowing that Axel has arranged a date that is more in my style, makes me wonder why.

I turn up at his door quicker than I would've liked and with my thoughts still scrambled, I almost loose it completely when Axel opens the door looking more handsome than ever.

Standing in formal black trousers and white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, Axel's fashion taste is impeccable. His hair is messy, but controlled all the same and his lips are pulled up into a small smile.

Taking a step forward, he softly holds my hips and draws me closer to his body. Once chest-to-chest, he smiles and leans down, capturing my lips with his.

"Hey, you." He says, his voice quiet. "You look gorgeous."

With his eyes trained on my face, I will the butterflies of excitement to die down. A tsunami of happiness washes over me, simply by just being in his arms.

He draws away from me, but takes my hand to guide me into his transformed living room.

With California glittering with a golden shine outside and a slow, mellow song in the background - Axel's apartment has turned into the definition of romance.

A few candles are dotted around the open-plan space and my heart almost beats out of my chest in fondness when I see his usual coffee table set out in a grand style.

"You hungry?" He asks, beginning to make his way into the kitchen.

I follow him through and lost in a abyss of emotions, I wrap my arms around Axel from behind to share some of my gratitude. "Thank you for this." I whisper, leaving a kiss on his shoulder blade.

"You're welcome." He grins back at me, obviously relieved that I like it. However, I'm unsure why I wouldn't like this whole set up.

After a few content moments, we break apart and I go back into the living room once Axel announces dinner is almost ready.

"I was going to start with dessert but because you're so sweet, we're going to have to stick to savory." He announces, walking back into the living room carrying two white plates.

"That was awful." I laugh, referring to his joke. "But that sounds good to me."

Once Axel gets closer, I'm finally able to see what the two plates he was carrying.

Two perfect omelettes.

The first thing we both cooked together.

With steam rising off of them and muted colors underneath indicating to lots of fillings - I immediately want to start. Amazed by his sudden progress in cooking, I sit and stare in shock. Placing one in front of me, Axel sits on the opposite side of the table in front of me.

The term sitting is pretty generous. With Axel deeming this meal to important to have on the couch, he has made stacks of cushions for us to sit one. Admittedly, they're pretty comfortable and being this close to Axel has made the atmosphere a lot more romantic.

"I made two and said that one of them was made by you - so you don't run over your deadline with your volunteer hours. This is the final dish." He smiles and I'm floored by his thoughtfulness.

"That's so sweet of you." I smiles. "They look great though, I don't know if they would believe that you made one of them."

Axel places a hand on his chest in an attempt to act hurt. "Rude. You know I can cook better than you." He defends.

I let out a laugh and nod, unable to keep my amusement hidden from view.

I'm so the better cook.

"Even if you were, hypothetically, the better chef then there would of been no need for our cooking lessons." He says, a frown on his face.

"Why the frown? You probably would've still ended up with me." I say boldly.

"Oh yeah?" He asks and stands up to come and kneel beside me on my side of the table.

His movement was unpredictable and out of the ordinary, due to us not even finished dinner yet.

"Yeah, I feel like we would've met at one point or another and I like to think we would still be sitting here." I nod, trying to stop the mushy thoughts from pouring out of my mouth like they just did.

As soon as I look into Axel's eyes, however, the regret of my words vanishes into thin air. His eyes are midnight blue, overshadowed with what looks like a film of emotions giving him a look that my heart longs to protect.

"Yeah, I agree actually because what we have is not just coincidental." Axel smiles, taking my hand into his.

"Really?" I ask.

"I think it's not coincidental because we've worked for this moment, Skylar. You and I we've fought through a lot in the past couple of months yet you blow me away everyday. Everyday I learn more about you and every-time, I fall deeper into you."

My mind erases any fathomable thoughts I previously had and I'm left grinning at Axel. Tears of joy push against my eyelids, but the thoughts whizzing around my brain keep them at bay.

Why is he saying all of this now?

My thoughts are answered in the next four words he says.

"I love you, Skylar."

••••

It's finally happened!!

What do we think? What about Axel's speech?

I feel like the quote at the top is very relevant to Axel and Skylar - especially since Skylar dances :)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, if you did make sure to let me know by commenting!

Have a great weekend!

Much love,

Jade x