*Hands over a pack of Oreos*

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"And that's when big guy over there, appeared out of nowhere and the girl never looked at me again for the whole evening." Dylan groaned, throwing a glare towards Ryder, over his shoulder.

"How many times do I have to tell you that she was just using you to get to Ryder, my brother." Cole said, lazily while patting Dylan's back.

"Okay, who gave him so much to drink?" Dylan snapped, swatting Cole's hand away, making him stumble and fall on grass and burst out laughing.

Perri smacked Dylan in the back of his head before rushing to pick Cole up from the ground.

They're so cute.

My gaze automatically moved towards a figure who has been the centre of attention for the whole evening. Since Ryder is the quarterback and the start player of today's match, people have been hogging him one after another.

I snapped my eyes away from him, as I saw a girl from our school subtly feel his bicep, and turned to the table with the drinks.

I sighed, grabbing the bottle of tequila and downing another shot of it and winced at the taste.

"Woah! slow down jellypants." Lex said, taking the bottle away from me and placing it under the table.

I, then noticed that Dylan was engaged in a conversation with a guy from school and that left me with the girls and their attention on my almost drunken self.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Give that to me." I moved to grab it, but Lex moved it further away from me.

"You need to stop drinking Em." Mia said, taking the bottle from Lex and keeping it on the other side of the table.

"What I need is a drink, if you guys want me to survive tonight." I said, looking around. "It's hard, you know?"

"Aw I know." Mia said, pulling me in for a hug. "Trust me, Ryder's just fulfilling the formalities. He's the future captain, after all."

"Yeah I know, but I still feel restless." I sighed into her shoulder.

I was met with silence and looked up to see both Mia and Lex looking at me wide-eyed.

"What?" I sighed.

"I just... I just thought you're gonna deny it again." Mia said, softly.

Even Perri had stumbled towards us, overhearing the conversation, while dragging a very drunk Cole with her.

"What's the point?" I said, looking up to see Ryder talking to another player on the team. "And someone recently told me that it's okay to admit some things specially when you've wasted enough time being scared."

"Wow..." Lex breathed pulling me into a hug. "Ryder said that?" She said in my ear.

"I hate you." I rolled my eyes, pushing her away slightly.

She chuckled, before pouring me another shot.

Sadly, I wasn't drunk. At least, not drunk enough to see girls flirt with Ryder left and right, one of them being Ashley who latched onto his arm like a fucking leech.

Ryder and I haven't had the chance to talk since the moment I came in and I'm not sure if he even wants to. I can't even be mad at him for that becaus he's the star tonight and deserves the appreciation.

"So... You're finally admitting that you like him?" Perri asked, making me look around to see everyone look at me wide-eyed.

Being the coward that I am, I decided to keep the fact a secret that I feel a lot strongly for him than 'like'.

"I guess I am..." I sighed twirling the empty shot glass on the little table, before looking up with a pleading look. "Please don't tell him yet. Not even the guys." I said, motioning towards Dylan.

Cole raised his head from Perri's shoulder, with his eyes half shut and pointed at himself. "But I'm right here."

I looked at him with sympathy, patting his cheek lightly. "Honey, I doubt you'll even remember your own name tomorrow morning."

He hummed before dropping his head back on Perri's shoulder and I noticed how he wrapped his arms around her, making Perri's eyes widen and cheeks glow red.

I smirked at that and was about to comment on it when a loud, deep voice cut me off.

The familiar voice came off of the speaker, making me frown in confusion.

"Huh?" Cole jerked his head up in surprise. "I didn't know we were allowed to speak with a mic..." He said, swaying.

"Hi everyone." Ryder's deep voice came from the speaker, making us look around to see where he was. "The big tree guys, I'm under the big tree." He groaned into the mic.

I turned towards the tree and saw him standing on a small platform in front of a mic stand.

I hadn't noticed when he walked away from the crowd and onto the platform. When I met his eyes I noticed him already staring at me, making my heart race.

"Oh I knew about this..." Cole muttered before dropping his head back on Perri's shoulder.

I frowned looking back at Ryder only to see him slinging a guitar strap over his shoulder.

My eyes widened as I looked at the guitar.

Is that?

No, there's no way.

"So, just an FYI. I've had this guitar for like, 5 years..." He said, looking right at me with a knowing look, making my eyes widened even more. "but I've barely had time to practice."

He kept it.

I suddenly felt the heat rise as I processed this information.

In his hands Ryder was holding the guitar that we had both pitched in for, with our pocket money because we loved to sing together.

I raised a shaky hand to my mouth, looking at him as he nodded with a soft smile.

"So, uh... I'm singing, as you have probably guessed but... this song means a lot to me as it holds a ton of memories and describes the way I feel for a certain someone." He said, making girls swoon and a few heads turn in my direction.

"Woohoo! You go lover boy!" Dylan cheered, walking towards where me and the girls were standing.

The girls were looking at me with dreamy looks on their faces when I heard a low squeal.

"Oh God, why didn't he tell me beforehand?" Ashley laughed, looking around. "This is so embarrassing."

The whole group, even Cole, looked at her in disbelief

"I've only been practicing for like two weeks so keep your comments to yourself, thank you." He said, before looking back at the guy with a keyboard, signalling that he's ready.

So, this is why he's been so tired. He's been practicing for the song and his big game, at the same time.

"This is for you, beautiful. Let's have a flashback together." He said into the mic before he started strumming.

I stood there frozen. Any other girl would be ecstatic to be in my place right now but for me, I just didn't know how to react.

I wasn't used to feeling so much at the same time. I had no idea what to do but my body knew exactly how to react when I heard the very familiar tune.

He strummed the first few notes of the song 'night changes' making me clear my throat and take in a deep breath.

A thin layer of moisture formed in my eyes as I gasped softly, looking at the boy who yet again, stole my heart.

And then he started singing.

Goin' out tonight, changes into something red

Her mother doesn't like that kind of dress

He sang, looking around as girls drooled over his beautiful voice. My heart hammered in my chest as I felt it swell as memories slowly seeped in.

I heard a soft squeal again, making me look at Ashley, looking down at her dress. "Aww, way to be subtle." She giggled.

My eyes widened and I looked down at my own dress and then automatically at the girls who were already smirking at me. "You're welcome."

I rolled my watery eyes at them.

Everything she never had she's showin' off

Drivin' too fast, moon is breakin' through her hair

She's headin' for somethin' that she won't forget

Havin' no regrets is all that she really wants

He looked right at me as he sang, capturing my attention such that everything except him was a blur.

It was as if time had stopped and it was just us two.

We're only gettin' older, baby

He sang turning to an angle so that he was directly facing me when he sang the word 'baby'.

And I've been thinkin' about it lately

Does it ever drive you crazy

Just how fast the night changes?

Everything that you've ever dreamed of

Disappearing when you wake up

But there's nothing to be afraid of

Even when the night changes

He let go of his guitar and tilted his head looking down at me as he sang the next line.

It will never change me and you

I released a breath that I didn't know I was holding as I smiled a watery smile at him.

He remembered.

This was one of our favourite songs to sing together and we used to spend hours harmonizing together in his garage. While singing this song was probably the first time I realised how deeply I'm in love with this boy.

*Flashback*

Chasing it tonight, doubts are runnin' 'round her head

He's waitin', hides behind a cigarette

Heart is beatin' loud and she doesn't want it to stop

I sang as Ryder played the guitar, and harmonized with me.

I turned slightly to look at him as I sang.

Movin' too fast, moon is lightin' up her skin

He looked back at me with a smile making my heart race as my smile faltered.

I sang the next lines.

She's fallin', doesn't even know it yet

Havin' no regrets is all that she really wants

I looked into his eyes as I sang, and somehow the words that left my mouth seemed to sound a lot more meaningful that they usually do.

We're only gettin' older, baby

And I've been thinkin' about it lately

Does it ever drive you crazy

Just how fast the night changes?

I sang, shutting my eyes and opened them when I heard him harmonize with me only to find him already staring at me.

He stared at me with a foreign emotion and we hid behind the lyrics of the song. But we both knew something that the other one didn't.

We knew that this was gonna be the first secret that we've ever kept from each other.

*Present*

Everything that you've ever dreamed of

Disappearing when you wake up

But there's nothing to be afraid of

I released a breath as I blinked away the tears that were brimming my eyes.

I looked at Ryder to see him already looking at me with a knowing look.

He knows.

He knows what this song means to me, and maybe it means just as much to him.

And all this time, I thought that it was me who changed that day.

It was us.

He grabbed the mic off the stand, slipping his guitar strap off of him and sang the next lines.

Even when the night changes

It will never change me and you

I sniffled, looking down, trying to calm my heart down a bit.

"Oh my gosh, he's walking towards me!" Ashley squealed, smoothing out her dress, making Lex groan.

I had to stop her from walking over to Ashley to, and I quote 'shut her damn mouth'.

I turned with panicked eyes to see Ryder making his way in my direction as the guy on the keyboard did his part.

I almost wanted to laugh at the look on Ashley's face when he walked past her without even sparing her a glance.

Goin' out tonight, changes into something red

He sang in his smooth and deep voice with his eyes glued to mine.

How can a guy be this perfect?

Even though the song was ours, I could hear the hidden apology in his eyes. An apology for everything.

Her mother doesn't like that kind of dress

Reminds her of the missin' piece of innocence she lost

He sang, stopping right in front of me as I looked at him with my freshly brimmed eyes.

All the attention turned towards us as the place went silent as we looked at each other.

At that moment the house lights were dimmed, making me frown slightly, looking up at Ryder in confusion as a blanket of darkness slowly spread over us.

He kept smiling down at me when suddenly the place lit up with fairy lights.

I gasped, as I looked around, while Ryder continued singing with his gaze on my surprised face.

We're only gettin' older, baby

And I've been thinkin' about it lately

Does it ever drive you crazy

Just how fast the night changes?

There were fairy lights hung from trees, fences, and basically anything I laid my eyes on.

Everything that you've ever dreamed of

He sang, as I looked back at him as I couldn't believe that he did all of this for me. I literally felt like I was in a fairytale.

He shook his head slightly, as he raised his hand and brushed off a lone tear that had escaped my eye, without me knowing.

He's going to be the death of me.

But there's nothing to be afraid of

Even when the night changes

It will never change, baby

It will never change, baby

He grabbed my hand into his, looking right into my eyes, before singing the last line, as if he's talking to me and there's no one around.

It will never change me and you

He finished, leaning forward and placing his forehead on mine. Both our eyes fluttered shut as we stood there in front of each other with our hearts on our sleeves.

It was silent for a moment and the only sound I could hear was of my loud heartbeat. It was so loud that I think Ryder could hear it too.

I opened my eyes to look up at him only to see him already staring at me.

Loud cheers and claps cut through the silence, making me look around to see some people looking at us with dreamy looks, some in shock and the rest with their phone cameras pointing at us.

I suddenly felt uncomfortable with this new kind of attention. But then I turned towards my friends to see them looking at us with warm and proud smiles.

I think I even saw a tear shimmer down Perri's eyes.

"They grow up so fast!" Cole's loud cheer cut through the silence in the air, making Ryder sigh and look at him.

Cole wiped a fake tear from his eye and dropped his head back on Perri's shoulder but missed and fell on the ground yet again.

"Oh it's you again!" He said, pointing at the grass. "Why do thou loveth me so much!?"

I raised an amused eyebrow at him before turning back to Ryder, who sported a nervous look.

"So... " He started but I couldn't help but feel the gaze of every single person around us.

Before he could finish, I grabbed his hand and turned to pull him, behind me into the house. He yelped in surprise, but then quietly followed.

I came to a stop on the second floor, as I found it empty. Most of the crowd from inside the house had shifted to the backyard and the few people who were loitering around were drunk out their mind, on the ground floor.

As soon as I let go of Ryder's hand and turned to him, he started to blabber in panic and pace back and forth.

"You hated it. I knew it. I messed up." He kept going, continuously running a hand through his hair.

I moved forward before he completely lost it and grabbed him by his shoulder to make him stop pacing.

"Ryder." I said sternly, making him look at me nervously.

"I knew I should've gone with JB's 'Sorry' instead." He said, making me chuckle.

He furrowed his eyebrows, as I looked up at him with a wide smile.

"You're smiling." He said.

"I am." I said, cupping his face. "Because I loved it. I loved your song. I loved your voice and I love the fact that..."

I sighed, with a small smile. "...the fact that you remembered."

He scanned my face before sighing in relief.

"Of course I remembered. I remember everything about you." He said, grabbing my hands from his face and enveloping them with his own.

We stood there smiling at each other when he raised his hand to rub the back of his neck. "So... You forgive me?"

And I knew exactly what he meant. A lot has happened between us. A lot more than two kids could handle.

I didn't want things to go wrong anymore. I wanted to have everything that was taken away from me back then.

I smiled up at him and bit my lip with a smug look on my face. "I'll think about it."

His gaze dropped to my lips and he gulped, looking back at my eyes.

My smile faltered as I recognised the familiar dilemma in his eyes.

After a moment, he sighed, closing his eyes shut.

For the second time tonight, I threw caution to the wind and stepped forward, towards him, placed my arms around his neck and placed my lips on his.

I felt his body tense up and I was afraid that he had stopped breathing altogether.

It was just me kissing him for a whole 10 seconds as his hands floated in air and just as I was about to pull away, embarrassed, I felt it.

I felt him loosen up and as if his soul had dropped back into his body, his arms suddenly went around my waist pulling me back to him.

He kissed me back with a force and passion that I could never have imagined. His arms were so tight around my waist as if he was afraid that I might disappear any second.

I'm not exaggerating one bit when I say that kissing him was the best thing I've ever experienced in my life.

My hands moved on their own and into his hair.

So fucking soft.