Despite the up-beat music playing in her ears, Aspyn felt like she could collapse in sobs. One Direction's "What a Feeling" was currently playing in her head and regardless of having listened to it for countless times the past couple of years, all she could think about was the fact that George thought of her while he listened to it.

And similarly, she was sat on her bed with the song playing through her AirPods, thinking of him. It might have been the best way to awaken on her birthday. Tears were streaming down her face, but her smile was stretched so far that it was beginning to hurt her cheeks.

At the end of the song, she pressed pause. She had reached the 13th song already and doubted she would ever move if she didn't stop now. Pocketing her phone she reluctantly slipped out of bed, staring across the room at her tear-stained reflection. Bringing a palm up to her wet cheeks, she pulled her sleeve over her hand to brush off the tears, a small chuckle escaping her lips as she did. Her eyes were dancing, screaming in joy. She sighed in contentment. She felt happy.

Aspyn walked out of her room, a slight pep in her step as she jogged down the stairs. She was immediately met by the smell of pancakes, and her three favourite boys were stood in-front of the stove in the midst of an argument about whether they were making them correctly. Her eyes shined as she saw them, and her feet ran without warning to tackle George in an excited hug.

A deep chuckle rumbled his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. "Happy birthday, my darling." A soft kiss was planted on her head.

"Thank you— oh my god, thank you." She murmured into his chest, hoping he understood how much she appreciated his gift. His cheeks flushed, and Alex and Karl snickered at his love-dazed expression.

"It's no problem." He whispered, the pair swaying lightly as they hugged. After another few beats of content silence, they parted. Aspyn celebrated the morning of her 22nd birthday in the vibrant kitchen of Alex's house, surrounded by the people that she loved to be around. The pancakes came out better than any of them imagined — or perhaps they were only mediocre, and it was only the presence of their friends that enhanced the taste.

A sheepish smile rose upon George's face as he brought out a sky blue paper bag from under the table. It dangled on his fingers as he gestured Aspyn to take it.

"George!" She took the bag from his hands, their skin brushing softly as she did. "What is this?" She began to peer into the bag but he interrupted.

"Nu uh," he pinched the bag shut before she could look in. "Go change into this, and we'll be going." He gave her a childish grin as he brought his hands to her shoulders, gently spinning her around to face the staircase.

Up in her room, Aspyn was met with a beautiful dress that fell around her mid-thigh. It was translucent and silky, with daisies and other flowers dancing around the outer layer. It was effortlessly beautiful.

She slipped it on, careful not to ruin the delicate patterns. Her reflection shined back at her, almost unrecognizable from the girl she once was. She stood confident, her skin was luminous from the sun rays that peeked through the large parting of her curtains, and her eyes were bright and twinkled in a way they never had.

Descending down the stairs felt like something from a movie. George's eyes were trained on her, and Alex and Karl stood off to the sides, shredding a tear or two at the girl as if they were her parents.

"Hi," she smiled up at George once she reached the bottom.

"Hi," there was a child-like grin on his face, and his eyes matched hers. "You look..." he trailed off unknowingly. Beautiful. Stunning. Alluring.

Ethereal. She was ethereal.

George dragged Aspyn out of the house, tossing a knowing look back at Alex and Karl, who were planning the surprise party she would be greeted with when they return.

The pair playfully bickered for a moment as they entered the car — seeing that George didn't have his license (and wouldn't know how to drive on the opposite side of the road regardless), Aspyn had to drive. However, George refused to tell her where exactly they were going, and only allowed her to know what roads to drive on and where to turn.

Aspyn passed George the aux cord with a grin, "play me your favourite songs, pretty boy."

The boy smirked and scrolled through his phone. Leaning back in his chair, he didn't lose eye-contact once as "Yellow" began playing through the speakers of the car.

She shook her head, fighting an elongated smile. "I— George."

"Hmm?" He acted clueless. "I love this song, don't you?" He teased.

Because Alex's car was quite a good one, the playlist name could be seen on the mini screen planted in between them. It was Aspyn's playlist, specifically, the one George made for her.

If heaven existed, Aspyn knew this was what it felt like. There was no comparison to the euphoria in the air while she was with George. It was a new feeling, a fresh one, but it her favourite that she had ever felt.

George looked at her with admiration. He looked at her like she was a precious metal, something worth more than a king's riches. He was curious, wanting to know more. He looked at her as if she were a new painting being unveiled at a lavish museum, one that had never been seen before and was entirely unique to any other creation in the facility. His eyes were trained on her as if there was nothing else he wanted to see, and despite having her eyes focused on the road, Aspyn could feel the frenzy of emotions that George was sending her way, even if it was only a simple gaze.

"Stop," she half-whined, meekly. She glanced at him, watching as he quirked a brow.

"What?"

Aspyn sighed, shaking her head. A timid smile traced her lips. "Look at me like that again and I'll cry." She half-joked, but in all honesty, she might. No one had ever looked at her the way he did, and she felt overwhelmingly cared for.

30 minutes of singing and driving later, they found themselves at an urban green space. They were atop a hill that overlooked kilometres of neon grass. At the bottom, there was a small park near a large fountain, with bundles of children running through the structures. There was faint laughter from where they were stood, and the smiles the children wore matched the one's on both of their faces. The gushing wind wasn't enough to make Aspyn shiver, but just the sight of George's grin made tingles run down her spine.

At the sight of an empty picnic set-up, Aspyn's steps faltered in the grass. George's smile widened and he gestured towards the small area he had set-up earlier in the day with Sapnap. "Look, I prepared a picnic, and I even brought some sketching paper so we could draw together— since the view from up here is actually quite lovely." He hummed.

Aspyn stared at him in awe. "This is so.. amazing. You are so amazing." She made her way to him, sitting right beside him on the blanket that was laid out over the grass.

"I know." He grinned. There was Aspyn's favourite snacks laid out, but her eyes caught immediately onto the flushed strawberries in the centre. She laughed at the memory, reaching over to grab one.

George watched her quietly, her radiant smile not dropping an inch as she ate and babbled about how thankful she was. "You're so fucking beautiful," it came out hushed, but didn't go unnoticed by Aspyn. Her mouth parted and she stopped talking abruptly, turning her head to face him with mild shock.

"W-what?"

He smiled, leaning over and tucking a stray piece of her dark hair behind her ears. "So beautiful," he whispered again, leaning his forehead against hers.

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you are so lovely, my dear.

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you are just so amazing omfg

this is like straight from a book geez

@quackity man, can you believe this girl??

— can't believe she's on her phone rn 😞

— big yikes 🥴

YOUR DRESS IS SO PRETTY ❤️❤️

— thank you!

:)

— disappointed but not surprised

— BDUSNAK

this is so CUTE

SPEEDRUNNING FINISHING

THIS BOOK ILY