"Holding on to memories

And I can't let go

I wanna get back to where we started to the summer night

You know, you know, you know, you know we got it right

Yeah I wanna get back to San Francisco, in the firelight

You know, you know, you know, you know we had it right

Remember that weekend when we got out of town?

Drove into infinity, I held you 'til you fell asleep"

✰

"Ash!" Arlo whisper shouts, lunging forward to place her hand over his lips as giggles escape him. "You're going to wake everyone up!" Simultaneously, she tries to grab Ashton's phone from his grasp but to no avail.

The girl bites down on her bottom lip harshly, doing her best to keep giggles of her own at bay. Her cheeks are flushed red, her entire face heating as Ashton laughs at her expense. When she went downstairs to get a glass of water, this was not what she was anticipating in the slightest.

Arlo had awoken sometime close to an hour ago with Luke completely on top of her. His face was tucked into the crook of her neck and his wavy blond hair tickled her nose, but she couldn't help but reach for the bedside table where her phone sat and document it regardless.

The girl found it hilarious that in the picture you can just barely see the top half of her face and a little bit of her messy hair as Luke's sleeping face takes up most of the screen. His mouth is wide open, his pink lips parted as his cheek is squished up again her chest.

As cute as she found the sleeping boy to be, Arlo was also extremely hot. Reluctantly, she'd wiggled out from underneath him and made her way downstairs after slipping a pair of sweatpants on. What she hadn't expected, was to find Ashton awake as well despite the early hours of the morning.

The two best friends hadn't had much time to be as close as they used to, so for hours, the pair had ended up talking on the kitchen floor. They talked about everything from serious topics like how Ashton was coping with all of the new fame or who they wanted to be five years from now to more playful ones like Ashton teasing Arlo for the dark marks on her neck or something embarrassing she did when they were younger.

They didn't care that it was nearing four in the morning and they had to leave for the airport soon, they were both just enjoying feeling normal again.

"Put it away!" Arlo groans, giving up on trying to grab the boy's phone out of his hand.

Maybe it was due to the fact that everything was funnier during the late hour of the morning, but Ashton had discovered a picture in his phone of Arlo from when the girl was younger and he was absolutely losing his mind.

"C'mon, Arlo this is gold!" Ashton doubles over, keeping his phone protectively to his chest as Arlo finally gives up on trying to silence him, her back hitting the kitchen cabinets.

The picture is blurry, courtesy of the shitty iPhone camera of Ashton's first-ever phone. One summer, the two of them had gone to a carnival and although Arlo wasn't a fan of roller coasters, Ashton had managed to coax her onto one.

Arlo stumbled off of the ride looking absolutely traumatized, her hair a mess and her eyes watery. Ashton, being the best friend he was, decided to snap the girl's picture as she stood in front of a food truck, still trying to recover from the ride she'd gone on.

"If you ever," Arlo points a menacing finger in his direction, narrowing her eyes. "Show anyone that, I'll have it out for you, Irwin.

"It's okay babe, you only look like you're scared half to death." Ashton coos at his best friend, reaching forward to ruffle her hair as he disregards her words. She was the opposite of intimidating, but he thought it was cute that she tried to threaten him.

"What are you two laughing at?" A familiar voice makes itself known as Michael stumbles into the kitchen, his pajama pants a bit too long on him and causing a small shuffling sound as the fabric drags across the floor. "It's four in the fuckin' morning."

"Why are you up?" Arlo challenges, not giving Ashton a chance to share what he'd been giggling over for the last ten minutes.

"I never went to sleep." Michael shrugs simply as he takes a seat on the floor with them. Combined with the adrenaline from the show and the fact that he'd used his first round of money from the label to buy another video game, he wasn't tired in the slightest.

Michael begins searching through the cabinets in reach, looking for a snack to accompany him only to find something far more enticing. "Jackpot." The boy grins mischievously, scooting aside to show the other two.

The cabinet is filled to the brim with all kinds of expensive whiskey that neither of the three of them had ever seen in their lives. It made sense considering the house belonged to the label and had been used by other artists before them, but the group had been too busy to properly check around.

"I think a taste test is in order." Ashton declares before jumping up to grab a few plastic cups to serve as shot glasses.

Arlo merely groans at the smell of the alcohol wafting from the bottle Michael had taken the liberty of opening. The girl had only been inebriated a few times in her life, but she found the smell to be the worst part by far.

Just as Ashton sits back down with the cups in hand, the lights in the house begin to get flipped on one by one as two pairs of footsteps come down the stairs. A quick glance at her phone lets Arlo know that time had passed impossibly fast and it was already about time to leave for their flight home.

As Michael and Ashton begin distributing the expensive alcohol, Luke and Calum stumble into the kitchen, confusion written across their faces as they take in the scene before them.

"What the hell?" Calum mumbles groggily. "Are you guys pregaming the flight without me?"

Luke makes a beeline for his girl, unsurprisingly to just about everyone else in the room. He leans down to place a kiss on her lips, a pout on his face as he pulls away. "You left me alone to drink with these idiots?"

"It was an accident." His girl winces, her head craned back to look at him properly. Luke's hands begin to run through her hair as he hums, expectantly waiting for her to continue. "I came downstairs to get water but Ash was already down here and I got distracted."

The rest of the boys are far too preoccupied with gawking over a certain bottle of alcohol with a jewel incrusted label to listen to the couple speak quietly to one another. It was normal for them to be in their own world anyway.

"Waking up alone fuckin' sucked." Luke pouts, his usual morning neediness getting the best of him. Arlo didn't mind though, she loved how soft Luke was right after he woke up- even if he clung to her like she was his lifeline.

"I'm sorry." Arlo sends him an apologetic smile, leaning into his touch as he continues to run his fingertips through her hair.

"Don't be sorry, just be with me when I fall asleep tonight." Luke muses, leaning down to place one last kiss on her lips. "Correction, every night. Forever."

"I can do that, I guess." Arlo playfully rolls her eyes.

Luke ducks down a little further, just enough to let his lips graze her ear "Good girl." He doesn't give her a chance to respond, merely sending his girl a smirk before he walks across the kitchen to get a bottle of water out of the refrigerator.

As Luke drinks his water and leans against the counter, Michael holds out a plastic cup in Arlo's direction. "Here Arlo, try this one. We googled it and the bottle is like two hundred bucks." He wiggles his eyebrows at the girl teasingly.

"No thanks, Mikey." The girl denies the cup with a cringe. "I can't handle alcohol at ten in the evening, much less this early in the morning."

Michael shrugs, seeming unbothered as he takes a sip for himself. As Michael chases down his shot with some sort of juice, Calum looks to Arlo with concern on his features. "Are you getting sick Arlo?" The boy asks worriedly. "Your voice is hoarse as hell."

Calum let the words leave his lips just as Luke brought the water bottle to his. The blond chokes on the water as Arlo's eyes go wide, her jaw going slack. Luke begins coughing and as he wipes the excess water from his lips he doesn't miss the shock in Arlo's eyes.

Both of them knew exactly why Arlo's voice sounded scratchier than normal.

Arlo snaps her jaw shut, not willing to let the other boys catch onto how the question threw her off. "No, I'm uh- I'm fine." The girl rambles, averting her eyes to the floor so they don't see the flush on her cheeks.

Despite the boys, excluding Luke, almost getting day drunk, the group of five made it to the airport on time. Unlike the last time they'd been in an airport, the band's fame had earned enough traction to warrant them to wait in a separate area off-limits to the public.

The group sits in a small room, security outside of the door as they wait for their flight to be called. It should be any minute now, promoting Arlo to stand from the uncomfortable chairs and sling her carry-on bag over her shoulder.

"You can put that down for now." Luke taps the back of her thigh from where he sits in the chair next to the one she was previously sitting in.

"We're about to leave." Arlo points out, her brows furrowed in confusion as she glances up at the screen on the wall of the room that had their flight information on it. "You should probably get your things together, Lu-"

Luke stands from the chair and gently takes her bag from her shoulder, a mischievous smirk on his face that tells the girl he's up to no good. "We're taking a different flight, pretty girl." He informs her smugly, just in time for the original flight to be called.

It seems the other boys had been in on whatever Luke was planning too, for they make their way over to Arlo and Luke, hugging them both goodbye without question.

"Have fun, Arlo." Calum wraps his arms around the girl. "Don't get pregnant please, I'm too young to be a god-parent."

Arlo's cheeks flush and she nearly chokes on her breath as she playfully shoves Calum away from her. "You're insatiable, Calum." She groans, burying her face into Ashton's chest as the boy takes his turn to hug her.

"And you would not be the god-parent, out of all people." Luke scoffs. "I had to tie your shoes for you this morning."

"Whatever." Calum rolls his eyes, taking the incentive to lead the way out of the door before they missed their flight. "See you back home, losers."

As soon as the boys leave for their flight, Arlo can't stand not knowing what Luke's up to any longer. He has a smug smile on his face as he looks at her like he's just waiting for her to ask him where they're going.

Arlo gives in despite the beautifully smug look on his face. "Where are we going, Luke?" The girl tries to roll her eyes in faux annoyance, but she can't even put up the front, a smile tugging at her lips.

Luke grins so wide that it makes Arlo's chest ache as he wraps an arm around her waist, tugging her close to his body. "You, me, and San Francisco, baby."

✰

After a little over an hour-long flight, Arlo and Luke land in San Francisco. The airport was thankfully nowhere near as packed as the one in LA or New York, allowing the couple to slip into their car waiting outside without being noticed.

Luke had planned the trip to San Francisco after receiving the newly updated schedule. Every single fucking day up until the album was released in around a month was planned meticulously. They didn't have a single day off after this upcoming week and even after the album was released, they'd be going straight to tour.

As Luke checks into the hotel they'd be staying in for the night, Arlo can't help but stand with her face practically pressed against the window of the hotel lobby. The view of the beach was so pretty and she was more than excited to get away for a while.

Before she knows it, Luke's hand is around her waist, a set of key cards for the room in his hand. "We actually have to go buy bathing suits now." Arlo points out as Luke begins leading them to the elevator.

"Oh yeah?" Luke takes his lip ring in between his teeth. "I think I'd rather recreate last night."

Arlo blushes, sending a narrowed-eyed glance at the boy over her shoulder as she steps into the thankfully empty elevator. "Luke."

"What?" The blond grins, taking the opportunity to release the handle of their suitcases in favor of pressing his body to hers, Arlo's back hitting the hall of the elevator. "Joking, baby." His lips skim her cheek. "Would much rather do other things with you anyway."

Arlo rolls her eyes, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip to suppress a smile. Despite the nature of Luke's words, it was obvious that her boy was so happy. That alone was enough to have her giddy.

As the elevator dings, opening up to their floor, Arlo lightly pushes at his chest to give herself space to walk by him. "Luke, I'm not having sex with you in a hotel room." She says teasingly, not even thinking about her words.

When she doesn't feel Luke's usual presence at her side, Arlo turns back around to see the boy still standing in the elevator, his mouth parted in shock. His blue eyes are wide and his chest is heaving rapidly as he seems to snap himself out of whatever trance he was in.

He joins her at her side, his nose brushing her cheek as he pulls her close. "Is that what you've been wanting to do? Because I didn't say anything about fucking you yet, sweetheart."

Arlo swallows thickly, unwilling to make eye contact with the blond. The intensity was rolling off of him in waves, making it hard for her to breathe. "You're my boyfriend, I don't think it's that hard to believe."

Luke's chest is still heaving as they reach their room and he slides the key card into the door. His girl had been utterly corrupted in the time since he'd met her and he knew he was to blame- he fucking loved it too.

Additionally, now that Luke knows that she was ready to give him everything, he can't stop thinking about it. It was pure torture for her to spring that notion on him, to put the idea in his head when he couldn't do anything about it yet.

Arlo collapses onto the large bed in the center of the room, her early start to the day finally getting the best of her. Luke abandons their suitcases and makes sure the door is shut before throwing himself on the bed beside her.

Arlo lays on her stomach, her head resting on her hands and Luke lays on his back, turning his head to find her brown eyes already looking at him. "What's wrong with having sex in a hotel room?"

"Luke!" A giggle slips past Arlo's lips at how deadly serious the boy is.

"What?" He asks defensively. God, she really shouldn't have told him that. He wouldn't be able to get the idea out of his head. "This mattress is way nicer than my shitty one back home, way bigger too."

Arlo frowns, snuggling herself closer to Luke until she can properly rest her head on his chest. His arms go around her instantly, his fingers skimming up and down her back soothingly. "I love your room in the bookstore." She says sincerely.

Just as Luke opens his mouth, a glint in his blue eyes that practically reads trouble, Arlo places her pointer finger to his lips. "And I'm not having sex with you in a hotel room because there are literally tons of other people sharing the floor with us."

Luke's eyebrows raise in surprise, a satisfied look on his face. "You think I'm gonna make you scream that loud for me. Shit, baby-" His words are muffled as she presses her finger to his lips.

"Luke Hemmings!" Arlo gasps, her cheeks flushing.

Luke merely smiles, more than happy to have her alone and in his arms with no plans on his schedule for once. He often wondered how different their relationship would be if he had the time to do all the things normal couples did like taking her on dates rather than traveling across the county every other day.

Despite the excitement of arriving in San Francisco, Luke and Arlo ended up falling asleep before they had the chance to explore. Their entire week had consisted of waking up before the sun rose and they were beyond exhausted.

By the time they woke, the sun was slipping behind the horizon, painting the room golden. The warm light had woken Arlo up and as she wiggled out of his arms, Luke snapped awake as well. He was barely awake before Arlo began getting changed, rambling on about getting bathing suits and going for a swim before it got too late.

Luke didn't even mind being woken up from his nap early, for Arlo had woken him with a smile on her face. As they took a shower together before getting dressed and walking downstairs, she had a smile on her face. The entire time they found a store by the beach and picked out bathing suits, she had a smile on her face.

Even now as they sit on the beach, Arlo has a small smile on her face. It was dark, but they'd brought supplies to make a small fire. The firelight reflects beautifully onto his girl's face as she sits across from him with her notebook in her lap.

Luke sits with his guitar in his lap, staring more at her than the strings as they bounce ideas off of each other. Even if they were doing more giggling and teasing than working on a song, neither of them quite cared.

He was fucking obsessed with every aspect of the moment- the smell of her perfume, the way his shirt was falling off her shoulder exposing the red bathing suit she wears underneath, the slight burn on her cheeks and nose from their walk in LA- everything.

I love you endlessly. I love you with an intensity I've never known. I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.

I love you the way the clouds love to spill rain, invasively, tragically, destructively but so goddamn inescapable and fated.

A giggle leaves Arlo's lips at something he'd said, but Luke can't even remember what exactly it was as he stares at her in awe. Arlo stands suddenly, tearing his shirt over her head and leaving her in her new red bikini.

"You coming?" She asks, the wind blowing her long hair about as she set off towards the water.

Luke can't even suppress the smile on his face as he chases after her, haphazardly stripping off his own clothes until he's in his bathing suit as well. By the time his phone and t-shirt are dropped to the sand, Arlo's already in the water.

Giggles leave her lips as Luke fights the break of the waves, curses leaving his lips about how cold the water is. Although as soon as he reaches her, she's rendered speechless. His lips are on hers in an instant, large hands cupping her jaw as he kisses her with everything he has. Arlo's legs wrap around his waist, her hands tugging gently at his damp hair as the waves rock them gently.

Luke pulls away after a few moments, his tone breathless. "I wish I knew how to describe how I feel about you." His chest heaves, the words he so desperately wants to say on the tip of his tongue. "I've spent the last few months trying to find the proper words but not a single fuckin' one is enough for what I feel for you."