Carter P.O.V.

There were no words to describe the night I just had with Valerie. It was every bit worth the wait. Everything about her was so devastatingly beautiful; how vulnerable she was in my arms, the way she felt underneath my touch, the magic in her eyes as we became one. Nothing could ever compare to her, I've been completely struck by her. There was nothing sweeter than her taste, the way she pleaded for me and confessed her desire, and the way my name escaped her lips as she came undone. I was hopelessly, and utterly down on my knees for this girl, and I'm not mad about it. I would take anything she was willing to give me, and she had given so much of herself, I would cherish that for as long as she would let me. It was more than just sex or fucking, it was everything, and it was indescribable.

I can't remember the last time I felt like everything in my life was absolutely perfect. I didn't believe in perfection; all we could be in life, is to try to do the best that we can and be the best that we can. After meeting Valerie however, she blew that belief right out of the water- she was perfect to me. She could have a million flaws, and she would always be perfect to me. She made me so happy even with the most simplest of things, she never asked me for anything other than some of my time, and she understood me perfectly, I feel like our souls were kindred spirits. She was perfect for me, and that's why I had asked her to be my girlfriend. For her to be mine permanently. Officially being able to call her mine and let everyone know that this girl was mine. When we were working on the merch line together, it really hit me how much I wanted her in my life, so I went for it. I didn't want to waste any time, I wanted her to know exactly how I felt about her, because all we have is now.

~

The boys and I were going to head over to Xavier's apartment today so we could film a video with him for his channel. He was getting a ton of messages and comments demanding us to do another one together.

Today, he had planned for us a Q&A with a twist; if you couldn't answer the question, you had to suffer a consequence. I was slightly terrified to see what he had in store for us. Who knows what kind of shit he could think up honestly.

"XACK's BACKKKK," Xavier shouted exuberantly into the camera setup, as we all piled onto the couch with a big grin. XACK was all of us. Xavier, Alec, myself and Kean. Super original...

"Yooo," Alec chucked up a pair of deuces in greeting.

"Today we're gonna be answering questions I've made up alongside the ones you guys asked. They're gonna be juicy, and they're gonna be saucy. If anyone's unable to answer, they'll be punished." Xavier explained dramatically. "Okay boys, you ready to be exposed?" he wiggled his eyebrows mischievously at us.

"Nah I'm a clean slate," Kean smirked, leaning back with his arms on the couch ledge.

"Yeah we'll see about that golden Hollywood boy," Xavier snorted, as we chuckled. "Let's start off easy. How did we all meet and become friends?"

"Well Kean and I are childhood friends," Alec began.

"Then I met Kean at an event a couple years ago, and became friends with Alec also." I added thoughtfully. "And Xavier and I unfortunately have the same manager," I teased with a smirk.

"Whatever," Xavier rolled his eyes. "What he meant to say was I came along and boosted the squad's lit level like a year ago." Xavier finished off haughtily. "MOVING ONNN... what everyone wants to know. Which of us are single?" he narrowed his eyes at all of us.

Kean immediately said no whilst Alec nodded his head to say yes.

"I'm taken." I admitted to the camera.

"Ohhh teaaaaa! No way!" Xavier exclaimed as the boys looked to me surprised. Kean knowingly gave me a fist bump and a smirk.

"Damn Carter, I didn't know it was official?" Alec said with a big grin. "Congrats!"

"Thanks guys. Wait Xavier can you like not upload this until after July 18th like next week?" I asked him.

"Yeah all good," Xavier nodded. "Okay next, if you're single, are you seeing anyone and who are they?" he directed his question to Alec.

"No one, I'm focussing on my music," he gave a satisfied grin at evading the question. "Who are you seeing?" he raised his eyebrows at Xavier.

"No one also... hey Sommer you wanna go on a date?" he winked to the camera, whilst we snickered and smacked him on the back. "Alright alright, easy start there for everyone.... Who do we think is the coolest of this group? Ready and go." He pointed to Kean on the end of the couch to start.

"Umm... probably Alec or Carter as close second."

"Yeah Alec," I chuckled.

Alec nodded his head and shrugged. "Me then. What can I say?" he said smugly.

"What the fuck guys this is my channel, I'm obviously the best," Xavier scoffed. "GTFO," he joked, before reading another question from his phone. "This one's good. Who's an extra virgin olive oil?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "If not then, who'd you recently get *funky* with?" he eyed all of us evilly, hoping we'd crack under his scrutinising gaze.

I just shook my head no in response. Fuck I'm not gonna answer this one, things between us are private, sacred.

"My girlfriend." Kean responded blankly. Nice. Stating the obvious answer. Everyone knows they've been an item for a while now.

"Fuckkkk, nope I can't say." Alec groaned, "What's the punishment?"

"A-ha! Not so innocent are you," He grinned devilishly. He unveiled one of the upside-down cups to reveal a bottle of extra hot sauce. Great. "A spoonful each, eat up boys!" he squeezed the red substance onto the spoon and handed it over to Alec and I.

"Cheers bud." I winced as we tapped our spoons together and downed the sauce. "Holy," I salivated and panted to cool down my tongue, struggling to swallow the sauce as it burnt my throat.

"This is fucked." Alec wailed, as he ran over to the kitchen and ran his tongue underneath the water as Xavier followed with the camera. I trailed after him and grabbed some ice out of the freezer and placed it on my tongue, as Xavier and Kean doubled over in laughter at our pain and messy states.

"Never mind, they're probs not the coolest," Kean remarked amusedly as we all returned to our seats.

"Alright," Xavier chuckled, "The next question asks, how much money do you make?"

"I get paid monopoly money," Alec said seriously, earning a snicker from us.

"I don't think I can even say," Kean laughed, "Plus it's not nice to talk about," he added with a shrug.

"Yeah I don't think we can answer that," I chuckled.

"Yeah I actually don't get anything, please click the link in description for my gofundme page." Xavier joked. "Okay boys, rules are rules. That means..." he lifted another cup up to reveal the consequence, "We're gonna get tased." He picked up the taser from the table and flicked on the switch, as volts of lightning crackled alive in a blinding flash.

"What the hell Xavier," Kean exclaimed, as Xavier waved the taser at us like a maniac. "Oh god, just hit me on the arm." Xavier obliged and zapped Kean on the bicep. "Argh!" he grunted, looking at the red angry mark it left behind.

"Who's next?!" Xavier shouted gleefully.

"Nah I answered, so get it away from me." Alec swatted him away and leaned further back.

"That was fake," Xavier laughed, before pouncing on Alec and hit him in the stomach, as he let out a small "Ow!"

Alec quickly grabbed the taser out of Xavier's unsuspecting hand before redirecting it at him. A look of sheer terror flashed across his face before he made a mad leap off the back of the couch and sprinted away, with Alec right on his tails. I grabbed the camera and followed him as he ran out of the apartment door and down the hallway. Xavier was screaming bloody murder, as Alec tackled him and pressed the taser onto his shoulder blade successfully.

"Ahh fuck," Xavier winced, rolling on the ground painfully, as we all cackled at the scene. Alec held out a hand to help Xavier up as we made our way back to finish off the video. I got away with that one unscathed, I smirked to myself.

"Mm kay, who's got the biggest... sausage?" Xavier raised his eyebrows and bit back a laugh at the question.

"Hm idk I bought some chorizos the other day? What about you guys?" I asked nonchalantly, taking a sip from my drink.

The boys burst into laughter before Alec commented; "Yeah the hot dog I had the other day was pretty loaded, you know bacon, cheese, mustard the works," he grinned.

"I'm vegan," Kean piped up, earning another chorus of laughter from us.

~

It was now a couple a days before Val's birthday. I pretty much had everything prepared, a game plan, balloons and her present. I really hope she likes it. I just had to play it cool til then.

I put my car in park on the side of the street before making my way up to her apartment. I knocked on the door and waited, hearing the shuffling of foot steps close in.

"Hey!" The perky blonde greeted with a big smile. Hm. Not my girl.

"Hi Ell, how are you?" I asked her, as she stepped aside and gestured for me to head in.

"Yeah good thankyou! You? Val's just finishing up in the shower." She said, making her way to the kitchen to tidy the place up. Oh, that's where she was.

"Oh sweet, yeah I'm great, finished up her present, actually." I smiled, leaning against the counter.

"Can't wait for her to see it! It's such a good idea." She gushed.

"Yeah, hopefully she likes the dinner surprise with us too." I nodded.

Ellana was essentially going to take Val out for dinner, but instead of just them two, the whole gang would be there as well.

Just as Ellana was about to say something else, the sound of a door swung open and foot steps echoed down the hallway.

"Carterrr!" the gorgeous human spoke, skipping over towards me before wrapping her arms around my neck.

I leaned down to kiss her on the lips as I held her waist. "Hi girlfriend," I whispered in her ear, causing her to giggle in response.

"Hi boyfriend," she whispered back cheekily before pressing her lips on mine once more. I pulled her body even closer to me, as I kissed her in return.

"OKK... remember what I said, don't defile the dining table kids." Ell spoke up loudly.

We broke apart with a laugh, as Valerie placed a hand over her mouth.

"Sorry Ell," she giggled before grabbing my hand and leading me to her bedroom so we could hang out. I'd been busy for the past couple of days, so we hadn't had a chance to see each other.

~

I woke up the next morning after a good night's sleep, in a slightly different setting than normal, but nevertheless feeling very sated. I glanced at my surroundings, and down to see my naked body encased in cream coloured sheets and light pink pillows; a nice contrast to my darker ones. The only thing that remained familiar, was the comfort of Valerie's natural, fragrant essence and the feel of her soft, bare body curled up against me. Her chest rose and fell in a steady pattern, as light sounds of her breathing filled the silence. She looked so pretty and innocent in her sleep. I don't think there's anything else better in this world, than opening my eyes first thing in the morning to see her next to me.

I slowly ran my fingertips over her arm and back again to wake her up. I noticed the best way to awaken sleeping beauty, was to gently touch her; either by stroking her hair or tickling her skin. She began to stir with a small groan as she snuggled herself further into me. I chuckled lightly at how cute she was.

"Wake up angel," I kissed her temple, and continued to rub her arm soothingly. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open as her lips tugged up at one corner sleepily.

"Morning..." she murmured.

"Good morning, come on let's get up so I can spend more time with you." I smiled.

"Okayyy, only for you Carter," her groggy voice sighed, as she arched her back and stretched it out.

Valerie slipped off the bed, clutching the sheets around her body to pick up her panties and my t-shirt. I gave her a playful smack on the ass to fully wake her up. She let out a small yelp before turning around to narrow her eyes at me amusedly. I chuckled and followed right behind her into the bathroom, pulling on my underwear before brushing our teeth and refreshing ourselves.

"What's for breakfast baby?" I asked, whilst piggy-backing her to the kitchen.

"Hmm eggs?" she kissed the back of my neck, sending an avalanche of shivers down my spine.

"Sounds good." I nodded, lowering my body so she could slide off down to the ground.

"Put me to work Ms Delwood," I grinned, planting my hands on my hips in a work stance.

Valerie chuckled as she whacked me on the chest with the back of her hand.

"You make me sound so old," she whined, before grabbing out a carton of eggs, some mushrooms, tomato and spinach. "You can go sit Carter, I can do this," she nodded over to the table, with a bowl in hand.

"Nooo, I want to," I wrapped my arms around her waist and drew her to me.

"Okay hot stuff, go wash and chop up the vegetables then please," she grinned, pecking my lips and pushing me away.

I shot her a wink before grabbing the produce off the table and brought them over to the sink.

"Hey Val, there's too much-room between us," I laughed, as I held up the mushroom and gestured to the space where we stood.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes with a small chuckle, before continuing to whip up the scrambled eggs in the frypan.

"Do you like me cause I'm a fun-guy?" I added on afterwards, causing her to laugh out loud amusedly.

"Or because I'm eggs-citing?" I wiggled my eyebrows at her, successfully causing her to giggle hysterically.

"Nah it's cause you're warm and toast-y and you make me feel tingles all the way to-mah-toes," she winked, as the loud rumble of my laughter echoed throughout the kitchen.

Damn, I think I'm in love with this girl.