Valerie P.O.V.

Ellana, Sommer, Alexys and I, were all gathered at Jess' so we could get ready together for Alec's listening party. It was to be held at his house, as per usual. I had missed being part of a girl gang so much, having fun doing each other's hair and makeup, and parading around in potential outfits.

We all gathered in Ellana's car so she could drive us over to Kean and Alec's. A sense of de ja vu hit me as we strolled through the familiar front doors. Almost four months ago, I was this scared girl, lonely and afraid of the world, but now, I was surrounded by amazing people chasing their dreams.

The place was filled with all sorts of people. I'm guessing managers, PR, music producers etc. as well as friends, family and social media influencers.

A warm arm snuck around my waist and pulled me away from the girls around a corner.

"Hey," Carter grinned as he leaned against the wall, with an arm resting above my head.

"Hi handsome," I smiled, tip toeing to give him a kiss on the lips.

"Mm, let's skip the party," he murmured, placing kisses along my neck. "I haven't seen you for the past two days."

"No we can't do that," I giggled, softly pushing him away before I lose all my senses. "We have to support Alec, and I want to hear his songs. Plus, this is kinda for you too."

"Yeah I know, of course, but I've already heard some of them," he pouted, giving me his best puppy dog face.

"I'll stay at yours tonight, okay?" I promised, brushing away his hair from his eyes. I had my surprise ready for him then.

"Okay," he smirked, happy with the compromise.

We strolled out hand in hand and took a seat on the lounge to join the party.

"Alrighttttt everybody! Who's ready for A.S unfiltered???" Alec spoke excitedly through a microphone, standing upon the mini podium with a grin.

A loud chorus of cheers erupted as they prepared to play the album. Alec hopped off the podium as he waltzed around the room to say hello to everyone. I bopped my head to the sultry beat of the music and his velvety voice.

"Congrats Alec!" Jess gave him a hug as he came over to where we were seated.

"Thanks Jess," he grinned, before making his way round to accept each of our praises.

"Congratulations! The songs are amazing." I hugged him proudly.

"Thankyou! Glad you like them," he smiled.

Carter slapped hands with him in greeting and gave him a pat on the back. "Good job bro! You're finally done!"

"Yeah haha, I hope it does alright," he chuckled as he sat down.

"It will, it will. Don't worry about it!"

We listened, danced along and enjoyed ourselves as the last few notes of the final song drifted off. A round of applause rang out as the album came to an end, and the DJ came back on to play some dance music.

"Thankyou everyone for making it out tonight. I hope you enjoyed it! I'd also like to shoutout to one of my best friends, Carter," Alec pointed over to where Carter was sitting with a grin, "who's launching his merch brand tomorrow on Bryson.com, which is what we are also celebrating tonight. So, check that out ya'll! Have a good night!" he raised his glass in a cheers motion.

"Woooo!" We clinked our drinks together.

"Alec, the party's going great, I'm hearing tons of fantastic feedback on the music," a man in a business suit came to shake Alec's hand.

"Thanks, couldn't have done it without you and the team, Harrison!" Alec responded happily.

"You must be Carter Bryson right?" Harrison turned his attention over to Carter, as he sat down on a small ottoman by the couch.

"Oh yeah, Carter this is my manager, Harrison Daley. Harrison this is Carter." Alec exchanged introductions between the two of them.

"Nice to meet you." Carter extended his hand in greeting.

He then directed his attention over to me. "And you must be..."

"Valerie. This is my girlfriend Valerie Delwood." Carter introduced me as I also said my hellos.

"Oh right, yeah of course," he smiled politely. "Hey Alec, have you thought of any music video ideas?"

"I mean not really, for the song just like you, I had one idea, but the others are free reign." Alec responded, leaning back on the couch casually.

"You should have Carter and Valerie appear for your song lucky, Carter's instagram post video got a lot of views. The fans would like that. I think it'd go over really well since it's already established a connection with them," Harrison explained.

"Wow you saw that?" Carter raised in his eyebrows in surprise.

"I'm a manager. I've always got my tabs on everyone, especially Alec's friends," he chuckled. "I'll let you guys talk it out, but think about it alright? Have a good party guys!" Harrison strolled away, disappearing into the midst of partygoers.

"Well what do you guys reckon?" Alec turned towards us with a grin. "It's a good idea. I'd love to have you on board."

"Yeah! I'd be happy to, I'm down if Valerie's down?" Carter responded, turning towards me to see my answer. The idea excited, yet terrified me all at once. I bit my lip as I reluctantly nodded, letting my fears go.

"Okay." I chuckled. Heck. It's with Carter. I probably won't have to do much acting, I hope.

"Sick! We'll talk more later," Alec grinned as he got up to continue socialising.

~

"Ready to go?" Carter asked in the middle to end stages of the party.

"Yeah, let's get outta here." I agreed. We had stayed for all the important bits and I was definitely ready to spend alone time with Carter. "I've just gotta get something from upstairs okay?"

I raced upwards and slipped into one of the guest bedrooms to collect my bags that Ellana had left here earlier. I let out a big breath. I hope he likes it. We ordered an uber back to Carter's apartment and in no time we neared home. I felt my heart race as the apartment came into view and the car rolled to a stop. I'm glad we didn't stay too late at Alec's, otherwise I would be tempted to just fall asleep and put off the surprise.

I freshened myself up in the bathroom, slipping on the lingerie under my nightwear, before quickly taking out his gifts and placed them on the coffee table outside. Okay, the plan is now in motion!

"Carter?" I called out, sitting on the lounge.

"One sec, just changing," he called back from the bedroom.

He strolled out in a pair of jogger shorts, pulling a t-shirt down over his head. Damn, covering up the view.

"What's all this?" he chuckled as he sat down.

"Surprise!" I grinned. "I wanted to do something for you. I'm just so grateful you're in my life and well, I also wanted to say congrats on all your achievements."

"Aww thankyou, love." Carter pulled me into a hug, placing a kiss on top of my head.

"Don't thank me yet," I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear nervously. Ahh I hope he likes it.

He chuckled softly. "You know even if you did nothing for me, I'd still love you the same. So whatever it is, I'm going to love it."

I blushed at how damn sweet he was. His words were coated in mountains of sugar and I was on an indefinite high.

"Me too. I'd still love you too, no matter what." I replied honestly. He smiled, cupping my face as he stared deep into my soul like he always did.

Don't get me wrong, the gestures, the gifts, the trips, were all utterly amazing. But at the end of the day, it would mean nothing if we didn't simply just love each other for who we were at our core. That's what matters most.

"Ahhh please open it. I'm so nervous right now," I chuckled, shaking my hands free from the buzzing feeling.

"Okay," he laughed gently, picking up the first box. He flipped it open to reveal the first gift. "Oh this is cool!" his eyebrows shot up. I had gotten him a small cookie cake in the shape of a hoodie that had his merch design on top in icing, with the word Congrats! sprawled across it. "Thanks Val, that's so nice of you," he pecked me on the lips.

"Everything's going to be great tomorrow." I said with a big smile. "Okay, next!" I nudged him on eagerly.

He picked up the next one and shook the box jokingly next to his ear. Of course, you could hear nothing, since the fragile contents were nicely secured in a foam mold. He gave me a curious glance before peeling off the wrapping paper quickly and slipped out the box inside. His eyes scanned over the label printed outside the camera lens box before they quickly widened.

"Woah thankyou," he turned towards me with a surprised and impressed face. "How did you know I wanted this one?" he asked curiously as a grin spread across his features.

"I pay attention," I poked my tongue out at him. "Do you like it? I still have the receipt so we can-"

"No, gorgeous. I love it." Carter interrupted. "This is exactly what I was going to get!"

A sigh of relief escaped me. Okay, now it's on to the last one. It was the most intimate one too; a raw, emotional collection of all my feelings for him, I was giving him pieces of my heart.

He placed the lens down before picking up the last present. "And you tell me I get you too much," he chuckled. "I believe there are three here," he narrowed his eyes at my teasingly.

"Pftt," I rolled my eyes playfully in return.

He popped the lid off before picking up the stack of enveloped cards by the bow. He undid the tie and grabbed the one on top labelled "1". He bit his lip, as his eyebrows scrunched up in thought, flipping the envelope back to front a few times in order to get a gist of what it was. He looked back down towards the stack and flicked through the rest of them quickly, seeing that they were labelled from 2 to 50, on the very bottom.

"Valerie?" Carter looked up at me questioningly.

"Open it silly." I gestured to the first envelope. He obliged, slipping the card out. I watched as he scanned over the writing, reading it to himself.

#1- I love your eyes. They're like tiny golden suns. So blindingly beautiful, yet I can't help but look and be drawn into them, every time.

Below it, I had drawn my best interpretation of his stunning set of eyes and thick lashes.

"Valerie..." he breathed, as his gaze softened.

"They're 50 reasons why I love you," I murmured.

"Thankyou so much," he whispered. "You're such a fucking angel." He cupped my jaw before pulling me onto his lap, holding me tightly in his arms. "I can't believe you did all this for me."

"You're welcome, Carter. There's 49 more." I chuckled. "But, I kinda want you to read them one a day."

"What? I wanna read them all right now," he pouted adorably. "one more tonight? or maybe two?" he murmured in between kisses, attempting to persuade me.

"Okay, two more," I relented with a smile. He smirked successfully as he gave me another peck on the lips. Thinking this would be a good moment to duck away, I picked up the cookie cake. "I'm gonna put this away and go to the bathroom okay?"

"Yeah okay, thankyou," he nodded, picking up the second card.

#2- I love the way you make me laugh. It fills me with so much light.

Below it, I had drawn a picture of a person rolling down a hillside in a giggling ball.

I quickly tucked away the cake in the fridge, just in case the icing melted overnight in the summer weather, before heading to his bedroom. I whipped off my t-shirt and shorts and checked my appearance in the mirror. I had the red teddy on, ready to go. I quickly fluffed up my hair, smoothed over the sheets, before slipping on a pair of heels and planted myself on the bed. I leaned back on my arms, crossed my legs and rested there as seductively as I could. He would finish reading them quickly, before wondering why I hadn't come back in a while.

#3- I love how sharp your mind is. Your puns, your wit, your one-liners. You're so intelligent.

Below it, I drew a picture of a funny cartoon brain with a pair of sunglasses, and lightning shocks around it.

Just as I assumed, I heard his footsteps coming towards the bedroom in search of me.