You should go for it

"Happy birthday Lane!" We all call out as he walks into the common room.

Pretty much the whole year is here; he really is popular in this school.

His eyebrows raise and he smiles as he looks at us all.

Lane's eyes land on mine and i smile widely at him, a one and an eight balloon in my hand.

He looks down and chuckles to himself. I look up realising i'm holding them as 81 rather than 18. Oops.

"Thanks guys." He rubs the back of his neck as he walks towards us.

We set up a little party for him with vending machine cuisine and board games. It's not much but our request to go off campus got denied. What's wrong with fifty teenagers making a trip to asda?

Lane walks over and pulls me into a hug.

"I told you not to do this Carter." he whispers down into my ear.

"Since when do i listen to what you say?" I raise a brow and he laughs into the crook of my neck, giving me a quick kiss on the shoulder.

I close my eyes at the feel of his lips on my skin. I'm pretty much only torturing myself at this point.

Lane pulls away from me as Ozzy and a couple of his other friends walk over, patting him on the back aggressively and shaking his hand.

"So when are you gonna stop pretending you're not in love with that man?" Emmy says as she walks up from behind me.

"I'm not pretending anything." I cross my arms.

"And i'm a flower." Emmy rolls her eyes at me. She's pretty close to it if i'm honest.

"Why don't you two just date?" She whines.

"It's not that easy Em."

"Of course it is! Two people in love equals relationship." She holds up two fingers on one hand and one on the other as a demo.

"I just can't... not yet." I sigh.

Emmy groan, but stops pestering me about it.

It really isn't that easy. There's so much to take into account, like the fact that i live literally four hours away and we're rarely gonna get to see eachother when we leave sixth form.

What if he can't handle a long distance relationship and ends up hating me?

Ugh, why is this so difficult?

♡♡♡

Lane and i are in some fancy italian restaurant in the north of London.

Turns out Sanders was fine with us leaving campus since it's a saturday, which is very fortunate.

We took Lane's car to get here, his parents should be arriving any minute.

I'm wearing an emerald green satin dress that he picked out for me, paired with some af1s and nike sock. I know, i know, i could've been classier but there's no way i could wear heels without breaking my ankle.

Lane' wearing a black dress shirt with black trousers and black dr martens. He looks hot as fuck.

He places a hand on my thigh beneath the table and only then do i realise i was subconsciously tapping my foot on the ground.

"Nervous?" he smiles at me.

"No, not at all." I say sarcastically.

"It's just my parents. I promise you they aren't scary." he strokes my leg slightly and my skin tingles.

Just as i'm about to say something, a couple walks through the doors, scanning the room as if they're looking for someone.

The woman has short dark brown hair, parted in a middle part with a singular grey streak at the front. It suits her so much, i can't tell if she did it on purpose or not. She's wearing a long black dress that flows just below her knees and hugs her figure perfectly. She looks not a day over thirty, but if my calculations add up she should be in her fifties. I hope i age like her.

Her eyes are big and brown, so pure, there's no denying i've looked into those eyes many times before. Those are Lane's eyes.

There's a man stood beside her. His hair is completely grey, but thick and very much present. He's wearing a full black suit, dressed as if he's attending a wedding. He has an arm around his wife's waist, his other hand holding something.

Someone.

A girl steps out from behind him, clinging on to his arm.

Her hair is deep brown like her mothers, but much longer, almost around waist length. She has the same eyes that her mother and Lane share, only less bright. Sad. She's wearing a black long-sleeved flowy dress similar to her mothers, but it stops just above her knees. Her skin is pale, yet her cheeks rosy. She's beautiful.

Lane stands up and i follow, smoothing down my skirt and tucking my hair behind my ears.

"Breathe." Lane laughs and i shove him gently.

His mother spots us and her eyes sparkle and she waves excitedly, walking over and pulling her husband along with her.

As soon as she's near she wraps her arms around her son.

"Happy birthday baby!" she says, rocking side to side as Lane laughs, being chucked about.

His father pats him on the back and grins. His smile looks exactly like Lane's. "Happy birthday son."

His mum turns to me and puts her arms out, pulling me into a warm embrace. She squeezes me tightly.

"It's so nice to meet you Jules, i've heard so much about you!" she says as she repeats the rocking motion with me too. I giggle hugging her back.

"It's amazing to meet you too Mrs Evans." I grin.

"Please dear, call me Angie." she lets go of me, leaning back and taking me in.

"My god, she's beautiful!" she looks at Lane and he nods, smirking at me.

"Okay hun, let the girl breathe." Mr Evans laughs at his wife.

He strecthes a hand out and i take it. He shakes my hand firmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Jules." he says.

"The pleasure is all mine." I smile at him.

Lastly, Mina appears from behind her dad, looking up at me starry eyed.

"You're so pretty." she says quietly, looking up at me.

"Thank you Mina, that means a lot coming from the prettiest girl in here." I smile at her as her eyes widen, sparkling.

Her lips curl into a little smile and she wraps her arms around my waist, hugging me tightly. I hug her back and look up at Lane, who is practically grinning from ear to ear.

Mina lets me go and moves on to her brother, who pulls her into a tight hug. He leans down and whispers something in her ear and she smiles, nodding.

We all sit at the table and begin to talk.

♡♡♡

"And then he ran out into the front garden before i got to finish dressing him, his little bum on show to the whole neighbourhood." Mrs Evans says and i throw my head back, laughing.

"Okay mum, i think we've heard enough stories about my antics as a child." Lane gives us a tight lipped smile.

"But i want to hear about the time you covered yourself in baby oil and pretended to be a slug." I pout at him and he glares at me.

"Oh my god, are you looking for a mother-in-law Jules?" Mrs Evans laughs and i join in with her.

"I'd be honoured." I put my hand to my heart.

It's only when Lane raises an eyebrow at me that i realise what that means.

The restaurant door opens and in walks Connie, looking dazzling in a cobalt blue dress.

"Sorry i'm so late." she smiles, hugging Mina first, then her parents and finally ruffles Lane's hair, giving him a quick peck on the cheek and saying happy birthday.

When her eyes finally come to me she raises her brows slightly, but shakes it offering me a smile.

I've never really spoken to Connie in school before, i barely even see her around to be honest and her and Lane pretty much avoid eachother. Much like the rest of her family, she's gorgeous.

She takes a seat between her dad and Mina.

As i continue my conversation with Mr and Mrs Evans, i spot Connie making some sort of communication with Lane from across the table.

She briefly nods her head in my direction with a questioning look. It's so small you'd almost miss it if you weren't watching.

I glance over at Lane as he simply grins in return. He places his hand on my knee under the table, stroking it gently.

I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling, placing my hand on top of his.

♡♡♡

"So, how did you manage to get my brother so whipped?" Connie asks.

We're sat outside on a brick wall, taking a breather before dessert. Lane said he'd stay inside with Mina and his parents so we could have 'girl talk' or something.

"Uh. I don't know." I laugh nervously. Connie is nice don't get me wrong, but her powerful aura is intimidating.

"You're the first girlfriend he's ever brought to meet our parents." she explains and i can't help but smile.

"Oh, i'm not his girlfriend yet." I confirm and she looks at me.

"You should go for it."

"You think?" I sigh.

"Definitely. I've never seen him as tame when it comes to girls until you. And plus, you said yet which means you intend on it at some point." Connie points out and i slap my hand over my mouth, making her giggle.

"He started messing around when it came to girls after his first girlfriend repeatedly cheated on him. But you're so much different to her. In the best way." she smiles at me reassuringly and my eyes brim with tears a little.

It means a lot coming from her. If anyone knows him, it's his twin sister.

The restaurant door pushes open and Mina pokes her head out.

"Come on guys, it's time for the cake!" she whisper shouts.

She looks so much more relaxed around all of her family. It's really heartwarming.

I just down off the wall, Connie after me, before we share a quick hug and shuffle run back up to the restaurant.

♡♡♡

this chapter was kinda wholesome if i do say so myself.

stan the evans family too.

anyway, hope you enjoyed.

bye!