"Are you alright?"

"Is this a mistake?" I ask weakly into the phone.

"Is what a mistake?" Derek asks lowly, confusion laced in his words. After being unable to get a hold of Hannah or Ali, he was my next resort. The first to answer, which I get. It is New Year's Eve.

"Leaving," I choke out, my insides hollowed out. He sighs heavily into the phone, and some shuffling is heard.

"Megs, it's up to you. I can't tell you what to do," he tries to avoid answering. My gaze is on the tile floor as I lean against the sink.

"I know, it's New Year's Eve. I just... I'm overwhelmed right now. I don't know if it's a mistake or not."

"I'm a bit too biased, aren't I?" he chuckles. I stay silent, my stomach in knots. Finally, he lets out a long sigh, and my heel clicks anxiously against the floor. "None of us want you to go. It's our last semester, we graduate in May, and we want to all be together for the end. But this is something you have wanted to do since the second year. You would have already done this if it weren't for Josh. It'd be a great experience, and you'd get to travel. It sounds like the perfect opportunity, and I don't want to get in the way of that. I really can't decide for you."

I realise I've been biting on my nail, and I remove my hand to make sure I didn't chip the red polish. I blow out a raspberry, and my hand flattens over my dress. "Louis' best friend admitted that he loves me."

"Jace is in love with you?" his tone sounds off. My eyes roll, and I let out a hint of a laugh.

"No, Shane," I mock him for making a remark that Shane would intentionally make. "He said Louis told him that. He probably believes Louis wouldn't be able to admit it to me, ever."

"That's pretty intense after everything he's been through," he acknowledges quietly. I fall silent, a lump forming in my throat. "You really want to leave after finding something like that out?"

"I mean," I pause. At this point, I'm stuck.

I did want to make this trip really bad at one point. It was something I had wanted for the last few years.

But leaving them all behind is making it a thousand times harder. Leaving him behind after Jace told me that feels nearly impossible.

The air feels thin here, and my fingertips play with the fabric of my dress. "Do you love him?" he asks. A coy smile traces over my lips, and I let out a tiny laugh.

"I told Hannah that I was falling hard for him over our holiday, and it just happened over time. Kind of really attached to him after all this time spent with him, sneaking around behind Josh's back and all. Even if that makes me sound pretty bad."

"Doesn't count after what Josh put you through. He was the only one there when you needed someone the most. I'd have done the same if I were you," he acknowledges. "It's up to you. Go for this thing you wanted to do years ago that could advance your dream career, or stay with all of us and find another way into that career. You know you could always find work here, doing the same exact thing without the luxury of travelling. We'd all still be together, and hell, if you don't find somewhere to stay, you could stay in mine and Shane's flat."

"I love our little chats. You just get right to it without making jokes like Shane or digging for the tiniest things like the other two," I stray from the topic. He chuckles, and the bathroom door opens. I straighten up, and an older woman gives me an absent-minded smile in passing. She heads into a stall, and I turn away. "Alright, I've got to get back. Jace probably thinks I ran away from this wedding and disappeared, which won't be too thrilling for Louis."

"Have fun and let me know what you think. Oh, and Happy New Years."

"I will. Happy New Years."

"Love you, Megs," his words tug at my heartstrings.

"Love you too."

I end the call and hold my phone by my lips. As I stare at the wall ahead, my heart falls ill with all these thoughts. All the what-ifs are stuck in my head.

I finally found it in me to make my way out of the bathroom. A more upbeat song is playing on the speakers, and even more people are on the dance floor. I make my way back to the table, which is now empty. I set my phone down and grab my glass of wine. I gulp it down, finishing off every last bit of it.

A hand touches the small of my back, and I lower my glass. I turn to find Louis, my shoulder brushing against his chest. "Want to head to the hotel room?" he whispers lowly into my ear.

"Now? But we'll miss the fireworks that are about to start," I mock a little after his sisters and I poked fun at the outrageous amount of money spent on them.

"You can see them on the way to the room." He grabs his suit jacket and takes the empty glass from my hand. He sets it on the table and grabs my clutch for me before ushering me away. He nearly rushes us out, and I glance back, unsure of this suddenness.

"Everything okay?" I ask softly, confused as to what's going on. We end up outside, and the cold air hits me hard.

"I did the photos, and I stood at the altar. I really don't want to be here any longer celebrating him," he puts it bluntly. I let out a snort of a laugh and instantly cover my mouth. He chuckles at the embarrassing sound, and my cheeks heat up. "My sisters already made a run for it too. Jace and Mia know we are leaving as well."

"Such bums," I poke fun. I hug my arms tightly over my chest, shivering. The hotel is a block from the building. We decided to walk when the weather felt fifty degrees warmer. Now I'm frozen. He notices and instantly puts his suit jacket over my shoulders. It's always the small things that Josh would have never done. The tiniest of things that drive me wild. "Thank you."

"Mia wants to have breakfast at ten in the hotel. If that's alright with you," he changes the topic. My eyes focus on the sidewalk lit by the dull street lamps.

"I could do breakfast," I nod with a cheerful smile.

The first crack of a firework is heard behind, and I carefully spin around—a flare of red and white pop up in the sky above the party. Everyone outside crowded together. The crowd shouts out a Happy New Year and cheers. He turns with me, his hand falling onto my back. Another crack and an explosion of blue appear up above.

"And then I'll take you home so you can finish packing," he notes, his voice now lower and filled with disappointment. My heart sinks a little, and I nibble on my bottom lip. Shimmery gold fireworks appear in the sky. I turn to face him, his face lighting up from another bright flash. He stares down, and I can feel that tension returning. "I, uh," he starts and then laughs nervously. What Jace had told me makes my pulse quicken, and I gaze up with the hope that he'll say it. He blinks hard and then carefully tucks some of my hair behind my ear, his fingertips gently brushing over my cheek. His smile diminishes, and he looks down. "I'll miss you."

Not the three words I was hoping for. It crushes me a little, and I try to smile. I want so badly to tell him I love him. I wish it could just slip off my tongue with ease. Little does he know how much he means to me. I don't think I'd be around much longer if I had never met him and had been stuck with Josh.

He means the world to me. He is my world.

I love him, and it'll be hard to feel this way about anyone else. It would be hard as is to trust anyone else.

A heaviness lays deep in my chest, and I swallow. This tension is overwhelming. I don't know if he feels it, but at this point, I just need to say it. I can't leave without saying it.

"Please don't run," I whisper. He hums, thrown off. His arms loosen up, and my heart races in my chest. He pulls back so that our eyes meet, and I swallow. The slightest bit of fear and worry courses through me. I gulp and smile weakly. "You don't have to say it back if it's too much, but I love you. I didn't know if I could," I pause and look down. "I didn't know if I'd want to fall for someone again out of fear that it'd turn out like my last relationship again, but it just happened after everything we've been through together. I just had to say it, and I don't mean to freak you out or make you want to run, but-"

He silences me with a sudden kiss. A wave of energy courses through my veins, giving off a new high. I told him, and him kissing me, instead of dropping his hold around me, felt heavenly. I just got out of the darkest time of my life because of him. How could I not fall for him? Maybe it started as lust and a little bit of payback towards Josh, but it had turned into so much more.

His forehead rests on mine, and his eyes remain shut. He takes a deep breath in before finally whispering the three words that I've been dying to hear. Something I worried he would never say at all.

"I love you too." My breath is hitched in my throat. "I don't know what you did to me or how you broke down my damn walls, but you got me. I'm all yours."