The Story of Us

by Rebecca Harner

  My mind traveled all the way back to memories I had from a year ago. About this time I was packing up my house in Pennsylvania and dreading the fact that I would have to move here. I met Nash and created such an amazing relationship with him and his family. I joined 26 MGMT and traveled the country with my best friends. Nash lost his memory and that almost killed me. He found me later on and our bond was closer than ever. Long-distance was a struggle for us but we made it through. Went on another tour and here we were now. Kicked out of my own house. Pregnant with two children while I’m still only a kid.

  It’s crazy how much your life can change in one year. If only I could’ve seen what was ahead of me in the future.

  Violet

  It had been five months since our families found out about the pregnancy. I hadn’t spoken to my father since then and frankly I didn’t want to see him at all anymore. I told my mom, but she had been on an overseas business trip for the past month, so I’d only been able to see her twice. I was living in the Griers’ house and they all were so sweet, kind, and caring to me. Hayden visited me all the time and made sure I was being well taken care of.

  Nash and Hayes stopped doing the meet-and-greets along with Carter and Cam, because of some personal problems, so I quit as well. Nash and I had both been doing online school, which made it easier to keep everything a secret. His fans still knew nothing because all hell would break loose if they did. I would probably be murdered.

  I’d been babysitting a bunch of kids to get some experience with handling them. Nash and I thought it was best that I didn’t go out in public that much. Staying in the neighborhood all the time was taking a toll on me, though.

  The only people who knew about the situation were our families, Cam, and Sierra. They visited us a lot during the summer and I enjoyed their company. The atmosphere changed when they were all around. It was happy and I could act like a teenager again, not a soon-to-be mom.

  Skylynn helped me think of names, but everything she came up with was related to horses. Horsey, Secretariat, and Seabiscuit were the names she liked the most.

  Hayes and Will came up with funny ones like Weave, Bae, and, my personal favorite, Puma.

  The only person who was actually serious about the names was Nash. A few suggestions were still in the backs of our minds, but we just hadn’t found the perfect ones yet.

  “Whatcha doing?” Speaking of Nash, he jumped on the couch next to me and rested his head on my shoulders.

  “Just thinking,” I replied.

  “About?” He didn’t take short answers.

  “Everything. Us, Vine, this.” I pointed at my stomach and sighed. Since there were two little humans inside of me, I was bigger than a normal pregnant woman would be.

  “You know, we are going to have to announce this eventually. Everyone’s been asking about you.” He grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers.

  “I’m going to be murdered by millions of your crazy fan girls.” I laughed and hid my face in his shoulder.

  He chuckled and ran his fingers through my hair. “I’ll protect you. Nothing will get past me.”

  I closed my eyes and smiled. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world—well, one who hit a few bumps in the road of life. I was still going strong, though.

  “Hey! Hey! Hey!” Hayes said, half singing.

  “Yes, Haass?” I asked him.

  He let out a weird one-second laugh, more like a croak. He was so awkward sometimes. Gotta love them Grier boys’ insanity. “Wanna watch a movie?”

  Nash and I both agreed and he walked over to look at the selection. “The Conjuring?”

  “Seen it,” Nash and I both said at the same time. Aww . . . I loved our couple moments like these.

  “Titanic?”

  “Not unless you bring me five boxes of tissues,” I joked.

  “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire?”

  “Too long,” Nash stated.

  Hayes pulled out another movie. He showed us the cover and fell back in laughter. “How about What to Expect When You’re Expecting?”

  “Not funny!” I half yelled at him, but I was trying to hold back laughter along with Nash.

  “Fine, fine.” He rummaged in the cabinet that was stocked full of movies. There had to be something. “Bad Grandpa?”

  “Yes! I haven’t seen that and it looks so funny!” I squealed. Nash pecked my lips to quiet me down.

  Five minutes into the movie, I was cuddled up in Nash’s arms and Hayes was sitting in the recliner next to us. “Haass,” I said sweetly.

  “What?” he said blankly without even turning his head.

  “Can you get me some popcorn?” I begged him.

  He sighed and paused the movie. “Only because I love you.” He winked at me and Nash glared at him.

  “Oh, calm down, Nash. You don’t have to worry about him stealing me away from you.” I kissed his cheek, which instantly started to warm up.

  His arms, which were around me, held me tighter. My now huge body was pressed up against his and it felt perfect. A perfect match made in heaven.

  Hayes came back a couple of minutes later and handed me the large bowl. I saw his hand sneak a few kernels out and into his mouth, but I didn’t care. When Nash tried to take some, though, I swatted him away like he was an annoying fly.

  Halfway through the movie, I felt my phone start buzzing like a thousand times from my back pocket. “You’re vibrating,” Nash joked.

  “Ewww! Violet, you farted?!” Hayes yelled really loud.

  “Shut up, it was my phone,” I snapped back at him, but let out a few laughs. My jaw fell to the floor as I finished reading all my messages. If Carter already told Tess and Lacey about the situation, what if he exposed it to the entire public? There would be millions of girls on their way to murder me in a second.

  “Violet? What’s wrong?” Hayes paused the movie and had a concerned look on his face.

  I knew I couldn’t keep this a secret forever, but this wasn’t how I wanted everyone to find out! I’d kill Carter if he said anything on . . . Uh-oh.

  Pushing myself out of Nash’s grip and off the couch, I held my hand over my mouth while my other was holding my stomach. I ran into the nearest bathroom and allowed myself to let out the popcorn I had ingested.

  A perfect way to top off a perfect evening.

  Hayes

  Nash and I were utterly confused when Violet bolted out of the room. Once we heard that familiar sound, though, we both jumped up out of our seats as well.

  “I got her,” Nash assured me right when I started over to the bathroom. “This isn’t something you need to deal with right now.”

  Once he got up and left, I noticed a bright light peering out from under the blanket where Violet was just sitting. My curiosity overcame me once again and I allowed myself to pick up her phone to see what had happened.

  “Uhh . . . Nash!” I called out to him after I read all of the Twitter notifications.

  “Little busy right now,” he yelled back at me.

  “There’s something you might want to see,” I responded. I heard him groan and his loud footsteps made their way back into the living room.

  “What?!” he snapped at me. I tossed him the phone and watched his expression change after he read all of the notifications. “Damn it! Carter just ruined everything! How did he even find out?” he yelled as he slammed her phone on the table. “He didn’t even give us time to explain.”

  Violet appeared in the doorway looking like a lost child. Her face was completely pale and almost lifeless. “Did you see the messages?” her quiet voice croaked out.

  A few tears were falling down her face, so I ran over to her side and wrapped my arms around her. Nash was too busy having a tantrum with Carter to know that she was crying.

  “It’s okay, Violet. It was going to come out sooner
or later,” I told her while rubbing her back. I ignored her awful breath because she really needed some comfort right now. It wasn’t her fault that this happened.

  “What are you doing?” she said, more clearly this time, as she pulled away from me and walked over to Nash.

  “Deleting your social media accounts,” he responded without looking up from her phone.

  “Did he announce it??” Her voice dropped again. “Nash, did he?” I heard a high crack in her voice, which always broke my heart.

  Nash looked up with sad eyes and nodded. Violet’s shoulders started shrugging up and down, which meant she was full-on sobbing right now. He ran over to her and picked her up in his arms before carrying her upstairs to her room.

  They were just teenagers. How could something like this happen? And to them of all people?

  Violet

  Nash rocked me back and forth on the floor of his bedroom. His T-shirt was soaked with my tears from when I was crying.

  His calming voice made my body relax and I knew I was safe in his arms.

  “Thank you.” I had a small smile on my face as I lifted one of my hands to his cheek.

  “For what?”

  I rolled my eyes at his pathetic response. “Being there for me. Most guys run off when something like this happens to their girlfriends, but you . . . you stayed. You’ve always been there for me. You’ll never leave, right?” My eyelids were starting to become heavier and heavier and I felt my body start to fall asleep.

  “Like I said to your family, I’ll always be there for you. You are the one, Violet, and nothing is ever going to change that.” His soft lips met the middle of my forehead. The sign he always showed me when he wanted to let me know that he was there for me.

  I let myself close my eyes and fell asleep in his arms. Knowing that he would protect me from everything and everyone who would try to hurt me.

  September 2023

  Nash

  I sat at our kitchen table, watching Violet make dinner. I couldn’t believe how far our lives had come since I first met her. Tomorrow would be our ten-year anniversary. Ten years ago I gained the courage to ask her to be my girlfriend, and I’m so happy I did.

  A lot had happened between us, but the bad only made us stronger and the good only made us happier. We had one of the best relationships of anyone I knew. Our lives couldn’t have been any more perfect.

  “Daddy, Cash won’t clean up his toys.” Skylar’s little face snapped me out of my thoughts.

  Her bright blue eyes stared back into mine as she tucked back a strand of long brunette hair behind her ear. One thing was for sure, Violet and I had made the most beautiful children. I mean they had my eyes, how much cuter could they get? “Tell him then that he won’t have any dinner.” Her soft giggle broke out of her picture-perfect smile before she ran into the living room.

  Violet chuckled and sat on my lap. “Do you have to lie, Nashty?”

  “After this many years, you still call me that?” I asked her.

  “That’ll be your nickname to infinity and beyond, babe.” She kissed my cheek and went back to preparing dinner. “Have you heard from your sister? I wanted to know how her freshman year is going.”

  “Yeah, Skylynn called me yesterday. Has some of the same teachers we had when we went to Davidson Day.” We both laughed while she set the table.

  “Skylar! Cash! Dinner is ready!” she called out to them. Immediately I could hear them running down the hallway as they raced each other into the kitchen, nearly knocking Violet over.

  “Calm down now. It’s time for dinner.” I set a hand on each of their shoulders and they relaxed—then each started arguing that the other one influenced them to misbehave. Typical Griers right there.

  Violet smirked and took the seat at the head of the table across from me. Cash and Skylar sat down and stuck their tongues out at each other. Oh, the joy of eight-year-olds.

  “So what did you learn in class today?” I asked them. Violet and I always asked this question because we wanted to make sure our kids were getting the best education possible.

  “Mrs. Reynolds is teaching us times tables,” Skylar announced. We were lucky enough to have Carter’s wife as our kids’ teacher. She really knew how to teach kids that education is important and that it can be fun at the same time.

  Violet and I eventually forgave Carter for announcing Violet’s pregnancy. He admitted he wasn’t thinking clearly about the situation and it caught him off guard. Everyone deserves a second chance, and I wasn’t ready to lose one of my best friends at the time.

  “We played basketball in PE, too!” Cash joined in. He always loved running around in the gym, another typical trait for a Grier.

  “We have homework, though,” Skylar said, annoyed. She hated homework—got that from me as well.

  “We need to know why you named us with the names we have,” Cash added.

  Violet and I laughed briefly while catching each other’s stares. “Well, we named you Cash, because you know Uncle Cameron?” Violet started explaining to Cash. “He and your father were best friends. So close that people joked around that they should date. So they gave them the nickname of ‘Cash.’ Cameron and Nash. It’s quite funny actually. When you came, we thought it was necessary to give you that name.” She laughed and smiled at me.

  “And we named you Skylar because of your aunt. We have a really tight sibling bond, better than your uncles. I love her so much and will do anything for her. We didn’t want to repeat the name Skylynn, so Skylar was our next choice. You remind me so much of her when she was your age.” All my memories of us creating Vines and YouTube videos flooded back into my mind. That was so long ago, so much has changed.

  “Wait, so if Cash was from Uncle Cam and you, then what is Mom’s and your nickname?” Skylar asked me.

  “We were called Nashlet.” Violet started laughing at our ship names. Twitter had changed a lot, but I still had some of my original fans.

  The rest of the conversation was funny and enjoyable, like it always was. There was never a dull moment in our family. Violet took the kids upstairs to get ready for bed, while I started the dishes. Soon enough I felt small arms wrap around my waist and her head rested in the crook of my neck.

  “At dinner, it brought back so many memories,” she said. I turned around and wrapped her arms around me again, embracing her.

  “And I don’t regret anything.” She pulled her head up slightly and stared into my eyes.

  “Every time I look in your eyes, it feels like the first time we met. The first time I stared into them.” She didn’t break her gaze and smiled.

  “Every time I kiss you, it feels like the first time. When I saved you from Ryder, when you found out about my fame,” I said quietly to her.

  “Oh, please don’t even bring him up,” she said softly, and shut her eyes.

  My hand moved away from her waist and lifted her chin up higher. I slowly started to lean in and she did the same. When our lips touched, I still felt a surge of electricity rush through my body. I still had those feelings even though it’s been this long. This was true love.

  Violet

  It’s crazy how out of the seven billion people in this world, there is only one person for you. The one who loves every bit and piece of you. They love your flaws and everything that makes you so unique. Seven billion people, and only one to create your perfect love story.

  Nash was the piece of me that I was missing for so long. Never in my life had I felt so complete and alive, except when I was with him. Our bond would be forever unbreakable and our love would overcome any struggle that came before us.

  Our lives were not perfect—no one’s is. The one thing perfect about us, though, was our love. Who knew love could be the answer to all.

  This was not the end, this was only the beginning of our story. The story that continues being written as
our kids grow up, when our hair turns gray, and when one of us sits at the other’s grave.

  This is the story of us.

  If you loved this Nash Grier fanfic, you'll love this story about his brother, Hayes Grier!

  Hayes Grier finds his one-and-only in this charming fanfiction story!

  Love Heals All

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  About the Author

  Rebecca Harner is an emerging and engaged young author with a passion for writing stories that are both entertaining and relevant to young adults. The Story of Us reflects her enthusiasm for writing and integrates her interests with the social media personalities of 26 MGMT. As a devoted follower of Nash Grier’s videos, she appreciates his talented ability to bring humor and happiness into the lives of others. This motivates Rebecca to do the same through writing. She hopes that her readers will enjoy this story as much as she loved writing it. Nothing makes her happier than communicating with young people who share her interests and passions. Rebecca can be found on Twitter @RebeccaHarner.

  FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR: Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Rebecca-Harner

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