Annabel's face still had a puzzled expression plastered over it. "Okay?"
I picked up her hand, lacing our fingers together once again. "So, I was thinking a lot last night after midnight about how I wanted to spend my new year. I want to be with the band and work on our career, yes, but it doesn't feel right to get to have all of these experiences without you by my side. I mean, we almost were going to be parents together. Obviously our relationship is serious and being with you makes me the happiest I have ever been. I just can't be without my favorite person for months again. That was torture before. I think I mainly don't want to repeat any of my mistakes this year."
Annabel's lips curved upwards into a smile as her green eyes locked onto my own. She bounced on her feet with anticipation. "So what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anything. It's terrifying how much I love you, Ann," I stated, shaking my head at the thought. "But what's even more terrifying is not having you in my life. Or not having the chance to see you everyday. You told me you wanted a plan for our relationship, right? Well here's my plan. There's an empty bunk on this tour bus that's ready for you to sleep in every night. We can be roommates again. All you have to do is say yes."
Her jaw dropped, her mouth lingering open. "You want me to come on tour with you?" Annabel squealed as her face conveyed she was ultimately shocked.
I shrugged. "Well, yeah. I called Lucy and she said you could take a little break and start auditioning for new roles after the tour is over, and if you have any events you can just fly out and then come back to the tour. I made sure that it wouldn't affect your career. I don't want you to put your dreams on hold, but for me, personally, I wouldn't be able to fully live out my dream without having you right there next to me."
"Stuart," She cried out, jumping into my arms and squeezing my body tightly. I hugged her back, lifting her up and spinning her around in circles. "Oh my God. Are the guys okay with this? I don't want them to be mad that I'm ruining your bromance."
"I talked to them about it already. They all said it was okay. They love you, Ann," I promised her, hoping to ease some of her worries.
"Well I love you," Annabel confessed, colliding our lips together. "Seriously, I love you. You are the sweetest boy I've ever met. I would be honored to get to come along with you and get to see you perform on stage every night and explore the world together and get to call you my roommate again. Actually, I couldn't think of anything I'd rather do than that."
I grinned, placing my hands on her waist before kissing her again, this time with every ounce of passion that was stored inside me. "This is going to be so cool," I mocked, but she shut me up by kissing me once more.
People make mistakes in life. Sometimes they make many. And it may be a challenge to overcome those mistakes, but once you push through the guilt and the consequences, you might be able to endure some of the most amazing moments of complete bliss. If there is one thing I've learned for certain, it's that mistakes do not define who you are, but it's your ability to make those mistakes into lessons or into something great that are a true reflection of your character.
I shouldn't be this lucky. I do not deserve to have a girl as wonderful as Annabel in my life. Four years ago should have been the last time we ever spoke. Yet here we are, drunk on our love for each other.
Life has a silly way of working things out. It may take a bit of patience (maybe four years; or more recently, maybe just a few months) but somehow greatness will be restored. You just need to be willing to let fate or freewill run its course.
Sometimes even the most awful situations at one time may end up being the most amazing experiences in the end. I thought being roommates with Annabel McKenzie was practically a death sentence at first. But after those first few months of hell, it ended up being the best thing to ever happen to me. Every person has the ability to leave an impact on someone. I just never expected, after everything that has occurred between the two of us throughout the years, that Annabel has made such a positive impact on my own. I couldn't be more grateful to have a roommate, because being roommates has taught me so much more about life than I am even able to sum up in a few words. And best of all, being roommates has led me to my soul-mate.
Epilogue
Five Years Later
I stood off to the side of the stage, observing my husband who was currently belting out against the microphone. Sweat was pouring down his face as his fingers rapidly strummed away at the strings. I danced along to the beat of the blaring music, hiding slightly behind the curtain and tucked away from the view of the crowd that was loudly singing the lyrics back to the band.
5 Seconds of Summer were still together, as I imagine they probably always will be, and they were still making music, just at a much slower pace now. They weren't on a tour at the moment, mainly because everyone was too busy to hit the road right now, but they still did random shows every so often like the one they are performing right now.
I still miss what it was like touring the country. Going on tour with the boys was probably the most fun I've ever had. Nights like tonight bring me back to how crazy of an experience it was and how much pride I got to feel from seeing them all achieve their dreams every night. I wasn't even supposed to be attending tonight- I had prior commitments- but I'm glad I am able to soak up the atmosphere again.
"We're 5 Seconds of Summer, thank you so much!" Clayton yelled out to the crowd over the roar of their screams, as he took his final beats against the drums.
Benjamin was the first one to run off stage, and he immediately gasped at the sight of me. "Ann! I thought you weren't going to make it," He yelled, sprinting towards me and colliding our bodies together into a tight hug.
"Surprise!" I said after the fact, taking those weird side steps as we hugged for a long time. His t-shirt was completely stuck onto his back due to the outrageous amount of sweat that lingered on his pale skin and he reeked of body odor, but that didn't stop me from letting go of the embrace.
"Come on, let's get out of here before anyone else sees," Benjamin suggested, gripping onto my arm and tugging me into the dressing room before the other boys could catch even a glimpse of us.
I entered into the dressing room, viewing the familiar black leather couches that seemed to be inside every single one. It hit me with a tremendous sense of nostalgia to that tour I was able to be a part of and all of the memories from the shenanigans that took place on the road came flooding back into my brain.
"Okay, maybe I'm going crazy. But I distinctly remember you saying there was no way you'd be able to come to the show tonight because you were doing promo in New York for your new movie," Benjamin stated, lifting his eyebrows up at me at a questioning manner.
"Maybe I just missed you too much, Benjamin," I teased, giggling to myself. Benjamin rolled his eyes at me as he lifted his sweaty shirt over his head and began to get changed. "I finished up interviews a lot quicker than I thought so I got on an earlier flight. I couldn't miss the show."
Benjamin opened his mouth to say something else, but instead was interrupted by the chatter coming from outside the dressing room and the footsteps that were loudly approaching us. The three of them always took forever to get back to the dressing room because they would stop and talk for so long, meanwhile, Benjamin always was in a rush to relax afterward.
"Go hide!" Benjamin yelled frantically, pushing my body in the direction of one of the closets. I tried my best to scurry inside of it, ignoring my apprehensive feeling towards being tucked in a cramped space.
The voices grew louder and I heard someone flop down onto the couch. I desired to be in that same place. Being crouched down in an average sized closet with a large belly wasn't the most comfortable situation.
"Why do they not have any beer in this fridge?" I faintly heard Bradley complain. "They've got to have some beer in here somewhere. What's this door lead to?"
I felt my heart begin to thump against my chest. He had to be s
tanding right in front of the door to the closet I was hiding in. The handle began to turn, and a streak of light slowly poured inside the closet. Bradley's gaze shifted downwards and he leaped back at the sight of me.
"Surprise!" I cheered loudly, bouncing up to my feet.
"What the hell, Annabel? You just scared the living shit out of me!" Bradley whined, his chest moving up and down as he panted. "You know what? No. I'm not even going to hug you because of that. Get out of here."
"Ann?" A soft voice called, over the roar of my own laughter from Bradley's reaction. I peeked behind Bradley's tall frame, spotting Stuart's adorable face trying to decipher whether or not I was actually here.
"Hi Stu," I greeted, watching his lips curl into a humongous smile as he rapidly traveled towards me.
He wrapped his arms around me tightly, picking me up and spinning me around as I buried my face into his shoulder. "What are you doing here, baby? You're supposed to be in New York."
"I didn't want to miss the show!" I exclaimed, standing up on my tippy-toes to press a very quick kiss onto his lips. "You guys did great."
"Shit, you're the best. You flew all the way back here just to see the band play some crappy gig again? Guys, do I have the best wife in the world or what?" Stuart asked the other boys, slinging his arm around my shoulder.
"Your honeymoon phase was supposed to end years ago. Stop being disgusting," Clayton muttered, not even bothering to glance up from his phone, since this was pretty common for Stuart to be very lovey-dovey when it came to me. "I hope you had a safe flight though, Ann."
I opened my mouth to reply, but Bradley beat me to it. "Actually, Stuart, when Grace and I get married next month I'm going to have the best wife in the world."
"Lies," Stuart whispered into my ear, making a grin appear on my face.
"Speaking of Grace, we really need to get home and relieve her of her babysitter duty," I told Stuart, reminding him of our two-year-old daughter that was probably anxious for us to come home. She loved when her "aunt" Grace got to stay with her, but I'm sure Grace was eager to see her fiancé after his gig.
"Ann if that is some code for post-show sex you should at least wait until after I shower," Stuart joked, winking at me. My face altered to a shade of bright red. I always grew embarrassed whenever he spoke about our sex-life in front of our friends, despite the fact that I lived with all of them on a bus for a year and despite the fact that they had walked in on us several times.
"Ann is already pregnant again, Stuart. Can you two like relax? The rest of us don't even have one kid yet," Benjamin whined, his lips folding over into a pout.
I knew Benjamin and Sarah have been trying to have a baby for awhile now, and I think Stuart and I having children has had a weird impact on the rest of the band. They all love our daughter and obsess over her, but I think it's making each of them suddenly want kids even more now and the band is slowly getting ready to settle down. It's really weird considering they are still extremely immature.
"Well we better get going since, you know, parent's duty to clean up some duty," I said softly, sliding my hand down Stuart's toned bicep until it reached his own hand, and I intertwined our fingers together.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Caitlin cheered as soon as we stepped foot into the beach house, and she excitedly sprinted towards us even though it was way past her bedtime.
Stuart kneeled down, spreading his arms out wide for our two-year-old to happily jump into. "Caitlin! How's my baby girl?" He asked in a happy tone, peppering kisses over her entire face and making her giggle uncontrollably. "You should be sleeping, silly goose!"
"I wanted to see you before I went to bed, Daddy," She spoke in her adorable high-pitched tone, smiling from ear to ear as Stuart lifted her up so she was sitting on his hip, and our daughter started to play with Stuart's chubby cheeks as he led her to her bedroom that we had built.
"How did she do?" I asked Grace, tearing my eyes away from the painfully cute scene.
Grace smiled. "She was so great. We watched the live-stream of the concert and she tried to sing along. I made her some peanut butter and jelly for dinner. And we played with her doll house for awhile. It was fun. She didn't cry at all."
I grinned, thinking how lucky I am to have such a good daughter who is just showered by love from all of my friends. "Well thank you so much for babysitting. Are you going to come to the premiere on Saturday?"
"Ann, I wouldn't miss it for the world," Grace told me, pulling me in for a hug. "I probably should get home, though. So I'll call you tomorrow?"
"Okay," I agreed, then leaned closer to her so I could whisper in her ear. "Your fiancé looks really good tonight, so you better get home quick."
Grace chuckled, pushing me away from her as she headed towards the front door. "Bye Stu! Bye Caitlin!" She yelled over her shoulder, even though I'm sure neither of them would yell back.
I strolled into Caitlin's bedroom, spotting the bright yellow colored walls immediately. It was the cutest bedroom I've ever seen and I swear Stuart had more fun decorating it than I did.
I often get waves of sadness remembering that we're going to be moving into a different house soon, but it was necessary to get a house with more than two bedrooms for when the second baby comes. Maybe there will even be more babies than that in the future. I'm not sure, but I do know that living inside this beach house has filled me with so many incredible memories, ones that I will never be able to forget.
I leaned against the frame in the doorway, watching Stuart interact with our daughter. He was telling her some story about the show tonight, talking in an expressive tone and making many animated movements. Caitlin, who was sitting on her tiny little bed was watching him in awe, a smile never disappearing off of her face.
She was so pretty. She had my green eyes, with Stuart's tan skin, and her hair was a medium shade of brown, naturally curled into ringlets. Caitlin, or Caity, the name that Stuart immediately dubbed her, was the second best thing to ever happen to me. The first was Stuart.
"Mommy," Caitlin blurted out, interrupting Stuart's singing as he reenacted parts of his show tonight. "Mommy did you have fun in the big fruit?"
Stuart giggled to himself. "The big apple, Cait."
"The big wapple," Caitlin repeated, glimpsing up at me through her long eyelashes that often tickled my cheeks when she gave me butterfly kisses.
I walked inside her room, kneeling at her bed/crib/thingy next to Stuart. "Yes I did. But I missed you very much. Did you and Daddy have fun together?"
Caitlin squealed. "Yes we did! We played games and had chicken nuggets for breakfast and went to the park and Daddy even let me sleep in the big bed with him!"
"That sounds like fun!" I responded, keeping up the same level of enthusiasm that she had. I glanced over at Stuart, who had this goofy grin covering his face as he was reminded of their few days together. "Do you think we should have chicken nuggets for breakfast again tomorrow?"
Caitlin nodded her little head rapidly. "We should have nuggets all the time!" She screamed loudly, in a sing-song voice.
Stuart and I both cracked up. "Okay, Mommy will go buy us all some chicken nuggets tomorrow morning," I declared, running my hand through her hair. I lowered my voice to a playful whisper. "But it's late, Caity. You need to be like Sleeping Beauty and take a little snooze, okay princess?"
Caitlin folded her lip over in a pout, as she crossed her arms across her chest. "Nuh-uh. I want to stay up with Mommy and Daddy."
"We're going to go to bed too!" Stuart promised her, but Caitlin didn't even budge. He placed his hand on her arm, lowering his voice. "Caity, the sooner we go to sleep, the sooner we will get chicken nuggets in the morning."
Caitlin instantly jumped on her back, tugging her sole blanket over her body. "Okay! Night-night, Mommy! Night-night, Daddy!"
I laughed at how silly she was, much like her father, and how stubborn she usually was, just like me. "Night, Cait. I love you."
"I love you too, Mommy," Caitlin
replied, smiling up at me.
Stuart leaned over the railing that was there to make sure she didn't fall off her bed, to press a kiss onto her forehead. "Sleep tight, baby girl."
Caitlin simply closed her eyes, a smile still present on her adorable two-year old face. Stuart and I slowly tip-toed out of bedroom and shut off her bedroom light, closing the door behind us.
"You used to call me baby girl," I whined, pretending to pout as we headed to our own room, the one we originally hated when we first were forced to live together.
Stuart chuckled, bumping me with his hip. "Yeah, and you used to call me daddy."
I rolled my eyes at him, perching onto the mattress of our queen sized bed. He instantly leaped onto me carefully, squeezing my upper body tight to his chest in a happy manner. "I'm so happy you're home, Anna," He cheered, practically singing his words as he rolled the two of us backwards onto the mattress.
I giggled like a little girl that was overwhelmed with happiness. I lifted my head up so I could get a good look at him. "I missed you so much. Like, I missed Caitlin too, obviously. But God, I missed you."
Stuart pecked my lips. "Don't even get me started on how much I missed you, babe," Stuart stated, then moved his hand down to my belly that now had a very noticeable bump. He rubbed it softly. "And I missed this little guy too."
I smiled, placing my hand over his on my stomach, feeling the coldness of his wedding band tickle my palm. "Do you really think it's going to be a boy?" I asked, moving my head so it rested on his shoulder.
He pressed a kiss onto the side of my head. "Yeah, it's going to be the best son ever to go along with his amazing sister and we're going to be the cutest family ever and go from c-tripled to c-cubed."
"What if we have another girl? Will you be sad?" I asked out of sheer curiosity, as his hand never stopped rubbing my belly, just like how he used to rub my belly when I had cramps.
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