The band took their positions and I settled back against the wooden planked wall of the room, propping my foot up behind me and crossing my arms at my chest. I closed my eyes because I heard the music differently when there weren't any distractions. Vision was a distraction, hell, Seth was the distraction.

"Alright, on 3...... 2...... 1...." Seth counted down the song and on one, Mosh lit into an opening beat.; pretty soon they all joined in. 

The song had an upbeat tempo, with a little bit of an old school Green Day feel to it, as in their pre-Dookie album days and it had a lot of power chords. Mickey started his fancy footwork of tapping his foot at the mic and waving his hair around, while his hands pushed the mic stand forward and back towards him. On cue, he fired into the lyrics.

"She stepped into my life over a hot slice, 

All fire and absolutely no ice.

Infiltrated my world which used to be so air tight

All fire, boy was she nice.

I drove her home one night and my lips found hers

Lean in  baby and give me some more.

She tasted like chocolate and it blew my mind,

All fire baby, damn I need more.

My jasmine and honey girl

So fire and oh so fine

My jasmine and honey girl

Just the girl to mend that heart of mine

Oh so fire, damnnnn she's fine.

Just the girl to kickstart that heart of mine

Sweet girl of almost eighteen, tamed the man in me

She's absolutely fire and I wish she'd agree to be mine

Head of fire and brown eyes oh so fine.

My jasmine and honey girl

So fire and so damn fine

My jasmine and honey girl

If she'd only take me from this world of mine

My jasmine and honey girl

So much desire and oh so so fine

My Jasmine and honey girl

She holds that heart of mine, please be kind"

I just stood there, in shock. It would have been the perfect moment for the janitor to swing by to sweep up the mess I had made on the floor when my jaw hit it and smashed into a million-minute pieces. The shock dripping off my lips was like a sudden oil leak seeping from a pipe. Seth had written a song, not about the standard things he wrote about, which included stupid reactions to pop culture around us, life in Northfield Minnesota, or his gut reaction to riot when the local grocery store ran out of Coke. He actually wrote about his serious feelings.

     He wrote about meeting me for the first time in Max's Pizza, when I had introduced myself to the band after one of their gigs. I remember walking up to the table where they sat, a bunch of desperate groupie looking girls from the high school surrounding them as they sipped on their sodas and discussed plans for making it big. They had ignored me at first, thinking I was just another young girl who wanted to drape over them like a cheap suit.

     So, in true Talia fashion, I walked over to the counter and ordered the biggest pizza that Max's had, lathered it with all my favorite extras; like jalapeños, Max's signature spice blend and crushed red peppers. I took the pizza which was slightly too big for my own arms, plopped it down in front of them on their table, sat down, and pulled myself a slice.

When they looked over at me, I smiled with a mouth full of extra cheesy goodness and simply asked them when I should show up for the next practice, because I was their new guitar player. Needless to say, after they picked their jaws up off the floor, they all burst into laughter, grabbing slices of pizza and treating me like I had been there all along; just one of the guys.

Seth wrote about the night he drove me back after the senior prom we performed at and how he fulfilled my wish to be kissed for the first time. I hadn't remembered that we had all stopped for milkshakes on the way home, but apparently Seth didn't forget that when he kissed me, my lips must have tasted like chocolate milkshake.

He wrote about the way my hair smelled from my favorite shampoo and conditioner. The smell that he would sneak whiffs of when we would hug or he would bend down to help me pick up something. He wrote about his desire, the desire he felt when he looked into my eyes.

I felt a few tears leave my closed eyes and stream down my cheeks as they sang. When the song ended, I couldn't open my eyes, I couldn't leave the moment. I heard his footsteps hurriedly approaching where I stood and I felt his hands wrap around me, his lips meeting mine.

The room was enveloped in two things: his love for me and the catcalls and whistles coming from the band. I wrapped my arms around his neck and allowed him to pull me in closer to him. He smiled against the kiss and I knew that whatever happened between us after I went back to school, that Seth would always be there for me.

..........................

We played our hearts out over the course of the week and a half that we were in the studio. Mark and his team were absolutely in love with the way the album was shaping up. There were no suggestions to improve our appearances or write new songs that were more mainstream. The album was shaping up to be a true reflection of young adult punk rock life, especially the essence of Minnesota punk.

On our last day in NYC, Mark had a private studio session with Seth, to wrap up the bonus track. I had bugged Seth for the last week to let me in on the secret and all I got was the standard Talia you will just have to wait and see, like everyone else on the planet apparently. 

I didn't like that all of a sudden, I had secrets with Seth.

I decided to head back to the hotel for the remaining part of the afternoon. Sitting on the bed with my earbuds in my ears, I listened to a particularly awesome Celtic punk playlist and texted Lizbeth. She informed me that Damian had been exceptionally cruel as of late, to the whole student population. She didn't realize that it may have had more to do with the fact that I had been gone, than his standard surly demeanor. Due to his behavior, even his friends were contemplating how to successfully dump his body in the woods.

I couldn't help but chuckle when I thought about Damian stalking down the halls with a permanent scowl placed on his face. I was lost in my thoughts when I heard Seth come back to the room. He just stood in the doorway, looking at me lying on the bed, on my stomach, with my feet up behind me swaying away to the music. I flashed him a smile, when he finally came over and pulled out my earbud and checked out what I was listening to.

He just bobbed his head slightly when he heard "I'm Shipping Up To Boston," by Dropkick Murphys. I looked up at him and just got lost in his green eyes that were currently filled with so much love that they were brighter than the greenest shamrock in a field of emerald.

"Go on a date with me, Talia. For our last night here." He ran his hand over the side of my face as I nodded and he smiled. 

When I finally emerged from the en suite, I had opted for a pair of black skinny jeans and a halter top my mom had made out of a Black Flag t-shirt. I paired it with a pair of stiletto black ankle boots which had three black spiked buckles across the top. I grabbed my black leather biker jacket which had white splatters all over it, mimicking stars in the sky; it also had a custom painted boney ribcage across the front of it, which made it look even more edgy. 

I looked over to Seth who was dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans and black combat boots, with a black studded belt. He had on a tight black V-neck t-shirt, with a Sex Pistols logo on it, under a jean jacket that had leather sleeves. His outfit showed off his beautiful neck tattoo, while his wavy Mohawk fell slightly in his face.

"So where are we going Seth?" I looked at him, my eyes scanning him in all his sexiness; my subconscious screaming at me to stop thinking all the dirty thoughts that I was currently thinking. I had to restrain myself till February.

"Actually, it's a bit of a surprise. If that's ok?" Seth had a devious smirk on his face and all I could do was chuckle and grab my bag as he took my hand and we walked out into the hall.

When the cold NYC air hit us, he wrapped his strong arm around my shoulder and we began to walk down the street. Just the feel of Seth's arms around me made me feel complete. I didn't think of anyone else when I was with Seth, he was all I needed to be happy. He knew all my secrets, all my fears, and he knew how to help me fulfill my dreams.

We stopped outside a small convince shop and Seth told me to wait out front while he ran inside and grabbed some stuff. After several minutes, he came running out with a white paper bag and a big smile on his face. We caught a cab which took us to Central Park, a place that had always been somewhere I wanted to visit at night and Seth knew that.

He took my hand with his free hand and we walked until we stopped at a bench near the water. The view looked out over the city and the illuminated buildings flashed their own special brand of sunshine in an otherwise dark night. Each tiny light darted over the calm dark water like small stars streaking across the sky. It was like each individual light was reaching out across the water, in order to slither towards us and run its fingers across our skin.

Even though the night air was chilly, the feel of Seth sitting next to me, warmed my core. He placed the white paper bag to his side and dug into it, revealing two cans of Coke. He handed me one and placed his on the bench. He dug into the bag again and pulled out two plastic spoons. I gave him a confused look as he just smiled and went back to the bag, whipping out a small container of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream, which was my absolute favorite ice cream in the world.

"Seth!" I squealed in excitement as he leaned in and planted a soft kiss on my lips.

"Just like our first sort of date." He smiled his giant bright white smile and my heart melted. 

Our first ever date had been a disaster and that was stating it lightly. We were supposed to go to an open-air movie at the local park. They were playing Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and I had been looking forward to going for weeks. However, sometimes life doesn't work out the way we want and I came down with the worst case of tonsillitis that I had ever had and five days before our sort of date, I had surgery. Post-op, I was miserable and at day four, I still wasn't eating many solid foods.

I had told Seth to go to the movie without me, because he had been looking forward to it and he had reluctantly agreed to go with some of the guys. I sat on my bed crying that I was missing my first real date night with Seth. I was also worried that he would meet someone else at the movie and realize that us casually hanging out wasn't his style. I heard a knock at the front door and made my way down the stairs in my worst pair of black sweatpants with giant knee holes and a fitted The Clash t-shirt. 

When I opened the door, Seth was standing there with a paper bag in one hand and a smile on his face. He walked past me and pulled out of his bag a small tub of my favorite flavor of Ben & Jerry's and took my hand leading me to the couch, where he slapped on a B-level horror movie and we ate that ice cream while enjoying our own version of date night.

I looked over at Seth while he smiled at me, putting his chocolate covered spoon into his mouth before he looked over across the NYC water and all I could do was remember all the times we sat outside in the cold, eating ice cream. I remembered all the times that Seth and I shared.

I reached over and ran my hand over his face as he looked back at me, before wrapping his arm around me, pulling me close. He took another scoop of ice cream and placed his chocolatey spoon to my nose, leaving behind a dot of rich goodness. He just smiled, before he leaned in and licked it off; making me laugh with all the happiness I had inside.

"Seth, this is perfect."

"You're perfect, Talia." He leaned in and kissed me softly. Instantly, I was engulfed by the smell of oranges; the familiar scent that always accompanied Seth. It was intoxicating and I craved it when he was around. I set down the ice cream pint and cupped his chiseled face with my hands, deepening the kiss. 

When he broke the kiss, he just looked into my eyes for a minute before speaking, "Talia, I love you more than you could imagine and I know that you have a lot on your plate, but I brought you here for a reason."

"I love you too, Seth."

He shifted on the bench and dug into the front pocket of his jean jacket, pulling something out of it. He cupped it in the palm of his hand before he finished speaking, "Please promise me you won't freak out, but after what happened between us, I felt I needed to say a few things."

I just looked at him, with a look of confusion on my face. Was Seth ending things with me because we had a minor slip up and I told him I had feelings for two people? My heart began to race as he positioned himself to look at me, yet his face was soft and there wasn't a hint of hurt or frustration in his beautiful green eyes.

He took my hand in his and positioned it where the palm was facing upright. He placed his cupped hand over mine and I felt something come to settle against my skin. It was smooth and cold and my heart beat even faster as I looked down at my open hand. It was a small silver ring, that had an etched band which said Always and Forever and a square onyx stone in the middle. Along both sides, it had a triangular onyx stone and a smaller circular amethyst stone; my birthstone.

I just sat there perfectly still and stared at the beautiful ring in the palm of my hand, unable to speak. What did this gesture mean?  Seth just sat there quiet and didn't push for me to say anything, he was just patient. 

I looked up into his eyes and found myself asking, "What does this mean, Seth?"

"It can mean whatever you'd like it to, Talia. It's not a proposal per say, but more of a promise."

"A promise of what?" My eyes kept moving from his gorgeous face to the ring in the palm of my hand.

"It's my promise to be yours for as long as you'll have me." His voice cracked in his throat and I could sense the nervousness in it when he spoke.

"I don't understand, Seth. Please make me understand." 

He took my hands in his and looked me straight in the eyes when he spoke, his confidence back and in full swing. "It's my promise that after what happened between us, I'm done. I'm done with the hookups, I'm done with anyone else that isn't you. It's always been you and this is my promise to wait for you until you are ready for me. I'm not asking for commitment, because we both know that would doom us right now, but I am asking for you to save yourself for me and only me."

I just stared at him, not sure what to say, but before I could open my mouth he had one last thing to say, "Talia Grey, I've completely fallen for you. I've fallen for everything that you've ever said and everything that you've ever done. I have fallen completely in love with every single piece of you. You're always the first thing I think about in the morning, the last thought on my brain before I fall asleep and most days, you're every single moment in between. Being your best friend has been the most amazing blessing that someone could have given me, but I want more. I need more. So, what do you say Picks? Will you be my promise of more?"

His eyes searched my face for answers as his hand came up to run along my cheek, his thumb creating circles on my skin. In that moment, I saw every piece of love that Seth had for me in every speck of dark green within his eyes. When Seth spoke about his feelings for me, any thought I had about falling for Damian was quickly erased and my heart punched the one-way ticket to Seth Town.

"I promise, Seth."

I clenched the ring to my chest as he leaned in and pressed his strong lips to mine. The electricity from his kiss ignited the fire within my heart and in the pitch blackness that was illuminated by the distant lights of the city, it was only us.

Only us and a single promise... and a melting jug of ice cream...

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A/N: Hey Guys!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please don't forget to vote and leave your comments.

So... Seth wrote a song about his feelings and then he gave her a promise ring!!! MY HEART!!!!!  

Thoughts on the budding relationship of Team Salia? Do you think they have a future?

So what do you think is going to happen when she gets back to school? *cue dramatic music*

<3 Until next time :)