Emilia's POV

As our feet trudge through the snow, Ashton and I head down the white sidewalk. The street lamps above us are the only source of lighting in the darkened streets however, I give silent thanks to the few homeowners that decided to put up Christmas lights outside their house to help illuminate the area surrounding us.

Light snow continues to fall gracefully and cover our steps behind us. We haven't been walking long, but my inhibitions are low and I can't comprehend distance accurately and it feels like we've walked six miles. My legs are starting to wobble, partially from the alcohol, the other part because I keep lengthening my strides to match Ashton's and then laughing uncontrollably when I almost fall because I can't keep up and his legs are so damn long.

"Ash, where are we going?" I ask for the umpteenth time. Every time I ask he doesn't give me a straight answer and beats around the bush.

"I told you, it's a surprise," he says.

"You know my attitude towards surprises."

"Yes, but I also know your attitude after finding out what the surprise is."

He's not wrong. I was completely elated when I found out what our first date was and I was even content with my birthday surprise. However, when I'm in between the states of buzzed and tipsy, I would like to know where I'm going just so that I know I'm not being kidnapped by some weirdo, even if that weirdo is my boyfriend.

"Can you at least give me a hint?" I stop in my tracks until I get an answer from him.

"Let's just say I need it to stop snowing or else my plan is not going to work."

I look up to the sky and the white flakes are starting cease their descent and the clouds are slowly breaking apart. "So you basically need Mother Nature to be on your side?" He nods. "What if it's not?"

"Then I just may be screwed and my plan will be ruined." He holds out his hand and catches a couple snowflakes in his hand, glancing at them shortly and then over to me.

He really wants this plan to work. Whatever it is, it's important that everything goes right not only for me, but for him as well. "It'll work out," I assure. "It always does."

The light from the street lamp reflects off of his eyes and make them more vibrant even in the night light. I love how his mood lifts up when I give him encouragement and assurance. It's like he's hearing the words that he needs most at that moment. His lips curve up, revealing a small portion of his teeth. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me to his side, giving me a quick hug and kiss and then guiding us back onto the white trail with his arm still around me and his thumb rubbing my arm slowly.

We keep down the path for a good ten minutes until we reach a playground outside of an elementary school. Mentally agreeing with one another, Ashton and I head over to the snow clad area and wipe off the seats to the swing before taking a seat. I push my feel off the ground, giving me enough force to swing back and forth while Ashton just sits there with a smile across his face.

"Ashton? What do you want for Christmas?" I turn my head to look at him while swinging, but I get dizzy and move my gaze ahead of me.

"You're getting me something?" he asks. 

"Well, yeah. I'm getting everyone something. So what do you want?"

He hums lowly. "I don't know."

I chuckle. "Luke's right. You are going to be difficult to shop for." I stop swinging my legs and slow down until I've stopped moving altogether. "There has to be something that you want."

"Socks," he replies.

"Socks?" I ask incredulously.

"Black socks specifically."

"I can't tell if you're being serious or not."

"I'm dead serious," he says, looking me straight in the eyes. "I keep losing them."

"Then look for them."

"I never find them."

"Look harder because I'm not getting you socks."

"But I need them," he whines.

I shake my head and contemplate actually getting him socks. They're useful and he'll use them, but my conscious is telling me that it's a shit gift. "I'll get you socks but I'm also getting you something else."

"Geez, you're not supposed to tell me what you're getting me," he teases.

I cross my arms over my chest and huff. "Do you want socks or not?"

He grins cheesily. "Yes, please."

"Idiot," I mumble under my breath.

Maybe Luke will be of more help with coming up with a gift idea for Ash since he isn't helping at all. I still need to figure out what everyone else wants. I could just give them gift cards and say "Have at it," but I'd rather give them something that's more personal.

Ashton stands up and looks to the dark sky, observing how the snowfall has finally come to a stop. He checks the watch on his wrist before grabbing my hand and pulling me down the sidewalk again.

"What's going on?" I struggle to keep my speed up with his and trip over my feet.

"We need to hurry or we'll miss the bus," he says, running even faster.

"Why do we need to take the bus?"

"Because the place where I'm taking you isn't in walking distance."

We keep running until we reach a bus stop along the road and wait a few minutes for the bus to arrive. Just in time, the headlights to the bus shine down the road and it comes to a stop in front of us—the doors opening and waiting for us to get on. It's a good thing that it got here so fast because I'm actually starting to get cold. I guess I'm finally starting to sober up. We pay the fee and find an empty seat which isn't too hard seeing that all the seats are available except for one in the front occupied by an elderly man humming to Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing' that's playing on the radio.

We take the bus route that trails around the DU campus and get off at the stop that is across from the observatory. The light shining out the single window on the side of the cylinder building lets us know that it is still open.

"I thought that I was supposed to be the one taking you here for a date," I say, smirking at Ashton who guides me to the front door.

"I beat you to it," he brags, holding the door open for me.

When I walk inside, first in view in the center of the room is an enormous telescope elevated on a round pedestal and it points diagonally out the dome-shaped ceiling. Posters of constellations and facts about astronomy line the walls and there is even a separate room with a projector in it.

"I was starting to worry that you weren't going to show up," a tall middle-aged man says. His graying hair sticks out of a maroon beanie that matches the stripes on his hideous sweater. "Ashton, right? And this is Emilia?"

"That's right," Ashton answers and shakes the man's hand while I give him a nod and smile.

"My name's Ted; former NASA meteorologist and current tour guide which basically consists of me telling you what not to touch." Ashton and I chuckle lightly but Ted keeps his serious demeanor. "The rules are simple: Don't touch the telescope. It's old and I don't need it to break. You can look through the lens but don't move anything. The only other rule is that you don't have sex in the projector room. I've already caught two couples in the act this season and I'd rather not add a third to that. I hope you enjoy your reservation and if you need anything, knock on my office door." Ted leaves the room and shuts his office door, leaving us alone.

"He seemed nice for a minute and then he started talking more," I say, grinning up at Ashton who giggles. "When did you make the reservations anyway?"

"When you were out with Julia," he replies. "Ted seemed nice on the phone when I called, but I guess seeing a couple walk in brought up bad memories."

We mock Ted for a little bit longer, keeping our voices low so that Ted doesn't hear us and   making fun of his god awful sweater. Then we head around to the other side of the gigantic instrument and climb up the steps to reach the eye piece.

"Do you think we'll be able to see anything?" I ask, unsure if the clouds are still visible or not.

"We should. The clouds started clearing up when we left the playground."

I lean down, close one eye, and glace through the lens. Positioned with precision, the telescope points directly at the moon. With no clouds obstructing the view, I am able to see each and every crater on the surface. "I can see the moon!" I exclaim, keeping my eyes locked on the silver sphere. "It's beautiful."

"You know if you didn't set me up for such easy statements to make a cheesy comment to, maybe you would actually like my jokes," he says and I pull away from the lens and give him a quizzical look.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know in those chick flicks when a girl looks at something pretty and they always say, 'It's beautiful'?" I nod. "And then the guy always says, 'You are'?" I nod again. "You literally just gave me the opportunity to say that."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because you don't like my cheesy jokes."

I shrug. "I may not like them but that doesn't mean I don't find humor in them." It's actually kind of cute and sometimes I think that I secretly love it but I don't dare admit it to Ashton because that would take the fun away from me teasing him about it.

"Then let's try this again," he says with his signature smirk that always makes the zoo in my stomach run amuck.

I lean down again and gaze into the lens. "It's beautiful," I say in the worst acting voice ever which sounds more like sarcasm.

Ashton breaks out into laughter. "You ruined it!"

"Sorry." I move away from the telescope and let him have his turn.

"It's fine." He leans down to the eye piece. "There are always other opportunities with you."

With his back facing me, I can't help but notice how broad Ashton's shoulders are. Granted, they're not as broad as Luke's or Calum's, but they're still pretty wide. My eyes trail down his back and land on his ass. It's so small it's cute. When did I become such a girl and actually have an interest in what his butt looks like?

"So how does it look?" I ask, removing my stare from his cute little butt.

"Well, there's a huge ass cloud covering half of it so from what I can see, the bottom half of the moon looks great." He stands straight and flips his hair out of his face.

"That's lame. It looked really cool too."

"Maybe it will clear up again later. In the meantime, let's go check out the projector room. At least there I can see the moon."

We make our way down the pedestal and over to the separate room where inside it is almost like a mini movie theatre. About twenty red reclining chairs are lined in front of a large screen. A slideshow of different galaxies and moons play on the screen and I have a hunch that we're going to have to watch some movie before we can see the projection of all the constellations and planets.

As much as I would like to sit in the back row like I do in every social setting, (even though there is no one here except for us) I allow for Ash to lead us to the middle row and we sit centered in front of the large screen.

"If this film isn't Bill Nye the Science Guy I'm going to be severely disappointed," I mutter just as the lights dim and the movie plays.

When I don't hear the desired theme song of a certain scientist, I groan and recline back in my chair, ignoring the old man talking on the screen.

"I didn't know that Uranus' moons were named after characters written by Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. Did you?" Ashton asks with his eyes glued to the screen that is currently showing off the size difference between the different moons in the solar system. "Emmie, are you even watching?"

"Watching, yes. Listening, no," I admit. "It's not Bill Nye so now I'm just playing his theme song in my head until Mr. Toupée-" I point to the man talking whose blonde hair is slowly sliding off his head. "-stops talking and brings the real scientist out."

He chuckles. "I'm more than certain that Bill Nye the Science Guy isn't going to make an appearance."

"But he makes science interesting."

"You don't think it's interesting otherwise?" he asks.

"I didn't say that. I just have the heart of a child and find all the experiments that he does fascinating."

"Can't argue with you there. I enjoy learning about this kind of stuff though," he reveals and turns his gaze back to Mr. Toupée. "I actually did a chalk drawing of Jupiter a couple of years ago. It turned out pretty well if I do say so myself," he boasts. "I wish I could show it to you."

"Why can't you?"

"It's in one of my other sketchbooks back in Australia."

"You have more than one?"

"Of course! I have about five or six. I only brought one from home when I moved over here though and sadly the one with that drawing is back home." He goes on to talk about how Jupiter has sixty-seven moons, one of which is called Europa, which is one of the four Galilean moons.

Just when I think I know everything that I can about Ashton, he always seems to surprise me with new information. The way he talks about his interest in space is almost that of a child talking about their favorite toy. He's excited and eager to tell me more even though I'm not that into science-y stuff, but he makes it worth listening to because seeing him excited to talk about what he likes always makes me smile. It just goes to show that I'll never know everything about him—there will always be something new for me to learn.

The movie cuts off after the short credits and the lights turn off, leaving us in complete darkness. I reach my hand out for Ashton's and grasp it firmly, not enjoying the time we have to spend without the ability to see what's in front of me.

"You don't like the dark?" Ashton asks, rubbing his thumb over my hand.  

"Only when it's pitch black," I say, shifting uncomfortably in my seat.

"Huh. Didn't know that."

I guess we're both still learning about each other.

Breaking me out of my fear, a small rounded projector shoots up an array of lights onto the small domed ceiling, displaying a starry sky above us. Constellations, planets, and even the bright sun illuminate the room. Even though it's just a projection, it's absolutely breathtaking to see everything like this. It doesn't compare to sitting outside in the middle of nowhere, but with my hatred of the outdoors, it is sufficient enough to be deemed satisfactory.

I can finally see Ashton's face and his skin looks so much paler in the dim light, but he still looks amazing. We recline back as far as we can in our chairs and trace every glowing dot, trying to create images out of them. I'm only able to pick out the Big and Little Dipper, but Ashton goes off naming them like it's nothing.

"That one right there is Orion," he says, pointing up to a cluster of stars. "There's Gemini and over there is Virgo."

"Ash, I know you're trying to point these out to me, but all I see are a bunch of dots." With the way that I'm connecting the dots, I've managed to make a turtle, an elephant, and a raccoon—all of which I know aren't constellations but should be.

"Come here." He lifts up the arm rest and pulls me over onto his lap. With his hand around my wrist, he begins tracing lines in the air with my hand, showing me more groups of stars which this time I can actually see. "You see that one that kind of looks like an upside-down house? That's Cepheus. And this over here is Tatooine. And that one is Naboo. Over here is-"

My brows furrow together and I give Ashton a second quizzical look for the day. "Those last two—did you just name off planets from Star Wars?"

His eyes go wide and he's at a loss for words for a few seconds. "I didn't think you would know the names of them," he says and I laugh loudly.

"You thought wrong," I tease. "My dad and I used to watch the Star Wars movies all the time when I was a kid." There was even a day when my dad kept me home from school so that we could finish Star Wars: Episode V.

"Would you be willing to watch them with me?" he asks.

"One date at a time, Ash."

"I was just going to call it Saturday evening, not a date."

"Oh." My cheeks heat up and I bite my lip in embarrassment. "That works too."

His forehead presses against my shoulder and his laugh echoes across the room. It's so nice to see him in such a great mood. Well he's always in a good mood, but I never get tired of it. He was so excited to come here and part of me thinks that he wanted to come here for himself because of his fascination with space and whatnot, but that's fine with me. When we went rock climbing, it was more enjoyable for me than him and honestly, all that matters is that we're both enjoying our time together. I can say that I am and from the way Ashton is smiling up at me with his hand at the back of my neck and his lips ghosting over mine, he is too.

"I'd love to kiss you right now, but I hear footsteps coming over here and I'm pretty sure Ted is going to barge in any second-" Ashton is cut off by the door swinging open and he swiftly pushes my off of his lap and wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"Good, you guys aren't having sex," Ted says with a sigh of relief and I'm beginning to wonder if everyone asking if we've had sex is a sign or something. "Now I know you guys are having fun under the stars and experiencing a romantic evening and whatnot, but I need to close this place soon. I kept it open for a little longer than usual for you two and I'm pushing my hours and my wife is getting pissy because I'm not home yet."

Alright Ted, we don't really need to know your personal problems. You could just tell us to leave like a normal person.

Ashton shushes me and I don't realize until he gives me a look that says "you're-going-to-get-us-kicked-out-before-we-have-the-chance-to-leave-on-our-own" that I spoke aloud.

"We'll leave and sorry about your wife," Ashton says and helps me up off the comfy recliner and to my feet. "Do you mind if we take a look at the telescope one more time before we go?"

Ted moves his head from side-to-side contemplating Ashton's request until settling on approval. "Go ahead. I need to turn everything off in here anyway."

Ashton takes my hand and leads me back over to the telescope and takes position in front of the lens. With one eye squinted and the other focusing through the thin glass, a smile slowly form across his face. "You were right. It is beautiful, but I know something even more stunning...you."

I roll my eyes and let out a small laugh as he gives me a wink. "Here we go again."

"I had to do it."

"Of course you did you idiot. Did you even see the moon?"

"Nope, clouds are blocking it," he answers and I mentally facepalm. Any chance this boy gets to make a cheesy comment he rises to the occasion without fail. "You ready to go?"

I nod and we head out of the planetarium without saying goodbye to Ted. I instantly shiver when I get outside and I wish that I dressed more appropriately for this weather. Leggings just aren't doing the job in this winter air. It's a good thing that my apartment is only two blocks away from here so we don't have to stay out here for long.

"Did your plan consist of a source of transportation to get us out the Hell that has finally frozen over?" I joke with a hint of seriousness.

"Uh..." he stammers and I reach for his wrist and drag him behind me along the sidewalk.

"It looks like we're walking again."

Ashton apologizes and swears to make it up by making hot chocolate when we get to my place. How can I not forgive him after promising such a thing?

It takes about twenty minutes to reach my apartment and we wouldn't have made it here so soon if we didn't jog halfway over here. The other half of our journey consisted of Ashton giving me a piggyback ride and then having me try to give him one which failed miserably. When we make it inside, the apartment is cold and I hurry to switch the heat on the thermostat which hasn't been touched after not being here for a couple of days. My fingers and toes are numb and I just want to stick my hands in fire just to know what warmth feels like again.

After taking a nice hot shower while Ashton makes my hot chocolate, we sit in the living room with my blanket that I dragged over from my room wrapped around us as we watch cartoons on TV because we are children at heart and don't feel like watching the news. I take a sip of the deathly hot liquid and burn my tongue in the process, but continue to drink it anyway because I'm a glutton.

As I sit here with him, laughing at the animated characters and reminiscing back to when we watched these shows as kids, it dawns on me that I never told him how much I loved the painting that he did of me for Communications. I finally told him that I love him, but never did I compliment the piece of work.

"Ash, I'm a little late at saying this but I really love the painting that you did of me," I say and he sets his mug on the coffee table and continues to listen. "It was so realistic and all the details were absolutely stunning. I almost didn't believe it was me to be honest."

He chuckles lightly and cradles me in his arms. "It was you alright," he assures with a smile. "I'm glad you love it. It took me so long to get everything perfect but I still don't think that it reached the standard that I wanted it to."

"What do you mean?"

"It wasn't you. I mean it was you, but nothing close to the real thing. Nothing can compare to you, not even the most perfect drawing that I can muster up. You're impossible to draw to perfection. That painting is the best that I can do, but I will always be more satisfied when I look at you—the real you."

Sometimes I think that when Ash and I are alone together, we're in our own little world. We aren't being disturbed by anyone, we don't have to filter ourselves when we talk to each other, and we both wear our hearts on our sleeves. Sometimes I wish we could stay in this little world of ours.

"I love you, Ashton" I say and bite my lip as I impatiently await his response.

His face is practically glowing with delight. "I love hearing you say that. It makes everything feel so surreal and I'm glad I don't have to keep pinching myself because I know this is reality. I love you too, Emilia." Everything about the way he says 'I love you' is amazing. Sincerity is filled in each word and he looks at me with such loving eyes. "You know there used to be a part of me that actually believed that you would never say that to me," he reveals.

"Why would you believe that?" I knew that I would fall in love with him eventually. I was confused, but at the same time I knew.

"You know," he says, his voice soft and his eyes divert away from mine. Of course it would be her. I wish I could help him rid himself of Natalie like he did with me and Jared. "But the other part of me told the other side to fuck off because I truly believed that in the end you would love me like I do you."

"That part of you was right because I undeniably do."

Ashton nuzzles his head into my neck and exhales slowly, whispering that he loves me again before dozing off. I don't move myself away from him because instead of him being my pillow, I get to be his and I like this switch in roles. Plus I'm really comfortable where I'm at and I'd rather not ruin that.

Still wide awake, I lay here with him and listen to his soft breathing and fast-paced heartbeat as I think back to our most recent events. I find it funny how Ted isn't the first person who has brought up the topic of sex between me and Ashton. Julia asked me is Ash and I had sex and of course there was nothing to tell. Calum poked fun at the fact that Ash and I don't really do much when we're alone and made a comment that he knew what we were doing in his bedroom. I may have added to that by telling him that we would be loud, but it was all out of fun. Then there's Ash's mom. She practically encouraged it by telling us to be safe and use protection.  

I don't even know what my standpoint on sex with Ashton is. I can only imagine how he's struggling with sexual frustration because we're waiting so long. We don't even bring it up. We just avoid the topic all together. I can actually see myself devoted to Ashton even though I've known him for a short amount of time and even if we aren't, I would always be grateful that he would be my first. However, I'm still iffy about the entire thing. I love Ashton and showing him that would make both of us even happier than we already are. I just don't know how to tell him that.

____________

A/N:

My updates are so slow. I used to write so much faster but now it takes me a week with PYW because I want it to be enjoyable for you guys. I don't think I will be finishing this book by the end of the year like I had wanted based off of the length of time between updates. Oh well. It'll just go into 2015 and time will be on point.

Thank you guys for reading! I appreciate all your comments and your support. You are all amazing and I love each and every one of you. Please keep on voting, commenting, and sharing!

Also, if you haven't seen it yet, I have posted a new fanfic called Foster Home!! It's a Michael Clifford AU and I only have the prologue up right now, but I'm really excited to start it! So please check it out! And if you haven't already, please vote for PYW in the 5SOS Watty Awards: Fame Edition in the Best Ashton Irwin category hosted by @The5SOSWattyAwards. It would mean so much to me if you would.

P.S. Who saw the twitcam that 5sos did? I swear those boys are idiots.

Thank you guys so much! –Rebecca xoxoxoxoxoxo