❝ L E T  M E  P A Y ❞

"Good morning, Mrs. Marais," Addilyn greets cheerily as she and Corbyn enter the kitchen.

"Good morning, dear," the woman greets as she adds another pancake to the towering stack next to her. "But, please, call me Carrie."

Addilyn nods, despite knowing she'd still refer to Jonah's mother as Mrs. Marais. Corbyn slides into a seat at the island next to Zebulon, who is glaring at a bowl of oatmeal.

"Can I help you with anything?" She asks, not wanting to seem like a rude houseguest.

It's only been a couple weeks since she met Corbyn and she was already staying at his friend's family's house, leaving the girl to feel as though she were over stepping some boundary or being intrusive.

"You can fix yourself a plate of pancakes," Carrie states, pointing a spatula in the breakfast's direction. "That'd be very helpful."

Jonah wanders in sleepily, heading immediately for the coffee pot as Addilyn grabs a plate.

"Corbs, do you want some pan-" Addilyn cuts herself off with a laugh as she turns to the blond, watching amusedly as Zebulon spoon-feeds him the bowl of oatmeal. "Never mind."

"So, Jonah," Carrie begins, fixing the boy with a pointed look as he drinks his coffee. "When are you going to pop the question?"

Coffee spews everywhere as Jonah instantly becomes more alert, his eyes widening in surprise as he looks at his mother.

"I - I was planning on telling you and Dad about this later today," he stammers out, regaining his bearings and glancing at the doorway warily. "How did you already-"

"Know?" Carrie raises an eyebrow, patting his cheek. "I'm your mother, I know everything. And, besides, anyone that sees the two of you can tell you're head over heels for her. There's something seriously wrong with you if you don't marry that girl."

Catching Corbyn's eye, Addilyn mouths 'Christmas' just as he mouths 'Halloween party'.

"I'm planning on," Jonah casts another look at the door before continuing, "keeping the exact date a secret so everyone's surprised."

"HA, I KNEW-" Corbyn stops himself, slowly lowering the accusatory finger he had pointing at Addilyn. "Wait, what did you say?"

****

"Jonah, you're home!" A rather large man, who looks eerily similar to Uncle Vernon from Harry Potter, greets as the group of four enters the frozen yogurt shop. Leaving his spot behind the cash register, he comes closer, ignoring the customer in line as his gaze lands on the others. "And you brought new people with you!"

"Yeah," Jonah chuckles, wrapping an arm around Aurora's waist. "This is my girlfriend, Aurora. Next is my friend, Corbyn, and his girlfriend, Addilyn." Addilyn waves timidly, keeping her other hand entwined with Corbyn's. "Guys, this is Mr. Parker, the owner of the best frozen yogurt shop in the world."

"Any friend of Jonah's is always welcomed here," Mr. Parker says, shaking each of their hands in greeting. "Whatever you order today is on the house. My treat."

"That would put you out of business," Corbyn jokes.

"He's right," Jonah adds. "We'll pay for our food."

"You have to let me do something for you and your friends while you're back in town," Mr. Parker argues, placing his hands on his hips. "You're too old for balloons so I ha-"

"I want a balloon!" Aurora squeals, bouncing up and down excitedly.

"Alright," the man chuckles, bustling back to the counter and beckoning for them to follow. He gestures to the bouquet of balloons like a proud parent. "Take your pick."

"Do you want one too?" Corbyn asks, glancing down at Addilyn.

"No," she giggles. "I still have the rose balloons you got me."

The blond's gaze falls to the floor as he tries to hide the ecstatic grin growing on his face. He was beyond thrilled by the girl's statement, despite how simple the notion may seem.

"What am I saying? You can never have too many balloons!"

****

"Are you sure we should leave her unsupervised?" Addilyn asks doubtfully, entering Starbucks behind Jonah and Corbyn.

Aurora was currently alone in the store next door, looking at picture frames for her mugshots from the 'no flight' list.

"Not really," Jonah shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. "But she has frozen yogurt and a balloon, that should keep her distracted from doing anything illegal."

"I don't know about you guys," Addilyn begins, lacing her hand through Corbyn's as they take their spot in the rather long line. "But those cookies in the display case look really good."

"Pick out whatever you want," Corbyn offers. "I'm buying."

"You most certainly are not," she protests. "You're buying yours, and Jonah's if you want. But I'll pay for mine."

"No," Corbyn argues. "That's not how this works. A good boyfriend pays for his girlfriend's stuff."

"Well, Mr. Besson, I don't recall you ever asking me to be your girlfriend."

"Fine," Corbyn states before dropping down on one knee dramatically and putting on a solemn expression. "Addilyn, will you make me the happiest person alive by allowing me to be your boyfriend?"

"Only if you let me pay for my cookie," she replies cheekily, pulling the blond back to his feet.

Corbyn's grin turns into a pout as he turns around, prepared to drag Jonah into the argument. But, Jonah is no longer standing behind the couple. Instead, he's on the other side of the small café, speaking to a teenage boy that looks to be around Addilyn's age.

The couple watches as the conversation ends, the brunette leaves and Jonah wanders back over to them.

"Was that one of your Minnesota friends?" Addilyn questions.

"No," Jonah chuckles as the line moves forward. "That was Rye from RoadTrip. He knows Aurora is on the 'no flight' list and asked if we wanted to ride back to LA with them."

"Of course we do," Addilyn readily agrees. Noticing the puzzled expressions both boys give her, she adds, "I want to watch Aurora fight one of them, we all know she will."

"Speaking of Aurora, did Rye leave to talk to her?" Corbyn asks as Jonah nods in confirmation.

His eyes slowly widen as he realizes what he just said. Turning on his heel, Jonah rushes out of Starbucks, heading to the store Aurora currently resided in.

Addilyn sprints after him, a grin growing on her face. "Looks like I get to see the fight sooner than expected."

"But what about the cookies?" Corbyn calls out, following them outside.

"They're all still alive," Jonah says to Addilyn and Corbyn as the three enter the store, Jonah in the lead. Stopping at Aurora's side, he wraps an arm around her waist. "I'm glad to see you're getting along with them."

"We're not getting along," she informs him, causing Addilyn to snicker. "I'm simply tolerating their presence."

"Good," Jonah chuckles. "Because starting tomorrow morning, we're going to be in their presence for two days straight."

"What do you mean?" Aurora questions, furrowing her brows as she looks up at the boy.

"We're riding with them back to LA," Corbyn cuts in, throwing his arms up dramatically.

"You're kidding, right?"