Jamie's POV

Today is the day! Well... night. It is 12:30 and we are currently waking everyone up to leave for Italy. I couldn't be more excited.

My mom had to wake up early in the morning in order to get me and the twins up, as we never would have on our own.

We are currently in the process of attempting to wake up my dad.

"Dad...wake up." I say, standing over his bed.

He turns a little bit, but nothing more than that.

"David, sweetie, get up." My mom tries when he doesn't wake the first time.

"Dad!" Josh yells, very impatient to just get there.

My dad finally turns around, facing us, still blinking, the need for more sleep evident in his tired eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asks, yawning.

"We've got to go." Sammie squeals from the edge of the bed.

My dad sits up instantly, "Why? Whats wrong?"

"You'll see." My mom replies.

She had already loaded the car with all of our bags, so we just have to get up and go.

"Is everything okay?" My dad asks.

"Yes, everything is fine. we just have to go. Get dressed honey." Mom replies again, rifling through his dresser in order to find a pair of clothes.

The twins and I have already gotten ready, I wear a pair of light grey jogging pants and a black T-shirt. I pulled my hair back in a french braid and I wear a bit of concealer under my bags.

I had just called Noah, to wake him up as well. Even through his tiredness, he sounded ecstatic.

"Okay." My dad replies to my mom, looking puzzled but throwing on the grey shirt she tossed to him.

Sammie, Josh, and I rush out of the room, unable to contain our excited giggles. We head to the kitchen and finish off the muffins I had made earlier in the week.

Finally my parents come down the stairs, fully dressed and ready to go. My dad still looks concerned, and keeps asking my mom what had happened.

In order to not freak him out, and to keep the trip a surprise, all she will say is that 'he will see.'

Luckily my father is a patient man and won't push or freak out.

Soon enough we are out the door and headed to the airport.

Since it is dark out and my dad is still very overly tired, he can't exactly figure out where we are going, despite his constant looking out the window. Not to mention that the last time we went to the airport must have been over seven years ago.

I can't keep the growing smile off of my face at his confusion, as I know that once he finds out what is going on, he will be bursting with joy. This will all be worth it.

It was when I was six years old, my parents had taken us to Hawaii for my cousins wedding. It was such a good time, and an absolutely gorgeous ceremony. I can remember it like it was yesterday, all the colorful flowers and grass skirts. The exotic food. I just wish I could go back and never come home.

Soon enough, we have pulled into the parking lot of the airport and are unloading bags.

"The airport..." my dad asks, "but wh-- oh. Oh. Wait. Are we going on a trip? But... When? Where? How?"

The confusion is clear on my dad's face and we all begin to simultaneously burst into laughter.

"We're going to Italy!" Sammie screams loudly.

My dad widens his eyes, the information sinking in. He suddenly breaks out into a wide smile, "we're going to Italy?" He whispers in disbelief, eyes clouded with tears of joy.

"We're going to Italy!" My mom confirms, tearing up as well, bringing him into a big hug.

"I can't believe this." My dad says.

"It was all Jamie's idea." My mom tells him.

My dad looks over at me, pride evident all over his face.

"You did this? You planned this for me?"

I nod, as it's the only thing I can do if I don't want tears spilling from my eyes.

"Thank you." He whispers to me.

I pull my dad into a big hug.

"I'm so proud of you." He tells me.

"I know daddy."

I finally pull away from the hug as my mom begins to talk, "alright, we have got to go and get in and get our tickets." She says, wiping her eyes slightly.

"Wait," my dad says as we begin walking to the front doors, "where's Noah?"

My mom and I share a knowing smile.
"He's inside waiting. We invited him in advance but we weren't sure if you would want him to come or not." My mom says, still smiling.

"Of course I would want him to come. He's part of the family now." My dad replies.

When he says that, my smile only grows bigger and my heart bursts with happiness. I knew my dad liked Noah, but to know that he fully accepts him and he thinks of him as part of our family is overwhelming.

"Well let's get inside then, Noah's waiting." I say, still unable to keep the growing smile off my face.

I send Noah a quick text, letting him know that my dad is super excited that he is coming with us.

His response is immediate and happy.

Once we get into the airport and meet up with Noah, we head to the front desks and get our plane tickets. The seats are booked so that Josh and Sammie sit together, my mom and dad sit together, and me and Noah sit together. That couldn't have worked out more perfectly.

The next twenty minutes until boarding are filled with questions from my dad, restlessness and excitement from the twins, happiness from my mom, and flirting between Noah and I.

Pretty much the whole wait time is spent by us cuddling and talking about how much fun Italy is going to be.

We are going for a whole week. Seven days.

I tried my best to not pack too heavy, but I am a teenage girl, and I packed everything but the kitchen sink.

I brought enough outfits to last me eleven days, rather than seven. (What can I say, I need options). I brought a few bikinis. I also packed my wallet, along with my purse. I packed all of my makeup and my hair straightener. Toothbrush and toothpaste. A few pairs of shoes. My phone charger and headphones. Some gum. Some books. And of course, my Polaroid camera and my professional one.

I am rethinking over my checklist, making sure I have packed every item that I needed.

I had just happily finished going down the list and finding that I am not forgetting anything, when our number is called.

We are about to get on a plane.

A plane going to Italy.

"This is really happening." Noah whispers to me, grabbing my hand.

"This is really happening." I whisper back, smiling at him and walking towards the plane.

This is really happening, I have to remind myself, because really, I still can't believe it.

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Thank you awk-turtleguitargirl for the cover, it's amazing!

Hey guys! Im sorry the update took a while, exams and eqao and final projects are coming up and I've been working super hard on them!

Summer is almost here though, which means a lot of updates, and fast!

Im so glad that you're all enjoying the book, I love seeing all of the lovely comments you leave me:)

Thanks for 58K and #74 in teen fiction, great birthday present that I got to wake up to on Sunday:) <3

Vote, comment, and recommend:)

-Maxine<3