"Oh come on! No fair!" I whined as my grandmother laughed. 

We were currently playing poker in the living room while my mother baked some brownies in the kitchen. They wanted to celebrate that I got the scholarship to Columbia University since they knew how much this meant to me. It made them proud. They kept hugging and kissing my cheek last night when I came home. However, I could tell my mother was upset at the news because it meant I had to move to New York. I reassured her that whenever I could, I would visit her but I knew my grandmother would look after her. They always look after each other, that's why my mother is never truly alone.

"Your grandma beat you again?" my mother asked as she walked into view to place the plate stacked with fresh brownies onto the coffee table where we were playing and sat next to me. 

"Yeah, but I got brownies to make me feel better" I joked. I grabbed a slice and took a bite, smiling in satisfaction. They both laughed. I heard a knock at the door making me turn my head to stare down the hallway to the front door with a frown. "Are you expecting anyone?" I asked. 

"No," they said in unison. I put my half-eaten brownie down and got up to answer the door but my eyes widened when I saw Kylee and Ruby standing there. Ruby had a wide Cheshire grin on her face and bouncing in her place. Kylee was trying not to smile.

"What are you two doing here? And why are you grinning like that? It's terrifying me" I questioned with suspicion. I narrowed my eyes as I tried to figure out their motives for being here on a Saturday when we didn't make any plans.

"We are taking you out!" Ruby exclaimed. I raised a questioning brow. 

We never usually did anything last minute, Ruby would freak out if it wasn't an organised hang out. The only time we don't organise to meet up is if it's an emergency or if they want gossip. I'm guessing neither of them is the reasons they're here. The sun was already setting so it was late to go anywhere now. I was going to do more painting and possibly call Maddie since it's been a while. I text her occasionally but it would be nice to hear her voice again. I guess my plans to stay indoors tonight are cancelled. 

"Where?" I asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Ask questions later, get dressed now" Kylee ordered, pushing me inside. 

She dragged me upstairs as Ruby stayed downstairs with my mother and grandmother. Kylee pushed me to sit down on my bed before rummaging through my closet. I tilted my head. It was definitely confirmed now that Ruby and Kylee were up to something since they were acting especially weird today. They didn't even call me to tell me that they were coming over. They're hiding something and it piqued my curiosity. I don't know whether to be terrified or happy but something tells me I should just go with it.

"Put this on" Kylee commanded. 

She pulled me up and pointed for me to go change in the bathroom. I grabbed the clothing she gave me and walked into the bathroom. Kylee had picked out a cute outfit. It was an oversized dark blue and white jumper with denim shorts, a black beanie and a pair of black combat boots. I walked out of the bathroom, back into my room to see Kylee on her phone, frantically messaging someone. She looked up before quickly putting her phone away. As predicted, she dragged me out of my room and downstairs to get Ruby. I feel like a rag doll with how much I was being dragged around and I was still in the dark about where the hell we were going today.

"Great she's ready to go! Come on!" Ruby exclaimed as she clapped excitedly. My mother and grandmother were smiling knowingly at me. I wonder if Ruby told them, she probably did judging by their expressions, it was the only explanation as to why they're giving me that look.

"Have a great time tonight Harmony" my mother said.

"Let yourself be happy and have fun, you won't be a teenager forever" my grandmother advised. 

"Thanks guys" I smiled.

I waved at them goodbye as I followed Ruby and Kylee out the door. Ruby was practically bouncing on her way to the car. On the way there, Ruby kept texting someone and looking over at Kylee, both giving each other sly smirks. At this point, it was killing me not knowing what was going on. There was no reason for them to surprise me when there's no occasion. The birthday party was enough of a surprise and that didn't go so well. Surprises don't go well for me, something almost always happens.

When they pulled up, I noticed the beach ahead that I've seen whenever Daniel and I go to our spot above. I frowned when I started hearing an all too familiar song playing. It was the one that Daniel and I slow danced to the day we first met at his mother's wedding. That was the day that changed my life drastically but for the best. My eyes landed at where the sound was coming from. It was from Daniel's truck and he was standing on the back of his trunk with a single red rose. I couldn't contain my laughter as I got out of the truck. He was shirtless, only wearing a pair of blue denim shorts and Tommy Hilfiger white leather shoes. He had a wide grin across his lips.  

"Surprise!" Kylee and Ruby shouted simultaneously.

"What's going on here?" I asked.

"Being cliche" Daniel joked. I jumped when I saw Daniel behind me. He pulled me towards his chest and kissed my cheek while handing me the rose.

"You seriously got Ruby and Kylee involved in surprising me, you know Ruby can't keep her excitement at bay to save her life," I said. Ruby gasped dramatically. 

"Bitch!"

"I mean, she's not wrong" Kylee shrugged. Ruby threw her arms in the air in defeat. "We are going to leave you two alone now but please, don't do anything we would do" she joked with a smirk and a wink.

"Which means, Daniel, keep it in your pants," Ruby said sternly as she glared at him but I could see the amusement in her eyes. 

They were both trying not to laugh. Daniel snickered as I mouthed 'I hate you' to her. My cheeks heated up. I wanted to hide my face in my hands but instead, I just waved them off, sticking my tongue out. They both put the middle finger up in return. I watched as they got into the car and drove off with Ruby hanging out of the open window, waving frantically. I laughed, giving a slight wave back. She looked like she was going to fall out of the car, which was worrying, to say the least. Of course, they had to embarrass me, just about everyone has at this point. I'm not surprised with the way they act and what they say because now I just expect it or I assume something is wrong. 

"Ok let's go so you can see the setup," Daniel said, scooping me up into his arms. I instantly wrapped my arms around his neck as he walked ahead.

"Wait what? What did you do?" I asked. I thought this was it. I thought we were going to either sit by the water or take his truck somewhere. I didn't know there would be more.

"I just set up something for us while I got your friends to get you" Daniel explained.

"And why did you plan such a surprise today?" I interrogated, raising a brow. 

"To make up for the missed date" he instantly replied nonchalantly with a shrug. I went to reply but I noticed a dim light ahead of us. I turned my head to see what it was. It was a lovely fancy kind of picnic set up with several candle lights surrounding it. We could still hear the music from his truck. Daniel set me down. I could tell he was patiently waiting for me to say something. My lips broke out into a smile. I jumped up and hugged him close.

"I love it!" I exclaimed excitedly. I heard him breathe a sigh of relief as slid his arms around me in return. 

"I know it's similar to what we did the night of the storm and it's not unique but when I opted to take you to a fancy restaurant, I remembered that you told me you prefer the simple kind of things so I thought a romantic candlelit picnic at our private spot would do it" he explained when we parted. 

I can't believe he remembered. I told him that not long after we started hanging out and getting to know each other more. I guess the topic just came up and I admitted that fancy things are not my thing, no one needs to impress me with those things because I feel uncomfortable, especially in fancy restaurants. I've been to some when Evelyn tried to set me up with some guys and that was part of the reason why I never enjoyed the date. I always thought that if I were to go on a date, I'd be happy if it were just the two of us. I'm glad Daniel was able to make that happen tonight. It showed he knew me well.

"Well it's perfect, plus we got an even better view this time" I beamed. His lips quirked up in a half-smile as we both sat down on the blanket. 

"Are you ok with champagne?" Daniel asked, pausing just as he was about to pour us both a glass after popping the bottle open. 

"Yeah, but how were you able to get that bottle?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes suspiciously yet jokingly. I could see the snide smirk starting to form on his lips.

"I may or may not have stolen it" he shrugged.

"Daniel!" I scolded. 

"I'm kidding! I got Felix to get it" he defended. There was no way it was Felix that got it for him.

I stared him down but he simply laughed. I couldn't help but laugh along with him. Daniel poured us both a glass of champagne. We both drank as we listened to the low volume of the music playing from Daniel's truck and the relaxing sound of the waves crashing against the rocks. I looked at Daniel. He seemed peaceful and lost in thought. I put my glass down and decided to crawl onto his lap to watch the waves instead. I leaned my back against his toned chest, sighing in contentment. Daniel rested his head on my shoulder, one arm lazily slung over my waist.

Soon the peaceful quietness between us was interrupted by my phone ringing. I huffed in annoyance as I took my phone out to check the caller ID and damn it, it was Fletcher. He'd stop contacting me after two weeks of dodging his calls so I don't know why he'd all of a sudden start calling again. I was originally planning on talking to him but I thought I wouldn't bother anymore because I wasn't going to see him again and there wasn't any contact with him for a while now. That and I kind of forgot since I got distracted with my own things. 

"What the fuck? Is Ken still stalking you?" Daniel fumed. 

"No, he just started calling all of a sudden" I shrugged. Daniel took my phone and turned it off, placing it off to the side as I watched his movements.

"Now that bastard won't bother us, or anyone else for that matter," he said, smirking smugly. I let out a small chuckle before turning my head and pecking his lips. 

"Perfect then" I muttered against his lips. 

Daniel leaned forward to push his lips against mine. I kissed him back. When we pulled away, I turned to face him completely but was also straddling him. He eagerly kissed me again. I giggled a bit as he cupped the back of my head to bring me closer. I ran my hands up his chest, towards his cheek to rest it there. When we pulled away, we rested our foreheads against each other. That's when I noticed the next song that was playing because it was Thomas' original song he had played the night I ran away from my own surprise birthday party to go to the Nova Lounge and I saw Daniel there.

"Did you make a playlist of the songs we listened to during our best memories?" I asked.

"Yes and I already know it's cheesy so don't say it, don't joke about it" Daniel warned, mockingly trying to be serious. 

"That's so cute" I gushed, teasing him a bit. He threw his head back and groaned while I laughed. It was fun teasing him after he had done that to me a couple of times.

"Don't make me regret this" he threatened. I raised a brow.

"Don't make me walk away" I challenged. 

"Ok, you win" he quickly muttered in defeat. I chuckled. I knew that would work. 

"Thank you, really, everything is perfect" I smiled while brushing his hair back. He captured my wrist and brought my palm to his lips, placing a gentle kiss that made my cheeks turn red and my heart beat fast. 

"Anything for you" he muttered against my skin. 

I smiled and hugged him, resting my head on his shoulder. We stayed like that for a while in each other's arms until we decided to eat since we got hungry. We talked and had a good laugh. We were lost in each other's company that we didn't notice the day turn quickly into nightfall. At some point, we started slow dancing to the song I told him to replay. It's the one we slowed danced to the night we first met because it was my favourite out of all the songs that we've listened to during our time together.

"What are you thinking about?" Daniel asked while we were slow dancing together.

"Oh just reliving the memory of when we first met" I admitted. 

"That was the best day huh?" he smirked. 

"Yes it was actually, I will never forget it" I smiled. It truly a memorable moment embedded in my mind.

"I have that effect on people," he said smugly. I playfully hit his shoulder while he laughed. 

"You're not that special" I mumbled. 

"Says the one who's in love with me" Daniel teased. I blushed and looked away as he continued to laugh. I backed away from him and crossed my arms, staring him down even though I was messing with him. "Oh come on, don't be mad, I was joking" he tried to defend himself. I shook my head and turned so my back was towards him. "Ok, you leave me no choice" he sighed.

I was confused until Daniel picked me and threw me over his shoulder making me yelp in surprise. I looked at where he was walking to see he was heading to the rocks near the water. My eyes widened and I shouted for him to stop but he ignored me until he got to the edge. He put me down and I sighed with relief, thinking that I was safe but then Daniel started to take his shorts off so that he was just in his boxers. He was smirking since I had been watching. 

I tried to hide my blushing face with my hair though I'm sure it was pointless since the wind kept blowing it back. I hugged myself as he jumped into the ocean. I flinched away from the splash of water that sprayed towards me. I looked over to see that he still had that mischievous smirk spread across his lips. Just as I was about to ask he jumped up, grabbing my hand and pulling me in. I yelped in surprise before having to hold my breath as we both went under. I swam up and took a deep breath just as Daniel did the same but laughed. I glared and splashed him.

"Give me a warning next time, you almost gave me a heart attack" I exaggerated.

"But it got you to talk to me" Daniel retorted. 

"You also got me wet" I argued. He grinned. I instantly knew what he was thinking. I rolled my eyes with a small smile before hopping out of the water, onto the rocks. My clothes were dragging me down. Daniel swam over to me so that he was just floating in front of my legs that were still half in the water. "I'm not going back into the water," I said, knowing that, that was what he wanted when he stared up at me. 

"Oh come on, join me, it'll be fun" he coaxed. I contemplated it before sighing and nodding. He grinned widely.

"Do you have anything I can wear?" I asked though I felt stupid right after.

"In my truck, you can wear my shirt" he replied, motioning his head in the direction where his truck was parked. 

I thanked him and got up, heading over to the truck. I changed before putting my clothes in the back of the vehicle and walked back to the edge of the rocks where Daniel was still waiting in the water patiently. I slowly slid into the water and Daniel instantly placed his hands on my waist to steady me. I rest my hands on his shoulder as he led me away from the shore. The only light we had for support at the moment was from the full moon that reflected against the water. We separated from each other so I could try to float on my own.

"You good?" Daniel asked. I nodded in response. Peaceful silence fell among us as we stared at each other. I wanted to ask him something that has been on my mind ever since yesterday. 

"Hey, why did you stop playing music?" I asked. He turned his head away from me, looking off into the distance. "Sorry, that was invasive" I mumbled apologetically. He sighed. 

"No, it wasn't, it's alright" he mumbled. "I used to play multiple musical instruments as a child, the one I played the most was the acoustic guitar, my father taught me since he loved music but I stopped as soon as he died, I couldn't and didn't want to play anymore so I stopped, it's been years since I touched an instrument" Daniel explained. I frowned before moving close to him and cupping his face in my hands so that he could face me. I could see the clear pain in his eyes. He was hurting and it broke my heart.

"You know, he may be gone but that doesn't mean you're still not connected, maybe playing music again will help ease the pain" I suggested. He quirked the side of his lip up and kissed the palm of my hand as he wrapped one arm around my waist and held the back of my hand gently with the other. 

"You help ease the pain away Harmony" he stated. 

I was taken aback by what he said. Just as we were leaning in to kiss again, a bright blinding light was shone onto us. We looked in the direction of the light but instantly regretted it. We shielded our faces with our hands and squinted our eyes to see who it was that had interrupted our perfect moment. My eyes widened when I saw a guy with a stubble and pushed back dark as the night sky black hair, wearing a police uniform. He was scowling at us in disapproval. Oh, now we were in trouble, shit. 

"H-hello officer" I stuttered out in a small voice.

"What are you two doing here at such a late hour of the night?! No one is supposed to be here!" his voice boomed. I flinched, which Daniel noticed. He directed a glare over at the officer.

"There's no need to shout you bastard, we were only swimming" Daniel snapped. 

"Don't you give me attitude boy, now you and your girlfriend get out, I'm taking you home" he commanded. 

I reluctantly let go of Daniel and we both swam to the shore. We got out and packed up the stuff from the picnic. Daniel was quick to hide the half-empty bottle of champagne. We then followed the officer to Daniel's truck so he could call our parents. I wanted to change since I felt uncomfortable being in front of an officer with only a shirt to cover my body. As we leaned against the side of the truck, I kept tugging the shirt down and fiddling with it. It didn't help that I noticed the officer eye me up and down from his peripheral vision. 

"You ok?" Daniel whispered to me.

"No, my mother is going to kill me if she finds out I got in trouble with the cops, I wanted to avoid worrying her" I confessed in a hushed tone. 

"Hey, stop talking both of you" the officer ordered. Daniel narrowed his eyes at him as I looked at the ground and hugged my arms. "Good now I'll call your parents first, what's your guardian's number boy?" he demanded. His question was directed to Daniel. I could tell from the corner of my eye that he was hesitating, looking at me then back at the officer. He then smirked mischievously. 

"Sure officer" he replied. After he said the number he turned to whisper in my ear. 

"On the count of three, you are going to take these and start up the truck so we can get out of here ok?" 

I looked at him in confusion as I took the keys from him. I wanted to ask what he was planning to do but he put his fingers to his lips for me to be silent. I waited as he counted down to one before signalling for me to go. I quickly snuck around the truck to the driver seat as Daniel snuck up behind the officer. The engine roared to life when I turned it on just as the officer spun around, looking furious. He had a crazed look in his eyes. I watched as Daniel pulled his hat down and took his baton from his belt. I bit my bottom lip, trying not to laugh as he smacked the officer's bottom with the baton. 

The officer chased Daniel around, who occasionally would hit the guard with the baton. I burst out laughing at the scene. Daniel then chucked the baton into the woods and pushed the officer down before running away. He quickly got into the truck and that's when I pressed my foot on the accelerator just as the officer started to get back up with a growl. I sped away from the area, leaving the officer behind, shouting at us to stop while shaking his fist. Daniel and I were laughing hysterically. 

"That was amazing! Did you see his face?!" I exclaimed excitedly. 

"I'm pretty sure he was about to explode with anger" Daniel laughed. 

"That was so thrilling, I loved that" I beamed. 

"See, being with me has its perks, you get to actually experience an adventure rather than being safe" he grinned smugly. I smiled over at him. I know he was subtly trying to refer to Evelyn who always tries to prevent me from doing things that are deemed 'dangerous' or just something she thinks I would never do and shouldn't. Exactly like she did at my surprise party, which Daniel knows about since I told him. 

"Oh, I believe that," I muttered. 

Daniel smiled over at me. The rest of the drive was filled with silence. I'm surprised he never asked me to pull over and let him drive. I'm not bad at driving, I just don't have a car to drive but I've learnt from my mother before we moved and I've got my permits. I parked in front of Daniel's house before exiting the truck. I was still in Daniel's shirt that is soaked and clung to my body, showing off my figure now. I made an excuse to my mother, saying that I was sleeping over at Ruby's house. She believed me and I got Ruby to cover for me in case. 

Luckily Daniel said that his parents were out again for their usual date night and I knew that Evelyn was spending the night at Keith's house so we would be completely alone. When we entered the house, Daniel offered to run me a bath to which I accepted. He then left me some clothes before leaving me to bathe alone since he was going to shower in his parent's bathroom. After the relaxing bath, I waited in Daniel's room, just sitting cross-legged on his bed while tugging on his hoodie that he gave me. I had also worn Evelyn's pyjama pants that I had to take from her room since I was only given the hoodie. 

"Miss me?" I jumped slightly in surprise. Daniel walked in with a grin before collapsing onto his bed with his head on my lap.

"You do know your hair is wet and this is not my pants" I reminded.

"I'm not the one that gave you them to wear, I prefer if you just stayed in my hoodie," he argued, raising his hands in defence. 

"I know you do but too bad, I'm not going to," I said. Daniel groaned and frowned up at me. I giggled and pecked his lips. It was long before I had gotten tired and decided to go to sleep with my head on Daniel's chest and our legs tangled. I listened to his steady heartbeat as I drifted off peacefully.