Payton POV
I smile and wave at all the fans as I walk out on stage with everyone else. A few of them are filming TikToks from up here to try and get the view of the crowd in the frame.
After a few minutes, everyone calms down a little bit and gets quiet. We settle into our tall chairs up on stage and microphones get passed out to a few of us for answering the questions.
"Okay, who has the first question?" Noen calls out. The fans start yelling and screaming again while raising their hands up in the air. I roll my eyes playfully and turn to Chaser beside me.
"I think they were louder than last time," I mutter to him.
"Mhm," he says, halfway pushed out of his chair and looking around at the audience. He's clearly looking for someone, so I roll my eyes again and turn away from him.
"Alright, go ahead," Noen says with a smile when everyone quiets down.
"So, my question is for Payton," a girl says. I feel like I recognize the voice, so I snap my head around and start scanning the crowd for the person with the microphone.

Ray POV
"Are you dating anyone right now?" I ask into the microphone right as Payton's eyes lock onto mine. I smile at him as the crowd starts cheering again, thinking it's just a normal question from a fan. All the guys start laughing as they see Payton's face turn bright red. I smirk and hand the microphone back to the person who gave it to me.
"Uh...uhm," he mutters into the microphone. "I'm going on a date with a girl next week. Maybe I'll ask her to be my girlfriend then." The crowd goes wild for the fourth time after his response. I blush quietly as the questions keep going on. I see Payton keep staring at me the whole time.
Eventually, it's time for the meet and greet part of the event. The guys hurry off of the stage, and the crowd gets ushered into the larger space a different way. They are all there already at their areas with the photo stations.
After everyone gets organized, I feel a hand on my arm pulling me. I turn around quickly and see that it's Payton who pulled me off into the hallway.
"What are you doing here?" he asks, pulling me into a hug. I laugh and hug him back.
"I came to see you," I reply, pulling my head away from his shoulder so I can face him. "Noen and Chase snuck me in through the side entrance. Your mom drove me up here."
   "I just can't believe you came! How long have you been planning this?" Payton asks with a wide grin spreading across his face.
   "A few days." I smile.
   "And none of them told me," Payton mutters with a shake of his head. Then, he smiles again. "I'm just so happy that I could kiss you right now!" Payton and I look at each other for a minute after he realizes what he says. "I-I didn't mean-"
   "Are you going to?" I ask him quietly. He blinks at me a couple of times. "Would you kiss me?"
   "Do you want me to kiss you?" Payton whispers with a small smile. I blush and give him a little nod. "O-Okay."
   "Hurry up, then. I don't think we have all day," I tell him quietly. He smiles and leans forward, placing his hand on the back of my neck, and barely brushes his lips up against mine.