16 hours earlier

Jc woke up that morning feeling like he was on top of the world. His girlfriend, Elise, or Elle as he liked to call her, was about to board her flight from North Carolina to LAX. The two had been in a long distance relationship for almost a year now, and had only recently gone public.
Jc had first gotten to spend time with her face to face five months ago and he'd been making the trip to North Carolina at least once a month since. He was in love with everything about the girl, from her free spirit to her love for adventure. She was the most down to earth girl he'd ever met and he spent hours on the phone with her, venting about things he wouldn't even tell his best friend Kian, and telling her about his days. He'd never been so close to a girl before, never given a girl a full access pass to his life as quickly as he'd let Elle in. And now, today, she was coming to visit him in San Antonio, and in a few days, they would be going to Los Angeles together, to look for an apartment.
Jc's best friends Kian, Connor, Ricky, Trevor and Sam were also visiting him in San Antonio, and today would be the day that he introduced Elle to his crew. In the beginning, Jc had been pretty selfish and well, he kind of had to be. He and Elle didn't have much time together so every moment was planned and accounted for. But now that they were looking at making the move to California together, it was time for her to meet his second family.
He got out of bed and brushed his teeth. He was already blasting music to help get him up and ready, even though Elle wouldn't be here for quite a few more hours. He was currently staying with his family. He'd chosen to do so because he knew he would need to save up money to pay for the apartment. The rent in California was way higher than it was here in San Antonio, and it didn't hurt to get to spend some time with his family.
He went into his little sister Jaelyn's room to wake her up and smiled at how peaceful she looked. He shook her gently. "Hey, time for school" Jc reminded. She groaned and got up to stretch. "I love that you take me to school, that's the only reason I'm going to get out of bed" Jaelyn said looking up at Jc as she stretched. He laughed and kissed the top of her head before leaving her to change and go through her morning routine as he went downstairs to wake up his little brother, Joe Felix. His brother was more difficult to wake, and Jc understood because he'd been the same way.
He finally got both of them awake and moving, and he headed into the kitchen where he greeted his grandmother good morning and worked alongside her to get the kids' lunches packed while she made them breakfast. Once breakfast was ready, he sat down to eat a bowl of cereal with them as the three of them watched TV. There wasn't much talking because it was still early and the kids were still half asleep. He put his cereal in the sink and kissed his grandmother on the cheek before grabbing his keys. "I'll meet you guys in the car in ten" Jc stated, as he walked out the door.
He walked over to his car and unlocked it, only now checking his phone. He hadn't gotten a text back from Elle, which meant the plane was leaving on time. She'd texted him from the plane to let him know she was taking off soon, and he'd replied and wished her a safe flight, and that he loved her. He smiled to himself, looking at her last text: "I love you too. See you soon". They'd only recently began saying 'I love you' to each other, and each time still felt like the first time.
"Who are you talking to?" Jaelyn asked as she slid into the passenger seat. "His girlfriend, dummy" Joe Felix said wisely, getting into the back. Jc smiled as he waited for the two to put on their seat belts. "Are you excited to see her today?" Jaelyn asked. Jc had introduced Elle to his family the last time she'd come to visit him, and Jaelyn had taken to her quickly and definitely looked up to her. Jc thought it was the cutest thing. "Of course I am. Do you want to see her today?" Jc asked. Jaelyn nodded. "Yeah!" she said, as Jc backed out of the driveway. "She'll come with me to pick you up, how about that?" he suggested. "Awesome!" Jaelyn and Joe Felix shouted in unison. Jc smiled. This girl was a huge part of his life, and they hadn't even been together a year yet.

After Jc dropped his siblings off at school, he headed over to the hotel that he and Elle would be staying at until they left for Los Angeles. She had stayed at his mom's house last time, but out of respect for his family they'd slept in two separate rooms. This time, Jc wanted to spend all day and all night with her, which would only be possible if they shared a room and a bed. He wanted to cuddle her and just lay in bed together all morning if they wanted to. The guys were staying at the same hotel, but in a different room of course. Jc had texted them that he was on his way just as he left the school parking lot.
When he got to the hotel, the guys were all sitting in the lobby. They were waiting on Jc since they hadn't bothered to get rental cars yet. They would be coming to Los Angeles with Jc and Elise, and Kian was considering getting an apartment there as well. The others were just coming for the adventure of it. When Jc walked up, they all smiled at him. "What's up man?" Kian asked, looking up at him as they did their handshake. "Not much, I have to go check in real quick then we can leave" Jc said. The guys gave him a confused look. "Check in? You live in San Antonio. Literally like 15 minutes away" Sam said, stating the obvious. "I know, but Elle is flying in tonight and I kinda don't want to inconvenience the family" Jc said, feeling his cheeks flush. "Ooh, at least one of us is getting laid tonight" Ricky said, sending them all into a fit of laughter. "Shut up!" Jc scolded, although he was laughing with them. He walked over to the check in desk, where he checked in and pocketed the keys. He figured since he was here, he might as well check in now so he and Elle could go straight to bed after the party they were headed to tonight.
"So Elle's your date tonight?" Kian asked, making a pouty face at Jc. "Yup, sorry man" Jc said, laughing. "It's okay Ki, I'll be your date" Ricky offered. Kian rolled his eyes. "But you smell after like one beer" Kian complained. The guys continued to go back and forth with banter for the rest of the afternoon.
Jc and the guys had gone to the mall to find something to wear to their party tonight and just walk around together. The guys mainly wanted to get out of the hotel and Jc had wanted to kill time before going to pick up Elle.

In a stroke of perfect timing, she texted him that she'd landed just as he was wrapping up paying for a bouquet of roses.

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