Well, here it is! Kendall and Sophie's ONE YEAR anniversary. Enjoy!
I never would get used to the feeling of waking up on the bus. It's kinda like that feeling you get after you spend all day in an amusement park and when you go home you feel like you're still moving. Sleeping on the bus gives me that same feeling. I laid in my bunk for a moment, not sure whether I wanted to get up or not. I looked at my clock. 5:30 AM. Kendall would be fast asleep, but Logan might still be up. It took me about thirty seconds before I looked at my phone again. Today was June 17th. Today was mine and Kendall's anniversary! Now I really did want to get up and start my day, even though I'd need a nap later. I started a pot of coffee and noticed there was still a light on in back.
I poked my head around the corner. "Morning, Logan."
He looked up in surprise. "Morning, Soph. What are you doing up so early?"
I shrugged. "Can't sleep. Still having that weird moving feeling."
Logan laughed at me. "You'll get used to it. He nodded to the opposite side where I usually sit. "Kendall's asleep, which is where I'm heading. He wanted to make sure you got that" he pointed to a bouquet of flowers, "first thing when you got up this morning."
I smiled. I wasn't sure if he'd remember, and I surely wasn't expecting anything. Logan gave me a quick hug and headed off to bed. I picked up the vase holding my flowers. It was a beautiful mixture of different colored orchids. Pinks, yellows, purples, whites; they were amazing. There was a letter with three charms sitting on top of it. One for each of the places we've been since I've been on the bus. I unfolded the letter.
My darling Sophie. That sounds weird, right? I wanted to be all romantic but we both know how much you love being my pretty girl, so let's start again. Hey, pretty girl. I'm writing this at 1:30, and you've been asleep for a good hour now. I wanted to make sure you were asleep when I got the flowers. I made the guys stop at a 24-hour flower mart so I could try and find you flowers as beautiful as you. Even though we both know you're smiling as you're reading this, it was pretty cheesy I needed to do something to show you that I love you, and while the flowers don't come close, it's just a start. I was sitting here thinking that it's hard to believe you've been in my life for over a year. I never thought that spending a month on the lake with my mom and her friend that I didn't know could ever lead me to find the love of my life. I remember you thinking after you told me about what had happened that I'd think you were weak and that you lost your way. Even to this day, you're still the strongest person I've ever known. You inspired me that day, and everyday since then. Someday I hope to make you as happy as you've made me. I love you so much, Sophie.
Always & Forever,
Kendall.
P.S. If you think this is it, you're sadly mistaken. There is MUCH more to come. XOXO
I folded the letter and held it to my chest. I was amazed that even after a year together, I was falling more in love with him everyday. I added my new charms to my bracelet and smiled. Kendall was such a goof, but he was my goof. I grabbed a cup of coffee and my computer and sat in the window. I sat for a few minutes and watched the sun rise, rereading my letter. Kendall was such an amazing guy and I felt like the luckiest girl on the planet. I turned my computer on, opened a word document, and was ready to start my book. Problem was, I didn't have a story. I couldn't come up with character names, a plot, or even a title. I went through two cups of coffee and three hours of web searching for an idea before I finally gave up. I promised my editor I'd have a rough draft for a few chapters by the end of the week. I went back to my bunk. I hadn't been up for that long, but I was tired. I was still trying to come up with any start to my book when I drifted off into sleep.
Kendall woke me at about eleven. We were stopping to do some sight seeing since this was one of the only nights the boys didn't have a concert that night. It was funny, how little things work themselves out. I have a rockstar boyfriend and I didn't have to share him with a thousand screaming fans on our anniversary. It was definitely going to be a good day.
The boys had a radio interview or a live chat or something, so we let them go about their busniess while Sadie and I went shopping. As much as I love Kendall and love being a part of his world, the band was his. I didn't want him to feel like I was suffocating him or like I wanted to be in the spotlight with him. I was perfectly fine staying out of the public eye, and I'm sure his fans appreciated it too. I told Sadie all about the letter and the charms for my bracelet, and that there was apparently more to come. She couldn't stop smiling.
"What's wrong with you? You look like you have a coat hanger stuck in your mouth."
She laughed. "I'm sorry, I can't help it. I'm just so happy for you. A year and a half ago, I was worried about losing my best friend, and now she's in a happy, HEALTHY commited relationship with someone I actually like."
"You know, it's crazy, but when I look back on that time, it's like it wasn't even me. I know that it happened, but when I think about it, my memories are almost like I watched it happen instead of living it. Part of me still can't believe I tried to take my own life. That was a huge, stupid mistake."
"Speaking of huge mistakes, any more letters from Charlie?" After I talked to Kathy about it, I told Sadie. I couldn't keep anything from her; she was my best friend.
I shook my head. "Not yet. I'm kind of hoping he got the hint. I still haven't told Kendall, but I'm definitely not doing that today. I will not ruin our anniversary. When we go home to pack for the rest of tour, I'm going to see if there are any more letters. If there is another one, I'm going to let Kendall decide. If not, I'll tell him and it can be his decision where we go from there."
We spent a good two hours shopping which gave the boys enough time to do their interview and perform a few songs. I found a shirt which was all too perfect for Kendall. It said "Keep Calm My Spidey Sense is Tingling." When we found it, Sadie and I could not stop laughing. We met back up with the boys for a late lunch. We found this little diner and decided while we were here we should take in some of the local cuisine. The diner was delicious, and it was time to head back on the road. I looked around before we got back on the bus. "Hey, guys, where are we anyway?"
Everyone was silent for a minute. James was the first one to speak. "I think some where in Texas, maybe. Or Oklahoma."
Carlos started in. "Nah, man, I think we're in Georgia, or Kentucky, or somewhere."
Logan jumped in. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is we have to be in North Carolina tomorrow night and we still have a long drive ahead of us."
Everyone was acting weird, and I wasn't sure why. I took another look around. Kendall came up behind me and kissed my cheek. "Everything okay, babe?"
I kissed him back. "Yeah. It's weird, but I feel like I've been here before. This place just looks familiar."
"A lot of small towns look like this, Soph. We've been through so many in the last three days I feel like we're just going in circles."
"I guess." He was hiding something, they all were. I shrugged it off; it really didn't matter. I took my usual place on the back of the bus and grabbed a book. Since I wasn't able to write, the least I could do is read. Kendall came and sat in the back with me, occassionally strumming his guitar. I killed for little moments like this. I put my book down and he looked up at me.
"Bored with it?"
"No, I just like listening to you play more. It's nice to have you play for me."
"What are you talking about? I play for you every night."
"No, every night you play for the Rushers. But times like this, you play for me and only me. Like you did when you wrote You're Not Alone." We both smiled at the memory. He patted the empty space next to him. I sat down and he put the guitar in my lap.
"Uhh, what are you doing?"
"You're going to learn how to play."
I laughed. "No, I'm not."
He pulled me onto his lap. "Yes, you are. You told me you've always wanted to, and now I have the time to actually teach you." We sat there for quite a while with him showing me the different chords with me failing everytime. He was a good teacher, though. And he was patient with me. He was in the middle of helping me play Music Sounds Better With U when the bus pulled over. The driver got off and was outside for about five minutes. He came back to where we were sitting.
"Bad news, guys. Looks like we've got an engine problem. I've called a mechanic but they said they won't be able to send anyone for a few hours."
My heart dropped. We were stranded, probably in the middle of no where. While it wasn't ideal, I would still have my four boys and my best friend. "Why don't we all just hop on one bus? Sure it might be crowded, but it would only be for one night. We could share bunks and I'm sure Sadie and Carlos would too."
"That's sweet babe but I'm not sure that's going to work. We have two buses for a reason. What would we do with all of our stuff?"
I thought about it for a minute. He was right, we really couldn't leave anything behind. "I guess you're right. I'm going to go stretch my legs and see if Sadie wants to go for a walk." I grabbed my phone and stole one of Kendall's sweatshirts, just in case. I kissed him. "I love you, Kendall."
His eyes lit up. "I love you too, Sophie."
I pulled out my phone and was checking Twitter and Facebook when I stepped off the bus. After there was nothing interesting going on in the cyber world, I decided to check out the real world and take a look at my surroundings. When I looked up, I couldn't believe what I saw. I was standing fifty feet from the door to my grandparent's lakehouse.
"Surprise." There was a whisper in my ear. I turned around and had tears in my eyes. "I wanted today to be special, and I figured there'd be no better way to do that than being in the place where we started. Do you like it?"
I shook my head. "No." I wrapped my arms around him. "I love it. All day, this is where I've wanted to be. I wanted to go take a walk by the lake and sit on the balcony and fall asleep in my bed just like we did a year ago. This is absolutely perfect. Thank you."
Kendall was pleased with himself. "There's more." We walked through the door and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Kendall had set up the whole house for our anniversary. Both of our parents were here, his brothers Kevin and Kenneth were here, my brother Eli and my sister Joanie were both here, and four of my closest friends from high school. "I wanted today to be absolutely perfect, and I wanted you to be surrounded by people that you love."
Today was perfect. Mom and Kathy had dinner ready by the time we got there. I gave all of my girlfriends a big hug and Sadie and I gave them every detail about dating rockstars. James and Logan had come over to join the conversation since they were both single. I laughed at them and introduced them to my girlfriends and let them have a moment. I looked around realizing that I was the luckiest girl in the world. I realize I felt like that a lot, but it was true. A year and a half ago, my world was dark and I had given up hope. Then this blonde goofball walks into my life and changes everything. We finished dinner and all walked into the living room. We lit a fire and Carlos, James, Logan, and Kendall all sat in front of us.
"Now, we weren't supposed to technically have a concert tonight, but this is a special occassion. Sophie, this is for you." Kendall winked at me and started strumming. They sang a few of their songs off their first album, a few off their second, one they had been working on, and did a few covers. I was so mesmerized I hadn't even noticed that Kendall had stopped playing his guitar. The boys were just humming now; they were going to go acapella.
Kendall stood up and walked over to me. He pulled me up and started singing.
Wise men say only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
Shall I stay
Would it be a sin
If I can't help falling in love with you
I thought back to the first time he had sung this to me. It was the first time I had visited him in California and I was having trouble sleeping. He used it to help me sleep, but told me he meant every word. He continued to sing, and I was not expecting what happened next. As he started singing the last line of the song, he got down on one knee.
Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you
He pulled a ring out of his pocket. It was a beautiful round solitaire, what I had told him I always wanted. I started shaking, and he grabbed my left hand while I used my right to wipe away tears. "Sophie, I am so in love with you. I've been in love with you pretty much since the moment we met. You told me that I pulled you out of the darkness and saved you, but the truth is that you've been a light in my world. A light that I didn't even realize was missing. I never thought I would find someone as amazing as you that would love me as unconditionally as you do. I know that I will never find anyone as half as amazing as you are. There is nobody else for me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to marry you, have a family with you, make parenting mistakes with you, grow old with you, and die with you. Sophia Brynn Richards, marry me, and make all of my dreams come true."
I wiped away another tear and nodded vigorously "Yes, Kendall. Yes of course I'll marry you!" He put the ring on my finger and kissed me. I was going to marry Kendall; I was going to be Mrs. Schmidt.
What do you think? Is this what you wanted to see happen?! :D
