Picture this: your boyfriend of well over a year takes you on a trip of a lifetime and constantly hints at proposing but never actually does. That's exactly what happened to me. Disney World was of course, beautiful and an amazing experience, but I spent half the time we were there wondering about when he was going to get down on one knee. In all honesty, I was starting to have doubts about whether Luke was ever going to propose. There was even one night where we went for a fancy meal in the main castle and I was really hoping he was going to propose to me while the fireworks went off, but he never did. I wasn't trying to pressure him, not at all, but he had kind of made a big thing of it and I was so excited for it to happen. You can't blame me for being disappointed.

"Seriously?" Becky questioned me as I told her all about Luke and I's romantic trip- which was for the most part. She seemed to be just as shocked as me to find out I had come back without a ring on. "I really thought he was going to do it on that trip."

"So did I!" I exclaimed dramatically, sighing and resting my head on the top of the couch. "What if he doesn't propose...ever?" I mumbled sadly. That was the last thing I wanted; I really wanted to marry Luke. He was the love of my life.

"Don't be stupid, of course, he is." Just as Becky said that, Michael wandered into the room with a beer in his hand.

"Who will what?" He asked, rudely intruding on our conversation. "Oh- are you talking about Luke?" He asked with a smirk. Michael seemed to almost always catch up on what was happening without anyone needing to say anything. It was kind of creepy.

"Did he tell you he was going to propose to me?" I asked him with hope in my eyes.

"Uh, no offense, Gabs, but you do realize you're not supposed to know when your boyfriend is going to propose, right?" He asked me with squinted eyes. I nodded quietly while he took a sip of his beer. I didn't want to spoil the proposal, I just wanted to know when or if it was even going to happen. "Don't worry, okay?" Michael reassured me. That had to mean something- he must have known.

---

Becky suggested that we all go to the beach one night and have a campfire. It sounded like such an ideal summer activity like it was straight out of a movie. We all agreed and later that day we all got ready to go. Luke and I were going in his car while the others all rode with Ash. I was desperate to bring up the fact that it had been a week since our trip and there was still no proposal, but I didn't want to upset him. "You seem tense. You okay, princess?" He asked me, breaking the silence that we had been sat in for the past five minutes. I nodded silently. "What's wrong?" He asked again, this time placing his hand on my knee and letting it wander to my inner thigh.

"I don't want to freak you out," I hummed, staring out of the window. He moved his hand from my leg abruptly. "I'm not pregnant." Abruptly, I turned to face my boyfriend who had turned completely white. He sighed in relief and placed his hand back on my knee. "Look, I'm not trying to upset you or-"

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Luke looked at me with sorry eyes but when the name flashed up on the car monitor, I knew he couldn't just ignore it. It was his manager. I gave him a small smile to show him I approved and he pressed the green call button and suddenly his manager's voice filled the car.

"Hey, Luke. So, we got a deal for October..."

I drifted out after that. They were talking business and I had absolutely no interest in that. As we drove, the sun began to set in the near distance. The sky grew dark and mysterious and street lights began to light up as we raced past them. Luke was on the phone for a long time, so long that it only ended when we arrived at the beach. I reached over to the door handle, about to get out when Luke gently grabbed my arm. "Hey, did you want to talk to me about something?" He looked concerned and it warmed my heart, but it wasn't that serious and I didn't want to worry him. I glanced out of the window and watched the boys and Becky all pile out of Ashton's car. They began to approach us.

"No, it's okay." I smiled warmly at Luke before getting out of the car. We all met up and made our way to the section of the beach that allowed campfires and began to set up everything. Becky and I chose to walk in the sea for a bit while they got the fire going. "How's everything with Ash?" I asked her while I took in the sights around us. You could see the distant lights that were located around the edge of the long beach. They were comforting in a weird way.

Becky kicked the water beneath her foot, "it's good, you know? I think we're better than we have been in the past." I watched her subtle smile grow into a giant grin. It was nice to see her so happy at last; I truly believed they were going to last, they had been through so much together. "How about you and Luke? You still freaking out over the proposal?"

I paused for a moment. It felt like the only thing I had talked about for the past month was when Luke was going to propose to me and even I was sick of it. I couldn't help it, it was always at the forefront of my brain. "Uh, no we're good." I kept my answer brief and to the point. Becky hummed to herself but didn't say anything else. We went back over to the group who had set everything up and took a seat on the sand with our significant others. Luke let me sit in front of him so he could wrap his arms around me and nuzzle his head into the crook of my neck. His warm breath tickled when it brushed against the hairs on my neck but I didn't say anything because I was happy there in his arms. He was staring at the fire in front of us while I was staring at the ocean in the distance. I liked the sounds I was surrounded by; the crackle of the fire mixed with the quiet crashes of waves created a sense of serenity and calm. I could tell I wasn't the only one who was feeling it because everyone else was comfortably lounging around having the odd conversation with one another but mostly silent. Sometimes I wondered what people were thinking about, particularly at that moment. Everyone seemed so lost in their own head but so found in their friends. It wasn't a debate that I was extremely lucky to have the amazing support system of friends that I had.

"Becky and I are gonna get going..." Ashton trailed off, affectionately nudged his nose against her cheek once they had stood up. I frowned and looked at the time on my phone, it had barely even reached ten o'clock at night and they were already leaving. Becky noticed the concerned look on my face and smiled warmly at me. I didn't even want to know what that meant. We all waved them goodbye as they walked back down the beach and to the car. I suppose Luke and I were supposed to take everyone else back then.

"Do you think they're going to-" Michael started to ask before stopping himself midsentence and scrunching up his face. "-Nevermind. Don't answer that." We laughed softly at him.

As the night wore on and the fire slowly died, Luke started to look more and more at his phone. He seemed very impatient. I wanted to ask him about it but decided not to because I was sure he was just tired or waiting for someone to text him. Probably his manager, I recalled him mentioning something about calling later, something to do with a deal they were trying to get. Very abruptly, Luke let go of me and stood up with his phone to his ear. He walked all the way up to the edge of the sea.

"Don't worry, it'll just be Richard calling about the tour set up for the end of this year," Calum informed me. I knew that it was nothing to worry about. Luke walked back over within a couple of minutes and lowered his hand to help me stand up. "We going?" Cal asked, looking between Luke and Michael. Luke nodded without saying anything. I reached out for his hand to hold as we walked back to the car but it was cold. The whole ride to Michael and Calum's apartment was silent apart from the quiet mumbles from the radio which Luke turned off after a few minutes. I waited until both boys were out of the car to talk to Luke.

"What's wrong?" I asked Luke with a worried look. I assumed his sudden silence had something to do with his manager. Maybe he didn't get the deal? Luke turned briefly to look at me and just smiled before looking back at the road.

"I'm fine, just tired."

Once we arrived at the house, Luke insisted that I waited in the car until he had gone in and- I quote- "check Becky and Ash aren't shagging on the sofa." Needless to say, I was in fits of laughter and hardly even noticed Luke's absence until he came running up to the car and opened the door for me.

"Okay, close your eyes." Luke suddenly instructed me. My eyebrows knitted and my heart suddenly dropped. "Just trust me, okay?"

"Oh, God. They aren't shagging on the sofa are they?" I half-joked, really hoping they weren't. Luke just laughed and waited for me to close my eyes. He used one hand to cover my eyes and the other hand to lead me up the stairs. Sudden anxiety hit me and I could feel myself getting sweaty. Luke had left the door open when he went to go and check inside, so he didn't have to get out the key again.

"Open."

In front of me was a path of pink petals that were lined by fake candles on either side. This was it. It was happening. What struck me most was the sudden emotion that rushed through my body when I saw the setup Luke had done just for me. He held one of my hands and led me down the path of my usually very ordinary living room and into my kitchen. On every cupboard was at least one photo of me and Luke from every place we've ever been together, whether that be the car or halfway across the world. That's when my hands cupped over my mouth and the tears began to fall as I observed the photographs. I turned around to see Luke down on one knee, holding a small, open box with a shiny ring inside. I let out a small sob as Luke smiled lovingly at me.

"Ever since the first day I met you, I knew there was something about you that would always keep me coming back. We've gone through so much together and at times it feels like it's me and you against the world. But I'm okay with that. I would happily waste away my life making sure you're happy because that's what you deserve. Gabbie, would you do me the honor of being my wife?" I couldn't contain the hideously large smile on my face as I nodded. Luke took the ring out of the box and gently slid it onto my finger. It was a perfect fit because he already had my ring size. The ring was dainty but beautiful, with a small gem in the center with careful carvings around the main band. I bent down and kissed Luke with as much passion as I could, feeling the most amount of love that I ever had.

"Congratulations!" Two voices yelled from the kitchen doorway: Becky and Ashton.

"This is why you left early?" I asked through the happy tears falling down my face. "You knew all along?" I directly asked Becky who shrugged mischievously. I got up and hugged both Becky and Ashton who looked just as happy as I was. We spared no time taking a classic photo of my hand with the ring to post on social media to show everyone, including family, our engagement.

"I love you so much." I hummed happily, standing on my tippy toes to reach Luke's face. "We've come so far."

"I'll always love you, Princess."

-THE END-