Alana couldn't help, but smile as the familiar diner appeared just down the road.

Driving through the streets of Eastwood made her feel a strong sense of nostalgia, but only this time, Asher was the one driving. It was as if nothing had changed, with all the small restaurants and boutiques left in their same locations.

Even after 6 years, the diner looked the exact same. With its retro theme and bright colors, it stood out proudly against the simple boutiques that surrounded it.

"Are you okay?" Asher asked with a concerned tone after seeing how quiet she had gotten. He slowed to a stop, parking his car in the small parking lot beside the diner.

"Huh?" Alana absentmindedly responded, startled at the sudden question that had brought her out of her thoughts. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

Asher nodded, still looking at her with concern, making Alana laugh.

"I promise I'm okay," she gave his hand a small squeeze before opening the car door and stepping out. "Everything just looks the same as 6 years ago."

Taking a deep breath, her smile widened as she took another look around. There was just something about being able to do something as simple as open the car door without having people right up in her face, that made her feel free and liberated. She could actually walk a step without having people crowd her and make her feel claustrophobic.

There was also a feeling of finally returning home, but perhaps this was just because it was Eastwood, the small town where she grew up.

Asher nodded, leading her closer to the diner. "Eastwood seems like it'll always remain the same."

Alana hummed in agreement, thanking him as he opened the door for her. As soon as she stepped into Aunt Cathy's Corner Cafe, she was immediately overwhelmed with the familiar scent of freshly brewed coffee and burgers.

"Welcome to— Oh my god," Aunt Cathy gasped, dropping the dishcloth from her hand onto the counter that she was wiping down. "Alana?"

Alana grinned, heading over to the woman who she saw as her own grandmother, leaving behind Asher, who was now completely forgotten. "Hi, Aunt Cathy."

"Oh, my dear, you're actually here— Hank get out here!" Shouted Aunt Cathy, trying to get her husband's attention in the kitchen. She immediately embraced Alana in her arms, crushing Alana to her small body. For a tiny woman, she was surprisingly strong. Before Alana could say anything, Aunt Cathy pulled away and began to look her over.

"How long has it been? How are you? For the love of god— Hank get your ass out here now. Have you been eating? Why are you so skinny? Are you-"

Aunt Cathy continued to ask question after question, causing Alana to stifle her laugh. From behind, Asher smiled softly, watching as Aunt Cathy continued to fuss over Alana.

"Aunt Cathy, you're going to overwhelm her with all those questions," Asher chuckled, walking over to Alana who was still within Aunt Cathy's grasps.

"Oh hush, you," tsked Aunt Cathy, picking up a clean dish towel from her apron and swatting Asher with it. "You're no longer my favorite Pierce boy."

Asher pouted, causing Alana to giggle. "You can't possibly like Adrian more than me."

"Who says I was talking about Adrian," Aunt Cathy narrowed her eyes at him. "He'll be my favorite once he finds a girlfriend— my favorite right now is definitely the baby of the family. Now, come dear, let me feed you something good—Hank! Where the hell— is he taking another god damn 5-minute break again? I swear to god all that man does is sit on his god damn ass."

Aunt Cathy immediately ushered Alana into one of the bright red bar stools, ignoring Asher who was muttered under his breath with feigned sulkiness. Slowly losing her patience, she continued to call out for Hank, who continued to pretend like he didn't hear his wife scream his name a bunch of times.

Asher groaned. "Man, why is Tristan everyone's favorite lately? I mean, all he does is eat, sleep, shit, play Valorant, and repeat. I'm clearly the better brother."

His words caused Alana to snicker.

"Oh, come here, Pouty," she giggled, patting the seat next to her. "That's exactly why he's everyone's favorite— hell, he might even be mine."

She heard him gasp dramatically, before feeling a jab to her side. Immediately, she straightened her spine as he poked her. She quickly slapped his hand away, trying to stifle her laughter.

"Asher!" She laughed, trying to slap his hand away from tickling her. They had practically grown up together, and sadly, that meant he knew all of her ticklish spots. As they continued to go back and forth, he made sure to hold her, so that she wouldn't accidentally fall off the stool as she tried to squirm away from his hands.

Unbeknown to them, Aunt Cathy stood to the side, silently observing them with a happy glint in her eyes and a wide smile on her face. For a second, she completely forgot about her husband, who was still hiding from her.

Seeing that things had slightly calmed down between Asher and Alana, Aunt Cathy once again made her presence known.

"What can I get ya', doll?" Asked Aunt Cathy, placing two menus in front of them, despite knowing that they both knew the menu by heart.

Alana bit her lips, sneaking a glance at Asher who was already looking at her. "Well, Asher, here, owes me a milkshake."

"Owe?" Asked Asher, bewildered. "More like she practically demanded."

"Ignore him, Aunt Cathy— he offered," Alana insisted, giving the older woman a look of feigned innocence.

"Alright, doll. I'll get you a small snack as well," Aunt Cathy shook her head with amusement. Before Alana could say that she already had lunch, which was interrupted with some unnerving news, so technically, she didn't actually have lunch, Aunt Cathy suddenly remembered that she was looking for her husband. "Hank! Oh, I give up— where the hell is that man?"

"Jesus, woman— I can hear you from a mile away," grumbled Hank, walking through the double doors that led to the kitchen. "Can't a man catch a break?"

He seemed disgruntled, but both Alana and Asher knew he secretly enjoyed his loving wife's attention.

"You always take breaks, but never mind that— look who's here!" Aunt Cathy quickly grabbed her husband's arm, pulling him towards them.

Hank's eyes immediately widened at the sight of Alana, who he saw as his own granddaughter. "Alana!"

Reaching over the counter, Alana stood up and hugged him, laughing as he muttered something about her not visiting often.

"How ya' been, darlin'?" He asked, greeting Asher with a slap on the back.

"I've been good— Asher owes me a milkshake," Alana grinned cheekily, causing Asher to groan.

"Oh, that's right, your milkshake! Go get them a snack, Hank— look how hungry they look," Aunt Cathy exclaimed, pushing Hank back towards the kitchen despite his protests to continue the chat.

The bickering couple disappeared through the doors, causing both Alana and Asher to shake their heads in amusement. As they waited for their milkshakes and food, on the insistence of Aunt Cathy, people began to trickle into the small diner, and once again, Aunt Cathy's Corner Cafe was now bustling with people.

"You alright?" Asked Asher, watching as Alana discretely took a look around them. The once quiet diner had become rowdy, but luckily no one seemed to be paying them any attention— another reason why coming back to Eastwood was quite healing for her. Of course, she noticed some of the staring, but no one seemed to harass her with questions and flashes of cameras.

Alana nodded with a bit of uncertainty. "I think so."

"If you feel uncomfortable— let me know," he said, placing his left arm on the back of her stool, like a protective barrier, shielding her from any danger. "I'll get you out of here."

She gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you."

They continued to talk amongst themselves and she had to admit that this was probably the first time she felt comfortable enough to be in the public without a team of security surrounding her. There was no paparazzi, no cameras flashing in her eyes, and no one trying to invade her privacy.

Just being around Asher made her feel safe and secure, a feeling she hadn't felt in a while. It took her mind off of the fact that yes, there were still people staring at her that were debating whether or not they wanted to come up to her.

"Here ya' go, darlin'," Aunt Cathy smoothly placed her milkshake and a big juicy burger with a side of fries in front of her. "You're not leaving 'til you eat all that."

Her words had Alana's eyes widening, knowing full on that she couldn't finish all of that, despite how delicious the burger looked.

"I'll try, Aunt Cathy."

And she did try— she really did. But it was honestly too much, which resulted in her sneakily placing bits of food here and there onto Asher's plate so that he could, instead, finish, the meal for her. He had already been finished and his appetite seemed to never end as he quickly devoured her leftovers as well.

"I'm so full," she groaned, leaning back onto the stool, placing the now empty milkshake glass onto the counter.

"Are you sure? It looked like I ate half the meal for you," Asher teased, causing her to shove him slightly.

"That's because you still looked hungry," she responded, rolling her eyes. "Where does all of that go, anyway?"

She poked his toned stomach, not a single ounce of fat felt. Asher brought his right hand and rubbed his stomach where Alana had poked.

"My ass, obviously."

He said it as if she should've known that was the answer. His response and serious tone had her throwing her head back in laughter, not expecting that response from him. The usually cool and collected Asher Pierce seemed to enjoy joking around with her.

Tears filled her eyes as she continued to laugh. She looked up, finally calming down, but as soon as he met her eyes, she burst into laughter again. It wasn't even that funny, but just seeing how serious Asher looked when he said that made it even funnier.

Asher watched in amusement, enjoying the fact that he could make her laugh and smile. The corner of his mouth lifted as he watched the way her eyes crinkled and cheeks flush. She was laughing as if she had no care of the world, and to him, that made her even more beautiful. He wished she could just live like this, but he knew how much she bore down onto her shoulders.

"Ms. Alana?"

A small voice caused both Alana and Asher to look down to her left with surprise. A girl, who looked to be around the age of 6, stood with a paper and pen in her small hands.

"Can I please get your sigmature?" She looked up at Alana shyly, causing Alana's heart to melt.

"Of course, sweetheart," Alana smiled, taking the paper and pen from the little girl's hand. "What's your name?"

"Hailey," the little girl replied, shifting her weight between her two small feet.

"Well, that's a beautiful name, Hailey," Alana quickly signed her name, addressing it to the little girl. "Why don't you come sit next to me?" Hailey nodded as Alana helped her sit up onto the stool next to her. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"A teacher," Hailey said, folding her hands and placing them on the counter nervously.

"Really?" Asked Alana, surprised at how confident Hailey sounded at 6-years-old. She continued to write a small note on the piece of paper, hoping for Hailey's dreams to come true. Hailey sat up straight, peering over Alana's arm as she tried to read what Alana was writing. "Well, I think you'll make an amazing teacher. Why do you want to become a teacher?"

As the two continued to converse with one another, Asher couldn't help but admire Alana. His eyes never left her, studying her and the interaction she was having with the little girl, quietly on the sidelines.

She was naturally caring and he could tell how genuine she was after seeing how she interacted with her fans.

Alana Sommers sure was something else.

★ ★ ★

"It's been a while since I been here."

Alana walked up to the platform that overlooked the ocean. The sun was setting, turning the sky into a beautiful gradient of yellows, oranges, pinks, purples, and blues. The cool ocean breeze blew through her hair, and as she breathed in, she took in the scent of the ocean.

"So pretty," she murmured, walking closer to the railing with Asher trailing slightly behind her. "Thank you for taking me here."

To him, she was even more beautiful than any sunset he had ever seen, including this one. She seemed to not notice his discrete stares as her main focus was on the view in front of her. It was silent between the two, the only sound coming from the waves crashing beneath them against the cliffside. There were no people and no cars around— only them.

"Always," he said, glancing at her again. "This is our place, remember?"

Of course, she remembered. It was a short 10-minute drive from downtown Eastwood, with a small hike down to this little wooden platform that overlooked the ocean. It wasn't like this was their secret place, rather that no one really knew of this place. And if they did, rarely did people hike down there since the trails were slightly hidden. But for the two of them, they both knew the trails like the back of their hands.

Back then, Alana came here whenever she needed to think. It calmed her whenever she was anxious. Feeling the cool ocean breeze dance on her skin and hearing the crashing waves seemed to help calm her down.

"I came here a lot while you were gone," he admitted quietly beside her. "Especially when I missed you."

"I'm sorry I left without saying anything," she muttered with a small sigh. Hearing her apology made him immediately turn her so that she was facing him. He brought his hand up, brushing a strand of hair away from her face before cupping her cold cheek in his hand.

"Never," he began, gently caressing her face. "Apologize for that. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for leaving you first."

His words were more figurative than literal, but she understood what he had meant. Alana could tell how sincere his words were based on the tone of his voice and the emotions swarming in his eyes. She could also tell that he still blamed himself for what had happened and she desperately wanted to take those thoughts away.

She just didn't know how.

Instead, she remained quiet as he tried to read her. And without any of them noticing, they slowly gravitated towards each other— their faces gradually moving closer and closer. It was as if the whole world stopped around them and it was just the two of them there.

Her hands had subconsciously grabbed his shirt, balling them in her fist. The beautiful sunset was now long forgotten and their lips were now just a millimeter away from touching.

They were so close.

But then, nothing.

The familiar ring of her phone quickly broke the two of them out of their trace as Alana immediately backed away, releasing his shirt from his hands. With a flushed face, now realizing that they were so close to kissing, she quickly grabbed her phone from her back pocket, having left her purse in his car.

Asher remained frozen, trying to comprehend what had happened— no, what was about to happen. He closed his eyes, hearing Alana shakily answer the phone as she turned away from him.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to look at Alana once again, watching the beautiful flush on her cheeks, trying to keep her voice steady as she talked to Daniel on the phone.

She made him feel things he had never felt for anyone else and he couldn't help but notice how strongly she affected him.

His feelings for her only intensified the more time he spent with her. She was beautiful, naturally caring, smart, independent, strong— the list could go on. No word or words could even come close to describe Alana.

She was everything he wanted.

★ ★ ★

I've been a bit MIA recently, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Bonus aesthetics for this chapter are also now up on my instagram as a post and a story, so make sure you check it out at insouciiancy! Fun fact: I am now addicted to Valorant, even though I kind of suck at it...