You Found Me

Katie's POV
"Babe! Where did you put my costumes?!" I shout from the walk-in closet Ashley and I share, now that I pretty much live with him.

Ash asked me to move in shortly after we got engaged and my brothers agreed it would be good for us. The only condition? We have to live together for a year and a half before getting married. Reason? A) To see if we could actually handle being married. B) gave us the opportunity to see the good, bad and ugly sides of each other. C) It gave me time to graduate, get my band up and running and decide on what to do for college. College being the condition for me being in a band.

So far everything seemed like it was going smoothly, but for the life of me I can't figure out where he stashed the bag that held my four costumes for the musical! This was bad and he wasn't answering my calls.

"Ashley!" I shout again, poking my head out the closet doorway.

"I'm coming," he calls back, just before he enters our bedroom. He smirks at my vulnerable state, in nothing but a black, strapless bra, my matching 1950s style pin-up panties and a pair of black thigh highs.

"Oh, la la," he murmurs as he saunters over in a sexy manner and takes hold of my hips, "My darling has never looked better, in my humble opinion."

I sigh, rolling my eyes at him, trying to hide my blush as I say, "Ash, I appreciate the compliment, but this is serious! The final dress rehearsals in a half hour and tonight's opening night and I'm the lead. I can't be late but I can't find my bag!"

"Relax, baby," he replies, kissing my cheek before he reaches into my side of the closet and pulls out the exact bag I was looking for, holding it out to me.

I close my eyes, taking a moment to calm myself, because I know damn well I searched that area five times before he even came upstairs. Slowly opening my eyes again, I thank him with a light laugh, as I take it from his outstretched hand, shaking my head.

Resting the bag on the bed, I unzip it to be sure all the costumes were inside, along with the small bag of accessories and the long black wig and bald cap. I then pull out the first costume. A ruffled, cream blouse, black skirt and black jacket. I can slip on the wig and accessories for it when I get to dress rehearsal.

"You forgot these," he says from behind me, holding up the three pairs of shoes that go with each outfit.

"Shit," I hiss, as I slip on the skirt and cross the room to him. I thank him again with a chaste kiss, then turn back to the bed to pull on the knee high boots that go with this particular outfit and toss the others inside my backpack.

As I stand again, bending over to zip the bag back up, I feel his hands on my back end. I'm just about to tell him off, since we're in a hurry, but then I feel the zipper of my skirt being pulled shut. Ugh...I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on today...

I stand up again, bag in hand, shoes in my backpack and thank him again. He looks at me with sympathetic eyes as he takes hold of my backpack, tossing it on his shoulder and resting his hands on my shoulders. He dips down a bit to look me in the eye and softly whispers, "Hey, relax. You're going to be great tonight. Everyone took the night off so we could be there to support you."

"That just makes me more nervous," I awkwardly admit, looking down at the bag in my hands.

"Why?" Ashley inquires, his brow furrowing in confusion, cocking his head to the side ever so slightly.

"Because now I really can't afford to fuck this up," I grumble, my frown deepening.

"Katie, it's a high school musical. It's not like it's Broadway," he retorts, playfully flicking my chin, "No one's going to judge you if you forget your line or whatever. Hell, what am I saying? That shit even happens on Broadway and if it makes you feel any better, I'll be in the front row, following along with the script in hand, so if you do forget a line, you can always look to me and I'll help you out, okay?"

I force a small smile, feeling better about this as I nod. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I whisper yet another thanks.

He's always doing stuff like this for me. Always looking out for me or going above the call of duty. The trouble is, what I need most right now isn't a spotter, but some time to myself, in order to figure out who I've become and who I want to be. I need to escape from everything and everyone to do some major soul searching.

Ashley doesn't know my darker thoughts. I can't tell him, because I know they would break his heart. He's such a sweet and sensitive guy, the eternal optimist, but I know if I told him the truth he'd feel like he was at fault and that couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, he's probably one of the very few things keeping me grounded right now.

Leading me downstairs, he sits me on the couch and says, "Wait here."

I watch him with curiosity as he disappears into the kitchen and Tokyo and Killer curl up beside me. I smile down at the pups, gently petting them, being careful not to get too much fur on my outfit, as Ashley returns, hiding something behind his back.

"Close your eyes and open your mouth," he softly orders.

With a sigh, I begrudgingly do as told, and feel him pop something that tasted like chocolate in my mouth. He orders me to bite, and again I do as told, realizing it's a chocolate covered strawberry, he then places something that feels like a shotglass in my hand and tells me to drink it. I swallow the sweet fruit and chase it down with the sweet, familiar liquid.

Opening my eyes, to look up at him, I quirk an eyebrow as a smirk comes to my lips. Releasing a short laugh I ask, "Red wine? Really, baby?"

"It's just a little something to help with the nerves. Besides it wasn't that much," he defends, smirking back at me and holding his hands up in surrender.

I laugh again, shaking my head and stand up. Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I pull him into a kiss, and whisper against his lips, "Thank you, baby. I swear, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Fate can be a very kind lady sometimes. She must have been in a good mood when she brought you into my life," he replies, pulling me into another deep kiss.

I'm a little breathless when we pull away, surprised by how much love and honesty was in his words and his kiss. My thoughts are cut short though as Jayy calls me.

Pulling away from Ashley, I answer it, putting it on speaker and say, "Purdy family morgue. You stab 'em, we slab 'em. How may I direct your call?"

"Homicide department, please," Jayy replies, with a low chuckle, before saying, "Seriously though, stop making out in front of the window and get your ass in gear. We got a show to put on and it's not a Purdy Porn!"

"What the...?" I ask, trailing off as I lean over the back of the couch to look out the window and see a limo. My jaw falls and I scream into the phone, "What the actual fuck, Jayy? You seriously got a limo?"

"Yep, now move it, girly. Knees to chest, I wanna see some hustle!" He orders and cuts off the call before I can respond.

I look back to Ash, bewildered by what just happened, and he shrugs with a lighthearted laugh. Glancing back out the picture window in the living room, I scoff, shaking my head and pick up my bags.

"I'll take those. Can't have the star of the show carrying her own bags out to her limo," Ashley says with a cheesy grin, pulling the bags out of my hands.

"I can't believe you guys," I reply, shaking my head again as I follow him out the door.

"Best get used to it now, babe. You're going to get spoiled like this a lot more once we're married," Ashley states, as he locks up and leads me down the driveway.

"You will do no such thing, Purdy Boy," I growl as we approach the limo and Dahvie gets out.

"There's our little star!" He calls out, hugging me tightly, while Ash sets my bags in the trunk.

"What's with the dragging of the ass?" Jayy playfully demands, hugging me once Dahvie releases me, "I thought I said I wanted to see some hustle."

"Aye, aye, Captain," I grumble, rolling my eyes at my lunatic brothers, "It was your crazy idea to get a limo for a stupid school musical."

"Gotta get there in style," Dahvie argues, smirking at me as we get in, "Besides we're not just picking up you."

"Who all are we picking up?" I ask, sitting next to Ashley.

"Pretty much all the guys, except for Jinxx. He had something to take care of before the show," Ashley answers for them, "Plus we're gonna swing by and get Red, Rocket, Bunny and Echo."

"And why am I the last to know any of this?" I growl, glaring at each of them.

"Because we know you. You would have shot down the idea and gotten all pissy if we told you we were going to do it anyway," Jayy states, as he rolls his white eyes.

"Ever think there might be a reason behind that?" I ask, my voice trailing higher.

"Save that frustration for the song you sing with Aiden," Dahvie orders, pointing at me with a Twizzler.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," I retort, arching an eyebrow at him.

"How about, don't be a buzz kill?" Jayy offers, throwing a Twizzler over Ashley, at me.

Ashley chuckles beside me, shaking his head at my brothers and my antics. He picks up the Twizzler off my lap, before biting one end and wordlessly offering the other end to me. I smirk as I bite down on it, then we nip at it until my lips met his.

When we start kissing, Jayy cries out and says, "You two! I swear!"

"Like you have any room to talk," I call back, resting my legs over Ashley's and kissing him again.

Dahvie laughs and says, "She's got you there, Jayy."

"One time!" He shouts, looking up in exasperation, "And to think, I was going to help you find the perfect dress for your big day."

"I'll earn your forgiveness well before then. The weddings not for another 14 months," I quip, not overly concerned by his empty threat, "Besides, even if I don't, I always have Dahvie and the girls, so there."

I playfully stick my tongue out at him, and he returns the childish gesture, as CC gets in with Andy and Jake.

"Uh-oh. Looks like we walked in at the wrong time," Jake jokes.

"Yeah. What's with all the tongue action anyway?" CC inquires, trying to stifle his laughter.

"Eww! CC! That is my brother!" I shout as Andy pulls the door closed.

"Yeah, which is why that sentence makes the scene all that more disturbing," Andy states, as he takes his seat across from Ashley and me, smirking at me with an arched eyebrow, then turning his attention to Ash and jokingly adds, "Keep her on a tight leash, Ash. She's obviously into some kinky shit."

"Ugh! Can we please not talk about this?" I beg, my shoulders slumping forward as I pout.

"Don't do that. You'll get wrinkles," Dahvie says, leaning forward to poke at my cheek with another Twizzler.

"So what?" I playfully quip back, grabbing the Twizzler and pulling it out of his hand.

"Aww, but don't you want to look your best for our big day?" Ashley playfully pouts, giving my those damn puppy dog eyes that he knows I can't resist.

"You guys are so mean to me!" I vent, hiding my face behind my hands, pretending to cry, to keep them from seeing the ridiculous smile on my face.

My devious plan works, causing Ashley to wrap his arm around my shoulders and hug me closer, rushing to my defense with, "I'm sorry, baby. I was just trying to make you laugh. Alright, guys. Let's give her a break. She's actually had a pretty rough morning to be perfectly honest."

"Sorry, Micro," Jayy and Dahvie murmur.

"Yeah. Sorry," CC and Jake add in a sad tone. Peeking through my fingers, I see Andy give me a sympathetic look and nod in agreement with his friends statement, his lips pressed down in a soft frown.

Red and Rocket are the next to arrive, but when they get in and spot me, their smiles turn into frowns. Red glares at each of the guys as Rocket demands, "Who upset, Mic?"

"They all were teasing me, but it didn't really upset me," I answer, revealing my smile and laughing at the boy's dumbfounded expressions. Red joins me in my laughter as she sits beside me in her beautiful black dress that falls to the floor, her hood pulled back.

"You faked it?" Ash asks with an incredulous look in his eyes.

"Told you she could act!" Dahvie calls out.

"No shit," Andy replies, closing his eyes and shaking his head, "That was film worthy."

"I can see it now. 'And the Oscar for the best female lead goes to...Katie Purdy!'" Jayy preforms, using the script Ashley brought with us as the envelope.

"And I can see everyone looking around in confusion, trying to find Katy Perry," I retort, joining in with everyone's laughter, "If I ever ended up becoming a big time movie star, I'd have to stick with Monroe-Vanity or Monroe-Vanity-Purdy, but that's kind of a mouthful."

"Or you could go with Purdy-Vanity or Monroe-Purdy," CC counters.

"But then it wouldn't exactly be fair," I reply, making a face.

"You do realize, you might have the same problem when in a band, right?" Andy inquires.

"Oh...no, I didn't consider that," I murmur, "What would you suggest?"

"A stage name," Dahvie says, "It could be something different, like mine or a little more on the safer side, like Andy's."

Hmm...a stage name, huh? I might be able to work with that and still be able to use my married name. Well once I am married at least.

Notes

Katie's outfit: https://goo.gl/images/Mfiwqm Red's outfit: https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-americamovil-us&tbm=isch&q=blind+mag+chase+the+morning&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjAnJCBi5naAhUjneAKHf7iB74QrNwCCFAoAA&biw=360&bih=559&dpr=4#imgrc=D_Ie9E6VVTQLpM: