Lauren hadn't heard from Sam at all since that night at the Salutation.

It was now Saturday night, a whole week since Sam and Lauren's kiss, and she hadn't heard anything from him. She was stood behind the bar of the Low Lights serving Brian, one of her regulars, a pint of John Smiths.

Sam hadn't been into the bar since Saturday, and she noticed a difference in the atmosphere. It wasn't as lively or loud without the group of rowdy lads sat in the corner joking over their pints. She had also noticed a difference in her mood. Nicola had tried to tell Lauren that Sam was probably just busy, he was a rockstar after all, and that he'd text her soon, but after a week Lauren had given up hope. She cursed herself for being so stupid for believing someone like Sam could actually like her and convinced herself that his absence from the Low Lights confirmed that he didn't want to see her.

Speaking of Nicola, she was sat on a stool at the bar to keep Lauren company for her Saturday night shift. She knew Lauren had been feeling a bit down, so sat chatting away to her over her vodka soda while Lauren restocked fridges. She had seen Lauren upset over boys too many times to count and longed for her to find a boy who could treat her right. From what she saw last Saturday, Lauren and Sam clicked from the start, and she could see a sweet relationship forming between them. She seemed to get on with Sam better than any guy she had ever connected with, clicking better with him than with her first serious boyfriend Luke, or Matthew who she had convinced herself she was in love with in first year.

It was coming to the end of her shift. Lauren had asked her customers to finish their drinks and all of them, except Nicola, had got up, waved goodbye and left. As Lauren was cashing up the till she heard the door open and someone walk into the bar.

'Sorry- we're closed' she shouted across the bar without lifting her head from the till. But the customer didn't turn around to leave. Lauren could hear their footsteps walk across the room to the bar. She lifted her head, prepared to tell the customer to leave as she wasn't going to serve them, but was instead met by the blue eyes of Sam Fender.

'Lauren- I'm going to go outside for a quick cigarette before we leave. I'll meet you out there' Nicola quickly said to Lauren across the bar, giving her a quick smirk and rushing out the door to leave the two alone.

Lauren stared up at Sam intently, 'hey' she said with a sweet smile. Her smile was infectious, and he felt the corners of his own lips rising looking at her. 'Am so sorry ave not text you, had a breakthrough with one of the songs ave been stuck on and we've literally been in the studio all week trying to record it.'

'You could have just text, I would have understood. Thought you had forgotten about me' Lauren replied, giving the singer a shy smile and finishing cashing up the till.

'I know' replied Sam, 'I could never forget about you. Let me make it up to you? What are you doing tomorrow?' Although she was irritated at the boy, the look on his face genuinely made her melt and she found herself unable to hold a grudge against him.

'Nothing, I don't have any plans'

'Let me take you out' said Sam, 'I'll pick you up at two?' Lauren smiled at the thought of going on a date with Sam tomorrow and asked 'What do you have planned.' He shot the girl a grin and said 'it's a surprise.'

Lauren gestured over to the door to signal it was time for them to leave and lock up. Sam asked 'should I walk you home?' But as soon as they left the building, Lauren gestured over to Nicola who was waiting for her so that they could walk home together. Sam pulled Lauren in for a hug and said 'Sorry again about not texting, I'll see you tomorrow' before giving Nicola a quick wave, turning and walking in the direction of his house.

Lauren and Nicola set off in the direction of Tynemouth, and as soon as Sam was out of earshot Nicola excitedly squealed and exclaimed 'I told you so, didn't I!'

...

Lauren was patiently waiting for Sam to text her to say he had arrived. It was an exceptionally warm Sunday for the end of May in Newcastle, and so Lauren had opted for a short denim skirt and a short-sleeved vintage Nike t-shirt. Around 5 minutes later, she received the text from Sam to say that he was outside, so she rushed down the stairs, shouting a quick goodbye to her sister and met Sam on the pavement outside.

'So, where are we going' she asked quizzically, staring at the brown basket Sam was holding in his hand. 'Well, I thought since you love the beach so much we could walk down to longsands and have a little picnic.'

Lauren smiled at Sam's sweet gesture. She truly adored the Newcastle coastline, growing up minutes from the beach and spending most of her childhood and teenage years messing around on longsands or King Edwards Bay with her friends. 'That sounds lovely! When did you have time to do all this?' Lauren asked, pointing at the picnic basket in his hands.

'Not gonna lie, I was kinda banking on you to say yes to coming out today. I spent yesterday afternoon making this before I came to the pub.' Sam laughed, reaching out to grab Lauren's hand.

Walking down the street Sam asked 'I have friends from school who live on this street- how do I not recognise you from school?'

'I didn't go to John Spence,' Lauren replied 'I went to King's.' Lauren smiled fondly at her memories of the small school in Tynemouth town centre. She began to tell Sam of the antics that her, Dylan and Nicola used to get up to, from messing around in the Priory to eating fish and chips on the seafront at lunch.

'Think you're a bit too posh for me love if ya went to King's' Sam joked, as Lauen rolled her eyes and told him to shut up.

They soon arrived at longsands beach and chose a quiet spot to sit and eat. Sam admired Lauren as she surveyed the nature around her, looking out to sea and answering all of his questions about herself. He could tell that the beach was her happy place, and he was glad to share it with her for the day. At one point, Sam ducked his head down and placed a couple of kisses on Lauren's lips, which she gladly reciprocated. No one could wipe the smiles off the pair's faces as they sat hand in hand, comfortable in each others company.

'Have you got any shows coming up?' Lauren asked, staring up at Sam's face. 'I've pretty much got the whole of June off, gonna concentrate on finishing the album ready for September. Got a small Australia tour coming up in July, and we're playing Mouth of the Tyne over at the Priory.'

Lauren perked up at his comments 'that's so cool! I'm so jealous, I've always wanted to go to Australia. And I bet you're excited to play the Priory, me Nicola and Dylan usually go every year. I'll have to get tickets, I'd love to see you play.'

Sam smiled at Lauren's enthusiasm and told her not to worry. He'd get tickets sorted for the three friends, which made Lauren smile and thank the boy.

The pair continued to eat the food that Sam had brought, enjoying each others company. The conversation never ran dry, and Lauren was ignoring around 20 text messages from Nicola asking how the date was going.

Lauren could feel a presence behind her and turned her head to see two young looking girls staring at Sam. One of them asked 'sorry to disturb you, are you Sam Fender? Could we get a picture?' Sam smiled up at his two fans before brushing the sand off his pants and standing up. 'Do you want me to take it?' Lauren asked, getting up and reaching out for one of the girls' phone. She nodded gratefully and posed for the quick picture, before telling Sam that they loved his music and excitedly walking away. Now that they were up, Lauren and Sam decided that it was the perfect time to walk along the coast to get ice creams.

'Does that happen often?' Lauren asked Sam, gesturing to the two girls who were walking away from the pair. 'It's been happening a lot more often recently. Especially in Newcastle, the whole city seems to have gotten behind my music. Did it bother you?'

'No of course not!' Lauren smiled at Sam, she loved when he spoke about his music and his fans. He seemed so passionate and his face lit up whenever she asked him about it. 'So you're proper famous now?' She asked him and giggled as he laughed at her comment and gave her a playful nudge. 'I can't believe I'm on a date with a proper famous rockstar.'

Sam's face turned slightly serious, and he turned to Lauren reaching for her hand. 'Speaking of the date, how do you think it's gone?' he asked. The pair were now making their way back through Tynemouth to Laurens house, having spent hours on the beach in each others company.

The pair came to a stop outside her house, and Lauren turned to Sam and replied 'I've had a lovely time Sam. I'd love to go out again sometime.'

Sam noticed Lauren looking at her house in thought. 'My parents have gone away for the weekend, do you want to come in and watch a film?' Sam nodded, smiling at the thought of spending even more time with the girl. She led them to the front door, pulling out her key and pushing it open.

'Millie?' Lauren shouted as she entered the house, but when she didn't receive a reply she assumed that her teenage sister had gone out for the day. She led them both into the living room, and the pair cuddled up on the sofa watching movies late into the night. Sam noticed Lauren's eyes begin to close, and later heard soft snores coming from the girl signalling she was sleeping. Sam decided too to give in, closing his eyes and dozing off beside the girl, not caring about anything he had to do tomorrow as long as he was in her company.