Unexpected

                                    

                                          

"Wait here," he said as we parked outside of the restaurant. I watched as he circled around the front of the car to open my door for me. He held out his hand, and I nervously took it, letting him help me out of his car.
                          
Once we were finally seated in the expensive looking restaurant, he began asking me questions. They were nothing serious, mostly just things about my life, and I asked about his as well. We learned a lot about each other. About everything we had missed over the years.
                          
We spent nearly four hours in that restaurant until it was eight in the afternoon. I was reluctant to say goodbye, but I couldn't help but feel all giddy inside. I hadn't felt so much happiness in years, and I knew that things were going to change for the better.
                          
He took me home, because I had originally walked to the book store and my car was at home. He walked me up to my front door, and we said our goodbyes. But when I was going to turn around to open the door, he grabbed my wrist, and he leaned in, whispering in my ear.
                          
"Why can't I forget about you?"
                          
I felt my heart sink in my chest at his words. 
                          
"Why can't I go one day without driving myself insane thinking about you? When did I allow myself to get lost in you? I still can't believe you are real... That I'm holding you, feeling you..." He swept his left hand gently through my hair, while his other hand traced my cheek softly. I closed my eyes, taking in his warmth and comfort... Not wanting to open them, knowing that he would disappear again. I wanted to hold onto his words, to believe them... But how could I? When I knew this was all just a messed up dream.
                          
Was he even real?
                          
"I've missed you so much." I opened my eyes then, looking into his, gasping when I realized that he hadn't left... That he was here, maybe even real...
                          
"I think I love you, Bethany. I have been living someone else's life, a zombie. I'm not truly alive without you. When I saw you in that library, I just, I couldn't believe it was you. I thought it was dream, a nightmare. But when I held you close to me, you didn't fade away."
                          
I felt my eyes well up with tears. I wasn't the only one. He was broken, too.
                          
"This isn't middle school anymore, I know now what love truly is. It's being lost, broken, practically dead without you. All this time I thought I was just depressed, or maybe just fucking crazy. But when I saw you, I realized that you were the reason why. Why I felt like I have been asleep for years. You have awoken me."
                          
I began to sob. I couldn't believe this was actually happening. He was standing here in front of me, confessing his love for me. All this time I thought I was alone... When really this whole time he had been alone, too.
                          
"Why are you here?" I asked between sobs," of all the places, how did you find me?"
                          
"I don't know," he confessed. "I guess it's fate." He pulled me into him and ducked his face into my neck while I wrapped my arms around him and cried. Everything in that moment was magnified. The smell of the fresh air, like inhaling heaven, and his pounding heart beneath mine, like a set of drums. We were nothing but two broken halves  of a heart becoming one again.
                          
I grasped onto the back of his shirt and played with the hair on the back of his head; so soft. I could smell his natural scent beneath his cologne and I couldn't help but hold him tighter and breath in deeply, practically inhaling him. I was shattered for so long, and I could feel my heart slowly sowing itself back together. It was still badly scarred, but no longer broken.
                          
We slowly sunk down on the floor and I could suddenly feel his shoulders wrack with desperate cries. He was crying, and he was seeking comfort in me. He needed me. He wanted me. He loved me. We were both freaks. On the verge of insanity despite our efforts for reality. Perhaps it was what brought us back together. Our hearts seeking comfort while we took no action to truly find it. Because nothing could ever really be that easy.
                          
"I love you Xavier," I cried," So much! Promise you won't leave me again... I can't take anymore."
                          
"Never," he shuffled slightly and I pulled away and looked him in the eyes. He stared into mine. Everything slowed down as I saw him rest on one of his knees while he held my hands in his. His tear filled eyes reminded me of shimmering glass broken on the sidewalk. He was perfect in every way, yet completely imperfect. And I loved him more, knowing that I wasn't the only one who needed help. We would help each other. "Bethany, will you marry me?"
                          
"Yes, Xavier. I will marry you," we both smiled, and that was when he leaned in, and kissed me. A kiss that I have been wanting for so long. I could feel the desperation and love and passion in his lips as he pulled me to him so that there was no space between us, as though he were trying to squeeze us into one being, one heart, one soul. I could feel his unspoken dedication to me, and I gave it back to him. We smiled into each other. We were a mess, and we had made a beautiful sacrifice.
                          
His lips moved against mine like the ocean's waves. He was so passionate yet all too gentle. And his hands gripped my hips in a way that had me shaking. I was so happy in this moment. Nothing could ruin this. He was mine, and I was his. For the rest of forever.
                          
It was like a dance. He took me high, and brought me back down. It was a whirlpool of tears and feelings, while I tried to hold myself together, only to fall apart again. His words were a song;I took them in and let them go. I inhaled his smiles and exhaled his fears. I held him close then pulled away. I am gracefully broken and utterly beautiful. He matched my steps and followed my lead. I was his gateway to all that was bright and peaceful. We ended with a kiss and a caress of the face as we whispered goodbye. We wanted to meet again as our eyes locked and we got lost in a silent harmony.
                          
The End.