Chapter Four
By the time we had gotten done with the Art Gallery and coffee shop, it was mid-afternoon. As we walked back to my house, I could tell David was exhausted.
“You look tired” I said, concerned for his well-being.
“I am a little bit” he replied. “I couldn’t sleep last night because I was so excited about today. Is it okay…” he stopped talking for a moment, then finished the thought. “…if I go home and take a nap before dinner? I don’t want to fall asleep on my plate” he explained with a small chuckle.
“Of course it is” I said, nodding. “You need to get your rest.” David and I decided to walk back to my house so he could drop me off, and he promised to be back in a couple of hours. I hugged him goodbye and went inside, eagerly anticipating the next moment I would get to see him.
To make the next few hours fly by, I decided to finish making David’s gift. I went up to my room, sat on my bed, and picked my knitting loom up off the floor. I had been inspired to start because of my grandma, but I could never get used to using knitting needles. I couldn’t understand how people managed to use them! Once I discovered it was possible to knit this way, I was relieved. And the best part was, nobody knew the difference. I was knitting a blue-gray scarf for David, because I remembered how much he admired mine, and the color would bring out his eyes. As I wound the yarn around the loom, my mind began to wander. I pictured the look on David’s face when I gave him the scarf, and the way his eyes would sparkle as he smiled at me. I loved being able to make someone this happy, and I loved even more that I was able to let someone else do the same for me.
After roughly an hour had passed, I had finished the scarf. I attached some fringe to the ends, and folded the scarf neatly, wrapping it in white tissue paper and placing it neatly in the blue gift bag I had picked out. David had told me his favorite color was blue, so I wanted him to know I remembered that. It was easy to remember since it was my favorite color too. After I was finished with that, I glanced at the clock, growing more anxious to see David again. I still had a half hour to go before I would, or so I thought.
About five minutes later, my phone began to ring. I picked it up and glanced at the screen, smiling widely when I saw David’s name staring up at me. I pushed the green “talk” button and greeted him cheerfully.
“Hey you. Did you sleep well?”
“I sure did” David replied. I could almost hear the smile appearing on his lips.
“Great! I can’t wait to see you.”
“Neither can I.” I smiled when he said this. Seconds later, I heard the doorbell ring. I waited a moment to see if my mom or Sarah would get it, and I heard it again. I rushed down the stairs to the door, and when I pulled it open, my jaw dropped. David was standing there smiling at me. He pulled his phone from his ear and ended the call, and I did the same.
“How long were you standing there?” I asked, grinning.
“Only a few minutes. I was driving over when you called me” he explained, the smile never leaving his face.
“That was very sneaky” I said with a giggle. “Best surprise ever. Speaking of which, I’ll be right back” I said as I turned to walk inside. David followed, closing the door behind him. I hurried up the stairs, and turned to call down to him.
“Wait there, I’ll be right back!”
“Alright” David said with a small chuckle. I rounded the corner to my room, grabbed the bag off the bed and ran back down the stairs, nearly tripping, but I caught myself.
“Are you okay?” David asked, trying to hold back laughter.
“I’m fine, I just slipped” I replied, sticking my tongue out playfully at him.
“Try to be more careful, okay? When I take my girlfriend out on dates, I don’t want to be carrying pieces of her in a bag” David teased.
“I’ll try” I giggled. “So, did you want your present now, or after dinner?”
“Well, when do you want to give it to me?” David asked, raising an eyebrow.
“That depends” I stated. “How cold is it outside?”
“What does that have to do with when I get the gift?” David asked, confused.
“You’ll see” I said, smiling coyly. “Just answer the question.”
“It’s a little cold, and looks like it might rain.”
“Okay.” I replied. “In that case, open it now” I said, handing David the blue bag. He pulled out the tissue paper covered bundle and squeezed it, commenting that it was soft.
“I hope you like it” I said quietly. I watched as David carefully unwrapped the scarf. His eyes lit up at the sight of it, just like I imagined they would.
“Did you make this?” he asked, looking up at me for a moment before returning his gaze to the scarf in his hands.
“Yeah, I did. I learned how to loom knit about a year ago, because I could never get the hang of using knitting needles” I explained. David listened as I spoke, nodding intently.
“I love it” David said, his eyes sparkling with joy as he wrapped the scarf around his neck. The color of the yarn brought out the intensely beautiful color in his eyes, just as I had suspected it would. It also brought out the slightly red tint in his hair, which was adorable. I had actually never noticed it until now.
“I’m glad” I said, leaning into him as he outstretched his arms to embrace me.
“You really are wonderful, Kallie.” David said, looking into my eyes tenderly as he leaned down to kiss me. Every time he did that, I could feel another part of myself becoming one with him.
“It’s nothing” I replied, feeling a little bit embarrassed. “I just care about you a lot, so I want to do things that make you happy” I explained, smiling.
“I want to do the same for you” David said softly, pulling my small frame closer to him as he spoke. “Your happiness is the most important thing in the world to me.” Part of me wanted to break down when he said that, simply because of the emotion I felt upon hearing those words. I didn’t think anyone would ever say anything like that to me, but David proved me wrong.
As we stood in the long, concrete driveway, the wind picked up slightly, causing me to shiver. David noticed, and began to rub my back gently.
“We should get going” he chuckled. “I don’t want you to freeze.” He then proceeded to escort me to his car, and even opened the door for me. After making sure I was safely inside the car, he shut the door and walked around to the drivers side. Once he was in, I glanced over at him, a shy smile on my face.
“I could have opened the door” I said quietly.
“I know,” David answered. “But I refuse to let you. You’re a lady, and you should be treated like one. As long as you’re with me you will never open your own doors again.” he stated, winking at me. I sighed, sinking back in my seat.
“Alright, you win” I said with a smile. David smiled back, and stuck the key into the ignition to start the car. He backed out of the driveway, and we were on our way.
“Where would you like to go?” David asked me, glancing towards me for a brief moment before looking back at the road.
“I can’t think of anywhere specific” I answered, sighing a little. “Where do you want to go?”
“I’ve heard that new Italian place is pretty good” David suggested.
“That sounds good to me” I said, grinning. “I could always go for pasta” My grin turned into a giggle as David glanced over at me.
“That’s interesting” David said, his eyes scanning me.
“Why?” I asked somewhat nervously.
“Do you really eat pasta that much?”
“Most days” I said with a nod.
“But you’re so skinny…” David said. I could tell he was trying to choose his words carefully.
“I do work out, you know” I teased.
“I know” David answered, blushing. “I wasn’t trying to Imply that you should be fat” he explained. I could tell he was embarrassed, so I leaned over and lightly kissed his cheek to let him know I wasn’t upset.
After a few more minutes, we arrived at the restaurant, Luigios. From the outside, it looked rustic, but trendy, like it had been plucked right out of Sicily and given a Tulsan makeover. The scents of tomatoes, basil and parmesan floated through the air, nearly making me salivate. We walked inside and were able to be seated immediately. The hostess, Andie, handed us our menus and informed us that our waitress, Kayla, would be over shortly. David and I began to browse the menu, and after only a moment, I knew exactly what I wanted. I decided on the chicken scampi, and David decided to go with the classic lasagna. Kayla came over a moment later to take our drink orders, and we both ordered a raspberry lemonade.
“Do you know what you would like to eat as well, or do you need a few minutes?” she asked sweetly.
“We already know” David said confidently, then motioned to me.
“I would like the chicken scampi with a side salad, please” I said with a shy smile.
“Alright” Kayla responded, then turned to David. “And for you, sir?”
“I will have the lasagna, also with a side salad” Kayla scribbled both orders onto her notepad and walked away. Our food arrived rather quickly, making us both impressed with the speed of the employees here. Almost every table was full, and the restaurant buzzed with the quiet murmur of people talking. The food was amazing, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to finish it all, but somehow, I did. David did as well.
“Are you full yet?” he asked with a grin.
“Almost” I sighed. “Why?”
“Want to split a piece of cake?”
“Sure” I said, smiling. “Which kind should we get?”
“Do you like lemon?” I asked.
“Sweetie, I’ll eat anything. Pick what you want.”
“Lemon it is, then” I giggled. When Kayla returned to collect our dishes, David ordered the cake.
“I’ll have that right out for you” she said with a nod. As she walked away, I sat back in my chair and let out a content sigh. This would be the perfect end to one of the best nights I’ve ever had.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Chapter Three
Chapter Three
The next morning, I awoke to the sound of my alarm buzzing. I sat up groggily in my bed, glancing over at the clock. The red digital numbers on the screen read 7:30, and I wondered for a moment why I was waking up so early. I then remembered David saying he would be here to pick me up at eight, so without a second thought, I threw the blankets off myself and nearly skipped over to my closet. I pulled out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans that were starting to fray at the bottom, then walked over to my dresser and opened a drawer, pulling out a white t-shirt with Mickey Mouse’s face on it, and a pair of ankle socks. I dressed quickly, pulling a soft black hoodie out of my closet and throwing it over my head, pulling the zipper down so it stayed open.
I walked into the bathroom down the hall and pulled my curling iron out of the closet, plugging it in so it could start to heat up. While I was waiting on that, I began to apply some makeup. I started with a little primer, then some powder, a little bit of smoky blue eyeshadow, and a swipe of lip gloss. I knew David preferred women with minimal makeup, and he told me often enough that I was beautiful without it. He had even joked about sneaking into my house in the middle of the night and throwing it all away. I knew he never would though. I glanced down at the curling iron to see if it was ready, and it was. I carefully began to wind sections of my hair around the barrel, producing soft pretty curls. Once my hair was all curled, I misted it with a little bit of hairspray to keep it from getting frizzy, and reached down towards the counter to grab my phone. Right as I picked it up, it buzzed, indicating a new message.
“Hey beautiful, I hope you’re up. Just letting you know not to eat before I pick you up. See you soon J” I smiled, and texted him back, letting him know I was almost ready. I still had ten minutes before he got there.
After what seemed like an eternity, I heard a soft knock at the door. I crept downstairs to answer it, being careful not to wake my mom and Sarah. When I opened the door, I saw David standing there with a smile on his face, and a grocery bag in his hand.
“Good morning” he greeted. He stepped up to the threshold and set the bag down for a moment so he could hug me. I didn’t even notice the autumn chill in the weather beause he radiated so much heat. When he let go, I glanced down and pointed to the bag on the ground.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You’ll see in a minute” David answered, motioning for me to go inside. He followed, walking into the kitchen. I followed, watching as David set the bag on the counter and began to take things out of it. He had brought over bread, eggs, milk, cinnamon, butter, and syrup. I had figured it out; we were going to cook here. I immediately walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a frying pan, and over to another one to get the cooking spray.
“You do like French Toast, right?” David asked.
“Yeah, I do. It’s one of my favorites” I replied with a grin.
“I’m glad” he said. “This is one of the only things I know how to make.” We both laughed, and he began to mix the eggs and milk together in a bowl.
“Do you want any help?” I wondered.
“Not at all” David said, smiling. “I’m doing this for you.” I blushed, leaning against the counter. David had gotten all the ingredients mixed together, and was about to begin dipping the bread, when he stopped suddenly.
“Shoot. I forgot something” he sighed.
“What did you forget? We might have it.”
“Vanilla extract.” I walked over to the baking cabinet and began to search, successfully pulling out a small bottle of imitation vanilla extract.
“Here you are” I said, holding the bottle out to him. He took it, smiling at me.
“You’re a life saver” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
“I almost couldn’t find it. You would have had to use almond, if I didn’t.”
“I have an idea. Get the almond extract out.” I did as I was asked, and looked at David, puzzled.
“Are you going to use both?”
“Yes I am!” David replied, pouring a small splash from each bottle into the bowl. He then proceeded to dip the bread into the egg mixture, placing it carefully into the hot frying pan. After a few moments, he flipped them, revealing perfect golden brown markings on the other side. It smelled amazing, and the combination of the vanilla, almond and cinnamon reminded me of almonds I used to get at the Renaissance Festival when I was younger.
“That smells amazing, David!”
“Thanks” he chuckled. When it was all finished, I took out two plates, forks, and napkins. I was about to grab everything else and bring it to the table, when David stopped me.
“Hold it” he said. “You just go sit down. I’ve got everything else covered, okay?” I nodded in response and walked to the table. I sat down and waited for David, who was taking longer than I had thought.
“Are you sure you don’t need help?” I called from the dining room.
“Just tell me where you keep the glasses” David said, laughing.
“Third cabinet from the left” I giggled. A moment later, I could hear David rummaging in the fridge. He appeared minutes later with a glass of orange juice in each hand. He set one down in front of me, and one in the place next to me. He disappeared once again, this time coming back with the French toast. The only thing he wasn’t able to bring was the butter. Before he could say a word, I stood up and darted into the kitchen, bringing the butter dish back with me.
“Thank you” David said with a smile.
“You’re welcome, though I really didn’t do much” I giggled.
After we ate, we left the house to begin the rest of the day. David was being stubborn and refusing to tell me anything he had planned, so I decided to just go with it. The first place David took me was to the local Art Gallery. Before we went in, I stopped David.
“Is anything wrong?” he asked.
“No” I said. “I just want to make sure this day isn’t going to cost too much. I’d feel guilty if it did” I sighed.
“Don’t worry” David said softly. “You’re worth it.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, sighing.
“Very. Quit worrying so much” David chuckled. I sighed again, knowing I had been defeated. We walked inside the Art Gallery, and I nearly had to catch my breath because of how beautiful it was. The walls were painted a gorgeous cream color, and there were paintings on the walls, and sculptures on the tables. There were tall marble pillars and beautiful archways with leafy garlands hanging above them.
“How do you like it?” David asked.
“It’s beautiful” I replied, barely able to speak above a whisper. David took my hand softly, and we began to walk through the gallery. It was small, but beautiful. Everything had been created with such intricacy, and being there made me realize that this was how I wanted to create my clothes. It must have taken these artists a lot of time and patience to make these so beautiful, and that is how I wanted to be with what I made. After we had seen everything, we left.
“So, what did you think?” David asked, cocking his head to the side.
“That was incredible. I had no idea this place was even here!”
“I hoped you would like it” David said softly. “Do you know why I brought you here?”
“Why?” I asked.
“Well, after I took you home last night, I was walking home and I found the gallery. I was curious about it, so I went in. when I saw how beautiful everything was, I knew I had to bring you here. I wanted you to be inspired to create your clothes the same way the paintings and sculptures were made.” I was in awe. It was like David knew how I would feel walking through there. I looked up at him and smiled.
“Thank you” I whispered. “I needed that”
“I know” David said with a grin, winking playfully. We walked a little further down the street to a small coffee shop. We walked inside and found a table in the corner. David told me to wait there, and he disappeared for a moment. I glanced over and saw him at the counter, ordering drinks. He returned a few minutes later.
“I hope I got your drink order right” he said. I reached out and took the cup from him, sipping it slightly so it wouldn’t burn me. David had gotten me a Pumpkin Spice Chai latte, which was indeed my favorite drink. I wished I could get it more than just in the colder seasons, but having it for a limited time made it feel like a luxury.
“How is it that you know all these things about me without me ever telling you?” I giggled.
“Like I said the other day, I just know. It’s strange to me, because you don’t open up too much.” he teased. He sipped at his drink too, and we talked about anything and everything we could possibly think of. After we finished our drinks and split a slice of cheesecake, we left.
“Before we go on, can we stop by my house for a minute? I have something for yo, and I forgot to grab it before we left.” I asked.
“Sure” David said.
Once we got back to my house, I told David to wait outside for a minute, promising that I would hurry because it was a little cold. I ran inside and upstairs to grab a card off my desk. I had made it the other day, and wanted to give it to David to thank him for everything. I stuffed it carefully inside an envelope, and headed back out to David. He smiled when he saw me, as he always did, and I walked over to him. I grabbed his hand and slipped the envelope inside it, gently closing his fingers around it.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Just a little something for you” I explained, smiling. He opened the envelope and took out the card, opening it carefully to read what was inside. When he finished, he looked down at me, his eyes smiling as much as he was.
“That was beautiful. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome” I said, smiling. “I meant it.”
“I’ll keep this forever.” Hearing those words made me blush slightly, but I had gotten used to that.
“There is something else, too. I’m going to wait to give it to you though.”
“You didn’t have to…”
“I know, but wanted to.” I argued. “Tonight’s the night we’re having dinner, remember? I’ll give it to you then” I said with a smile. I could tell he was excited, and so was I.
The next morning, I awoke to the sound of my alarm buzzing. I sat up groggily in my bed, glancing over at the clock. The red digital numbers on the screen read 7:30, and I wondered for a moment why I was waking up so early. I then remembered David saying he would be here to pick me up at eight, so without a second thought, I threw the blankets off myself and nearly skipped over to my closet. I pulled out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans that were starting to fray at the bottom, then walked over to my dresser and opened a drawer, pulling out a white t-shirt with Mickey Mouse’s face on it, and a pair of ankle socks. I dressed quickly, pulling a soft black hoodie out of my closet and throwing it over my head, pulling the zipper down so it stayed open.
I walked into the bathroom down the hall and pulled my curling iron out of the closet, plugging it in so it could start to heat up. While I was waiting on that, I began to apply some makeup. I started with a little primer, then some powder, a little bit of smoky blue eyeshadow, and a swipe of lip gloss. I knew David preferred women with minimal makeup, and he told me often enough that I was beautiful without it. He had even joked about sneaking into my house in the middle of the night and throwing it all away. I knew he never would though. I glanced down at the curling iron to see if it was ready, and it was. I carefully began to wind sections of my hair around the barrel, producing soft pretty curls. Once my hair was all curled, I misted it with a little bit of hairspray to keep it from getting frizzy, and reached down towards the counter to grab my phone. Right as I picked it up, it buzzed, indicating a new message.
“Hey beautiful, I hope you’re up. Just letting you know not to eat before I pick you up. See you soon J” I smiled, and texted him back, letting him know I was almost ready. I still had ten minutes before he got there.
After what seemed like an eternity, I heard a soft knock at the door. I crept downstairs to answer it, being careful not to wake my mom and Sarah. When I opened the door, I saw David standing there with a smile on his face, and a grocery bag in his hand.
“Good morning” he greeted. He stepped up to the threshold and set the bag down for a moment so he could hug me. I didn’t even notice the autumn chill in the weather beause he radiated so much heat. When he let go, I glanced down and pointed to the bag on the ground.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You’ll see in a minute” David answered, motioning for me to go inside. He followed, walking into the kitchen. I followed, watching as David set the bag on the counter and began to take things out of it. He had brought over bread, eggs, milk, cinnamon, butter, and syrup. I had figured it out; we were going to cook here. I immediately walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a frying pan, and over to another one to get the cooking spray.
“You do like French Toast, right?” David asked.
“Yeah, I do. It’s one of my favorites” I replied with a grin.
“I’m glad” he said. “This is one of the only things I know how to make.” We both laughed, and he began to mix the eggs and milk together in a bowl.
“Do you want any help?” I wondered.
“Not at all” David said, smiling. “I’m doing this for you.” I blushed, leaning against the counter. David had gotten all the ingredients mixed together, and was about to begin dipping the bread, when he stopped suddenly.
“Shoot. I forgot something” he sighed.
“What did you forget? We might have it.”
“Vanilla extract.” I walked over to the baking cabinet and began to search, successfully pulling out a small bottle of imitation vanilla extract.
“Here you are” I said, holding the bottle out to him. He took it, smiling at me.
“You’re a life saver” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
“I almost couldn’t find it. You would have had to use almond, if I didn’t.”
“I have an idea. Get the almond extract out.” I did as I was asked, and looked at David, puzzled.
“Are you going to use both?”
“Yes I am!” David replied, pouring a small splash from each bottle into the bowl. He then proceeded to dip the bread into the egg mixture, placing it carefully into the hot frying pan. After a few moments, he flipped them, revealing perfect golden brown markings on the other side. It smelled amazing, and the combination of the vanilla, almond and cinnamon reminded me of almonds I used to get at the Renaissance Festival when I was younger.
“That smells amazing, David!”
“Thanks” he chuckled. When it was all finished, I took out two plates, forks, and napkins. I was about to grab everything else and bring it to the table, when David stopped me.
“Hold it” he said. “You just go sit down. I’ve got everything else covered, okay?” I nodded in response and walked to the table. I sat down and waited for David, who was taking longer than I had thought.
“Are you sure you don’t need help?” I called from the dining room.
“Just tell me where you keep the glasses” David said, laughing.
“Third cabinet from the left” I giggled. A moment later, I could hear David rummaging in the fridge. He appeared minutes later with a glass of orange juice in each hand. He set one down in front of me, and one in the place next to me. He disappeared once again, this time coming back with the French toast. The only thing he wasn’t able to bring was the butter. Before he could say a word, I stood up and darted into the kitchen, bringing the butter dish back with me.
“Thank you” David said with a smile.
“You’re welcome, though I really didn’t do much” I giggled.
After we ate, we left the house to begin the rest of the day. David was being stubborn and refusing to tell me anything he had planned, so I decided to just go with it. The first place David took me was to the local Art Gallery. Before we went in, I stopped David.
“Is anything wrong?” he asked.
“No” I said. “I just want to make sure this day isn’t going to cost too much. I’d feel guilty if it did” I sighed.
“Don’t worry” David said softly. “You’re worth it.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, sighing.
“Very. Quit worrying so much” David chuckled. I sighed again, knowing I had been defeated. We walked inside the Art Gallery, and I nearly had to catch my breath because of how beautiful it was. The walls were painted a gorgeous cream color, and there were paintings on the walls, and sculptures on the tables. There were tall marble pillars and beautiful archways with leafy garlands hanging above them.
“How do you like it?” David asked.
“It’s beautiful” I replied, barely able to speak above a whisper. David took my hand softly, and we began to walk through the gallery. It was small, but beautiful. Everything had been created with such intricacy, and being there made me realize that this was how I wanted to create my clothes. It must have taken these artists a lot of time and patience to make these so beautiful, and that is how I wanted to be with what I made. After we had seen everything, we left.
“So, what did you think?” David asked, cocking his head to the side.
“That was incredible. I had no idea this place was even here!”
“I hoped you would like it” David said softly. “Do you know why I brought you here?”
“Why?” I asked.
“Well, after I took you home last night, I was walking home and I found the gallery. I was curious about it, so I went in. when I saw how beautiful everything was, I knew I had to bring you here. I wanted you to be inspired to create your clothes the same way the paintings and sculptures were made.” I was in awe. It was like David knew how I would feel walking through there. I looked up at him and smiled.
“Thank you” I whispered. “I needed that”
“I know” David said with a grin, winking playfully. We walked a little further down the street to a small coffee shop. We walked inside and found a table in the corner. David told me to wait there, and he disappeared for a moment. I glanced over and saw him at the counter, ordering drinks. He returned a few minutes later.
“I hope I got your drink order right” he said. I reached out and took the cup from him, sipping it slightly so it wouldn’t burn me. David had gotten me a Pumpkin Spice Chai latte, which was indeed my favorite drink. I wished I could get it more than just in the colder seasons, but having it for a limited time made it feel like a luxury.
“How is it that you know all these things about me without me ever telling you?” I giggled.
“Like I said the other day, I just know. It’s strange to me, because you don’t open up too much.” he teased. He sipped at his drink too, and we talked about anything and everything we could possibly think of. After we finished our drinks and split a slice of cheesecake, we left.
“Before we go on, can we stop by my house for a minute? I have something for yo, and I forgot to grab it before we left.” I asked.
“Sure” David said.
Once we got back to my house, I told David to wait outside for a minute, promising that I would hurry because it was a little cold. I ran inside and upstairs to grab a card off my desk. I had made it the other day, and wanted to give it to David to thank him for everything. I stuffed it carefully inside an envelope, and headed back out to David. He smiled when he saw me, as he always did, and I walked over to him. I grabbed his hand and slipped the envelope inside it, gently closing his fingers around it.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Just a little something for you” I explained, smiling. He opened the envelope and took out the card, opening it carefully to read what was inside. When he finished, he looked down at me, his eyes smiling as much as he was.
“That was beautiful. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome” I said, smiling. “I meant it.”
“I’ll keep this forever.” Hearing those words made me blush slightly, but I had gotten used to that.
“There is something else, too. I’m going to wait to give it to you though.”
“You didn’t have to…”
“I know, but wanted to.” I argued. “Tonight’s the night we’re having dinner, remember? I’ll give it to you then” I said with a smile. I could tell he was excited, and so was I.
Chapter Three
Chapter Three
The next morning, I awoke to the sound of my alarm buzzing. I sat up groggily in my bed, glancing over at the clock. The red digital numbers on the screen read 7:30, and I wondered for a moment why I was waking up so early. I then remembered David saying he would be here to pick me up at eight, so without a second thought, I threw the blankets off myself and nearly skipped over to my closet. I pulled out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans that were starting to fray at the bottom, then walked over to my dresser and opened a drawer, pulling out a white t-shirt with Mickey Mouse’s face on it, and a pair of ankle socks. I dressed quickly, pulling a soft black hoodie out of my closet and throwing it over my head, pulling the zipper down so it stayed open.
I walked into the bathroom down the hall and pulled my curling iron out of the closet, plugging it in so it could start to heat up. While I was waiting on that, I began to apply some makeup. I started with a little primer, then some powder, a little bit of smoky blue eyeshadow, and a swipe of lip gloss. I knew David preferred women with minimal makeup, and he told me often enough that I was beautiful without it. He had even joked about sneaking into my house in the middle of the night and throwing it all away. I knew he never would though. I glanced down at the curling iron to see if it was ready, and it was. I carefully began to wind sections of my hair around the barrel, producing soft pretty curls. Once my hair was all curled, I misted it with a little bit of hairspray to keep it from getting frizzy, and reached down towards the counter to grab my phone. Right as I picked it up, it buzzed, indicating a new message.
“Hey beautiful, I hope you’re up. Just letting you know not to eat before I pick you up. See you soon J” I smiled, and texted him back, letting him know I was almost ready. I still had ten minutes before he got there.
After what seemed like an eternity, I heard a soft knock at the door. I crept downstairs to answer it, being careful not to wake my mom and Sarah. When I opened the door, I saw David standing there with a smile on his face, and a grocery bag in his hand.
“Good morning” he greeted. He stepped up to the threshold and set the bag down for a moment so he could hug me. I didn’t even notice the autumn chill in the weather beause he radiated so much heat. When he let go, I glanced down and pointed to the bag on the ground.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You’ll see in a minute” David answered, motioning for me to go inside. He followed, walking into the kitchen. I followed, watching as David set the bag on the counter and began to take things out of it. He had brought over bread, eggs, milk, cinnamon, butter, and syrup. I had figured it out; we were going to cook here. I immediately walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a frying pan, and over to another one to get the cooking spray.
“You do like French Toast, right?” David asked.
“Yeah, I do. It’s one of my favorites” I replied with a grin.
“I’m glad” he said. “This is one of the only things I know how to make.” We both laughed, and he began to mix the eggs and milk together in a bowl.
“Do you want any help?” I wondered.
“Not at all” David said, smiling. “I’m doing this for you.” I blushed, leaning against the counter. David had gotten all the ingredients mixed together, and was about to begin dipping the bread, when he stopped suddenly.
“Shoot. I forgot something” he sighed.
“What did you forget? We might have it.”
“Vanilla extract.” I walked over to the baking cabinet and began to search, successfully pulling out a small bottle of imitation vanilla extract.
“Here you are” I said, holding the bottle out to him. He took it, smiling at me.
“You’re a life saver” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
“I almost couldn’t find it. You would have had to use almond, if I didn’t.”
“I have an idea. Get the almond extract out.” I did as I was asked, and looked at David, puzzled.
“Are you going to use both?”
“Yes I am!” David replied, pouring a small splash from each bottle into the bowl. He then proceeded to dip the bread into the egg mixture, placing it carefully into the hot frying pan. After a few moments, he flipped them, revealing perfect golden brown markings on the other side. It smelled amazing, and the combination of the vanilla, almond and cinnamon reminded me of almonds I used to get at the Renaissance Festival when I was younger.
“That smells amazing, David!”
“Thanks” he chuckled. When it was all finished, I took out two plates, forks, and napkins. I was about to grab everything else and bring it to the table, when David stopped me.
“Hold it” he said. “You just go sit down. I’ve got everything else covered, okay?” I nodded in response and walked to the table. I sat down and waited for David, who was taking longer than I had thought.
“Are you sure you don’t need help?” I called from the dining room.
“Just tell me where you keep the glasses” David said, laughing.
“Third cabinet from the left” I giggled. A moment later, I could hear David rummaging in the fridge. He appeared minutes later with a glass of orange juice in each hand. He set one down in front of me, and one in the place next to me. He disappeared once again, this time coming back with the French toast. The only thing he wasn’t able to bring was the butter. Before he could say a word, I stood up and darted into the kitchen, bringing the butter dish back with me.
“Thank you” David said with a smile.
“You’re welcome, though I really didn’t do much” I giggled.
After we ate, we left the house to begin the rest of the day. David was being stubborn and refusing to tell me anything he had planned, so I decided to just go with it. The first place David took me was to the local Art Gallery. Before we went in, I stopped David.
“Is anything wrong?” he asked.
“No” I said. “I just want to make sure this day isn’t going to cost too much. I’d feel guilty if it did” I sighed.
“Don’t worry” David said softly. “You’re worth it.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, sighing.
“Very. Quit worrying so much” David chuckled. I sighed again, knowing I had been defeated. We walked inside the Art Gallery, and I nearly had to catch my breath because of how beautiful it was. The walls were painted a gorgeous cream color, and there were paintings on the walls, and sculptures on the tables. There were tall marble pillars and beautiful archways with leafy garlands hanging above them.
“How do you like it?” David asked.
“It’s beautiful” I replied, barely able to speak above a whisper. David took my hand softly, and we began to walk through the gallery. It was small, but beautiful. Everything had been created with such intricacy, and being there made me realize that this was how I wanted to create my clothes. It must have taken these artists a lot of time and patience to make these so beautiful, and that is how I wanted to be with what I made. After we had seen everything, we left.
“So, what did you think?” David asked, cocking his head to the side.
“That was incredible. I had no idea this place was even here!”
“I hoped you would like it” David said softly. “Do you know why I brought you here?”
“Why?” I asked.
“Well, after I took you home last night, I was walking home and I found the gallery. I was curious about it, so I went in. when I saw how beautiful everything was, I knew I had to bring you here. I wanted you to be inspired to create your clothes the same way the paintings and sculptures were made.” I was in awe. It was like David knew how I would feel walking through there. I looked up at him and smiled.
“Thank you” I whispered. “I needed that”
“I know” David said with a grin, winking playfully. We walked a little further down the street to a small coffee shop. We walked inside and found a table in the corner. David told me to wait there, and he disappeared for a moment. I glanced over and saw him at the counter, ordering drinks. He returned a few minutes later.
“I hope I got your drink order right” he said. I reached out and took the cup from him, sipping it slightly so it wouldn’t burn me. David had gotten me a Pumpkin Spice Chai latte, which was indeed my favorite drink. I wished I could get it more than just in the colder seasons, but having it for a limited time made it feel like a luxury.
“How is it that you know all these things about me without me ever telling you?” I giggled.
“Like I said the other day, I just know. It’s strange to me, because you don’t open up too much.” he teased. He sipped at his drink too, and we talked about anything and everything we could possibly think of. After we finished our drinks and split a slice of cheesecake, we left.
“Before we go on, can we stop by my house for a minute? I have something for yo, and I forgot to grab it before we left.” I asked.
“Sure” David said.
Once we got back to my house, I told David to wait outside for a minute, promising that I would hurry because it was a little cold. I ran inside and upstairs to grab a card off my desk. I had made it the other day, and wanted to give it to David to thank him for everything. I stuffed it carefully inside an envelope, and headed back out to David. He smiled when he saw me, as he always did, and I walked over to him. I grabbed his hand and slipped the envelope inside it, gently closing his fingers around it.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Just a little something for you” I explained, smiling. He opened the envelope and took out the card, opening it carefully to read what was inside. When he finished, he looked down at me, his eyes smiling as much as he was.
“That was beautiful. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome” I said, smiling. “I meant it.”
“I’ll keep this forever.” Hearing those words made me blush slightly, but I had gotten used to that.
“There is something else, too. I’m going to wait to give it to you though.”
“You didn’t have to…”
“I know, but wanted to.” I argued. “Tonight’s the night we’re having dinner, remember? I’ll give it to you then” I said with a smile. I could tell he was excited, and so was I.
The next morning, I awoke to the sound of my alarm buzzing. I sat up groggily in my bed, glancing over at the clock. The red digital numbers on the screen read 7:30, and I wondered for a moment why I was waking up so early. I then remembered David saying he would be here to pick me up at eight, so without a second thought, I threw the blankets off myself and nearly skipped over to my closet. I pulled out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans that were starting to fray at the bottom, then walked over to my dresser and opened a drawer, pulling out a white t-shirt with Mickey Mouse’s face on it, and a pair of ankle socks. I dressed quickly, pulling a soft black hoodie out of my closet and throwing it over my head, pulling the zipper down so it stayed open.
I walked into the bathroom down the hall and pulled my curling iron out of the closet, plugging it in so it could start to heat up. While I was waiting on that, I began to apply some makeup. I started with a little primer, then some powder, a little bit of smoky blue eyeshadow, and a swipe of lip gloss. I knew David preferred women with minimal makeup, and he told me often enough that I was beautiful without it. He had even joked about sneaking into my house in the middle of the night and throwing it all away. I knew he never would though. I glanced down at the curling iron to see if it was ready, and it was. I carefully began to wind sections of my hair around the barrel, producing soft pretty curls. Once my hair was all curled, I misted it with a little bit of hairspray to keep it from getting frizzy, and reached down towards the counter to grab my phone. Right as I picked it up, it buzzed, indicating a new message.
“Hey beautiful, I hope you’re up. Just letting you know not to eat before I pick you up. See you soon J” I smiled, and texted him back, letting him know I was almost ready. I still had ten minutes before he got there.
After what seemed like an eternity, I heard a soft knock at the door. I crept downstairs to answer it, being careful not to wake my mom and Sarah. When I opened the door, I saw David standing there with a smile on his face, and a grocery bag in his hand.
“Good morning” he greeted. He stepped up to the threshold and set the bag down for a moment so he could hug me. I didn’t even notice the autumn chill in the weather beause he radiated so much heat. When he let go, I glanced down and pointed to the bag on the ground.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You’ll see in a minute” David answered, motioning for me to go inside. He followed, walking into the kitchen. I followed, watching as David set the bag on the counter and began to take things out of it. He had brought over bread, eggs, milk, cinnamon, butter, and syrup. I had figured it out; we were going to cook here. I immediately walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a frying pan, and over to another one to get the cooking spray.
“You do like French Toast, right?” David asked.
“Yeah, I do. It’s one of my favorites” I replied with a grin.
“I’m glad” he said. “This is one of the only things I know how to make.” We both laughed, and he began to mix the eggs and milk together in a bowl.
“Do you want any help?” I wondered.
“Not at all” David said, smiling. “I’m doing this for you.” I blushed, leaning against the counter. David had gotten all the ingredients mixed together, and was about to begin dipping the bread, when he stopped suddenly.
“Shoot. I forgot something” he sighed.
“What did you forget? We might have it.”
“Vanilla extract.” I walked over to the baking cabinet and began to search, successfully pulling out a small bottle of imitation vanilla extract.
“Here you are” I said, holding the bottle out to him. He took it, smiling at me.
“You’re a life saver” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
“I almost couldn’t find it. You would have had to use almond, if I didn’t.”
“I have an idea. Get the almond extract out.” I did as I was asked, and looked at David, puzzled.
“Are you going to use both?”
“Yes I am!” David replied, pouring a small splash from each bottle into the bowl. He then proceeded to dip the bread into the egg mixture, placing it carefully into the hot frying pan. After a few moments, he flipped them, revealing perfect golden brown markings on the other side. It smelled amazing, and the combination of the vanilla, almond and cinnamon reminded me of almonds I used to get at the Renaissance Festival when I was younger.
“That smells amazing, David!”
“Thanks” he chuckled. When it was all finished, I took out two plates, forks, and napkins. I was about to grab everything else and bring it to the table, when David stopped me.
“Hold it” he said. “You just go sit down. I’ve got everything else covered, okay?” I nodded in response and walked to the table. I sat down and waited for David, who was taking longer than I had thought.
“Are you sure you don’t need help?” I called from the dining room.
“Just tell me where you keep the glasses” David said, laughing.
“Third cabinet from the left” I giggled. A moment later, I could hear David rummaging in the fridge. He appeared minutes later with a glass of orange juice in each hand. He set one down in front of me, and one in the place next to me. He disappeared once again, this time coming back with the French toast. The only thing he wasn’t able to bring was the butter. Before he could say a word, I stood up and darted into the kitchen, bringing the butter dish back with me.
“Thank you” David said with a smile.
“You’re welcome, though I really didn’t do much” I giggled.
After we ate, we left the house to begin the rest of the day. David was being stubborn and refusing to tell me anything he had planned, so I decided to just go with it. The first place David took me was to the local Art Gallery. Before we went in, I stopped David.
“Is anything wrong?” he asked.
“No” I said. “I just want to make sure this day isn’t going to cost too much. I’d feel guilty if it did” I sighed.
“Don’t worry” David said softly. “You’re worth it.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, sighing.
“Very. Quit worrying so much” David chuckled. I sighed again, knowing I had been defeated. We walked inside the Art Gallery, and I nearly had to catch my breath because of how beautiful it was. The walls were painted a gorgeous cream color, and there were paintings on the walls, and sculptures on the tables. There were tall marble pillars and beautiful archways with leafy garlands hanging above them.
“How do you like it?” David asked.
“It’s beautiful” I replied, barely able to speak above a whisper. David took my hand softly, and we began to walk through the gallery. It was small, but beautiful. Everything had been created with such intricacy, and being there made me realize that this was how I wanted to create my clothes. It must have taken these artists a lot of time and patience to make these so beautiful, and that is how I wanted to be with what I made. After we had seen everything, we left.
“So, what did you think?” David asked, cocking his head to the side.
“That was incredible. I had no idea this place was even here!”
“I hoped you would like it” David said softly. “Do you know why I brought you here?”
“Why?” I asked.
“Well, after I took you home last night, I was walking home and I found the gallery. I was curious about it, so I went in. when I saw how beautiful everything was, I knew I had to bring you here. I wanted you to be inspired to create your clothes the same way the paintings and sculptures were made.” I was in awe. It was like David knew how I would feel walking through there. I looked up at him and smiled.
“Thank you” I whispered. “I needed that”
“I know” David said with a grin, winking playfully. We walked a little further down the street to a small coffee shop. We walked inside and found a table in the corner. David told me to wait there, and he disappeared for a moment. I glanced over and saw him at the counter, ordering drinks. He returned a few minutes later.
“I hope I got your drink order right” he said. I reached out and took the cup from him, sipping it slightly so it wouldn’t burn me. David had gotten me a Pumpkin Spice Chai latte, which was indeed my favorite drink. I wished I could get it more than just in the colder seasons, but having it for a limited time made it feel like a luxury.
“How is it that you know all these things about me without me ever telling you?” I giggled.
“Like I said the other day, I just know. It’s strange to me, because you don’t open up too much.” he teased. He sipped at his drink too, and we talked about anything and everything we could possibly think of. After we finished our drinks and split a slice of cheesecake, we left.
“Before we go on, can we stop by my house for a minute? I have something for yo, and I forgot to grab it before we left.” I asked.
“Sure” David said.
Once we got back to my house, I told David to wait outside for a minute, promising that I would hurry because it was a little cold. I ran inside and upstairs to grab a card off my desk. I had made it the other day, and wanted to give it to David to thank him for everything. I stuffed it carefully inside an envelope, and headed back out to David. He smiled when he saw me, as he always did, and I walked over to him. I grabbed his hand and slipped the envelope inside it, gently closing his fingers around it.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Just a little something for you” I explained, smiling. He opened the envelope and took out the card, opening it carefully to read what was inside. When he finished, he looked down at me, his eyes smiling as much as he was.
“That was beautiful. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome” I said, smiling. “I meant it.”
“I’ll keep this forever.” Hearing those words made me blush slightly, but I had gotten used to that.
“There is something else, too. I’m going to wait to give it to you though.”
“You didn’t have to…”
“I know, but wanted to.” I argued. “Tonight’s the night we’re having dinner, remember? I’ll give it to you then” I said with a smile. I could tell he was excited, and so was I.
Chapter Two
Chapter Two
I had to scan the letter one more time to make sure I had read it right. Sure enough, this is what was staring back at me:
“Dear Miss Jameson,
We have received your application for admission into the Fashion Institute of New York, and after reviewing your transcripts, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted. It is our understanding that you wish to enroll for the spring semester of 2007. Please make sure to register for your classes by the Deadline, January 10th. We look forward to meeting you, and helping you get one step closer to your dream.
Sincerely,
Miranda Johnson
Dean Of Students
The Fashion Institute of New York”
I sat in silence for a moment, just staring at the paper in my hands. I did not know whether to feel ecstatic, or heartbroken. My acceptance into this school meant two things: I was one step closer to what I have always wanted to do, and; in order to chase my dreams, I had to leave everything I love behind. The house I have always known, my family, the town I knew like the back of my hand, and…David. Tears stung the backs of my eyes when I realized I could not take him with me. Or could I? I knew his dream was to play music for a living, and he could do that in New York, right? I sighed internally, knowing that his best chance would be waiting for him somewhere else. I could feel a tear begin to fall, but before I could stop it, it spotted the paper. I thought no one would notice, but David did. Upon seeing this, he stood up and walked over to me, wrapping his arms around me.
“What’s the matter, Kallie? This is what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” I replied, my voice cracking with emotion. “But, now that it’s here, I don’t know if I can do it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know that if I go to New York, I have to leave you. I don’t know if I can handle that” I sniffled. David pulled me closer, and I felt like if he held me any tighter, we would merge into one person. My mother, without saying a word, motioned to Sarah, indicating that they should leave us alone.
“Kallie, this is your dream” David said soothingly, stroking my hair. “Don’t throw it away because of me. I don’t want to be the thing that holds you back.”
“You’re not holding me back” I assured him. “I am.”
“Do me a favor. Go get your portfolio.” I nodded and went upstairs to my room, grabbing my sketchbook off the desk. I brought it downstairs and walked over to David, holding the book out to him. He took it and sat on the couch, motioning for me to sit next to him. He began to flip through the pages, making sure to show me each one.
“These are gorgeous. They deserve to be created, and worn. People would love them, Kallie. All you have to do is let go of your fear, and go for it.” I knew David was right, and if I argued, he’d pack for me and drag me onto the plane.
“Okay, you’re right. I’ll go, on one condition.”
“You name it, you got it.”
“When I’m not home for holiday breaks, you have to come visit me once in a while. We have to talk on the phone, text, or skype every day, and you’re not allowed to forget me.” I teased.
“Deal. You want to know something?”
“What?”
“I knew you would get in, so I’ve been saving airline miles to come out there and see you. I mean, Skype is nice, but hugging and kissing my computer screen would be ridiculous. And it would taste like windex, not like peppermint.”
“I taste like peppermint?”
“Yeah, you do” David chuckled. “I love it.” I blushed slightly, and giggled nervously. It seemed I’d been doing a lot more of that since David came around.
“I bet if you kissed me right now, I wouldn’t taste like that” I challenged. “I’d probably taste more like chocolate, maybe strawberries.”
“Is that a challenge?” David asked, almost seductively.
“M-Maybe” I stuttered. The next thing I knew, David’s face was inches from mine, and I could feel his warm breath on my skin. I felt chills run throughout my entire body, and the feeling intensified once his lips touched mine. I gasped, making David pull away quickly.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, concerned.
“No, not at all” I grinned. “That was awesome.”
“Well, now do you believe that I’ll always be here for you?”
“More than anything else in the world” I replied softly.
“Good. Just remember, Kallie, that no matter where our lives take us, I will always find the way back to you, and I know you will find your way back to me too.” I felt comfort from his words, and was able to stop stressing about this for a moment. I knew, though, that as the time for me to leave drew nearer, my anxieties would return.
“I have an idea” David said suddenly, making me jump a little.
“What?” I asked.
“We should do something fun to get your mind off of this. Want to go bowling?” I groaned a little, making David chuckle. “What’s the matter? Do you not like bowling?”
“I’m terrible at it” I whined. “Do you really think kicking my butt at this game is going to make me feel better? It just might make me feel worse” I joked, punching David’s arm playfully.
“I can help you. Please, can we go? I really doubt you’re as awful as you think you are. You’re so good at everything you do, there’s no way you could be that horrible.”
“Everyone has their faults, and things they suck at. Bowling happens to be mine.” I said, laughing.
“Alright, we don’t have to go. But we should do something fun” David sighed.
“You know what? We can go bowling. You have to promise me you’ll help me though, okay?”
“Deal” David said, an ecstatic grin appearing on his face. I ran upstairs to let my mom know we were going out, and went to my room to grab a jacket before coming back down the stairs. David smiled when he saw me round the corner, and we were off once again. As we walked out the door, I tied a blue knitted scarf around my neck. David took notice right away.
“That’s a nice scarf”
“Thanks, my grandma made it for me. Every time I wear it, it makes me think of her” I explained, my voice trailing off as I finished the thought.
“Oh, I see. When did she…”
“When I was four. I didn’t get to see her that much, except around Christmas. I wish I could remember more about her, but I’m glad I have this. It makes me feel like she’s always with me, you know?” David nodded, and we began our walk to the local bowling alley. We walked inside to find the place almost empty, except for a few bowlers, and the man behind the counter. David and I walked up and greeted him, getting a less than enthusiastic response in return.
“We’d like to pay for two games, please” The man grunted and put that into the computer, asked for our shoe sizes, told us which lane to go to, and went back to wiping down the counter. As we walked away, David leaned over to whisper something to me.
“That guy looks like he enjoys his job” he said sarcastically. I giggled, and walked over to the rack of balls to pick out a bowling ball. I finally found one that was light enough for me, and carried it over to the lane, setting it in its proper place. David entered in our names, and the game began. He let me go first, so I walked up, grabbed my ball, and David came up behind me to help me.
“Alright, so do you see the dots on the lane, and how they form an arrow?
“Yes” I replied, nodding.
“Well, you want to aim the ball straight down the middle, or at least try to. Bring your arm straight back,” he gently guided me as he was explaining, “ and, bring it straight forward and let go of the ball.” I did as he instructed, managing to knock down six pins, leaving two on each side of the lane. I knew I probably would not be able to hit them all, but I was determined to at least get two of them.
“I think I want to try this one myself” I said.
“Alright. Good luck” David replied, kissing the top of my head. He stepped back and watched as I successfully managed to knock down not two, but three of the remaining pins. David walked over to me, scooping me into a bear hug.
“That was amazing!” he said ecstatically. “Are you sure you’re not very good at this?” he teased.
“Positive” I assured him. The first game continued, going much better than I had anticipated. David still managed to beat me, but I wasn’t too far behind him. Before we started the second game, we decided to order a pizza from the kitchen. A short while later, our food was brought out to us. After we finished eating, David looked over at me, his eyes filled with competition.
“You ready for round two?”
“You bet. You’re going down.”
“Is that a fact?” David asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, I believe it is. The last game was really close. I think I can get you this time” I joked.
“We’ll see” David said with a coy smirk. Game two commenced, and as promised, I beat him. It was another close game, almost too close, but I was proud, nonetheless. After the game ended, we put our bowling balls away and returned our shoes to the counter. As we walked outside, David grabbed my hand suddenly. We walked hand in hand the whole way back to my house, stopping at the front door.
“Do you want to come in?” I asked.
“I should actually get home. I have something special planned for you tomorrow, and I need to rest up, and so do you. I’ll be here to pick you up around eight tomorrow morning.
“Why so early? What are we doing?”
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you” David joked. I sighed, leaning over to hug him one last time before we said goodnight.
“Well, we don’t want that” I murmured into his t-shirt. He wrapped his arms around me, and I looked up at him to gaze into his gorgeous blue-gray eyes. He leaned down to kiss me, and I never wanted it to end.
“Goodnight” he whispered.
“Goodnight” I replied. I gave him one last hug before turning to walk into the house.
I had to scan the letter one more time to make sure I had read it right. Sure enough, this is what was staring back at me:
“Dear Miss Jameson,
We have received your application for admission into the Fashion Institute of New York, and after reviewing your transcripts, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted. It is our understanding that you wish to enroll for the spring semester of 2007. Please make sure to register for your classes by the Deadline, January 10th. We look forward to meeting you, and helping you get one step closer to your dream.
Sincerely,
Miranda Johnson
Dean Of Students
The Fashion Institute of New York”
I sat in silence for a moment, just staring at the paper in my hands. I did not know whether to feel ecstatic, or heartbroken. My acceptance into this school meant two things: I was one step closer to what I have always wanted to do, and; in order to chase my dreams, I had to leave everything I love behind. The house I have always known, my family, the town I knew like the back of my hand, and…David. Tears stung the backs of my eyes when I realized I could not take him with me. Or could I? I knew his dream was to play music for a living, and he could do that in New York, right? I sighed internally, knowing that his best chance would be waiting for him somewhere else. I could feel a tear begin to fall, but before I could stop it, it spotted the paper. I thought no one would notice, but David did. Upon seeing this, he stood up and walked over to me, wrapping his arms around me.
“What’s the matter, Kallie? This is what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” I replied, my voice cracking with emotion. “But, now that it’s here, I don’t know if I can do it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know that if I go to New York, I have to leave you. I don’t know if I can handle that” I sniffled. David pulled me closer, and I felt like if he held me any tighter, we would merge into one person. My mother, without saying a word, motioned to Sarah, indicating that they should leave us alone.
“Kallie, this is your dream” David said soothingly, stroking my hair. “Don’t throw it away because of me. I don’t want to be the thing that holds you back.”
“You’re not holding me back” I assured him. “I am.”
“Do me a favor. Go get your portfolio.” I nodded and went upstairs to my room, grabbing my sketchbook off the desk. I brought it downstairs and walked over to David, holding the book out to him. He took it and sat on the couch, motioning for me to sit next to him. He began to flip through the pages, making sure to show me each one.
“These are gorgeous. They deserve to be created, and worn. People would love them, Kallie. All you have to do is let go of your fear, and go for it.” I knew David was right, and if I argued, he’d pack for me and drag me onto the plane.
“Okay, you’re right. I’ll go, on one condition.”
“You name it, you got it.”
“When I’m not home for holiday breaks, you have to come visit me once in a while. We have to talk on the phone, text, or skype every day, and you’re not allowed to forget me.” I teased.
“Deal. You want to know something?”
“What?”
“I knew you would get in, so I’ve been saving airline miles to come out there and see you. I mean, Skype is nice, but hugging and kissing my computer screen would be ridiculous. And it would taste like windex, not like peppermint.”
“I taste like peppermint?”
“Yeah, you do” David chuckled. “I love it.” I blushed slightly, and giggled nervously. It seemed I’d been doing a lot more of that since David came around.
“I bet if you kissed me right now, I wouldn’t taste like that” I challenged. “I’d probably taste more like chocolate, maybe strawberries.”
“Is that a challenge?” David asked, almost seductively.
“M-Maybe” I stuttered. The next thing I knew, David’s face was inches from mine, and I could feel his warm breath on my skin. I felt chills run throughout my entire body, and the feeling intensified once his lips touched mine. I gasped, making David pull away quickly.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, concerned.
“No, not at all” I grinned. “That was awesome.”
“Well, now do you believe that I’ll always be here for you?”
“More than anything else in the world” I replied softly.
“Good. Just remember, Kallie, that no matter where our lives take us, I will always find the way back to you, and I know you will find your way back to me too.” I felt comfort from his words, and was able to stop stressing about this for a moment. I knew, though, that as the time for me to leave drew nearer, my anxieties would return.
“I have an idea” David said suddenly, making me jump a little.
“What?” I asked.
“We should do something fun to get your mind off of this. Want to go bowling?” I groaned a little, making David chuckle. “What’s the matter? Do you not like bowling?”
“I’m terrible at it” I whined. “Do you really think kicking my butt at this game is going to make me feel better? It just might make me feel worse” I joked, punching David’s arm playfully.
“I can help you. Please, can we go? I really doubt you’re as awful as you think you are. You’re so good at everything you do, there’s no way you could be that horrible.”
“Everyone has their faults, and things they suck at. Bowling happens to be mine.” I said, laughing.
“Alright, we don’t have to go. But we should do something fun” David sighed.
“You know what? We can go bowling. You have to promise me you’ll help me though, okay?”
“Deal” David said, an ecstatic grin appearing on his face. I ran upstairs to let my mom know we were going out, and went to my room to grab a jacket before coming back down the stairs. David smiled when he saw me round the corner, and we were off once again. As we walked out the door, I tied a blue knitted scarf around my neck. David took notice right away.
“That’s a nice scarf”
“Thanks, my grandma made it for me. Every time I wear it, it makes me think of her” I explained, my voice trailing off as I finished the thought.
“Oh, I see. When did she…”
“When I was four. I didn’t get to see her that much, except around Christmas. I wish I could remember more about her, but I’m glad I have this. It makes me feel like she’s always with me, you know?” David nodded, and we began our walk to the local bowling alley. We walked inside to find the place almost empty, except for a few bowlers, and the man behind the counter. David and I walked up and greeted him, getting a less than enthusiastic response in return.
“We’d like to pay for two games, please” The man grunted and put that into the computer, asked for our shoe sizes, told us which lane to go to, and went back to wiping down the counter. As we walked away, David leaned over to whisper something to me.
“That guy looks like he enjoys his job” he said sarcastically. I giggled, and walked over to the rack of balls to pick out a bowling ball. I finally found one that was light enough for me, and carried it over to the lane, setting it in its proper place. David entered in our names, and the game began. He let me go first, so I walked up, grabbed my ball, and David came up behind me to help me.
“Alright, so do you see the dots on the lane, and how they form an arrow?
“Yes” I replied, nodding.
“Well, you want to aim the ball straight down the middle, or at least try to. Bring your arm straight back,” he gently guided me as he was explaining, “ and, bring it straight forward and let go of the ball.” I did as he instructed, managing to knock down six pins, leaving two on each side of the lane. I knew I probably would not be able to hit them all, but I was determined to at least get two of them.
“I think I want to try this one myself” I said.
“Alright. Good luck” David replied, kissing the top of my head. He stepped back and watched as I successfully managed to knock down not two, but three of the remaining pins. David walked over to me, scooping me into a bear hug.
“That was amazing!” he said ecstatically. “Are you sure you’re not very good at this?” he teased.
“Positive” I assured him. The first game continued, going much better than I had anticipated. David still managed to beat me, but I wasn’t too far behind him. Before we started the second game, we decided to order a pizza from the kitchen. A short while later, our food was brought out to us. After we finished eating, David looked over at me, his eyes filled with competition.
“You ready for round two?”
“You bet. You’re going down.”
“Is that a fact?” David asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, I believe it is. The last game was really close. I think I can get you this time” I joked.
“We’ll see” David said with a coy smirk. Game two commenced, and as promised, I beat him. It was another close game, almost too close, but I was proud, nonetheless. After the game ended, we put our bowling balls away and returned our shoes to the counter. As we walked outside, David grabbed my hand suddenly. We walked hand in hand the whole way back to my house, stopping at the front door.
“Do you want to come in?” I asked.
“I should actually get home. I have something special planned for you tomorrow, and I need to rest up, and so do you. I’ll be here to pick you up around eight tomorrow morning.
“Why so early? What are we doing?”
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you” David joked. I sighed, leaning over to hug him one last time before we said goodnight.
“Well, we don’t want that” I murmured into his t-shirt. He wrapped his arms around me, and I looked up at him to gaze into his gorgeous blue-gray eyes. He leaned down to kiss me, and I never wanted it to end.
“Goodnight” he whispered.
“Goodnight” I replied. I gave him one last hug before turning to walk into the house.
Chapter One
Chapter One
“Aww, come on, Kallie! Please tell me!”
“Never!” I giggled.
“Don’t make me break out ‘the face’” David threatened playfully. He then proceeded to poke me in the side repeatedly, until I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe.
“No, not the face! Stop!” I cried, attempting to gasp for breath. I was finally able to compose myself long enough to get a full sentence out. “I can’t tell you what I got you. It would ruin the surprise!” David sighed, knowing he had been defeated.
“Alright, fine. But when will I get it?”
“Let’s go to dinner on Wednesday. I’ll give it to you then.”
“Deal.” David nodded, sticking out his hand. I grabbed it, and we shook on the deal. David held onto my hand for a moment longer, lacing his fingers through mine. I smiled, feeling completely at peace. My mind began to wander a little, and I started to think about the future.
I pictured myself as a widely successful designer, among the ranks of the greats; Versace, Alexander McQueen, Prada…all of them. I had envisioned this for a long time, and now, something new made it’s way into my vision. It was David. He had achieved his dream of becoming a multi-platinum recording artist, and we were married. We had a small house in the country, away from civilization. This vision of mine seemed like it could have been plucked straight from one of those cheesy romantic comedies.
Before my mind could wander any further, our waitress came over to our table to check on us.
“Is there anything I can get you two?” she asked sweetly. David thought for a moment before responding.
“How about a pot of coffee, and a bowl of your chicken noodle soup?”
“Did you want bread with that?” our waitress, Ashley, asked. David nodded.
“I’ll have that right out for you, sir. Can I get you anything else?” the waitress asked, turning to me.
“Can I just get another hot chocolate, and…” I paused for a moment so I could think. David then spoke up for me.
“She also wants some of that strawberry shortcake.” he grinned. I was amazed at how well he knew me. I didn’t even know they had that here. I chuckled slightly, and nodded my head.
“Yeah, that should be fine” I giggled. The waitress scribbled that on her pad and walked away.
“Did I ever tell you strawberries were my favorite fruit?” I asked, bewildered.
“No, I could just sense that about you” David said, grinning. Deep inside, I knew this was exactly the kind of thing every girl dreamed about. The concept of having someone in your life who knew you better than you knew yourself was fascinating. After searching for this for so long, I was happy to finally have that. I felt complete with him, and I knew nothing would ever change that.
Ashley returned rather quickly with our food. I picked at my cake with my fork for a minute before cutting off a piece.
“Are you okay?” David asked, concerned. “You seem a little out of it.”
“I’m alright” I replied, smiling softly at him. “I’m just thinking…”
“About what?”
“It might be too soon to say”
“Well, whenever you’re ready to tell me, you know I’ll be here to listen.” I nodded, knowing that was exactly right. David was the one person I could always count on to be there for me, besides my family. I never had too many friends growing up, because I always let my shyness get the best of me. I never felt like I could be myself around any of my classmates, and I would continuously push anyone away who tried to get close to me. It seemed to me, that anytime I tried, I just got hurt.
“Oh, I just remembered something!” I said excitedly.
“What’s that?”
“My letter from the Fashion Institute is supposed to come today…” I replied, seeming less enthusiastic than I had just been.
“That was a rapid change of emotion” David said. “You seemed really excited about it seconds ago.”
“I know,” I sighed. “I am, I just now realized that if I got in, that means I’ll have to leave. I don’t know if I can leave you…” My eyes began to well up with tears, and David quickly reached over to wipe them away.”
“Kallie…don’t get upset. This is your dream, and if you’re meant to follow it, I’ll support you, no matter how far apart we are.” I sniffled, and tried to manage a small smile.
“Do you promise?”
“Of course I do” David assured me, as he got up from his side of the table to scoot into the booth next to me. He wrapped his arms around me, and I breathed in the scent of his cologne for what seemed like the millionth time today.
“That makes me feel a little better. Do you want to be there when I open the letter?”
“Did you even have to ask?” David teased, kissing the top of my head.
“I know, I know. It was a silly question. I just had to be sure” I grinned, winking at him. We finished our food, David paid, and we stepped outside the café to find that the snow had stopped.
“Well, what now?” I asked. I was hoping David could think of something else to do before we headed back to my house to find out if I had made it into the school or not.
“I have an idea. First, let’s go back to your house and get these roses in some water.” I looked down at the flowers, and noticed they were starting to droop slightly.
“Okay” I agreed. “You could say hi to my mom and Sarah too. She’s been asking about you.” When I’d heard about how close David and Sarah had gotten, that made me realize what a sweet guy David was. For Sarah to trust anyone other than her family, they’d have to be someone very special. As we turned the corner onto my street, David stared in amazement at the houses on the block.
“I forgot how massive these houses are” he said, shocked. I giggled, looking up at him. His six-foot-one frame towered over my 5’3’’ body, but I didn’t care. We were perfect together, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. As we neared my house, I began to pray that my letter hadn’t arrived yet. If it did, I’d insist on opening it later. We walked up to the door and I pushed it open, only to be greeted by my adorable little sister a moment later.
“Hi Kallie! Hi David!” Sarah squealed, hugging us both.
“Hey, kid” David grinned. “Long time no see” Sarah bounced happily into the family room, and we followed her. We sat down on the plush blue couch, sinking into the soft material.
“Where is mom?” I asked.
“She’s upstairs. I’ll get her!” I watched as Sarah hurried up the stairs, calling for our mother, Lisa. Moments later, she was coming back downstairs with mom following closely behind. Her face lit up when she saw the two of us waiting in the family room.
“Hey, you guys!” she greeted. “What are you two up to?”
“Well, we took a walk around the park, but it started to snow so we went for some hot chocolate” I explained. I was about to continue, when my mom suddenly gasped.
“These roses are gorgeous!”
` “Aren’t they?” I replied, blushing slightly. “They’re from David.”
“Good man,” my mother stated, nodding with approval. “Any guy worth keeping around knows that flowers are the way to a woman’s heart.” she joked. I blushed again, and upon seeing this, my mother let out a loud chuckle. “I’m kidding, sweetheart. So, what’s the occasion?”
“Well…” I began, sucking in a breath. I knew my family would approve of our relationship, I was just bracing myself for what was to come. “We’re officially a couple now.” Mom and Sarah let out squeals of joy and hugged us both.
“We knew you would end up together!” Sarah stated matter-of-factly.
“Oh, did you now?” I teased.
“Yeah, we did. Mom said it was fate that brought David into your life, and ours too. Besides, we knew you had to crack and let someone in one day.” Well, they certainly knew that better than I did. I didn’t foresee any of this.
“Oh, Kallie, before I forget, a letter came for you. It’s from the Fashion Institute.” My heart skipped a beat, and I glanced down at the floor.
“Uh…I’ll open it later. David and I were going to find something else to do, we just had to come by and get the roses in water and say hi.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to open it now? You’ve been waiting for this moment your whole life…”
“I have been. I just…” My thoughts trailed off as I attempted to come up with an acceptable reason to put this off. I was so anxious to know if I had made it, but I knew if I did, that would change so much. I’d be away from David, which is the last thing I want, and who knows how often we would get to see each other. We had a wonderful thing going, and I just wasn’t ready to let it go yet. But, on the other hand, I knew if it put this off, it would eat away at me until I knew for sure. I let out a sigh and mustered a half smile.
“You know what? I think I should open it now. It’ll kill me if I don’t.”
“That’s my girl” my mom said, walking into the kitchen to grab the letter off the counter. She came back into the family room holding a slender white envelope out to me. I reached out and took it, running my fingers over the smooth paper before I slid my finger underneath the back side. I took a breath, and felt David’s hand on my shoulder. I looked over at him, and he smiled.
“Go on” he urged. I nodded, ripping the seal on the envelope and pulling out the neatly folded letter. I unfolded the paper, and my eyes began to scan the words typed on it. A moment later, I placed the letter in my lap, looked up at David, then to my family, and uttered the three words I had wanted to say more than anything.
“I got in.”
“Aww, come on, Kallie! Please tell me!”
“Never!” I giggled.
“Don’t make me break out ‘the face’” David threatened playfully. He then proceeded to poke me in the side repeatedly, until I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe.
“No, not the face! Stop!” I cried, attempting to gasp for breath. I was finally able to compose myself long enough to get a full sentence out. “I can’t tell you what I got you. It would ruin the surprise!” David sighed, knowing he had been defeated.
“Alright, fine. But when will I get it?”
“Let’s go to dinner on Wednesday. I’ll give it to you then.”
“Deal.” David nodded, sticking out his hand. I grabbed it, and we shook on the deal. David held onto my hand for a moment longer, lacing his fingers through mine. I smiled, feeling completely at peace. My mind began to wander a little, and I started to think about the future.
I pictured myself as a widely successful designer, among the ranks of the greats; Versace, Alexander McQueen, Prada…all of them. I had envisioned this for a long time, and now, something new made it’s way into my vision. It was David. He had achieved his dream of becoming a multi-platinum recording artist, and we were married. We had a small house in the country, away from civilization. This vision of mine seemed like it could have been plucked straight from one of those cheesy romantic comedies.
Before my mind could wander any further, our waitress came over to our table to check on us.
“Is there anything I can get you two?” she asked sweetly. David thought for a moment before responding.
“How about a pot of coffee, and a bowl of your chicken noodle soup?”
“Did you want bread with that?” our waitress, Ashley, asked. David nodded.
“I’ll have that right out for you, sir. Can I get you anything else?” the waitress asked, turning to me.
“Can I just get another hot chocolate, and…” I paused for a moment so I could think. David then spoke up for me.
“She also wants some of that strawberry shortcake.” he grinned. I was amazed at how well he knew me. I didn’t even know they had that here. I chuckled slightly, and nodded my head.
“Yeah, that should be fine” I giggled. The waitress scribbled that on her pad and walked away.
“Did I ever tell you strawberries were my favorite fruit?” I asked, bewildered.
“No, I could just sense that about you” David said, grinning. Deep inside, I knew this was exactly the kind of thing every girl dreamed about. The concept of having someone in your life who knew you better than you knew yourself was fascinating. After searching for this for so long, I was happy to finally have that. I felt complete with him, and I knew nothing would ever change that.
Ashley returned rather quickly with our food. I picked at my cake with my fork for a minute before cutting off a piece.
“Are you okay?” David asked, concerned. “You seem a little out of it.”
“I’m alright” I replied, smiling softly at him. “I’m just thinking…”
“About what?”
“It might be too soon to say”
“Well, whenever you’re ready to tell me, you know I’ll be here to listen.” I nodded, knowing that was exactly right. David was the one person I could always count on to be there for me, besides my family. I never had too many friends growing up, because I always let my shyness get the best of me. I never felt like I could be myself around any of my classmates, and I would continuously push anyone away who tried to get close to me. It seemed to me, that anytime I tried, I just got hurt.
“Oh, I just remembered something!” I said excitedly.
“What’s that?”
“My letter from the Fashion Institute is supposed to come today…” I replied, seeming less enthusiastic than I had just been.
“That was a rapid change of emotion” David said. “You seemed really excited about it seconds ago.”
“I know,” I sighed. “I am, I just now realized that if I got in, that means I’ll have to leave. I don’t know if I can leave you…” My eyes began to well up with tears, and David quickly reached over to wipe them away.”
“Kallie…don’t get upset. This is your dream, and if you’re meant to follow it, I’ll support you, no matter how far apart we are.” I sniffled, and tried to manage a small smile.
“Do you promise?”
“Of course I do” David assured me, as he got up from his side of the table to scoot into the booth next to me. He wrapped his arms around me, and I breathed in the scent of his cologne for what seemed like the millionth time today.
“That makes me feel a little better. Do you want to be there when I open the letter?”
“Did you even have to ask?” David teased, kissing the top of my head.
“I know, I know. It was a silly question. I just had to be sure” I grinned, winking at him. We finished our food, David paid, and we stepped outside the café to find that the snow had stopped.
“Well, what now?” I asked. I was hoping David could think of something else to do before we headed back to my house to find out if I had made it into the school or not.
“I have an idea. First, let’s go back to your house and get these roses in some water.” I looked down at the flowers, and noticed they were starting to droop slightly.
“Okay” I agreed. “You could say hi to my mom and Sarah too. She’s been asking about you.” When I’d heard about how close David and Sarah had gotten, that made me realize what a sweet guy David was. For Sarah to trust anyone other than her family, they’d have to be someone very special. As we turned the corner onto my street, David stared in amazement at the houses on the block.
“I forgot how massive these houses are” he said, shocked. I giggled, looking up at him. His six-foot-one frame towered over my 5’3’’ body, but I didn’t care. We were perfect together, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. As we neared my house, I began to pray that my letter hadn’t arrived yet. If it did, I’d insist on opening it later. We walked up to the door and I pushed it open, only to be greeted by my adorable little sister a moment later.
“Hi Kallie! Hi David!” Sarah squealed, hugging us both.
“Hey, kid” David grinned. “Long time no see” Sarah bounced happily into the family room, and we followed her. We sat down on the plush blue couch, sinking into the soft material.
“Where is mom?” I asked.
“She’s upstairs. I’ll get her!” I watched as Sarah hurried up the stairs, calling for our mother, Lisa. Moments later, she was coming back downstairs with mom following closely behind. Her face lit up when she saw the two of us waiting in the family room.
“Hey, you guys!” she greeted. “What are you two up to?”
“Well, we took a walk around the park, but it started to snow so we went for some hot chocolate” I explained. I was about to continue, when my mom suddenly gasped.
“These roses are gorgeous!”
` “Aren’t they?” I replied, blushing slightly. “They’re from David.”
“Good man,” my mother stated, nodding with approval. “Any guy worth keeping around knows that flowers are the way to a woman’s heart.” she joked. I blushed again, and upon seeing this, my mother let out a loud chuckle. “I’m kidding, sweetheart. So, what’s the occasion?”
“Well…” I began, sucking in a breath. I knew my family would approve of our relationship, I was just bracing myself for what was to come. “We’re officially a couple now.” Mom and Sarah let out squeals of joy and hugged us both.
“We knew you would end up together!” Sarah stated matter-of-factly.
“Oh, did you now?” I teased.
“Yeah, we did. Mom said it was fate that brought David into your life, and ours too. Besides, we knew you had to crack and let someone in one day.” Well, they certainly knew that better than I did. I didn’t foresee any of this.
“Oh, Kallie, before I forget, a letter came for you. It’s from the Fashion Institute.” My heart skipped a beat, and I glanced down at the floor.
“Uh…I’ll open it later. David and I were going to find something else to do, we just had to come by and get the roses in water and say hi.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to open it now? You’ve been waiting for this moment your whole life…”
“I have been. I just…” My thoughts trailed off as I attempted to come up with an acceptable reason to put this off. I was so anxious to know if I had made it, but I knew if I did, that would change so much. I’d be away from David, which is the last thing I want, and who knows how often we would get to see each other. We had a wonderful thing going, and I just wasn’t ready to let it go yet. But, on the other hand, I knew if it put this off, it would eat away at me until I knew for sure. I let out a sigh and mustered a half smile.
“You know what? I think I should open it now. It’ll kill me if I don’t.”
“That’s my girl” my mom said, walking into the kitchen to grab the letter off the counter. She came back into the family room holding a slender white envelope out to me. I reached out and took it, running my fingers over the smooth paper before I slid my finger underneath the back side. I took a breath, and felt David’s hand on my shoulder. I looked over at him, and he smiled.
“Go on” he urged. I nodded, ripping the seal on the envelope and pulling out the neatly folded letter. I unfolded the paper, and my eyes began to scan the words typed on it. A moment later, I placed the letter in my lap, looked up at David, then to my family, and uttered the three words I had wanted to say more than anything.
“I got in.”
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Fanfic- Walking The Line (title is subject to change)
I have GOT to start writing more!
Greetings, fellow Word Nerds! You're going to be seeing a lot more of me this month, and here's why. This month, I am participating in a writing challenge called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). The idea is to stretch your creative muscles (reeeeeally stretch 'em!) and write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Sound hard? Some would say it is. For me, thankfully, this year has been a breeze, because my novel has literally been writing itself. The only thing I've really done was come up with the plot.
It was scary going into NaNo this year, because my story has a lot of elements to it, and I wasn't quite sure how they would all fit together. Luckily, though, they are, along with events that I didn't even see coming! Well, I'm sure you're tired of me blabbering, so, here is the prologue!! Leave me comments if you like it, or you can let me know on twitter @ThisLoudFandom!!
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Walking The Line- Prologue
Every once in a while, my mind drifts off to that day. It was the first time I saw David, and it was only for a moment before everything went black. I still remember the panic in his voice as he tried so frantically to get someone to help me. I remember thinking to myself, “Don’t waste your time. No one even notices me anyway.”
That all changed from the moment I first saw him. Here was David, on his way to work, when suddenly his life was turned completely upside down by some random passerby with unfortunate luck. If you ask my family what I’m like, they’ll tell you this: “Kallie is the sweetest, most put together, most confident person you could ever meet.”
What they don’t know is, I’m mostly faking it. I always managed to act like I knew what I was doing, and what I wanted, but most of the time, I never actually did. There was only one thing I was sure of, and that was that I wanted to work in the fashion industry. After the accident, I was afraid that I’d never be able to pursue my dream, but luckily, I recovered quickly and could still do what I wanted to do. I thought this would be my only dream, but I was wrong.
After I woke from my coma, I realized something else I wanted. I wanted to be in love. I had dated before, but nothing ever seemed to feel right. I never really felt comfortable enough to share my deepest secrets with any of the guys I dated, and I didn’t like that. I decided I wanted something real. And, I had a feeling that that might happen with David.
David seemed to be the only guy to genuinely care for me. Who else would spend their days sitting in a hospital room next to a stranger in a coma? I often wonder why he did that. He gave up his job, most of his free time, and who knows what else, just to sit next to me and talk to me, knowing I may never answer him. I can still remember waking up, and seeing David smiling down at me. That is something I will never forget.
It’s been a little over six months since I got out of the hospital, and for the most part, nothing has changed. the only change I have had in my daily routine is, honestly, having a routine at all. I guess you could say I have David to thank for that. We’ve spent a lot of time together, and its been the best time of my life. I hope he feels the same way…
I have a box of letters that I keep in my room, all of them from David. He wrote to me everyday while I was in the hospital, and my mother kept them all. She never read them. She left that for me to do when I woke up. She told me that she was scared I would never wake up, and that David had given her the strength to believe that I would. I’m not really sure what this means. It could have just stemmed from him feeling bad that this happened, but then, why did he write me so much? I still haven’t read the letters, but I will.
Why can’t I stop thinking about him? Why is it that every time I picture his face or hear his name, my face gets all flushed and I can’t think clearly? Could this be what love feels like? I shake my head, attempting to brush the thought away. He is clearly too good for me. And anyway, I am honestly happy being friends.
I shift my position on my bed to glance at the clock. Have I really been daydreaming for an hour? I slowly inch myself out of my warm, comfy cocoon and begin to face the day. It’s been wonderful to be back home. I love being in this place that’s so familiar, and I’ll cherish every moment I have here until it’s time to move on. I applied to an arts school in New York, and I plan to study fashion design, along with all the business related things involved with it. I still don’t know if I’ve been accepted yet, but I’m hopeful.
Before I choose what I;m going to wear for the day, I walk over to the window to look outside. The sky ia a grayish-blue color, spotted with a few clouds, and the sun was peeking out from behind one a little. I settled on a black tank top, a lightweight red cardigan, and black pants. I was just about to come out as I heard my mother calling me from downstairs.
“Kallie? Are you awake yet?”
“Yeah” I called cheerfully as I came down the stairs. “I was just thinking about stuff, that’s all.”
“What kind of stuff?” she asked. I could tell my mother anything, knowing she would never judge me, no matter how silly it was. I sighed, tapping the floor with my toe before I spoke again.
“School, my future, stuff like that”
“And David?” she teased. I felt heat rising to my face, quickly covering it with my hands before she could see, but she knew.
“Mom…” I whined.
“What?” she asked innocently.
“Okay, so maybe I was a little…”
“Have you read his letters yet?”
“No” I sighed. “I’m not sure what to think of that. What do you think he said in them?”
“I honestly couldn’t tell you. By the way, he called for you this morning.”
“Oh? What did he want? Did he say?”\
“He wants you to meet him at the park around noon” I glanced up at the clock on the wall and nearly panicked.
“I only have ten minutes to get there! I’m going to be late!” I cried, rushing out the door. Moments after I got outside, I realized I had forgotten my shoes. I ran back, grabbed my black moccasins from the closet, and was gone as quickly as I had appeared. I jogged to the park, keeping a good pace so I wouldn’t be a gasping idiot when I got there.
I arrived on schedule, and saw David sitting on a bench by the stream. I walked over and greeted him.
“Hey there” I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the boyish grin creep across his face.
“Hi!” he stood up to hug me, and I culd feel myself melting into him. He was so warm and cuddly…His scent was intoxicating. Wondered why he was still single, but at the same time, I was glad he was. Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly noticed a bundle of something on the bench next to where David was sitting. It looked like flowers, but I wasn’t quite sure. David let go of the embrace to reach over and grab the mystery item. He then handed me the prettiest bouquet of roses I’d ever seen.
“These are stunning!” I gasped. They were white with pink around the edges of the petals.
“I’m glad you like them” David said softly. “They reminded me of you when your face gets that adorable pink color to it.” I felt my cheeks begin to burn, and David chuckled. “Like that.” We both laughed, and he sat back down on the bench, motioning for me to sit down next to him. I obliged, and we sat in silence for a moment, just watching the birds flutter over the water. Finally, David spoke.
“Kallie, can I ask you something?”
“Of course…” I responded, my voice trailing off. David turned towards me so he was looking right in my eyes.
“How do you see us?”
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, do you see us as being more than friends, or is this it for us?” It was his turn to blush, and all I could do was sit there and look at him. He looked down at the ground for a moment before looking at me again, and I took a breath.
“Well…” I began. “Honestly, I’ve been wondering the same thing. I’ve tried not to think about it because I didn’t know how you would react…” Before I could continue speaking, David leaned over and planted a soft kiss on my lips.
“Does that answer your question?” he whispered. I was stunned. Did that really just happen?
“I…uh…” I couldn't even find the right words to say. I sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, David shifted his body so he could look at me, concern filling his eyes.
“Are you alright? Should I not have done that?”
“No, I’m fine. That was incredible. Does this mean…?”
“I hope it means you’re my girlfriend” David stated with a cheesy grin.
“It does” I smiled back at him, then rested my head on his shoulder. He reached over every so often to stroke my hair, and when he did, I would let out a content sigh. I didn't think I could be any happier than I was in this moment. David was my safe place. He was my sanctuary. Even the loudest surroundings couldn’t phase me when I was with him,
We sat in silence for a while, until I suddenly had a thought.
“We should go somewhere else…it’s starting to snow.” We shared a laugh, as neither of us had even noticed the change in the weather. We stood up, and David looked at me, cocking his head to the side slightly.
“Don’t you have a jacket?”
“No, I left it at home. I didn't know the weather was going to change like this” I giggled. Without warning, David took his jacket off and draped it over my shoulders. I slid my arms into the sleeves and snuggled into the thick, warm material. It smelled like him. I smiled softly as he reached out to take my hand, and we began our wintry walk.
“Where to, my lady?”
“Hmm…lets see. We could go get some hot chocolate.” David nodded in approval, pulling me closer to him and draping has arm around me. For the first time in my life, I finally knew where I belonged. Right here, with David.
Greetings, fellow Word Nerds! You're going to be seeing a lot more of me this month, and here's why. This month, I am participating in a writing challenge called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). The idea is to stretch your creative muscles (reeeeeally stretch 'em!) and write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Sound hard? Some would say it is. For me, thankfully, this year has been a breeze, because my novel has literally been writing itself. The only thing I've really done was come up with the plot.
It was scary going into NaNo this year, because my story has a lot of elements to it, and I wasn't quite sure how they would all fit together. Luckily, though, they are, along with events that I didn't even see coming! Well, I'm sure you're tired of me blabbering, so, here is the prologue!! Leave me comments if you like it, or you can let me know on twitter @ThisLoudFandom!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Walking The Line- Prologue
Every once in a while, my mind drifts off to that day. It was the first time I saw David, and it was only for a moment before everything went black. I still remember the panic in his voice as he tried so frantically to get someone to help me. I remember thinking to myself, “Don’t waste your time. No one even notices me anyway.”
That all changed from the moment I first saw him. Here was David, on his way to work, when suddenly his life was turned completely upside down by some random passerby with unfortunate luck. If you ask my family what I’m like, they’ll tell you this: “Kallie is the sweetest, most put together, most confident person you could ever meet.”
What they don’t know is, I’m mostly faking it. I always managed to act like I knew what I was doing, and what I wanted, but most of the time, I never actually did. There was only one thing I was sure of, and that was that I wanted to work in the fashion industry. After the accident, I was afraid that I’d never be able to pursue my dream, but luckily, I recovered quickly and could still do what I wanted to do. I thought this would be my only dream, but I was wrong.
After I woke from my coma, I realized something else I wanted. I wanted to be in love. I had dated before, but nothing ever seemed to feel right. I never really felt comfortable enough to share my deepest secrets with any of the guys I dated, and I didn’t like that. I decided I wanted something real. And, I had a feeling that that might happen with David.
David seemed to be the only guy to genuinely care for me. Who else would spend their days sitting in a hospital room next to a stranger in a coma? I often wonder why he did that. He gave up his job, most of his free time, and who knows what else, just to sit next to me and talk to me, knowing I may never answer him. I can still remember waking up, and seeing David smiling down at me. That is something I will never forget.
It’s been a little over six months since I got out of the hospital, and for the most part, nothing has changed. the only change I have had in my daily routine is, honestly, having a routine at all. I guess you could say I have David to thank for that. We’ve spent a lot of time together, and its been the best time of my life. I hope he feels the same way…
I have a box of letters that I keep in my room, all of them from David. He wrote to me everyday while I was in the hospital, and my mother kept them all. She never read them. She left that for me to do when I woke up. She told me that she was scared I would never wake up, and that David had given her the strength to believe that I would. I’m not really sure what this means. It could have just stemmed from him feeling bad that this happened, but then, why did he write me so much? I still haven’t read the letters, but I will.
Why can’t I stop thinking about him? Why is it that every time I picture his face or hear his name, my face gets all flushed and I can’t think clearly? Could this be what love feels like? I shake my head, attempting to brush the thought away. He is clearly too good for me. And anyway, I am honestly happy being friends.
I shift my position on my bed to glance at the clock. Have I really been daydreaming for an hour? I slowly inch myself out of my warm, comfy cocoon and begin to face the day. It’s been wonderful to be back home. I love being in this place that’s so familiar, and I’ll cherish every moment I have here until it’s time to move on. I applied to an arts school in New York, and I plan to study fashion design, along with all the business related things involved with it. I still don’t know if I’ve been accepted yet, but I’m hopeful.
Before I choose what I;m going to wear for the day, I walk over to the window to look outside. The sky ia a grayish-blue color, spotted with a few clouds, and the sun was peeking out from behind one a little. I settled on a black tank top, a lightweight red cardigan, and black pants. I was just about to come out as I heard my mother calling me from downstairs.
“Kallie? Are you awake yet?”
“Yeah” I called cheerfully as I came down the stairs. “I was just thinking about stuff, that’s all.”
“What kind of stuff?” she asked. I could tell my mother anything, knowing she would never judge me, no matter how silly it was. I sighed, tapping the floor with my toe before I spoke again.
“School, my future, stuff like that”
“And David?” she teased. I felt heat rising to my face, quickly covering it with my hands before she could see, but she knew.
“Mom…” I whined.
“What?” she asked innocently.
“Okay, so maybe I was a little…”
“Have you read his letters yet?”
“No” I sighed. “I’m not sure what to think of that. What do you think he said in them?”
“I honestly couldn’t tell you. By the way, he called for you this morning.”
“Oh? What did he want? Did he say?”\
“He wants you to meet him at the park around noon” I glanced up at the clock on the wall and nearly panicked.
“I only have ten minutes to get there! I’m going to be late!” I cried, rushing out the door. Moments after I got outside, I realized I had forgotten my shoes. I ran back, grabbed my black moccasins from the closet, and was gone as quickly as I had appeared. I jogged to the park, keeping a good pace so I wouldn’t be a gasping idiot when I got there.
I arrived on schedule, and saw David sitting on a bench by the stream. I walked over and greeted him.
“Hey there” I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the boyish grin creep across his face.
“Hi!” he stood up to hug me, and I culd feel myself melting into him. He was so warm and cuddly…His scent was intoxicating. Wondered why he was still single, but at the same time, I was glad he was. Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly noticed a bundle of something on the bench next to where David was sitting. It looked like flowers, but I wasn’t quite sure. David let go of the embrace to reach over and grab the mystery item. He then handed me the prettiest bouquet of roses I’d ever seen.
“These are stunning!” I gasped. They were white with pink around the edges of the petals.
“I’m glad you like them” David said softly. “They reminded me of you when your face gets that adorable pink color to it.” I felt my cheeks begin to burn, and David chuckled. “Like that.” We both laughed, and he sat back down on the bench, motioning for me to sit down next to him. I obliged, and we sat in silence for a moment, just watching the birds flutter over the water. Finally, David spoke.
“Kallie, can I ask you something?”
“Of course…” I responded, my voice trailing off. David turned towards me so he was looking right in my eyes.
“How do you see us?”
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, do you see us as being more than friends, or is this it for us?” It was his turn to blush, and all I could do was sit there and look at him. He looked down at the ground for a moment before looking at me again, and I took a breath.
“Well…” I began. “Honestly, I’ve been wondering the same thing. I’ve tried not to think about it because I didn’t know how you would react…” Before I could continue speaking, David leaned over and planted a soft kiss on my lips.
“Does that answer your question?” he whispered. I was stunned. Did that really just happen?
“I…uh…” I couldn't even find the right words to say. I sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, David shifted his body so he could look at me, concern filling his eyes.
“Are you alright? Should I not have done that?”
“No, I’m fine. That was incredible. Does this mean…?”
“I hope it means you’re my girlfriend” David stated with a cheesy grin.
“It does” I smiled back at him, then rested my head on his shoulder. He reached over every so often to stroke my hair, and when he did, I would let out a content sigh. I didn't think I could be any happier than I was in this moment. David was my safe place. He was my sanctuary. Even the loudest surroundings couldn’t phase me when I was with him,
We sat in silence for a while, until I suddenly had a thought.
“We should go somewhere else…it’s starting to snow.” We shared a laugh, as neither of us had even noticed the change in the weather. We stood up, and David looked at me, cocking his head to the side slightly.
“Don’t you have a jacket?”
“No, I left it at home. I didn't know the weather was going to change like this” I giggled. Without warning, David took his jacket off and draped it over my shoulders. I slid my arms into the sleeves and snuggled into the thick, warm material. It smelled like him. I smiled softly as he reached out to take my hand, and we began our wintry walk.
“Where to, my lady?”
“Hmm…lets see. We could go get some hot chocolate.” David nodded in approval, pulling me closer to him and draping has arm around me. For the first time in my life, I finally knew where I belonged. Right here, with David.
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