Two Ghosts - Ruel Van Dijk (Completed)

Chapter 17 - Surprises, Secrets and Unspoken Words

I had been trying to give Ruel some space for the rest of the day, which was more difficult than I had imagined. I wanted to make sure he didn't get overwhelmed, so in order to do that, I had to be slow and patient with him. But I couldn't stay away for some reason, it was like he was a magnet and I was a piece of metal. So I only really managed to stay away from about 8:30 in the morning to 3:30 in the afternoon. And then I simply had to see him. Don't ask me why, my brain just wasn't cooperating.

So I did. I walked down the hall and knocked gently on the door to his room. I had been up and down this hallway three times today, and it was beginning to annoy me that we were on opposite sides of the hallway. I suppose they did that intentionally so I'd stay away from him. But that didn't really stop me anyway so I guess it failed.

I opened the door quietly before he could respond to see him scribbling something down furiously on a piece of paper. I stood in the doorway, just watching him write whatever the hell he had to desperately take down. I didn't want to interrupt him, so I just stood there.

"You can talk you know," he said suddenly, still not stopping writing. I nearly jumped out of my skin. How did he always just know when I was standing there?

"What are you doing?" I blurted, eager to ask.

"Writing," he replied plainly, still writing.

"I can see that, but what are you writing?" I rolled my eyes.

"It's a secret," he finished, finally stopping scribbling. He carefully folded the paper and put it in the pocket of his jeans. Of course it was a secret. That was Ruel. Full of unspoken words, secrets and surprises. "What do you need?"

Shit. I hadn't thought about this part. I watched his eyes flutter with curiosity, staring straight into my eyes the way they always did.

"Well, I-er," I stumbled over my words, watching his head tilt, a slight smile playing on his lips. A smile. He was smiling. It was only a small smile, but he was smiling. I had never seen him smile before, but I thought it just made him look even more beautiful. His eyes creased slightly, his blush pink lips slightly upturned. His face seemed to glow, touched by the moon and stars. Fucking hell Ruel. You were not making it easy for me to play this off cool. "I wanted to ask if you wanted to go for a walk with me, but if you're busy I could just go by myself," I blurted. Wow. Smooth. Real Smooth.

"No, you are not going for a walk by yourself. Plus I just finished," he replied quickly, his smile wisping away. "I'll just change, then we can go."

I nodded and walked back out into the hallway. I had to get my bag and phone anyway. I strolled back down the hall and got my bag, then just leant against the outside of my door and checked my instagram.

I found myself spacing out though. He actually cared enough about me that he offered to walk with me so I wouldn't be alone. Maybe I was making progress.

"You ready to go?" Ruel's voice flooded my ears, scaring the living daylights out of me. I jumped, flicking my eyes up to his towering figure.

"You have to stop doing that," I sighed, calming myself down. I looked up to his eyes again, which were now glimmering with amusement. Amusement from scaring the shit out of me. I couldn't be mad though, he looked opulent when he was happy. I savoured it, because it wasn't often that he was this ebullient.

He said nothing more, but grabbed my hand gently like he had so many times before, and led me down the stairs. Yes, down the stairs. Not out the window. Down the stairs. Down the stairs to our families.

"Where are you going Sunday..." Neveah began to ask cheekily, but stopped when she saw Ruel standing beside me. "Oh, h-hi Ruel."

"We're going for a walk, we won't be long. Can you tell mum and dad please?" I smiled at her while watching her eyes widen in surprise. 

"Sure..." she trailed off, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. I turned towards the door and started walking away from her, Ruel's hand not connected to mine any more. He had let go at the bottom of the stairs, which I understood, but I missed the warmth. 

I stopped when I got out the door, the cold air making me shiver. I had brought a jumper this time, yes, but I was still cold. I stood there, shivering for about a minute waiting for Ruel before I heard him jog up behind me.

"Where are we walking?" I asked as we began to walk. I continued to stare off at the view of Sydney. They had a lovely view, and I was not about to waste it.

"It's a surprise," he replied rather blandly for the fact it was a surprise. 

"Not more surprises, haven't there been enough of those?" I groaned, turning to look at him. I smiled at the sight of him. His cheeks were flushed a bright red from the cold, his lips an unusual shade of poisonous red, quite different from their usual blush pink. His eyes looked greener when it was cloudy like this. 

"But they're beautiful surprises Sunday," he responded to my childishness. To be honest, I quite liked his surprises. They were always, as he said, beautiful. Just as he was. I continued to admire how dazzling he looked in this state. But of course, he caught me. "What are you doing?" he asked after realising I was staring at him. He furrowed a brow suspiciously. 

"Admiring you," I blurted, because I have absolutely no filter. I slapped a hand over my mouth. Did you really just say that? I could already feel my cheeks heating up. But he didn't have a cheeky grin on his face like most people would when someone said something as stupid as I did, he looked more confused. His eyebrows creasing, a slight frown on his face.

"Why?" he asked as more of a genuine question than a flirty one. Why? Had nobody ever admired him properly? 

"Because," I muttered simply, not really wanting to inform him on the fact I was admiring his beauty. I looked back at my feet.

"No really, why?" he asked again, more serious this time. Did he really want to know that badly?

"Well, if you must know," I started off cooly. "I-I think you are rather wonderful," I finished, looking at his face once again. I watched in awe as his mouth widened into a smile. Another smile. Another beautiful smile I got to witness. But this one was different. It was happier, brighter. He had smiled wide enough so I could see his teeth, straight and bright white. His lips, tinted a bright shade of red, danced around them, making his smile look even prettier. He looked more than wonderful. He looked like the moon and the stars. I swear they were knitted into his soul somehow, because it was unfair a person this beautiful could exist naturally. 

He didn't say anything. But he didn't need to. His smile said it for him. 

A/N

Ty my loves for reading this far, it means a lot to me:)

Remember to sleep, eat, drink some water, all that good stuff, you need it! Have the best day my lovelies,

- Bri <3

27/10/21

Quote of the day:

Fall in love with your own solitude.

- Rupi Kaur

Word Count: 1297