rainfall | ashton irwin au | completed

epilogue

Something was tapping on my window. I thought it was the rain at first, but the sound was infrequent and too loud to be raindrops. I pulled myself out of bed and stumbled to the window, opening it to reveal a silhouette figure. I panicked at first, but his voice put me at ease as I recognised it immediately.

"Lilah," Ashton whispered, cupping his hand to his mouth as if it would actually help me to hear him better. "Come down."

I shook my head. "Are you insane? It's past midnight. What are you doing?"

"I have something to show you. I promise it's worth it."

I rolled me eyes but pulled my sweater and jeans on anyway, too tired to argue. It had been a few days since Ashton had almost died, and I was still trying to forget how it had felt to almost lose him. Even if I was exhausted, I had to do as he said.

I crept out of the house slowly, locking the door behind me and frowning at Ashton as he chuckled at my sleep deprived state. "This better be good," I mumbled.

"I'm trying to be romantic. Stop moaning," he teased, linking his fingers through mine.

After a few minutes, I realised that we were headed towards the forest, and my heart began to hammer against my chest. I hadn't come back here since we had been in the old warehouse. The bad memories of the damp trees and dead brown leaves came back to me, replacing all the times I had loved walking through here. "Ashton, where are you taking me?" I gulped.

He squeezed my hand in reassurance. "Don't worry. You'll love it."

As we walked further into the woods, a glimmer of light caught my attention. "What are those?"

"You'll find out in a minute," he smirked.

He had lead me to the clearing next to the stream where we had seen each other in the forest for the first time. I recognised it as soon as he leant against one of the boulders that I had hid behind when I he had appeared with Matt.

I shook my head in disbelief, finally taking in what he had done for me. There were fairy lights scattered around a mattress draped in white sheets, and they snaked around the trees, casting shadows of all shapes and sizes.

He cleared his throat confidently, obviously pleased with my reaction. "I thought you'd want to spend a bit of time here. You haven't really had a chance recently, and I knew you were missing the forest."

"It's perfect," I whispered, still in awe. "Thank you...so much."

He chuckled and sat down on the mattress, patting the space next to him for me to follow. I did, never taking my eyes off the miraculous boy in front of me. I wondered how he could know me so well after such little time. I wondered how he could dispel my fears just by one simple gesture. Everything that I loved about the forest had returned just by him doing this.

He held out his palm slowly, sticking out his tongue as he narrowed his eyes. I knew what he was doing as soon as I saw his expression.

Much quicker than the first time, a bright orange flicker flew from his palm, and a moment later, the trees in front of us were illuminated with an orange glow. I hardly noticed though, my eyes too busy taking in him, the way his eyes appeared gold against the fire, the way his lips curved into a proud grin. He was beautiful, more beautiful than I or the forest could ever be. I wasn't worthy to even look at him, but I did anyway, my eyes glued to him.

I watched as he spread the fire onto a pile of logs that he had obviously already put there to keep us warm. It was then that I realised that the forest wasn't just in his eyes; it was in every piece of him, from the way he smelled of cinnamon and pine, to the way his fingers always felt rough in the same way that bark did. Beneath that though, was a fire, and it burned incredibly bright, so bright that I sometimes couldn't bear to look at it. Eventually, it would consume everything around it, and I was more than happy to lose myself in the flames. He wasn't a boy; he was the world, filled with magic and mystery that most people wouldn't notice, but those who would were the luckiest people in the world.

"What are you staring at?" He questioned, suddenly pulling me out of my fire-filled haze.

"You," I answered honestly. "You're kind of amazing, and I'm kind of falling in love with you."

He smiled widely, his dimples popping. Looking at him made me feel as if I was floating. "Well, that's good, because I'm kind of falling in love with you too."

He leant towards me until his lips were pressed against mine. I felt dizzy as he began to kiss me, my skin burning each time his lips moved against mine.

It felt like the first day of autumn, when everything is red and orange and you are enchanted by the way the earth can change so quickly.

It felt like reading your favourite book for the first time, and not yet knowing it's your favourite until you've finished it, and you wish you could read it for the first time again and again.

It felt like gazing at the stars for too long and realising with both fear and awe just how big the universe really is.

It felt like sitting by the fire in winter, warming yourself up, feeling completely at ease, as if nothing could ever harm you.

It ended too quickly. It would always end too quickly.

I fell asleep listening to the sound of his heartbeat and the patter of the rain against the leaves. They followed the same rhythm - his rhythm.

He was the forest, and the fire. He was the rain.

* * *

AN: OH MY GOD I FINISHED A BOOK THIS CALLS FOR CELEBRATION

I JUST WANT TO SAY A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO ANYONE WHO'S EVER READ THIS BOOK I'M SO GRATEFUL THANK YOU

THANK YOU ESPECIALLY TO MY GAL CobainWannabe SHE'S BEEN SO HELPFUL AND SO KIND ABOUT EVERYTHING I WRITE AND I LOVE HER A LOT

I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THE BOOK, ESPECIALLY THE EPILOGUE BECAUSE I WAS REALLY NERVOUS TO POST IT AJHDGFG

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!! AND ALSO I'M STILL UNSURE ON WHETHER I'M WRITING A SEQUEL. I WANT TO BUT THERE'S NOT POINT WHEN THERE'S ONLY A FEW OF YOU BCOS YOU WILL HAVE TO READ THIS TO READ THE SECOND IDK WE'LL SEE

okay i'll stop rambling now thank you so much love u bye