Valentine's Hart | SLOW UPDATES

Chapter 18

I squeezed his hand. And he began to sing the familiar rhyme I used to hear as a kid.

"Sing a song of flowers,"

Breathe.

"flowers all around."

Inhale.

"Flowers that are growing,"

Exhale.

"growing in the ground."

In.

"Flowers of every color,"

Out.

"they look so pretty too."

I began to focus on his voice.

"Red and pink..."

He sang it at a slower-paced than the original.

"...and orange and yellow..."

His voice was deep and rich like he was speaking Italian to me.

"...blue and purple too."

My heart started to slow down as he repeated the entire verse.

I opened my eyes and turned to him. His eyes, looking deeply into mine. "Okay?"

"Thank you," I whispered breathlessly.

And I'm not quite sure if I was breathless because of my anxiety or his voice or him being so close to me.

"I got you," he whispered back with a soft smile.

The lights began to dim as a voice-over started to say the introductions to the show.

We made our distance from each other as he lets go of my hand.

At the exact time, Coraline and Dean came back.

"You good now?" She asked me.

I smiled at her and nodded.

And some part of me made me hold my other hand to replace the warmth Zecheriah just gave me earlier.

"I present, the newest collection by Alexander Wang." The crowd began to cheer as the first model went out.

I composed myself quickly and began to do my job while waiting for Emmett to come out.

The models walked flawlessly on the runway showcasing Alexander's talent.

I took pictures to attached to the notes on my phone about some of the pieces.

Mhm, that skirt is going on the list.

"Oh my god," Coraline gasped. "Bestie!" She cheered beside me, which made me looked up.

And there goes my best friend. Strutting the runway like the bad bitch he is.

"That's my best friend!" I yelled out, forgetting I'm a representative of Vogue while recording his catwalk.

I don't care if other people were looking because at the moment I'm the best friend, "Work it!"

Zecheriah and Dean joined us in cheering for Emmett.

"You're doing great, sweetheart!" Dean exclaimed, which made Emmett's lips quirk up a bit before letting his face rest again.

"Let's go, Emmett!" Zecheriah shouted with his hands enclosing his mouth.

Emmett walked passed by us, following the tempo of the music.

Until he went out of the stage, we were still hooting for him.

"He was so good!" Coraline squealed at me.

"I know! Did you film it?" I asked her excitedly. "He'll want to put that up on his vlog."

"Of course, I did!"

An hour later, the show ended with Alexander walking the runway. Everyone applauded him for his collection this season.

"Let's go see Emmett backstage," Coraline said as we all followed her.

We saw Emmett nearby the backstage door, so I wouldn't need to go through the chaos.

"You did great!"

I hugged Emmett, jumping up and down with him, "Thanks, babe. I feel like I can fly right now on how happy I am."

The three people I am with congratulated him "You guys want to join the after-party?" Emmett asked.

"Hell yeah!" Dean exclaimed.

Coraline replied, "I'm down. How about you, Dahlia and Z?"

As much as I'd love to celebrate with Emmett, having 2 panic attacks in an hour is not great.

"I'm sorry," I said guiltily.

Emmett hugged me again to speak to my ear, "Were you ok?"

"Yeah. Zecheriah helped me," I whispered back.

"Sounds husband material to me," Emmett teased, patting my back.

I rolled my eyes, pulling away from him, "Have fun at the party."

"You bet your cute little ass," He said, wiggling his brows.

"Z?" Dean asked.

Zecheriah looked at me before shrugging at him, "Sure."

"Alright, I'll be on my way. Text me when you get home," I told Coraline and Emmett, saying my goodbyes.

"Will do, Mami," Emmett and Coraline recited while giggling.

"Take care of them," I said to Zecheriah and Dean.

They nodded, and I left.

The moment I stepped out of the building, I was met by the cold breeze of the fall season.

I wore my leather jacket properly and held them tight to my body while gripping the handles of my handbag.

I decided to walk a little further from the crowd and stumbled upon a small diner.

I went to take a seat in a booth that was empty.

A young woman came to hand me the menu so I could order. "I'll have a shepherd's pie and iced tea. Thank you."

When the waitress left, I decided to look around the diner.

It wasn't full but had plenty of customers. A family is sitting not far from my table. They have a kid and a toddler with them, eating ice cream messily as their parents laughed at them while feeding.

I smiled at that. I remember those times when mom and dad take a leave for work and bring us to different diners. Eldritch and I would end up being a mess because he wouldn't stop picking on me. I laughed at the memory of a 7-year-old Dahlia, dumping a tall glass of milkshake on an 18-year-old Eldritch. And Kiefer, well, he is who is. Always getting caught in the middle of war.

I miss those days.

"Well, isn't this a bit cliché?" A voice of a man broke my thoughts.

I looked up to see Zecheriah, and I was shocked as hell. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged and pointed to the seat across from me, "May I?"

I nodded and asked again, "So?"

"I don't want you to be alone," he shrugged again, motioning another crew for the menu.

I scrunched my nose jokingly, "Yeah, no. This is too much."

Zecheriah chuckled while shaking his head, "It's the truth though."