Memory Documentation

chapter twenty one | documenting two kids in love

"I like this cardigan on you, though. You look beautiful..." The words were out of my mouth without me thinking.

You look beautiful.

Darcy froze. I froze. This was a constant thing today and it had to stop.

I blew out a breath. "Darcy, listen–"

"Do you want me?" she suddenly blurted, turning to me with cheeks ablazed from more than just the frosty air. "Sorry, that sounded stupid. I mean... You know what I mean."

Her lips wobbled in embarrassment, and I breathed out a laugh. She really was the cutest.

I leaned down and rested my forehead against hers. Touched her nose to mine and nuzzled it gently. When I brought a hand up to cup her cheek, her eyes drifted closed and she pressed back against my palm.

"I do," I answered in a whisper. "Want you. Want this."

To prove my point and leave no confusion behind, I closed the distance and kissed her. The feeling of her lips against mine was akin to the flame of a single candle. Soft and comforting, yet still able to make me melt. It felt so natural to hold her like this, to kiss her like this. I wanted to do it more — everyday and in front of everybody and nobody.

Hope that this could really happen bloomed as Darcy broke the kiss and said, breathless, "I want it, too." But as her eyes fluttered open, she gripped my hand and leaned back to look at me. The same look of panic and indecision had returned. "But..."

"You feel worried? Nervous to ruin what we already have?" I guessed. At her nod, I smiled, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and pulled her into a fierce hug. "Me too, Darce. Trust me, I've thought a lot about it, too. I don't want to lose you a second time."

Her grip around my jacket turned fierce, and she buried her face deeper into my chest. "Please, never again," she whimpered.

"But y'know what I thought?" I murmured into her hair. "As much as I don't want to risk a future without you, I'd hate losing a future where I couldn't love you the way I need to."

Darcy's body tightened beneath me. She pulled back sharply, her eyes wide. "You... love me?"

At that I had to laugh. I took hold of her waist and lifted her, twirling her around and around in my arms until she was shrieking and laughing with me. "Do I love you? Of course I do!" I exclaimed. "I always have. You're my best friend, Darce, and you always will be. But the big question is, when did that love start looking like a different color?"

And when did it? When did the color of my feelings for this girl shift from yellow to the most beautiful shades of pink and red? I shook my head. I didn't know when, but I did know that I wanted to experience life with her through this new lens.

I put Darcy back down to the floor and led her to where our backpacks still were. "What's wrong?" she asked me, peering over my shoulder as I rifled through my bag.

"I wanted to give you this." I produced the familiar large, folded up paper and handed it to her. When she opened it, her hand flew up to her mouth in a gasp.

"Chris!"

I smiled and took it from her. Walking over to the edge of the building, I positioned the paper up right up to where the sun was beginning to set behind the line of buildings. In comparison to my drawing versus the actual skyline, the buildings were completely wrong besides one large apartment building on the left and a billboard near the center. The color of today's actual sunset was the most underwhelming shade of orange compared to the brilliant orange I had colored the sky in my picture. But in the middle of it all, standing at the edge of the roof, was the centerpiece of it all.