Swing for the Fences (Dansby Swanson/Ender Inciarte)

Chapter 10

"It really is. Their relationship is special. I can't deal with this-" She felt tears starting to form, "Goodness, what's wrong with me."

His arms went around her and he kissed her cheek, "You love them. And I love you-"

"You just like saying that-" She grinned and leaned into him, "And so do I. I love you too, Ender."

Hearing the door open, the two broke apart and shut off the lights. It was Dansby because he had said he was coming in first. Jessalyn thought she was coming to a high school reunion and that some of their friends would be there. She couldn't be more wrong. They heard two separate sets of footsteps and moved to hide behind the bleachers.

"Oh, I guess we missed everyone-" Dansby pretended to be disappointed as he turned to Jess and kissed her in the dark, "Stay here. I'm going to get the lights. Make sure they didn't leave us a note or something."

Jessalyn felt nervous and she wasn't sure why. Her hands interlaced with each other and she took a deep breath. It was only another second before the lights came on and when they did she had never witnessed anything so beautiful and so precious. Tears streamed down her cheek and she didn't comprehend what was going on. She brought her hand up to her mouth and walked towards the hundreds of pictures that adorned the room, "Oh. My. Goodness." She hadn't even noticed where Dansby was. Her eyes scanned each picture. It started when they were three all the way until now. One picture, in particular, caught her eye. It was a diamond ring that she'd never seen before. She frowned for a moment, before turning to ask Dansby what it was. She never in a million years expected to see what she witnessed. He was behind her, down on one knee and he had that very ring held out to her. She covered her mouth in shock once more and felt tears burn her eyes. This wasn't real, she was positive she'd wake up at any moment.

"Jessalyn," He smiled up at her as his nerves started to disappear with the look on her face, "You are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, inside and out. I've known you longer than I've known how to walk," He laughed before continuing, "You have been by my side through everything. You never left me. You put up with my stupid jokes and endless talks about things you probably didn't want to hear. You even supported me when I choose to leave you. I've known since I was six years old that I would marry you one day. That I would be the man who makes all of your dreams come true and who treats you like the angel you are," He felt himself getting emotional, "And I know we've not been a couple long, but Jess, I've been in love with you since the day I could comprehend what love was. That's never going to change. I just want to experience life with you. Grow old with you, raise our kids together, have a nice house without Bristol and Ender-" They snorted and she must have heard them because she started crying harder, "I want to be your everything because you're mine. Will you please do me the honors of being Mrs. Swanson?"

He hadn't even finished when she began nodding very quickly, "YES, YES! Of course!" He slipped the ring on her finger and she cried harder against him. He picked her up and spun her around and not to her surprise, their friends emerged, clapping and whistling, "I love you-" She kissed him and looked around him to admire her ring, "Oh my goodness, what even did I do to deserve this!?"

"You were born-" He laughed and buried himself in her neck, "Gosh, I can't even express how much I love you."

"I love you both-" Bristol was still on the verge of crying. She'd been a basket case all day and it had only gotten worse since Ender had told her he loved her. She hugged Jess tightly, "I'm SO happy for you. And you-" She moved to hug Dansby as well. She wasn't feeling any better, but she wasn't about to spoil their time. This day was about her best friends. She watched as Ender followed her suit and did the same.