A Scarf, a Poorly Wrapped Present, and a Kiss

It was cold outside and she was wearing a deep, dark purple scarf with specs of metallic gold. I would have preferred to see her in my hoodie but she looks amazing no matter what she wears. I'm her best friend and tonight is the night I'm going to tell her I have been in love with her since we were kids. As a kid, you don't completely understand the concept of love. All I knew then is that I never wanted to leave her side. She made me braid her hair, and then she braided mine. I was the prince and she was the princess. I never realized I had such strong feelings for her but, alas, they were there.

Currently, it is New Years Eve, and since I missed Christmas with her, I need to give her present to her. It's horribly wrapped, I will admit. I'm giving her a newspaper. Now, before you jump to conclusions, hear me out. I saw an article on this newspaper about someone dying to save the person they loved. They sacrificed themselves for this other person's well-being. It was perfect, and she loves the simple things in life. I paid for the paper earlier that week and took a sharpie to it. I blacked out most of that one page until all you could see were the words:

"You brighten my day and fill my world with joy,

My love."

Talking to her always makes my day. Today, she's wearing that purple and gold scarf, as I said earlier. We've been talking for about five minutes in the dim light of the street lamp. She eyes the poorly wrapped present before asking me what it is. "Well, since you noticed it, I might as well give it to you now." I scratch the back of my head nervously as I hand her the newspaper. She takes it from my hand and raises an eyebrow. Her nude brown hair softly moves toward her face as a small breeze passes through the street.

"A newspaper?" she asks. "You said you like the simple things in life," I playfully say with a smirk. She chuckles and says "I see someone has been paying attention."

She looks at me as if asking if she can open it. I nod my head and wait, acting calm even though my insides are churning. She looks at the paper with worry for a spilt-second before slowly unfolding it. As I watch her read it, I see her take in every word. Her eyes get glossy and her breathing quickens. After she finishes, one tear rolls down her perfectly freckled cheek. I don't know what to do with myself, I scratch my head again and blush. There's a long pause. Well, at least it felt long. To break the silence she says "Took you long enough," in a wobbly voice.

Before I can even realize what's happening, she smoothly takes her scarf off and puts it on the back of my neck, while holding both ends. She gently pulls my forehead to hers and says something I know I'll never forget. "I've loved you since the day I saw that you would do anything for me, even if you hated it. You showed me how I deserved to be treated. So let me return the favor." She closed her eyes and kissed me like she had been waiting for this moment her entire life, I knew I had.

~ She was wearing purple. Purple is the color of royalty,

and she was my princess.~