"And I know it's hard to tell. But I think I really like you."
- beabadoobee (Dance with Me, 2018)
__________
Y/N's POV
The sweet, savory smell of waffles is what woke me up. I lazily fluttered my eyes open, the light harshly blinding me. I rubbed the discomfort off, hoping I would stop seeing micro dots everywhere. And when they did, I could finally see my surroundings better, and there she was. A warm smile on her face with a tray of food, waiting for me to eat.
"Good morning, sleepy head." Lizzie says softly. "I got you breakfast."
I sat up, and drew a tired smile, "Thank you so much darling, it looks amazing."
I picked up a fork and a knife as I eagerly sliced through the waffles. The first bite is always the best. The warm, sweet taste of the syrup along with the butter was divine. I usually don't eat breakfast, but something about this waffle is different. I couldn't get enough of it.
"Whoa, there, you might want to slow down." She chuckled. "Wouldn't want you to choke or anything."
I took another bite, and another one after it, "This is really good. Where did you get it?"
"Fun fact, I actually made it." Lizzie said. "I'm friends with one of the chefs here, so I woke up really early and asked for a favor. He let me make you a simple breakfast with an ingredient that you can only get from here."
"It's seven in the morning. How early did you actually wake up?"
"Like around five-thirty, almost six."
"Why'd you wake up so early to get me breakfast?"
"I wanted to do something sweet and simple." Lizzie lowered her gaze to her hands. "I hope you liked it or some—"
I slid my hand beside her face so she could look at me, "I love it. Thank you."
I took generous bite of my food, and flashed her a toothy grin. She smiled back at me with tenderness and care glimmering through her eyes. Maybe it was the effort she put or the fact that I've never tasted a waffle this good, but my heart feels so full. A great immense amount of positive emotions all sum up into one. And slowly but surely, I do begin to feel my walls crumble a little.
"And here you go." She handed me my daily headache medicine pill along with a glass of water. "Your next one's is before you go to sleep. Drink up."
Without saying anything else, I took the pill and swallowed it with water. I'm not very fond of pills because it always feels weird when it passes down my throat, but having to do it for someone other than myself, it makes it suck a little less. Even after I was done, she made sure I wasn't faking anything, and checked under my mouth. I normally would find it weird because I'm an adult and I feel like I'm being treated like child, but seeing her cheer and smile at something simple made me happy. I want to keep feeling like this.
"Okay, now go hurry up get ready because I have a lot of fun things planned for us to do today." Lizzie practically pushed me off the bed. "You're always taking forever to get ready."
I scoffed, "What? That's not true. Don't you think I have the upper hand in this situation because you don't even remember anything about how it would take you forever to get ready years ago before your accident."
"If I don't remember, it never happened."
"Oh yeah?" I tilted my head. "You don't remember filming us doing it, and yet, here you are with the many videos saved on your phone." I smirked, and made my way in front of her as I'm slowly crawling back to bed. "How many was it you have on your phone? Six? Wait no... eight. Yep, definitely eight."
When she didn't say anything but blush her way into embarrassment, I decided to push further. I took a quick glance on her phone resting on the nightstand, and with one swift movement, I reached over it. She didn't notice what I was doing, not at first at least. And when she did, it was already too late. I was able to open her phone because she never changed her password and it was still the same all these years. The month and year we met. How sappy.
"What are you doing?" Lizzie tried reaching for her phone. "Don't tell me you're— Y/N, give it bac—"
"No way." I let out a laugh when I came across something in her camera roll. "You made a separate album for it?"
Taken aback by my discovery, she was able to take her phone away from my hand before I could open it. Lizzie hid her phone under the pillow as she sat on top of it so I wouldn't be able to take it. I couldn't help but laugh at how she's trying her hardest not to be embarrassed by it.
"No need to be ashamed of it." I state with a teasing smile on my face. "Now, tell me, which one is your favorite?" I lean forward to whisper, diminishing the distance between us as we're now inches away from each other. And to a whisper, I said, "Was it the very first one we made where I did that thing with my tongu-"
"Okay, I think you're having way too much fun teasing me."
"You're right." I said. "But, if you want to know my personal favorite..." I leaned closer, my lips barely touching her ear. "It was when I had your hands cuffed to the bed while you're riding my fac-"
"Okay, that's my cue." Lizzie stood up, and moved away from the bed, keeping her distance from me. "If you're not going to get ready, then I will." And just like that, she shut the bathroom door.
I threw my head back in laughter, feeling victorious. For a moment, I looked up at the ceiling, staring into the void of it all. It seems forever ago when we were carelessly cracking jokes and teasing each other. And now that I'm getting to experience it again, I have a good feeling about it. That everything will be different this time around. At least that's what I'm hoping for.
After a while, I occupied myself with a few emails, making sure everything was good on my team's end. Even though I'm only going to be gone for a few days, I didn't want to leave any underlying problems. When I heard the door open, I diverted my undivided attention to her. And there she was. Standing a few feet from me looking effortlessly beautiful. For a moment, I almost forgot to take a breath because I was so mesmerized by how ethereal she looks at this very moment. Simple, yet breathtaking.
"How do I look?" Lizzie asked innocently. "I hope that I don't look too bad."
I made my way in front of her, "You look absolutely stunning." I gave her a genuine smile. "Completely out of this world."
"Thank you."
"I'll go get ready." I kissed her forehead. "Don't miss me too much while I'm gone."
With the biggest smile on my face, I got ready for the day. I don't usually like to overthink about my outfits so much because it drives me insane, but I'm constantly finding myself being extremely picky with every single one of my clothes. I didn't want to look bad. In fact, I want to look good for her more than anything. It took some time, but I was finally able to settle on an outfit.
I looked at myself in front of the mirror more than a couple of times before I was finally satisfied with how I look from head to toe. I almost didn't want to open the door, but I eventually had to. And when I did, my nerves shot straight up. Our eyes connected, and I almost lost it. It was like someone super glued my shoes to the floor. I couldn't move.
"About time." Lizzie said. "And wow. You look... wow."
"Is that a good wow or a bad wow." I chuckled nervously.
"It's a good wow."
I blushed a little, "Oh okay."
Lizzie offered me her hand, "Are you ready to go, my queen?"
"Of course." I held her hand. "I'll go wherever you go."
We smiled in sync toward one another before we headed out the door. The day hasn't even started yet and it already feels like I'm having the best time of my life. Simple, yet heartfelt moments like these made it all worth it. The obstacles and what I thought was a never-ending cycle of being a second option.
When she came back that night and confessed her feelings for me, I don't think I've ever seen her so sure of herself before. I was afraid because I didn't expect it. She said it without having any memory of our past. And suddenly, all the fear and doubts in the back of my head left. I felt pure sincerity within her words, which is why I didn't run away. And if I'm being honest with myself, I know in the deepest part of myself that I could never really let her go. No matter how hard I try.
"Don't even think about it." I said with some guidance in my voice. "You know you can't drive yet."
"But-"
"No buts. End of story." I took the key from her hand. "Just get in the car, Elizabeth."
————
"You know, at this rate, we'll be on the road forever." Lizzie teased me for the tenth time after making another wrong turn. "Even google maps can't help you. You should've just let me drive."
I huffed, "As if."
"Whatever. But, anyway, make sure you make a turn toward the end of the street. That should bring us to our destination."
After the many wrong turns I took, we finally arrived. I parked the car by the lot nearby, and quickly rushed to her side so I could open the door for her. Lizzie flashed me a cute smile as she took me by the hand. I have no clue where we are, so it wasn't like I could take the lead on anything. But, I didn't mind not having a single clue. It's refreshing to be on the other end of it. After we crossed the street, I was immediately met by different various sound of street-style musical instruments. I admired at every decorations around me, the floral, island vibe truly is refreshing.
Further into the village/town, the whole strip was surrounded by street foods and performers either playing instruments or dancing. The sight of families having fun and buying things for one another was perfect. I don't think I've stopped smiling and admiring at my surroundings ever since we got here.
I was pulled out of my thoughts when Lizzie pulled me somewhere. Before I could say anything, she was already buying us something to eat. I watched as she talked to the vendor about what she wanted. I don't know what it is, I couldn't help but look at her with adoration. Maybe it's that smile of hers or the fact that I'm surrounded by lively things. I feel completely content with myself.
"And here you go." She gave me a cup full of little treats. "It's called Poi Mochi. It's really good."
Lizzie took a couple of her own and popped it into her mouth. She gave me a look, waiting for me to try. I grabbed at least a couple, and immediately I was blown away. The crispy-crust on the outside worked so well with the chewy filling on the inside. I had more because I couldn't get enough of it.
"See, I told you." She bumped my shoulder. "But, anyway, let's go over there. I think there seems to be live performance going on."
Lizzie pulled my hand once more. Almost making me spill my cup. She did this just about any chance she could get. She would see something from afar that pulled her in, and she would drag me to where it is. We walked along side each other throughout the strip of the town, watching every performance, and bought a couple touristy knick-knacs such as I love Hawaii shirts and funny looking hats for each other. We look like a complete tourist.
Somehow after exploring every part of the town, we ended up inside a room full of paintings. In front of us are blank canvases, and a few feet behind it displays a bowl of fruits ready to be painted. I was mostly a follower, and half of the time, I was busy having a moment of my own, so I couldn't quite remember when she signed us up for a quick painting class. It reminded of when I took her to a painting class back in LA six years ago for her birthday. It made me feel nostalgic.
Some thing's never changed. I suck at painting then, I still do now. I looked at the bowl, then back at my canvas, and it looks nothing like it. There's not one single resemblance beside the color of the fruits, and maybe the bowl. But, other than that, it looks like a five-year old painted it. I can't paint to save the life of me.
"When are you going to work on your piece?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you've been playing around and testing your color palettes for almost thirty minutes now." Lizzie said. "You have nothing but a big blob of paint on your canvas."
"A big blob? This is my piece." I pouted. "I've been working on it for-"
"Stop messing with me." She laughed. "There's no way that this is- oh wait, you're serious... It looks.. Great. I was just... who am I kidding? I'm sorry but your painting looks terrible."
I groaned, "I know. I don't do brushes. I'm much more of a pencil drawer kind of person." Lizzie tried masking in her laugh, but failed. "But you knew that. Oh my god, you did this on purpose so you can make fun of me."
She scoffed, "I don't appreciate this blatant slander you're doing. And plus, how could I possibly know that you suck at painiting? I don't remember anyth-"
I dabbed paint all over her face. Her jaw immediately dropped to the floor, surprised by my action, "Oh, you're going to pay for that." She retaliated, chasing me around the room with her fingers covered in paint, eager to rub it all over my face.
Like little kids we clearly are at heart, we disrupted the whole class with our friendly banter as we chased each other around the room with paint trickling down our hand. Soon, we attracted the attention of the owner, and we were nicely kicked out of the room. We couldn't stop laughing at how emvbrassing but funny it was while we're inside the bathroom cleaning each other's faces.
"Did you see her face?" I laughed, dabbing a wet cloth against the corner of her mouth. "She couldn't wait for us to leave."
"It was your fault, you know?"
"My fault?"
"If you didn't knock over some of the paintings on the wall, we would still be there, you goof." Lizzie flashed me a smile as she slid a hand beside my face.
It was like I gained super hearing because all I could hear was the slow beating of my heart as she went on her tippy toes to wipe the remaining residue of the pain on my face. The way she looked so concentrated, making sure that I don't leave this room with anything on my face. Staring is an understatement. I don't know how else to explain what I was doing, but here I am witha smile slowly forming on my lips as my eyes followed her every move.
What felt like it happened in slow motion, I slid both of my hands beside her face, and kissed her. Her soft pair of lips touched mine in a careful, sincere way, and it made my heart glow. It wasn't heated in any way nor was it lustful. It was the type of kiss that touches your soul and lifts you up. It's like a longing hug you receive from someone after a long day. A simple, yet meaningful kiss.
I pulled away, "Whoa, what was that for?" Lizzie mumbled under her breath.
"I just wanted to kiss you, that's all."
She smiled widely, "I like it. You should get the urge more oft-"
I pulled her in again for another kiss as we laughed in between of it all.
————
Lizzie dragged me to our next activity. I didn't know what it was at first because she asked me t cover my eyes, but when she handed me what felt like a stick of some kind, I opened my eyes and found a putter. I looked at her and she had one of the biggest, and excited look on her face.
"I'll have you know, I'm pretty good at mini-golf." I said with full confidence, "I hope you're ready to lose because that's the only thing happening here."
She scoffed, "We'll see about that."
After an hour of playing with the various stages of miniature golf, I ended up losing by a few points. I almost didn't want to look behind me, but when I did, Lizzie's smile grew. It didn't take long until she erupted into a dorky happy dance, rubbing her victory all over my face. I don't like to lose, but watching her be sp happy about winning against me, made losing not so bad.
Lizzie hung her arms loosely around my neck, "I told you, I'd win." She said with a smile on her face.
"You did."
"So, what's my prize?"
"What do you want?"
"I have an idea." She pulled my hand with a mischievous smile on her face.
————
"I can't believe you're making me do this with you."
"You lost, so you have to suffer the consequence."
Fearing for my life, I looked around me, hoping that somehow, in someway, they would stop this ride, and we need to get off. I'm not a big fan of rollercoasters, and I try to avoid them as much as I could. But, here I am, front and center of it all. I feel like I'm going to pass out any second.
"And beside, this could be good."
I chuckled nervously, "Yeah, I don't know about that."
Lizzie held my hand for comfort, "I'll be here. Right next to you." She smiled, easing the fear in the back of my head.
This is probably one of the worst part of any rollercoaster ride. The build up to the top before the descent. Alarmed, I can feel the fear stirring spreading all over my body. And as soon as we hit the top, I could see just how high we clearly are from here. Everyone at the bottom looks so small, and it made things worse.
Slowly but surely, we hit our descent. I could've sworn I felt my soul leave my body. I held her hand tightly enough to where I felt bad because I know I'm probably hurting her. But, I couldn't help it. I had my eyes closed the entire time, and with every loop, I thought I was going to pop out of my seat, and that would be the end of it.
"You can open your eyes now." Lizzie laughed. "The ride's over."
I opened my eyes slowly, and without wasting any more time, I freed myself of the buckles. My legs trembled a little, but I'm glad that it was over.
"I hope you don't hate me, but I had to." She showed a picture that they snapped while we were on the ride. "You look terrified but adorable at the same time." Before I could take it away from her, she pulled away in time. "Nope. I'm keeping this. For memory."
"Meanie." I huffed as she intertwined our hands together.
————
After our nice dinner by the beach, Lizzie led us to bonfire cultural celebration. I'm completely amazed by how everyone looked from head to toe. Friends and families gathered around the fire, and some are dancing around to the beat of the music. A nice woman, probably around her mid thirties gave us a beautiful, vibrant floral necklace to wear.
"How'd you know this was happening?"
"It was posted all over their Facebook page." Lizzie said. "It looked a lot of fun, so here we are."
After we found a nice spot, we took a seat to admire our surroundings. But, it didn't take long until we got separated. I watched as Lizzie got pulled by one of the kids to a spot where they're all building their sand castles. Somehow, a few moments after that, I found myself playing ukulele with one of the oldest person here. He taught me a couple of songs, and by the way he talks, I could tell that he's a very intellectual person.
I've learned a lot by talking to different people about the event. It's a once a year celebration, which explains why there are a lot of people here. During in one of the many conversation I involved myself in, a tap on my shoulder made me stop talking. I excused myself, and turned around to see who it was.
"I've been looking all over for you." Lizzie gave me a smile. "But, come here, there's something I want to show you."
I followed as she pulled me somewhere. I stood in front of her facing the ocean, wondering what this is about.
"I have a surprise for you." Her smile grew even bigger. "I want you to turn around."
"Okay..."
Confused, I turned around not expecting anything too crazy, but when I looked behind me, my eyes immediately began to water.
"Maya?" The little one ran toward me with open arms. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Did you miss me?"
"So much, little bear." I hugged her tightly. "Ash and MK. You guys are here too? How?"
"Liz her had it all planned out since before you guys left." Ashley said.
"She did. It's disgustingly cute in my opinion." MK added making all of us laugh.
"I'm so happy you guys are all here."
We gathered near the bonfire, and spent the next thirty minutes talking about what everyone's been up to. At one point, we even made smores along with some of the locals. Later on, we were separated by people. Maya joined in with the kids building sand castles, MK and Ashley went somewhere amongst the crowd while Lizzie and I stayed and watched everyone else have fun.
It didn't take long until Maya came back, pulling me into a circle dance along with some of the people she made friends with. Soon it turned into a bigger thing, where veryone joined in. I caught a glimpse of Lizzie across the big circle, and I gave her a confused but happy smile.
————
"I think you should give this to her." Maya nudge at my shoulder as she handed me a blanket. "You wouldn't want her to catch a cold now."
"You're right. Thank you."
Without her knowing, I covered her back with a blanket, "I'm guessing the fire isn't doing its job on keeping you warm, so I'm here to save the day."
"Thank you." She smiled warmly. "I guess you could say I get cold easily."
"Yes you do."
"Come and be warm right next to me." Lizzie offered. "Please?"
We sat closely right next to each other under the blanket. Lizzie leaned her head against my shoulder as she intertwined our hands together. A smile gesture was more than enough to make me feel wanted by the only person that my heart truly wanted. I gave her forehead a soft kiss, wanting this moment to last.
By the end of the night, it was just us walking by the beach, the wave calmly crashing beneath our feet. With the moon shinning so brightly up the sky along with the stars, it defines this moment as something rare, where if you don't stop to take it all in, you would miss the chance to really appreciate just how much it means to you. This moment with her means so much to me. There hasn't been a single second throughout today that was dull. The stars are finally aligning for us. Could this be the start of our future together? I hope so.
"Thank you for such an amazing day." I said softly. "I had fun."
"This is just the beginning. I have more fun things planned for tomorrow."
"I'm looking forward to it."
————
"Wake up, Y/N!" I was woken up rather abruptly. "It's time to make some pancakes." Maya jumped on the bed, making me groan a little.
"I'm up, little bear." I smiled tiredly. "You sure do have a lot of energy."
"Please get up and get ready." She pulled the sheets covering me. "We're waiting on you."
I looked behind her and found Lizzie with an apologetic look on her face. I threw my head back for a second before gathering enough courage to bring myself to the bathroom so I could get ready. After some time, I was finally done.
"About time." Maya grabbed me by the hand along with Lizzie. "Let's gooooooo."
I was still trying to get some type of energy so early in the morning, so I didn't know where we were until we got there. It was only a ten minute drive from the resort, and there were little to no cars on the road. Soon, we were situated into our own little station where we began to make our different shaped pancakes and along with other easy to make breakfast.
I've never been to a place like this before. It was like a cooking class but instead of a long, extensive brief about how to make the food, we were on our own. By the end of it, we ate up on the rooftop. The calm breeze, and the view made everything ten times better. It was more than enough to wake me up to the fullest.
Maya did most of the talking during and after breakfast. She told us about the friends she made at art camp, and how everyone loved her work. We were initially planning on stopping by a small store nearby, but when we passed by the zoo, both of them couldn't resist. And now, here we are with different silly looking animal hats.
"Ooooh, let's get some cotton candy!" Maya suggested.
"Yes, we should!" Lizzie added. "Can we?"
I chuckled, "Are you asking me for permission?"
"It wouldn't be fun if we get some and you don't."
"Y/N's having some." Maya pulled us both by the hand. "Let's go!"
Like tourists we clearly are, we walked around the zoo with cotton candies, then some ice cream with our goofy animal hats, pointing at every animal that caught our attention. Maya insisted on taking pictures of us, so we have a bunch on my phone. It was mostly me and Lizzie thanks as the little one insisted that we don't have enough together. We even got the chance to ride a horse, which was pretty fun.
We stayed until it was finally lunch. When they told me to go back to the beach by the resort, I thought that there was a restaurant they found nearby, but when Lizzie came back from the room with a picnic basket and a blanket, I was surprised.
It didn't take long until we found a spot. The three of us worked as a team, and laid everything out. We took a seat and began eating the food that Lizzie made, which was delicious.
"Did you plan this?" I whispered.
"Maybe." Lizzie mumbled under her breath as she smiled. "I have a couple more up my sleeve."
Lizzie fell back into a conversation with Maya. The feeling of being appreciated by someone that matters to you the most is completely unexplainable. I feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside, like I could do anything. I don't ever want to lose this feeling. Whatever happens in the future, I will continue to chase this feeling.
"Do you want to join us?" Lizzie pulled me out of my thoughts. "We're about to fly a kite."
I nodded and followed them to a spot they chose. I didn't do much. I stood a few feet from where they're standing and admired how she is with Maya. But, when they asked for help, I offered them as much as I could. It didn't take much work until we finally got it up in the sky. Their soft laughters were music to my ears.
After our picnic by the beach, and the time we spent flying a kite, we went to a nearby park and rode a bike together. Maya insisted on feeding the ducks, so we did. We ate more ice cream and tried a bunch of new street food that we loved so much. And when we found a gift shop, they both erupted into an excited cheer and dragged me inside. We ended up leaving with four bags filled with t-shirts, hoodies, keychains, and a few other miscellaneous items.
"Where to next?" I asked as I started the car.
"There's a play we're watching in thirty minutes, so go back to the resort." Lizzie said. "The venue is over there."
The play lasted about two hours until it was over. It was a hit, and everyone was laughing almost the entire time. I was barely paying attention not because I didn't like it, but being in a room full of people with their families made it feel like I went with my own. I started thinking about how great the day has been, and how it felt like I'm spending time with a family of my own.
————
"Lantern festival?" I asked as I stopped on my tracks and saw the people in front of us preparing their own to send up in the sky.
"Yes, let's go." She held my hand and led us to our spot.
We spent the next fifteen minutes decorating our lanterns, writing our wishes and what we want for the rest of the year and more.
"I have to go to the bathroom." Maya said, seemingly eager to leave.
"But, little bear, it's time to release up in the sky."
"I can't hold it. You guys can send it up without me. Okay, bye!" And just like that, she left.
"What was that about?"
"It was probably all that ice cream you let her eat." I said sarcastically.
"Whatever. You had just as much say in it as I did."
A few moments later, we slowly released the lantern in the sky. We looked up, and admired how beautiful everything around us looked. I took a quick glance at her, and everything fell into place. And just like that, I felt my walls completely crumble to the ground like they never existed.
"Wow, it looks so breathtakingly beautiful."
"Yeah... breathtakingly beautiful." I said longingly, completely lost in the sight of her.
And when she finally looked at me, my heart fluttered happily, "Did I fulfill the promise we made?"
"What promise?"
"The last time we were here together, we made a promise to each other that the next time we come back, it'll be with Maya."
It clicked, "Oh, right, we did." I nodded. "Wait, you remember?"
Lizzie nodded, "I think I dreamt about it, but I remember. I have moments throughout the day where I get flashes of something I haven't seen before, and they're all of you."
A single tear fell out of her eye, "I think I'm starting to remember you."
——————
A/N: Is Lizzie finally getting her memories back? 🤔 Only time will tell... I mean it's not like I have anything up my sleeve 👀
See y'all in the next chapter!