The Guy Next Door (COMPLETED)

Chapter 69: The Guy Next Door

UNEDITED

Dedicated to everyone who's read this book and supported me over the three year and a half years this book has taken to finish. Seriously, without your support these characters would never have come this far and neither would I. Thank you so much for everything. The hiatus, etc will all be explained in the epilogue so for now just sit back and read a chapter that's 19,000 words long.

You guys asked for cheesy this chapter is so not my fault so think of this as a birthday present from my side. (I'm seventeen. I started this book when I was thirteen aaaah)

SIX YEARS LATER

"Shit. Shit. Shit." I curse as I rush out of my apartment trying to wiggle my feet into my shoes as well as not fall flat on my face at the same time.

"I was wondering when you'd get up." Michella comments, leaning against the wall opposite the elevator with her customary cup of coffee, "I'd actually bet on fifteen minutes earlier."

"Are you kidding me?"I say,"You couldn't have woken me up earlier?"

"If I did then I wouldn't have had the pleasure of seeing you run around with your arms flailing like an octopus." She says and then her eyes narrow as she gives me a once over.

"Are you really wearing that?"

"What's wrong with it?"

She scans me head to toe.

"The real question is, what isn't?"

"Hey!" I defend, "I put a lot of thought into this."

"Clearly not enough." She says, "Dad could have picked out something better than this."

"Oh come on he'd worn two different shoes to work yesterday."

Michella shudders, "I know. What if I hadn't been there?"

"He's busy with the deposition." I defend.

"I'm not even going to try to understand what goes on at work for the both of you." She says, "I swear to god dinner with the two of you when you start talking about the work makes me want to jump off a cliff."

"That's coincidentally exactly how I feel about dinners with mom."

"No that's more like stabbing myself with a fork." She says, "Thank god the both of them got a divorce. Handling them together makes me question my sanity."

"Well I don't intend to go near her anytime soon." I say, "I don't know how you do it."

"Talent, pure skill and showing her that no matter how hard she tries I still outrank her in the being the biggest bitch scale."

"I don't know." I say, "I still think she's a vulture with absolutely no sympathy. What she did during grandma's funeral-"

"Yeah I know." Michella says, "I've never seen dad that mad either."

I shrug, "What's wrong with the damn elevator? "

"Did I forget to mention it's not working?"

"What?" I say, "And you couldn't tell me this earlier?"

"I was hoping you'd go back and change."

"I'm wearing this." I say firmly, "Besides shouldn't you go back to your apartment now? Your boyfriend is probably shitting his pants."

"Nope." She says, "I need some space."

"You've still not told him you're pregnant have you?"

She throws me a dirty look, "Don't make me regret telling you."

"I'm not going to tell anyone, I swear."

"Good." Michella says, "Besides I like watching him squirm. "

I laugh out loud. That she certainly did.

"Okay I'm going to get going." I say starting to head towards the stairs.

"Best of luck." She says, "And be careful down the stairs. You can't get down on one knee if you break your leg."

"Okay mom." I say my eyes flitting towards her stomach.

She flips me off, "Get going already."

I give her one last wave before I start descending down the steps.

By the time I've reached the bottom I'm panting by the sheer effort that it took for me not to trip while running down the stairs.

Today was the one-day I didn't want a bruise on my face. That and the fact that I was currently on a winning streak against the ground.

I mentally go over my plan for today taking a deep breath in.

I am going to do this.

I am-

Someone promptly crashes into me and I manage to catch myself at the last moment before I land butt first on the ground.

Phew, that was close.

Clara: 1265

Ground: 100127

"Watch where you're going bi- oh it's you."

I sigh looking at the boy in front of me and the very large bouquet of roses he held in his hands.

She really did enjoy making him squirm.

"Aren't you in a good mood today?" I joke.

"Is she-" He starts.

"Yup." I say, "What did you do this time?"

"Its not my fault she's absolutely fucking crazy." Eric argues, "I did nothing."

I had no doubt that Eric had done nothing because this was one of those very typical Michella things to do to keep Eric in tow. Throw a fit just to have him tripping over his get to get her back.

Between you and me, I honestly felt sorry for Eric.

Don't get me wrong I enjoyed watching just how whipped he was over my sister but in all honesty nobody should have to be that whipped.

I still remember the first time I'd seen it, it was during my freshman year in college when Michella had asked me to come for a double date.

At first I'd laughed at her face. But when my grandmother had heard about it she'd given me the puppy dog eyes and had more or less kicked me out of the house after giving me some soppy speech of how us two sisters should stick together and such.

Clearly she had no idea who Eric was and I didn't intend to tell her but I'm pretty sure she'd just done it so that she could get rid of me for that one night.

I in turn then had given Jake my best puppy dog eyes as well as a big long speech as to how much this would mean to me.

That and I obviously bribed him that if he behaved well I'd give him a little extra reward after desert.

It wasn't as if I was really excited to meet Eric again considering the last time I'd met him he'd nearly choked me, but I'll admit it, I was curious.

So we'd gone to some fancy restaurant and I was fully prepared to break up a fight if it came to it. That, and if Eric was mistreating my sister I would make sure to insinuate the fight in the first place and kick his ass.

But turns out I'd miscalculated on that part by a wide margin.

Because when they'd arrived, Eric had pulled out Michella's chair so that she could sit and then proceeded to spend the rest of the evening glancing at Michella like there was no one else in the room.

I'd nearly fallen off my chair.

Jake hadn't seemed as impressed as I was but that was mostly because he was busy sulking because I was wasting his weekend with me to spend time with Michella and Eric.

I couldn't blame him really. It was rare that we got a lot of face-to-face time together and whenever we did, we hardly wasted it on going out.

But to be honest I felt like I kind of owed it to Michella, to support any decision she made with Eric considering that she'd gone back to him partly for my sake.

I mean he was technically a pyscho but then again my sister was just a few steps lower than that.

Now though I'm not quite sure.

So I'd tried my best to make it through the night and I would have with a straight face had Eric not apologized.

Yes, apologized.

I mean it was hardly a I'm sorry that I kidnapped you and threatened you apology but it was none the less somewhat of a rushed sorry.

I swear to god the self-control it took for me to not die laughing at that spot was tremendous.

Ever since then I'd learnt just how much of a softie Eric could be. The guy may have been calculating and cold and definitely a psycho creep of the next level but when it came to my sister he was just a very very whipped boy.

It's not like we'd particularly gone to being best friends but I'd reached a point where I'd just learnt to let go of the history between us and support Michella in whatever decision she made when it came to him.

And I swear to god whoever can handle my sister deserves at least that much.

Jake still hated his guts (obviously) but he'd learned to let go too, choosing to simply ignore Eric, during the few times they were forced to be in the same room together.

To be honest I think Jake handled the weirdness of the situation pretty well, at least better than I did with my awkward jokes but then again it could be because he was on his best behavior as my bribes got more creative with time.

"Is your dad there?" Eric asks.

Did I forget to mention that both Eric and Jake were shit scared of my father?

I really didn't see why. He was a workaholic and a bit of a lost cause and yet both of them were terrified of him.

It was pretty hilarious to watch though and whenever I asked Jake what exactly my dad had talked to him about he'd eagerly change the topic.

"Nope, he's not there." I say.

Though Eric and I had come to a point where we managed to tolerate each other we weren't particularly friendly. In my opinion Michella could do far better than Eric, he was still ruthless and his family was technically mafia no matter how he acted around Michella.

But on the bright side he was better than his absolutely batshit pyscho sister.

I had warned Michella several times that she had no obligation of staying with Eric for my sake. She'd in turn simply snorted and told me that I gave myself way too much importance and her choice to stay with Eric was hers alone.

That's when I did realized that in her own strange way Michella loved Eric too. Although she tried her very best to cover the depth of her feelings for him I would occasionally see just how much she loved him too.

Sure they fought like cats and dogs and their relationship consisted either of fighting or having sex afterwards, but who was I to judge really?

As long as they were happy.

If it were anybody else then I would have definitely bet against them. But Michella Wilson was the only one who could date someone that dangerous and still wear the pants in the relationship.

"If you guys are going to end up having sex which we both know you will, stay away from my room."

"Fine will do." Eric grumbles.

"Great." I say, "Best of luck you're going to need it."

He sighs as he starts going up the stairs, "Yeah I know."

He is not going to know what hit him.

I pull out my phone as I exit the building.

I take a deep breath in.

It was show time.

I press number one on my speed dial and wait for him to pick up.

"Good morning!" I say as soon as the line connects. I start walking down the lane heading towards the subway station, "How was your trip?"

Jake had been on a business trip in Japan for the past two weeks and he'd just come back yesterday evening.

Usually he had a habit of stumbling to my house right after he landed, despite how tired he was but yesterday he'd gone straight to his apartment and crashed which just proved that this one was worse than usual.

"Brutal." He groans, "Absolutely brutal."

"I know." I say.

Saying his job was high stress would be an understatement. For the past two years, ever since he took over Henderson Corp, Jake had been flying all over the globe trying to stabilize all the various different centers of the company.

Despite my move to New York we didn't see too much of each other with Jake being held up at work all the time and my schedule getting more and more hectic by the second.

We still managed to make time for each other though and in a way our long distance relationship had prepared us for this.

"I have a little surprise for you." I say, "You're taking the entire day off today."

"I know." He says, "Which is why I'm going back to bed."

I roll my eyes, "I'm coming over so you better get out of bed."

"Are you sure you don't want to get into bed with me?"

"It's just been two weeks." I say, "You've got to start practicing some restraint. Go take a shower. Make sure it's freezing cold."

"Will you be joining me?" He asks.

"Your face isn't that adorable Henderson." I say.

"We both know it's far more than adorable." He says, "And you're just about dying to see it right now."

I laugh, "Keep telling yourself that Henderson."

"I have you for that don't I?" He says.

"Well if you don't start getting ready soon, that may not be true."

"But I'd much rather wait for you to come and strip me instead."

I roll my eyes, "You're acting like a middle schooler. Change already. I'll be reaching soon."

"Please tell me you're not taking the subway again."

"Of course I am." I say, "I'll be fine. You worry way too much."

"I know." He says," But that's completely justified considering that you are somewhat of a disaster."

"Well, that's up for debate-"

"Need I remind you of the my keys fell through the gap incident?"

I huff, "No."

"Or maybe the I accidently got down on the wrong stop and I'm currently completely lost-"

"Hey in my defense I'd just moved here then and I didn't know this city, at all."

"It's barely been a year since then." He states, "And I'm pretty sure Natalie can travel by herself. There is no need for you to-"

"Technicalities." I brush him off, "Besides I can always count on you to come to my rescue don't I? Admit it you feel pretty validated when you get to play knight in shining armor."

"The armor is way too itchy for my taste. I much rather prefer it when you don't need rescuing whatsoever." He says, "And if you'd taken up my offer to live together in the first place I wouldn't have to wear it as an excuse to meet. In fact if we did live together then I would be able to ditch that armor for something far better. Perhaps my legendary birthday suit."

I turn red despite myself.

Oh get a grip Clara you're not in high school anymore.

"Now you're vividly thinking about me naked aren't you Car?" He teases and if possible I blush even more.

"Am not?" It comes out as more of a question than anything else and he chuckles.

"Stop laughing." I say, "This is a totally inappropriate conversation to have in the morning. "

"Oh I can think of a billion other things that are far more inappropriate that we've done at this time of day." He says, "Need I remind you that the last time in my office-"

"I know." I say a small smile playing on my lips, "It's a miracle your desk still stands."

"That's true." He says, "I mean after we-"

"I'm hanging up now." I cut him off, "Today I've planned on a totally innocent date."

"Yeah right." He coughs.

"Are you questioning my ability to be perfectly innocent?" I ask.

"No I'm questioning your ability to keep your hands off me." He says, "Because if history indicates anyth-"

"Aaah." I say cutting him off. Over the years I may have gotten bolder but that didn't mean I was any less embarrassed about it.

"Just saying, you can't keep your hands off me."

"I'm hanging up now." I say but I'm still smiling, "I'll see you in some time."

"Car?"

"Yeah?"

"I missed you."

"It took a lot of self control for me not to hop on a plane to Japan, you know?"

"I wish you had."

"I know." I say, "But now I'm already on my way, so get ready, okay?"

"Yes Ma'am." Jake says mockingly.

I roll my eyes, "I'm hanging up now."

"Car?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

I smile.

"I love you too."

"Cue me gagging." A voice prompts from behind me making me jump.

Natalie Anderson stands there with her hands on her hips.

Over six years there is nothing much about Natalie Anderson that had physically changed except maybe the color of her hair that was currently dyed a sort of light brown. She could still go back to high school and play the bitchy mean girl without being mistaken as a twenty four year old.

I cut the call and glare at her, "Good gods, could you stop sneaking up on me?"

"I was waiting here all this while." She says as we start descending to the station, "If you hadn't been so engrossed in your phone call with lover boy you'd have noticed."

"Sorry." I apologize, "I was running late. Did you have to wait for long?"

She smirks, "I had company."

"How many?"

"Three. All of them were total hotties." Natalie says, "I might actually call one of them back."

I sigh, "Come on we'll miss the train."

"Oh no you're giving me the judgy look again." She says.

"I'm not." I say, "I just wish you'd you'd settle down already. Or at least try to date them instead of simply brushing them off-"

"Oh don't start with me." She says, "Besides you don't decide on your favorite food before tasting other dishes."

"Where did you get that one from?"

"The just ask Juliet blog obviously " Natalie says as we enter the train, "She's not updated anything in a while though."

My throat tightens, "Yeah."

"I still don't know why you go out of your way to travel like this." She says as the train jerks a bit, "I mean especially since the princess has her own carriage."

"If I took a car I'd probably reach tomorrow because of the traffic." I say.

She sighs, "Being rich is wasted on you."

I smile, "I'm still just a consultant in my dad company you know? I'm not that rich."

"Michella told me he plans to make you the vice president by next year." She says, "I expect a massive party."

I roll my eyes, that much hadn't changed; Natalie Anderson still loved her parties.

"So how is work for you?" I ask.

Natalie was currently working in my mother's company in the designing department. Her boss happened to be my lovely sister and let's just say for two people who were so alike they didn't exactly get along.

But Natalie was talented and Michella knew it too.

Natalie may not have changed much physically but that didn't mean that she hadn't changed at all.

Natalie may have commitment issues when it came to boys, but as far as her career was concerned she'd pulled out all stops.

She'd discovered her love for fashion designing unexpectedly, halfway through her senior year in college and she had been so shocked when she'd realized that she was genuinely good at it.

And when Michella had believed in her talent enough to offer her a position, it had boosted her self-confidence enough to stand up to her parents and telling then that to hell with everything she was going to follow her dreams.

So she came to New York bags in hand, no credit cards and a dream of making it big.

As for Natalie and I, we had become friends over the course of four years we got stuck together because everyone else had left.

Alec had gone to New York, Jeremy had followed Rebecca to DC and Samantha was in Los Angeles following through her dream of becoming an actress.

Although a small portion of Natalie's old group consisting of some of her posse were still there, going to same college as her, it had been pretty clear that she was not keen on reviving those friendships again.

So that's how we started becoming friends again.

Despite our polar differences we had been best friends for a reason. Of course we hadn't gone back to the let's have movie night in our PJs phase but we'd become friends in the way that it really counted.

I'd be her designated driver whenever she got drunk at a party, which was almost every weekend and I'd make sure that she didn't make particularly stupid mistakes.

I mean college Natalie wasn't as much of a jump from the high school one but nonetheless she had changed in the ways that really counted and for the better.

Natalie had done her part too; she'd surprisingly been the one who'd kept me sane through my grandmother's sickness as well as Jake's absence.

Well she wasn't supportive, per say, with her constant snarky comments followed by her critical insults on my dressing sense, but she kept me grounded.

She had the uncanny sense of knowing exactly what to do to calm me down. Most of the times it had been speed-dialing Jake but nonetheless it helped.

And when my grandmother passed away, she was the one who'd helped me move my things to my dorm so that I would never have to go back to that town ever again.

"Yellow really is hideous on you." Natalie comments, giving my outfit a once over, "And you'd think that being twenty four would stop you from wearing those god awful SpongeBob Square Pants t-shirts."

"Hey!" I defend, "You're never too old for SpongeBob, and besides I was feeling nostalgic and since I'd met him all those years back when I was wearing this t-shirt."

"Wait this is a t-shirt from when you're fourteen years old? " She asks, "No wonder, it finally looks like you have boobs."

"First of all no." I say, "This is not the same one. And second of all, that's hurtful. I've put a lot of thought into this you know?"

"I know." She says, "It's all I've been hearing for the past week. Are you excited?"

"Yeah." I say, "I'm nervous too."

"You could just wait for him to do it you know?"

"Yeah well, I think technically he already as." I say, "And technically I've already said yes too."

"What?" She asks, "Jake asked you to marry him? When?"

"Right before he'd left for New York on the day of our high school graduation."

"When you ran out halfway through your valedictorian speech?"

"Yup."

"Then just set the date."

"Yeah that wouldn't be an awkward conversation at all." I say, "Hey Jake do you remember the time you'd almost asked me to marry you but you got interrupted and I still said that I would, six years ago?"

She groans, "I still can't believe you've been obsessing over a proposal that's already happened."

I wave her off, "No way am I accepting that half hearted will you marry me that practically never happened. I need this to be official."

"Why don't you just drag him to city hall and marry him?" Natalie asks, "It's not like he's going to say no."

"I can't do that!" I say, "That's totally not romantic. All Jake does are these grand big romantic gestures that make me melt into a puddle. It's about time I do something too. The last thing I'd ever done for him was ambush him in the airport and give him one of the biggest and most irrelevant speeches ever. That was all after slapping him of course. Besides I'm done waiting for Jake to do it. It's not like I haven't left him hints already. Every time we talk I make up an imaginary friend who got engaged and he still doesn't seemed to get it."

"Oh you guys actually talk?" She asks mockingly, "Because I swear to god all you guys do is suck face when I see you. It's disgusting how much PDA you guys are into. I swear to god whenever Jake used to come visit you in college you guys were just glued together with your lips."

Well those four years Jake and I had spent more time apart more than together so we'd learned to make the time we had count.

Who cares who was watching?

"That's rich coming from you." I say, "You're currently on boy god knows what number."

"I'm finally winning against Samantha." She says, "I mean the boys in Los Angeles may be hot but New York definitely has as wider range of options. But I'm jealous, have you seen Samantha's co-star?"

"The hero of the TV show?" I ask.

"Yeah." She says, "Now that's someone who I'd definitely call back."

Samantha was finally starting to make it as an actress and she'd just landed a pretty good role in a TV show called The Abstract Attraction Theory. It was set in high school and she was playing the older sister of the main character.

"Isn't the guy sixteen or something?" I ask.

"Cole Walker happens to be seventeen." She informs, "The female lead Alexis Taylor is sixteen. Unfortunately for us they are dating."

"When did you get so current with all of this?" I ask, "You'd never been a fan of gossip unless it was about you."

"Yeah, I know. That's because that had always been Rebecca's-" Natalie breaks off as soon as she says it her eyes widens, a clear sign that she realized her mistake.

Her name hangs oppressively in the air and the silence between us grows along with the tension.

"So do you have everything in order for today?" Natalie asks in a clear attempt to change the topic.

I let her.

"Yeah I do." I say, "I'm hoping he likes it. I've prepared a speech and all too. This time though I've made sure to keep it shorter."

"SpongeBob square pants and long ass speeches." She says, "You know a boy is in love when he doesn't run away from that."

I give her a look,"Jeez thanks."

"Your welcome." She says, "Your station is up next. Considering that you are already running late make sure you don't miss your stop."

I nod, the anxiety finally starting to build up.

Jake and I had known each other for exactly ten years to this date and I still couldn't shake of the nervousness that came with taking such a big leap.

I'm not quite sure if Jake wants to get married or not. I mean sure he'd asked but then again that was six years back and he never really got to complete it.

To be honest I'm not even sure how this marriage thing became such a big deal for me.

It had always been irrelevant to me before. Who really needed a piece of paper to signify how much a person loves you?

And yet there was something utterly reassuring about having a piece of paper that said that Jake belonged to me, with me and no one else except me.

We hadn't been the most stable couple and we'd broken up twice over the past six years and each one had been messier than the last one.

It hadn't been easy, with my grandmother's death, Jake officially being appointed the CEO of Henderson Corp and the fact that we had been separated for the majority of four years.

We had a lot of things to deal with and we'd not always done it in the best of ways.

Both Jake and I were volatile, reckless and utterly stubborn when it came to matters regarding our relationship. Our opinions on certain issues were drastically opposite but our ways to enforce them were uncannily similar which always lead to us blowing up on each other.

And then there was her.

That was probably the worst fight we'd ever had and it had led us to breaking up for what seemed to be for good. It was ironic in hindsight; the girl who'd helped us get together was also the reason that our relationship had utterly fallen apart.

But then again Jake Henderson and Clara Wilson were nothing if not meant to be.

Which is why despite all the odds and all the fights we'd had we would always end up finding our way back to each other.

Sure, a lot of things had changed.

I'd changed and hopefully it was for the better.

I'd learned to let go of things far more easily and in a way that had helped me cope with my grandmother's death.

It had been hard at first but I'd had three years to make peace with it. Occasionally I'd throw a high school Clara Wilson worthy temper tantrum but there had been no computer smashing recently.

I mean my dad was rich but there was only that many computers I could break.

I still couldn't go back home or for that matter back to that town after my grandmother's death but that's because I realized that there was nothing left for me there to go back to.

It was the place I'd grown up in and yet any happy childhood memory I had was never because of the place, it was all because of her.

I had realized that in our memories we made a place special because of the people who we were with.Take away the people and the place was simply just another location on this planet.

Nothing special.

Just like a house was just a structure made of wood without your family and a high school was just a synonym for torture without your friends.

I suppose my grandmother knew that too, which is why she purposely gave the house to my mother in the will.

Who in turn had sold it almost immediately without informing either of us.

That had been the final linchpin to my parents divorce.

I suppose my grandmother knew that out of the four of us, my mother was the only one who'd be able to let go of that house so that all of us could move on.

In a way not having anything to go back to had helped me to move on, helped me to simply charge forward without looking behind which was what my grandmother wanted for me after all.

But she had a weird way of going about it.

In fact she'd made a point to mention that her laptop also went to Michella as she feared for its safety under my care in her will.

Yeah, she cracked jokes in her will.

She hadn't even let me cry in peace through out the reading because every second line there would be some stupid comment or joke only she could come up with.

But that's just how she had been and that's how I would remember her. She'd asked me to let go and not to cling on to the memories we would not be able to have because of her sickness but instead cherish the memories we did have together.

Instead of dwelling on all the could have beens and the what ifs it was always better to simply live in things that did happen.

And she was right.

Because life was simply an awfully long road and you had to make sure to pack light and carry only the most precious things along with you.

At some point along the road you have to let go of some of the things from the past so that you can carry newer things with you. Newer memories, newer experiences, newer people.

If you didn't let go, then you'd never be able to carry on with your life with that much baggage. Clinging on to the ghost of your past meant rejecting the future.

And eventually that much luggage would simply bring you to a stand still and you would not be able to move any further down the road.

So I had become more positive. I'd stopped complaining about how life was unfair and started doing something about it.

So I'd learned to let go.

Of everything except Jake Henderson.

Although I'd changed from the high school version of me almost drastically the one thing that never wavered were my feelings for him.

Sure there were times I questioned why I felt that way when he acted like a two year old but those feelings never went away.

Maybe it was because we'd been through so much, fought against so many many things that at a point loving Jake had just become a part of me.

So to describe a twenty four year old me was easy enough. I was now somewhat of an optimist, still totally weird and stubborn and utterly head over heels in love with Jake Henderson.

And no matter how corny this sounded, I was the Clara Wilson I was because I loved Jake Henderson.

And the fact that getting to the place where we are now wasn't easy told me that it was all the more worth it.

Sure the path had been rocky but that's what made it better because love wasn't easy or safe.

It was consuming, heartbreaking and destructive all at once. In fact it was absolute madness.

But that's what made it love wasn't it?

You can't possibly wish for happily ever after before even battling the wicked witch first.

Our break ups had been bad, but in the end it had taught us that no matter what we would hold. That our relationship went far beyond some superficial high school romance that would eventually break off in the face of reality.

Our relationship had matured with us and we had finally starting to take our relationship forward one step at a time. We had decided to take things slow, well at least our definition of slow, which was a step lower than our usual reckless driving over the speed limit without breaks.

So when I finally came to New York I decided against moving with him. I needed to make sure that we made it right till the end and tripping before the finish line just because we ran way too fast.

Working with my dad also meant that I'd have to make an actual attempt to at least get along with him and I'd hardly win daughter of the year award living with my boyfriend before we even got married.

Jake had obviously acted like a pouty fourteen year old when I'd refused, but he'd never the less supported the decision.

It was clear that he was being delicate too, not wanting to push me. After all neither of us knew how to handle ordinary problems such as moving in together or picking a restaurant to eat. So we'd decided to go at a snail pace.

But now it had been a year now since I moved to New York and the dust had started to settle.

We'd never really talked about marriage after that day in the airport. It was odd in a way I suppose but I guess there was hardly any time for us to even think about it considering how busy the both of us were.

I suppose it was an unspoken agreement between the two of us that we'd go our own separate paths first when it came to our careers and put ourselves in in a position where we were happy with what we'd become before breaching the topic of marriage.

We both had seen our parents so called marriages implode pretty damn badly which is why it was important for the both of us not to repeat their mistakes and rush into something that we weren't prepared for.

But now things were slowly settling down.

Jake had promised this would be one of his last trips abroad, at least for the time being because he'd finally managed to get things under control, following his succession and Henderson Corp had been restored to its former glory.

Things were going well for me too and I'd finally gotten to a place in my life where I was happy. I was happy with my work, I was happy with who I'd become and I'd come to terms with my grandmother's death as well as Re-

Well I was happy.

Which is why I was ready to get married.

Scratch that I needed to get married to him. You can't even begin to imagine the number of bloodthirsty harpies that have tried to sink their claws into him. This merger, that deal, it was like every bloody rich old man with a daughter wanted to have Jake as a son in law.

It was fucking ridiculous. He'd received more proposals in the past year than the number of times Kanye West had opened his big mouth to say something utterly stupid.

Yeah that many.

Which is why my patience was wearing thin and I swear to god the next bitch that hits on him is going to wish that she was never born.

Besides now that things had settled I wanted to start our life together. Just like the one that we'd sat on that dock all those years back and dreamed about.

So for the past few months I'd started dropping hints.

Saying things like the phone was engaged or making the 'e' in merry sound just the tiniest bit like an 'a'.

But obviously Jake didn't get any of those hints because as smart as the boy was, in some things he was dumber than a doorknob.

So I'd moved on to plan B.

Which was inventing new friends and telling him the fabulous tale of how they were getting married.

I'd have thought Jake would have finally gotten the clue after the fourth friend but instead all he'd asked was when the wedding was and if I'd like him to go with him.

Obviously I couldn't put up that charade for much longer.

So I'd told myself to stop being such an idiot and just propose to him, myself. It was the 21st century after all and women could bloody well propose too.

And that's what I had been planning for the past week. The perfect proposal.

I'd told Jake to take the day off and I'd made sure to clear out my schedule too. Everything was ready, the thermocol, a dvd of the titanic, a picnic basket and my speech( which I should probably revise once more) I had make sure it was all perfect. I was recreating Jake's birthday present from all those years back.

And I was shit nervous.

It was silly but the truth was that I'd pictured this scenario a thousand different ways.

Quite a few of them involved Jake simply running away or laughing at my face .There was also one with a llama and an orangutan (don't even ask) but the bottom line was that I was over thinking the entire thing, blowing the likely outcome way out of proportion with my imagination because I was terrified that there was a chance that I might screw up or that he might say no.

I have so much more respect for guys now. I had no idea it was so nerve wrecking asking a person one simple question and they were always the one expected to do it.

I sigh my hand unconsciously going for my wrist. It had become a habit of mine over the years to reach for the charm bracelet on my hand as a sign of reassurance. But this time my hand grasps nothing but bare skin.

I'd lost the bracelet about two years back and I don't even know how. It must have simply broken and fallen off and I didn't discover that it was missing until much later that night.

I'd been heartbroken that day. We'd just had a massive fight and the fact that I'd lost it seemed like a sign.

In the end I'd let it go realizing that I needed to stop obsessing over the little things but that didn't stop me from wishing that one fine day I'd just find it lying around somewhere.

Natalie nudges me, breaking me out of my reverie.

"Your stop." She says more or else pushing me out of the train and onto the platform.

I give her an unsure smile, "Wish me luck."

"Best of luck!" Natalie calls out, "And you better let me design your wedding dress."

I roll my eyes as I hurry up to the street, weaving my way through the crowd.

Jake's building was easy enough to find. It was the tallest and flashiest one on the street that was complete with a doorman and a small army of men for the security of the super rich.

"Good morning Miss Wilson." The doorman, Ed greets me.

"Good morning." I say

"Miss Wilson if you are looking for Mr. Henderson he just left a couple of minutes back. You just missed him."

I stop on my tracks.

Missed him? But he was supposed to spend the day with me and I'd told him to wait in his apartment.

I take out my phone to see a voice mail from Jake.

"Hey Car, work called and I have to go to the office ASAP. I know this was supposed to be a free day but this can't be helped. So let's just take a rain check on this and I promise I'll clear a day out soon. I'm sorry and I love you."

The message ends and I sigh. I can't help but feel disappointed and the tiniest bit hurt which was just stupid and immature of me. What was I a clingy high school girlfriend?

I'd just do this another day.

Yeah another day.

Never mind that today was something silly like our ten-year anniversary or something. I mean how would he remember that we'd met exactly ten years ago on this very day?

Yeah I was just acting stupid.

Really, really stupid.

"Miss Wilson?" It's Ed again, "He did ask me to make sure that you got this."

He hands me a box, a gift that's neatly wrapped in black paper. It's thin and small and there is a card that's neatly attached to it.

Jakes handwriting is bold and he has written my name right on top. I open the card;

Have a little faith in me sometimes too, you know?

I read the writing again, puzzled to say the least before I tear open the wrapping paper to find a thin jewelry box in it which contains a bracelet.

Just a bracelet. There is nothing on it really, it seems like a charm bracelet with no charms. Just a plain non-descript silver bracelet.

What was he up to?

"Well finally." Natalie says popping up from behind, "I thought it would take forever."

I jump slightly and turn to face her.

"What the hel-" I start but she cuts me off.

"I told you to wait for him didn't I?" Natalie says, "Lover boy wasn't going to be upstaged that easily."

"What is going on?" I ask, "What are you-"

"Technically it was because of me that you guys started the entire fake dating ruse so it seemed only seemed fair that I got to give you the first one." Natalie says stretching her hand forward to reveal a small silver charm.

A shoe.

The shoe charm that had initially been on the old bracelet had represented the day Jake had come up with the entire fake dating ruse just because of the off hand Natalie comment had made when my mother had paired Jake and I together by mistake.

She'd laughed at the very fact that someone like Jake had gone for me, which I couldn't blame her for, really, the entire thing had sounded pretty far fetched to me too.

And then Jake dropped the well then you should know that we are dating bomb.

I still had the picture that my mother took of the four of us after the news.

Natalie had an expression that resembled something in between shock and horror while Alec had simply been livid. Jake on the other hand was the only one of us who'd even bothered to smile with his arm around a very confused and baffled me.

I wonder what would have happened if I had said no at that point. If I'd done the smarter thing and shut down the entire act right before it started. After all I hadn't really needed to make Alec jealous and neither did I really have anything to prove to Natalie. I could have simply said he was joking and brushed it off before anyone would have even noticed.

And yet I hadn't.

Which is why he'd proceeded to spend the entire evening teasing me and getting on my nerves so much so that I had made it a point to "accidentally" step on his foot with my painfully pointy stilettos.

In a way I was glad that high school me wasn't too fond of making smart decisions or else I wouldn't have been where I was now.

Thank you high school me for me being so absolutely and completley dumb.

So yeah in a weird way, it was because of Natalie that we'd started the entire thing. After all without her comment Jake would have never been able to start the entire charade.

I stare at the small shoe charm in her palm and ask, "What exactly is going on here?"

"Well clearly if you haven't noticed yet, your boyfriend is kind of a cheese ball." She says, "And well.."

She hesitates for a moment, "High school may be long over, but I still haven't apologized for what went on between us in those four years. I broke things off with you because I was jealous and you hurt my ego. It was selfish and petty and I can't take it back. But considering the fact that it all worked out for both you and me, I can't really say that I want to take it back. So.."

She takes the bracelet lying in the box and attaches the shoe charm to it.

"-take this as a kind of thank you as well as a sorr-"

Before Natalie can finish I give her a big hug, grinning. She's stiff at first but she hugs me back too before the both of us pull back.

"This is still doesn't mean I've forgiven you for your terrible fashion choices." She states.

I laugh, "Of course not, I wouldn't expect you to either."

This time Natalie returns the smile, "Good now you're getting late."

"Late for what?" I ask dumbly and she rolls her eyes.

"I swear graduating from one of the top universities in the country has done nothing to improve your common sense."

"Hey!" I defend, "You've already damaged my ego enough when it comes to my fashion choices ."

She laughs as she hands me another note with my name written on top in bold.

"Natalie is he prop-" I trail off looking at her expectantly.

"Who knows?" Natalie says ,"He'd just called me and asked me to surprise you by giving you the charm."

Seriously what was this boy up to?

I open the note and there I just one line written in it.

I call you car because we met in a car.

HUH?

What in the name of god?

"What is this?" I ask.

"I don't know." She says, "It's your job to figure it out."

I call you-

Wait a second.

It can't be.

Before I know it I'm already on my way towards the exit pausing for a second to turn to look at Natalie.

"Natalie thank you for doing this." I say, "Thank you for being a part of this. Whatever this is."

She nods and looks at me wistfully, "Someday if I get lucky enough to find someone like Jake, do you think you'd be a part of it too?"

I smile as widely as I can, "When that day comes, and it will come, there will be no where else I'd rather be."

"Yeah, that day will come." She mutters to herself almost reassuring herself and with a start I realize maybe I wasn't the only one who'd gotten a little more optimistic over the past few years.

"Now go on." She says, "You've got a pretty interesting day ahead of you."

Seems like it.

I give one last wave to Natalie before stepping out.

I call you car because we met in the car.

My pace quickens.

He can't have.

It couldn't be.

It had been ten years.

There was no way.....

And yet it was there.

Standing there right in front of me was a car that I hadn't seen for ten years.

Although it clearly looked like a model that wasn't very recent, it was still in perfect condition, its grey exterior glinting.

The car we'd met in.

The car that had taken us to camp all those years back.

It was somehow...

Standing right in front of me.

I call you car because we met in a car.

This car to be precise.

I swear to god he was such a cheesy idiot.

But he was my cheesy idiot.

Great, now I was being a cheesy idiot too.

I will not cry.

I will not cry.

I grin widely as I can, so much so that my face hurts. I'm still trying my best not to get teary eyed over something this stupid but it's hard.

How can someone love somebody so much that it feels like their heart is going to burst?

I open the car door and I hold my breath expecting Jake to be sitting there with his eyes closed and his earphones in, just like all those years back.

But instead there is a black box and a letter waiting for me.

I slide into the backseat and I open the black box first to find a single charm inside.

The car charm.

I attach it to my bracelet still smiling as I start to read the note.

I'm the king of the world.

"Where to next?" Arthur, Jake's driver asks from the front seat making me jump, startled.

I grin, "The Empire State Building."

____________

In a way I was glad that I wasn't the one who was going to propose.

I mean compared to this thermocol and a picnic with a sloppy PBJ sandwich was a joke.

Sure I might be slightly disappointed considering the fact that it had been a while since I'd given an emotional eleven page long speech but Jake had really outdone himself.

Like when I arrived at the Empire State Building some random guard had come up to me handing me a note with a black box containing the charm.

At first I'd admit it I was kind of disappointed because I had been hoping he would be there.

But he wasn't.

And all the note said was: Maybe next Christmas you'll have this memory to hold onto instead of the other one.

The Mistletoe kiss.

I'd been so excited to get to Rockefeller center that it was only when I was already sitting in the car that I realized who the guard was:

Do you remember the poor guard who we'd tricked and gone up?

Neither had I.

But Jake had.

And for the life of me I couldn't figure out how he'd found that same guard and coerced him into being the messenger.

It was so irrelevant and a detail that was so small that I'd nearly forgotten all about it. But Jake hadn't.

And that's the thing about him. Over the years I'd doubted a lot of things when it came to the both of us but the one thing that I'd never ever questioned was how much Jake loved me.

And when I reached Rockefeller center I realized why.

Because despite it being the middle of summer the entire place was decorated with mistletoe and a small Christmas tree stood right in the center with a small black box right on top of it.

I swear to god I was a puddle by the time I'd opened the box and subsequently attached the mistletoe charm to my bracelet.

I look around hoping, no praying that he's there so that I can just kiss the hell out of him after slapping him for being such a soppy moron who almost made me cry.

But he's not there.

I look down at the next clue;

I choose you Jake Henderson and given this choice again I'll choose you again, no matter what.

I smile.

This one is easy.

It doesn't take long for me to reach the hotel, the one where the wedding had taken all those years back.

The place where I chose Jake and told him that I loved him.

The place where he broke my heart.

I press the button hoping that this time it's Jake waiting on top for me and not some random waiter.

The elevator door opens I make my way across the large reception room unable to believe that the last time I'd been here was over six years back.

I take in a deep breath as I open the door to the balcony hoping to see Jake standing there.

But he isn't.

Instead of a familiar mop of messy black hair I'm faced with a boy who's blonde hair that has no problem staying perfectly in place despite the wind blowing.

"Alec! " I squeal and move forward to hug him.

"Hey Clara." He says hugging me back, "Long time no see, huh?"

"Yeah, I know." I say pulling back, "I'm sorry about last time I-"

I break off as my gaze latches on to the girl standing next to Alec who is currently shooting a look my way that clearly says, step away from my fiancé before I cut you.

Oh brilliant she's here.

Both Alec and I instantly step away from each other and Alec throws an apologetic look her way that softens her glare by just the slightest.

There was a reason Alec and I hadn't seen each other for more than six months and it was undoubtedly because of my falling out with his fiancé. Granted a lot of it had been my fault too, but in my defense when he'd first sprung the I'm engaged bomb and told me who he was engaged to, I thought it was a joke.

A very very sick joke.

But slowly then I realized that he was being dead serious. After all I hadn't known that he even knew her, forget engaged or even dating.

"Oh look who it is." She says looking at me distastefully, "The whinier Wilson sister."

I force a smile on my face, I'd promised Jake and Alec after that incident that I would play nice, "It's nice to see you again. You look...."

I pause for a moment giving her glittery pink outfit a once over "....sparkly as always, Spencer."

She smiles that looks just as fake as mine probably does, "And you wasted no time before launching yourself at Alec."

I grit my teeth.

I am not going to kill her. I am not going to kill her.

Alec throws Spencer a look who shrugs, "What? I hardly think she's going to be fine if I decide to run into Jakes arms."

Okay she might have a point there and by the look Alec currently had on his fact , he didn't look all that happy imagining it either.

"Fine." I sigh, "I'm sorry."

"Good for you." She says.

"You're supposed to apologize too you know? "

"Yeah that's not happening."

"Spencer." Alec warns, "Come on let it go already."

"She nearly ruined my engagement party. " she shoots back.

"Well if I had known that it was you he was engaged to before the actual party then my reaction would have been different."

Like for an example I would have made sure to make a scene before the party.

"And I said I'm sorry." I say, "I wasn't going through the best time in my life and it took me by surprise."

"Well it's not my fault that your sex life with Jake is non existent"

"Spencer-"Alec starts.

"And it's not my fault that your head is absolutely filled with nothing but shit." I say, "And I'd worry about your sex life if I were you."

"Why you blood-"

"Spencer you'd promised." Alec says.

"Fine." She huffs, "I'll leave the both of you alone."

And with that she promptly turns and leaves.

I blink. Good lord, I knew Alec was completely whipped when it came to Spencer, I mean if you had to be whipped if you were risking permanent blindness due to all the sparkly clothes she wore but I'd never really understood why.

I don't think I'd ever understand.

"I don't really understand why you chose her out of everybody." I say, "I mean it could have been anybody but her."

"What would you say if I told you that was exactly what I thought when I realized that you were in love with Jake Henderson?"

I blink.

Its official Alec had finally lost it too.

I mean who is insane enough to compare Jake to Spencer?

He was hardly that much of a psycho. I mean Jake was arrogant but he could hardly be compared to the pink bitch Barbie when it came to being conceited. Not to mention her family, which seemed to be on another level of screwed up.

So yeah Jake and Spencer were no way in the same league but then again.....

When I'd fallen for Jake he was trying to kill his father.

I sigh, "I'd say that I understand but I still stand by my decision when I say Spencer is one hell of a bitch."

"And I still think Jake is an asshole." Alec counters but then pauses, "But that doesn't necessarily mean he isn't right for you, does it? "

Although Alec and Jake still had a relationship that could be described as rocky at best, it was slowly improving and that's all someone could ask for from the two of them considering the fact that neither of them particularly wanted to bring up memories of their real father.

But in a way both of them had reached a point where they understood that in some twisted way they were still family and if they didn't want to particularly acknowledge the fact that they were half brothers nothing could change the fact that they were step brothers.

"Well then, I suppose that's the way it is." I say, "I love the asshole and you love the Barbie bitch."

He laughs, "We really knew how to pick them, didn't we? "

I laugh out loud, "There is really no accounting for taste."

The both of us laugh out loud and it echoes through the balcony.

"We may not have picked what was best for us but I think we picked what was right for us."

Nope. That's not true. Jake was right for me because he was the best for me. 

"That we did." I still agree with him, "And I may not have the best opinion about Spencer and I'm sorry for that entire scene I caused. It's just that-"

"You guys have a history." He says, "With Jake and with Reb- Well never mind that. But she's not a bad person Clara."

"I know." I say, "And I'm trying to forget, I swear."

"I know."

We stand there in silence not saying a word. The silence isn't awkward, just inevitable.

Although Alec and I had somehow remained friends through out the course of six years we'd never really gone back to way we'd been before.

But I think I liked this better.

We didn't tip toe around each other's feelings anymore and were brutally honest with each other.

Sure sometimes the both of us were harsher than necessary but it just showed that we'd grown up from the teenagers who constantly apologized to each other for telling the truth.

"I was surprised that Jake asked me to be a part of this." Alec's voice cuts through the silence, "But I'm glad he did."

"He's grown up more than both you and I give him credit for."

Alec snorts, "Hardly. He told me that that he'd shove me in a meat flavored sack and throw me to the wolves if I even thought of doing anything funny."

I laugh despite myself, "Well at least he's graduated from wanting to bury you alive."

"I'm not sure if this an improvement."

"It is." I say, "Jake doesn't hate you. I don't think he ever has to be honest. He's just too proud to admit it. His ego just can't take how close he came to losing me because of you."

"But that isn't true is it?"

I blink, "Huh?"

"I never even came close, did I?"

I pause for a second contemplating just how much honesty our friendship could take.

"No you didn't." I sigh, "It was Jake from the beginning-"

"When did you know?" He asks, "That it was him?"

I look at him amused, "Do you really want to talk about this?"

Alec shrugs, "Why not? I've always been curious but I'd never really had the guts to ask you. I was always too afraid of the answer to be honest, but now I'm not. Now I don't care that I lost, in fact I'm happy. I found Spencer, you got Jake and we remained friends. Wasn't this always the best possible scenario?"

"Yes it was." I nod and then pause, "Homecoming."

"Huh?"

"Homecoming." I repeat, "Our Homecoming dance during our senior year. I'd actually come looking for you but instead I found Jake first. It was irrelevant at that time but the more I think about it I realize that's when everything changed."

"Whenever I looked at a crowd you were the first person I would see." I say, "But that day and ever since then, Jake became the person I would see first. That day Jake gave me my diary back. A diary that was embarrassingly only about you. But I didn't want it back. I don't know why but I suppose that's when I knew that I was ready to get over you."

Alec looks at me amused, "I thought it would be something dramatic like when Jake was in the hospital or when you guys got locked up in a cell together. So then I suppose it's apt that I get to give you this one."

Alec holds up the small diary charm in front of me, his grin growing wider.

"I should have known." I say as Alec attaches the charm, "Jake always likes to be strangely poetic."

"I'd always wondered what had gone down between you and Jake in camp." He says slowly fastening the charm carefully on the bracelet, "But I'd never thought that it would be because of the fact that he'd read your diary out in front of everybody. Turns out he was even a bigger asshole than I had first thought."

Although we had come a long way since that Jake still hadn't left his habit of portraying himself as the villain of the story by brushing over the parts that actually made him the hero.

"There is more to the story." I defend, "He didn't-"

Alec smiles, "I figured. The guy is an asshole but he has his reasons. Even I have to admit that despite everything when it came to you, the better man did win."

"Are you guys done yet?" Spencer asks opening the door, "And Jake is an asshole period. Nothing-"

"Watch it." I warn her and she scoffs.

"You could have at least pretended that you weren't eavesdropping." Alec says trying to sound stern but his smile gives him away.

Spencer shrugs, "What's the point? We all know that there was no way in hell I was going to let you be alone with the supposed goody two shoes here."

This girl just gets on my nerves.

"I'm not the one who needs help." I state, "And you have no right about holding a grudge against me because of Rebe- you know what? It doesn't matter."

Spencer looks at me bitterly, "Are you really that naïve? Don't fool yourself into thinking that I'm holding a grudge against you because you were too stupid to see why Juliana fucking Windsor did what she did. I'm over it, I don't care."

"Spence-"Alec starts.

"Then what the hell is your problem?" I say, "I've had it with you and your fits. I'm trying to make things right with you but you refuse to get off your high horse-"

"You broke Alec's heart you bitch." Spencer spits, "You didn't see just how torn he was over you. You so no, I really can't forgive you-"

"Spencer-" Alec looks highly embarrassed but Spencer continues.

"So no I'm not going to apologize for hating you because you deserve it for everything you did to him."

"Spencer come on." Alec says,"It doesn't matter. Let it go."

"She needs to hear it." Spencer huffs, "I don't care what she thinks about me but she needs to hear what she did to you."

I'm tempted to point out that Alec did get drunk and nearly kill Jake not to mention he'd almost slept with my best friend while we going out, which technically inferred that he cheated on me too.

But I don't.

Because I'm amazed that those words actually came out of her mouth.

Goddamn it, she actually loves Alec.

Which meant that the pink Barbie bitch actually had a heart.

Alec looks embarrassed more than anything else but I don't miss the glint of pride in his eyes.

He really loves her too.

And for the first time I realize how Alec had felt seeing Jake and I together.

I finally understand his utter disbelief when he'd first realized that I liked Jake. On paper, people so utterly different shouldn't have been able to stand each other much less love each other like that.

But that's the amazing part about falling in love with somebody.

To a bystander a pairing like Spencer and Alec was impossible but I knew better.

And if Alec had known better back then he'd have been able to spare himself of the heartbreak that followed.

So I do the one thing Alec could have never done all those years back when it came to Jake and I.

I understand why he loves her.
Because I love Jake the same way.

"Alec?"

Alec turns to look at me, "Yes?"

"The start of our senior year the night you'd broken up with Melanie and come home completely drunk. Do you remember it?" I ask.

He looks at me confused, "Yeah, I do. Why?"

"Well that day I'd run up to your bedroom to-"

Spencer bristles, "If you're trying to rub it in my face and tell me how you have a history-"

I ignore her.

"You were half asleep at that point but you'd asked me a question, that day." I continue, "I don't think you heard my answer but-"

"No, I did hear your answer." Alec says smiling faintly, "I always thought that I'd imagined it."

"Well I suppose I'm finally right aren't I?" I say standing next to him .

"Yes, you are."

Spencer stands in front of us glaring at me. I suppose Alec did have a type of picking and choosing the biggest bitches of them all but in strange way I think it was because he was the only one who could see through the act they put up.

"Where will I find the right girl for me?" He repeats his question from all those years back as he stares at Spencer in front of him his eyes shining brightly.

Prince Charming found his princess after all. One whom he loved very very much.

I smile and give him the same answer I'd given him all those years back ,"She's standing right in front of you."

But this time it's finally true.

______________

Alec disappears awfully fast after that insisting that they had somewhere to go and Jake would pretty much kill him if he delayed me any further.

It's only after the both of them leave, that I realize that I had no idea what to do after this. To be honest I don't even care what else Jake has in store, I just want him at this point.

I open the car door, hoping that I can coerce Arthur into telling me where Jake is hiding.

"Michella?" I say surprised to see my sister in the backseat of the car looking rather irritated.

"Glad you know my name." She says and then yanks me into the car, "I kind of forgot the charm in my office."

"Huh?"

"Charm. Office." She says and then turns to driver and says, "Hurry up. Jake is going to kill me if I screw up the entire thing."

"What entire thing?" I question.

"Nice try." She says, "I'm not telling you. Like I'm not in enough shit forgetting the charm."

I look at her amused and she rolls her eyes, clearly irritated, "I have a lot on my mind okay?"

"Yeah no doubt." I say.

"Well if he'd given me something better an addition sign as a charm I'd be happier." She says, "I mean why do I get to give the shittiest one of all time? Natalie got a shoe. A stiletto at that. It's just not fair."

"I'll tell you what's not fair " I say, "You didn't tell me that Jake was going to do all this and let me go ahead and plan the lamest proposal ever."

"Go look up what surprise means in a dictionary." She says, "Of course I wasn't going to ruin lover boys plans for you. I mean I may be a bitch but I'm not that much of a bitch. Besides everything you do is pretty damn lame so I figured adding one more to the list couldn't hurt too much. And I did try to warn you against your crappy t-shirt."

"It's not crappy."

"So you say." She sighs and then perks up as she looks out of the window, "Come on we are here."

"Kendra can I have a glass of wine?" She calls out the second we walk in, "The cheap kind."

I hit Michella in the arm, "You're not supposed to be drinking that. You're pregnant. Didn't you tell Eric yet?"

She huffs, "I've got three months until it starts to show. I'll probably tell him by then."

I roll my eyes and she throws a black box my way, which I barely manage to catch before it hits my face.

"Cue long sentimental speech as to how proud I am of you." She says, "Have fun doing math or whatever this charm means to you and blah blah, I'm done."

"How did Jake manage to convince you to do this?" I ask opening the box to find a charm, which was in the shape of an addition sign.

"He melted my non existent heart." She says and then pauses. "He told me that you always solved math problems when you were upset."

My head snaps up in surprise, "He did?"

She nods, "I never really noticed it to be honest but when he pointed it out to me, I realized that whenever you got upset you'd end up in your room studying."

"That's true." I say, "People scream or cry when they are upset but I solve math. Jake was probably the only one who noticed it. I never told him why, but I guess he knows me well enough to figure it out."

She looks at me thoughtfully a her assistant comes in with her glass of wine, "Yes he does."

"Thank you for this." I say grinning as I attach the charm to the bracelet, "You are still not supposed to be drinking that."

"Who said it's for drinking?" She says and then pours it all over my t-shirt.

"What the hell?" I screech.

"Oops." She says innocently, "Bathroom is to the right and there is a change of clothing too."

"You did this on purpose." I accuse.

"Of course I did it on purpose." She huffs," I refuse to let anyone related to me wear that ugly yellow t-shirt that would look dorky on a middle schooler too."

"I hate you."

"I'll live." She says, "Now hurry up."

I roll my eyes and stomp over to the bathroom to take off my top. True to her word Michella has kept a dress ready.

It's a pearl white high low dress that's beautiful to say the least. It has pale blue beads lining up the waist and the fabric is incredibly light and airy.

No offense to SpongeBob but this was definitely an upgrade.

I start changing when Michella's voice calls out from the other side uncharacteristically soft, "Clara?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you still start doing math when you're upset?" She asks.

Her question takes me off guard but my reply is instantaneous, "No, I don't."

"Then is there a reason why Jake asked me to give this particular charm to you?"

I pause for a moment, "Do you remember how much you got on your math finals in high school?"

"What?" She asks, "How is that-"

"You got a eighty seven." I say, "You got nearly perfect scores in everything but math."

"I suppose." Michella responds, "I was never very good at math."

"Growing up, you were the best at whatever you did." I say, "I was simply your shadow, the second sister who was constantly compared to the star that was Michella Wilson. I could never shine as brightly as you because I didn't have the confidence or the guts to even try. You were always the sister who came first. First when it came to our parents, our teachers, whoever you asked. You were better than me at everything."

"Everything but math. That's the only thing I could do better than you." I say, "And despite the fact that I didn't like math I did it because even though I was second to you in practically everything, when it came to math I was better. And it maybe have been petty and stupid but that's what made me feel better. That's what gave me a sense of self worth."

She stays silent for a moment that seemed to stretch forever.

"Why did you stop?" She finally asks, her voice distant.

"Because it doesn't matter who is better." I say, "Jake showed me that the most important thing is that you come first in your own eyes. And before I met him I never thought I could. And besides you are my family. I don't need to be better than you at anything to feel self-assured. I love you. You may not be the best big sister in the world but I'm happy that you're mine. And yes I say all of this despite the fact that you ruined my ruined my SpongeBob t-shirt."

She stays for longer this time and I start to wonder if she dropped dead. But before I can confirm that I hear a soft sniffle from the other side of the door making me stop in my tracks.

"Are you crying?" I ask shocked.

"No." She sniffles.

"Yes, you are." I say grinning as I try opening the door but she slams it from the other side nearly making me lose my balance.

"I'm pregnant you bitch." She says, "This is just because of some stupid hormone, but I swear if you come out now or tell anyone about this I will end you."

So I do as I'm told. I change into the dress and wait patiently until I think it's safe to come out.

"You actually look like a girl." She says when I finally emerge. She looks the same as ever, calm and composed, "Stop pouting, we both know you secretly love it."

"I don't."

She gives me a look and I sigh, "Fine. Maybe just a little but are you sure I can wear this?"

She waves me off, "It's a new piece but it's made it out of some old fabric lying around anyway. And besides you're only borrowing it so it doesn't really matter. It's actually inspired by my dress that you stole all those years back."

"What dress?"

"The dress you had worn during the brilliant Christmas dinner where you told mother dear that I got pregnant and kicked out of Harvard." She states, "You'd stolen one of my high low dresses and even I'll admit it you looked pretty good in it. I swear to god Alec's tighty whites were on the floor when he saw you."

I give her a look and she shrugs, "What? You know it's true. Jake nearly stabbed Alec's eyes out with a fork."

I roll my eyes, "Yeah sure. Thank you for the dress but you better dry clean my SpongeBob T-shirt."

"It's already in the trash. You're welcome." She says before grabbing my hand and shoving me out of the door, "Anyway you better get going, you're late."

"Go where?" I ask, "You didn't give me a-"

"Get in the car, Clara." She says, "You'll directly get there."

"Please tell me Jake's going to be there."

She rolls her eyes, "If you don't move your butt, you will never find out."

I turn around to leave when Michella suddenly blurts, "I'm happy too."

"Huh?"

"I'm happy that you are my sister."

She hurries back but right before she shuts the door she adds, "And yes it's despite the fact that you wear dorky SpongeBob square pants t-shirts."

I'm not going to lie, I teared up a little too.

______________

The car stops at Central Park. I can tell that it's the last stop and I mutter a quick thank you before getting down.

The path I'm supposed to take is obvious and my pace increases with every step I take. I can't wait to see Jake-

I stop, stunned at the incredible sight in front of me.

The vast lake glitters in the moonlight and despite all the pollution in New York I can still see a handful of stars scattered across the dark sky.

The dock I'm standing on is newer and far sturdier than the one back home and I suppose it's somewhat symbolic of how far we'd come from back when we were eighteen.

The trees along the shore and the dock itself is lit beautifully with the small fairy lights that had lead me up to the dock and they twinkle, lighting the entire place up.

But the best thing about it all is neither the view nor the lights.

It's the boy.

Jake Henderson sits on the edge of the dock with his feet dangling over the water below.

His coat lies in a messy heap next to him and his greyish blue tie hangs limply against his white shirt. His face is angled upwards as if he's looking at the stars but his eyes are shut tightly. His dark hair is messier than usual which undoubtedly means that he'd been running his fingers through his hair constantly, something that he only he did when he was nervous or frustrated.

It may have been just two weeks since I'd last seen him but I'd missed him way too much and finally seeing him again, it felt like I could- like I could-

Like I could finally breathe again.

"You know Henderson." I say breaking the silence, "Considering the fact that I've been running all day around trying to piece together my charm bracelet the least you could do was lay down a red carpet for my entrance."

He doesn't open his eyes or even turn to look at me, he simply stays still, his head still angled upwards. I'd expected him to be shocked or even surprised but he doesn't move an inch.

All he does is smile.

It's a smile that takes my breath away even after all these years. It reminds me why I love him, because that smile, the one where he looked like he had everything he could ever wish for, the one where he was perfectly content was a smile he only gave me.

Because that smile, that smile wasn't just for me, it was because of me.

Of course he wasn't surprised when I spoken, he'd known I was there, all along.

I make my way to the spot next to him and for a long time the both of us just side by side not saying a word enjoying the slight breeze.

"I've been getting cheesy sentimental speeches from everyone." I say, "Alec, Natalie, even my sister. I hope you've saved the best for-"

Before I can finish Jake's already kissing me, his familiar scent of honeydew overwhelming my senses. His palm rests against my cheek while his other hand is wrapped around my waist in an effort to obliterate any non-existent space between us.

And in that moment the world stops. My world stops just for a moment before it starts again, this time in a higher definition. Everything is sharper, brighter and much clearer.

He pulls away, his cheeks flushed and his eyes twinkling.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too." I say, unable to get the dreamy smile that's plastered off my face.

"Well of course you did." He says, "Not seeing this everyday couldn't have been easy for you."

"You wish Henderson." I snort.

"I bet you slept with magazine cutouts of me." He teases.

Well I may have gone to his apartment and slept in his bed and when I couldn't I just sprayed my pillows with his cologne and wrapped his scarf around one of them.

But no way was I telling him that.

"Hardly." I say.

He chuckles taking my wrist and attaching a charm to it.

It's the star.

The charm that represented the night we'd spent together on the dock back home.

"Well this was a risk wasn't it, considering that seeing stars in New York is rarer than seeing a blue moon."

"It was hardly a risk." He says, "Because even the stars come out for you."

"Of course they do." I say teasingly, "I'm the moon aren't I?"

He pauses for a second before smiling slightly as if he remembered something happy, "Yes, Yes you are."

"I didn't know Central Park had this dock." I say.

"It didn't." Jake says simply, "Until the day before."

I blink.

"What?" I say, "You built this?"

"Well if you're asking if I wore a tight white vest and showed of my biceps by carrying planks of wood, then no." He says, "But if you're asking if I called someone and paid for this, then yes, pretty much."

My jaw drops.

"You know if I'd known how badly you wanted to see me in a tight white vest all sweaty and hot, you could have just told me." He states.

I hit him playfully in the shoulder and ask, "You have an awfully high opinion of yourself, don't you?"

"Well I think it's quite justified don't you think? "He says pointing at his face, "I am me after all. And even you have to admit just how brilliant today was."

Oh yeah. I'd been completely and totally upstaged. Not that I'm going to tell him that.

"Well it was alright." I say trying to sound nonchalant but I know that my smile is giving it away.

"It was brilliant." He says standing up and pulling me up with him.

"It was alright." I say.

"There is actually one more thing left." He says, "It's actually a question."

"Uh huh?"

He's going to do it.

He's going to do it.

He's going to ask me to marry him. Properly.

Finally.

Wait how should I respond?

I've already said I will, haven't I?

Does he even remember?

Who cares?

What about a yes?

Or an of course?

"Did you know your laces were untied?"

"Of Co- Wait what?"

"Your laces." He jerks his chins towards my feet.

"Huh?" I say looking at him blankly.

He sighs, "You're hopeless. It's like you're asking to trip on them and get hurt."

I stare at him blankly for one moment longer.

Tie my shoelaces.

He just asked me to tie my shoelaces so that I don't trip.

"Aren't you going to tie it?" He asks.

"No." I say stubbornly.

He rolls his eyes and then gets down on one knee.

TO TIE MY FUCKING SHOELACES.

And here I thought life was finally giving me a break.

Don't bash his face in Clara. Remember you love him.

"It's all about how you tie the knot." He says, looking rather amused which wasn't really a good idea considering that his face was too close to my feet.

Don't kick him in the face, Clara.

Remember you love him. You didn't tolerate him for six years for no reason.

"There it's all done." He says getting up, "Now you're not going to fall."

Way too late for that, asshole.

"Oh lucky me." I say drily.

Moron.

"I know you're just super lucky to have such a thoughtful boyfriend aren't you?"

Jackass.

"Yes." I say curtly, "I'm the luckiest."

Manboob.

"Now that's done aren't you going to give me my present?"

"Huh?"

"Well since I practically spent forever trying to make all this happen and am currently jet lagged and sleep deprived I'd thought you'd get a present too. It is our ten-year anniversary isn't it? Technically we met on this exact date ten years ago. "

That stops me. I was the one who was behaving like a child, offended just because Jake hadn't proposed.

He'd done so much already.

And what happened to take control of your future Clara? I'm a strong independent woman and I didn't need him to propose when I could do it on my own.

Nothing is going to wrong. There is no llama or orangutan in sight, you're going to be fine.

You can do this. You can do this.

"I mean you've got to admit how brilliant this all was." He continues, "It's better to do this than go overboard for something stupid. I mean this guy at work was telling me how he got carried away and asked his girlfriend to marry him. He regretted it immediately, obviously. After all it's crazy to get married after barely being together for seven years."

Crazy?

Getting married after being together for seven years was crazy?

Was he fucking kidding me?

"Yeah." I say laughing nervously.

ABORT PLAN.

I REPEAT ABORT PLAN.

"Totally crazy. Like absolutely flipping ridonculous."

Wait...

Did I just say ridonculous?

Why does my mouth hate me so much?

"Ridonculous?" He chuckles, "What is that?"

Me being an absolute idiot of course.

"Well.." I start, "What do you-"

That's when Jake reaches for my bag and snatches a white paper out of the back pocket.

"Ooh what's this?" He says as he opens it, "A love letter?"

"Who'll waste time writing a love letter to-"

"So you know I'm not good with words." Jake starts reading out, "And lately we've been-"

It's my speech. The one that I was going to say when I was going to ask him to marry me.

Marry me.

Shit.

Shit .

Shit.

"Give it back!" I say reaching for the paper in his hands but he turns away as he continues to read.

"-apart more than together." He continues, "And you know I lo-"

"Give it back you-"

"-you very much. And we've been toget-"

"-wrinkled tit-"

"-her fo- wrinkled what?"

I ignore him and try to snatch the paper out of his hands but he manages to dodge me and raise the paper right above my head.

"Just give the paper back." I sigh.

"Why what's wrong?" He asks, "Written something naughty you don't want me to read? Perhaps the color of your underwear. I bet it's red."

I roll my eyes ignoring the fact that he was right, "Well you're certainly not going to find out, if you don't give the paper back."

"Are you blackmailing me?" He says playfully, "Because that's just low. Especially since I've practically been dying for the past two weeks."

"Give it back!"

"Ooh now I have to rea-"

"IT'S BECAUSE I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU TO MARRY ME, OKAY?" I burst before I can stop myself. I shut my eyes and quickly turn the other way before continuing, "I KNOW YOU THINK MARRIAGE IS IDIOTIC OR CRAZY OR WHATEVER BUT I WANT TO GET MARRIED. AND YOU HAVE NO CHOICE IN THE MATTER CONSIDERING THAT YOU'D PRACTICALLY ASKED ME ALREADY. Kind of- Well technically-IT DOESN'T MATTER YOU HAVE TO MARRY ME. KAY? KAY."

Silence.

More silence.

I open my eyes and turn slightly just in time to see Jake burst out laughing.

He doesn't stop and I stand there just staring at him turning redder by the second.

"This is so not funny." I mutter, "You're being a real ass."

He still doesn't stop.

"If you are going to say no you could have just said no!" I say indignantly, "You didn't have to laugh on my face."

"You idiot." He says still laughing, "That is not how you're supposed to propose. I thought you were going to get down on one knee and give me some long emotional speech on how much you love me-but this oh gods, this was so much better."

"Huh?"

"So much for asking me to marry you." He continues, "More like commanding it. Not that I'm complaining but I'd hoped for something far more romantic."

"What?"

"So where is the ring?" He asks brightly, "I hope you didn't cheap out on it. It's supposed to be equal three months salary and I know you earn a lot."

I'm still staring at him like he's just told me that Donald Trump became president.

"No ring?" He pouts, "Well then-"

"Wait." I interrupt, "You knew about this?"

"Of course I did." He says, "You're a terribl-"

I hit him.

"Ouch." He rubs his arm, "What was that-"

I hit him again.

"Okay now this is just abuse-"

"Ugh! You're such a jerk!" I say and hit him again, "I can't believe you put me through that."

"If anyone should be complaining it should be me." Jake says, "I mean here I was expecting another one of your long declarations of how much you loved my adorable face but instead I got physically abused."

"I'm going to kill you." I say.

"But then you'll never know my answer."

"Now I'm really going to kill you."

"Hey!" He puts his arms up to defend himself, "This happens to be my favorite tie, I can't have it covered with blood."

"This is so not funny Henderson." I pout, "I mean it. I really do want to get married."

He looks at me curiously, "Really?"

"Yes." I sigh, "I don't know how long I can stand those vultures trying to set you up. So let's just get married soon."

"No." He says simply.

I blink, "So y-you don't want to get married anytime soon?"

"No I don't."

"Sometime in the distant future then?" I ask.

"No, not in the distant future either."

I instinctively take a step back. This was worse than any of the scenarios I'd put together. He didn't want to get married at all.

"Oh." I say simply trying to mask my hurt, "Okay then. No marriage whatsoever. We are never getting married. Okay."

He simply smiles.

"Car, we aren't going to get married soon or in the distant future." He says, "Because we are getting married right now."

I stare at him confused.

"We are getting married right now." He repeats.

Wait. What?

He sighs putting his arms around me and resting his chin on my shoulder, "I've thought a lot about how I was going to do this. Considering how I failed pretty miserably the past three times trying to ask you to marry me, I thought it would be better to just do it instead."

"T-three times?" I mutter weakly.

He grins,"That's a funny story for later but as of now-

He stops as he as he looks at my expression,"Are you alright?"

I blink at him.

"Am I alright?" I repeat,"Am I alright? I just went from thinking that you might never want to marry me to we are getting married right now. I need a minute to breathe."

"So you don't want to marry-"

"Of course I want to marry you, you Manboob." I say.

"We are back to Manboob.  I'm going to take this as a good sign." He says.

"This is not funny."

"You look cute when you're having a mini freak out." He teases,"But I mean who can blame you, with this face of mine, how could you not?"

I stare at him flabbergasted. He was still the same old Jake, teasing me as if he'd just asked me if I wanted more oregano on my pizza rather than the fact that he'd just asked me to marry him.

Now.
At this instant.

God Clara get a grip.
It's Jake.
It's Jake.

Of course he'd go ahead and pull off something like this. In fact you should have seen this coming.

He wouldn't be Jake Henderson if he lost the ability of being able to pull the carpet under you when you least expect it just so that he can catch you when you're about to fall.

"Aren't you even a little afraid?" I ask, I know I'm backtracking but now slapped with the looming possibility of everything happening so fast, I was scared."Of just jumping into this right away?"

He kisses my cheek,"Oh I'm fucking terrified. But since it's with you then I'm pretty sure that's a good thing."

And that's all it takes. A smile and kiss from Jake to melt my ridiculous fears into nothing. 

"So what do you say Car?" He asks putting his hand forward,"Marry me right now?"

I take his hand grinning,"I'd told you long back that I would."
_______________

It's a blur after that. To be honest the next hour is almost a blank for me because the entire thing is so surreal that it all feels like like a dream. 

I vaguely remember Jake's hand slipping from mine and suddenly being surrounded by people.

I'm not quiet sure who all of them are but I distinctly remember Samantha's red hair and Natalie gloating at some point saying that she'd won a bet against Alec because she'd known I was more desperate which is why I'd caved in and asked Jake to marry me first.

I think Jake's mom is also next to me at some point muttering that it was about damn time she got a daughter in law and Michella nodding in agreement while asking me to be eternally grateful to her for getting me out of the dorky t-shirt.

I think my dad was there to. Maybe even my mom but then again I thought I saw Rebecca and my grandmom too which was utterly impossible.

To be perfectly honest I couldn't be sure of anything except for the fact that Jake was there. 

And I was getting married to him.

At that point that was all that really mattered to me.

By the time I see Jake again, we are on opposite ends of the dock which has completley transformed.

The entire place is brilliantly lit up, the fairy lights must have doubled in number and there are a handful of people on the side. An intricate arch made of mistletoe is placed at the far end below which Jake stands.

He gives me a little wave and mouths something along the lines of breathe.

It's only then the surreal fog around me disappears a little and I'm faintly aware of Alec by my side talking to my father.

And then I'm suddenly being guided forward by someone. It's almost mindless and I know it's Alec next to me but I can't care less because all I can see is Jake who is getting closer with each step I'm taking.

And then suddenly I'm standing next to Jake, Alec's arm leaving mine.

I turn to face Jake but instead I'm met with an unfamiliar face.

I blink at the short lady who stands in front of me with her huge glasses. She's probably the most unfamiliar out of all the indistinctly blurred faces present but she smiles kindly at me.

She must be the officiant for the wedding, I manage to think. 

"Here you go." She says giving me a single orchid,"A bride must have flowers."

I stare at the flower stunned but before I can think too much into it
she announces,"If everyone is ready I'd like to start the ceremony."

It's strange I suppose.
When girls imagine their wedding they always have this fantasy where everything is planned out in perfect detail.

But I can't remember anything.
Anything except Jake.
The fact that I was getting married to Jake. 

I can't hear the words the officiant is saying, her mouth is moving I think but no sound is coming out.

I tilt my head to look at Jake beside me and I'm captivated by his green eyes which seem to be bottomless. 

At that point a hundred flying purple pigs could have invaded earth and I wouldn't have noticed.

Jake's hand finds mine, his fingers intertwine with mine and the fog clears away, my vision intantly becoming sharper and sound finally filtering through.

"-everyone here already knows that I love you." He says and the crowd laughs,"But they don't even know the half of it. I don't what I did Car to deserve you but it must have been something pretty damn good because you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. And that will remain unchanged no matter how much time passes by. I just hope I'll be your side till the very end to remind you of that everyday."

I'm not going to cry.
Not going to cry. 

The crowd turns to me and I know it's my turn now.

Don't cry.
Take a deep breath.

You can do this.

"I was once told that the moon shone brighter than anything else in the night sky which is why it would have to settle for one of the smaller twinkling stars." I say, my voice is shaky but Jake gives my hand a tight squeeze, "But that's not true. The moon has already chosen who it wants to be with and it settled for nothing less than the sun."

"After all the moon shines only as brightly as it does because of the sun. And although they are as different as day and night there is no one else who the moon could settle for. There never was." I pause,"Thank you. Thank you for being my sun. Thank you for loving me and showing me how brightly I can shine with you by my side."

There is a moment of silence before the officiant says,"Do you Clara Wilson take Jake Henderson to be your husband?"

I smile,"I do."

"Do you Jake Henderson take Clara Wilson to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." He promises and squeezes my hand. Twice.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife.You may now kiss-"

But before she can finish Jake's already kissing me.

And standing there with the boy who I love finally completely and totally mine, there was no place I would rather be.
_____________________

"We are almost there." Jake says guiding me forward.

"Was the blindfold really necessary?" I ask,"If this is an impromptou honeymoon then I can't go. I have work tomorrow."

He ignores me and he guides me ahead. We'd finally escaped from the wedding and Jake and promptly put me in the car and blindfolded me announcing that he had one final surprise.

"I bet it's just an excuse to hold me like this." I comment.

He snorts he unties the blindfold," I don't need an excuse anymore."

At first I'm not quite sure what I'm looking at.

We are standing on a street looking at a line of tall, elegant brownstones. The one in front of me is probably the biggest of them all, three stories tall with a dark green door.

"Is this-"

I don't need to finish the rest because I'm already moving ahead, up the small set of stairs leading up to the door. I come to a stop right at the doorstep staring down at the black box that lies there.

"I thought I'd save the best for last." Jake says from behind me, "And as much as I'd love an impromptou honeymoon I'd like to stay off planes for a while and stay at home. So I thought that giving the last charm would be a nice ending to the night. You'd noticed one was missing right?"

Of course I had.

I open the box and the last charm lies there.

A house, one that looked exactly like the brownstone in front of me.

"It's perfect." I whisper softly.

"Come on." Jake says intertwining his hand with mine, "Let's show our home. Our home.  It has a nice ring to it doesn't it?"

It does.

He moves ahead interlocking his fingers with mine, pulling me inside.

It's huge. That's the first thing that comes to my mind. For a second I'm overwhelmed not just by the size of the house, but the meaning this structure made out of stone and wood holds for the both of us.

It's a house , just like any other and yet it's our house. A house that would hold a nameplate on it's dark green door with the names Jake and Clara written, together.

It's a quiet process after that as I start moving forward. I take into account everything, from the color of the floor to the number of steps on the stairs. I don't miss to notice just how high the cabinets in the kitchen are or the fact that the bathroom connected to our bedroom has an exceptionally large shower. It's the little things that I notice the most, the ones that are virtually irrelevant in the face of everything else but to me they somehow mean everything.

The house is barely furnished but there are some things that are complete with astounding detail. That's how the entire house is built, like a half completed puzzle waiting to be finished.

I finally come to a stop at what seems to be our bedroom and sit on the bed trying to take in everything.

I have so much to say but I don't know where to start or whether it will be enough. 

"I married an idiot." I finally say, "There is quite literally no furniture, WiFi or heater in our house but there is a bed."

"See that's why deciding how to furnish the rest of the house is completely up to you. To be honest it's the only piece of furniture I really need." He says, "And I made sure that this one won't break."

I roll my eyes, "Twenty four years old and your mind is still in the gutter. If that's why you married me, dream on."

"You are so cruel to me." He says looking hurt as he puts a hand on his chest, "I'm offended that you think that I actually need to use marriage as an excuse to get you in bed. If I recall-"

Before he can finish I grab his tie and pull him forward. His face is only an inch away from mine and I smile, "You're just all talk."

And this time when he kisses me, we don't stop there.

____________

It's probably a couple of hours later but to me it could have been two seconds or even two years later as I lie beside Jake tangled up with him, breathless as well as peaceful at the same time.

My head is on his chest and I stay there, silent, not saying anything, just listening to the steady beat of his heart.

"What are you thinking about?" He asks softly.

"I'm just hoping right now that this isn't all a dream."

"It is a dream." Jake says tracing my hair with his fingers gently, "But it's one that won't end."

I can't stop smiling now, because I'm absolutely and perfectly happy at this moment.

"I can't imagine being any happier than this." I say snuggling in closer to him, "Today was by far the happiest day of my life. Although the your shoelaces are untied thing kind of made me want to kill you."

"Oh come Car." He says, "The shoelaces was brilliant. But I can't believe you thought I'd leave it at that I'm not Evans."

"Now you're just using this to gloat." I say.

"Well I did end up with the most beautiful girl in the world and he got- what did you call Spencer again? The pink bitch Barbie. So yeah, I think I have right to gloat."

"Aren't you flattering. You've already got laid, so why continue with the cheesy comment?"

"Well technically this is our wedding night." He says, "And I'm wondering just how much of flattery it will take for a round two."

Far lesser than you think.

"You have high hopes Mr. Wilson."

"I sure do Mrs. Henderson."

We pause for a moment before we burst out laughing.

"Let's just stick to Jake and Clara." I say, "God we sound like forty year olds."

"Forty or twenty four no matter what age I'll still be adorable and absolutely charming."

I roll my eyes.

"Oh please." He defends, "I have plenty of charm."

"Sure, Mr. I call you car because we met in a car."

He groans and I laugh out loud.

"I was fourteen." He says, "Cut me some slack won't you? "

"Like seventeen year old you was any better." I counter, "You quite literally asked me to fake date you because you didn't have the balls to say that you liked me. "

"Yeah well considering the fact that you hated me at that point of time, I thought that was pretty good plan. In fact it was pretty damn smart. "

"I think I'd prefer it if you'd told me the truth you know." I say, "Because I never really hated you, I just strongly disliked you but that was mostly because I couldn't for the life of me understand why I liked you. Turns out I'd just forgotten."

He smiles, "Well then if I'd had a second chance then I'd do things differently."

"I don't know. " I say, "You're not much better now either."

"Hey give me some credit." He says, "I came up with all of this."

I smile and kiss him on his cheek, "Yeah I know. Thank you for doing all that for me."

"So now will you admit that I'm absolutely adorably charming? "

You'd think twenty four year old Jake would have stopped being an elementary school kid by now.

"Nope." I say sticking my tongue out.

And you'd think I'd have graduated from kindergarten by now.

"You're stuck with me for the rest of your life Car." He says, "You're going to have to admit the fact that I ooze charm sooner or later."

I start laughing, "Ooze charm? Really?"

"You're killing me here you know that? "

"You haven't changed one bit. Even if you did get a second chance to go back to our senior year, I highly doubt you'd have done anything different."

"That's not true." He says, "In fact I would sweep you off your feet in the first few minutes."

I raise an eyebrow, "And how exactly would you do that? "

"Well you'd come and introduce yourself first. Something along the terms Hi I'm Clara Wilson you know the girl from camp who was totally crushing on you. I haven't changed much, I still have a massive thing for SpongeBob Square pants, Harry potter and any guy who moves in next door to me."

I roll my eyes, "My introduction sounds pathetic and my type is not the guy next door. It's just that Alec lived next door to me."

"Both Alec and I lived next door to you." He points out.

I laugh, "Yeah well that's still not going to work. You really are going to have to up your game here."

"Oh really? " the corner of his mouth tugs upwards to form a smirk.

"Uh-uh-" I start to stutter because Jake Henderson could still leave me breathless even after all these years with just one glance.

"Up my game you say? "

He says pushing himself slightly closer to me so that I'm once again enveloped by the familiar scent of honeydew.

"Then the first time I'd met you after I had moved in next door to you I would do this." He says as he cups my face in his palms, gently. His forehead rests against mine and our lips are almost touching but not quite.

"I'd do this to show you that you've been looking at the guy in the wrong house all this time." He breathes before he closes the gap between us.

The kiss sweet and slow. There is no sense of urgency anymore, the desperation we'd felt like we didn't know what was going to come next or how long we had together. It's calm, peaceful and just perfect, like we had all the time in the world. Like we had the rest of our lives to do this.

The rest of our lives together.

People are defined by a lot of things. They are defined by their experiences and their quirky habits that make up their personality.

For instance you could be the kind of person who does math when they are upset or the kind who likes fairytale just because reality doesn't give you the happy ever afters you want. You could also be the person who runs away from their problems or simply chooses to ignore them because you're too afraid to face the truth.

All those good things and bad things make you the person who you are. Damaged, broken or even slightly chipped no one is perfect and neither is anyone beyond repair, you just need the right people to show you that.

Because you are not only defined by your experiences but the people who've you've had them with.

Those people who've come into your life unexpectedly and changed you in ways you never thought possible.

For example the quiet new girl in your class? Give her two years time and maybe she'll become a friend of yours who'll help you through just about anything. If it comes to it, she'll definitely even help you hide a body. Maybe she'll be the one who ends up teaching you how to never give up and fight for what you love.

She may also be the one to teach you the true meaning of sacrifice.

Maybe the boy who just moved in next door to you will become a friend who'll teach you how to fall in love and then teach you how to fall out of it.

Or maybe the best friend who you don't talk to anymore will come back into your life just to show you how far you've come since you began.

And that estranged sister you never thought you'd make things right with?

Well she might become one of your biggest cheerleaders pushing you forward in life..

Those are the people who define you. They change little parts of you slowly over a gradual period of time, helping you move forward one step at a time.

And then there are those people who come into your life like a storm and turn everything you knew about yourself upside down.

They are the kind that destroy every wall you'd ever put up just to make you realize that maybe you'd put them all up in the first place just to see who cared enough to break them.

They are the ones who bring out the best in you by showing you the worst parts of yourself. They make you question yourself and everything you've ever known to be true.

They break you.

They destroy you.

They consume you.

They are the ones who will drive you up a wall and then throw you down just so that they can catch you when you fall.

It's not easy surviving them, you'll have to fight with everything you've got.

Fight to keep them.

Fight to be with them.

But if you remain by their side, you'll realize that beside them is exactly where you belong, where you've always belonged.

And with them by your side you can do anything, be anything, and be anyone.

With them by your side you'd be unbreakable and unstoppable.

Jake pulls back from the kiss and I try to catch my breath.

Because I'm breathless because of it all. The kiss, the wedding and the enormity of the life that lies ahead of me, the one with the two of us, together.

And that's when I realize just how lucky I had been all along.

Most people spend their entire lives searching for an epic love, the kind from fairytales and movies.

But most rarely do find them.

But I did.

Not once but twice.

And if you get as lucky as I am you won't have to look too far because love may be right next door. And if you still don't find them you just need the right person to come and show you that maybe you've been looking at the wrong house all along.

"Told you I'd sweep you off your feet in the first minute didn't I? " He states.

I smile and it's a happy, happy smile.

Because the boy in front of me he was my storm. He was the one who flipped my world around and changed everything for the better.

Sure we'd had our problems and we would probably continue to have a whole lot of them but that's okay because we weren't perfect just perfectly imperfect.

"Eh." I manage to say, "That kiss was so and so not to mention very rude without a proper introduc-"

He cuts me off by kissing me again and it's electric this time. The kind that's absolutely sinful and magical at the same time.

"What about that?" He asks breaking away.

"Yeah" I say trying to come back to reality, "I think I might I have been persuaded a little bit."

Jake chuckles, his green eyes shining brilliantly, "And after all that kissing, when you've fallen madly in love with me I'd break away and say-"

He pauses for a moment and slowly intertwines his hand with mine and squeezes it. Twice.

"Hi, I'm Jake Henderson and I'm The Guy Next Door"

AND then a couple of hundred flying purple pigs with rainbow stripes invaded the Earth and killed of all them.

THE END.

_____________

LONG ASS AUTHORS NOTE WITH AN APOLOGY (and an explanation) COMING UP NEXT on SUNDAY Along with my absolute favorite chapter in the entire book THE EPILOGUE. Till then you guys can check out a character interview on the WATTPAD BLOCK PARTY which has Jake, Clara, Rebecca, Alec and Will.

As to what happened to Rebecca I'll be putting up Just Ask Juliet soon.

AAAH I FINISHED IT.  AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHAHAHAHAHAH.This is the best birthday gift ever. *dies in in a corner*