*Edited*
Don't ask me how the winning concert tickets were going to be shipped the exact day the contest was announced. To me, it seemed impossible, but I guess there's this thing called same day shipping or whatever. I didn't care as long as I got the tickets.
Of course, I wouldn't know if I had won until they were in my mailbox. So, at the end of the day, I bolted out of the school and drove home faster than I ever had before. I was lucky I hadn't gotten in an accident because I did drive faster than the speed limit.
I made sure to get home before Elijah did because he had told me he wouldn't give me his extra ticket if he won, which meant that I would have to be a little sneaky. I parked my car in front of my house and hopped out.
I ran over to my neighbor's mailbox and opened it. The mailman had already came for the day so I pulled out all of the Reed's mail. I shuffled through the mail until I got across a strange letter addressed to Uriah.
It was from a college. I haven't even thought about the fact that Uriah would be going to college next year. He must've already applied in the fall. This letter must be an acceptance one. I couldn't think about that right now. I would have to talk to Uriah soon, but I was a girl on a mission right now and nothing could stop me.
I hurriedly tucked it behind all the rest of the mail and continued to dig through the pile.
Guess what I never found. Well, I'm gonna tell you right now.
I didn't find the Pierce the Veil concert tickets in Elijah's mailbox. I shoved the neighbor's mail back inside their mailbox and slammed it shut. Then I sprinted over to my house and opened the mailbox.
There was one single envelope inside. I froze, just staring at it. I sent up a prayer that it would be the envelope with the concert tickets. Then I slowly reached my hand inside and gently pulled the only piece of mail out that was in my mailbox.
I tucked it against my chest without looking who the envelope was sent from or who it was addressed to. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and jumped when something tapped me on the shoulder. I spun around, feeling guilty as if I was doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing. I hid the envelope behind my back as I found dark green eyes suspiciously glaring at me.
"What's that?" Elijah said, flicking his head at me. He ran his fingers through his dark hair, making it spike up. I almost drooled until I realized who I was checking out.
"Nothing," I said, swaying back and forth from foot to foot.
Elijah took a step forward. I stopped swaying and pulled out the envelope from behind my back to read who it was from.
"HELL YES!" I yelled, jumping up and down. I did a little dance, throwing my arms in the air, but I didn't care how stupid I looked. I couldn't believe it. I had actually won the tickets.
"Give me that," Elijah growled, snatching the envelope out of my hands. I stopped dancing and tried to grab it back for him. He held it above his head, far out of reach from my short form. I jumped as high as I could and couldn't even skim my fingers along the base of the envelope. Deflated, I stood back to watch him.
He squinted as he read the mailing information on the package. "Hah," he said, pointing at the neat writing in the center of the envelope. "These are my tickets. It says my name right here." He jabbed his finger at the envelope and shoved it in my face for me to see.
Sure enough, it wasn't my name on the envelope, but it was Elijah's. I looked lower, reading beneath his name where it said an address. It was my turn to jab a finger at the envelope.
"But, it says my address right here. 39 Westbrook Ave," I pointed out.
"Listen, it clearly says my name, so the tickets are mine. We called at the same time and gave our addresses at the same time, so the operators must have gotten confused. Bottom line is, you lost," he refuted.
Elijah strode over to his house with me gawking at his back. This so wasn't fair. The operators could have messed up our names and not the addresses. How would Elijah know that they only messed up the addresses? It almost hurt my head to think this all through and I found myself getting just as confused as the operators must have been.
I charged after him with my fists clenched. Those tickets were mine.
"Hey Mae, I was wondering if you wanted to go see a Pierce the Veil concert tomorrow night?" Elijah said with his cellphone against his ear. I walked right up to him so I could hear the conversation. He leaned against the railing on his porch, unaware of the fact that I was eavesdropping behind his back. His shoulders slumped and he said, "Oh, alright. Have a good time."
"Did you get all that? Or do you need me to repeat the conversation?" He asked, suddenly turning around and trapping me between him and his porch. His eyes locked on mine with such intensity that I sucked in a breath. Guess I wasn't as slick as I thought I had been.
I held my thumb and pointer finger a few centimeters apart and squeeked, "I only heard a little bit." He didn't appreciate that and placed his hands on the railing one either side of my shoulders. I stiffened as he leaned closer to me.
"You want these tickets, Ronnie?" He ground out. I nodded eagerly, blonde hair falling across my vision.
"Fine," he said. I gaped as he tore open the envelope and took out one ticket, handing it to me. I took it from him, scared I was dreaming.
"What's up, guys?" A second voice joined us. Elijah turned around and shrugged. I held up my ticket.
"We won tickets to a Pierce the Veil concert tomorrow!" I said, running over to show Uriah. He grinned and said, "Wow, that's great! You guys are going to have a blast together."
"Oh...right." I hadn't thought about actually being with Elijah while I was there. Ugh.
Uriah chuckled at my reaction. He gently pulled me close to him and rested his forehead against mine.
"I've been wanting to ask you this for a while now." He murmured.
"Hm?"
"Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked, full of hope. I blushed hard as I nodded, "I would love to."
He smiled with his dimples and leaned in, pressing his lips against mine. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, running my hands through his hair. He rested his hands on my hips, titling his head to deepen the kiss.
I flinched at the sound of a door slamming behind me. Uriah and I separated from each other to turn around and see what it was.
"I knew it," Uriah said, shaking his head.
"Knew what?" I asked, looking up at him with my eyebrows raised.
"Oh...nothing," he responded, realizing he had spoken out loud.
"Uriah...I have something to tell you," I said, staring at my feet.
Uriah's fingers came up under my chin to tilt my head up. I still wouldn't look at him as I blurted, "I snooped through your mail and saw the letter from Bryant University. Congratulations, Uriah."
"Thanks, Veronica. I've actually known for a while that I've been accepted, I just didn't know how to tell you."
"Oh...so you're definitely going?" I asked, finally looking up in his brown eyes.
"Yeah. My, uh, biological father lives right by the college. He hasn't been in my life since I was a child, but he wants to make amends," he said.
"Elijah told me about your story. I'm sorry about your mother," I said, sincerely.
"It's alright. It's been a while since she died, but she lived a great life and loved me with all her heart. Now I have someone to fill the hole she left behind," he said, gazing intently in my eyes, making me blush again.
"What about Elijah's mother? How come she's not around?" I asked, then realized my mistake. It wasn't my place to ask that question. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't-"
"She filed for a divorce a few years ago. Apparently there was a man she had met in secret often and she fell in love with him, so they started dating. Elijah's pretty touchy about it, so I'd rather you ask me than ask him. You know how he is...and maybe his mother's absence plays a role in his abrasiveness."
"Oh."
"Which is why I'm also surprised that he's going steady with a girl, especially since it's Mae. I wasn't surprised at all when he was with Bianca because he usually just goes for those non-serious flings."
I nodded, agreeing with him.
"Unless..." He began.
"Unless what?"
"Nevermind," he said again. Something strange was going on here. Uriah kept saying something and then changed his mind about telling me.
"Okay..."
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow at school," Uriah said, placing a light kiss on my forehead.
"Okay! See you tomorrow!" I yelled as I walked back to my house.
I plopped down on the couch with the biggest smile. I was going to see Pierce the Veil in concert tomorrow and Uriah had just asked me to be his girlfriend. This day couldn't get any better. I didn't want it to end.
But like they say, all good things must come to an end.
Because tomorrow we were making cookies in culinary class and Elijah would be in my group. I seriously hoped we wouldn't set the kitchen on fire.