My entry for Writers-Haven's fanfic (shipping) contest.
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A heavy gust of wind blows towards me, making me stagger back. I laugh at the wind, knowing it's not going to make any difference.
No, this isn't going to stop me. Not today. Today's the day that will be marked for my entire life as possibly one of my happiest moments.
I smile bitterly as I remember how I'd felt like that just an hour ago but how far it is from that now.
After a lot of deliberation, I decided today would be the day. The day I would finally ask out the guy of my dreams.
I had been waiting for so long but had never found the guts to just tell him. I decided yesterday that I would just go for it today, seeing that the earlier I let him know, the likelier he is to say yes.
Today we were all meeting at this place for a get-together and lunch after that, along with party games and all that bass. We've been in the same musical group for five years and the flame's only grown exponentially since then...
I was, as usual, one of the first to arrive, only Kevin beating me to the post.
Kirstie showed up next, about five minutes after me. She spoke so lively with Esther, my sister and our tour manager, that a smile spread across my face as I watched how full of life she's.
A strange pang of grief resonated across me when Esther spoke of Jeremy, Kirstie's fiance. He's a nice enough guy and they're so right for each other but the green-eyed monster threatened to rear its ugly head. Hastily shoving it away, I settled with marvelling at how happy and contented she seemed. That's what she ought to have...
The clacking of boots reached me just a fraction of a second before him. Then in he walked, his merry laugh making my heart soar.
Sniggering away at something, Scott and Mitch were seemingly recording a video or something and Scott had his phone out and turned obliquely to record both of them properly.
Laughing at Scott's jokes, and adding his own, Mitch laughed nonstop. The kind of laugh where you laugh from not only your lips but also your eyes. Those mahogany brown eyes seemed to sparkle with joy and life. A perfect Kodak moment. And he had to go and ruin it.
Lifting his hand, he showcased a flashy ring he donned that paled in comparison with him. That lucky ring!! Wait, he did not just say that Scott and he were engaged, did he?? He did. And he seemed so happy at the very idea. 'So Scömìche is real then' was the thought that bounced off my brain walls and reverberated time and again.
I began to tremble, my palms balling up into fists. The stuff that forms the very core of nightmares materialized in front of me and danced just in front of me.
Before I realized it, my feet took me out of the room and onto the terrace. Once there, I walked until the very edge and plopped down, my feet dangling over the low railing that's the only thing keeping me from tumbling over. My fingers worked their way through the rods, desperately trying to gain hold of something or the other.
And that's how I wound up here, the wind blowing in my face and the whooshing sound the only things I can make sense of. Giving up on the railing, I pull free my hands and lie down on my back, my upper torso on the terrace floor and my legs dangling off.
I feel so numb but it's not the kind of numb that's just absence of feelings but the kind that comes when what little you did have earlier is all snatched away. There's nothing at all that I can think of right now but that word. Engaged.
It ricochets off the inner surface of my cranium again and again and yet again, his smooth voice dazzling. Ugly words uttered with much beauty.
What do I do now? I'd been convinced that I would be enough for him but apparently not. That Noodle has everything he wants, everything I can't even dream of giving him.
They've known each other for so much longer and-
"Avi?" A familiar silky voice says, startling me. I sit up jerkily at the voice, losing my balance and almost falling off the building, held back only by a hand catching hold of mine and pulling me back up.
I come face to face with a very pink blond with worry writ large on his face. Scott. He heaves a huge sigh of relief and proceeds to rebuke me for sitting the way I was. I do agree that it was dangerous.
After a whole chiding session, his face softens and he apologizes for reacting the way he did, his only excuse being "giving many a damn" about me, as he puts it. Then giving me a quick hug and a whispered "I love you." in my ear, he nods at Mitch and walks off.
I return to my earlier position and hold on tighter. Mitch waits for what seems like an excruciatingly long time until he clears his throat.
"Hey." I mutter almost inaudibly.
Boots click and clack and he drops down by my side. I look at him from the corner of my eye to see those pools of rich brown chocolate scanning me and lines etched on his sculpted face by concern.
"Avi, I wanted to tell you that there's this guy." He gushes as I struggle to keep pace with his hyperactivity.
My lips threaten to pull up at the joy radiating from him. He truly seems like he could be on top of the nation. At the same time, this guy...
"What was that song you sang with Peter Hollens?"
"Black is the color of my true love's hair." I reply, covering up my expressions carefully with a mask that seems nonchalant and distant.
"Yes, that's right for my situation." He replies matter-of-factly.
"Black?" I say, looking into those two endless pools and observing the green-eyed monster clearly dominant in the reflection in the mirror of his eyes. The angel in me seems dormant. Besides, Scott's blond. Is he talking about Kevin? Sweet amazing talented Kevin?
"Yes, black. You see, Avi, this guy has black hair and a voice as low as the Mariana Trench. His eyes are the green reminiscent of fresh grass, the green of leaves after a downpour, dotted with drops of dew. Plus this 'engagement' ring is fake." He says, taking off the flashy ring and twirling it in front of us before tossing it far away.
I go completely rigid, frozen at his words. I watch speechlessly as he smiles at the sky. After a few seconds, he turns to look at me.
"Avi Kaplan, will you be my boyfriend?" He asks me, his voice filled with clarity and like the sound of water flowing over rocks.
I become completely speechless. Did I hear him right or are my ears deceiving me?
"Mitch, I -"
"You don't have to say anything, Avi. Take your own sweet time and think over it."
"Well, I..." I trail off, unsure of what to say now.
"What?"
"I thought you liked Scott..."
"Avi, I love Scott so much but he's my best friend. Now come on, don't look so glum." He explains patiently as if to a small child and pulls me in for a long hug, enveloping me in his warm scented hug.
"It's done then." I say and reach out my hand for a formal-ish handshake after we pull apart. Laughing, Mitch shakes my hand.
"I'm so glad we're together now."
"Always." I say, quoting Harry Potter like nobody's business. Kirstie would definitely be proud if she were here...
"And that, kids, is the story of how I met your mother." I end the story as many of the reporters in the press conference chuckle.
Mitch and I are out now and a lot of Pentaholics, who apparently used to ship 'Mavi' are elated. I smile at Scott as he beams at me and give Mitch's hand, which is in mine, a reassuring squeeze.
Turns out I couldn't be more glad that day had turned out like that. Now we're even closer and I'm so ecstatic that I found the guy of my dreams right here. Right home.
And now, I'm on my way home.
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There's my entry!!
Feel free to let me know what you think!!
'Standing By' is the SOtOS because of Avi's wonderful singing and the entire song in general!!
Oh and it is so hard to write when I'm sick. I mean, I dozed off like a kabillion eighty times while writing this 😭😭
'Sirius'ly, The Chainsmokers' 'Don't Let Me Down' ft. Daya is the only thing that's keeping me awake...
Later update:
So I was just toying around with the idea, and decided that I could definitely write an entire fanfic called 'Mahogany Eyes'. I even made a cover (it's next to the video) and all. However, I will not publish it until I have at least five chapters written, which could take God knows how long...
For now, I'll re post this as a separate book with the above oneshot and will take it down from there once I start publishing the book here. Oh and if you'd like to make me covers, feel free to!
I accidentally unpublished this, so you might have got a notif that I uploaded a new part so...
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