This is it, guys. This is it.
"You do know that it's ten o'clock in the evening, right?" those were the first words I told Austin once I plopped down in the passenger seat of his car.
He threw me a swift glance, a small smile playing on his lips as he swiftly backed out of our drive way (perks of new cars). "So?"
A look of incredulity passed over my sleepy features as I gaped at him. "It's prom tomorrow night! We should be sleeping!"
To further prove my point, I motioned over my attire that consisted of one of his shirts and my Shawn the Sheep PJs and flipflops. He gave me a brief once over then focused on the road ahead of us. "It's cute."
"Austin! Cute? Cute? It's prom tomorrow and Lily and Kayla are asleep in my bedroom right now. They might wake up in the middle of the night only to find out that I'm missing! This is crazy!" I said, throwing my arms in the air.
"Or," he paused to turn around a corner, "we could get lucky and they won't find out."
I sighed, seeing no point in arguing with him. Apparently, I've discovered in our four months of relationship, that he could be a hell lot more stubborn than a toddler high on sugar. "Where are we going, anyway?" I asked instead and watched the view outside of my window.
At ten in the evening, most of our small town were already asleep. With only a few cafés, diners, clubs and restaurants to fill life into the sleeping town. Some passerby's dotted the sidewalks and a few cars roamed the roads, but overall, it was relatively quiet and empty.
"Hill of Orion," Austin muttered nonchalantly beside me, and I quickly shifted in my seat to gape at him.
"God, you're a walking contradiction."
He briefly looked at me before taking another turn and frowned. "Walking contradiction?"
"Yes. You're so into these spontaneous and random dates, but you don't get the real essence of surprises." This wasn't the first time he did this. And the truth was, I was a little annoyed at him. I was supposed to be in my bed right now, beside Lily and Kayla and already snoring the night out.
But instead, here I was, sitting in the passenger seat of my boyfriend with my arms crossed over my chest and a sad pout on my lips. I knew it was childish - very immature in fact. But I was really hoping as I took down the tentative steps down our stairs that this random date would be worth both of our time.
I actually thought, for a minute or two that maybe this was his way of making it up to me after his (not-so) prom proposal that happened when were on the way to our first class. At first, when he popped the question, I thought he was pulling a joke, only to realize seconds later as he waited patiently for my response with an expectant look on his face, that he was, in fact serious.
"Did you shop for your dress already? I was out with the Stephen yesterday and I already bought mine. So..." he drawled out.
My. Ears. Perked. Up. That. I. Had. To. Pause. Mid-step.
I was stunned in the best way possible, my mouth hanging open as I sharply turned to stare at him petulantly. "You've got to be kidding me."
He awkwardly cleared his throat, shuffling his feet on and hiking up his backpack higher on his shoulder. An innocent and confused frown now appearing on his lips. "Um, no?"
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breatheinbreatheoutbreatheinbreatheout.
I opened my mouth to argue, but decided against it. Releasing a resigned sigh, I threw my hands in ther air and frowned. "Okay, what's the color of your bow tie?"
"Um, I'll be wearing a black neck tie."
Neck tie. Black. Black neck tie.
I pursed my lips. Mentally pulling at my hair. "Did you ask somebody else?"
He blinked, stunned into silence for a fair amount of seconds before an offended frown took over his features. "Why would I ask somebody else? You're my girlfriend."
"Exactly! But you didn't even ask me to be your date. You just go and walk beside me at the hallway on our way to Homeroom then tell me that you already bought your black necktie while I've been waiting for you to pop the question for two weeks now. Weren't you supposed to - I don't know? Formally ask me like every girl expects to be asked?"
If it was possible for his frown to get deeper, I was sure it did. "I thought we're a couple who isn't into big gestures."
"That's besides the point, Austin! I'm a girl. I think I deserve to be treated special even once in awhile." I felt my lips started to shake and I knew this was the beginning of an embarrasing tear-spree. So before even a lone tear start to fall, I let my voice drop into a whisper. "I've been telling you that I wanted a royal blue dress. But you go on a buy a black tie, when I've been hinting that a bow would be better. Even Lily and Vincent have matching outfits. He even bought a puppy to ask her out. And they're not even together yet."
His eyes softened at my tone, lips pursing tightly as realization dawned onto him. I actually thought that he finally got what I meant, but I never expected what came out of his mouth. "Do you, um, want a puppy, too?"
I looked at him incredulously, my brows furrowing together. "What? Why would I want a pu-" He even bought a puppy to ask her out. And they're not even together yet.
A frustrated groan escaped my lips. "Ugh. You know what? Never mind. See you after class." With that, I turned on my heel and walked over to my Homeroom (which was, sadly, just beside his), without sparing him a backward glance.
I was disappointed.
And I promised myself that very moment that I'd let him discover himself what got me in such a foul mood. That I wouldn't come near him until he realized what went wrong. But here I was, sitting in his passenger seat, doing exactly what I wasn't supposed to do.
For some reason, I knew I was a little immature. Matching outfits and cute proposals shouldn't be an issue to me. But it was still disappointing, especially when I've been waiting for two whole weeks for his proposal to come. I was always wondering how'd it go, daydreaming silently. Only for him to pop it a day before the said prom, in a form of a very casual question. Too casual, that he could've been asking if I already ate lunch.
And what dampened my mood a whole lot more, was Vincent and Harrison's promposal to Lily and Kayla. And while my best friends were both gushing about how 'sweet' and 'adorable' their promposals went, I was there flipping on hangers to shop for a last-minute black dress while I made it clear that I wanted a royal blue one.
It was too unbearable that I wanted to bawl my eyes out when Kayla mentioned how Harrison Davis - a member of the swim team who asked her out on a date last week - bought her helium balloons with the word Prom? on each floating air of happiness. When Lily gushed and told us that Vincent left a puppy in a woven basket on her doorstep along with a short but sweet note asking her to prom.
And when they turned to ask me how mine went, I managed a small smile and a mumbled, "s'okay."
Yep. Just peachy.
"We're here," I heard Austin say beside me as he turned off the ignition and pulled the key out.
I shut my eyes for a brief second in hopes that the silence could better my mood. Then, I opened the passenger seat.
It had been months ago since I last been here at Hill of Orion. When I came here earlier with Austin, it was still August by then. The grass was taller and the landscaped bushes filled with flowers. Even the the air brought a scent of sweetness and sun along with it.
Right now, in the early days of May, Hill of Orion was majestic. The beauty of spring engulfing the vast space of the hill. Even at ten in the evening, the scent of flowers still lingered in the air, along with the smell of the sun's heat on the grass.
Mystical, it truly was.
The skies above us was adorned with stars, marvelous constellations clear and sparkling like diamonds against the cloth of darkness that enveloped the earth. And I couldn't help the shiver that ran through my skin from both the breeze and awe.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Austin said beside me, his back leaning against his car.
"Mm," I hummed as I continued to drink in the flow of stars in the night.
This was beyond beautiful, this was ethereal. A silent bliss that stretched with beauty as it hummed in the middle of the night, along with the cold breeze of the wind kissing our cheeks, grazing our skin in a soft, melodious caress. Bringing a shiver up our spines as it brought the feel of peace upon us, settling our hearts with contentment as a sigh escaped our lips that were parted in awe.
"It's beyond that. Beautiful can never do it justice."
Silence followed, wrapping us together as comfort settled between the two of us. I didn't know how long it lasted - a minute? Two? An hour? But we were both contented with the peace it brought. Despite the fact that I was still a little unnerved by the previous conversations we had.
"Listen," he suddenly said, breaking our momentary peace. I turned my head to look at him, eyes expectant and waiting. "I just want to say I'm sorry. Sorry for being such a lame boyfriend, for making you feel that you're the only one making all the efforts. For not making you feel special. For not treating you the way you deserve. I just - I'm really sorry."
Lub dub. Lub dub. Lub dub.
I smiled sadly and faced the grand view of the stars again. I wouldn't deny that in the past four months of our relationship, there were those days that I just felt so unimportant. As if I was the only one contributing to our relationship, that he wasn't with me.
In those days, I'd keep quiet and sniff a little, then when he'd come back smiling at me, I'd return his smile as if nothing was wrong at all.
Effort. It was the flaw in our relationship. I was this girl that was up so high in the clouds, wrapped in cotton candy as she delved in the honeymoon phase. While Austin was the laid back one, who viewed our relationship in the simplest form.
It was a contradiction that somehow suffocated me sometimes. It didn't help that I get jealous of the girls who are treated with extra effort. While I on the other hand, always had to undergo guessing games on when he'd plan to go out on a date.
The first two months felt like I was in euphoric high. I loved the thrill of random dates that varied from late night diner dates, movies, parks, malls, fast food chains and even just sitting on the couch together counted as a date. But the third month in, I started to feel the adrenaline fall.
And now, here I was. Asking myself why every thing felt mundane and not special. I didn't feel loved as opposed to what he always told me.
"This prom shit is just really setting me off," I lied. My gaze falling to my blue flip flops.
"Hey," I felt his finger on my skin as he raised my chin to meet my eyes. "I think this is our problem. You're not satisfied with how I'm acting yet you don't tell me. Of course, I'd be so lenient if you'd always pretend that every thing's okay. That it's alright with you when it's not."
"I just don't want you to think of me as a demanding girlfriend."
He frowned and placed his hands on each of my shoulders. "Don't say that. You know I love you. I want you to be happy on this relationship as much as I am. So, please, always be honest with me so I can fix whatever shit I've done. I love you, Anna. So much that I had to stay the whole night out just to find the perfect bow tie to match your royal blue dress."
My brows furrowed together as I blinked up at him in confusion. "My dress is black. It matches your black neck tie, remember?"
And that was when his frown slowly morphed into a self-satisfied smirk that tickled my insides. "Stay right there, I'm just gonna grab something from the trunk."
He circled the vehicle and popped open the trunk to pull out a medium sized white box wrapped in a dark blue ribbon.
Could it be?
When he finally reached my side, he handed me the box, a small smile playing on his lips and I tentatively took the box from his hold.
"Open it," he said, encouragingly nodding his head at the box.
I shot him one last look of uncertainty before pulling at the end of the ribbon. Carefully lifting the lid, I balanced the box in my hold and as soon as the lid fully came off, I nearly dropped the box.
It was a royal blue dress.
Even folded, I knew just by looking at it (though mostly at the upper part only), that it was beautiful. It was nothing grand. Just a simple royal blue dress with intricate folds and an off-the shoulder sleeves. It nearly took my breath away when the moonlight glistened against the smooth silk of the bodice, its cloth shining against the light.
"It's beautiful," I breathed. My eyes couldn't leave the marvelous dress in front of me, and I was vaguely aware of Austin's satisfied reaction when he lifted my chin again with his finger.
"Just like you."
And just like that I burst into tears, almost dropping the box as I threw my arm over his shoulder, my face buried in the crook of his neck. It was so sudden that we were nearly knocked off the ground if it wasn't for Austin's fast reflexes. "Whoa, careful there. We don't want you injured tomorrow night."
I only managed a small chuckle as I continued to press myself closer to him, smiling when I felt his arms tightly circle my waist. "Shut up. Goddammit, I hate that I love you so much, you buttface."
His chest rumbled as he chuckled. Obviously amused by admission. "Well, you know what they say, you always end up forgiving the one you love."
Lifting my head off his chest, I looked up at his warm hazel eyes, and smiled softly at him. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're right."
He smiled. "Well, it's a good thing that I love you, too, right?"
"Definitely," I softly said, then leaned in to seal our night with a kiss.
Lub dub. Lub dub. Lub dub.
There might be a lot of those days when it felt like this relationship was on the verge of being thrown out of the window or trampled over by our mistakes and emotions, but if there was one thing that would keep me holding on, it was the love that burned within us.
Love. What is love anyway? Was it that wonderful and tingly feeling you get when your crush's arm lightly brushes against yours? The way your heart beats a little bit faster when he says your name, making it sound a little more special than the way you usually hear it? Are the sparks that travel through the tips of your hands to the end of your nerves define it? Was it the butterflies that attack your stomach when he gets closer or the sweet scent of his cologne filling your nostrils? The slow-mo moment when everything just stops and his hair would whip sexily sideways, as he walks towards your direction wearing that heart-stopping smile of his?
Was it the way he held your hand and you just felt so secured? The way you see your future with him unfold in front of you with just one 'I love you'? Can you say that it was love when he kisses you under the stars while everyone cooed and awwed? The way his eyes sparkle when you kiss his cheek for the first time, the sound of his chuckle when he finds your blush amusing, those kisses that make your toes curl and leave you out of breath? Is it love? Was that love?
Now I finally knew. Love could be any of those, it could also be another thing. But it could also be Anna and Austin.
Two ordinary people with ordinary backgrounds. An ordinary couple that was neither on top or at the bottom of the chain, but that was okay. Because even if I wasn't a princess and Austin was no charming prince -
This was our story.
This was our pedestrian love. And beyond the word 'ordinary', there was a boy and a girl who fell in love.
The end.
-
And it's a wrap! Gosh, guys. I'm getting a little emotional right now. And if you guys want a question and answer portion about Pedestrian, its characters and along with updates on possible bonus chapters in Austin's POV!!! Then, go on, check out the the note after this.
Thank you so much guys. For everyone who stood beside me. Thank you ♡♡♡
-cass