TWO DAYS LATER...
"You guys!" I said excitedly. "What is going on? You kept me out all day today! You guys have gotta be up to something! And where the hell is Jordan? I haven't seen him in two days!"
"Stop asking questions!" said Ruby with a giggle as she pressed the button on the elevator. "You'll see when we get upstairs."
"Yeah!" said Mark with a suspicious grin. "It's a surprise!"
I had been released from the hospital earlier that afternoon, and ever since then Ruby and Mark had been acting rather strange. They kept driving me around the city, stopping at the most random places and marveling at the beauty, which I couldn't understand. They had obviously lived in Santa Barbara longer than I had. What else was there for them to marvel at?
I was discharged around eleven am that day. I checked my watch as we stepped into the elevator; it was now a quarter past six.
"A surprise?" I asked curiously as the elevator doors slid shut. "Guys, come on! We've been driving around the city at least eight hours! I'm exhausted! What could you possibly have as a surprise?"
"Carrie, I swear to God if you ask one more question I'm gonna pitch you over the apartment balcony!" said Ruby, trying to sound strict, pointing a stern finger at my nose.
I raised up my hands in a surrender and laughed. "Alright, alright! Geez, no need to get hostile."
"C'mon, Ruby," said Mark. "Carrie's got a point. I mean, we did keep her out all afternoon."
"See, see!" I said, poking Mark repeatedly in the shoulders. "Someone here understands!"
"Psh," Ruby scoffed, "this surprise will perk her right up. I guarantee it."
I rolled my eyes and glanced up at the red numbers marking the floors of the complex. I was surprised to see we had passed floor four, which was our usual stop.
"Hey!" I exclaimed. "We passed our floor! Why aren't we stopping?"
"Carrie, we're not going home yet," Ruby explained, linking arms with Mark and copying his sly grin.
I opened my mouth to speak again but quickly shut it, knowing Ruby would get annoyed with my constant and persistent questions.
The elevator climbed one more floor, stopping on floor seven. The soft ding signaled the doors to open and we stepped out into the hallway. Ruby and Mark each took one of my arms and began leading me down the hall as if I was some helpless old woman.
"Ow, ow!" I said painfully, giving Mark a glare. "Watch the hand! I'm still sore, remember?"
"Right," he said quickly, "sorry about that."
Mark and Ruby continued to lead me down the hall until we stopped in front of a door bearing the number 294. The number was unfamiliar to me, as was whomever that lived there. Underneath the number was a small purple post-it note with a three word written message.
"Close your eyes."
"What is going on here?" I said, looking from Mark to Ruby who were trying to sustain their giggles. "Is this some kind of joke?"
"Do what the note says, Carrie!" said Ruby excitedly, slapping me lightly on the shoulder.
I sighed and did as I was told.
There was the soft sound of Mark or Ruby's knuckle knocking on the door. There was the soft click of the door opening and the slight creak in the door's hinges. I felt Ruby's tiny hand lightly curl itself around my uninjured wrist as she led me inside. I heard Mark close the door behind him.
"Okay, you guys are seriously making me paranoid," I said with a panicky tone. "Can I open my eyes now?"
I heard Ruby giggle under her breath and whisper something I could not fully understand to Mark.
I heard what sounded like the soft click of a button on a CD player and then light flowing guitar music filled the air with the beginning notes of the song "Everything Has Changed" by Taylor Swift.
Immediately, I knew Ruby had put in her mix CD.
"Alright, sis," said Ruby eagerly. "Open your eyes!"
I opened my eyes and was instantly blinded by beauty.
A large white banner was strung up by nails in the ceiling, glowing with sparkling red and blue letters that spelled out "Welcome Home". In the center of the two words was a small emblem which at first glance looked like Jordan's CaptainSparklez logo...but different.
Instead of the usual CS in the yellow circle outlined in red, the letters were C and D.
Carietta Diamond.
My initials.
I covered my mouth, my eyes flooding with happy tears. Ruby was laughing behind me, hugging Mark happily. I heard footsteps coming from the hallway leading to the bedrooms and in walked none other than the Captain himself.
There were still a few tiny unhealed cuts on his face and the small bruise near his nose was still somewhat visible, but other than that he looked perfectly okay. He was dressed in his trademark black t-shirt and green basketball shorts and wearing his usual gray beanie with a small quiff of his brown hair poking out. His chocolate brown eyes looked the happiest I had ever seen them before. He had a small present wrapped in blue metallic paper in his hand, which he put off to the side on the coffee table.
For a moment, we just stared at each other, our eyes locked in a deep and enticing staring contest. I felt my legs begin to quiver and a lump started to form in my throat. We took a few steps closer to each other, not breaking away from each other's gaze.
And then I was suddenly running at him, throwing my arms around his neck in a suffocating hug and burying my teary face in the crook of his neck. His arms wrapped securely around my back, crushing me against his chest. I could feel the rapid beating of his own heart against my chest.
"I thought I'd lost you," he whispered, a catch in his voice.
"I'm pretty hard to get rid of," I said chokingly, uttering a tiny laugh.
Jordan's hand slid down my arm and intertwined his fingers with my uninjured and unbraced hand.
"Come here," he said softly. "I wanna show you something." He grabbed the blue present from the coffee table and lead me out to his balcony overlooking the city.
The sky had turned a bright shade of hot pink, the orange sun painting the cars and streets below us. The city lights glimmered and shined in the evening light. I looked over at Jordan. The orange light of the sun reflected off his eyes, making his eyes burn a gloriously bright ember shade.
"It's beautiful," I whispered as the cool wind whipped against my hair. "I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful."
"I have," said Jordan, looking at me with his gorgeous eyes and smiling his dazzling smile. I blushed.
He handed over the blue metallic present. It was so perfectly wrapped; I was almost ashamed to rip it open, to ruin a beautiful piece of art. I slowly unwrapped the present and lifted the lid of a white box. Inside was a brand new camera, still contained in its box of course.
"Oh my God!" I cried excitedly, pulling it out. "A Canon PowerShot SX500 IS! They say the zoom on this is spectacular! Oh, Jordan! Thank you so much, I love it!"
"Wait!" he said, laughing at my enthusiasm. "There's something else in there."
I put the camera box on the balcony lawn chair and looked at him questioningly for a moment. "Wait, really?"
Jordan nodded and I looked inside the box. He was right.
At the very bottom of the box was something square wrapped in thin icy blue tissue paper, almost identical in the color of my eyes. I pulled it out and set the box next to my camera and ripped off the tissue paper.
I gasped.
Two smiling faces were gazing up at me, framed in gorgeous bright icy blue painted wood. The man in the photo had deep brown eyes and a dazzling smile. The young woman had eyes identical in color to that of the painted frame. Her orange hair flew in a wave of bouncy curls and her smile would make even a dentist jealous.
Our festival selfie.
Carved along the top of the smiling couple were the names "Jordan & Carrie". Below the glowing faces was a brand new message.
"Every Diamond has a Sparkle."
"Oh, Jordan," I whispered tearfully, my eyes swimming in an ocean of happy tears. "It's beautiful. I can't...I can't believe you went through all the trouble to make this."
"It was worth it," he said, blushing slightly as he showed me a bandaged finger. "It was definitely worth that massive splinter."
I laughed and gently placed the picture next to the camera and the present box. I took Jordan's hand in mine.
"Tell me something," I said suddenly, "and be honest, okay?"
"Of course," he said.
"How long have you loved me?"
Jordan looked down at me, smiling and placing his finger under my chin, lifting my head up to look him in the eye.
"Let's just say," he said with a sly smile, "if you hadn't dropped that lens, our lives would be different."
I smiled. "To think; one little lens brought us together."
"Not your typical love story, is it?" he asked with a snicker.
"Nope," I said with a tiny giggle, still gazing deeply into his eyes. "Who else can say the famous CaptainSparklez saved her camera lens and fell in love with her in the process?"
He smiled his amazing smile. "Just you, and I wouldn't want it any other way."
My free hand was on his cheek now, brushing away a stray happy tear that fell along his clean shaven face. His free hand was wrapped softly around my waist, slowly pulling me closer to him. I felt my heart throb against my chest.
And then any remaining space between us vanished in an instant, replaced with the kiss stolen from us at the festival. My hand was tightly curled up in his, my free arm wrapped securely around his neck. He held me close, as if he never ever wanted to let go again.
To be honest, neither did I.
From the moment I kissed him, I became one with him. I became the lost half he had been searching for. I became a permanent part of his world, and he a part of mine. I wasn't alone anymore. I was protected and safe.
I was finally free.
We slowly broke apart, the tips of our noses barely touching.
"I love you," I whispered, burying my face in the crook of his neck again.
"I love you," he replied, hugging me to him. "Don't ever leave me again."
"Never," I said. "You will always be my Sparkle."
We stood there, hugging for what felt like years, bathing in the sun's orange glow.
"You up for a round of Hunger Games after this?" he suddenly asked with a big and playful smile.
I looked up at him and laughed. "Only if you're ready to lose."
He chuckled and lead me back inside, scooping up the camera and picture and placing them on the coffee table. I noticed Mark and Ruby were standing near the bar in the kitchen whispering quickly and laughing under their breath.
"What's so funny?" I asked them.
Ruby smirked and, after a look of approval from Mark, pulled out her cellphone and loaded up a picture.
Ruby had taken a picture of me and Jordan out on the balcony in the middle of our kiss. The golden sun outlined the silhouettes of our bodies perfectly, making the passion shared between us glow as bright as the evening sun.
I smiled. Jordan put my arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him, smiling with pure happiness.
"Now that is a perfect moment," said Jordan, kissing the top of my head. I smiled and held his hand, looking at Ruby and Mark's beaming faces as they marveled over the beauty in the picture.
There was a sudden knocking at the front door. I excused myself and went to answer it, unsure as to who else Ruby or Mark or Jordan would invite. I opened the door to find Robin standing in the hallway, holding her little daughter Emma in her arms.
"Robin!" I said happily. "I didn't expect to see you here!"
"Ruby invited me along," she replied as she stepped inside. "She said Emma would enjoy this."
Robin put Emma down on the carpeted floor. She looked around, taking in her surroundings for a moment before her eyes finally stopped on Jordan. They became wide and her tiny smile became a shocked yet silent gasp.
"Hello," said Jordan, "you must be Emma. Your mother has told me so much about you. My name is Jordan."
He held out his hand to Emma. She blushed and looked at Robin for the okay. Robin smiled and nodded. Emma turned back to Jordan and threw her arms around his neck in a big hug.
"All the kids at school say that---that all heroes wear capes!" she said as she hugged him. "But I say they're wrong!"
"Why is that?" Jordan asked, pulling away from Emma and looking into her eyes.
"Because you---you don't wear a cape," she said sweetly, staring at him with her bright caramel eyes.
Jordan smiled. I felt as if I would cry. I saw a tiny tear form in the corner of Jordan's eye.
He was her own little internet superhero.
"Thank you, Emma," he whispered, placing his hand gently on her pink cheek. Emma smiled and placed her hand on top of his.
I looked around at them all; the doctor, the child, the sister, the clown, and the internet star. They were all happy, smiling, laughing, enjoying the new lives they had ahead of them. I thought back for a moment, realizing how suddenly my life had changed into this beautiful moment. It all happened in a flash.
Like a camera flash.
"This moment is better than perfect," said Mom, her smile glowing within me.
I smiled and said the words that would carry on with me for the remainder of my life.
"It's picture perfect," I whispered.
Click.