My explanation for the lengthy chapter wait is at the end. However, this is the longest chapter I've ever wrote so I hope that makes it up to you guys. Happy reading!
Recap: My heart rate picks up in an instant and I struggle to keep my breathing steady, which is what pushes the person at the door to look up. He steps out of the shadows and my eyes widen once I realise that it's the same person I saw at the restaurant, the one that was wearing the cap.
He steps towards us again and stops, a smirk making its way onto his face.
"Hello, little cousin."
(Ali's P.O.V)
After a few seconds of shocked silence, Dylan is still quiet. I look worriedly over in his direction and realise how tense he looks.
What the hell is Jason doing here?
"I seem to have been locked out," he slurs drunkenly, holding on to the wall for support. Honestly, it looks like he could fall down at any second.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Dylan beats me to it, addressing the elephant in the room. How did he even know we were here?
"Well, a little birdy told me you'd be here. I'm just following orders." He holds both his hand up in mock surrender, managing to stumble a couple of steps back in the process.
"Orders from who?" I interrupt, then his eyes come to land on me. A flash of emotion shines within them before they settle back to his usual cold, grey color.
"Who do you think, little minion? Uncle Christian, of course." Jason smirks at me, before closing his eyes for a few seconds and opening them back up again. He must be completely wasted.
"Of course he'd fucking get Jason to fly out here," Dylan mutters angrily to himself before Jason collapses and lands hard on his butt.
Instead of crying out in pain, he just laughs it off before closing his eyes again, not bothering to pull himself back up. Dylan sighs audibly and runs a hand through his hair before shaking his head and eventually unlocking the front door.
He gestures for me to go through and as much as I'd love nothing more than to get some sleep right now, my humanity gets in the way of that.
"We can't just leave him," I protest quietly, looking down at Jason's unconscious figure.
"Why not? It's not our fault he went out and got ridiculously wasted." Dylan argues, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Look, I don't like him anymore than you do. But we can't just let him sleep outside, on the floor." I retort, noticing how uncomfortable Jason looks.
If he sleeps like that, he won't even be able to move his neck properly in the morning. I then glance at Dylan who looks like is having an internal battle with his subconscious. He finally sighs for the hundreth time in these past ten minutes and leans down to pick up Jason.
He tugs roughly at his hand and wraps Jason's arm around his neck.
"Fine, but I'm not taking him upstairs. He can sleep on the couch." Dylan mutters petulantly, earning a smile from me.
"I wouldn't expect anything less," I respond, following him inside and locking the door behind. Dylan carelessly deposits Jason onto the couch and dusts off his hands before looking towards me.
"You go on up, I'm just gonna get a glass of water," I tell Dylan and he nods, making his way upstairs.
In the kitchen, I pick out a glass and pour some water into it. I down the cool liquid in one, before setting the glass aside and walking back into the living room where Jason is currently out cold.
Feeling a once in a lifetime pang of sympathy for him, I head around the sofa and put a cushion underneath his head. I notice a throw blanket on the back of the couch and reach for it, only to be stopped when I feel a rough hand around my wrist.
I glance down at Jason and notice that he's awake. Has he been pretending to be asleep this whole time? Just when I'm about to admonish him for making Dylan begrudgingly carry him inside, he says something that knocks me aback.
"Why not me?" He murmurs, and by his tone of voice, I can tell he's still drunk. "I could make you happy." He slurs, looking deep into my eyes. I start to feel somewhat uncomfortable under his scrutinising gaze, so I hastily remove my wrist from his hold and throw the blanket on top of him.
"You need to sleep Jason, you don't even know what you're saying. Good night." I rush, before jogging up the stairs and into the room where Dylan and I are staying.
He's already in bed, his bedside light is on but his eyes are closed. I shut the door quietly behind me and proceed to get ready for bed. Once I've completed my bed time routine to the best of my half delirious ability, I slip in beside Dylan before turning off the lamp.
I lie awake that night, staring at the ceiling and pondering over what Jason had said. He couldn't possibly have known what he was saying, right? He was drunk out of his mind and barely even conscious.
So then, why do I feel like he meant it?
**
I sluggishly open my eyes, allowing the light to burn my pupils as I do so. It's morning, if that's not obvious yet, and I feel like I'm being watched. I turn my head lazily and face Dylan, who is resting his head on his shoulder and glancing down at me with a small smile on his lips.
"As creepy as this sounds, I could watch you sleep forever." He murmurs before bending down and leaving an amiable kiss on my forehead, then on my nose, and finally on my lips. "Good morning," he whispers against my mouth, and I notice he's already brushed his teeth.
"How long have you been awake?" I ask, looking around the room. For what? I don't know.
"Long enough to hear you snore and watch you drool all over your pillow." He replies, a smug smile on his face as I dart my hand to my lips to check for any sign of drool. Nope, I'm good.
"You're an idiot," I chuckle, pushing his chest but much to my dismay, he doesn't even flinch. Instead, he grabs my hand and kisses each of my knuckles.
"No physical abuse this early," he jokes, entwining our fingers and scooting closer to me. "So, we have a little problem on our hands." Dylan informs me and by his tone of voice, I know exactly what that problem is. Jason. "So I thought we could do something today, get out, just the two of us. What do you think?"
"I'm sure Jason would love that, but then what would I do without you all day?" I joke, earning myself a smile from Dylan. Exactly what I was aiming for.
"I meant you and me, dummy." He flicks my nose and I scowl.
"Hey, that's my thing." I retort, a playful frown tugging at my lips. "And in response to your question, I would love nothing more than to spend a day with you. Where would we go?" I question, knowing full well that there's more of a chance of me singing like Whitney Houston than of Dylan actually telling me where we'll go.
"All in good time, young grasshopper." He imitates Master Po from the TV series, Kung Fu. Don't ask me how I know that.
"I figured you'd say something along those lines," I reply, rolling my eyes at him.
"Oh, so I'm becoming predictable now, am I? I'm sorry I'm a mere mortal in comparison to your superhuman future-predicting abilities." He retorts, making me chuckle.
All of a sudden, Dylan surprises me by knocking me flat on my back, hovering closely above me. "Bet you didn't see that coming, did you?" He displays his enigmatic smile before placing his lips on mine, resulting in a full on make out session.
"You're awfully energetic this morning," I beam once he pulls back, taking in his perky appearance.
"Knowing I'll spend the entire day with you does that to a guy," he replies before pecking me on the lips and lifting his weight off of me, removing himself from the bed and leaving me cold and lonely. "So get up, get ready. As much as I'd like to spend a whole day in bed with you, we have places to be." He informs me, heading towards our bedroom door.
"Where are you going?" I question when I see him headed out. I sluggishly hoist myself up and off the bed, swinging my legs round so my feet are on the cold, hardwood floor.
"I just have to take care of a few things before we leave, but it shouldn't take long. I'd give it an hour tops." He tells me. I nod and decide not to interrogate him on wherever it is he's going and whatever it is he's doing. "I'll see you later, ok? I love you." And with that, he's out the door.
After taking a quick shower and throwing on some shorts and a random tank top, I pull my hair into a messy bun and head downstairs.
To my surprise, Jake is the only one awake. But that's not what bemuses me the most, it's the fact that he's standing in the kitchen, actually cooking. Jake Zabinski, cooking.
I think I must be hallucinating.
"Good morning, Alison." He chirps, smiling once he notices me in the doorway. "Please, sit. Breakfast is almost ready," he informs me, and I carefully head over to the breakfast bar and take a seat, still eyeing Jake suspiciously.
Not bothering to hide my curiosity, I go ahead and ask the question that's on my mind. "Since when do you cook?" I question while he slaves away making whatever it is he's cooking up.
"Well, considering my mom is a chef, ever since I was little." He replies, not bothering to turn around. Well, I guess that showed me. But I must say, I would've never pegged Jake as a good cook. Ever.
"What're you making?" I finally ask, wanting to keep the conversation flowing.
"Pancakes, eggs, bacon-- the usual." He beams at me for some strange reason, then his eyes focus on something behind me.
"Well it's good to see some of us managed to sleep well last night," Alex grimaces as he walks in, taking a seat next to me. He and Jake exchange glances and again, curiosity kicks in.
"What do you mean?" I question, pouring myself a glass of orange juice.
"What? You don't really think Jake is up early, cooking breakfast, for no apparent reason, do you?" He replies, scowling whilst Jake's smile only widens. I shoot Alex a questioning glance, meaning, I still have no idea what the hell you're talking about. "He got laid," Alex deadpans just as another set of footsteps sound behind us.
"Yeah I did," Jake states proudly, placing a stack of pancakes onto a plate in front of Alex and me.
"Gross," I shudder, wishing I'd kept my mouth shut after all.
"What's gross?" The voice of Elliot comes from my right as he takes the empty seat beside me.
"Where's Ava?" I dismiss his question, noticing she's not with him.
"Right here," she comes bouncing in, smiling widely for some strange reason. Why is everyone so happy this morning? She takes a seat beside Elliot and I hold my breath in case the last person I wanted to see today makes his way down here as well.
Luckily, he hasn't shown his face yet.
After we all dig in to Jake's surprisingly tasty breakfast, I manage to convince Ava to take some time away from her lovey-dovey-ness with Elliot to come and help me get ready for my date. Which, unsurprisingly, I still have no idea where it is we're going.
*
"There, all done." Ava smiles proudly at her handiwork, slightly creeping me out with the way she's grinning at me.
Finally standing on my two feet, I adjust my dark blue, floral patterned dress and slip into some pretty yellow flats. Dylan said he'd be an hour, give or take, so according to my calculations, he should be here anytime soon.
My hair falls down my back in soft waves, framing my now slightly more tanned face. Thanks to Ava, my make up has been kept natural, not making me look like most cake faces around North Atlanta. I smile at my reflection before Ava grabs my hand and drags me downstairs.
Alex, Elliot and Jake are all sat on the L-shaped couch, currently facing the TV. Very much to my dismay, I spot Jason sprawled over on the love seat, also keeping his eyes fixed on the football game.
Ava clears her throat before blurting: "Doesn't she look beautiful?" All eyes turn to me and I mentally punch Ava in the throat for making me the center of attention here. Jason catches my eye but I look away quickly.
"She always does," he mumbles which takes me off guard, and everyone else in the room. All eyes suddenly shift to Jason as a look of surprise registers on his face. Before anyone can get a word out, the front door closes and Dylan strolls into the room.
He pauses before looking around, relaxing once his eyes settle on me. He does a quick sweep over my body with his lecherous eyes and I shake my head, chuckling quietly to myself.
"What?" He finally asks, breaking the unbearable silence.
"Where are you guys going?" Jake pipes, disregarding Dylan's question. I think everyone in here has made a silent, unanimous decision to not tell Mr. overbearing jealous freak Dylan about what just went on.
"Out," Dylan simply replies, sauntering over to me and placing a kiss on my lips. "Ready?" He entwines our fingers and only then do I realise how much I've missed him in the short time he's been gone. I assume he feels it too once he pulls me closer to him, squeezing my hand lightly.
"Why can't we come?" Jake whines.
"They're clearly going to a motel to get freaky in private, stupid." Alex unnecessarily adds and I hear Elliot cackling beside him. Idiots.
"We'll see you guys later. Try not to burn the house down while we're gone." Dylan rolls his eyes, dismissing Alex's inappropriate comment. And with that, we're out of the house.
*
About a half hour after Dylan had borrowed his next door neighbor's old pick up truck, we arrive at what I assume to be a zoo. I'd have to be an idiot not to know, seeing as the big bold letters displayed above my head read Honolulu Zoo. The reason why we're currently riding in a beat up truck is because according to Dylan, Rent-a-car was just too much of a walking distance away. Therefore, we're practically stuck with this death trap.
I'm not kidding you when I say it broke down three times on our short drive here. I wouldn't be surprised if it just decided to blow up on the spot.
"The zoo? How original," I state playfully when Dylan slips his fingers through mine.
"Well, I thought I should bring you somewhere where you'd feel at home," he retorts wittily, a playful smile on his lips.
"Oh ha-ha, ever the comedian." I roll my eyes, but can't hide my smile.
"Come on, you have to admit that was funny," he smiles defensively as we walk through the gates.
"Your face is funny," I retort lamely while I take in our surroundings.
We're in an open spaced area, towering trees surround us as we walk on a cobble path behind families, groups of friends and other couples. Little kids are smiling widely with balloons in the shape of different cartoon characters-- my favourite being SpongeBob Squarepants. As we approach the first animal habitat, I turn to read the synopsis of the animals here. Orangutans.
I laugh once I spot one of the orangutans hanging off a branch, picking something from his armpit and then putting that same hand in his mouth.
"Look, there's you." I tell Dylan, pointing at the monkey I was previously watching. He laughs loudly, a joyful sound to my ears. He embraces me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder as he always does.
"Funny," he responds sarcastically, although I can practically feel his smile on my cheek. "There's us," he then points at the corner of the enclosure where a family of monkeys sit. There's two full grown monkeys and a younger looking one, which I must admit, was awfully cute.
"We don't even have any kids," I remind Dylan, chuckling lightly.
Well, at least I don't.
"Yet," he murmurs, making me twirl in his arms to face him.
"Is there something I should know?" I smile playfully and he kisses the tip of my nose.
"What? Don't tell me you haven't thought about it." He replies as he takes my hand and we proceed to walk to the next enclosure. We walk hand in hand down the cobblestone path, the sun shining brightly upon us, although it isn't too hot. Which is a good thing. "I like the name Georgia, I'd like to name our daughter it." He continues and my eyes widen for a milisecond-- he's even thought about names?
"Well, what if it's a boy?" I ask carefully as we approach the lemurs.
"Storm," he answers and with the way he says it I just can't take him seriously.
"Storm?" I ask, struggling to hide my smile.
"Yeah, what's wrong with it?" He asks, though he also looks amused.
"Storm," I repeat, to make sure I'm getting this right. Why in the world would a parent want to name their child storm? Unless they're a character off X-men or something then it shouldn't even cross one's mind. Not meaning to sound offensive or anything.
"Maybe we should brain storm on that one a little longer. No pun intended." I pat his shoulder and he laughs. "Oh, there's a toilet. I need to pee, I'll be right back, ok?" I loosen my grip on Dylan's hand and head for the toilet.
After I empty my bladder, I feel a sense of relief wash over me. I've been needing that since this morning, but Ava wouldn't let me move from my spot as she poked and pried whilst getting me ready.
I wash my hands and make sure my hair and makeup still look fine. I smile politely at the woman who just moved out the way for me to dry my hands on the dryer, and finally head outside.
I instantly spot Dylan leaning against a tree a few feet across from the toilets. He has both of his hands in his pockets and I can't help but gawk at him for a few seconds. My boyfriend sure is a sight for sore eyes.
When I head towards him, I'm stopped in my tracks as I notice some girl approaching him. She's pretty, with straight strawberry blonde hair and a petite frame. She looks around our age. I narrow my eyes into slits once I notice the flirty smile on her face. My gaze shifts to Dylan and I see him tense, then smile politely at the slut trying to speak to him. I saunter towards them when I notice Dylan starting to look uncomfortable, and I can't help but laugh at his expression.
"I have a girlfriend," I hear him say, but neither of them have noticed me yet.
"As grateful as I am for you having kept my boyfriend company while I was gone, we have to leave now." I shoot Kim Possible a sickly sweet smile and grab Dylan's hand, dragging him away.
"What was that?" He asks once we start walking again. I glance at him, furrow my brows and then look away, not responding to his question. "What's with the face?" Dylan questions and stops walking, tugging me back into him. He doesn't move and I sigh, knowing he won't move until I answer.
"Nothing." I mumble, still not looking at him. He places his thumb under my chin and raises my face to meet his.
"You look really cute when you're jealous," he says and I frown. He puts his arms around my waist and looks deep into my eyes. "I love you. Okay? Only you." Dylan states and leans down to leave a sweet kiss on my lips. I finally relax and smile inwardly at his sweet confession.
After having walked around just about the entire zoo, I start to get hungry and my rumbling stomach alerts Dylan of that. He looks down at me, a wry smile on his face as he says: "Hungry?"
I nod my head vigorously and he places his hand at the small of my back, leading me away from the cafeteria. Does he not understand the international signal of nodding? It means yes, I am hungry. Why's he leading me away from the place with all the food?
"You do realise I said yes, don't you?" I ask him as I spot the car park a few meters ahead. He chuckles and leads me to our temporary truck, opening the passenger's door for me.
"Yes, I'm not incapable of understanding a simple nod." He chuckles, closing the door. As he rounds the truck, I watch him until he's finally inside.
"So then where are we going?" I question in vain, just waiting for him to say--
"You'll see," he smiles, completing my line of thought.
*
"I've been counting and this is literally the seventh time this piece of garbage has broken down," I tell Dylan as we both stand, staring at the car, as Dylan tries to figure out what's wrong with it for the seventh time today.
"It's the battery, it keeps dying but we don't have one to replace it with. It should be fine to last us until we get home as long as it remains dry. However, I'm not saying it won't be a slow, tiring process getting there and back." He shuts the hood of the truck and we head back inside. "We're nearly there anyway, so we should be fine." He reassures me and I nod, resting my feet on the dashboard even though I'm wearing a dress. Yeah, I never said I was a lady.
By now, the sun is setting. I'm pretty sure we would have gotten wherever it is we're going a long time ago, if it wasn't for this truck breaking down every two seconds. A few minutes have passed and Dylan finally parks the truck on a gravelly ground. There aren't really any cars around here, nor people, much less any houses or stores. Where the heck is he taking me?
"This isn't some plan to savagely murder me is it? Because I've seen some shows where the murderer usually befriends his victim before doing all the killing and this right now looks an awful lot like the TV show I watched. Now that I think about it--"
"Will you just shut up and take my hand?" He interrupts me, though a smile is tugging at his lips. I carefully entwine our hands and he leads me into the line of trees, where all I can see surrounding us are more trees. Should I be worried?
While we head deep into the woods, the vibrant green grass tickles my feet. The trees stand tall and the leaves, a wonderful mixture of myrtle, orange and yellow contrast with the myriad of colourful flowers that are dotted across the surface. Once we walk past the grassy floor, we reach an ancient looking dock. At one edge of it stands an old man dressed in a sailor's uniform. As soon as he spots Dylan and I, he waves franctically and I notice a smile on Dylan's lips.
"I was wondering what time you kids would arrive. Now c'mere." The old man pulls Dylan into a hug, although Dylan towers over him. He looks friendly, and his wrinkles are more prominent from up close. "You need to visit this old man more often," He admonishes Dylan and then turns to me. "This must be the beautiful Alison you wouldn't stop telling me about all morning." So this is where Dylan was?
"Ali this is Mac, an old family friend. Mac, yes, this is my girlfriend, Alison." Dylan smiles at me as Mac takes me off guard by pulling me into a hug.
"Nice to meet you," I smile warmly as he pulls back, his eyes shining bright. I can tell he's very fond of Dylan.
"Pleasure to meet you too, young lady. Now, I have everything for you, son. Just follow me." Mac leads us to the edge of the dock and there, swaying gently on the crystal clear water is a canoe.
"Thank you, Mac." Dylan smiles warmly at the old man; he then takes my hand and leads me onto the boat. Stepping carefully forward to take a seat on top of the many cushions scattered around, I finally release the breath I didn't know I was holding. As Dylan rows across the lake, I notice behind him there's a basket. Once we're far enough from the dock, he opens up the wicker basket to reveal an assortment of different divine-looking snacks.
This boy sure knows how to meander his way into my heart.
"Look, your favourite," Dylan digs his hand into the depths of the basket, pulling out a box lined neatly with four red velvet cupcakes.
Scratch that, this boy has pretty much got the map addressed directly to the centre of my heart.
"I just love you more and more everyday," I sigh in content, gazing lovingly at the most beautiful creation God has put on this earth. I then shift my gaze to Dylan. "You're not going to want one, are you?" I ask him reluctantly.
"All yours," he holds both hands up in surrender, a small smile tugging at his lips. I reach for a handful of blueberries and stuff them into my mouth as I gaze at our surroundings in awe. As Dylan rows the canoe with ease, we gracefully glide across the lake, passing by an army of golden-leaved trees and vibrant shrubs.
Finally having had enough of the food, (for now) I switch positions and take a place next to Dylan on the cushioned seat. I hear him take a deep breath as I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head on his shoulder.
After a couple more minutes of blissful silence, I lift my head to admire the stunning sight in front of me. Hanging willows drape across the edge of the lake, swaying gently as they silently scrape the clear blue water. A blur of pink blinds me as dozens of flamingos float calmly in the water, their reflection turning the whole lake a vibrant rosé colour. It's absolutely stunning.
Dylan stops rowing and allows the canoe to float freely. He turns and shoots me a bright smile as he takes in my awed state. He then throws a large cushion onto the lower part of the canoe and arranges a pseudo bed, lowering himself to sit atop it.
Dylan then looks at me and pats his lap, indicating for me to sit with him. I scooch on over to him, sitting in the same position we had yesterday at the clifftop.
As I make myself comfortable between his legs, he wraps both arms around my waist and inhales as he buries his nose into my hair. Sparks ignite all throughout me but I push them back down. Stupid hormones.
"Do you like it?" He murmurs beside my ear and I can't hide the grin that's been permanently etched onto my face.
"You never cease to amaze me, Mr. Scott." I reply, twisting my head so I can leave a loving kiss on his cheek. After a moment of comfortable silence with the warmth of the sun embracing us, Dylan lies back and I follow suit, resting my head onto his hard chest.
We both glanced up at the stunning sky as the sun drowns into the horizon. Its rays of light glimmer and flick in the darkness of the clouds faded. The serene, infinite sky is painted an array of stunning pinks, oranges and yellows as the pale moonlight peeks at me from within the gradually appearing stars.
"Who would've thought that something as simple as the sunset would be enough to keep you quiet?" Dylan completely ruins my reverie and I playfully smack his chest, lifting up my head to look at him.
As I do, his eyes shine with a different kind of emotion. One I don't think I've ever seen him sporting and it tugs at me, somewhere deep inside me is irked at the way his eyes radiate this raw emotion. I busy myself, staring deep into his glowing orbs, trying to decipher what he's feeling. But Dylan has always been too good at hiding his emotions, hence I can never figure out quite what it is.
With a sigh of defeat, I rest my forehead on his and breathe deeply. I can feel the way his ecstatic heart is beating frantically underneath my hand that's placed on his chest.
"I love you so much, you know that?" He smiles at me, but it's not one of those 'I'm-so-happy' smiles or the thanks-for-being-here kind. No, his smile says something different. This smile is the smile that always manages to make my world stop, my breathing ragged and my heart ecstatic.
This is the smile that says my heart is in your hands and I belong to you.
But before he can get another word out, something wet falls onto the tip of my nose. Then on the top of my head, and after onto my shoulder. I look up instantly, just in time for another droplet to collide with my chin.
"Shit," I hear Dylan cuss, swiftly grabbing the oar and making a move to row us back onto dry land. "I checked the weather this morning, it wasn't supposed to rain." He murmurs mostly to himself.
As if we made a mental connection, at the same time we lock eyes, worry etched in both of our faces.
The fricking truck. The truck that wasn't supposed to get wet.
I must have been high on drugs or drunk off the juice Dylan brought, but at that moment, I didn't even bother to hold back as I fell into a pit of laughter. As the rain droplets ricocheted against my skin I felt a sense of freedom, like some sort of weight had been lifted. I'm a big mess of laughter and giggles, and soon Dylan is guffawing along with me, both of us now soaking due to the gradually worsening rain.
"This is brilliant," I smile so widely, actually enjoying being showered in rain drops, not even giving a thought about my runny makeup or unruly hair.
Once we finally reach solid ground, Dylan ties the canoe to the dock and reaches for my hand to help me exit the boat. He entwines our hands and we're soon dashing through the trees, a sense of adrenaline running through me.
However, I struggle to keep up with his pace as one of my flats ever so inconveniently slips off. I alert Dylan and he simply laughs loudly in response, bending down to take both of my shoes and with the way he's crouching, I know what he's about to do next.
"Hop aboard," he smiles a carefree smile and I can't help but feel relieved that Dylan looks genuinely happy for once. With everything that's been going on he's been so tense and uptight, but now he seems to be finally letting himself go.
"Over there!" I point out to Dylan as he races through the thick trees, a small, out of the way cabin with the word Diner etched on the front. Dylan hurries towards it, myself still a giggling mess. He sets me down once we're inside and none to my surprise, we're the only two people here.
"Oh honey, we've got customers!" Bellows an old man, his deep blue eyes shining brightly as he spots Dylan and I by the door, drenched in rain water. He assesses us before rushing to the back of the store. I glance at Dylan and he mirrors my confused expression.
"What is your crazy self shouting about, Murray? I swear you're becoming more and more delirious by the--", an old lady suddenly halts in her steps, her grey hair coming loose out of her bun as she tucks it behind her ear.
"Hi," I smile warmly, my voice coming out a little hesitant. Before the white-haired lady can react, Murray comes out stumbling from the back, smiling brightly with two towels in his hands.
"My goodness, you're real." The lady mumbles to herself, a bewildered expression on her wrinkled face. "And so pretty as well. What brings such a good looking pair down here, to the middle of nowhere?" The old lady smiles brightly, making her way towards us with the towels she took from Murray.
"Please, make yourselves comfortable! We'll get you a hot chocolate, on the house." Murray smiles brightly and once again, scurries through a door leading to what I assume is the kitchen. For the rest of our time there we converse with the old couple who own the diner, whose names we found out are Murray and Maggie. They've owned this diner for ten years, despite customers only coming in on a rare occurrence.
We tell them about our trip here, about the truck we came with and about how it's probably already blown up or something. We tell them about how it started raining while we were canoeing through the lake and that's how we found this diner. Maggie later made Dylan and I some killer waffles and a milkshake, and allowed us to use their landline-- as our phones had no signal-- to contact Elliot.
Dylan and I have now been left alone with nothing but the old school music playing through the recorder that's placed at the corner of the small diner.
"Would you like to dance?" Dylan suddenly pipes. I glance around our surroundings, there are roughly five tables scattered around the room. Although there would be enough space for Dylan and I to dance, I hardly think this would be an appropriate place.
"Here?" I question hesitantly.
"No, on the roof of the diner," he retorts sarcastically. "Yes, here."
I eye him closely with a scowl on my face. "Not with that attitude," I cross my arms in front of my chest.
He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, jumping up off his seat without another word. Dylan makes his way around the table and over to me, abruptly dropping to his knees. He stretches out a hand and tugs one of mine free, looking at me directly in the eyes.
"Please, my fair maiden. Would such a beautiful and graceful young woman as yourself like to do the honours of giving me your first dance, please?" He emphasises the first and last words, speaking in a poorly attempted British accent. I can't help but smile, unable to actually be mad at Dylan. I stand onto my two feet and smile down at him.
"I shall," I respond in a just as appalling accent and he chuckles, standing back up and towering over me.
Just as Dylan entwines our hands and pulls my body close to his, a new song starts to play, as if it knew it was when we'd start to dance. A deep, mellow voice starts to sing and I recognise it instantly. The way you look tonight, by Frank Sinatra.
Dylan smiles down at me, the same smile he had back at the canoe. We start swaying gently, going along with the beat of the song. Dylan definitely knows what he's doing as he guides me back and forth, with such ease he makes it look like he was born to do this.
I will feel a glow just thinking of you
And the way you look tonight. Sinatra sings and Dylan moves perfectly with the beat, pulling my body impossibly close to his.
I wrap my arms around his neck and look into his eyes, just taking in the beauty of today. I honestly couldn't be happier than I am at this moment.
Had I known it wouldn't have lasted, I would have cherished this just that little bit more.
Yes, you're lovely, with your smile so warm
And your cheeks so soft
There is nothing for me but to love you
And the way you look tonight.
For the rest of the night we dance to the old songs echoing in the background, not paying any mind to anything else apart from each other.
"Fucking hell, how in the world did you two manage to end up in such a predicament." Someone comes barging into the store, a rough pair of boots thumping onto the wooden floorboards. I snap out of the trance I was in, our bubble finally bursting as Elliot waltzes in looking pissed at the fact he's soaking wet and covered in mud.
Dylan and I bid our goodbyes to the lovely couple we got the opportunity to meet, pay for our food and drink, leaving a generous tip, and finally make our way home.
As I exit the diner, even with the jacket Dylan had placed around me, I feel a chilly air coursing through my bones. Something eerie irks me deep within, as if serving as an omen. Had I known the events that would have followed after this day, I would have held on a little longer to my happiness.
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A/N: So so so so sooooo sorry for this extremely long wait for a new chapter! I honestly wasn't even thinking of finishing the story after some of the things that happened but I couldn't let you guys down like that. So I will be finishing this story.
I still love you guys and hope you can forgive me. I hope the length of this chapter made it up to you though. Happy reading my lovelies!! ❤️