I felt my heart stop. While it was thundering a second ago, it stopped for a second. The second I realized what Stellan had just told me. I was hallucinating, wasn't I?

My eyes widened when I looked at him, finding him completely serious and completely at peace. He wasn't....smiling, but I felt like he was. I was in shock. I took a few seconds to get over the fact that he just made one of my biggest fears come true. I wasn't prepared for this.

"W-what is that supposed to mean, Stellan?" I asked him breathless and I nearly punched myself in the face for asking a stupid question. If he hadn't already, he will go ahead and make himself very clear. His gaze didn't waver as he leaned in closer,

"What do you think it means, Lia?" He smiled at that.

This was a very dangerous conversation. Because I knew exactly what that statement meant and it led to a storm within my mind.

This isn't supposed to happen. He isn't supposed to say this. No one is. At least he isn't. And I felt like if I stayed any longer, he would break every wall I ever built, every resolution I ever made and I couldn't let that happen.

I shuddered as the cool breeze flew once again, sending a chill down my spine. But it wasn't just the breeze but it was his stare that was doing all the more work. It was the way he looked at me when I tried to look away. The look that was too much for me to hold. The look that said that although he is the sweetest person I knew, he was hell-bent on making my fears come true.

Not tonight though. It was already a ride through hell. And it took everything in me to not look his way and get up. I mustered everything in me to get on my feet, almost falling due to the sudden pressure exerted on my legs. I had been sitting far too long. Stellan was quick to catch me. He stood up as I did, his control on his body better than mine. He caught me, wrapping an arm around my waist and that touch was enough to tell me that things were changing. Nothing would be same now and it could go downhill from here. And I wasn't wishing for that. I composed myself and stepped back a little only to find Stellan scoff.

"You need to go inside Stellan. Everyone is almost gone now and your family would be worried." I cringed at my own excuse.

What the fuck is wrong with me? I literally am giving way to my own destruction. I need to think about what I am doing right now.

Stellan frowned.

"They won't be. It's not me they are worried about right now." That made me feel guilty, the fact that I was keeping them in the dark and over that, I was letting them worry.

I sighed.

"I-I will just go home Stellan. You go and tell them I am alright. Just tell them I suddenly felt unwell or any other believable excuse. You are a smart man. You can figure it out. Good night." I looked at the mansion once and turned around to leave.

But I couldn't. Stellan caught my wrist in a tight hold, clearly indicating he wasn't allowing me to go just yet.

"You are not going anywhere." There it was, the demanding voice. Stellan hardly ever used it on anyone but I knew that when he did, I better listen to him. I looked back at him.

"I need to go, Stel."

"Are you....are you really going to ignore just everything I said a minute back?" He said and he looked torn again. He looked just the same when I had pushed him away back in the party and often when I tend to push him away.

I opened my mouth to say something, but I snapped it shut. I really had nothing to say. I looked down because I couldn't look at him anymore. He sighed as he moved towards me.

"You took it better the first time." I almost had a whiplash when I snapped my head, my eyes to his.

I don't remember him saying anything to me. I was shocked more than confused. Confused that I don't remember it and shocked....well, on the fact that I took it better then.

"Huh?"

Great.

I am officially out of words. Bye, bye vocabulary.

It's like the only person in this goddamn world who can render me speechless, is him. All I could come up with was a 'huh'!

Fan-fucking-tastic!

Stellan easily understood my inner confusion and he cleared it up for me, only to leave me more confused.

"That time, you weren't in your complete sane state of mind."

That's ridiculous. I am, almost every time, on high alert and I don't remember a time when I wasn't paying attention to what he said.

It's pretty much impossible to forget something like that and I was completely sane all the time.

Well except the one time when I got hopelessly drunk.

And there it was, the time when I wasn't attentive enough.

"The night I was drunk...." I left the statement hanging.

"The night you were drunk." He confirmed. But how was he so chill about this?

"Stellan, please just tell me this is a joke!"

"Lia, I have dreamt too much about it to let it just be a joke."

I closed my eyes for a moment. I was going down today. I could tell that by the determination in his voice.

"You shouldn't have such dreams then, Stel."

"You can't really control dreams, now can you?"

And his dream might turn out to be a nightmare for me.

I shook my head.

"I don't know what you are talking about Stel. Let's just forget....tonight. Forget I ever told you something. Forget you said something to me." I was being stupid and I couldn't look at him right now. I was breaking within myself and god knows how he was taking this.

"I am not letting you go this time, Lia."

"But you should."

With every passing second, I was breaking down and would finally succumb to his demand and listen to him. And.....I wasn't ready for that.

"Don't make this difficult Stellan. The night had been a long one anyway."

"It is, but now when I know who you truly are and what all you have been through, what all you carry in that heart of yours, I don't know how I can put it in any simpler way."

"It isn't simple, though."

"I love you, Ophelia. It's as simple as that."

I took in a breath. There he said it, each and every word, clear. Without wavering, without hesitation without any....regret. I have no idea what to say other than the fact to just think of why and how it happened.

And he knew it better than anyone.

"How.....why....?" I whispered. He wasn't supposed to hear it but he did anyways.

He chuckled slightly at that. I finally looked at him and god, was he glistening right now.

"It wasn't difficult, Lia. Those hazel eyes could swallow galaxies and stars. What hope did I ever have?" He took a step closer and I couldn't force my legs to move back.

"Underestimate yourself as much as you want to, push me away as much you can but you can't change the way I feel about you and you can't stop me from chasing you."

He stroked a few strands of hair out of my face and all I wanted to do was to lean in his touch.

"Truth be told, I wasn't looking for anything at all when I met you, considering how we first met. Actually, I wasn't planning on falling for someone so soon. But then there you were and I knew I couldn't do anything. And that was it.....it just happened. I found you and I found myself slowly wanting to spend time with you. It was simple. It was easy. And that's how the best relationships begin. I wasn't looking for anything and then suddenly I realized, I had something. I had everything. You are so dangerous, Ophelia....you know that? You are dangerous when you are armed with beauty and a sense of humor. Add in your kindness and intellect.... and you became irresistibly addictive to me."

He smiled.

"That night, when everyone wanted to have their hands on you, I realized I couldn't bear watching you with someone else. I couldn't live with you hurting yourself or with you completely unsafe. That was the first time I realized I love you. I liked you all along, I knew that but I realized it myself the moment I told you too. So in a sense, we both found out at the same time."

He looked away for a second, gathering his emotions and looked back.

"I thought it was just.....an impulse. Maybe I just said it and....I let myself believe that I needed time to think. But it became quite clear. Just time gave me more confidence. With every moment that we spent after my first confession, I knew I was going down. I was falling for you every minute and every time and when I thought you couldn't be any better, you proved me wrong."

A tear rolled down my eye. He isn't supposed to say things like that to me. Things that make me want to hug him and count my every fear.

My fear that I would love him....only to lose him one day. Because that is what happened to me. The people I am supposed to love, I often drive them away. And with everything I just told him, he is supposed to push me back.

"Stellan, I just told you the darkest secret of my life. I don't think you are supposed to love me for that." He shook his head.

"That's where you are wrong, love. You just made me fall for you even more."

"Stel...you are out of you- " He cut me there.

"I am completely sane right now, in all my senses. But if loving you means I am insane, you better yet believe your own words then. Love is a choice and as insane as it might be....it is a mad choice for the sane ones. I love you, Lia. Reason all you want, you cannot change that."

"Stop saying that." I almost pleaded him.

"I can't. I don't want to." He shrugged.

"But you have to. You have to stop saying that."

"Why?" He whispered coming closer. There wasn't much space left now. Just a few inches apart and with the eyes that held their question in them, the words flew out before I knew it.

"You have to stop before I say it back." His eyes softened at that.

"Why push me then?" I chuckled at that through the tears blurring my vision.

"Don't you see it Stel! I....I wasn't supposed to be loved. My past left that fact on my heart. I am not meant to be looked the way dad looks at mom. I am not supposed to be treated the way Derek treats Natalie. I am not meant to be talked about in a way your father talks about your mom. I am scared, Stel. I am fucking scared because although it isn't supposed to happen and as much as I ignore it, you do exactly that....." I looked back at him and his emotions hadn't changed.

Same awe, admiration, cares and love was clear on his face.

"How much did your father break you, Lia?" I could take the sadness in his voice.

"Enough for me to believe I don't deserve anything. It was my luck I found mom but I am not as lucky.....not as lucky for you to love me." I whispered the last past, smiling for the first time after all.

He laughed at that.

"Whatever happened that night, I knew I was supposed to tell you. I had to. But do you know why I took so much time?"

I didn't reply.

"I wanted to trust my own self with my emotions. For I could look at you only when I believed I was truly in love with you because that's what you deserve. You deserve the best and although I hate watching you close to other guys, I can't call you mine unless I am sure it is you I want. And it has been you, Lia. All along, it has been you."

How I am not supposed to cry at the things he just said?

"You know you are breaking every wall of mine, Stel. You are breaking every resolution I built to protect me from my fears that manifest somewhere deep down." I shook my head, looking anywhere but him.

"What you fear then, Lia?"

Oh, I know that. I have known that all along. I smiled within.

"I fear losing you."

The smile that bloomed on his face broke my heart.

"You won't. I am not done chasing you just yet." He was determined now.

"You don't get it Stellan.....I fear that once I love you, I would do something wrong, blowing everything up, losing you in a go and I have lost so much over the years, Stel. But I know I can't survive losing you. I am scared shitless."

His eyes filled with warmth.

"You fear you will make a mistake in our relationship? A relationship that I cherish and worship already and it scares me that you hold that power over me, Lia. I am letting go of everything and telling you now..... You are the only person who can make me or break me with a single smile. And I happily give you all that power, because trust me, I want only you to have it."

I had no intention of breaking him because that meant breaking my heart too. But if breaking my own heart is what it takes for me to breathe.....to keep myself together, I must let myself leave. If only, it was that easy.

"Give me one reason, just one reason to let me ride my fears away."

The moment I said it, I regretted it because I knew he would have an answer to that. Hell, he would have answers to everything tonight.

He lightly cupped my jaw with his hands as I sniffed his smell and did he smell heavenly!

His forehead descended to mine and his nose was almost touching mine. He rubbed his thumb on my jaw, sending electric shivers right thought out my body.

"Am I not a reason enough?"

I wanted to cry. I already was though but the love I felt in his voice.....god, how much I wished for someone to have that for me? How many times I have feared not finding it? And when I finally somehow do.....I am letting it go.

True....love makes you do things you never dreamt of doing in your wildest dreams. And so does fears!

He wiped the tears that fell down, still giving away a serene smile.

"Why me?" I had asked many times and I will probably do again because that's how my brain is wired.

"Because only your fingers perfectly fit between the gaps of mine."

That's when the damn broke. I was smiling through the tears and at the same time, crying the tears away. He succeeded in breaking all walls after all.

And I wasn't disappointed. I knew.....I saw that coming and that's the reason why I was trying to push it away even more.

But maybe I accepted it already....somewhere in my subconscious mind because I accepted it when I was intoxicated and for all I knew, you speak the truth when you are drunk.

I had a feeling that something more had happened that night. Something Stellan wasn't telling me. It was all so clear, now when I think about it. I don't know how more stupid I could be.

"What all did we do that night, Stellan?" My eyes were closed and my forehead was still against his, his hands wrapped around my waist now.

"Other than my hopeless confession......" I nodded as my smile broadened at his words.

"Well......I made you a lot of promises that day. The promise to be there for you, forever. I made the promise to Ace to not hurt you. I made the promise to love you then and I made the promise to catch you, always."

Well, they sure were a lot of promises.

"You sure you can keep them?"

"I want to and till my last breath, I will. You can count on that."

The conviction with which he said seemed like a promise altogether. And call me selfish to want more, but I knew I wanted more. He was a reason enough for me to choose him now....for me to choose him over the whole world but with my fears eating me alive, I couldn't love him. Love him in a way he deserves.

"Anything else you want to tell me?" There couldn't be anything thing more but I felt him grow a little uncomfortable.

What did we do?

"Well......you see, when I told you I loved you.....you took it pretty well. You said I had taken a long time before you went on and....and kissed me."

My.Eyes.Literally.Bulged.Out!

I don't remember kissing. I don't remember any kissing whatsoever.

But when I think about it. I knew getting drunk would call a lot of trouble.....and it did.

But the Ophelia that night, who was out of her built up senses, her protective façade down, knew what she was doing and everything she had done was her own head full of secrets, the subconscious mind I fear the most and the mind that proves that I knew I liked Stel.

It was a matter of time before I love him.

"I didn't kiss you back. I m-mean not that I didn't want to...but I was hanging on the thin control before you passed out on my shoulders. I j-just, you weren't in your sane mind and it would be reckless and I wanted to kiss you back b-but I knew your pride means everything to you...." He was a blabbering, nervous mess. I would have laughed if we weren't so serious right now.

I looked at him as a smile played on my lips, sending a tense Stellan to some ease.

"The Ophelia that night knew more than I would ever know myself. She chose the arms she would run and fall into, completely intoxicated yet sane at the same time, with a room full of all the people she ever loved."

He was shocked, to say the least, and I realized only later of what I had said. I was surprised too but I don't know why I had a feeling that this was going to happen. I didn't even let him get over with the shock and asked him something I didn't wish to know. I asked him the question that I knew I might regret asking.

"Do you regret it?" He looked confused, he was still in shock then.

"Excuse me?" I hate this.

"Stellan....do you regret confessing or do you regret loving me if you do that is?"

I finally looked in his eyes that were suddenly filled with so many emotions. It was love, confusion, anxiety, happiness, wait, and loss but the most important of them was fear.

Well, at least he cared for our friendship because that fear in his eyes was so very evident that I could ignore the love in them for a second. He carefully brought his hand up to cup my cheek and I found myself leaning myself in his touch as I sighed. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Ophelia....if there is something you need to know, its the fact that there is nothing about you or related to you that I can regret. Even if I wanted to, I can't regret loving you. I don't regret loving you. I regret not knowing earlier so I could have told you when you were not standing there, half out of your mind and ready to snap me. You deserve everything and if I would have had the guts to confess to you, it would have been much better."

How was I supposed to hear that and still keep standing? He did not regret loving me! So he loved me.

Stellan Walker loved me.

"You love me....you truly do love me?" I asked him as his hand was the only support I had and the only warmth I wanted to hold onto.

He smiled at me and got a hold of my jaw with both his hands, pulling me a little closer. I wasn't complaining.

"Lia......I love you. I love you with everything in me. From your pride to your kindness, from your fierceness to your tenderness, from your wild to your calm, from your intelligence to how amazing you are...I love you, Ophelia Hale. There is no other way around it and no other way to say it. Your presence is the only thing that kept me sane tonight and you are the only thing that kept me sane the 4 months. I was completely fine before we met, accepting my fate and the fact that I was okay. But then you made me realize that how much you can love someone and all the while you healed me of my past. Something I have long forgotten now because I had to make space for this spitfire who does nothing but attract me more every day! There is nothing more or nothing less. Simple yet...complicated!" And I was done for. How was I supposed to regret that? For all I knew, it could be my best mistake.

I left a shuddered breath and I could feel Stellan vibrating with pride. He was affecting me. His touch was affecting me. If these touches are not indicating how much I want him, I don't know what does? Let's see just how proud he will be now.

Whatever constraint I had on myself, I let it go and pulled him closer and pressed his lips to mine once again.

I cannot not kiss him after he just said that.

But he was still. Stoned at his place.

Maybe I shouldn't have acted on impulse. Maybe it was a stupid move but what could I do though? I couldn't just stand there and let him say things that would make me fall eventually.

I have kissed him twice now.

And twice has he not answered. Feeling flustered that maybe I should have waited, I was ready to pull back until I felt his sudden movement.

And soon he was kissing me back.

I have never kissed before so I have no idea what was a rough or what was a sweet kiss!

But whatever I was doing right now was pure bliss. I surrendered myself completely to that kiss and let him kiss me back with everything in him. He quickly pulled me closer, pulling me by my waist as if we weren't already close enough. As his hand stayed down on my waist, not letting me fly away, I played with his dark hair as my hand formed their way from his neck to his head. And soon I was tugging him closer.

Kissing him felt like everything in this world and I did not want to let it go. I just wanted to hold on more, even if it meant dying of suffocation. But I knew I needed air and we finally broke apart, taking in deep breathes. Cursing the need for air, I leaned into him as I heard our own heavy breathes.

"And there goes my first kiss," I said once I had filled my lungs with enough air. Stellan chuckled a little.

"If you don't clearly remember, you did kiss me already."

"Oh...I do know but you never responded back. And this was much better. This was.....amazing!" I said leaning my forehead on his and closed my eyes. I was so happy in my cute little bubble but the real world would soon catch up on us anyway.

"Stellan...I know I like you...I have known that for some time now. I just....just didn't accept it. I couldn't accept it. Blame my fear, blame my past or blame me but that is how I have always been. That's why I never really liked someone as much as I like you. No one ever made an attempt to pull me closer even after I pushed them away. That's my usual defense. People come way closer, show more love than my family does, and I plunge into my defense, pushing them back. But I couldn't do that with you. Not completely. But you are an idiot. You took my push for a pull but.....for all you did for me, for all you do to me, I know I like you a lot. I don't know if I love you but I know you deserve love too. But maybe not today, not tomorrow but someday....I-I mean miracles happen every day and while you are free to just let the feeling go, I can only ask you to wait. To wait and make me fall in love with you because if there is a person I want to love, I believe it will be you. All you Stellan....all you! And I am new to this all and I fear I will screw this but then I won't choose our love because I may like you but at the end of the day, I would still choose our friendship because you don't know how much I love it."

I opened my eyes to find the sapphire ones boring into mine, full with love and....just love! I felt his low breathes fan my face.

"Our friendship means a lot to me too. Hadn't it been that I would have never found you or loved you and I don't even want to think about it. So if you want me to wait, I will wait. I love you but I am not forcing it on you. I am happy as long as I have you and even if you never fall in love with me, I would still love you and you will still be my friend."

I wanted to cry so, so hard that. I could feel tears just on the verge to fall out and a treacherous one fell down too. He quickly wiped that one tear and the gesture brought a smile to my face.

"I am happy. Elated actually....because I thought I might never find love Stellan.....and if you say things like that.... then I think I don't deserve you."

Maybe I didn't. He was one of the kindest and sweetest people I have met through the course of my life. Everything that he does screams just how generous he is. I rarely self-doubt myself in matters but fear and anxiety is the only thing that comes to me first before I call someone mine. And when I was dealing with Stellan and putting our hearts at stake, self-doubt wasn't new.

"Yes, I know. And that's the thing about us. We don't deserve each other, we need each other...." Leaning his forehead to mine, he continued.

".....and Ophelia love, that's the difference."

I shook my head, my lips clamped shut and my hands around his neck.

"I am happy and confused to whether cry out because of just how much you love me or cry out that you deserve so much more."

He slightly bumped his nose with mine.

"You are an art. What else do you expect from yourself, other than confusion, beauty, and an ethereal soul?"

I gave him my best smile through my tear filled eyes. I sighed in contentment and basked in his warmth for some more time as the memories of tonight flashed once again in my mind. It was a long night.

"You promised to catch me that night, didn't you?" I asked him as I remember him mumbling something to me in my sleep. He hummed slightly as we held each other close.

"Well, thanks for that because I would have probably landed face front and destroyed my teeth. I hate my drunk self." He chuckled and I realized just how happy he was.

"You acted all irrational but I was in every bit of my mind. And whatever I said still stands true. You will never fall in my watch, Lia. I will always catch you. Always."

Just with the conviction with which he said those words made me want to believe him. Maybe I could sense it or maybe it was written in my stars.....but I knew that there was going to be a fall and a fall so hard that even he couldn't catch me.

"But what if....what if you can't catch me? What if the fall is inevitable?" I left the question hanging.

I never really cared what people thought or did. But Stellan Walker brought the worst and the best in me. I wished that he had a good answer to that.

Because for the first time in a very long time, I felt that all of me depended on just him and whatever he would say.

And I hoped...I just hoped that he knew what the future held for us.

With a fleeting smile, he pecked my lips, sending my heart in a frenzy. But he answered nevertheless.

"Well then, I will fall with you!"

And just like that, I knew it was a matter of time before my fall.

Or maybe I was already falling.

I wanted to play this game of love and maybe, I was ready. Ready to risk the only heart I had as long as Stellan was by my side because I knew I could conquer everything if only I could hold on to him. We stood there in for a few moments before I spoke.

"What are we Stellan?" I looked at him to see him smiling.

"I remember you calling me your friend." He smirked as I scoffed.

"Friends don't go around kissing each other like that."

"We didn't go around."

"I kissed you once, Stellan....and I know I won't shy away from kissing you again, even if it means cutting my oxygen supply and you dare laugh because I know you can't keep your hands off me too." He laughed at that, a few tears forming in his eyes as I rolled my eyes but smiled never the less.

"Its good to have your sass back, Lia. I realized I can't live without your smart mouth." I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Is it supposed to mean you can't live without me talking or me kissing you? You are way too quick to have an unhealthy obsession with my kiss already." He nodded his head with all seriousness.

"We have to do something about that. I can't be obsessed with the kisses of just any girl." He reasoned me.

"True, very true!" I replied back.

"Well....then I guess I have to be your boyfriend, don't I?" How can he look so serious when I can see the mischief in his eyes, crystal clear?

"I don't remember anything about girlfriend or boyfriend, Stellan," I said as he wrapped his arms around my waist and I put mine around his neck, pulling him a little closer.

"Well....I can't be obsessed with any girls kiss. I can do that with my girlfriend though. So we don't really have a choice since I won't be letting go of the kisses.... Or you!" He said smugly.

I hadn't said a word and he continued to speak and I would lie if I said I did not feel his nervousness too. We were barely inches apart.

"Now that I am your boyfriend, can I take you out on a date? Maybe next weekend because you aren't well today and we all know just how much you love your work." Stellan said to me confidently but I would lie if I say I did not see a certain flicker of fear in his eyes. Well...I played along.

"I don't remember being in a relationship...." I said giving him a teasing smile. He hadn't asked me but I knew that if he would have wanted to, he would have asked me. I would have accepted. I would have accepted for sure.

"Oh.....but you are, love. You are exclusive to me right now and I call my territory over you." That made me chuckle but feel all giddy at the endearment.

"Territory over me....real smooth Walker. And I guess I would have asked you the question if you haven't said it any earlier. So yes......my dear boyfriend, I would love to go on a date with you. But the weekend and not on the weekdays because my boss hates people who are lazy and grumpy to their work." That made my very boss laugh.

"Well....you can always tell him to chill down a little. I am not leaving my girl out because of some boss! And I can always talk to this boss of yours." He knew who we were talking about. He did, right? But I chuckled lowly anyway.

"So you are going to fight my boss now?"

"I love you, Ophelia Hale. I can bring you those stars if you asked for." I was barely able to stand and he was making it even more difficult.

Smiling at him, I looked back at his lips and found myself craving for them. I switched my eyes back to his. He was my boyfriend after all.

"Tell me again that you love me but this time, use no words...." He need not be told twice as his lips descended to mine and gave me a kiss which I had grown to love in just a few seconds. I wonder how no one caught us but with the speed at which we were going, I knew it was bound to come out soon.

As of now, no one knew what happened between us but I didn't wish to tell everyone just tonight. It had been a difficult night already and I wasn't ready for the teasing right now.

"How long is it gonna take them to know about us?" I asked Stel as he smiled.

"Well, knowing Natalie, she would drill the information out of me and let everyone know the other minute. My money is on tomorrow morning." I laughed.

"That's Natalie, for sure." And then I realized I had to face them....what would I tell them? I couldn't tell them just everything I told them.

Stellan happened to understand just exactly what I thought.

"I will handle Natalie." I looked at him and he took my hands in his.

"Lily knows when to not ask something so she won't ask anything. Alice pretty much knows how to handle Ian obviously.....and I will tell Natalie. They all are worried but I will tell them something, I know you don't wish to tell me."

"Thank you...." I whispered lightly, giving a sad smile.

"That just makes me feel even more proud that you decided to share it with me. I am honored that you trusted me." I chuckled at that.

"It wasn't in my hand Stel. With the rate at which you were getting closer to me, it would have happened today or tomorrow. And I trust you, alright. I trusted you the day you took care of me. Just....just don't break it." He smiled.

"Never." I was at ease then.

"By the way, I didn't give you your gift." His brows raised up high.

"I don't know what better gift you could give me than your trust and letting me love you." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, okay Romeo but I still have a gift for you." The face he made at the mention of the star-crossed lover was priceless.

We soon went in....the place clearly giving the message that we had a large party. You could see the people cleaning up the place. Cole and Mr. Walker had gone to sleep. Lillian, she must have gone to sleep too, she had morning practice after all and I spotted Natalie with Derek in one corner but my first priority was my sunshine

I spotted a distressed Alice, wrapped up in Ian's arms, sitting on the couch. She looked like hell and I felt like that because it was me who did that. I looked at Stellan and he nodded at me and soon, I was walking towards her, picking up my speed. I approached her but her eyes were closed. Maybe she was asleep. I saw Ian and the guy just gave me a sad smile. I lightly touched Alice's cheek and her eyes snapped open.

The moment she saw me and the next I smiled, she got up and hugged the life out of me.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, Alice. Not in anyway." I mumbled in her hair.

She broke the hug.

"You didn't. You can't Ophelia. I pray the day when you will realize that you can't hurt the people you love."

I smiled at that.

"Probably never," I mumbled back.

"Oh no! It's not a never. It might be a later. And with that smile on your face, I can say Stellan would be the one to do that." She was smart enough to whisper as I sent her a mocking glare.

But she wasn't wrong. For the first time, after having an almost panic attack, I recovered pretty quick, in record time. I still wasn't all rainbow and sunshine but I was still smiling, a genuine one. And there was no one else other than Stel to have the credit for that.

"But I am sorry I couldn't pull you back." I scoffed at that.

"You shouldn't be sorry, Al. You did everything you could. My past is not something you can erase although I know you wish to do that." She nodded at that.

"More than anything." She smiled.

I loved my best friend way too much. I might love Stellan someday or maybe someone else but one thing I am sure of and always will be is that Allison is my first certainty and the last person I would give up on. We were friends like that.

I turned around to find Nat standing next to Stellan with understanding on her face. Stel must have told her something and I trust him enough not to ask what he told her.

"It's good to see you are okay, Lia." I smiled at her and Ian spoke up.

"Yeah....it's good to see you smiling. Plus I missed you....like do you know how much food just got wasted. Like the whole section that was made for you got wasted and it was a lot since you eat like there is no tomorrow." I rolled my eyes as Derek smacked his head and we all laughed. I cleared my throat.

"Hmm....I guess I would leave in a few minutes. I just...need to show Stel his gift. Emma probably kept it in his room." Natalie scoffed at me.

"It's after midnight, Lia. You are not going anywhere. You are too exhausted and so is Alice. You can't drive to your house in that state. So, stay the night. It's not like you guys haven't stayed before." She literally walks around with more authority than anyone.

I opened my mouth to protest.

"No, Lia! No protests. You gave me a fret there so listen to me. And I am leaving now....doesn't mean you sneak away too. Our house is nearby but yours is far.....so you stay. Capisce?"

I looked at her until I smiled and Alice shook her head before nodding. We dare not defy her. They soon left and Allison had already gone to change her clothes, with Ian on her trail. They were literally wrapped together.

We soon entered Stellan's room as my eyes searched for my gift.

"What is the gift though?" He asked.

"You will see," I answered absentmindedly. I finally found the huge packet, approximately the size of a canvas. If he was smart enough, which he was, he would already know what is in there.

I picked it up from the corner and walked up to him, his eyes following my every move.

"A happy belated birthday Stel," I said as I kept the canvas in front of us.

His brows knit together in confusion before he took it from my hands and sat on the bed, putting the canvas in front.

He looked at me and I nodded for him to open it. I don't know if he would like it or not but I sure as hell enjoyed making it for him.

He carefully unwrapped the canvas....to reveal a painting I made in the last three days.

It was a picture of Stellan himself. I knew what I had to gift him the moment Nat told me about the whole birthday thing. Ian had clicked this picture and the moment I saw it on his phone, I asked him for the image....only to replicate it on my canvas. The picture was just a week old or maybe two.

The picture was of Stellan in his casual attire on one of the weekends that we all spent together at the park. He had his hair tousled with his eyes focusing on something to his left, probably Alice as she had cracked a joke. He was sitting on the grass, his legs crossed, and his face with a full grown grin on it. He seemed so carefree in the picture and he looked so young...like he wasn't turning 25 anytime soon. He looked boyish with the bluest attire complementing his blue eyes. His grin literally brightened his face and I had seen him so many times....in tux, casual, formals and he seems handsome in all of them. But in the picture, he wasn't just handsome....he looked so pure, so fragile that I knew that I had to capture it somewhere before it flew away. So I painted it and thought it would be an appropriate gift.

He hadn't said a word but was still sitting there, staring at the painting.

"You like it? Be honest with me though." I asked him unsure. He looked at me speechless for a few seconds.

"Do I like it?"

That's not a question you answer with a question. He made me more nervous.

"I mean yeah....worst case scenario, if you don't....we can sell it. I am sure your legion would love to buy it." He laughed at that.

"Oh no! It's not going anywhere.....I love it too much to let it go. I love this....you are one hell of a painter." Well, that left me at ease.

"Thank you for the gift and why would you think I wouldn't like it? Considering I love the painter, I don't know how I wouldn't love the painting." I ducked my head slightly, afraid that he might see the color my cheeks. He was making me blush and he wasn't aware of it.

"You know.....it's gonna be placed right there." He pointed at a spot in the room. The wall was empty there. We could place the painting there. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"What? I love it...I am keeping it in my room and that's the best spot." It was. The lighting in the room would just work fine with the angle.

"Yeah....but you can put it above your bed too. That's a good spot too." I looked above his head and sure the spot was still empty as the last time. I looked back at him to find him smiling.

"No....the painting is not going there. Not this one." I looked at him confused as he stood up and moved closer.

"The only painting that I would put here would be signed by you and it would be having you too. Preferably, with me! But I can't think of anything better going over there, and I am not putting anything there. I guess the spot has already chosen you, much before you came here."

I laughed at that.

"The walls don't choose anything, Stellan. Even humans can't choose another human before a certain amount of time spent together or they simply can't choose anything before having a taste of it."

He shook his head.

"I did choose you. I chose you the moment I laid my eyes on you. I didn't know it then myself but my soul chose yours without knowing you and everyday that I get to, I fall even more. My soul loved you much before I did. It recognized you the moment I looked at you. And for all I know, two souls don't meet by accident." He said, slightly bumping his nose with mine. That was enough to set a series of fluttering and explosions and butterflies free in my stomach.

"Don't say things that make me want to kiss you." I smiled as he leaned in closer.

"Isn't that the plan?" And soon his lips were on mine. The 'good night' couldn't get any better.

I went back to the guest room to get changed....to already find a snuggled up Alice. The girl was tired. I changed into some clothes that Natalie lent me, intentionally adding a shirt of Stel's to the option. Like I would say no to that!

Finally changed into something comfortable, I took the bed and I suddenly felt light headed and whatever had happened in the past few hours clouded in my mind.

Loving wasn't easy because every relation asks sacrifice and its very own redemption.

I had always pushed love away. It's not like a guy like Stellan proposed to me ever before but still the idea of love sent shivers down me.

Satisfaction and regret were what balanced it.

Happiness and sadness were what hindered everything.

Affinity and aversion formed the very base and it could only yield fruits if we both put our hearts in it.

Loving Stellan could be so easy but I knew I had to be slow. Although I had only one heart and I couldn't risk breaking it, Stellan's had been broken once. And breaking it one more time would destroy him.

And while I could risk myself, I was not risking him.

I did like him back....Have been for a while but I am just too stubborn. There were doubts but I pushed them away but now its time to brace them all......

Love could destroy you and make you at the same time and putting my everything at stake now felt so easy because Stellan was at the other end. And I knew he wouldn't fail me.

Having watched my parents loving each other every moment, I knew I would want it. I do. And now when I almost have it, I crave for it so much more.

And that's the thing about love.

You could crave it or abhor it at the same time.

And so was the power of love because it could control every fiber of you and you would want every moment of it and even more.

Because we all needed a little love.

Stel needed a little love....

And I needed a little love.

We both did and I knew no one could do it better than ourselves.

With me barely hanging on to consciousness, I realized that now the game had begun. And I wasn't planning to lose.

I knew that soon, Stellan would consume me completely and ruin me all. Well, ruin me then.

Because I wasn't pushing it away anymore.

This time, I let myself fall.

Bitches, word count? 8300 words!

8300 WORDS!!!
😎😎😎😎

So what do you wanna say about this chapter? Huh?

Come on now. Don't be shy. Talk to moi😘

And no, there won't be smut in the next chapter or the chapter after that. Or after that. If you have followed the book and characters carefully, you would know how Stellan and Ophelia are. I mean Stellan isn't that hungry. Sure, he wants Lia but he would rather enjoy her slowly. Like wine. Sip by sip. And Ophelia. She might take him against the wall right away. Lmao. You know her. Reckless little devil.😂

But me, __elysian__ can't write such scenes even for the love of my life aka Blake Eaton, Cole Stone, Brandon Maxfield, Luke Hedenby, John Raymond, Xavier Arquette, Nicholas Ramei, Caspian Romanov, Darius Ryker, Constantine Romanov, Mr. Ambrose and, and etc.

I swear if you don't know who I am talking about, then where have you been on wattpad? These guys are life!

*Sobs in corner coz they aren't real*

They just made me realize how dumb real life boys are and I pity myself since one of these dumb people will be my future partner. FML. 😪

So.....
No smut. For now atleast. And the people who are waiting to ask for it, I think I have some holy water somewhere. You can have it. Coz you do know, I read these scenes with one eye open and one eye covered with hands. Ik. Lame. I worry about my non-existent sex life sometimes. Lol.

And now,

My lazy ass took a whole day to write this. You better have enjoyed it.

And lastly...

BURN OUT JUST HAD 5K VIEWS!!!! YESSSSSSSSS!

5K VIEWS!

OH MY GOOD GOD!
LET ME CRY TEARS OF JOY AND THEN!

Thank you so so much guys for all your support. I can't imagine what the book would be without you guys. I would probably had stopped writing. Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️

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