A V I V A

"Okay, so what exactly do you have in mind?" I ask Harry, placing a hand on my hip.

We were standing in Emma's backyard, her parents in on the surprise as well.

"Well, we all know how much she loves marshmallows so I was thinking we could have a little campfire, too." He says, pointing to the firepit on the patio.

Leah nods. "And she likes fairy lights, so we could decorate the gazebo with them. And you guys could have dinner in there, with candles inside."

"Don't forget her favourite meal!" I add.

"Ramen noodles, right?" Harry grins when I nod.

"Okay, how about Aviva and I start with the gazebo and you run down to the grocery store and grab whatever you need?" Leah suggests, taking out a bunch of fairy lights from a box.

Harry shrugs. "Sure. Try not to mess anything up."

I scoff and wait for Leah until she returns with a stool while Harry leaves.

"So what's up with you and Allen?" I ask her, my eyes still on the lights I was trying to hook.

Leah sighs and stops hooking the lights to the other side of the gazebo, staring at me with a look of sadness.

"He came over to my house on the weekend to hang out, but when I came out of the washroom I couldn't find him. But then I heard noises coming from Dana's room so I went to check it out," Leah pauses, her eyes watering a bit. "They were making out on her bed."

Dana is Leah's snobby older sister, who isn't even a Siren. In fact, she's just a Pixie. They're supposed to be nice and kind, according to the Nymphs. But obviously, that label doesn't work for Leah's sister.

I frown. "But he wasn't cheating on you. From what I know, you guys aren't together."

She nods. "I know, that's not what got me upset. It's what they both said that really stung."

"What did they say?"

"Dana said I'm just desperate and that I'm pathetic. Allen told me I'm worthless, and some other things I'd rather not say, but I believed them. He apologized the day after, telling me he didn't mean any of it. But honestly, I'm done with him. I can't put up with anymore of his crap, and I need to get over him. He's not even my Soulmate, right?"

I nod, pointing to her ankle, where the marking of a surfboard is. The boy I saw her with had sandy blonde hair and a sun-kissed tan with hazel eyes and a bright grin. Nothing like Allen, at all. Since Dana isn't even a Siren, those words were actually his. It really must have hurt her.

Leah was a very sensitive person and she couldn't handle it whenever someone had said something to her. She's shy and quiet, too. I guess that's why I was so shocked at her language earlier today at lunch.

Allen, I'm going to kill you.

"Leah, you are not desperate, pathetic, or worthless. You are a beautiful person, inside and out. You always put others before yourself and everyone loves you. Don't ever let anyone drag you down, they're not worth it. You have such a kind soul, and that's what everyone admires you for. That's what I admire you for. I've never met anyone like you, and you are going to find your Soulmate someday and live the life you deserve." I declare, a soft smile on my face as I hung the last of the lights.

Leah beams at me, then drops everything and orders me to step down off the stool so she could hug me.

"Thank you, Viv. You're the best." She laughs, hugging me tightly.

"Anytime, Lee," I say, pulling away from her embrace.

After finishing up with the fairy lights, we turn them on to make sure they actually work and high-five each other when they light up. I head to the shed to bring out a small, round table and drag it inside the gazebo, cleaning it up and doing the same with two chairs while Leah gets the candles.

We set a bouquet of pink roses in the middle of the table and place the candles around the inside of the gazebo, deciding we light them up later.

"Okay, so I've got some throw pillows and this tent with a clear flap at the top so we could look at the stars and shit." Harry jogs over to us, dropping the big plastic bags at his sides, panting like a dog.

"Okay, I'll help Harry set the tent up while you go help make the food," I tell Leah, who nods and skips inside.

Leah's an amazing cook. Everyone who knows her lives for her food. If I could rate it, I would say it's an eleven on a scale of one to ten.

"We've only got about two hours left. The gazebo looks great, by the way." Harry says, taking the tent out of the package.

I nod in response and struggle to hold the tent up while Harry inserts the tent poles into the frame. I finally raise it and grin in success, then go grab the pegs and hammer, handing it to Harry. We're done setting it up in the next ten minutes, so we crawl inside and place the throw pillows and soft white blankets. Harry also grabs Emma's favourite stuffed cow - Howard - and puts him in the corner so that he's resting on the pillows.

He brings in an old fashioned boom box, inserting a disc with all of Em's favourite songs to test how loud the music is.

"Oh my Nymphs, Harry! Turn down the volume!" I yelp, covering my left ear when the music blasted.

"Sorry, Viv." He says, cranking it down to it's lowest. The volume was reasonable and soothing.

While Harry goes to make the fire, I stay in the tent and put in some more fairy lights so it's not pitch black.

I wish I could have this experience. Emma doesn't know how lucky she is. . .

"Guys! I'm done with the food. Em should be here soon." Leah exclaims, pointing up to the purple sky as the sun begins to set. I crawl back out of the tent.

"Great, um. . . Keep it inside, I'll get it out when she wants to eat. Oh, Viv? Could you do one more thing?" Harry asks, setting a bag of marshmallows aside.

I nod, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Can you maybe, uh, record her reaction?" He requests, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

I give him a thumbs up and whip my phone out when the doorbell rings.

Suddenly, Leah gasps. "The candles! I forgot to light them!"

Harry's eyes widen as he zooms into the house to distract Emma while Leah and I light the candles up in the gazebo, then hide behind a bush just as they come out, with me recording.

Emma's jaw drops when she takes in her surroundings. A slow grin appears on her face when she turns around and throws her arms around Harry's neck, laughing in delight and kissing him slowly.

I stop the recording there and usher Leah out of the house, leaving the two lovebirds alone.

"Her reaction was awesome!" Leah exclaims, getting into the passenger seat of my car.

I smile and drive off, dropping Leah at her house. Once I'm home, I greet my parents in the loft and walk into my room, sinking down onto the chaise, throwing my backpack on the maroon rug. Even though I'm exhausted, I don't want to sleep just yet, so instead, I climb onto the ladder in the middle of my room and open the trap door, climbing up onto the balcony and leaning against the railing, my eyes wandering over the city.

That's when I see the black shadow in the corner of my eye.

♡♡♡

Another update! How did you guys like it?

I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, please don't kill me, I love you all!! Poor Leah :( she deserves better! Don't ya think?

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to vote and comment!

❤ Chloe