My mind was made up at the dance.

I had to make Noa mine.

As overly obsessive that may sound, it was meant with good intent.

I realized the feelings I felt for her were way beyond a simple friendship level, and I desperately wanted to show her how much I cared and felt for her.

Heck, after she had poured her heart out to me about her dad and ex-best friend and it being the reason for her lack of trust for everyone, I wanted to just hold her forever. I wanted to be that blanket of comfort for her.

I wanted nothing more than to tell her that I was falling in love with her, which I almost had let slip out. I even covered it up with some lame excuse.

Regardless, I had to tell her, but my problem was I couldn't get myself to tell her. I was so afraid of getting rejected, and she was the queen of rejection.

At least, that's what I had thought.

One moment as we were studying at the library, I finally gained the courage to ask her out on an actual date. I would ask her to study constantly. And by constantly, almost every day I didn't have lacrosse practice.

She, of course, agreed most days.

...

"Keep tapping your pen like that, and I'll fling it across this room." She looked up from her textbook, eyes narrowed in a playful fashion. Her natural hair color of a golden brown was starting to peek through from her roots, which contrasted from the rest of her pink strands.

"That's not very nice," I said, frowning in a teasing manner.

"I know, and I don't care," she remarked back, sticking her tongue out at me to which I chuckled at.

After, we both went back to studying for a few more minutes; I had resorted from nervously tapping my pen to bouncing my leg. She took notice and placed her hand closest to me on my bouncing leg.

"Geez, how much caffeine did you have today?" She kept her hand on my leg as she asked. I felt my cheeks burn at the touch.

"Uh none." She raised an eyebrow at my answer.

"None? Then what are you nervous about? This chemistry exam is going to be a piece of cake if that's what it is." Her eyes probed me for an explanation.

I scratched the back of my neck. "I'm not nervous about the exam. We've been studying for it for awhile." I kept telling myself to just say it, but the fear of rejection was still there.

"Okay...what is it then?" Her hand still hadn't moved from my leg. I think she even squeezed it more than before.

"I-" I coughed a bit before continuing, "-I was wondering if you wanted to-um-if you would like to go on a date with me?" I'm sure my cheeks were bright red by the time I sputtered out the question. My whole body was profusely sweating at this point.

She quirked an eyebrow. "Isn't that what you would call this? I literally call it a study date."

"Um no like an actual date as-you know-boyfriend and girlfriend..." Her hand was still on my leg, and my mind kept freaking out.

"Woah woah wait....you actually want to date me? Man, I was just hoping for friends with benefits." A sly smile rose on her lips: lips I really wanted to kiss at that moment.

My mind kept swirling through everything I wanted to do to her: her hand on my leg was NOT helping me keep a clear mind.

"I uh if that's what you want-but I-er-I um-" I was losing my train of thought completely as her hand moved slowly up my thigh.

She then retracted her hand away from my leg, allowing my cheeks to finally revert back to the normal color of my skin.

"I'm teasing you, Rhett. Yes, I'd really like to go on a date with you...as boyfriend and girlfriend."

I had to blink several times, wondering if I actually had heard her correctly.

She wanted to go on a date with me...as a couple. As boyfriend and girlfriend.

"R-really?"

She smiled, nodding. "Yes. Wanna go out now? I'm getting tired of rereading the same stuff."

"Y-yeah...let's go!"

We packed up our things and headed out of the library. It was our free period at the end of the day, and since I had a good game the day prior, my coach let us have a day off. It was rare, but he knew how hard we worked and that we would be fine missing one day.

Once we were settled in my car, Noa turned up the radio, switching channels to an older station that played classic rock hits.

I glanced over at Noa, who was singing along to the Aerosmith song, "Crazy," as she bobbed her head to the beat. I had to internally slap myself to keep focus on the road and not on the goddess next to me.

Her voice was entrancing, and she sounded really pretty with Steven Tyler's voice booming through my car's speakers. I couldn't help but to chime in, even though I'm easily one of the worst singers ever.

She didn't seem to care; she looked at me, eyes smiling, as we both sang along.

The song ended as we came to our destination: a small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant. It was a favorite of mine and a place Beckett and I would consistently go to whenever we were hungry after practice.

"Wasn't expecting Mr. Goldenboy to take me here... where's the fine dining?" Her voice was teasing as we got out of my car and began to head in.

"Who needs fine dining when places like this serve amazing food?"

She shrugged with a smile. Once we walked in, her face lit up at the decor. It was a vintage theme but very funky. She wasn't the hipster type, but I knew she liked it regardless.

"This place is cool-oh look! A fish with a tophat!" She exclaimed as she pointed to the fake fish on the wall, sporting a fancy black tophat. The place had some weird things, but it was interesting enough.

"Hey, Rhett! Table for two I assume?" one of the owners, Diggy, said. The owner recognized Beckett and I as regulars. We would go there all the time.

"That would be great! Thanks Diggy!" He grabbed a couple menus and led us to a smaller, two-person table. Initials of past lovers were carved into the table.

"Is there anything I can get you two to drink to get you started?"

I looked at Noa who eagerly asked for a root beer. I ordered a strawberry lemonade and a basket of their 'astro' fries for an appetizer.

"Do you have a knife on you or something sharp?" Noa asked once Diggy left.

"Do I look like I carry a knife with me?" She looked at me, about to say something and then immediately closed her mouth before shaking her head.

"Never mind...I think I have a screw in my pocket still-" She began to fish her hand in her jacket pockets until she found the screw and pulled it out with a triumphant smile,"-there! Now we can carve our initials!"

"Should I be concerned at the fact that you have a screw randomly in your pocket?" This girl never ceased to surprise me.

"I found it on the ground by the woodshop room. Figured if anyone tried to attack me on my walk home, I'd pull that out and stab there eye-"

"Uh is that a screw?" We both snapped our heads over to Diggy who held our drinks and basket of fries.

"No-"

"Maybe-"

I said 'no' at the same time as Noa said 'maybe.'

"I see...are you two ready to order your meals."

I waited to nod as I didn't even need to look at the menu to know what I wanted to order.

"Whatever Rhett orders, is what I want."

Diggy nodded, not even needing to ask me what I wanted. He knew my order by heart.

"Alright. I'll go get that for you two!" He left as Noa began to carve into the table.

"What do you normally get here?" She asked, still looking at the table as she carved.

"You'll see." I watched her. She was fully absorbed into her carving until she finished.

It was a sun with the initials RR in it and a moon connected next to it with her initials of NA. It was actually really cool and well done for only using a screw and taking about ten minutes.

"Hearts are lame...especially since they don't last forever...whereas the sun and moon could."

I was speechless.

I never thought about it before. Hearts don't last forever, but the sun and moon, which have been a constant thing within our solar system since the dawn of time, could last forever.

"I never thought of it like that...that's actually-"

"Beautiful- '' Once again, Diggy showed up unexpectedly, now, with our plates of food. His eyes still lingered on the small carving. "Enjoy your food, guys!"

Noa eyed up her plate, which consisted of seasoned green beans, their award-winning chicken sandwich with a honey glaze and of course their sweet cornbread.

We both began to hastily eat, but my mind kept thinking about that carving. It was funny how she put initials on the moon whereas mine were on the sun. Was there more symbolism behind it?

After eating, paying the bill and saying goodbye to Diggy, I began to drive towards one of my favorite spots: the park where I asked her to go to homecoming.

As I parked and we walked towards the bench, I asked, "how come my initials were in the sun and yours in the moon?"

I wasn't sure when we both decided to hold each other's hands, but that's what I was looking at as I asked.

"I see you as this bright, shining light source where most everyone is happy to see. People absorb your rays and receive warmth from you." We sat down and she continued. "I see myself within the moon. Something that embraces the dark and something opposite of the sun."

I place her hand within both of mine. "Do you know how I view the moon?" She nodded her head, her eyes were locked onto mine. "I see it as something that helps soothe people. Something that will listen to your troubles and ease you to sleep. I see it as something unique and lovely to see every night. It changes the amount of light it gives off, but once it's full, it is a light that will lead you through the dark. It's a light that, although associated with the dark, is strong enough to push through it and lead you back home. That's how I view you."

Her eyes were brimming with tears waiting to be shed.

"And I think the sun has fallen in love with the moon."

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**Unedited**