Chapter Seventy Eight: Blossom

Three more boxes to go. That’s all I had left to unpack. My eyes begrudgingly forced me to stare at them; it seemed like little work, but it was so hard to find places for things to go. I sat down on the bed, and I noticed with a slight groan that my lower back was killing me – lifting heavy things all day long wasn’t the smartest thing after a dance workshop. I sighed and straightened out the blanket beneath me, which was a soft shade of teal.

The sun’s ray’s peeked through the window, and I noted I was going to have to adjust the curtains. The glare was just enough to make my eyes cringe, and it was positively blinding.

My father poked his head into the bedroom, and his face lit up. “Found her!” he called out, to I assume to be Dublin and my entire family – mom and dad forced Xenon and Argon to come along. Not that Argon had any grudges against me, but Xenon complained the entire way up. I forced myself to smile at my dad, because I knew he was a bit peeved at the thought of his little girl living with her boyfriend, no matter how long we had been together. Yes, Dublin and I were living together, but Marley was in the room opposite of us – so it’s not like we were hiding away from the world, just, we would be sharing a bed. And that was what freaked out my dad. While I knew he had suspicions about Dublin and I, the whole living together thing confirmed the fact that, if we already weren’t, that we were going to be doing… things.

I stood up again, walking over to him. I winced as I took that first step; my muscles were not appreciating me making them hold me up again. My voice was soft, because I noticed that my dad had puffy red eyes. “It’s not like I was hiding, dad.” He shook his head, and his chest shuttered as he made a sniffling sound. I felt my eyebrows raise, “You’re really going to miss me, aren’t you?”

You can’t measure love – it has no start; it has no end.

He shot me a crooked smile, a mix between a sob and a smirk. He pulled me into his arms, crushing me against him, and I breathed in his familiar scent. My dad was always comforting to me; it wasn’t the smell of my house that smelt like home, it was him. His after shave, his cologne, and that tinge of bacon that never quite seemed to leave his breath. His face dug into my hair, “You’re my Ducky, of course I’m going to miss you, kiddo. But I know you’re going to do wonderful things. You’re going to chase your dream, and one day you’ll be dancing on the big stage in front of millions.”

Ask me what I mean, there’s no in-between, there’s only you and I.

I rolled my eyes at him – I’d be lucky if I got accepted as a backup dancer for a singer; so many people were after those positions, and so little were filled. My dad pulled back, and placed his hands on my shoulders, “Just sometimes, I wish you were still my little girl – but you’ve grown to be such a beautiful young woman.”

“Dad, please stop being sentimental before I start crying, too,” I mumbled, my smile growing wider.

He chuckled, “Just promise me one thing, okay, Ducky?”

“Whatever you want,” I replied, rather hesitantly.

“Be safe,” he warned. “The city is a dangerous place.”

I laughed, hitting him playfully on the shoulder, “Daddy, I’ll be fine.” I saw the worry still there in his eyes, so I tried to think of something that would calm his nerves. “And I’ve got Dublin to watch out for me. Nothing will hurt me as long as I’ve got him.”

His brow furrowed, and he cleared his throat, “About that – it appears we’ve never had the, um, ‘talk’, so to speak…”

I held up my hands – I loved the man, but he should seriously learn when to bring things up and when to let them just rest in the early graves. “Sweet Berry, please Dad, no.”

He looked relieved, and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me back to where everyone else was, where my mother quickly rushed up to us, fussing like a mother hen.

I shrugged my shoulders at a very amused Dublin, who had found his spot by my side. Dublin didn’t take his eyes off me, but he spoke to my parents, “Don’t worry, Mr. and Mrs. Drop, I promise to treat your daughter with the most respect a man possibly can.”

Silver ecstasy, you – you gave it to me; wasted so much time, saying goodbye, searching for you and I.

~~~~~~~~~~

I looked up at the sky, and the tree’s above me mixed with the sunlight, and the flowers around me, gave me a calm feeling – as if everything in the world was, and always would be, utterly perfect.

Dublin walked up behind me, and pulled me into his arms. “You’re looking beautiful as always, babe.”

No one else, ever loved me like you did; no one else, ever gave me such a thrill; no one else, ever loved me like you did.

I kissed his nose, and he dipped me, causing a very girlish giggle to escape my lips. “You better not let me slip,” I warned, my hand grabbing onto his shirt.

He looked me in the eyes, “Love, I’d never let you fall. Never.”

You and I will always be together.

I smiled, and we stood back up, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Never?” I breathed.

He chuckled, and picked me up slightly. “Never ever,” he whispered.

I felt my voice start to falter, and I forced my eyes to look away from his, and they found solace among the flowers beneath me. Dublin slowly coaxed my head back up, “Fluorine, please don’t look at the ground. I love seeing your beautiful grey eyes – that beautiful smile of yours that makes my heart race.”

I grinned bashfully, “You’re just saying that.”

“Am I?” he questioned, as he slipped down onto one knee. I felt my eyes go wide, and I felt like a deer, who felt that moment of anticipation after being caught in the headlights.

“Dublin,” I said, flustered. “What are you – what are you doing?”

He smirked up at me, “Well, if you’d stop interrupting me, I could ask you.” He looked at the ground, then back at me, a huge grin on his face. “Fluorine Calliope Drop. I love you, more than I ever thought I could love anyone – I know we’re young, but I know this is love in one of its purest forms. Will you do me the honor,” he said, pulling out a ring, “Of marrying me?”

I felt my face freeze; I wanted no one other than Dublin in my life. He was my Prince Charming, he was key to my happily ever after. I smiled, “Yes!”

He slipped the ring on my finger.

No one else, ever loved me like you did; no one else, ever gave me such a thrill; no one else, ever loved me like you did.

“A thousand times yes,” I repeated, as he pulled me into his arms, a place of which I never wanted to leave.

There’s only, you and I.

-Lyrics by Never Shout Never; “Silver Ecstasy”-