58. Together

The party's over, thank God. Everyone congratulated Aron and I on our... engagement. Oh my God, I'm engaged. This is so lame. I couldn't care less about marriage. But it means a lot to Aron and.. I do wanna spend the rest of my life with him. So.. not long from now.. I'll have a husband.

I feel my cheeks heat up from that thought even though there's no one on the balcony but me.

I can't hide the fact that I am a bit happy. Just a bit. I am marrying the love of my life. How many people can say that?

The door to the balcony slides open and Chase makes his way to me, two beers in hand.

"Cheers." He smiles.

I smile faintly.

I hadn't even thought about Chase yet. How he must feel about this whole thing.

I look at the silver ring on my finger. It doesn't look that different from my other rings so that's good.

We're both staring at the view.

"So.. Are you okay with.. all of this?" I ask softly. I can't look at him right now.

Chase chuckles.

I frown.

"Are you kidding? I was totally in on this. Aron even asked me for permission." Chase laughs.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah! I'm gonna be his best man." He smiles proudly.

"I—" I shake my head in awe. "Wow."

He shrugs. Then he turns to me.

"Sky, I just want you to be happy. And if that's with the coolest guy I know, it can't be too bad." He half-smirks.

It's like a weight falls off my shoulders when he says this.

I leap into his arms and sigh of relief.

"When did you get so tall?" I frown as I realize HE'S TALLER THAN ME.

"When did you get so short?" He laughs.

The door opens and Arons steps into the sun.

My mouth almost drops.

He's wearing a full black classic tuxedo with a bow tie.

I pull away from Chase.

I'm absolutely speechless.

Chase whistles.

"Wow." Is all I manage to say. He looks like a fucking god. Even more so than usual.

Aron grabs my hand. "You need to change."

"Another surprise?" I whine.

"Nope, just a date to celebrate our engagement." He beams as he says those last two words.

I blush profusely.

"O— okay."

"Have fun, guys. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Chase jokes as he makes his way inside.

***

We've made it to the restaurant. The most expensive one in the city. And yes, I too am wearing a tux. Though I don't look half as good in it as Aron. I can't stop staring at him.

He grabs my hand and we walk inside.

It's beautiful here. It's dimly lit and very elegant looking. There are fake cherry trees all around. There's live music and the place is packed. Still it feels intimate and cozy.

I stand close to him. I feel so weird being in a place so fancy.

We sit down at a private little table at the back of the restaurant. Soft guitar music plays in the background and Aron grabs my hand.

He caresses my ring with his thumb and a soft smile covers his lips.

I can't help but smile too. He's so happy. I'm glad I said yes. I'm glad I'm here with him.

"You look beautiful." He says happily.

I laugh. "So do you."

He squeezes my hand.

"Can you believe this is our first date?" Aron says.

"Are you kidding? We hung out tons of times at my place or yours—"

"Those aren't dates!" Aron laughs. "You have to go out together before it's a date. This is our first time going to a restaurant. That's insane!"

"Well.. I still consider our hangouts dates." I pout.

"You can consider whatever you want. This is our first date. And it's on our engagement day!" He's beaming with joy.

"Okay, whatever." I blush.

A waiter comes our way.

"Good evening, gentlemen. My name is Edward and I'm going to be your waiter tonight. Is there anything I can get you?"

"Um.." I grab the menu and see all kinds of weird names (Is that french?). I look at Aron and telepathically scream HELP ME.

He smirks. "I'd like the gougeres for a start and some of your best champagne. My fiance would like the same." He looks at me proudly as he says this. I close my eyes in an attempt to escape the embarrassment I feel right now.

Aron proceeds to slip the waiter some hush money so he doesn't ask for his ID.

The waiter leaves us and I cover my face.

"You're terrible."

"Hey, do you want champagne or not?"

"I wasn't talking about that." I look at the table while my cheeks catch fire.

Aron laughs. "I'm proud."

"Whatever,"

He chuckles.

"Alright, I lied a little before. I have one last surprise." He smiles.

"Aron!"

"No, I'm sure you'll like this one." Aron grabs another small box from his pocket and puts it on the table.

I give a him quick look before opening the box.

It's a silver key with our names engraved.

I give him a confused look.

"Since you'll be my husband soon, I think it might be a good idea to move in together." He says casually.

He leans forward.

"I'm having Rose's room decorated right now."

He even has a room for Rose?

I run my finger over the key as tears fill my eyes. "Aron.."

It's like he read my thoughts. It's almost like a dream come true. I'll never have to miss him again! I'm so happy.

"Is that a yes?"

"Of course, you idiot." I laugh as I wipe my tears.

Aron smiles and it feels like we're filling up the entire room with our joy. I may have been a little embarrassed before. Right now I couldn't care less.

***

It's past twelve. It's dark out and Aron and I are laying on top of his car on a hill. It's so quiet and calm here.

The cicadas and the wind make up the soundtrack to our night.

We look at the city lights and I think about us and our future. Tonight has been so lovely. I've enjoyed every second of it. No interruptions. No disturbing images. Just peace. It's almost too peaceful. Too happy. I'm scared something is gonna ruin it. It seems like it always will.

"Are you sure you wanna marry me?" I ask quietly.

Aron turns to me and frowns. "Who else am I gonna marry?"

I shrug. "Maybe if you wait a few years you could meet someone who's not.. You know," I try to find to words. "You know, everything's good now but.. What if something happens again? What if I fuck up again? If I lose it again? We've already been through so much and you don't deserve more shit in your life. I'm still me. I can still go back to being the mess I was a few months ago. I'm not 'cured'. I never will be." Insecurity eats at me as I say this.

"Sky, I'm not cured either. And I'm just as much of a mess as you are. But in a different way. That's how we help each other. That's how we're whole. That's how we work. I don't want someone else. I want you. You understand me and I understand you and that's invaluable. I don't care what happens next. There's nothing you could do that would make me want to leave you."

"Are you sure?"

Aron grabs my hand.

"All I want is to be with you. I don't care what state you are in. Up, down, in the middle.. as long as you're you, I want to be there."

My heart melts and I kiss him.

"Thank you." I breathe.

I lay on his chest and he caresses my back.

We stare up at the moon and the stars in silence for a long time before Aron speaks again.

"We've been through hell and back.." He speaks softly. I feel butterflies in my stomach at the sound of his warm voice.

"..But that doesn't mean that we can't change or get better. And we have gotten better. We've come such a long way. Let's leave the ghosts of the past where they belong, and let's accept, enjoy and stay where we belong.."

His eyes radiate love as he looks at me.

"Together."