It was a quiet day. Summer had just begun, but remnants of the spring remained. Flowers dotted the landscaping around the newly re-constructed Gallagher Academy. The Magnolia Tree still kept its flowers and the Dogwood remained pink and blossoming. The sweet smell that floated after a rainfall filled the gardens of the Gallagher Academy, and the morning haze lingered in the air. I peered through the window of our replicated secret passageway, hands wrapped around my mug of tea. I had asked specifically for the contractors to replicate this passageway secretly, then washed away their memory of doing it by inviting them to tea.
"Hey, Gallagher Girl." I turned to see Zach, leaning up against the wall. I set down my mug and walked over to him. He had a faraway look in his eye as he pulled me closer to him.
"Good morning." I said into his shoulder. He ran a hand through my hair, smiling quietly. His fingers fidgeted with the strands of my hair, and I realized he was nervous about something. What? Zach doesn't get nervous about much. Not missions, we've gone on every single one together since graduation. Not life-and-death situations. Not…anything. What could it possibly be?
"Do you want to take a walk?" He asked, gazing softly into my eyes.
"Ok." I smiled, my hand sliding into his as we walked to the gardens. He let go of my hand momentarily to push open the door to the gardens. As I stepped outside, I saw out of the corner of my eye my friends and mother watching behind the tinted window on the fourth floor. Despite it being tinted, I am an expert spy and it's not so hard to detect motion behind a tinted window. Anyways, they were watching us. And weird as that is, I let it go as Zach's fingers laced into mine and he gave me an earnest smile. We walked about a bit, talking about little things.
"How'd that interrogation with the CIA go?" He asked as we treaded along the soft grass. I grinned over at him.
"The usual. You know your dad." I said cheekily. He smiled back.
"He's so serious. He doesn't understand what it means to be happy." He replied, holding my hand tighter.
"Do you?" I asked, laughing. He stopped abruptly under the Dogwood tree.
"I have plenty of reasons to be happy." His lips grazed my forehead. He cleared his throat, his hands holding mine in a death grip. He looked nervous. "Cammie, we've been together forever. I've always felt like we get each other. We understand each other. But, it's more than that. Cammie, I love you."
His eyes locked with mine.
"I remember first seeing you on that mission in D.C. I kept thinking about how beautiful you were. Not just how beautiful you were, but how beautiful your laugh was as you laughed with Bex. And the way the sun shined on you…Cammie, you were sparkling." His gaze was unwavering. "You still are. I knew I had to talk to you. So I did, risking my cover, in the elevator. You were so determined to achieve your mission, but even so, in the midst of that, you were charming and quippy, like you had all the time in the world to talk to me! It felt like, like time had frozen, and just you and I were left. And Gallagher Girl, it always feels like that when I'm with you. It feels like that right now. Time stops when I'm with you." He was still gazing into my eyes, making me feel like the luckiest girl in the world, when he let go of my hands and reached into his coat pocket. He pulled out a little box, and went down on one knee. Oh. My. God. He was proposing? My heart thumped in my chest. Seriously. I thought it was going to burst.
Zach opened the little box, revealing a diamond ring. My hand clutched at my heart, feeling it beat, and realizing it no longer belonged to me. It was Zach's. And Zach's was mine. I was too shocked to cry as he spoke.
"I love you." He said, his eyes searching mine. He smirked a little, tilting his head, and I was reminded of the cocky Zach I knew. I smiled a little bit too. We both knew my answer to his next question. "Cammie, Gallagher Girl, will you marry me?"
My voice caught in my throat as I looked into Zach's eyes. I tried to say something, but I couldn't. I was too overcome by the love we shared. So I just nodded, as a single tear slipped down my cheek. Zach smirked as he slid the ring on my finger. He lifted me up and spun me around. I laughed and his eyes had a wild glint in them as we whirled around and around, circling each other forever. When we slowed to a stop, I kissed him long and hard. I pulled back and whispered,
"I have plenty of reasons to be happy too." He looked at me in this day-dreamy way, pulled me closer with a jerk around my waist, and kissed me again. He picked me up and carried me inside, and we laughed all the way in. He finally set me down once we were inside. I looked at him, and my heart swelled. He held me, and I leaned into him.
"We're getting married!" I said, tossing my head back. He grinned. Then I noticed a comms unit in his ear. My eyes grew wide. I pointed at it. "Zach, why in the world would you need a comms unit for this?" He gave me an impish grin, arms locked around my waist.
"Your mom, Bex, Liz and Macey were on the other line. I wanted it to be private, but I wanted more so for it to be perfect, because you deserve a perfect proposal, Gallagher Girl. They were supposed to let me know when I was rambling, or when to stop the small talk. But I guess I kind of ignored them." He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Bex thought I was rambling when I gave you that long speech, but it just felt right. It felt like those things needed to be said. Something would've been missing if I hadn't said them. So I did. Are you mad?" I smiled at him.
"No, because they'd make me repeat it all to them anyway. And because I love you, and it's hard to be mad at you when you say all those sweet things to me." He kissed me slowly, then longer, and harder, and I felt my heart flutter in my chest. I leaned into those kisses, and let them consume me. I was Zach's, and Zach was mine.