Beauty

You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her. ~Anonymous

It had been a long time since Shane Gray could see beauty in the world around him. It was unfair, but true. His brothers found beauty in music- the way the guitar sounded when you strummed it, the chirping of a baby bird. His best friend found beauty in dance- the way her dark curls would bounce in perfect symphony with her feet, the way every little movement made a difference. Some girls he knew found beauty in themselves- Tess Tyler, for one. She loved the way her platinum locks would fall perfectly into place, the way her jeans fit on her legs. But Mitchie was not like Tess. And for that, Shane loved Mitchie.

Shane never realized how much he loved to see Mitchie. He never realized how much he needed her to be there with him, just holding on to his arm, or lying down on his shoulder. But now as she danced through the forest, hands reaching upwards, trying desperately to catch the falling leaves, Shane smiled to himself. Each leaf was so similar to her fiery hair; it sometimes made him wonder if she appreciated how beautiful she really was. How each red strand framed her high cheekbones perfectly, how every smile could usher away clouds. That was what Shane saw in Mitchie. She stopped in her tracks, and lay down on the carpet of leaves beneath them. Shane stopped too, and took his place next to her, placing a kiss upon her nose. "Hello beautiful."

He watches her blush, like she always does, even though he has said so many occasions before. He appreciates it, and wants to keep saying it- because he feels no matter how many times he says it; her beauty will never fade away.

"Shay-Shay." She kisses him back, teasing him with her self-coined nickname.

"Michelle." He teases back, smirking when she tosses an autumn leaf at his raven hair. "Now. You promised to be careful of the rock star hair."

"Cookie-cutter." She fires back, remembering their first conversation by the lake.

"Flour-girl." He laughs when she gasps; once again picking up bunches of brightly colored leaves to cast upon him. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry." He chuckles, and then captures her lips in another kiss, smiling against her as she drops the leaves.

"Damn," she whispers, and then pulls away.

"You're very welcome. I enjoyed that too." Shane struggles to his feet, yanking her up with him. "Now. For my surprise."

"What is it, Shane?" Her cheeks are flushed, and she giggles like a school girl when he picks her up and spins her around. "Seriously, Shay. You didn't need to get me anything for my eighteenth."

"Well, I wanted to." Shane finally puts her down, leading her forward through the tightly meshed branches of the forest. "And I'm pretty sure you have wanted this for quite some time now." He turns back, smiling when her eyes widen in surprise. "Not like that, Mitch."

And he takes her hand, gently stroking the inside of her palm with his thumb, and presses his lips against hers slowly, relishing the taste of her, eyes closed. Her lips part, and his tongue moves inside of her, as both tongues battle amicably for dominance. Shane wins, as usual, and at the same time, pulls her towards the direction that he was walking to. He pulls away reluctantly, and covers her eyes, turning her around. "Are you ready?" He whispers in her ear.

She shivers, "yes."

And he takes his hands away.

"Oh my goodness." Mitchie gasps, covering her mouth in disbelief. "You… found it?" She refers to the familiar lake where they had held their first conversation, throwing her arms around him. "How?"

"After camp closed, I figured Brown couldn't have gotten rid of the lake. And well, it was special to me."

"And me!" Mitchie is still delighted, and pulls his arms around her waist as she sways to an unheard rhythm. "I can't believe all these trees grew so quick, I had no idea!"

Shane winks, then gets down to his knees with a wild rose in his hand. "Dance with me, Michelle?"

"I would be delighted, Shane." And they twirl around the lake like they used to, stopping only once to admire the scenery of the large sun melting away into the water, birds gliding across the sky.

"It's beautiful." Mitchie states the obvious, amber eyes lighting up with wonder as Shane leans in again, forehead against hers.

"That makes two of you."

A/N:
A reupload of a previous fic.
I wasn't too happy with the previous one, so I did a couple of re-writes, and consulted some of my friends who very helpfully gave me tips.
Review!