Sometimes I wish for falling
Wish for the release
Wish for falling through the air
To give me some relief
Because falling's not the problem
When I'm falling I'm in peace
It's only when I hit the ground
It causes all the grief
Florence + The Machine
She didn't know when she started falling. It was sudden, without warning her world was rushing around her and she was weightless. She didn't know when she had started or when she would stop, only that all she felt was peace.
He knew her story, her history, just what to say to make her grin. He had been there longer than anyone else, sticking by her side year in and year out. He had been the only best friend she had ever know, that she had ever had.
His grin was intoxicating, the smile he saved just for her. It made her fall faster, with more force. He would run up to her between classes and pull her into a bone crushing hug for the shortest moment before dashing away, yelling as he went, "Library tonight? Potions essay?"
"Yeah…" she would force back with a slight smile, the color rising in her cheeks and heart racing again. "Tonight."
"Wicked! See you then White!"
"Bye Lorc." She would practically whisper as heat filled her chest.
It was his tiny acts of kindness, the white lily left on her book bag after lunch, the last of his chocolate frogs from Honeydukes, offering her his scarf when she had forgotten her own, that made her fear the ground. It was the way his eyes lit up when he spoke about his mother's crazy ideas and the way he rolled his eyes at her lame jokes. She couldn't hit the ground, it scared her too much. But she knew it was inevitable. One day he would find his own love and she would crash. She only hoped it wouldn't happen too soon.
He knew exactly when he started falling. It had been the first Christmas they shared together at the school, and they had ventured out into the snow covered woods Christmas morning. Everything was white and as she stood there, her red hair like fire against the snow, he fell. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen as she ran with snow crunching over her boots grinning back at him.
It was everything about her: her temper, her eyes, and her air of mystery. It was the way her cheeks puffed out when she was thinking and the way her hair framed her face. The way she listened to his stories without judgment, the way her nose crinkled when she was cold.
She would sit with him at the Ravenclaw table despite the looks she received. She never told his secrets or broke a promise. She would spend her Hogsmeade trips with him and no one else. She was the only one who really understood him, and somehow he was the only one the understand her. She made his world spin and exciting. She made him truly happy.
He fell for a whole year, fearing the ground and anticipating the impact. Every boy that asked her out caused his heart to lurch and every time she said no his heart beat faster. He didn't think he could live the heartbreak of her choosing someone else, he didn't think he would survive the hard ground.
He lived in peace and fear for a whole year until Christmas came around. Exactly a year from the day he began falling he beckoned her outside to the woods with him again after begging her to stay with him for Christmas. They crunched on the fresh snow and she looked more beautiful than ever as snowflakes began drifting down from the sky, specking her hair and catching on her eyelashes. Maybe it was the moment, maybe it was how fast he was falling, but he leaned down and pressed his lips gently to hers.
They continued falling together, but no longer with a fear of the ground.