All criticism and/or praise is appreciated. Feel free to express your opinion on the story! By the way, I'm assuming that both John and Sarah were 16 when John left, so in my story they are both 19. So without further ado, here it is!

(Ps: So maybe I lied. Whoops! Disclaimer- I do not in any way shape or form own I am Number Four. Darn it!)

(PSS: does anybody get why we have to put a disclaimer? Doesn't the site say that it doesn't own any of the books, movies, tv shows, etc.? Just saying. Anyway….

Sarah's POV

He told me he'd come back when it was safe. Maybe not in those exact words, but the same meaning. Three years have passed since he said that, since I last saw him. After he left, I couldn't help thinking about him every single day. In my mind I rehearsed what I would say to him when he came back; not only rehearsed it, but perfected it too.

Along with imaging the conversation mentioned, I also dwelled on everything he had said to me. Even after I graduated high school and started college(no way was I going to stay in Paradise forever. I said I couldn't wait to leave and I meant it.) I would always think about how he said Loriens only loved one person ever, and how maybe it worked the other way around…

Anyway, I am currently going to a college in California that had an excellent photography program, and had an apartment in a low-key neighborhood. Turns out that selling my photos was enough to pay the rent and all of the other things I needed. But my favorite part was that there was a miniature forest almost directly behind where I lived; and not only a forest, but a meadow in the center of it, too. A meadow where I came to practically every day and was now sitting in the middle of, thinking of John.

A meadow where I was looking at the precious, forbidden picture of him; I know he told me to get rid of any trace of him, but I couldn't bring myself to discard the photo. Looking at it, I memorized all of his features again; his face was ingrained in my memory. I could pick him out in a crowd of thousands if needed. Then the hard part came; the missing him so much I felt as if I could die from longing. Tears ran down my face before I could stop them.

"John," I whispered to the wind. "I miss you. If only you hadn't had to go." I laid down in the sweet-smelling grass, closing my eyes and putting the picture back in my jeans pocket. A few minutes passed before I said, "I wish you were here, John." The wind swept across my face, and it felt as though he was there stroking my cheek. Just thinking about it sent an electric current through mu body. So, pretending that John was beside me, I told him what I'd been dying ti tell him for 2 ½ years.

"I love you." As I said this, I leaned into the wind that felt like John's hand, expecting nothing. So I was extremely surprised when the wind/hand actually supported the pressure my head was putting on it. My eyes snapped open, and my breath caught at what I was seeing. "John." He was here, lying on his side facing me.

He smiled and said, "Hey stranger." A small smile played across my lips and I didn't realize I was crying until his thumb wiped the tears away. My hand reached out and touched his face; he leaned into my touch and let out a satisfying sigh.

"I love you Sarah," he said.

"You know that I feel the same way," I replied. We both smiled, though his eyes were still closed. Then we just laid in comfortable silence, and I took the opportunity to memorize his face. Not much had changed, although his features had lost any boyishness that was left.

After five minutes of enjoying each other's company, I broke the silence. "Is it safe now? Is the war over?" John opened his eyes and nodded.

"Sam, Six, and I found the others in about a year. Much less time than we thought. Turns out that Number 5 is an excellent finder. Then, finding and killing the Mogs was rather easy, but we still needed to rest up in between battles. So now, the Mogs are gone, and I am here with you." His voice was grim at the beginning, but by the end his voice had taken on a happier tone.

"Well, I'd love to meet the others," I told him.

He chuckled. "Don't worry. They all want to meet you. I basically haven't shut up about how amazing you are, and how I'm lucky to have you." I was smiling by the end.

"I missed you," I told him quietly after about a minute of silence.

He gave me a small, sad smile. "I know," he said, "And I was absolutely miserable without you."

Suddenly, I felt a need, a hunger for him. A need to never let him go, and a hunger to be close to him and love him in every way possible. I looked in his eyes and saw that same need and hunger. Before I knew it, John had me pinned underneath him.

"Three years is too long to go without the love of my life." My heart was beating a hundred miles a minute. His face was coming closer and closer to mine. He brought his lips to my ear and whispered, "I want you. Need you." A shiver went up my spine, and then he was kissing me with that same hunger and need I had seen in his eyes.

And I was kissing him back.

My hands tangled in his hair, while his arms wrapped around my waist. Soon after, his fingers made contact with the skin under my shirt, and I didn't care as his hand moved upwards. His tongue made its way into my mouth, exploring all around.

I rolled him onto his back, so that now I was on top, straddling him. Without breaking our kiss, his hand that wasn't under my shirt tugged on my belt loop. I knew what he was asking, so I broke the kiss to say, "Not here," against his lips. His hand stopped tugging, but he also understood that I wasn't completely rejecting his request.

Eventually we stopped, with John's forehead resting on mine and both of us breathing hard. After we got our breath back, I was the one to break the silence.

"You know how you said that Loriens only love one person their whole lives?" I asked him. He nodded, slightly confused at what the question was leading up to. "Well, I'm starting to think that that it might apply to humans in some cases. For example, I heard that a girl named Sarah Hart fell in love with this Lorien, John Smith, and that she can't imagine being with anybody else." John was smiling.

"Oh, really? Well I heard that John equally loves Sarah and will never leave her again." Now I was smiling.

"So you're not leaving?" I asked him.

"Never. I get to live out my days with you by my side," he replied.

"Never," I said, rolling the word around in my mouth. "I like the sound of that. I like it very much." My smile grew wider.

"You'd better, because I won't be letting you out of my sight anytime soon." Then John was kissing me, rolling so that I was pinned underneath him yet again. I didn't mind, but after about three minutes, I pulled away to ask him a question.

"So just when do I get to see Sam and Six and the others that are 'dying to meet me'?" I asked him, using air quotes.

He laughed. "How about right now. I know that Sam wants to see you again, and I want you to see what the other Loriens can do." At the end of his sentence, he jumped up, grabbing my hand and pulling me up with him.

"That sounds great," I told him. So, hand in hand, I followed John out of the meadow, and I felt a burden lift from my shoulders. "John," I said.

He looked back and said, "Yeah?"

"I love you," I told him.

"I know," he replied. Then he picked me up, bridal style, and whispered in my ear, "I love you too."

This was the best day of my life. I looked up at him, a smile on my face, and said, "I know."