I Never Will

A/n: Hey everyone, wow it's been a while since I posted Beloved, Beloved, Beloved. I had planned to post another short story for Tuck Everlasting sooner, but life has been super busy. But, now here I am, ready with another one. Took me long enough.

So, let me know what you think, it would be most appreciated. )

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Tuck Everlasting. Oh, well.

I've spent the whole day with this beautiful and fiery girl. I'm finding that being in Winnie Foster's presence is more satisfying than any trip around the world I could ever take. She's not afraid to run through open meadows with me, and she's not afraid to get a little dirty. All the ladies I've ever come across have been too delicate and dainty to even brave a walk in the woods, let alone take one on their own. Not Winnie.

At first glance, she looks about as delicate as a fancy china doll. But, she's as brave as any man. Winnie Foster is the epitome of the saying, "Looks are deceiving." While outwardly she's composed, there's a light that emanates from inside of her. She shines even as she sleeps. I've watched her.

I think I'm falling in love with this girl, and her ability to make me feel freedom just by looking into her eyes. Freedom is the reason I've become a nomad. My family and I are prisoners to this secret, but when I travel the world, I'm a free man.

Now here I am, back home. Usually I only stick around for a short period of time. Standing still makes me aware of the passing time, and everything that is changing with it. I love the fact that I'm going to live forever, and get to see the world evolve. I have to keep moving so I don't miss any of it.

But, now that I've found Winnie, I find myself wanting to stand still. Hearing her laugh, and seeing the way the sunlight turns her hair to gold, makes me feel as if I'm sailing out on the wide open sea. When the time comes to say good-bye to her and move on, I know I'm going to wish that I could stay with her here in Treegap. She brings something to my life that was always missing before. Every dawn that begins is more magical than the last, because I have her to share it with. I know someday I'm going to curse the immortality I love so much, because inevitably, it's going to take me away from her. She's going to change with the world, and I'm not. We can never be.

Ah, since I first laid eyes on her at the spring, I haven't been able to get Winnie Foster off of my mind. The first thing I noticed was her eyes. They jolted me; gave me pause. Through their arresting clear blue, I could see directly into her heart. She held no secrets, and I was fated to fall from the start.

With the way Winnie is so open, so vitally alive, such a free spirit like me, sometimes I forget that she's from gentle breeding, raised to be a proper lady. And even though Winnie is far from that, the ways of society have been instilled in her since birth. That's why she's nearly scandalized when I start shedding my cloths. So, when she asks me what I'm doing, like I've suddenly lost my mind, I look at her like she's the crazy one, and tell her I'm going swimming, like it's obvious. Like it's an everyday thing for a man to stand in nothing but his drawers in front of her. I want her to be comfortable with me. I want her to trust me. I want nothing to be between us.

When I jump into the water, it's with no trace of fear that I'll get hurt. Our secret of immortality makes me able to laugh at death because it can never have me. When I surface, my eyes immediately fall on Winnie sitting on that rock so high above. For a minute I think I see an angel. Maybe I finally died when I hit the water. It would be an amazing greeting to the heavens if I have.

While I'm staring up at her, all I can think about is how much I want to hold her close to me; feel her in my arms. Share this experience with her. When she tells me she can't swim, at first I'm really surprised. Swimming to me is like breathing. I could never imagine not being able to tread water like this. You'd think with all those fancy lessons she must have been given growing up, swimming would be among them. It's right then that I plan to teach her how.

I laugh that she thinks she'll drown. Doesn't she know that I would never let her? As I knew she would, Winnie rises to the challenge when I goad her, and puts her inhibitions aside to jump into the waiting pool of cool water below her; to me. She immediately comes up spluttering and I pull her close. She feels so right against me, like she's meant to be there in my arms. I'm in awe.

"Ah, it feels wonderful. I'm weightless."

"That's 'cause we're carrying you, see? The water and me. We're both carrying you." I know I'm going to remember this moment till the end of the world. I'll always carry the image of Winnie with her eyes closed, and a look of naked rapture on her face as I glide her over water that sparkles like diamonds in the sun. She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. She beats the view from my Eiffel Tower.

This girl feels like another part of me. It feels so strange, yet so amazing. It completely takes the words from my mouth. When she slips from my arms a little, and tells me not to let her go, I bring her up to face me, and I look her straight in the eye. I tell Winnie Foster that it's okay-I never will.

A/n: Hey guys, so that's it. What'd you think? I think I really may re-write parts of it. Especially at the end, where to me it seems a little…something. If you see punctuation mistakes, please let me know. I would love you forever and a day.

-Rory4