You woke up at the sound of your alarm ringing loudly into your ear. It was just 06:30am and you couldn't remember setting your alarm, so you quickly sat up and checked your phone to see what bully made you wake up this early.
6:30AM: wake up beautiful!
You raised one eyebrow at your screen, not being able to come up with a reason why your boyfriend, Finn Harries, would sneak into your apartment and set your alarm at a time only lunatics would get up on their free day. The alarm kept ringing; an acoustic version of Out Of My League by Stephen Speaks (Song), one of your all time favorite songs, and Finn knew that. You smiled as you unlocked your phone to turn the alarm off. Right when your phone was unlocked, the notes app opened on one certain note.
Morning sweetheart!
Did you sleep well? I hope you did, because you've got a rather tiring day ahead. Confused? I know you're not good with dates, especially not in the early morning. Look on your calendar.
You turned around to your wall, did as told, and saw it was February 14th. A soft smile crept on your face as you realized it was Valentine's Day. You and Finn had met exactly 4 years ago, and exactly 3 years ago he'd asked you to be his girlfriend. It was a special day for the both of you, not in the way it is for normal couples, but because every Valentine's Day since you've known each other, something special happens. 4 years ago you met, 3 years ago you got together, 2 years ago you saved a kitten, which was now your grumpy, grown, cuddle-cat, Effie, and last year, one of your best friends, Louise, gave birth to her and Matt's baby boy, Charlie. It was definitely your favorite holiday of the year, and you were sure today was going to be special as well.
Happy Valentine's Day I've got something special planned for you today. Make sure you'll be ready at exactly 8am. I've got a whole team right there for you. They'll be standing outside your apartment until 8:02 am, and if you don't make it on time, this whole deal will be off. I might seem hard on you, so sorry for that. It'll be worth it, honey! Pay attention to the things you're going to do and the meaning of them. Look out for details. At some point, you'll have to solve a riddle. Enjoy it and good luck! I love you
For the second time that day, you raised an eyebrow at your phone, curious of what was going to happen. You didn't know what exactly to expect, because Finn's usually not that good at planning surprises. Most of the time your curiosity and sneakiness ruins his plans, but it seemed like he came up with a better plan today by leaving it to his 'team'.
You quickly got up and rushed into the shower. You picked out a cute dress at first, but then you realized that you were going to do various activities, with a team, and knowing Finn, those things wouldn't be just strutting around and drinking tea in a café. You eventually went for a pair of jeans with low, white converse and a simple tee, which you covered with a cardigan, as it was still fairly cold outside. (Outfit) You put on all the makeup you usually put on, not wanting to look like you really tried nor effortless. You finished off with a soft pink lipstick that matched your cardigan. You walked to the kitchen to see that it was 7:15. You made yourself a big breakfast as you didn't count on having another meal anytime soon. The activities you were expecting were going to make you very hungry and again, knowing Finn, he probably didn't think of a good catering or even time to have lunch.
When you were done having breakfast, you packed your bag with the things you thought you needed, including a hairbrush, extra mascara, deodorant, tissues and even a tiny towel, just in case. You were all ready to go at exactly 07:59, so you quickly rushed out into the hall of your apartment block and pressed the elevator button. When you arrived at the ground floor you rushed outside to find Tanya and Louise waiting for you. They smiled brightly as soon as they saw you, and you started running towards them. Fixing your hair while panting, you asked "Am I late or not?" they laughed at your stressed look before telling you that you were just on time but had to hurry. You got into the car and they drove you somewhere unknown.
You came to a stop at a parking lot. Louise and Tanya quickly got out and opened the door for you. You stepped onto the hard floor of the parking lot and looked around you to see if you could recognize anything, but nothing seemed familiar. It wasn't until you arrived in the hall of the building that you realized where you were; an observatory. You turned your head to Louise in question, but she just smiled at you. Tanya walked to the information desk and spoke to the employee for a bit before walking back to you and Louise and whispering something into the latter's ear. Louise nodded at what Tanya said as they grabbed one of your hands each and pulled you up a wide staircase. "Guys, what's happening?" you asked in shock, not able to register why Finn would send you to an observatory on Valentine's Day. "You shouldn't ask this many questions, _. This day will be full of things that you won't understand until you've done at least a few of them. Just pay attention and shut up." Louise told you whilst smiling at you. You took her advice and just followed the two girls. After walking up another staircase, you arrived in a dome shaped 3D-cinema. Louise and Tanya dropped you on a chair before sitting themselves down on each side of you. You raised an eyebrow at them in question but they brushed your gesture off by rolling their eyes and whispering "relax, hun, we're not going to shoot you into space or something…"
Soon you were watching a documentary about the galaxy. You knew Finn loved the earth, and, so you suppose, he now loves the entire universe too. It was interesting, fascinating. You got information about the planets and zodiac signs, but the makers of the documentary seemed to have focused on one subject in particular; falling stars. You'd never believed in wishes upon a star, but seeing the most amazing footage from space made you think it was at least a little magical. When it ended, you sat in a daze for a while. You were amazed at the beautiful things you'd just seen, and you were glad that Finn sent you here, though you still wondered why. Your deep thoughts got interrupted by Tanya pulling you out of your chair. "You liked that, sweetie?" she asked you with a smile. You nodded and smiled back.
The 3 of you walked down the stairs and back into the parking lot, where you saw Zoe, Alfie, Marcus, and Jack waiting for you next to a little van. You waved at them, and they happily waved back. "We'll be leaving you to them now, have fun" Louise said with a wink before she and Tanya hugged you and you approached the other 4. They quickly greeted you by hugs and smiles before dragging you into the van. You knew Finn told you that a team would be ready for you, but you didn't expect that 'team' to constantly handle you like an inanimate object. You decided you just had to go along with it, since these were probably Finn's rules for the day. As you drove to another unknown destination, Jack, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned around to you and grinned. "You're going to love what's next. I'd start preparing yourself. Mentally, I mean… or well, you might need to prepare physically as well." he chuckled and the others in the car laughed. "You shouldn't tease her like that, Jackie." Zoe scolded as she turned to you. "But he's right, you should prepare. It'll be great though, I'm sure you'll like it."
You started thinking about what could be next. Finn would never make you swim with some sort of dangerous animal, because he knew you would immediately burst out in tears of fear. You weren't really the daredevil kind of person when it comes to exotic animals, and you'd made that very clear when Finn once dared you to catch a lobster in a restaurant with your bare hands. You weren't afraid of heights, but it wasn't like you were a fan of them either. You grinned when you saw a sign at the side of the road saying "race course, 5 miles." You'd recently learned to drive and you took every opportunity to make use of your driver's license, to the point that it annoyed Finn, a lot. You liked doing adventurous things, as long as they were safe. And things like tested, public race courses were just those kinds of adventures. You didn't really see a connection between the observatory and the race course, but you didn't even mind, since you were very excited to get into a race car.
Soon all of you, except for Alfie, were dressed in full racers gear, yours in your favorite colors. Alfie had injured his wrist a couple of days ago so it wasn't safe for him to drive, especially not in a race car. It brought you to a nice number of participants to have a race tour. You first went against Jack, and Zoe and Marcus would compete with each other too. The winners of these rounds were going to have a final against each other.
A few minutes later you were sitting in the car, ready to beat Jack as fast as you could. "3… 2… 1… GO!" Alfie shouted from the side and there you went. You held back a bit a first as you were a little scared, but when Marcus drove past you with ease, you stood on the gas with all your power. The speed felt great and you couldn't help but laugh and yelp a bit. The thrill took over your body and filled it with happiness. You loved this feeling, the feeling of being invincible, like your floating on the roads. And without even noticing it, you'd made 3 laps and were already at the finish line. Before Jack.
Victory washed over you when you came to a stop. Moments later, Jack's car stopped next to yours and Jack stepped out, panting. You stepped out as well and approached him. "Congratulations, ma'am. Didn't think you could beat me." Jack said. You stuck your tongue out at him before grinning and turning back to Alfie, Zoe, and Marcus. You raised your arms with your hands clenched to fists, as a sign of your win. The 3 started clapping and cheering for you, and laughing at Jack. "If you weren't my brother's girlfriend I would've killed you now, you know?" Jack told you, whilst wiping some sweat from his forehead. "Yes. And if you weren't my boyfriend's brother I would've been twice as fast, but I didn't want to make you look even more pathetic." You answered teasingly. He softly punched your arm, as a joke. "I could've beaten you but it's not very gentleman-like to beat a girl mercilessly." He defended himself. "Of course you could've, Jackie." You said sarcastically while walking towards the exit of the course and leaving him behind, defeated.
Marcus had beaten Zoe, and you were now up against him. You stepped into the car as he walked to the door on the drivers' side. "Hey, you can let it all out now, okay? I'm not going to hold back on my amazing racing skills, you know." "Sure, Marcy Butt Butt. We'll see who the true pro-racer is here." You said in a challenging tone. "Deal." He confirmed as he shook your hand before turning to his car and getting in. Alfie counted down once again and you drove off calmly. Marcus seemed to have fully stepped on the gas immediately. You smirked as you slowly started to increase your speed. When you were almost on the same part as him, after a little more than 2 laps, you stepped on the gas with full force and soon you were ahead of him, finish line in sight already. With ease, you finished before Marcus, making you laugh out loud.
Again, you stepped out of the car in victory. Zoe, Jack and Alfie were already cheering, clapping, screaming and laughing (at Marcus) because of your second win. Marcus approached you and held out his hand, which you took. "Congratulations, _. You truly are a good racer." "Thanks Marcy, but so are you. It's just that I'm a little better." You said with a grin covering your face. He frowned before grabbing you by the waist and throwing you over his shoulder. "Put me down, Marcus!" you screamed in fear of what he was going to do to you as revenge. He walked off the course and straight to the long, yellow, water hoses, which are supposed to be used to wash the car, but you knew that it wasn't the car that would be washed today. He put you down but held your arm so you couldn't run away. His free hand reached towards the tab. "NO! Marcus Lloyd Butler, let me go right now! Don't you dare spraying me with that water!" you screamed as you tried to loosen yourself from his grip.
As the water started sputtering out of the hose, you were suddenly pulled back by some muscled arms. The person shielded you from the splashing water, making him soaking wet, and leaving you perfectly dry. You looked up and saw who your savoir was. "Alfred Cedric Deyes, you're my new hero." You said as you softly back hugged him. He grinned back at you before turning to Marcus. "No need to do that now, Marcy Butt Butt. You know what we're planning on doing with her later, right?" he mischievously asked the devil. A big grin appeared on his face. "Oh, right, that thing. Thanks for the reminder." He laughed. You raised both of your eyebrows in surprise and curiosity. "What are you two planning on?" you asked suspiciously. "You'll see." Marcus simply answered. Suddenly, a soft, relatively small hand with skinny fingers wrapped itself around your wrist. You looked up to see Zoe smiling at you. "We're done here, _. Jack will take you to your next location while I make sure Alfie won't kill Marcus and gets a set of dry clothes." She calmly said. "Good luck with that!" You chuckled. She sent a small smile. "Thanks, I'll need it." She told you before rolling her eyes in a comical way and walking towards the 2 boys while grinning and waving at you. You walked towards Jack with a huge smile on your face, excited for the next part. You hoped it would be as great as this, though you weren't even sure that was possible. "Let's go." He said with a smile before grabbing your arm and pulling you along with him. You slightly turned to wave at the others, but they were too busy running after each other.
After quite a long drive you arrived at the 3rd location: a playground. It was just a normal playground, with a huge, colorful play set standing on an area of light sand and some separate swings and slides. Questions started filling your head as you couldn't see the reason behind Finn sending you to a playground for Valentine's Day. You got out of the car and walked after Jack onto the playground, not asking anything like Louise had taught you. As you walked in further you heard 2 familiar voices of kids, but you couldn't think of whom they belonged to. You quietly followed Jack to the other side of the playground, where, to your surprise, Jim and Matt were sitting. You realized the voices you heard earlier were Darcy's and Charlie's, and smiled at the thought of being able to play with them in the playground. You loved those kids and playing with them brought you huge joy. You greeted Jim and Matt and waited there for a while, hoping to be told some kind of assignment or even a reason why you were here, but Jack just started a conversation with the other men, and they completely ignored you, so you just went to go find the two little creatures that were running around somewhere.
Once you'd found them, you played with them for a while, running after them, tickling them and hugging them. You were playing tag when Darcy suddenly harshly pulled your arm, just before you crossed a line drawn in the sand. You stopped abruptly and looked down to meet her eyes that had grown to huge circles. "Not... go there." She stuttered, a hint of fear noticeable in her pretty eyes. "Why not, sweetie?" You asked while kneeling down in front of her. "De... Devils!" She simply stated. You laughed a bit, but couldn't help to be confused about why she would say that. "Devils don't exist, Darcy. There are no devils behind this line, it's safe. Don't worry." She sighed, and didn't quite look like she believed you. You lifted your foot and placed it on the other side of the line carefully to prove to her that she shouldn't make such a big deal of a line in the sand. "N... No, you go too far!" Darcy shouted. All of a sudden, Matt popped up from behind a slide. "_, just don't go beyond that line. You're not going to convince Darcy anyway." You raised your eyebrows up high, as you were pretty sure Matt and Louise aimed to raise their kids to be fearless and definitely not superstitious. You opened you mouth to start asking questions about why they were acting so weird, but Matt sent you the 'don't ask and let it be'-look, so that's what you did.
You played with Darcy and Charlie for another 10 minutes before Jack pulled you aside. "_, it's time to go again. Say goodbye to your toddler friends, alright?" "Already?" You asked in surprise. Jack just nodded with a cheeky smile on his face. You shrugged and walked towards Darcy and Charlie to hug them, then approached Matt and Jim to say goodbye to them as well, before leaving the playground with Jack by your side. You let out a deep sigh, making him turn to you. "Are you okay?" He asked, with his eyebrows furrowed. "Sure, just hungry." "Hm, I think I've got some donuts in the car. You can have them." You grinned at just the thought of the softness and creaminess of the donuts and sent him a grateful smile. You got in the car and drove through the streets of London. This time you were heading downtown, so you didn't expect to do anything very adventurous, which you were pretty glad about since you were still a bit hungry and rather tired from waking up early and running after little kids. You didn't have anything you hoped for, since you were clueless about what message Finn was trying to tell you through these things.
You snapped out of the thought you were caught in when you noticed the car had stopped and Jack was walking around it to open the door for you. You blinked a few times to get yourself back to reality and got out the car. You were standing in front of a big building that read "Camden Recreation Centre", making you wonder what you were supposed to do there. Jack just walked inside and you followed him. As you stepped into the big hall of the building, your eyes grew big. The lobby was beautifully decorated, with large couches and lots of lights. You saw a plan of the building on the wall, showing all the things you could do in the building. There was a cinema, a gym, a rooftop sports field, a spa, an exhibition hall, a museum, a big restaurant and a few cafés. You now understood why Finn would let you be taken here, as there was enough to do.
While you'd been staring at the map of the building, Jack had gone to the receptionist and talked to her before approaching you. He was standing next to you when your stomach grumbled and you looked up at him to show him an awkward smile as he burst out laughing at the monstrous sounds your belly was making. "The donuts were not enough, I suppose?" he chuckled. You looked down, "Beating two boys in a car race and running after 2 children makes you hungry, okay?" you said, a bit offended. "I understand. Now you mention it, I fancy a snack, too. Let's go feed that monster in you before it starts screaming any louder." Jack said as he took your arm and started dragging you towards the elevator. You quickly untied your arm from his and started skipping to the elevator, impatient to fill your stomach up to the point that it was exploding. "Somebody's excited." Jack chuckled to himself at the sight of your childish behavior.
After you had lunch, Jack took you into the elevator once again and pressed the button of the floor just beneath the rooftop. When the doors opened, you saw a major swimming pool (too lazy to describe it so here's a pic lol bye click) Alfie, Zoe and Marcus were standing beside the pool, but surprisingly they weren't in swimsuits. They just stood there smirking at you as you awkwardly approached them, not sure of what they were going to do.
"No need to do that now, Marcy Butt Butt. You know what we're planning on doing with her later, right?" "Oh, right, that thing. Thanks for the reminder."
The conversation of Alfie and Marcus flashed back to you, making your eyes grow big. You stopped walking, but it was too late. They were already walking your way, grinning widely. You tried turning around to run away, but Jack was standing behind you and blocking your way. "Shit." You simply stated as you were trapped between the two groups of devils. They laughed out loud before Marcus grabbed your shoulders. Alfie did the same to your ankles, and Jack counted down from 3 to 1 before you were thrown in the water with a loud applause coming from Zoe as background sounds. As soon as your head peaked out the surface of the water, you started yelling at them. "What the fuck guys?! What was that for?! I'm fucking soaked! This isn't funny, okay? What am I going to wear now? ah, seriously!" you let out your frustration, only making them laugh even harder at you. You just returned their laughter with a grumpy frown before you got out of the water. Luckily, Zoe had returned to her senses and gave you a big, soft towel to dry yourself a bit.
You wrapped yourself in the towel as you pouted. "Don't worry, _. Remember how Finn has a whole team for you." Zoe said as she looked at with a smirk. Seconds later, the doors opened and Jim, Tanya, and Louise came in with about 10 shopping bags in their hand. "Hey girl, guess what we've been doing?" Louise asked you in a loud voice. "Umm… I guess shopping?" you guessed, though it was pretty obvious. "That's right! we're going to make you look fabulous again!" she told you excitedly. You smiled at their happiness and were glad you wouldn't have to walk around in wet clothes all day. Tanya took your hand and pulled you towards the changing rooms of the pool. "Finn gave us too much money so we just picked 3 outfits. You need to choose one and we'll return the rest though, but we didn't know what exactly you were in the mood for today." Tanya explained. "Fine, I'm very curious what you've picked. What's Jim doing here though?" You wondered as you turned to the guy in the corner of the large, luxurious changing room. "We needed a man's point of view, and Jim knows what Finn likes. Also, I've taught Jim well so he knows a lot about these kinds of things, you know." Tanya explained, as Jim just nodded in agreement from the chair he was sitting on.
"Turn around." Tanya commanded, and you turned to face the beautifully decorated wall of the changing room. You heard some ruffling of plastic bags before Louise told you to turn back around. You turned around and saw 3 beautiful dressed hanging on a gold-ish rack that matched the furnishing in the rest of the room. You stared at the dresses, admiring their prettiness. The first one was a short, red dress with little sleeves. The top part was sort of a peplum model, with a pencil skirt as bottom part, all attached. The dress was printed with beautiful black roses, making it look like the perfect, romantic Valentine's outfit. (Dress 1) The dress on the right had an off-white top with small flowers on it and a tiny pocket on the right breast part. The bottom part was a darker cream beige colored, slightly flared skirt of a different fabric. (Dress 2) It looked really girly and cute, especially for a date. But then your eyes focused on the dress in the middle. It was an old rose fitted dress with a black collar and two holes on the places of your collarbones. It was sleeveless, tight around the waist, and widening towards the bottom. It had a thin, black belt with a golden buckle in the front. You thought it was perfect, not too fancy nor cute, just a lovely, simple dress. (Dress 3)
After looking at the dresses for quite a long time, you looked up to see Tanya, Louise, and Jim staring at you intensely. "What?" you asked, not sure why they were staring at you. "Pick one." Jim simply said. "Oh… eh… that one." You said while pointing at the dress in the middle. Jim raised his fists up in the air and stuck his tong out at the 2 girls that were previously next to him. He started laughing out loud as Tanya and Louise's faces became grumpy. Jim reached his hand out, palm up, as if they had to give him something. You just stood there wondering what exactly was going in. seeing your confused face, Louise explained. "We made a bet, which dress you'd pick. The red one was mine, the white one was Tanya's, and the pink one was Jim's. The losers have to pay the winner £25." You grinned at the happy shriek that came from Jim as Tanya handed him her money. "Sorry girls… they're all beautiful though!" you apologized for not picking their dresses. "That's alright, sweetie." Tanya smiled. They grabbed the other bags and started unpacking all the other parts of the outfit. Black, lace underwear, black tights, a black jacket and a fabulous pair of high heels, also black, but with a golden heel. (Full outfit) You quickly got changed in the wonderful clothes and stepped out of the cabin. Getting 'ooh's and 'aah's from your company as approval of your look, you spun around once, showing of the dress. They quickly pulled you towards the elevator, going one floor down, which was a spa. You got your hair and makeup done, and when you looked in the mirror afterwards, you were looking amazing. "You look stunning, darling." Tanya complimented you. You smiled thankfully before giving the 3 a hug to show you gratitude.
Once again, you were pulled into the elevator, this time to go 3 floors down. You stepped out into a large hallway with 3 big doors, quite far apart from each other. The first door read exhibition hall 1, the second read exhibition hall 2, and, not very surprisingly, the 3rd read exhibition hall 3. You went into hall 2 and were amazed as soon as you stepped into the major room. You were surrounded by the number 8. Paintings of 8's in a variety of colors, formed out of animals or human bodies, incorporated into a sunset or written out in words in different languages. Sculptures of 8's were surrounding you, make out of clay, rock, ice and even litter. You didn't understand why in the name of the lord this would give you a clue of the riddle Finn made, but you couldn't help but smile. Mesmerized by the beautiful art, you walked around the exhibition, admiring how amazingly talented some artists were.
After about half an hour, you felt a hand on your shoulder. You turned to see Jim standing next to you. "It's nice here, isn't it?" he asked, seeing the fascinated look in your eyes. You just nodded in response. "I agree. We've got to go, though. Can't be late for the next part of the riddle." You pouted slightly as you hadn't seen everything in the hall yet, but joined the others in the elevator quickly as curiosity for the next part took over.
The 4 of you took a cab to another unknown destination, about 15 minutes from the recreation centre. It turned out to be a small venue for stand-up comedians. To your surprise, Jack, Marcus, Zoe, and Alfie were there as well and joined you to go inside. Entering the building, some people at the door gave you a leaflet of the show you were about to watch. It was called "things to say when…", and it had a lot of question marks and hearts printed on the soft pink colored sheet. You all sat down in the comfortable, red seats and you felt how tired you were. You were almost falling asleep when the comedian came on and the show began, which was hilarious. Tears were rolling down your cheeks at some parts, of laughter. It was mainly about perfect things to say in certain occasions, but the comedian made everything sound about a hundred times funnier than you'd think.
After the show ended, you went outside again. It was getting dark already, since it was still full on winter in London. "So, did you like that, _?" Alfie asked you. "Yes! It was hilarious! Haven't laughed this much in a while." You answered, still smiling from the amount of fun you had before. The others agreed and you talked about some funny moments for a bit before Zoe grabbed your hand and turned to everyone else. "Guys, we're not done yet, we've still got work to do. Focus." She said in a stern voice which made everyone burst out in laughter at her failed attempt of being strict. "She's right though, we should get going." Alfie said. The others just nodded and everyone, except for Marcus, Zoe, and Alfie, said goodbye and left. Zoe pulled her hand away and tangled her arm with yours. Marcus did the same to your other arm, as Alfie went beside Zoe. Entangled like that, the four of you walked through the cold city streets. After a while you arrived at a huge merry-go-round. With questioning eyes, you looked at the other 3 who were walking towards the pay booth. "Are you serious right now?" "Yeah, totally!" Marcus excitedly told you. You laughed at how excited he was, jumping around like a little kid. You gave in and made one round on the carousel. When you got out, Zoe was already calling a cab. "Wait, was that really the clue?" you wondered out loud. "Yep. Good luck figuring that out." Zoe told you while chuckling evilly. Finally, a cab stopped and Marcus pushed you in while Zoe whispered something in the driver's ear. "Wait, you're not coming along?" you asked, kind of shocked. "Nope. Don't worry, though. There are people waiting for you at your destination." Alfie told you whilst smiling and handing the driver some money. He closed the door and your 3 friends waved you goodbye from outside. You waved back and let out a sigh as you drove away in the busy London traffic. You sat back in the chair and closed your eyes. Unconsciously, you drifted off into a light sleep.
You were woken up by the taxi driver calling out to you. "Ma'am? Ma'am!" you opened your eyes in shock. "oh! Sorry, ma'am, but we've arrived at your destination. Your friend has already paid, so you can get out now." "ah… right… thank you." You said absentmindedly as you opened the door. You stepped out and felt soft ground under your feet, making your heels sink into the sand a little. You looked at your surroundings, not being able to see much, as it was dark everywhere around you. You felt the cold air hitting your skin through your coat and tights, and you smelled the fresh scent of nature, giving away that you were in a forest. A wave of fright hit you as you realized you were somewhere you didn't know, surrounded by trees, in the cold February air, but then you heard a voice. "_?" the familiar, warm voice spoke. "Y... Yeah?" you shakily replied. "Don't worry, it's me, Jim. Tanya is here as well." He said soothingly. You sighed in relief. "Oh… Hi… Thank god." You spoke, making Tanya and Jim laugh. "We're going to grab your hands now, okay, so don't be frightened." Tanya warned you. You nodded as response, but then realized they couldn't see you doing so, so you just simple said "Okay."
They led you through the forest with the help of flashlights, until you arrived at a beautiful place. It was an open space in the middle of the forest, with a path that was light up by a thousand little lights on one side. (Like this) It looked magically, and you had to squeeze yourself a little to make sure you weren't still sleeping and dreaming in the cab. "Whoa…" you let out in admiration. Jim and Tanya smiled at you before pushing you towards the path. You looked back at them to see if they were coming along, but they just smiled and nodded at you, telling you to go on. You took a deep breath and started walking through the fairy lit tunnel of trees. You walked slowly while looking all around you. Little flowers were wrapped around the garlands of lights, making it look even more fairy tale-like. Soon, you came to a stop when the lights around you disappeared and you were standing in another open space, this time a small, round one. In the middle of the place, there was a beautiful wishing well, lit up with the same garlands of lights like the path you were walking on before. Around you, a couple of trees were lit up by some cute lanterns in shades of pink and red. A tiny note was stuck to one of the posts of the little roof above the well. You took it off and read it.
Found me! Congratulations ;)
you're not quite done yet, though. Lift the bucket from the well.
You recognized the writing; it was Finn's. You smiled at how cute it was that he had prepared all of this for you. You couldn't imagine a boyfriend more perfect than him. You pulled up the rope that had a bucket attached to it, but halfway through you found another note tied to the rope.
You're going great! Before you reach the bucket, you might want to start thinking about the solution to the riddle. Think wisely!
You sighed, as you'd actually been thinking about this all day, but you hadn't come to a conclusion yet. You pulled the rope up further while trying to come up with an answer, which didn't go very well. You found the next 3 notes inside the old bucket, with numbers written on them. You obviously started at number 1.
I suppose you don't know where to begin, do you? I'll give you a hint; think in chronological order. Start by naming all of the events you did and places you've been to today. Call them out loud, if that helps. Once you've done that, you can read the next note.
You frowned but did what you were told. "Observatory, car racing, playground, swimming pool, exhibition, stand-up comedy, carousel, wishing well." You spoke out loud. The last words sounded familiar to you, but you thought that was just because they rhymed. You got the next note from the bucket and read it.
Well done. Just be more specific. Name something that was notable about the event. One thing each. Go.
You started thinking really hard.
First, there was the observatory. The main subject was falling stars.
Second, you went racing. There wasn't anything too weird there, just that you beat two guys, but you were pretty sure they didn't do that on purpose as they really seemed to feel defeated. Just getaway cars.
Third. The playground. The thing that really stood out was that one line in the sand, which you weren't allowed to cross. The line that had devils beyond it, according to Darcy.
Fourth. The swimming pool. Nothing extraordinary, just that you got pushed in it, but that was just a reason to dress you into something nice.
The fifth was the exhibition, with 8's everywhere. You still couldn't figure out what the 8's meant. Was it an amount of something? Was it a code?
The sixth was the comedian, who talked about perfect things to say. You hadn't even really thought about the meaning behind that, you just liked the show a lot.
Seven, the merry-go-round, or carousel. Again, nothing special, just fun.
Then the last part, the wishing well.
that was really all you could come up with, causing you to desperately open the last note.
Now do the same thing, but in just one or two words per event. Rhyming helps, too. When you're done, ring the bell above the well and say the answer out loud. Hurry up, it's getting cold!
You raised your eyebrows at the last sentence and looked around you, trying to see whether Finn was there too, but because you couldn't see anything you turned your eyes back to you fiddling hands and focused on the riddle.
Falling stars and getaway carsLine in sand with devils
Swimming pool… 8's… what could that 8 be? You started counting up some things, like the amount of people in your group of friends or the amount of siblings you had, but you realized that didn't make any sense in this riddle. You then realized that August was the 8th month in a year, so that would be swimming pool and august
Stand-up comedian… about perfect things to say
Carousel and wishing well
You repeated the short sentences in your mind, right before it hit you.
You're a falling star, you're the getaway car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say.…You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
and you light me up, when you ring my bell.
Everything. The answer to the riddle was everything, coming from the song called Everything by Michael Buble. It was one of your favorite songs, and Finn knew that. You smiled widely as your hand reached for the rope at the end of the bell. You rang it softly while telling the answer to the trees, and whatever there was more in this forest. As soon as you stopped ringing, you heard a sound coming from the trees behind the well. It was the soft, melodious sound of a ukulele, and soon you saw Finn appearing from the dark woods into the flattering light that the lanterns gave off. He was wearing a black tux with a white dress shirt and a beautiful red rose in the pocket of his jacket. With fancy, black, leather shoes he slowly walked towards you whilst playing his ukulele. As soon as he stood in front of you he started singing the song that this whole day was planned around; Everything. Finn had never been much of a good singer, but he tried, and it was the most romantic thing he had ever done for you, so you couldn't help but tear up a bit. The way he smiled so dazzlingly during the chorus, the way his eyes lit up at the sight of your smile making its way all over your face, the way his long, skinny fingers played the ukulele so skillfully, made your knees weak. Even at the high notes, which were extremely off key, the tears rolled down your cheeks. You couldn't feel happier and luckier than you felt right at that moment, or so you thought.
When the song came to an end, Finn put his ukulele down against the rim of the well. You immediately wrapped your arms around his waist and pulled him into a tight hug, which he shortly returned before pushing your shoulders back until you were an arm's length away from him. You looked at him with questioning eyes, but he just kept smiling nervously at you. "Hi there." He said after staring deeply into your eyes for a while. "Hi." You replied with a smile. "Do you know why I sang that song for you? Why it's so special that I organized a whole day for it?" Finn asked in a calm voice. "Uh…" you thought out loud. "Because it's one of my favorite songs?" you answered in a questioning way. He chuckled at your innocent, unknowing face before grabbing both of your hands softly and holding them in his big, warm hands. "That too, yes, but there's more. It's because the lyrics of that song seem to describe exactly what you are to me. You know me better than anyone, better than my parents, even better than Jack. You complete my life in many ways, your talent complements all my flaws, which I know are a lot, and I don't know how you're able to put up with them, but you do, and I admire that. I admire you. You're the funniest, sweetest, nicest, prettiest, most wonderful girl I've ever seen. You are what I live for, and if I wouldn't have had you in my life, then I'd have no idea what I'd be doing right now. I need you every day, want to love you every day. I want you to be with me forever, because I love you more than anything. You, _, are my everything." He let go of your hands with one hand, the other still holding them, and leaned his body a bit lower to the ground while continuing, "and for that, my dear, lovely, perfect girlfriend…" he got down on one knee as tears started forming in your eyes again, conscious of what was next, "my beautiful princess, _ _... will you marry me?" he asked with the most adorable grin on his face, eyes filled with love and admiration. Tears were streaming down your cheeks as all you could do was nod like mad. You pulled him up by his arm and wrapped your around his strong waist and burying your head in the crook of his soft neck. His warm embrace calmed you down from your loud, happy sobs. When you were able to speak again, you murmured a soft "I love you" into his shoulder. "I love you too." He gently spoke against the side of your head, and the tone of his voice gave away that he had been crying, too. He let go of you and looked straight into your eyes before kissing you passionately. You wrapped your arms around his neck to pull him closer, not wanting to let go of your flawless fiancé.
He pulled away and grabbed your hands once again. The both of you walked back through the tunnel of lights, slowly, close to each other. As you neared the end, you saw people standing at the open space, and when you got out of the tunnel, you saw literally everyone was there. Your family, Finn's family, friends, coworkers, the entire YouTube crew, and of course, Jack, Marcus, Alfie, Zoe, Louise, Tanya and Jim. They all started cheering, clapping, and crying at the sight of Finn's victorious smirk and your arms wrapped around him from the side, confirming that the two of you were officially engaged. As the crowd kept celebrating, you turned to Finn. "Thank you for such an amazing day. I love you so much, you won't even understand." You told him as tears started forming in your eyes again. "I do understand actually, because I love you even more. Now stop crying." He chuckled as he wiped a tear from your cheek. You hugged him once again. "Happy Valentine's Day, baby." He whispered. "Happy Valentine's Day."