MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
I hope your day has been great, I'm writing this because I miss all of you and I felt the need to put something out here just as a thanks and more about this will be in the authors note at the end
~Hannah
Emma's POV
Love is a funny thing. It's supposedly the greatest feeling ever, like an euphoria, but it brings so much pain. But love, love is something special. Love is the one thing that can always be different. You never know who you are going to fall in love with, you could have the longest uphill battle for love and in the end, it's all worth it, or you could have love come easy to you, and the first few months are the best months of your life but it doesn't work. Love isn't something you can taste or touch. It's all about feeling, it's about the butterflies in you stomach, the spark that ignites within you when you touch, the feeling of paradise when you find the 'one'.
Love is a weird thing. People wait forever to find a perfect love, they search high and low for ages, they look too hard and they don't see that love was right in front of them. Some people get to have a once in a lifetime love. A love that allows you to feel what the other is feeling, to know what they are thinking and what they want to say but don't. A love like that is irreplaceable, so if you ever experience it, don't let it go, because people would kill to feel just a little bit of that love.
See, what I meant to say was that love is something you shouldn't take for granted, because one day it can be snatched from you, and you'll never get it back. You put one foot out of the respected line and you'll never be in line again. You say the wrong thing and it all goes wrong. Love is funny like that. It's the best feeling in the world but it's so fragile that you spend the whole time whilst you have it, making sure it stays, that when it goes, you'll realize you wasted all the time that love gave you making sure everything was perfect even though in life, nothing is perfect and nothing worthwhile comes easily. You've got to keep fighting, you've got to never give up and never lose sight of what you want. You have to take down the walls that separate you from the one thing you want and you have to do all you can to pass those walls, to escape them.
I've always been told that everything happens for a reason. If you're late for work, it happened for a reason. If you burnt your toast in the morning, it happened for a reason. Everything happens for a reason and I guess going to New York at Christmas time happened for a reason. I remember growing up and my sister was talking about a word she heard her friend say. Serendipity.
Serendipity has a lot of definitions. My favourite is 'finding something good without looking for it' I guess that sums it up. I believe in serendipity. I believe that good things happen when you least expect it. A good thing happened to me when I least expected it. I found love, I found love through serendipity. I found love in New York City two days before Christmas.. I found love with a boy that was the definition of a book character.
I'm just a normal girl that fell in love in a weird way.
I remember walking around New York City, trying to find a place in the ever-moving city. I remember sitting on the subway, looking at the faces of people I've never met and the faces of people I'll never meet again. Well, most people I'll never meet again. It's funny. You sit on a train and you realize everyone has their own struggles, their own needs and their own life stories. The woman and the man hugging may have received heartbreaking news and the only way they find comfort is in the warmth of each others' arms. The girl with her nose in a book, may only find happiness in another world. We're all just passing by, never learning anything about others, we all live in our own world.
I remember the train stopping and a young man, around my age, walked on. He looked around and his eyes settled on me. He noticed the empty chair on the right side of me and came and sat down. He turned and grinned at me. He had golden curly hair that was styled so it looked as soft as a pillow. His eyes were bright green, and it was as if someone had lit a spark in them, and he had a grin that could have lit up a Christmas tree. I hesitantly smiled back, and turned my head forward. I could feel him looking at me, so I turned round to him and raised my eyebrows.
"Hi, I'm Will." He spoke, his voice deep and smooth.
"Hi Will, " I smiled at him and he smiled back. Why was he making conversation with me, I thought it was the right of passage to actively ignore everyone around when sat on a subway in New York.
"Aren't you gonna tell me your name?" I shook my head and he continued, looking at me through his eyelashes. "I remember you from somewhere. Did you go on a plane, like a couple of days ago?" He asked, his eyebrows knitting in confusion. I looked at him, slightly scared that a stranger knew that.
"Erm..yeah, yeah, I was coming here." I answered, stammering as my heart pounded in my chest. Was he following me? Was I going to die? 'I'm going to die on Christmas Eve' I thought to myself.
"Did you come from Lima? Please tell me your name, I might know you." I looked at him, mouth agape. I shuffled away from him slightly and narrowed my eyes at him.
"How do you know that? I can't tell you my name now I know you're stalking me" He looked at me for what seemed like forever and then smiled, which ended in a low chuckle on his part.
"You're cute when you're scared. I was on the same plane. I was sat behind you, and you dropped your gloves when you were walking past me. I picked them up to give them to you, but I don't think you realized so you carried on walking. I think I've got them here somewhere….one second." He shuffled around in his backpack and pulled out my red gloves. I relaxed and shuffled back next to him.
"I thought you were a crazy stalker guy. Wait, are you from Lima?" I looked at him and smiled. I guess losing my gloves happened for a reason as well.
"Yeah, I moved there a couple of weeks ago. We've been staying with my aunty until we had the chance to move into our house. I went to Dalton Academy but I didn't really fit in very well, so after Christmas, I'm joining McKinley. Are you from Lima? How cool is that?" He asked me, his eyes lighting up as he realized we lived in the same town, and most probably would be attending the same school.
"Yeah, Dalton is kind of snooty. I go to McKinley, so we will probably see each other around town, right?" I asked, noticing his face fall slightly but regaining his smile before nodding frantically.
"Yeah definitely." He looked at me seriously, as if he was studying me. The train stopped and I noticed it was my stop.
"Well, I need to go, maybe we'll run into each other again." I nodded at him and stood up to leave. He quickly clasped my wrist and turned me around.
"Wait, we should exchange numbers or you can just tell me your name, you know just cause…." He trailed off, nerviously. It was quite adorable. I thought about giving him my number to save the hassle but a better idea came to mind.
"No, if we're meant to be friends or whatever, we'll meet again, and if we do, I'll give you my number and my name then. Deal?" I asked, I was a firm believer in serendipity and I truly believed in my heart we would meet again.
He looked at me skeptically before looking at his phone and looking me in the eyes again.
"Okay, deal. But, how will I know where to meet you?" He looked at me confused and I laughed.
"If we're meant to meet again, we will. Who knows where we will meet again. If we meet again, you can give me my gloves then. " I took one last look at him and turned and walked off the train.
I remember his stunned face and his eyes followed me out of the train. It hurt me to leave the train, I could see his face fall when I walked out. I wanted to run back and sit next to him until the train came to it's last stop, but I had a feeling about a him, a stronger feeling I'd had for such a long time.
We met again later on that day. I guess we were meant to be. I was walking around Macys looking at presents for my friend. I remember thinking about Will and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get his smile out of my head. I was walking around, my head down, looking at my phone. I'm not very good with people. I have social anxiety, and that's what makes Will so special. I felt so comfortable around him and I'd never even met him. I find it difficult around people. I've never understood why, all I want is just to be normal for once. I just want to feel normal. I was deep in my thoughts, when I walked into someone, someone with a very muscled chest. I back away slowly, apologizing profusely when I noticed the man wasn't having any of it.
"Stupid girl, look where you're going. Some of us have places to be." He carried on having a go at me, until I heard voice, all too familiar to me. Will stepped in beside me, putting his hand on my back and grinning at me before turning to the man and giving him a death look.
"Leave her alone, calm down. Come on man, it was an accident." Will asked the man, none the less shooting daggers at him.
"It's too busy in here for her to have her nose in her phone, seriously you need to teach your girlfriend some sense." The man shouted back. I blushed at his mistake and moved to correct him but will spoke before I could.
"Lay off her, don't you have better things to do then pick on a 17 year old girl?" Will asked the man, his voice laced with anger. The man opened his mouth and Will narrowed his eyes at the man, scaring the man off. I turned and faced him, and he smiled sheepishly back at me.
"Hey no name, I guess you could call me your knight in shining armor from now on." He grinned his goofy smile at me and I smiled back. He was adorable and it sounded crazy, he didn't even know my name, but I think I'm falling for him, I don't know what it is about him, he makes me feel good, happy.
"Haha okay. Hi knight in shining armor, I guess I should tell you my name now…" I didn't think we'd meet so quickly, I guess fate really likes the thought of the two of us together. He nodded and pretended to do a drum roll. I laughed and finally told him
"My name is Emma, Emma Pillsbury, and yes I go to McKinley." I said, enjoying the sight of the grin growing on his face until his face lit up completely. He linked his arm in mine.
"Emma Pillsbury, what do you say about grabbing a coffee with your knight in shining armor?" I laughed at his mock British accent and nodded.
"I say, that sounds splendid." He smiled again and we walked out of the shop, arms linked, joking around like we'd known each other all our lives. We walked down the packed streets of New York City, learning more and more about each other until we reached an independent coffee shop called Joe. Will held the door open like a gentleman and I smiled at him. The smell of coffee surrounded me, and I felt happier and lighter. Nothing like a good ol' cup of coffee. We ordered our drinks and sat down on a small bench outside. We learnt that we had the same music taste, the same movie taste. The only thing we disagreed on was our favourite Journey song. He thinks Faithfully is the best, but I think Open Arms is the best. We debated over that for a good 15 minutes and I ended up giving in and agreeing with him.
We stood up and walked down the street, walking back to my cousin's house I was staying in. We arrived there and suddenly Will turned to me.
"Em" I smiled at his nickname for me already "I still don't know your number, and you promised me." He pouted slightly and I smiled, wiping my fingers over his lip to remove his endearing smile. It seemed like the world stopped spinning, he looked at me intensely and smiled an earth-shattering smile. He leaned into kiss me and I started to speak. He mock glared at me and I giggled.
"Here's my number, you goofball." He lit up like a Christmas tree and done a little jiggle, evoking mean looks from people around him. "Wait, call me now so I can save your number." I asked him, noticing a cheeky grin slip on his face.
"Nah, I think I'll let fate decide, I guess you'll have to wait and see if it's meant to be." I got wind of his joke since I just told him about my firm belief in fate. I mimicked his previous actions and pouted.
"But how will I know it's you?" I asked, trying to do puppy eyes but looking like a deranged animal.
"Well, I guess you have to answer your phone. " He smirked at me and walked off. I was left dumbfounded. He really was one of a kind.
I remember going to sleep, thinking of his eyes. His green eyes that shone like the sun. I'd just met him, I hardly knew him but somehow it felt like I'd known him all my life. It sounds crazy but I know this trip happened for a reason and that reason was me falling for Will. The reason was me finally feeling happy with someone who wasn't my family, finally feeling comfortable. He made my last night in New York amazing and I couldn't thank him enough, but I was disheartened to know we won't see each other again until we're walking the school halls and who knows what might have changed then.
I woke up the next morning at 6am ready to catch my flight back to Lima, I was going to miss New York. I stayed for two weeks, if only I had met Will before my last day here. New York was always the city of dreams to me, the city where anything was possible and it seems to be. Ever since I was younger, all I wanted was a love story as good as the ones I'd hear my mother read to me before I closed my eyes. I never thought I would have one, but New York proved me wrong.
As soon as my feet touched Lima ground, I felt at ease, I felt as though all my doubts about coming home slowly etched away, leaving me with nothing but excitement for the upcoming days of school, I was ready to see Will's face again, I found myself missing his company. My father picked me up and drove me back home, telling me all about how lovely our new neighbors were and how they had a child my age, I didn't really pay attention, I found my mind, yet again, wondering back to the golden haired boy I had the pleasure of meeting in New York. The boy that happened to be nine hours away. I recall my dad turning around to face me and telling me I'd changed, that I seemed happier. He got that right, I never felt more happy in myself, I never believed in myself.
We pulled up outside our house, we lived in a little cul-de-sac near the school, so I used to walk to school everyday. I remember my dad saying to me that he promised the neighbors I would walk to school with their child. I turned and faced him grimly, there's nothing I love more than social interaction(!)
I stayed in bed all day, soaking up the feeling of being at home, I spent my time in bed listening to music and reading books. I guess that's what being a teenager is all about. Do you ever feel as though if the world ended, right there, right now, in this moment, you wouldn't care because you are just so happy, nothing can go wrong? Have you ever felt as though, people you hardly know, people you've maybe never even met, understand you more than people you spend everyday with?
I spent my day reflecting on my thoughts, attempting to understand myself for once, instead always trying to understand others. I fell asleep just as Somewhere In Neverland by All Time Low hit my playlist and I slept more peacefully than I had slept since I was a new born, readying myself for the first day back at home/
I woke up to the sound of my mother calling my name frantically. I looked over at my alarm clock and noticed I had been asleep for a really long time. I peered out the window to find a boy my age with his back to me , I remembered my dad telling me something about how I was going to take him around town to show him around. I ran outside and bumped into the neighbors son, and when I looked up I was shocked to see who it was. Will smirked at me and I gasped. Will is my new neighbor? Talk about fate really wanting us to be together.
He quickly moved away from me, as if he was going to catch something, and my face fell. He turned his back to me and pulled out his phone, scrolling through his turned back to me, and nodded for me to walk ahead. I huffed and walked down our road. He didn't even care, maybe I was pathetic for believing someone like him would even be remotely interested in me. I felt my phone ring in my pocket and I pulled it out, glad to have a distraction from the jerk behind me. It was an unknown number but I answered it anyway.
"Hello?" I asked. I could hear the pavement crunching, but I wasn't sure if it was Will or the person on the phone.
"I guess fate really wanted us to be together." The voice answered back. My eyebrows knitted in confusion, the voice sounded a lot closer than a voice usually sounds on a phone.
"Pardon?" I asked, confused. I heard the voice and chuckle, and suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Will span me around to face him and then spoke into his phone, the words coming out of my phone.
"I told you I would call. " He hung up the phone and grinned at me. I felt my shoulders release the tension I was feeling and suddenly a wave of happiness hit me. I beamed back at him and he wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Emma, I'm going to kiss you now." He leant forward and I murmured an "okay". He looked me in the eyes and chuckled.
"Be quiet you muppet and kiss me." He said in a silly voice. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. It was then that it really felt like the world had stopped spinning. I guess, in a way, we were always meant to be. If I hadn't met him in NYC, I would have met him when I came home. I guess love works in mysterious ways. I was lucky to be in love.
Thank you to everyone who read this!
I know I haven't put a fic out for a really long time and that sucks, it really sucks. I felt as though I needed to put something out and what better day to put it out then on Christmas day. I realize Christmas day is actually over since it is 2am but none the less. I put this out for you guys as a little present, just to say thank you. Thank you for making me feel so happy everytime you posted a little comment in the box down below. Thank you for supporting my stories even if I am absolutely crap at updating them. Thank you for believing in my writing and just overall thank you for being you. You are all amazing and I love you all so much. Have a great Boxing Day and I hope you have a great New Year. I just wanna dedicate this to all my friends on here, WrittenInCrayon, Vicky, Nicole, SamSam, Rebecca. You are all awesome. :')
Love you loads
Hannah :P
