The twenty-five year old man sighed, running a hand through his hair for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Come on, Jax. Just call her already. She's your girlfriend, what's she gonna do, hang up on you?
He gulped. Unlocking his phone, then quickly tapping her name on the screen, he brought the sleek device to his ear.
"Hey, Jaxy!"
He grinned, he never grew tired of that nickname. The nerves started to slip...somewhat.
"Hey, Emma. So, I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner tonight at Brillare at seven?" Okay, step one completed. You're on a role, Jax.
"Brillare?!" she squeaked, "but, it's impossible to get reservations there! Not unless you're Bill Gates!"
He chuckled, "you forget who you're dating, sweetheart."
"Do you mean you're secretely Bill Gates or something? Because I don't think I'm comfortable dating a fifty-something year old man."
Now he outright laughed. "No! I meant that I may not be him, but I do own my own company as well, so I can pull some strings at a moment's notice. So, will you have dinner with me?"
"Of course I will!" He could practically hear her smile, "seven, you said?"
"Yep."
"Okay! See you then, love you!"
He smiled, "I love you, too."
She hung up, he smiled as he put the phone back in his left suit pocket. His right pocket was holding...well, to be honest, it was holding his life. At least, that's what it felt like to him.
...
Emma loved going out on dates with Jax, in fact, she just loved being with him. However, this night wasn't going exactly as she planned.
She pictured it to be the same. Jax picking her up at her apartment, a nice car-ride down to the restaurant, filled with talking and loving glances, then at the restaurant she'd marvel at it's beauty and it'd be a night filled with romance.
So when he did pick her up, his eyes refusing to meet hers for more than two seconds, something definitely didn't sit right. Did she smell bad? She took a shower, she even cast a spell to smell like lavender and glitter!
It couldn't be that. Did she look bad? She glanced down at her pink sparkly, yet still sophisticated, cocktail dress. She thought she looked fine. Her hair? No, he told her he loved it when she curled it.
With a deep breath, she tried brushing it off. She was being too paranoid. If she didn't stop, he would call her out on that vein that pops out of her forehead whenever she panics. Emma grumbled silently, she hated that stupid vein. No matter how many times he told her, it wasn't cute.
On the car-ride, it only got worse. Everytime she tried to initiate a conversation, he'd only nod, or provide short, to the point, answers. His fingers never ceased their tapping on the steering wheel, his brown orbs never faltering from the road. Okay, they did falter once. He stopped to look down at their entwined hands, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. Just as quickly, his attention returned to the road.
Now, as they both sat at their table, Emma finally grasped as to what was happening.
Jax was going to break up with her.
It all made sense now. The awkward silence, never meeting her gaze, the way he still wouldn't look at her, and then there's the fact that they're at a restaurant. It's the most cliche way to dump someone, she couldn't believe she didn't figure it out sooner.
Tears pricked at her eyes. Just earlier today they exchanged 'I love you's.' Didn't that mean anything to him, or was it just an automatic response? Or did he just feel bad for her?
Her heart felt like it broke in half.
"I-I understand what's going on."
He looked up at her, incredulous. "You do?!"
"Yes," she stood up, "I-I'm sorry. If you wanted me out of your life, all you had to do was say it. You didn't have to treat me to a fancy restaurant to do it."
His eyes widened impossibly more. "Out of my life? Is that what you think I want?"
She sniffled, "well, I figured since you weren't talking to me-"
He sighed, giving her the second smile she saw that night. "Emma, please sit down. I have to, ah, tell you something."
Tentatively, she sat back down, waiting to hear the request to get out of his life.
Suddenly, Ne-Yo's Never Knew I Needed came on. Great, she was in love with the boy who wanted to break up with her, and the song that reminded her of them decided to play. How fitting.
"Emma," he started, taking her hand. She tried her best to ignore the tingles his touch caused, "when I first came to Iridium High, it was only because my dad sent me to destroy the Magic Realm and be the last wizard standing. I had it all planned out; I was to trick some poor, unsuspecting Chosen One into combining the two lights, then push her into the Realm." He paused, seeing my raised eyebrows, then grinned. "What I didn't plan on, was meeting, or rather, seeing you."
"On that first day, when your dad was talking to me in his office, I'll admit; I was so bored I was making a pen magically levitate. Now, I've always had excellent concentration on spells. However, as soon as you walked in, I was immediately entranced. So much so, that my control on the pen broke, and it fell to the desk," he chuckled a bit at that, gazing into her eyes lovingly. Wait, lovingly? This is the guy that was supposed to break up with her...right?
"I figured I had everything to make me happy, that taking over the Earth was the one thing I wanted. But, as I started spending more and more time with you, I realized that wasn't the case. I guess you could say," he stopped, releasing another chuckle, "that you were my perfect distraction."
Emma's bit her lip to hide her smile, unfortunately, there was nothing she could do for her red cheeks.
"I'll admit something else though, normally I would've never chosen you."
And just like that, the blush was gone; it was replaced by a confused distortion on her face.
"Now, don't take it like that. What I meant, is that I was a bad wizard; I made bad choices. I was a rebel. Only, you were so good, innocent, and pure. I usually went for the rebel girls, but there was just something about you that kept drawing me in. Soon enough, I'd realize that even though you were something I'd never choose, I couldn't think of losing you either. I still don't want to be without you."
"The way you instantly became my friend, how you didn't listen to others' opinions on me, even Daniel's, your boyfriend at the time. You always saw goodness in me, even when I couldn't see it myself. Whenever my father would tell me that I was a failure, your smiles always brightened up my day. Whenever you laughed, I was compelled to laugh too."
"Falling for you, Emma, was not a part of my plan. Actually, I wasn't supposed to care about you at all. But I soon realized, that you marked the beginning of my life. Nothing else mattered until you walked in that office door."
"I guess you could say, that you're the best thing I never knew I needed," he quoted the song lyric with a smile, "it's so clear that I need you here, always."
Emma couldn't speak, her mouth hung partially open. It was obvious that he had no intentions of breaking up with her, he just made a beautiful speech declaring his love for her. But why-
"I love you, Emma Alonso." He dug a hand into his pants pocket, gulping. It's either now or never. You've already gone this far, there's no way you are turning back now. His fingers touched the object, and he quickly brought it out.
Standing, he walked to her side of the table, then bent down on one knee.
Emma's eyes widened. He bent down on one knee, and was holding a black box. Was this really happening?
"I promise to love you forever and always, your happiness is my main priority. Emma," he swallowed once more, quelling down the nerves. He opened the box, revealing a shining diamond ring.
"Will you marry me?"
The witch gasped, holding a hand to her mouth. Jax Novoa, just proposed marriage to her.
All this time, she thought that he was going to break up with her, when in reality, he was planning on proposing.
She couldn't help it. Tears once more pricked at her eyes, only this time, they were tears of joy. She kept a hand pressed to her mouth in a desperate effort to hold back the giggles.
Jax's hopeful expression deflated. He was prepared for a 'no,' laughter didn't even cross his mind. He closed the box, letting out a sigh. "Okay, I-um, I can see that you don't-"
"Don't?" Emma removed the hand from her mouth, smiling wide. "Who says I don't? I say that I want to marry you, Jax!"
His eyes bulged. "You do?! But you laughed!"
Emma shook her head, the smile never leaving her lips. "It's just that," another giggle escaped, "this whole time I thought you were going to break up with me. Imagine my surprise when instead, you tell me you love me in the most beautiful way, and then propose!"
He opened the box again, "I'd never break up with you Emma, you have no idea how lucky I consider myself that you even like me."
"I don't like you Jax," she took his hand, "I love you. There's a big difference."
He smirked, "yes, there is. So," he took out the ring, "may I?"
Emma nodded, holding out her left hand. Jax wordlessly slid the ring onto her ring finger, meeting her warm brown eyes with his own.
Suddenly they heard clapping. The startled couple looked around to see that every patron in the restaurant was clapping with satisfaction, a few even whistled.
Emma and Jax both blushed, grinning madly. Being polite, they thanked them, then returned to their dinner once everything calmed down.
However, once they were outside, Jax used his fingers to tilt Emma's chin up, meeting her lips with his own in a passionate kiss. The diamond glinted in the light as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Always.
A/N: There is some Jemma future stories, but I noticed that there are none for when Jax actually proposes to Emma. So, with inspiration from Ne-Yo's Never Knew I Needed, I wrote this. I highly recommend you listen to it; it's a beautiful song :) The title is a lyric from that song.