A promise of love
An hour, that's how long it had been since all the students of Academy Island had been sent to bed. And also the amount of time our favorite slifer slacker, Jaden Yuki, had been wide awake, pacing the length of his dorm room. A look of pure anxiety on his face and completely ignoring the complaints from Syrus and Hassleberry.
"Come-on, sarge. What're you so worried about?" Hasselberry asked.
"Yeah, seriously, you almost never get this anxious. Not even for one of Crowler's tests," Syrus added.
Jaden stopped pacing and turned to face his friends. They had already made it into their final year at duel academy. Syrus had been re-promoted back to obelisk blue shortly after his brother had washed up on shore shortly after the whole dark emperor incident. A few weeks later, Tyranno had skipped a year just so he wouldn't get lonely on the island after all his friends left. Jaden on the other hand had gone through a more dramatic change this year. He had become a cold, serious duelist who didn't find duels nearly as much fun as he used to. It was only after a tag duel with Alexis Rhodes, that he was reminded of what dueling was really about: having fun.
Jaden and Alexis started seeing more and more of each other after that. It wasn't long before they had officially declared that they were going out. Much to the dismay of most of the obelisks and of course Chazz and Dr. C.
As the end of the year approached Jaden had decided to prepare an special date for him and his girlfriend, topped off buy an extra special surprise. That's right; our future king of games was planning on proposing to the queen of obelisk blue.
"You guys don't know how stressful this is" Jaden answered "what if she fell asleep, what if she says no,"
"Jaden, Alexis loves you too much to let any of those things happen," Syrus stated.
"Shorty's right sarge. You two were practically made for each other,"
"thanks guys," said Jaden as he started to relax. The next few minutes were just a simple dueling conversation. Strategies, cards, and other stuff. Until finally, Jaden checked his watch.
"Well guys, looks like it's time," he said as he got up. They wished him luck as he crept on to the balcony. He took a deep breath before setting off toward the waterfall in the woods.
Here goes… something, he thought as he reached the forests edge.
Once Jaden arrived at the spot, he realized that he was the first to arrive; at least he hoped that was the case. He sat himself down on a nearby rock and started to throw some rocks into the water and occasionally fingering with the ring box in his pocket. But around 15 minutes later, he started to wonder if Alexis would ever show up at all. He didn't have to wonder for long though.
"Guess who, lover boy," cooed a voice as two hands wrapped themselves around his eyes. He couldn't help cracking a smile.
"Hmm… I don't know. Blaire, Mindy, Jasmine…?" Jaden continued to recite the names of all the pretty girls he knew, which would no doubt make Alexis a little jealous. It did, her hands started to tighten.
"Jaden, your being mean," Alexis pouted as she took her hands off of him.
"Sorry, lex," said Jaden. He turned around to face her, then brought his hand up to her cheek and wrapped the other arm around her waist. "You know you're the only girl for me," and with that he bought her into a passionate kiss which she eagerly returned.
"So, what exactly have you been planning, Hun? You didn't put in much detail in your last letter, just to meet you out here at 8:30 tonight," stated Alexis. To which Jaden cracked his signature smile.
"Well Lexie, we're graduating pretty soon. And to celebrate I thought I'd treat you to something special. Follow me,"
And so Jaden led Alexis over the falls and a little deeper into the woods. They were walking a steady pace with hands intertwined. They weren't in a hurry so they could just walk and enjoy each other's company, however, Alexis was still getting a little impatient.
That impatience quickly disappeared after Jaden brought them to their destination. It wasn't much on its own, just a small gap in the woods occupied by a round picnic table. What made the impact was what Jaden had done to it. The branches that hung above the table had been decorated with an array of scarlet Christmas lights giving the place a romantic hue. As for the table itself, it had been draped over with a golden tarp which Alexis was sure was silk. On either side of the table, plates with silver utensils awaited their occupants. And in the center in between two sets of candles, was a silver, covered tray which housed their meal.
"Jaden!" Alexis cried. "This is…how did you…when?" She was simply overwhelmed by the kindness and love that her boyfriend was showing her. Sure, he had done some impressive things for her in the past, but this was defiantly the best of them all. Little did she know that Jaden was planning something even better.
"I've been planning this for quite a while," Jaden explained. "earlier this morning I dropped by here to set everything up, then I had Dorothy come by just a few minutes ago to drop off the food," He continued. "So what do you think?"
He was soon answered when Alexis practically threw herself at him and pressed her lips to his in a passionate show of affection.
"I love it, Jaden," she said once they had parted for air.
"Somehow, I knew you would," Jaden answered with a warm smile. "Now come-on I'm starving," he said, motioning toward the table.
The dinner had to be one of the most delicious things either of them had ever tasted. It consisted of a large turkey with gravy and rice with a side of corn and other vegetables. They both made a mental note to thank Dorothy for working so hard for this. "And especially Jaden," Alexis thought, he deserved a hundred kisses for this, maybe more.
They spent their meal sharing stories of challenging duels, discussing strategies and just plain hanging out. When they were done, they found themselves cuddled up leaning against a tree. Gazing up at the dark sky to try and spot some familiar star-patterns.
"They're beautiful aren't they," said Alexis. Now resting her head on Jaden's shoulder, he turned to face her.
"Not as beautiful as you," he said, kissing her on the top of her head. He felt her relax a little more underneath him.
"You're so sweet,"
"I know…" Jaden answered. "…but you're lips are sweeter," he added with a smirk. Alexis gladly took the hint and brought her lips to meet his.
The kiss started innocent enough, but soon the passion intensified. Jaden soon felt Alexis rub her tongue against his mouth begging for entrance he complied without any hesitation. And once their tongues had begun to wrestle, Jaden began to caress his girlfriend's side while the other kept her head in place.
Alexis wasn't about to give her lover control that easily, she soon began to crawl up Jaden's chest using her own weight to push him into the grass, so that she was lying on top of him. They continued to roll on the ground and wrestle for control, until they had reluctantly parted for air.
"I must be the luckiest girl on the island to have you as my boyfriend," said Alexis said once they had caught her breath. Her head was now resting on Jaden's chest and both of his arms were draped around her.
"Alexis…" Jaden started. His tone was now suddenly serious, which was rare, so Alexis immediately knew something was up.
"What is it, Jaden?" she asked.
"Do you love me? Truly and deeply?" he asked after a short sigh. To say that Alexis was surprised to hear that from him would be an understatement.
"What are you saying!? Of course I love you! I love you more than…than…than dueling!" she blurted out. The look in her eyes and the fact that she had placed their relationship before what she had told Chazz on a previous occasion was the only thing she could ever truly love was enough Jaden needed to assure himself. It was now or never.
"Well, in that case…"
He straitened himself up, making sure to move Alexis off of him with utmost care, so that they were facing each other kneeling in the grass. He took her hands in his and spoke.
"Alexis, throughout our lives here at duel academy, you and I have been good friends. But I think it was after you set back on the right track of dueling that I started to crave more than your friendship. And now that we've confessed our love for each other and are officially boyfriend and girlfriend, I still feel that isn't enough. I want to be more than your boyfriend, I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Jaden finally reached into his pocket and drew out a small rose-red box. Alexis's eyes glistened with unshed tears when she saw the gold ring inside. "So, Alexis Rhodes, will you marry me?"
It took a few moments for Alexis to realize that Jaden had said those beautiful words, those very words that she had been waiting the longest time for him to say. The very thought of spending waking moment with the one who had captured her heart was almost enough to make her faint. Without a second thought, she leapt into her beloved's awaiting arms and cried in earnest, not tears of sorrow, but joy.
"Oh Jaden…yes…I'd love to be your wife," She said once she could say coherent words between her sobs. Jaden, who had been holding her tight in his arms and waiting until she could answer, just smiled. Once she was calm enough, he took her hand and placed the ring on her finger.
"I've already cleared things up with your brother and Sheppard, not only do I have the blessing of everyone in your family through Atticus, but Sheppard has pulled the strings so the school will remain open for another week. Oh no, not for classes," he answered when he caught of her dumbfounded expression "It'll basically be a camp for all the students who want to stay for the wedding you see, we're having it here," he Jaden explained
"Sounds good to me," Alexis said. Then she rested her body against his. "I love you Jaden yuki,"
"And I love you, Alexis Rhodes," Jaden answered as he brought her into a firm embrace.
Throughout their time at duel academy Jaden and Alexis had been friends, good friends, enemies, best friends lovers and soon to be husband and wife. They had closed every chapter of their lives with a happy ending and tonight was the beginning of the happiest one yet. But this time their wouldn't be an ending. They would be united, always and forever, for the rest of their lives.
fin