Someone needs to cheer me up, please. I'm reading John Green's Looking for Alaska and just got to the 'after' part (I've actually at the moment finished Looking for Alaska. It was absolutely beautiful. Go read it now). So I am very sad. Hmmm… maybe a really fluffy epilogue will help? LET US DO THIS MAN!

I checked my wristwatch for what must have been the fiftieth time, 12:27. We would be leaving in three minutes and Alex said he had a surprise for me when the time came. He told me 24 hours ago, meaning, and he knew this (that devious brat), that I would lose sleep trying to figure out what it was. This had better be good. I looked up in the mirror again. I was very repetitive this morning. I couldn't help if today needed to be absolutely perfect, but more on that in a second.

I restyled my hair for the millionth time, re-straightened my bowtie again, and tugged at my sleeve cuffs till there were no lines left in them. I was in a tux today, which always felt like a strange foreign object on my skin. I preferred casual clothes like nerdy t-shirts and jeans or lying shirtless on the couch while my boyfriend made small, delicate finger circles on my chest. But because of my boyfriend I had to be dressed fancy. Because of him, everything had to be perfect.

It was one month today. That mere thought sent shivers jolting down my spine. Because it had only been one month technically but it was years in both of our heads. And he said he would be home at 12:30, and dear gods, Alex better prove punctual because I swear that if I fix my hair one more time I will go crazy. I heard the door open and sucked in a breath. This was it. Our 1 month anniversary. I gripped my gift to him in hand and tucked it inside my suit. I looked out at the New York skyline one last time before stepping out of the bathroom. He stood there, grinning like the devil (it was twelve-thirty exact and he knew it) and a bit more handsome. His hair was in happy disarray and he also bore an alien penguin suit, but it actually looked nice on him as opposed to my awkward fit. Then again I, like the cliché swooning fool, couldn't see anything looking bad on him.

"So, off to the wedding then?" I suggested quietly, looking down at the shoes I was now realizing I had forgotten to polish. A wedding, hence the tuxedo, hence New York City. Not ours, others might view that as preemptive (considering no one knew yet, though if I was asked, I'd agree. I loved him and I knew it.) It was for our friends Dan and Phil who had moved to New York for the sole purpose of being able to marry. England had that whole allows-civil-unions crap but they wanted a real proper wedding.

"Oh, Charlie, you're just so cute. So…innocent. I should change that soon." The pervy face he shot me was enough to make my face red. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, gripping his warm arms tightly across my back. I plummeted my face into his chest, inhaling deeply on the soft musky cologne and wood smell that he always seemed to have. How did I get so lucky? I looked up smiling softy. He leaned down and gave me a quick peck on the lips and another small squeeze. It had been a month as a couple, but we were both still a bit uncomfortable with the physicality aspect of it. I personally was have trouble simply believing it was allowed. That any time I wanted to kiss him or hold him or tell him I loved him (well technically I hadn't said the three words out loud yet, but I hope he knew I felt it), and not be afraid that he would stop being my friend. I could do that that. I was allowed to treat him as my boyfriend because he finally was. It was exhilarating. It was beautiful. It was perfect. It was love. For a moment we just looked at each other. After a few seconds, we finally broke eye contact, and my lover quietly said, "Well, yeah, wedding and everything. We should probably get going." He swallowed deeply. Was I actually making the great Alex Day feel shy? He had told me to stop putting myself down, that I was worthy of affection. He had go so far as to blast What You Do throughout the house on one of my particularly bad days and say that was how he felt about me.

I nodded, and before I could move, he had lowered his hand and gripped mine, and just that simple gesture made my heart beat a little faster. "Are you sure you want to do this today?" I asked as we started walking the short distance to the church.

"Charles Joseph McDonnell, you will be my date to this wedding and you aren't getting out of it now. Trust me; I've got the best date ever."

"Yeah but-"

"We talked about this before we were even jet lagged fools. We're starting small tonight. We tell our friends. When we get back from England, we tell our families. Then we make a collab video telling all the fans. It'll all be perfect, trust me. Things have a way of working out." For a moment, my mind jumped back to the old woman on the subway and how right she had ended up being. Tonight was the night we finally told our close friends that we were officially together. I was nervous, for sure. But there was also a sense of pride mixed in there, that this boy was with me and there was nothing to be done about that except to accept it. Still nervous. "Hey… Charlesburg. Stop worrying so much right this very second, everything is fine. Look, we've walked almost half a block holding hands and no one has had a problem with us. And these are just strangers. We're telling our friends."

"I know, it's just that… Everyone is going to know. It won't be our secret. Which is amazing, we're together! But it's also terrifying for the same reason."

"Don't worry so much. I'm here for you no matter what. We're here now and you are my date, and I'm going to be greedy and say you need to save at least two dances for me." The way he smiled at me so sweetly, I could feel my heart speed up, and my face was blushing, I just knew it.

"They're all for you."

Breaking the moment (because if he didn't I would've kissed him full on right then and there, which wasn't something I was actually comfortable doing in public quite yet) he said "Do you want to do gifts now?" I nodded and reached toward the coat pocket that contained his present, running through the millions of reactions he could have to it.

"I'll go first," I told him, handing him the small box. He opened it, and his eyes went to twice their size. I hoped in a good way.

"Oh…god Charlie! How did you think of this? It's absolutely perfect! I'm going to kiss you right now and I don't give a crap about who can see us." He was a man of his word.

As I was becoming absolutely immersed with the feel of Alex's lips on mine, his hand attached to my waist, and the thread holding up his ornament was wrapped around two fingers. It was a small glass shaped ukulele, with a picture of the two of us smiling away. Around the edges I had puffy painted it to say, from the moment I saw you I knew it was love. And engraved right below the picture in silver lettering were the words Charlie & Alex- I'm Forever Yours.

He finally pulled away, breathless, forcing out the words, "My turn." He reached into the pocket of his tuxedo pants and pulled out a small box. He quickly placed it in my hand and stood sheepishly with his hands in his pockets. "Y-you can open the box…"

I had to contain a gasp when I saw the contents, a small gold ring with a red gem on top. It sparkled beautifully, even in the dreary weather.

"It's a promise ring," he told me, avoiding eye contact, "It means that I promise to be with you forever. I- I thought you'd like it."

"Of course I do! It's absolutely gorgeous!" I nearly knocked him over when I leapt on him in a hug. His torso felt warm against my face, and I never wanted this sensation to end, this overwhelming bliss. I never felt like I deserved anything, but now I had everything. I had been given perfection. A million thoughts raced through my head, many from a month and ago stood out.

But I just couldn't seem to ignore what I had been feeling

These things have a way of working out

I didn't have time to figure it out

I tried desperately to hold onto that warm feeling

I craved something I couldn't bring myself to ask of him

"Yes, I want to…"

"I love you, Alex," I whispered in his ear. And I wasn't scared. Not even for a second

And that's all she wrote. I hope you've all enjoyed. Thanks for reading, I love you all! (I've also at the moment finished Looking for Alaska. It was absolutely beautiful. Go read it now) And the wonderful ukelele idea came from cuz she's amazing :)