Chapter Ten

When Monday came around, Gray got up to meet Mary by the library. They agreed to meet at eight in the morning.

Luckily for Gray, his grandpa cut him some slack and let him take Monday off instead of Thursday.

"Ready to go?"

Gray looked up from his shoes to lock eyes with Mary who smiled at him at tugged at his arm gently. The two turned and began to walk down the road.

"My parents are shopping today instead." Mary said, making conversation. "They won't be coming."

Gray grunted, suddenly nervous. What if he acts like a fool? What if she laughs in his face?

"Is… is something wrong, Gray?" Gray looked down at a worried Mary.

Mary blushed and looked away. "Sorry, I was just…"

"It's fine. I'm just a little tired." Gray mumbled.

The two walked in silence. Both were nervous. Both were racking their brains as to what to say.

"OH MY GOD! Gray! What are you doing here?!"

Gray groaned. Claire flounced up the road, nearly knocking Mary off her feet.

"Ha! This is SO funny! I was just on my way to see you! Well, I guess I can--"

"Sorry, I'm busy." Gray cut her off.

"Oh. Well, I'll catch you later, okay?" Claire said, clearly upset she got turned down. How did Gray know she was going to ask him out?

As soon as Claire skipped off up the road, Mary's face was bright red. Gray would rather spend the day with her, Mary, than beautiful, peppy, talkative Claire. Mary was singing inside.

"She's a spaz." Gray announced.

Mary giggled.

The two continued to make their way up the road. When they exited the town, Gray felt a wave of bravery as he pulled his hand from his pocket to reach down and take Mary's hand in his own.

Her hand was so small and fragile, soft and perfect. Gray felt his face turn pink. Mary's pretty much was red already so it couldn't get darker than that. Gray's hand was big and rough, but nice.

The two made it to the top of Mother's Hill, hand in hand. They stood, gazing over the beautiful landscape. They were breathing hard from the march up the hill, and felt a chill because it was autumn. The trees were a colorful wave of oranges, reds, yellows, browns, and golds. Mary gasped at how beautiful this all was, absorbing the sight of it and putting it to memory. She never got tired of things like this, nature's beauty.

Gray was amazed at how this all looked. Breathtaking, he decided. Perfect.

He looked down at Mary, who was trying to take it all in at once. This is your chance. The Voice told him. Carpe Diem, seize the day.

Gray reached down to cup Mary's cheek in his hand. She looked up at him, surprised. No boy had ever held her cheek, but she knew what was coming.

Gray slowly leaned forward and kissed Mary, right there on Mother's Hill, second of autumn, first day where their lives would intertwine and hold place there, in each other's arms.

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A/N: Just wanted to say that 'kissed' is the 500th word in this chapter! :D

(I thought it was kind of cool.)

There will be two or three more chapters. They are important ones. Claire is still there, right? I have to write her in there.