Forever in your eyes
Chapter 12
It was Christmas evening.
Eriol picked her up 15 minutes early. He feared that he was quite anxious and it showed, him being early and all. But she showed no mannerism as if she noticed. When he picked her up, she wore a white blouse, a pale yellow skirt and the blue cardigan, as promised. As soon as she climbed in the car, she dug in her purse and handed him a small box.
"Here," she told him. "This is your present. I'm sorry it wasn't ready yesterday."
"That's alright." He pulled open the white box. Inside was a framed picture of him and Tomoyo after the talent show performance. The picture was taken on the stage, beside the piano. The frame was a white ceramic, with decorative indentations. A soft smile curled on his face. "This is really nice."
"And my mom made a copy of the whole show," Tomoyo pulled out a VHS tape from her bag. "Now you can watch it whenever you want."
He smiled again. "Thank you."
Eriol put his gifts in the glove compartment and drove away to the shopping center.
He took her to a coffee shop nearby. Eriol bought a white mocha while she had hot chocolate. He insisted on paying, of course.
Time flew quickly and they remained near the tree. The choir sang Christmas carols, such as "Silent Night", "Oh Come Emmanuel", "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem", and more. Santas, ringing bells, polluted the pathways, giving little children candy.
The tree itself was taller than the buildings, bright, green and flocked. Garlands, stars, tinsel and lights decorated the tree.
The announcement started: "The Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Show will now begin." The choir started singing "Oh Christmas Tree." Eriol peered over to Tomoyo, who watched the choir with full, undivided attention. He had barely touched his drink.
Suddenly, the tree illuminated, its limbs brightened with different colors of the rainbow. The angel up top sparkled in the lights. "Ooh's" and "Ahh's" were emitted from the crowd. Tomoyo gasped. "How beautiful..."
"Yes..." Eriol was looking at her, and then looked up at the tree. He took a sip of his mocha, the warmth filling his chest. As he drank, Eriol thought of all the times he spent with her. He thought about the times he stayed with her after school, working on the song. He thought about how nice she was as a fall ball date, although he was acting really cold that night. He thought of the talent show and how radiant and stunning she looked. He even thought about her form of therapy, when they were yelling at the top of their lungs.
Everything about her was flooding into him. Her beauty was spectacular. She always seemed to have a cheerful disposition. Her eyes were always bright and intriguing; they were accompanied with a smile. It was as if she had a secret. The mystery of her intrigued him. Most importantly, her kindness stretched out to him in a way no one ever could. Her heart was pure.
As his mind continued to wander, Eriol turned to Tomoyo, then to his mocha to maintain any sort of composure. His breath was soft. He turned to her again. She smiled at him and he returned the action. Then it hit him. Like the lights on the tree, the truth grew brighter. All he could do was wonder how he, Hiiragizawa Eriol, had fallen in love with Daidouji Tomoyo.
...to be continued =)
Author's jibberish: How cute was that?!?! ["Aaaawwww" from the crowd]