Chapter 6: The Day of the True Love

A/N: This is my longest chapter ever! I am so proud of it. It's the only chapter that isn't sad...and full of cotton candy fluff. I'm in the writing zone! There are plot bunnies in my head, all of which are breeding. Expect more updates in the near future. Enjoy!

Gil's experience so close to death during his freshman year had had a profound change on him. It had matured him, and caused him to see the world much more differently. For one thing, he didn't put off doing things any more. He helped more around the house with no complaint. As his mother suggested, he tried to loosen up a little more and have fun.

He tried to be more involved in things. If he must be forced to go to school, he didn't want to have a horrible time going there. Gil was now a proud member of the math club, the chess team and the golf club. It took his mind off of what was happening in every other aspect of his life. He spent much of his classes staring out the window, wishing he was anywhere but there.

Things at home were rarely any better. His mother was a great person, and she did the best that she could, but it was never enough. Mrs. Grissom was completely deaf now, and that limited her independence greatly. She only communicated in sign, which greatly limited the jobs she could do. It was necessary for her to work, just for them to have enough to eat. Gil offered to take a job, but his mother wouldn't hear of it.

On the rare time when he wasn't worrying about his family finances, he had other things to worry about. Things weren't going to well with his friends from the science club. He was just too different from them now. At first, they had been very similar. Gil had changed, and his friends…they just hadn't. There was much more to life than science, and he wished the ones he still called friends could see that.

Gil was 16 now, and not much had changed. At the same time, everything was different. He didn't worry as much about doing well as he used to. He knew now that there were much more important things to worry about. He also had the coolest part time job that he told no one about, and he planned to keep it that way. It wasn't what one would call a conventional job, but Gil really enjoyed it.

On some weekends, and after school, Gil worked part time for the coroner's office. He didn't do what you would expect of a part time high school student. He actually got to do autopsies! They weren't autopsies of people or anything. The coroner let him autopsy cats and dogs that he didn't want to do himself. Some people might think that it was really gross. Gil found it wonderful. He had found his calling.

Gil would spend each day waiting anxiously for the time he got to go to work. It was what he focused on all week. At work, he was normal. His curiosity about the reasons behind death was not mocked at work. Quite the contrary, it was encouraged. That was the first place that Gil found where he really fit in.

The work wasn't the only reason that Gil liked coming to the coroner's office. The work was very fun and rewarding, but work wasn't the only rewarding thing. The other people who worked at the coroner's office were all very nice. Gil liked one in particular. When he first accepted the job, he hadn't expected people his own age to be there.

Apparently, the coroner employed other high school students part time. Well, only one other high school student by the name of Sara. She mostly just filled paperwork and answered phones. She was the only girl, pretty much ever, who had been nice to him. Sara would always smile brightly at him, and try and strike up a conversation about safe topics such as school.

Gil knew that she wanted to be his friend. That shocked him to no end. Sara was so pretty and confident. Girls like that usually avoided him. Fleetingly, he considered asking her on a date. The minute the thought entered his head, he dismissed it. No matter how hard he tried, he never forgot the first and last time he asked a girl out.

Sara was only to be working with him for another week. She had only taken this job for a very short time. If Gil were ever to do something, it would have to be now. He wouldn't have another chance. All day long he had been debating with himself. To ask, or not to ask. That was the most difficult question of them all.

Sara was…well, there was no other word for it…intimidating. She was a very nice person, always nice to him. That just made everything all the more difficult. On her last day, and on what was to be his last chance, Gil seriously considered letting her leave with nothing more than a hug.

He was working for four hours that Saturday, as was she. The whole time, he wasn't really thinking of the dead cat or bird that he was supposed to be examining. It was very irresponsible of him, but his internal debate continued even then. Gil supposed that he should be paying attention to his work, but Sara was the only thing that filled his mind.

He saw only her bright blue eyes, and crooked smile. During their shared break, she sat next to him, and made friendly conversation. She was so easy to talk to, and yet it was so hard to ask what he wanted to ask. His palms got sweaty even thinking about asking her to go out with him. Gil rarely got nervous, but he was very nervous now. He was sure he was shaking, and he wondered why Sara didn't notice.

The sound of Sara's voice brought him back to reality. "So Gil, what do you think?" she asked. Great, she was talking to him. He hadn't been listening. He didn't know what to say. Gil was really panicking now. He could open up with Sara. He could tell her things that he had told no one else. She liked roller coasters and science. She was his match. So why was it so hard to ask a simple question?

"You make me nervous."

The moment Gil said it; he clapped his hands over his mouth. His cheeks were burning and he was sure they were bright red. Sara pushed her long brown hair behind her ear, something she only did when she was nervous. Gil didn't understand why she would still be nervous.

"P…pardon me?" Sara asked. Her brow furrowed in confusion. Sara was always so kind, even in awkward situations such as this. If possible, Gil turned even redder. Gil knew he had to answer, and he had to do some quick thinking. He wanted nothing more than too impress her. He didn't think he could ever impress anyone. He wasn't a very impressing person.

Once again, he found himself speaking without thinking. "When I'm with you, I can be myself. You make me happier than I have ever been. It's more than just that. I love making you happy. I love when you laugh, when you smile…" He had never meant to say anything of the sort to her. It all just sort of came tumbling out.

There was a single moment of awkward silence that seemed to contain eternity. If he had a mirror, he would be the colour of a tomato. Finally, after the excruciating silence, Sara spoke. "Me too", she said softly.

That was all she said, but her words sent shivers down Gil's spine. Whatever he could have imagined her saying, it was nothing close to this. Gil didn't feel like anyone could feel about him how he felt about Sara. To say he was shocked would be an understatement. He was so surprised that he could barely string two words together.

"Um…that's…cool. I mean…well…what I wanted to say was…" Gil said. He stopped, and bit his tongue. It seemed he had forgotten how to speak. He wished he could just disappear. His cheeks, if possible, burned even hotter. He couldn't believe what he had just said.

Sara smiled, showing him all of her perfect white teeth. That was one of the things Gil liked about her. She was always happy, always smiling. Her blue eyes twinkled, as she smiled. He was still nervous, but Sara had a way of making him feel totally at ease. Gil found himself smiling with her. "I understand", Sara said, smiling.

Relief washed over him. This was requiring much less words than he had thought it would. That was a good thing. Where words were involved, Gil tended to make a fool of himself. There was still one thing that really couldn't go without being said. Gil would like nothing more than to go on a date with Sara. The only way that would happen was if he were to ask her.

Gil took a deep calming breath. He had to go for it. If he didn't say anything, he knew that he would regret it. After this, it was doubtful that he would ever have another chance. For a moment, he considered just leaving. Gil seriously considered not saying anything more. He almost did it, but then he remembered his motto.

He had discovered this motto, right after the shooting in his freshman year. It was Carpe Diem. It meant seize the day. That was one thing that he really believed. What he wanted to do, he tried to do it the day it occurred to him. It was wrong to put things off until tomorrow. There might not even be a tomorrow. That thought got rid of all his fear.

"Will you go out with me? On a date", said Gil. He said this all very quickly, as if it would be less painful that way. He waited anxiously for her answer.

She smiled at him, which Gil chose to take as a good sign. "Sure!" she said brightly. Gil had to stop himself from sighing audibly with relief. Sara was finished eating. Gil hadn't touched his food. He had nearly forgotten it was lunch time. Sara tended to drive things like that completely from his mind.

As Sara got up from the table, Gil began to panic. "Wait!" he yelled. He wasn't even sure what he wanted her to wait for. She stopped and turned to face him. What he wanted to say to her, even he did not know. She smiled at him. Her smile seemed to tell him that she understood.

"Meet me at Thompson Park for noon on Saturday. We can have lunch again", she said. She walked around the desk they were sitting at and picked up a blue pen. On the back of his sweating hand, she wrote a seven digit number. "Call me", she said with a wink. With that, she was out the door.

Gil was flabbergasted. He was speechless. It was time to get back to work, but there was no way he could concentrate. Thoughts of the date flooded his mind. By the time the hour and a half he had left to work was done, he had imagined hundreds of things that could go wrong. Gil was more petrified than he had ever been. He was so scared that he would say something stupid.

To try and prevent this, he tried to decide before hand what they would talk about. He would ask her about herself. If he tried to talk about himself, he ended up sounding stupid. It would be better to stick to listening. The hours he had to work flied by surprisingly fast.

He always walked home after work. It gave him a chance to reflect, and think things through. Today, all he thought about was Sara. He wondered what she had planned, for she was the one who had arranged the date. Some guys might find that off putting, but Gil loved Sara's straight forwardness. He still had no idea what she saw in him.

Gil was so lost in though, that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He almost walked passed his house. Luckily, he realized where he was, a moment before it was too late. He walked through the front door. While he walked, he whistled a cheery tune. All the while, he had a smile on his face.

His mother, who was waiting for him, noticed his happiness. She didn't question where he was. Gil never told her, and he never planned to. It was just something he would like to keep for himself. His mother trusted him. Especially since she had gone deaf, though, she had become very perceptive. Gil suspected that she knew where he worked, although she would never let on.

"What are you so happy about?" Mrs. Grissom signed.

"I've just had a good day", Gil signed back. He walked up to his room, with a little spring in his step. Marybeth Grissom watched her son disappear into his room with a smile on her face. She hadn't seen him that happy in a long time…not since his father died…

When in his room, Gil's feelings of happiness quickly evaporated. He was happy to be going on a date with Sara that was sure. His nervousness far outweighed his joy. It would be so easy for him to say something wrong, or do something stupid. There were a million things that could go wrong. Half of them, he couldn't control.

Gil sure had a lot to think about. He would have a lot of things to think about for the next 48 hours or so, until his date was over. He looked at the digital clock in his room. An hour had already passed since he got home. Now seemed like an appropriate time to call Sara. He looked at the back of his hand, only to find it smudged with ink. It was all because of his stupid sweaty hands.

Now he didn't know what he was going to do. He was panicking. He didn't know where she lived, he didn't know her number. He had no way to contact her before their date. Should he still go? Would she be mad that he hadn't called? These thoughts ran through his head at break neck speeds, while he decided what to do.

Finally, he decided that it would be much better if he went on the date. Sara would sure be much angrier if he stood her up. He had to go now, no matter how nervous he felt. There was no possible way that he could cancel.

The majority of the next two days were spent worrying about the date that could come. Gil had no idea what to expect. He had never been on a real date before. It wasn't even him who had made the plans. He didn't have much control of how things would turn out. Gil didn't like not having any control.

That wasn't what worried Gil the most, though. What worried him was the extremely large chance that he would do or say something stupid. He would embarrass himself in front of Sara, and she would never want to speak to him again. He wasn't even very sure why she would want to speak with him in the first place.

He sort of wished that Sara had told him why she was interested in him. When he wasn't worrying (which was rare) he wondered what someone like Sara could possibly like about someone like him. It wasn't that he was ugly or anything. In fact, compared to a lot of the other boys, Gil was quite good looking.

What he lacked was the confidence, and the charisma, that the popular boys had. When he tried to speak to girls that he was even the least bit interested in, he was reduced to a blubbering mess. He found it easy to talk to girls that he liked only as friends. When he talked to Sara, he always felt nervous.

Whatever her reason, which Gil still couldn't imagine, it was now a sure thing that she liked him. That was a certainty now. He had to keep reminding himself of that. Sometimes, when he doubted himself the most, he would think that it was all just a dream. He had no way of confirming their date. When he doubted himself the most, it was difficult to keep his hope that everything would turn out okay.

When Friday rolled around, Gil was a nervous wreck. He had started counting down until what he referred to as "TBD". That stood for the big date. He had spent all week anticipating this date. He both dreaded it and looked forward to it. When the "three hours until TBD" point arrived, Gil figure that he should take care of a few last minute details. He needed to tie up all of the loose ends.

The most difficult of his remaining decisions was the decision of what to wear. Normally, Gil didn't care what he wore. He just picked up the first clean thing he found and put it on. It didn't require any thought at all. Today, he spent an unusual amount of time on his wardrobe. Finally, he decided on his prized bell bottom pants, and a tie died shirt he had made the summer before. It was cool, yet sophisticated. In other words, it was perfect.

He looked at the clock on the wall when he had finally put on his clothes. It was already 11:30. He had to wash his face and leave very soon, if he wanted to be there on time. In fifteen minutes, he was rushing to the door. He said a hurried goodbye to his mother, and he was off. The big date was upon him.

He had opted to walk to the park, rather than be driven. All he had told his mother was that he was going to meet his friend at the park. At least that was technically true. Gil just couldn't imagine being shut up in a car with his mother, while she asked him her customary questions about where he was going and what he was doing. Despite the fact that he was technically old enough, Gil did not yet have his driver's license. He just kept failing the darn test.

The walk to the park wasn't particularly long, but Gil had plenty to think about. He didn't even know how he would find Sara when he got there. Thompson Park was a fairly big park. As it turned out, he needn't have worried about finding her. When he arrived, he spotted her instantly. She was sitting at a picnic table, looking around contentedly.

As always, at least in Gil's opinion, she looked stunning. She had tied her long dark hair in a loose knot on the back of her head. She was dressed to perfection, from her pink poncho to her beaded jeans. Sara had a way of looking so pulled together, and at the same time, casual. Gil was mesmerized by it.

Sara spotted him standing there. He was staring at her as if he had been struck over the head. "Hi Gil!" she said brightly, "Come one over." She always sounded so happy when she spoke. Gil walked over, and he sat on the picnic bench, across from her. Once again, Gil seemed to have lost the ability to speak. Sara did that to him.

He thought he'd better say something, since he didn't want to look like a complete idiot. "Um…you look…nice…really nice," he stammered. Great, he'd ended up sounding like an idiot anyways. That hadn't come out the way it sounded in his head. In his head, it had sounded nicer.

Sara smiled widely at him. It was the smile he felt was reserved especially for him; the one that made his heart melt. "Thanks", she said with a small giggle, "You look great too." Gil looked down at his own clothes, and suddenly, he felt very underdressed. The silence came again. Silence between them made Gil very uncomfortable, as if he was doing something wrong, but Sara looked totally at ease.

Gil's date always knew the right thing to say. "So, how are things going with you at school?" she asked kindly. The conversation they had carried on for several minutes. Gil felt his initial terror gradually begin to fade. Sara made him feel totally at ease. He forgot that he was in a beautiful park surrounded by trees. He forgot that he was with a beautiful and confident girl. The only thought that filled his mind was that he was talking with someone he really cared about.

The characteristic rumble in his stomach told him that he was hungry, and it was lunchtime. He was also very stupid. Their date was for noon. Of course there would be some food involved. The people who called him smart knew nothing about him. "Um…Sara…" he began. His terror had returned.

Miraculously, Sara had come prepared. She was the type to think of obvious things, such as food. Sara pulled out a picnic basket from beneath her seat that Gil had not previously noticed. It was full of sandwiches, water bottles, fruit and cookies. Gil smiled gratefully as hers. For the umpteenth time, Gil lost the function of his voice. He meant to say thank you or something to that effect, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth.

Sara apparently didn't need any thanks. She told him to dig in and he graciously accepted. He chewed his peanut butter sandwich thoughtfully. His throat felt strangely dry, and it had nothing to do with the peanut butter. He had no idea what it was, but perhaps he had something to do with the warm fuzzy feeling he got whenever he was in Sara's presence.

Ever so slowly, normal conversation returned. Sara knew exactly what to say to make him feel completely at ease. He didn't have to think, or worry, when he was talking with her. Gil could be totally himself with her. She was one of the few people with which that was possible.

Neither of them noticed it, at least not consciously, but as they talked, something changed. The change was subtle, but there was no denying it was there. Both of them had started the sunny Saturday as friends going to the same place at the same time. Gil had hoped that it would become something more. Honestly, that thought hadn't even crossed Sara's mind. She just thought Gil was a great friend, at least at first.

As they continued to talk, Sara saw Gil in a whole new light. She had always thought he was kind of cute, but when they talked, he suddenly became stunning. They stopped being two separate people from two separate worlds. They were like two halves of an undefined whole. When they talked together, they didn't feel only joy, but an odd sort of completeness.

They paused to enjoy the chocolate chip cookies that Sara's mother had made. Gil looked at his watch for the first time the entire date. He was amazed at how quickly the time had passed. Nothing horribly wrong had happened, and Gil had had a reasonably good time. This date thing wasn't as horrible as he had expected. In fact, it was positively wonderful. Just by looking at Sara, he could tell that she felt the same way. Her light blue eyes were filled with laughter. Her wide smile was there throughout the entire time.

She too looked at her watch. It was already 3:30 p.m. They had been chatting amicably and eating their ways through Sara's food for 3 and a half hours. Neither of them wanted the date to end. However, as all good things had to end, this date had to end as well. Gil had to work at four. Although they both worked at the same place, their shifts didn't always overlap. Also, Sara didn't work their anymore.

"I have work soon", Gil said with a frown. He looked really disappointed. Sara nodded, for she knew all this already. He felt a bit depressed, for the best time of his life was truly coming to an end. He didn't know whether or not he would see Sara again. The only way he could possibly see her again was if he would ask her on another date. He didn't know if he had enough courage to do that.

Sara got up and brushed the dust off her jeans. She knew that they both had to leave. She had some sort of dance class she had to get to as well. Gil never wanted the date to end. "Wait!" he yelled, as Sara prepared to leave. She turned to look at him. Gil turned a brilliant shade of red. He felt his cheeks burn. He hadn't really planned what he would say next.

" Do you want to go out with me? Again? On a date somewhere?" he asked quickly. He seemed to stumble over his words. Once again, that didn't come out exactly the way he planned. However, it wasn't too bad.

Sara stared at him for a moment that contained eternity. She was considering all of her possibilities. Finally, she said, "I'd love too!" Gil's grin was so broad, that it looked like it would split his face in two. Sara, as if sensing his mistake, took a pen out of her purse, and wrote her name and number clearly on a paper napkin. She also may have noticed that he hadn't called.

Gil took the napkin, and shoved it into the pockets of his jeans. Sara continued to leave again. Gil didn't want her to go. "Wait!" he yelled again. She stopped. He had no idea why he told her to wait. Gil got up as well. They locked eyes. Something about their gaze was much more meaningful then anything either of them could say. They had each found someone who understood, someone with whom they could share everything.

They held each other's gaze for a moment. Thoughts meant nothing anymore. It was their feelings that guided them. If Gil had thought at all about what he was going to do, he wouldn't have done it. In tandem, his and Sara's faces inched closer to each other. He gently held her head. Their lips met.

It was soft and gentle. The kiss lasted only a fleeting moment, but for Gil, it felt like a blissful lifetime. It was a moment of pure happiness, unlike any Gil had ever experienced. The kiss was like magic. Reluctantly, they broke apart. Sara's eyes glistened with tears, as did Gil's. They were happy tears.

"I love you Gil", Sara said suddenly. He studied her for a moment. He realized that he felt the same way. He had finally identified that warm fuzzy feeling he had felt.

"I love you too", he said. He sounded stunned by his own words. When he said them, however, they were true. They both turned in opposite directions to leave. Gil felt on top of the world.

He touched his lips softly. Gil realized that he had just had his first kiss ever. It was wonderful…