When she had gone back to Europe at the end of the week, Lauire did not follow her. She wasn't sure if she was disappointed by that or not. She wasn't even sure why she expected everything to be different at all. It felt like they had everything and nothing to talk about, especially when it came to where they stood with each other now. Yet every time Amy thought about how easy it would be to send a text to call him, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
The next month had passed by quickly, filled mostly by late movie nights and homework. Aunt March had been sorely disappointed in Amy breaking up with Fred, so much so that as soon as Amy had returned to Europe, she had set out to find a different way to support her family without anyone else's help. Yet, the realization that even if she couldn't contribute as much as she wanted to, everything would be alright. The life of a March had never been particularly glamorous, and it wasn't a crime either.
It was finally nearing June and school was letting out for the summer. Last year Amy had gone home for the warmer months, but this year, all the girls were staying in Paris and Xander had practically begged Amy to stay as well. She was hesitant at first, especially because it would've been expensive and the lease on the apartment she shared with the other girls was ending, but Xander had offered her the empty guest room at the estate.
Amy didn't exactly feel good about accepting the room, trying to get Xander to accept a form of rent or payment, but he said the house belonged to Elijah's family and they were all staying there rent free anyway. With a bit of coaxing from Xander, Dominique, Gabby, and a special plea from Charlotte, Amy agreed to stay in Paris for the summer though.
As it turned out, Dominique was just moving back to her home for a little while to be with her family, not that she lived very far away from the city at all, so it wasn't much of a drive for her when she came to see them. Gabby and Charlotte were moving into a much smaller apartment together, at least for the summer because of the proximity to their recent jobs that happened to be closer to the center of Paris than their school, which was closer to the perimeter.
As for the boys, it seemed that Laurie's recent actions in getting his life together and working for his grandfather had sparked a motion and they were all making new plans in their lives as well.
Elijah, the ever spontaneous person he was, decided to follow Dominique home, chasing her across France in a honeymoon daze. Dominique threw quite the fit when she heard, but they all knew it was just an act and she was secretly glad she would have somewhere else to go when her family got too overwhelming. Christian on the other hand was following in Laurie's footsteps, getting his own internship with his family's business somewhere in the border of France, meaning he was commuting between the estate and his work more often than not. As for William, he was still living at the estate as well, but he was getting into new careers, trying out different jobs. He was the youngest of five siblings, meaning he wouldn't be the one to inherit the family business. So his plan was to find himself a hobby to keep busy before he was absolutely needed. Overall, with everyone spread so far apart for the summer, Amy had both felt both simultaneously free and lonely.
When Amy had moved into the guest room, which had a wide floor plan with a small sitting area and canopy bed, complete with an ensuite and balcony, she had a sinking feeling that followed her. It all reminded her too much of Laurie, and an unsettling feeling that was too similar to anxiety settled in her nerves every time she walked passed his empty bedroom.
"Settling in alright?" Amy heard a voice say from her new bedroom door frame. She turned around to see Xander standing there, his hair still wet from a shower and his pajamas indicating he was ready for bed.
"It feels odd." Amy admitted, gesturing to the room that was almost as large as her old apartment.
"What's so odd about it?" Xander asked, jumping dramatically into her bed. "It was your room during Christmas, you're technically just moving back in."
"Yeah, moving back in." Amy mumbled, blatantly leaving out that she spent most of Christmas break in Laurie's bed.
"Is it weird because Laurie's not here?" Xander asked bluntly, propping himself up on one elbow to stare at her.
"Don't start with me, Xander." Amy warned him. Laurie was on the list of topics Amy had been avoiding with all of her friends ever since his declaration. Everyone was smart enough to not bring him up except for Xander. He didn't particularly care for her aversion to Laurie and was bold enough to slip his name into a conversation every now and then.
"Maybe somebody should." Xander said, tossing a pillow at her.
Amy glared at him and rearranged her now ruined pillows. "Laurie and I are not speaking to each other. He's moving on with his life, working for his grandfather and making something of himself."
"And why do you think he's doing that, hmm?" Xander quipped. "Who do you think pushed him to get there?"
"I don't like what you're insinuating." Amy said, crossing her arms and turning her back on Xander. "Besides, he was the one that went and changed everything."
"I won't ask you what happened," Xander began, "but this is crazy, Amy. This is the longest I've ever seen the two of you so upset with each other."
"He's not mad at me." Amy said softly, leaning on the edge of her desk.
"Are you mad at him?" Xander asked her.
"I don't know." Amy sighed, running a hand through her blond curls. It was a valid question, because she wasn't exactly mad at him. Talking to him back in Concord had been awkward and stoic, but she wasn't sure if that was because of what had happened or because he seemed like a different person.
"You don't know?" Xander repeated. "Do you have something to be mad about?"
"I don't know." Amy sighed again, leaning on her balcony door frame. "I just, everything's a mess, Xander."
Xander walked over and pulled her into a tight hug, kissing the crown of her hairline. "I called Laurie the other day." Amy tensed up in his arms. "He misses you."
"I miss him too." Amy muttered. There was no point in denying it.
Amy spent the next month in a daze. Spending a lot of time sitting in front of the kitchen windows and sketching the view of Paris from her own balcony. Amy had thought the off time during the summer would allow her to clear her mind and get her life together.
When she had just moved to Paris and started art school, everything seemed to be at her fingertips. She had every opportunity in the world and it all felt like a dream, either because Concord held her back, or she was holding herself back. Then Fred Vauhgn fell into her life and everything shifted once again. The rose colored glasses faded away and the responsibility settled in.
By that point, Amy had the rest of her whole life planned out. Beth's medical bills were racking up, Meg had just had her babies, and Marmee was sending out check after check split between Meg and Jo to help them out. Marmee was a big believer in fulfilling dreams, helping other people, and she didn't mind making the sacrifices for her girls. Aunt March's words were ringing in the back of her mind, that the family was relying on her. So Amy pushed her dreams aside and reoriented her goals.
She was supposed to marry Fred, become a true ornament to society. Aunt March had taught her well in the art of society and playing hostess. Maybe she would have a few children of her own and give them more than she had. It was more of a perfect picture life than anything, but at least it would be better than no life at all.
Except what she didn't plan on was Laurie. He was the variable she hadn't considered. He had fallen into her life once again, just like the first time he'd met her. He changed her life, over and over again, made her laugh, disappointed, and questioned everything. Then he left, or she left this time. It didn't matter though, because he was gone all the same.
So here she was, all her life plans gone, future unsettled, and nothing to show for it beside her mediocre paintings. That was not something Amy was comfortable with. She needed something better than this.
"You could always change your major." Charlotte said, hanging off the end of Amy's bed. After a week of coming up blank, Amy had invited all the girls over to help her figure out something new to do with her life, but because Elijah and Dominique were attached at the hip, he had tagged along too. Eventually William, Christian, and Xander invited themselves as well and Amy's room was filled to the brim with unsolicited guests.
"I thought about it." Amy murmured, pouring herself and everyone else a new glass of wine. "Except I don't know what else I could do."
"You could do anything, Cherie." Christian assured her, cutting an apple and handing the pieces off to Charlotte as she placed her hands out in a childish grabbing motion.
"Nothing that would make enough to support my family." Amy sighed tiredly. While it was a priority she had loosened her grip on, it was still a concern of hers.
"You still have the rest of the summer to figure it out, don't fret, love." Xander said, patting the top of her head.
"I don't want to wait for the end of summer." Amy murmured. "I can't just stay here forever and do nothing."
"You know, you can always come work with me, Amy." William said from his spot leaning against Amy's bed. "My family is a large contributor to the Louvre, I just got a job doing simple stuff, learning the trade and all that. I can ask around to see if they could hire you too."
"Really?" Amy asked, her eyes sparkling with hope and relief. She may not be the artist, but at least it was something she could eventually work her way up in with an art degree. "You would do that for me?"
"Of course, I would love to have a friend," He said, sending her a boyish grin. "My family is such a large contributor they'll never fire us, so we can spend the day looking at paintings and mocking tourists."
"You're my angel." Amy smiled largely, tears nearly shining in her eyes, and launched herself into his arms. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"Well isn't this just a beautiful moment." Xander cried and hugged them both, pushing himself between them and snapping a photo. After he was sure he got a good photo of all three of them, he reached out and pulled Charlotte into the group, which in turn led everyone joining in. The added weight forced them all to the floor and they dissolved into laughter. For the time in months, Amy felt like she could breathe again.
After spending so much time away, Amy had almost forgotten about Xander's most favorite holiday of the year, which he also proclaimed to be everyone's favorite holiday of the year, his half birthday. Xander's birthday, to him, unfortunately fell right in the middle of January. Which he didn't like because it coincided too easily with Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Years, then Valentine's day. So in the middle of his freshman year in high school, he changed his birthday to the beginning of July.
He was an eccentric teenager with too much money at his fingertips, which only helped fuel his elaborate parties. In his freshman year, Amy knew that the theme had been the 1920s, but at the time she was too young to go to the party. She did remember Laurie and Jo coming home late that night and the jealousy flickering under her skin. The next year she couldn't remember what the theme had been, it was certainly over the top, because they hadn't heard from Laurie in two days. The night of the party Jo had come home a little confused, but over all fine. On the third day, Amy remembered seeing Laurie stumbling into his house covered in what looked like a mix of dirt and cheap party decorations.
The next year, which was Amy's first year at Concord, she had finally been invited to Xander's birthday. She remembered being so ecstatic that she'd gotten her own invitation, not just one that was an extension of Laurie's popularity. Xander had even gone out of his way to hand deliver it and make a show of giving it to her, never passing off the chance to piss off the entourage of girls that always seemed to follow Amy around.
Amy remembered that night well, especially because it was one of the rare times when she really felt like it was about her and not something that could be overshadowed by Jo. The theme of the party was anything related to nature, and everyone in the school with a coveted invitation had been vibrating with excitement and talking about their costumes the whole week leading up to the night of the party.
Jo hadn't wanted to go after a fight with Laurie they had gotten into over the party itself. She had claimed it was useless and a waste of resources, that socialite kids were a waste of opportunity and she wouldn't be a part of it. Laurie had snapped and flat out asked if that was how she saw him. Which only further escalated the fight when Jo blurted out he was the exception.
Nobody really wanted to be around either of them after that, but it was the first big event Amy was going to with the Concord kids, and she didn't want to go alone. So dressed in a flutterly blue dress that she had dyed the ends to be a darker blue than the rest, glitter swiped across her cheeks and collarbones. The elaborate butterfly mask she had painted herself secured with ribbon around her wrist, she marched herself over to the Laurence residence and forced Laurie out of his mood.
He really didn't want to go, but complied with Amy's demands, and dressed up in a costume that really was just different shades of green to resemble any kind of plant. They drove in silence, but when they arrived at the party, Amy had coaxed Laurie into dancing with her. It didn't take long before she simply just batted her eyelashes and pleaded before the glitter on her skin was rubbing off on his own.
They had stayed out a little longer after the party, and in the end, it had been one of the best nights of her life.
Amy wasn't sure how this year had escaped from her mind, but after a short shift at the museum where her and William basically mocked tourists the entire time, the two of them came home to see tons of people redecorating the estate and nearly all the furniture was gone.
"Xander?" William called out from over all the commotion. "What's going on?"
Instead of Xander responding, it was Charlotte whose head popped up from a pile of invitations and charts. She had her hair tied back with one of Amy's ribbons and ink splattered all over her fingers. "You guys are home!"
"Hi, Lottie." Amy said, weaving her way through the tons of people. "What's going on?"
"How dare you!" They both heard Xander shout from one of the terraces in the courtyard. He had one of Amy's ribbons tied around his wrist as well and was looking just as frazzled as Charlotte. "It's only the most important holiday of the year."
"Your half birthday." Amy nodded, laughing. "Accept my sincerest apologies."
"You're forgiven." Xander pouted, coming down the stairs to pat William on the shoulder and kiss Amy on the cheek in greeting.
"I'm helping." Charlotte said excitedly, waving the carefully crafted invitations in her hands. "I came over to meet you for dinner, but Xander shoved a ribbon at me and asked me what I was good at."
"I see that." Amy giggled, Charlotte's happy nature was infectious. "But why the ribbon?"
"To identify." Xander clarified for her. "Everyone with a ribbon is a part of the planning committee."
"I'm sure the staff is going to realize the people in charge are the only people they were hired by." William scoffed, shaking his head.
"Well I like them." Charlotte said petulantly. Xander nodded and stood next to her. "And if you don't like them, then you can't be a part of the planning committee and you won't have to wear a ribbon."
"Yeah." Amy said, adding on, securing the ever present baby blue ribbon in her braid.
"Traitor." William cried, pointing accusingly at them.
"Are we at war?" A new voice called from the foyer. Elijah and Dominique were walking in, the latter looking ever so elegant and stunning, she'd probably just come from a photoshoot.
"I love war." Dominique smiled deviously. "I always win."
"William thinks our ribbon's are stupid." Charlotte said. William shot her a look, because they all knew Dominique would always pick Charlotte's side. She didn't care nor need to hear what the augment was about.
"You're an idiot." Dominique said simply, slapping William upside the head and accepting two white ribbons from Xander, one for her and one for Elijah.
"I want one too." Christian called, having just flown in for probably Xander's birthday. Gabby wasn't far behind, mostly due to the fact that he had picked her up along the way.
"One for you and one for you." Xander smiled victoriously. Gabby's was a deep purple, while Christian's was a pale yellow.
"This is pointless." William argued. "They will all know who to take orders from because we don't work with them, and we aren't even wearing the uniform."
A moment later, the head of the staff walked over and stopped in front of William, sizing him up. "Are you the new waiter they sent over for the party?"
"I hate you all." William hissed, glaring at all of his friends while Charlotte tied a floral ribbon around his wrist victoriously.
Amy always thought she was a smart girl. She had to be after all with her meticulous plans and goals. If there was one thing Amy March was good at, it was being accomplished. Yet, with all the skill and knowledge she possessed, it seemed to just have slipped her mind that Laurie, as Xander's best friend, would more likely than not be attending his birthday party.
After a stressful week of plans and catering to Xander's whims, he had decided on a ball. One of his more tamed ideas, but he claimed since he was growing up, so should his affinity to party themes. It didn't take long to transform the whole estate, sparkling chandeliers dripping in crystals, champagne fountains, and a whole array of foods Amy couldn't pronounce.
They had all gotten ready for Xander's birthday and met each other in the courtyard before any of the guests arrived. All dressed to the nines in suits and puffy ball gowns, jewels and heels to match. Xander was wearing a large crown, one that Amy knew he bought on a whim two weeks ago and finally had a chance to wear it.
It wasn't long before all the guests were filing in and the party was slowly being more of a dazed experience as Amy consumed more champagne. Around her third glass was when she accidentally stumbled upon him . He wasn't in the thick of the party, flirting with girls and getting drunk, not like he used to. Instead, he was sitting in the kitchen, most of the staff having taken a break in the other room while everyone danced off the calories.
Amy had gone into the kitchen to find a glass of water, seemingly that it was the only beverage not being served, she also knew that wasn't a coincidence. But there he was, sitting at the island, nursing a glass of juice and his suit jacket thrown off to the side.
"Laurie." Amy breathed out. She was getting a little tipsy from the champagne and the name tumbled from her lips.
He turned around a little startled to see her and immediately stood up to help her. Maybe she was a little drunker than she thought.
Amy flinched back and studied him, just like she always had. Either he had caught her eye or she was busy drawing the lines of his face. Still blessed with beauty and unfairly charismatic.
"Are you alright?" He asked her, stepping back to give her the space she seemed to think she wanted.
"What're you doing here?" Amy asked bluntly, a harsher edge bleeding into her tone. The ingrained politeness and more forgiving side of her that was reserved for Laurie seemed to melt away with the alcohol and all she could feel was the confusion and hurt left behind. She wasn't even sure what for, just that she needed something more from him than what he left her with.
"Xander's my best friend." Laurie answered her softly. She had even realized that he was getting her a glass of water until it was placed in her hands, like a peace offering. "I assumed he would've asked you if he could invite me."
Amy recoiled slightly. "He doesn't need to ask my permission for anything." She did feel slightly bad when a look of shock passed his features because she hadn't realized how isolated he'd really been. She always assumed it had just happened because of his new internship, but now she was realizing he did it for her, so she wouldn't be alone.
"I hear you're working at the Louvre?" Laurie asked, the hitch in his tone telling her he didn't really know how to talk to her anymore than she did.
"What're we doing?" Amy asked sharply, disregarding the small talk. It had been months of back and forth feelings, cryptic conversations, and meaningless offhanded comments from Xander. It was clear they needed to have some kind of talk or nothing would change.
"Talking?" Laurie offered weakly.
"I mean it, Laurie." Amy demanded, shedding her heels and pulling off the jewels she borrowed from Dominique for the ball. They were beginning to feel suffocating, but that might've had something more to do with Laurie than anything. "It's been months, and," she stuttered out, "you barely told me you loved me and then you left!"
"Amy," he began, reaching over the counter to hold one of her hands.
"No, no, I'm talking now." She hissed, pushing his hands away. "You have been in love with my sister, my sister , for my entire life. Hell, you even asked her to marry you!" Amy shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him before taking a deep breath and leaning against the counter, her back facing him. "And my entire life, I had been in love with you like a fool."
"Amy, you aren't a fool, you were never a fool." He said hurriedly, the conviction in his tone almost made her believe it.
"But I was." Amy said softly. "Because I was young, naive, and you weren't. You were the boy next door who was everything I ever needed."
"I thought I loved Jo." He whispered, waiting for her breathing to even out before he spoke. "I did. Except I didn't really love her, not like I wanted too. Amy, I wanted what Jo represented. She was there, and I won't lie, she did help me piece myself back together after my parents died." Laurie almost wanted to reach out for Amy again, but every attempt had been brushed off. "She will always be my best friend, but I'm not in love with her. I was never in love with her."
"I don't want it to be like this, Laurie." Amy murmured, clenching the edge of the counter tightly till her knuckles were white.
"I don't either." Laurie said. "God, Amy, I hate this." He ran a hand through his hair and this time he moved to stand next to her, facing the opposite direction. "I meant what I said last month. I talked to my grandfather and got my life together because of you. You brought me back Amy, I had never realized how lost I'd been since my parents died. I barely fit in, in America, and I thought I found a place with Jo, but thinking back on it, all she did was make me question what I wanted and who I was, but I think I needed that too."
"Is that it then? Do you really love me? Or do you love me because of what I've done for you?" Amy asked. It was the question weighing on her mind ever since his confession and she never dared utter the words in fear that the answer would be yes.
"When I saw you in Europe, in the pretty blue dress, everything changed." He whispered, this time reaching out to curl the end of the baby blue ribbon around her wrist, she didn't pull away. "I couldn't stop thinking about how pretty you looked and how warm and perfect your hand fit into mine. When I disappointed you at that charity ball for your school, the only thought running through my mind was that I should've done better by you."
"Stop." Amy said, cutting him off. Every word felt like he was tearing her apart.
"You want to know if I really love you? If I'm really in love with you?" Laurie clarified. "I'm telling you, Amy. Every moment I loved you, until I loved all the same." He had reached into his pocket and pulled out a pencil, one of hers. "The evenings we spent on my balcony, and all I knew was that you were a marvel, drawing beauty with a pencil just like this one. I loved you when we danced on my balcony in the middle of the winter, when we would sit in front of the kitchen windows. I wanted to kiss you on New Years, and every moment after that when I was lucky enough to see your smile. I love you, Amy, I've been in love with you longer than I've ever realized." He cupped her cheeks and brushed his finger across her jaw. "If anyone's the fool it's me. I was the stupid, naive, boy who let you slip threw my fingers." He was a breath away from her now. "Forgive me, Raphaella, please ."
Amy indulged herself for just a moment, like she always did with Laurie, and leaned into his palm. Yet, she wasn't going to do this again, so she stepped away from and tried to calm her shaking hands. "They're words, Laurie." She was so quiet, she wasn't sure if he heard her. "They mean whatever you want them too."
"I love you, Amy." He repeated, the elegant silkiness of his voice washed over her and she bit her lip from forgiving him.
"I want to forgive you." Amy murmured. Her resolve with Laurie was always weak.
"But you won't." Laurie finished for her, and she nodded, almost regretfully. "And what does that mean for us, Raphaella?"
"Prove it to me, Laurie." Amy finally said, looking him in the eye. She was feeling emotionally drained and the alcoholic effect was wearing off. "Prove to me that you deserve to be forgiven, and that doesn't just mean bringing me flowers. Earn it, and then we'll see."
Amy wasn't sure what Laurie was going to do with her proposition, but she didn't have to wait long to find out. Apparently he had convinced his grandfather to let him finish the rest of his internship in Europe, so while he wasn't moving back into the estate, he was going to be around more often.
About three days later, it was her day off and everyone else was off with their own jobs and lives. Amy assumed she was alone but then she heard a rustling coming from Laurie's old bedroom. Only to find the boy himself shuffling through his records that he'd left behind after his abrupt confession.
"Laurie?" Amy said tentatively, making sure to stand just before the entrance. "What're you doing here?"
"You seem to be asking me that a lot." Laurie quipped, turning around to face her. "You told me to prove to you that I deserve your forgiveness, and that's what I'm doing."
"Come here." He said, offering her a hand. She looked hesitant at it. "It's still me, Amy." He said, glancing at her with the same sweet look he only showed her. "Trust me, and pick a record."
Amy sighed and stepped into the room, a feeling of confusion and familiarity washing over her. It still smelled like him.
He gestured towards the records and she picked one up randomly. How coincidental, it happened to be Billie Holiday.
"Now what?" Amy asked, keeping a good distance between them.
"We eat." He said, leading her all the way down into the kitchen where he had pasta cooking on the stove and what looked like beignets on the counter. He took the record from her and placed it on the record player, not satisfied until the music was wafting through the air.
"Laurie, I don't get it." Amy said, pursuing her lips and gesturing around the room. "What is this supposed to prove?"
"The mistake is not that I love you, it's how I went about it." Laurie said, urshing her into a chair and pouring her a glass of wine. "I'm going to show you the moments I fell in love with you, and this time, I'm going to make sure you know that it's you and only you."
Amy was almost stunned into shock, because this wasn't like Laurie at all. She just assumed he was going to follow her, and bring her things like art supplies and flowers. But this, this was not what she was expecting.
"You know," Laurie said, chopping up herbs to put in the pasta sauce. "The first time I asked you to have dinner here, you told me there was more in the world for me than mediocrity. At the time I didn't know it, but staring into your blue eyes, it was you, Amy. You're the beauty I see in the view of the city. Everything speck of baby blue I can't help but always remember it looks so pretty in your curls. I can hear your voice when I look at the stars. It was you."
Laurie had taken the words to heart, and every other day Amy was surprised with another memory. The next day, Laurie had shown up with a bouquet of white camellias, the same ones he gave her on the roof of her old apartment building. She did distantly remember telling him not to apologize with flowers, but they were her favorite and they smelled nice, so she let it slide.
He had brought her to his balcony, with a picnic blanket spread out with all her favorite snacks and her art supplies settled off to the side as well. He had picked the perfect time of day, which she vaguely remembered telling him was when the sun was waning and the sky turned into pretty hues of oranges and pinks. He knew this was one of her favorite things to do. Because it was such a simple thing that reminded her of Concord painting in her window sill, but the novelty of painting in Paris reminded her of who she was now.
"I missed this." Amy said suddenly, as her hand drew the lines of the ever changing city. Laurie was laid out beside her and his eyes were closed as the summer sun kissed his skin.
"I missed this too." Laurie said, opening one eye to peek at her. "I kept most of them, you know."
"Kept what?" Amy asked, the sketch pad sliding off her skirt.
"All the paintings and sketches you've done." Laurie said off handedly. "I hung one in the foyer back in Concord. My grandfather calls it the greatest work of art he's ever seen."
Amy didn't really know what had happened to her old filled sketchbooks or paintings. It was around the time she still believed she would be nothing more than middling talent and nearly gave up on her art dreams. Most of the things she'd done were discarded in a pile on her old apartment roof or left around Laurie's bedroom. Yet, everytime she came over, they were never there anymore and she assumed he'd just gotten rid of them.
"Why?" Amy asked.
"Because I always believed in you." Laurie responded simply. "You were talking nonsense about giving up your art, but I knew you could never truly give it up. So Xander and I swiped most of your paintings and sketches, just in case you wanted them someday."
"You did that for me?" Amy murmured, her pencil frozen in her hand.
"I would do anything for you, Raphaella, like pick you from an ice cream shop at one in the morning to making sure you'd never regret your dreams."
The next time he sprang up on her was two days later, and he had simply asked her to take a drive with him. She was sure she knew which memory this one was supposed to be, but she wasn't sure how it was going to turn out.
Sure enough, after a long drive, they were in the same orchard as last time. The time when everything changed between them.
"What are we doing here?" Amy asked, wondering if she really did want to get out of the car this time.
"This is it, Raphaella, this is the one I'm taking a chance on." Laurie said, holding a hand out for her and nodding reassuringly. "Please?"
"Okay." Amy said, slipping her hand into his and following him. Unlike the last time, there was no rain and they were not stalking in the middle of the road. Instead he led her through the orchard into a small clearing where there were twinkling lights woven into the trees, a blanket set up with too many pillows, and a soft flow of music playing.
"Come dance with me?" Laurie asked, his voice sounded smooth, but the paleness in his cheek betrayed how nervous he was.
Amy couldn't help but smile and slipped her hand into his. He sighed in a soft relief and spun her into his arms. "What is this memory?"
"This is the recreation of the night we danced together, New Years, and that night. It's what should've been." Laurie answered her.
"I remember dancing on your balcony, how crazy it all seemed to me." Amy admitted, letting him sway her back and forth.
"It was crazy to me too." He laughed, burying his fingers in her hair. "I was so consumed by you, and I just acted on a whim and asked you to dance with me."
"Did you think I would say no?" Amy asked quietly.
"I wasn't thinking about that." Laurie said. "Just that I wished I could draw you, like you drew me."
"Better than what I am?" Amy asked, remembering the words he'd spoken to her on Christmas.
"I've always known who you are, Raphaella." Laurie whispered, repeating her own response. "Amy?"
"Yes?" She murmured, his forehead pressed comfortingly against hers.
"Am I forgiven?" Laurie asked her, his fingers splayed across her neck and her back where her dress had an opening.
Amy loved Laurie, she had always known this, but hearing how blatantly he loved her too seemed to turn the words into a solid feeling rather than a childish notion. It was such a simple statement that meant more than it should, but then again, everything in Amy's life felt that way.
She didn't give him an answer because she didn't think she had too. This was Laurie, he knew her. He saw her in a way that made Amy scared he knew too much, that looking too closely would reveal all the cracks in her porcelain. Yet, feeling his warmth on her skin and his frayed raw tone, it didn't matter.
And just like that, she had kissed him.
We're coming to and end soon folks, we only have one more chapter!
As promised, Laurie's point of view is either coming out before the last chapter or at the same time.
I was also thinking about adding a third installment and making this into a series, probably about Laurie's and Amy's days at Concord. The full version of Xander's birthday party.