Anastasia's P.O.V.-
It all began at the festival grounds the next day.
"Anastasia." I spun around outside my booth where I was stapling flyers to find Christian right behind me. Oh god… oh god, he's here; my heart expectedly skipped a beat. Several beats. We hadn't seen each other since that night of the black out a couple of days ago. It was actually last night that I decided I would… I would… No, I reminded myself to take a deep breath. You don't have to blurt it out now; just take your time. Tell him when you're ready, Anastasia. With that confirmation, I smiled brightly at him. It didn't help that I was so incredibly happy to see him all of a sudden….
"H-Hi, Christian! S-Sorry, I didn't realize you were here already. Getting your booth ready for tomorrow night?" I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. I took note that his eyes were locked firmly onto mine; more so than usual. Funny, if I didn't know any better, I'd say he had something to tell me too. But that's probably wishful thinking on my part. "No… I… I came here to see you, actually." Wow! Talk about all my cells jumping for joy. But I did my best to look calm and collected on the outside. No, don't get your hopes up, Anastasia; don't do that to yourself. You don't know what he wants to talk about yet. "O-oh, really? W-why?" My voice sounded embarrassingly shaky, not that he noticed; I couldn't tell if he did.
"Anastasia, I….. I…" He's struggling to speak to me. Why? What does he want to say that's so hard? I'm the one who should be stressed right now, what with my confession and everything about to happen. My eyes widened as he drew in a long, cleansing breath; he shut his eyes for a moment. "There's something I have to tell you, Anastasia. It's very important that you know, but…. but also know that I don't mean to ruin anything with my feelings. You must understand that." W-what is he talking about? His feelings? My hand raised up to my pounding chest on its own accord. His lungs sucked in another long breath.
Everything in me froze as his hand quite suddenly reached out to take hold of mine. W-wha-! He's… he's holding my hand! We're holding hands again! Words cannot accurately describe the shade of red I turned, standing there like an immovable statue with my hand in his. I felt his fingers curl around the side of my hand, grasping it tight. All I could was stare… stare and forget how to breathe momentarily.
"You're important to me, Anastasia; and I respect Paul as well." Paul? What does he mean? How could he possibly harm a tank like Paul? He is a rhino, after all. Wait… did he just say I was important to him? "I don't want to cause either of you any harm, especially with how society is now. All I am asking is that you hear my feelings." "Christian!" Seriously, is this happening? Have I died and gone to heaven? Is he… is what's happening really what I think is happening? "I know this must be a bit confusing for you, what with me saying this all of a sudden. Do you…. er, do you know imprinting is, Anastasia?" "Imprinting? I-I've heard about it, but I don't know anything…."
Christian paused for a minute, his fingers giving my hand one final squeeze before eventually releasing it. The cold wind felt like a cruel joke against my now bare palm and fingers. "Tomorrow, at the spring festival… let's meet here in the evening. Let me tell you exactly how I feel; what's going with me, us." "C-Christian?" Dear lord, is it possible to die of happiness? I think it might be. He smiled a bit for the first time since he arrived. "I know this is a little too sudden; I'm sorry. I wanted to wait a bit longer, but… Instead, I want to give you some time now; as long as you know its tomorrow, you'll be able to mentally prepare for it." Mentally prepare for what? I don't understand what he means. What do I need to mentally prepare for? Is this a carnivore thing?
"A-Alright." "Then, tomorrow," he let out what seemed like a relieved sigh. Hey, wait. When am I going to confess to him, then? What about my original plan? There's still so much I need to say to him too. "Uh, Christian!" I jolted with a little too much pep. He blinked down at me and I immediately blushed in a shy fashion again. "Erm, t-there's something I want to tell you too. C-can I also do that tomorrow night?" "Of course. You can tell me anything any time you want, Anastasia." God, I hate it when he says things like that; I hate it cause I love it way, waaaaaaaay too much. I think…. I think Christian might confess to me too, but I still have no way of knowing. Either way, I just feel so light and joyous now. I feel like I could fly. Ok, stay calm, Anastasia; you can do this. Just wait until tomorrow night when you can tell him everything. Who knows? Maybe I was wrong- maybe both Elena and I were wrong. Maybe carnivores and herbivores can be a thing.
Only one way to find out.