Chapter Four: Tying It All Together

Thursday, the twenty-eighth, proved to be a very big, stressful day. Not only was Sora's… err… my secret admirer's letter very nerve-wracking and exciting all at the same time, I had a small pop quiz in Honors Anatomy. Ugh! The main reason for my on-edge-ness, though, would have to be the letter.

Dear Riku,

It would seem that the two-week timeline I have given myself (and us, really) is coming to a close. I never imagined that I would get this far. Quite frankly, I thought that you wouldn't even give my Valentine's Day card more than a brief glance. Also, I was pretty sure that you had never noticed me before—but that was silly of me, considering that we are in some classes together.

I'm certainly getting courageous now in my letter-writing, aren't I? Maybe I should shut up now. XD

Have a nice day!

I swallowed while tugging out the index card. My heart thudded anxiously in anticipation for the ninth clue.

CLUE # 9:

I talk to you on a daily basis

I was almost positive that Sora was the author. And it probably showed in the way I unabashedly put my hand on his shoulder as he slept at one of the tables in the room with the fiction books. He lifted his head and eyed me blearily. "Hmm?"

Smirking, I sat down next to him, questioning, "Did you not get much sleep last night?"

Laying his head back down and shutting his eyes, he mumbled (almost incoherently), "I was up late doing homework, 'cause I procrastinated."

"Heh. I do that all the time."

His lips curled into a sleepy smile. His eyelashes pressed harder against his cheeks as he scrunched his eyes a bit, yawning into his forearm.

I gently suggested, "Want me to wake you in case you don't hear the bell ring?"

"Mmhmm."

I smiled at how cute he was. "Okay. Happy nap!" He grinned, saying nothing. I watched as his grin melted away. In order to avoid looking like a creep by watching Sora sleep, I dug a book out of my bag and read until the bell rang (at which point, I woke up my sleeping beauty).

I couldn't resist teasing him on the way to first period. He seemed too drowsy to even care.

He looked tired the whole day. He made me a little tired just looking at him. However, I had other things occupying me, keeping me from getting too tired. The thought that kept repeating in my head: Only one more day.

I didn't know what to expect, and this worried me.

Dear Riku,

I feel really nervous and excited writing this letter. I'm a little sad that it is the final one, but… I'm hoping that it won't be the last of our communication. I hope that we can communicate like this… in person.

Yes, I said it! In person! XP

By now, you must have some idea who I am. And, if you don't… well, then this letter will answer that question (not with a name, but with facts).

My crush on you has been so constant, so long-lasting, that I dare to believe that it might be a bit more than a crush. (Please don't go running away just yet! XD) I think, if I had the chance to be with you, that our… ahem… relationship would prosper and quite possibly last a very long time. (You have no idea how embarrassing it was to write "relationship"!)

I know that I don't really know you, and you don't really know me, but I truly think that I have fallen for you, Riku. And I really want to get to know you better so that I might find out if we're possibly meant-to-be. I have loved what little I have learned about you so far, and I want to keep on learning. I want to learn everything about you. I want to know what makes you happy, sad, angry, and whatever else! (Okay, yeah, fine "excited"! Ahem!) I want to make you happy, make you laugh, make you… mine.

I flipped it over and discovered a list covering half a page… and then the closing of the letter.

Things I love about you:

- I love the way you smile

- I love the way you laugh

- I love the way you always look me in the eye

- I love the way your eyes seem to sparkle when

you look at me

- I love the way your cheeks turn pink just slightly

when you're embarrassed

- I love the way you don't flaunt your intelligence

- I love the way you talk

- I love the sound of your voice

- I love the thought of your hand on mine, of your

body touching mine

- I love talking with you, laughing with you,

being with you, being near you

- I love you.

I'll be at the bookstore that's across from the mall on Saturday, March 8th from 2-4 PM. I'll be wearing dark jeans and a red t-shirt, and I'll either be sitting there with a book or with nothing.

Honestly, I will be disappointed if you don't show, but I will understand. If you show, we can both order drinks and talk; if you don't, well then I'll just order myself a pick-me-up and drive on home.

If you are busy, but want to come, please put up the sticker.

If you don't want to come… then it's goodbye to the idea of us being together.

Thank you for listening. Hopefully see you Saturday.

The page is filled with his writing on both sides. He used up each line except when he wanted to emphasize something by skipping a line and leaving it blank (such as with his bold, heavily-darkened declaration of "I love you")—that was easy to tell. I realized that by making our appointment for the following Saturday, he was giving me time (in case I was already busy for this weekend); however, this also meant agonizing for a whole week.

The sticker was black and oval; its writing was neon green.

SOMEDAY

WE'LL LOOK

BACK ON THIS,

LAUGH NERVOUSLY
AND CHANGE THE

SUBJECT

Pulling out the final clue, I swallowed; I was mentally preparing myself before I flipped it over and read it. My heart rate picked up at the detailed clue.

CLUE # 10:

My favorite bands include:

Paramore

Eisley

Evanescence

Within Temptation

Muse

The Cure

Panic! At the Disco

And more! (Hehe!)

If I hadn't already felt in my heart that the author was Sora… I sure as hell did after reading that.

During the weekend, I tried to plan for the following weekend: what I would wear, things I might say, things not to say, etc. I called Naminé to see if she would be able to drive me to the bookstore on the specific date, at the specific time. Luckily for me, she said she could.

The school week was a bit tense and awkward between me and Sora. Our unspoken situation hung in the air, making it difficult to maintain the comfortable, generally cheerful and easy-going air that normally pervaded our conversations. And the closer it drew to Friday, the antsier we became. Writing utensils were accidentally flung or dropped; legs struck a constant rhythm with the foot tapping on the floor unless forced to be still; focus never lasted for long stretches of time. We were hopeless. It was a mercy when Friday rolled around; although, even then, we were jittery.

Late Saturday morning, I slept in until noon yet couldn't stand to eat anything. I took a forty-five-minute shower, trying to let the hot water sooth me. It worked to some extent, but, as soon as I got out, I was back to being sick-to-my-stomach nervous. I got dressed (jeans and a black t-shirt—casual since he would be casual) and began fastidiously fixing my hair—blow-drying it while thoroughly combing it. My work paid off: I got my hair to look sleek like I wanted it to.

When Naminé came to pick me up, she laughed at me and told me to take a chill pill—apparently, I was fidgeting in my seat without realizing it. My anxiety only got worse as we approached the area where the mall was… as we pulled into the parking lot for the bookstore. I barely heard Naminé when she told me to call her when I needed to be picked up—that she would be in the mall in the meantime.

"Okay. Thanks, Nami."

"You're welcome. Good luck on your date."

I flushed but nodded and shut the car door. It was highly intimidating when the white car pulled away and drove off, leaving me alone. However, pushing down my nervousness, I stepped forward, pulled the right-hand door open, and entered the shop.

Immediately, I walked forward and scanned the café area to my right. My heart skipped a beat, and my stomach seemed to drop, as my eyes caught sight of my admirer sitting at a table right next to the window, dressed as he said he would be, reading some book. He kept his eyes trained on the book, which he clutched until the very moment I stood at his table.

I'm pretty sure that both of our hearts were thudding the same exact, frantic rhythm when Sora lifted his head and allowed his eyes to meet mine. He grinned self-consciously and softly uttered, "Hey."

"Hey."

His eyes darted to the unoccupied seat across from him then back to my eyes. "Care to have a seat?"

"Unless you want to get our drinks right now."

God, that took a lot of courage to say. I suppose that made me the first to openly admit to our situation. This seemed to take some pressure off of Sora. After putting a bookmark in place, he casually set down his book and stood, happily agreeing, "Yeah. Let's do that first."

I tried to pay for my own drink, but Sora wouldn't have it; he insisted that it was his treat and said that I shouldn't worry about it.

Once we had our drinks in hand, we ventured back to the table by the window and took our seats. My heart would not beat any slower no matter how I tried to calm it. I had a feeling that Sora was facing the same problem.

"So…" Sora started. He looked down briefly at the mountain of whipped cream that topped his frozen drink. His hands lightly squeezed the cup just before he brought his eyes back up to mine.

Taking a deep breath, I intoned, "I'm glad that it was you. I'd been hoping that it was you the whole time that I got them… but, at the same time, I didn't want to get my hopes up too high. …You know?"

He grinned. "Yeah." A bit more at ease after my proclamation, he sat back in his seat and sipped some of his drink. "So… when did you start to suspect that it was me?"

This made me laugh. I looked down at my beverage, stirring it around with my straw. "Well… I don't know. I was kind-of biased, because, like I said, I wanted it to be you—so that might have tainted my perspective a bit. But, I guess… it was the clue that said that you were in some of my classes—meaning more than one."

He practically giggled at this. "Yeah, I had a feeling that that would be the one to do it."

We fell quiet, drinking our icy beverages to cover up making more conversation—while contemplating what else to say. Sora looked up at me, removing the straw from his mouth, when I uttered, "I've had a crush on you since freshman year." My cheeks warmed; I tried my best not to mumble out, "I started liking you from the moment I saw you on the first day of school."

"I guess that was a mutual moment, then."

"Yeah."

After a small lapse in conversation, I stated, "I really loved your letters. They made me excited to go to school."

He laughed. "That's pretty rare nowadays."

"Yeah. …So thank you."

A smile tugged at his lips while his eyes shone brightly with a soft, gentle light. "You're welcome."

Breaking past my awkwardness with surprising ease, I grinned and asked, "So can this be considered our first date or what?"

Sora blushed, laughing wholeheartedly out of surprise. "Sure! Let's make it our first date!"

I decided to push him further. "When do you want your anniversary to be—from our first date or our first kiss?" A grin stretched from ear to ear as Sora blushed even more.

"Uhh…" He barked with laughter. "Umm… I suppose, to make it official… uhh… the… err… umm… our first kiss." He quickly ducked his head, beet red in the face while smiling self-consciously. I chuckled at him before pushing myself to reach my hand across the table, placing it on his. Casting his eyes first to our hands then to my eyes, Sora murmured, "Your hand's freezing."

"Yeah, I know."

A fresh grin crept onto his face as he suggested, "Once we finish our drinks, do you want to walk around outside for a while?"

My expression mirrored his, fondness mixed with happiness welling within my heart. "I'd love to." I squeezed his hand before withdrawing mine.

And so, after enjoying our drinks in comfortable silence, we stood up, threw out our trash, and ventured outside. In Sora's left hand, he carried his book; in his right hand… was my left one.

Just ten minutes later, while sitting on a bench underneath the shelter of a white gazebo, Sora and I shared our first kiss, marking March 8th as the day of our anniversary.

Currently, having recently graduated from college, Sora and I share a one-bedroom apartment. From time to time, we like to stroll down memory lane, smiling fondly as we get nostalgic. I suppose this is why I still have my shoebox full of his love letters—and every sticker that once adorned my locker door.

We look at them, and we smile, and we kiss, blessing our good fortune. (Of course, it goes without saying that I still like to tease him at times for his notes… but he just blushes and grins, taking it in good stride.)

And so, even with the occasional dispute, we are living quite happily ever after.

A/N: The End. Yes, "The End". lol. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and review; I appreciate it very much.

Please review!

Kagome-chan