Chapter Eleven – The Calm Before the Storm

February had arrived at the university and along with more snow, there was more romance on the grounds than normal. Valentine's Day had snuck up on everyone, even Chris and Linda, who hadn't realized that a month had gone by since their relationship was official. But underneath the mountains of homework, tests and projects between them, it was easy to lose sight of the time.

Per usual, they were in the library at a table in the back, busily working on their assignments. As Linda held her hands in front of her mouth, she felt Chris's hand move her hair from her neck and his lips press against her skin.

"Chris, stop, I'm trying to concentrate." She gently pushed him away and covered the side of her neck with her hand, trying to finish the problem on her worksheet. But he was relentless; her hair moved again and his lips brushed against her ear. "Oh, for the love of-" she meant to scold him, but instead she ended up giggling instead at the sensation of his breath in her ear. "Stop," she said, trying and failing to keep a straight face, laughing at his pout. "Darling, I really must finish this set today." Chris frowned.

"Fine," he grumbled, picking up his pencil to start writing again. With a scoff, she went back to her set, but she found that her body buzzed with the memory of Chris's touch and she couldn't concentrate probably. She bit her lip, set her pencil down and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"Oh, no you don't," Chris said, leaning away. "You had your chance." Linda frowned.

"Oh, come now," she purred, laying her hand on his arm. Chris watched her from the corner of his eye and opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it, clearing his throat.

"Like I said, you had your chance." He took her hand and moved it back to her lap, going back to his paper. Linda huffed; so he was playing hard to get. She could take him up on the chase. She pushed his notebook away and brought his face around to kiss him. She felt his hand hold her head and she deepened the kiss with a brazing confidence that even surprised her.

"Who are you and what have you done with Linda?" Chris breathed when they broke apart, stroking her hair. She tilted her head in confusion. "You have this...unbelievable boldness about you now. It's nice," he added as an afterthought, pulling her in for another kiss. But a loud bang startled them and they looked to see Anne standing, hatefully glaring at Linda.

"Umm…hi, Anne." Chris released Linda to sit back down in her chair, shifting awkwardly. Anne didn't look at him, but continued to glare at Linda. "Did you need something?" Linda started to fidget in nervousness under the scathing look. Anne blinked, as if snapping out of a trance and looked at him.

"Piss off," she snapped, picking up the pile of books she slammed down and storming off back into the shelves. No one said anything for a couple of seconds, trying to comprehend what just happened.

"Wasn't that-?"

"Yes," Chris said shortly, running a hard through his hair.

"Well, I'm sure our little performance did wonders for her confidence." She sighed. "I know what that feels like."

"You do?"

"How did you think I felt when I saw you kissing her before holiday?"

Chris stared at her. "You weren't like that, though," he said with a jab of his thumb in Anne's direction.

"Not to that extent, no, but I was pretty hurt." Linda shrugged. "I'm just saying I know the feeling of watching a bloke you really like going after someone else."

"Well, you'll never have to worry about that again." Chris grabbed her hand. "I'm completely devoted to you." She smiled at his romantic declaration.

"And I to you," she replied, accepting a brief kiss from him.

"Well, now that we have that sorted out..." Chris stood to his feet, slinging his bag on his shoulder. "I'll see you later tonight. I have some last minute details to take care of."

"I hope you didn't go to extreme lengths for this. It's just Valentine's Day."

"When have you known me to do anything on a small scale for you?"

"Never, which is why I'm worried." Chris chuckled.

"Don't be." He kissed her cheek and walked off, leaving her to finish her math sets in peace.

"Where are we going?" They walked arm in arm down the corridor, the chill of the night drawing her closer to him.

"You'll see. You're very impatient this evening." He winked, and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not impatient. I just want to know things right away," she grumbled.

Chris laughed. "Humor me." They stopped in front of a door that Linda was pretty sure she had never been through before. "Close your eyes." She stared at him, tilting her head slightly.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"I don't see the reason-"

"Close…your eyes," Chris said again. With a sigh, she did as he asked and he came around to grab her shoulders, guiding her through the door.

"What in the world," Linda said as she smelled the air, which was rich with the smell of roses. She didn't even want to think about how much money Chris probably spent on making the night special. They walked for a few seconds and he suddenly pulled her to a stop.

"All right, open your eyes." When she did, she gasped at the sight of what looked like a small stage surrounded by piles and piles of roses of all different colors, and candles lit everywhere. A single chair sat in front of the stage, while a single chair sat on the stage.

"Oh, my God, Chris." She walked around, taking in the sight. It was truly breathtaking, intimate and romantic. She stopped and turned to face him, the awe on her face melting into suspicion. "Please tell me you didn't have to break in here."

Chris laughed heartily. "Relax," he said after catching his breath. "Professor Varns owed me a favor after I edited the script for the drama department's play last term."

"Well, thank goodness," she said with an over exaggerated breath of relief. "So...what is this?"

"It's a poetry reading," he said.

"You've read poetry to me, though," She replied dumbly.

"But not poetry I've written." He ushered to her to her seat. "Now, get comfortable. The show will begin shortly." As she did as he asked, Chris went around to the side of the stage, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. Despite giving off an air of confidence, he was actually, in reality, quite terrified. He was about to show Linda the deepest part of him, the part he rarely let people see.

He could only hope she would appreciate it.

With a final sigh, he walked onto the stage and sat in the chair, opening his notebook. Linda sat stone still, smiling sweetly at him. His heart lurched as he read the first lines: "If the sky were of parchment, I could not being to write of my love for her…" Reading his poetry got less intimidating with each line and soon, his nerves were practically gone. He occasionally looked to Linda from the notebook, and was delighted to see she was completely entranced by his words and barely moved at all.

When he was finished, he shut the notebook and stood to his feet, bowing. Linda chuckled, wiping at her teary eyes.

"This was amazing, Chris," she said soflty, standing to her feet. "I can't believe you wrote all of that, you're incredibly talented."

"Thanks." He beamed. "You know," His face dropped. "I thought I had one more poem…" He looked thoughtful. "I'm sure I did, but I can't remember for the life of me what it says. Something about a rose, maybe…" Linda swallowed.

"If her beauty be that of a rose," The words of the poem suddenly came back to her, flowing out of her mouth with ease. "Then I'll be glad to let my fingers feel the pricks," She took a few steps toward him. "And will delight in the strings of that beauty which is so fragile. Oh, dear rose, why do you hide expecting to remain unknown? Come forth, let me partake of your beauty, your life, your thorns. You stand alone, but I have noticed you. I have come for you, and taken you captive with my love." She stood at the stage's edge and smiled at Chris's expression of delightful surprise.

"It fell out of your notebook one night, and I kept it," she explained softly. He jumped down from stage and with a chuckle, he cupped her cheek and tenderly stroked her bottom lip with his thumb.

"It's nice to hear my poetry from your lips," he said.

"It's a wonderful poem."

"Do you know who it's about?" She paused, swallowing.

"I originally assumed it was Anne."

"And now?"

"It's me, isn't it?" He didn't reply, but instead rested his forehead against hers gently and closed his eyes to relish in just being close to her.

"Remember what I said about love last year?" He suddenly whispered.

"It's a serious force," Linda quoted back softly.

"Capable of tearing apart kingdoms."

"And bridging gaps." She drew close to him, cupping his face in her hands. "Even willing you to death." Chris's eyes opened and his heart raced at the look of simmering passion in Linda's eyes. "Chris, I'm just as nervous as you are, you know." She smiled shyly. "This is completely new to me, too." He swallowed, trying to breathe under the crushing weight of all of the different emotions hitting him at once.

Say it.

But it hasn't been long since we've been-

Just say it.

He grabbed her arms gently.

"I love you." As soon as the words left his mouth, the world faded to where there was just him and Linda. All that mattered was hearing the words come back to him.

"I love you, too," Linda whispered, stroking his cheek with her thumb. "I love you so much." Her lips met his and he let himself get lost in the tidal wave of passion between them. As he touched her hair, her shoulders, her face, he wanted nothing more than to give her every piece of him he had to offer, even the ugliest parts that he hid from everyone else. In her arms, he wasn't the moody, eccentric and overall obnoxiously ridiculous person most people saw, but as a man -THE man- who wooed her to him through his words, his actions and his passionate love.

Linda was like an addiction, his worst vice and yet, she was also his savior. He held her in his arms, praying that nothing would ever come between them. He didn't know how he would cope if he ever lost her.

She never hated anyone so much.

Anne watched Chris walking down the open corridor around the courtyard, laughing and talking with Michael. The picture of him kissing Linda in the library came back to her, and although it had been almost a month since that happened, it still made her seethe with anger. As if right on cue, her best friend Melody and Linda walked up to the boys and Chris separated himself from Michael, taking Linda's hand to walk with her.

Anne looked back down to her homework and saw blurry words; the tears burned her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She had cried so many tears over the last few months that she was pretty sure she couldn't cry anymore anyway. Looking back up, she watched as they stopped in front of a classroom to share a kiss before going their separate ways. Her grip tightened and the pencil in her hand snapped in half with a soft crack. Fighting back a scream of frustration, she threw the pencil into the grass and pawed angrily at her teary eyes, breathing hard in an effort to calm herself down.

"I hate him, I hate him, I hate him…" She grabbed her hair, biting her lip so hard, she broke skin and felt a sting as the taste of metal flowed into her mouth. She glared viciously at Chris's retreating back. "I hate you," she hissed menacingly, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. The oath to not cry over Chris anymore flew out the window, and Anne surrendered to her feelings, crying bitter tears in the spring breeze that felt more like a cold draft that pierced her to the very core of her soul.