Hiya guys :D I'm so excited to post this! It's got to be my favorite chapter so far...enjoy!
CHAPTER 8: I'LL BE RIGHT BESIDE YOU FOREVER MORE
March 01, 2013
New World Plaza, Battery City, California
3:42 PM
"Today is a joyous occasion. Before you stand the first construction projects completed since Day Zero!"
Amy beamed and leaned into Chester as he wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. She let out a small cheer in sync with the crowd and grinned up at him.
"You're so amazing, Chazy," she murmured. "I can't believe you actually did this."
"Mmm," he responded, rubbing his nose against her neck playfully. She giggled and swatted his arm, but continued to stay in that position. "You don't think I'm that strong or determined?"
"No, I know you are," she answered. "It's just…you helped build those." Her hand shot upwards to gesture at the towering buildings that dominated everything else in the area. The massive structures looked bleak and foreboding, but she knew they meant nothing but good for her and her boyfriend.
"It was all for you, babe," he whispered, kissing the outer shell of her ear. Amy shivered at his touch.
She still couldn't believe that her boyfriend had helped in the effort to repair the apartment buildings in front of them. For over two months, since Better Living Industries had gained control of California and he had volunteered for the job, Chester had left Amy in alone in their basement—the only part of his house that was still standing—and taken his father's thankfully mostly undamaged car into the heart of the city. There, he and the other four thousand men still willing to work had spent their days repairing an old apartment complex. Thankfully, the fire had left most of the infrastructure of those buildings mostly intact, leaving minimal amounts of repair work to be done.
Amy still remembered the day that Chester had come home and told her that he had been one of the lucky one thousand workers to have their name drawn at random to receive one of the apartment buildings he had just repaired. He had come home nearly skipping and scooped Amy up, twirling her around and cheering. She'd known that because of his volunteering, they would get a real home soon, but she hadn't imagined it would be that soon!
And now, that day had come. Chester and Amy had been given the key to Apartment 10B in building 3 that morning by one of Better Living's officials and had been told that doors would open at seven that night. All of their belongings were packed away, waiting for them in their car. That night, their lives would finally return to something close to normal again.
They watched as a small scuffle broke out on a screen in front of them, the white-suited Better Living employees on stage whipping out rifles in defense, but it blew over quickly as the screens switched back to their president.
"Better Living Industries works for the people!" President Arashi announced. The pair cheered their assent happily, looking up at their leader with wide eyes.
The man continued with his speech, talking about their care for the safety of their people and the faithful workers who had labored to repair the new homes ("That's you, Chester!" Amy whispered proudly.) And then, with a broad smile and a sweep of his arm, the president declared their apartment buildings open for residency.
Black-and-white confetti rained down on the crowd as Amy wrapped her arms around Chester's neck, crashing her lips onto his. His arms found their way around her waist, and the girl found herself lifted into the air by her boyfriend. She gasped but didn't stop kissing him. All around them, people rejoiced, but Chester and Amy were in their own world where the only two people who existed were them.
When they finally broke apart, Chester whispered huskily, "Move in with me, love?"
"You silly, beautiful, perfect man," Amy giggled. "Yes, of course I'll live with you!"
"You've just made me the happiest man in California," he joked, lifting a hand to stroke her cheek.
"Well then, I must be the happiest girl," she responded. She reached up and entangled her fingers in his, bringing them back down to their sides and leaning into her boyfriend. She loved being close to him—whenever he held her, she felt completely safe in his arms. She knew he'd never let anything happen to her.
Chester smiled lovingly and nuzzled his nose against hers'. "C'mon, roomie, let's go for a walk."
Hand in hand, the two followed the crowd out of the square to where Chester had parked their car on the side of the street. But to Amy's surprise, her boyfriend led her past it and onwards toward what used to be the downtown area of the city.
"Where are we going, Ches?" Amy asked confusedly.
"Who cares?" The young man laughed freely, swinging his and Amy's interlinked hands between them. "We've got a couple hours before we're let into the apartments. How about we just enjoy it?"
"Sounds like a plan," she sighed, pulling her thin jacket closer to her body and smiling at him.
"Where to?"
Amy took a deep breath of spring air, tipping her head back this time to stare at the clear sky. She turned her big blue eyes on Chester. "Anywhere," she suggested.
"That sounds absolutely perfect," he answered, casually checking the pocket of his leather jacket to make sure the important object was still there.
To the couple, anywhere turned out to be a variety of places: a walk through the old shopping center, now completely burned out; a visit to the shell of an old art museum they had once spent long hours in together; a moment at the place where Rosa's Italian Restaurant, the location of their first date, had once stood. They finally ended up at a miraculously alive-looking park near their new apartment building nearly two hours later.
Amy remembered the park. It had always been a green and vibrant spot in a metal and concrete jungle, and a popular spot for lovers, as well. She was surprised to see that the strings of little electric light hung up in the trees along the edges of the park were still on and lit, giving the park at twilight a romantic, ethereal glow. It was the only place in the entire city she had seen electricity uo and running without the government's aid.
They were not the only ones in the park. It was scattered with lone people, couples, and even an odd family or two across the small space, but it was still quiet and peaceful—exactly what the pair wanted.
Amy rested her head on Chester's shoulder and sighed. The fingers of her left hand were still interlaced with those of his right—that hadn't changed throughout the entire afternoon.
"We've got an hour before we can move in," she murmured quietly.
"Only an hour until the start of our new lives," Chester agreed. He smiled softly and kissed the top of her head, stroking his thumb over the back of her hand gently.
"That sounds amazing," whispered Amy. "There's absolutely no one I'd rather spend it with."
"Me neither, darling," he responded.
He led her over to a bench and sat down, pulling her next to him. Amy giggled and landed with a thump.
"If I tell you to stay here for a minute without me, will you wait?" Chester asked, turning to look her in the eye.
"Of course," she answered. "I'll wait forever for you."
"You're so cheesy," he laughed. He kissed her quickly and released her hand, calling "I'll be back soon!" over his shoulder as he left.
Amy watched the retreating figure of her boyfriend curiously. She desperately wanted to know what he was doing, but she would go along with his plan. Chester had always had a lot of plans, and she knew from experience that it was best to let them play out before questioning him.
Anyway, he couldn't take too long—he had to be back within the hour so that they could move in straight away. Amy couldn't wait for the moment when the door opened on her new, adult life that night. And even better, she was getting to spend it with her best friend, her love.
She had tried to refrain from wondering what would happen after that. As part of the agreement for the apartment, she knew that she and Chester were contracted to work for Better Living for as long as they stayed in the building, but in return they would receive food, clothing and other necessities. Essentially, the jobs had them set for life…
But she had no idea what that life would be like.
The young girl startled, letting out a small scream as something warm and heavy wrapped over her eyes, obscuring her vision. She lashed out, slapping at the hand violently.
"Amy, relax!" Chester exclaimed. "It's just me…"
"Huh?" Amy turned around to make sure. Chester had dropped his hand from her face in the scuffle, and she could see a long scratch mark on the back of it—probably from her nails. "Sorry, Chazy—but Jesus, don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry, babe," he chuckled. "But you just looked so peaceful sitting there…"
"Which is why you shouldn't have disturbed me." The black-haired girl stood up quickly, turning around to face her boyfriend, and gasped.
"Where did that come from?"
Behind the bench was a blanket covered in candles and flowers that she was positive hadn't been there when they came in. The candles let off a small halo of light that made the stop shine brightly against the encroaching darkness.
"I just set it up," he said proudly.
Amy gawked. "You did that?"
"Hey, I can be romantic when I want to!" he huffed jokingly. "Don't believe me?"
"Pfft, of course I do," she giggled, embracing him. "You're such a sweetheart, you know that?"
"Only for you," he murmured.
The girl sighed and held him tighter, pressing her cheek into the hollow between his chin and his chest. She loved how perfectly she fit there, like a puzzle piece. She loved how every part of them matched up like that.
"How did I get so lucky?" she whispered, the words intangible to everyone but her.
Chester didn't hear her rhetorical question and released her, leading her to the picnic blanket he had set up. "C'mon, the food's getting cold," he teased.
"We wouldn't want that, would we?" she laughed as she sat down on the blanket. "What exactly did you do, Chester?"
"I just made dinner—sorry, it's not very fancy," he said apologetically. He pulled a couple of containers out of a plastic bag, setting them between him and his girlfriend. "I'm working with limited resources…"
"It doesn't matter, the idea was far too adorable in the first place," she sighed.
"I'm glad you like it," he chuckled.
Chester cracked open the containers, passing Amy some of the same food that they'd been surviving on since the apocalypse—reheated Ramen and crackers. Much of the food had gone bad before they'd had the chance to eat it, and they were left with only the nonperishables, which they had quickly gotten sick of.
"We won't have to eat this shit much longer," Chester reminded her happily.
Amy groaned in relief. "Thank God for that! I don't know how much more I can take" She poked at the noodles with her fork disinterestedly, swallowing a couple mouthfuls and wincing before setting down the cup.
"You know, the disaster wasn't all terrible," he commented.
Amy shot him a look that obviously meant 'are you crazy?' "How so?" she questioned.
"Well, look at us now," he said simply. "We're still here. We're moving in together—that never would have happened if we were still in high school."
"It would have happened later," she amended.
"Still…at least we've got each other. That's the biggest miracle, in my opinion."
"That's true," she murmured. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Chaz. You're my life."
"And you're mine," he answered.
Amy moved closer to Chester, resting her head on his shoulder. "I love you more than anything else in this whole entire world, you know that, right?" she asked softly. "Before or after the apocalypse."
"I know you do, and I love you just as much. More, even."
"Mmm…that's impossible," she whispered. "I doubt anyone could feel more than this without combusting or something."
"You wanna bet?"
"I would bet on that, yes."
Chester wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "We'll see," he laughed, ruffling her hair.
"Hey, not the hair!" Amy wailed, pushing Chester away. She pulled herself backwards with her hands, pausing to fix her black hair so that it fell straight and perfect again. "I will get you for that!"
"You're such a girl," he chuckled. "Why do you care about your hair so much? You always look perfect, anyway."
"You're just saying that so I don't get mad," Amy huffed.
Chester smirked. "So what if I am? It's still true."
"You really need to stop being such a fucking amazing boyfriend," Amy grumbled, standing up and pulling him to his feet. "Seriously, you've got a comeback for absolutely everything."
"Just part of my charm." The teenage boy winked at her.
Amy muttered something that sounded like 'crazy, stupid, wonderful boy' and bent down to begin to clean up the picnic. "You are not off the hook," she warned him.
"Oh, I know," he grinned. "So what will get me off the hook?"
She straightened up, holding the plastic bag of leftovers in one hand. "Well, you can start by putting this back wherever you made it appear from." Handing him the bag, she pecked him lightly on the cheek to let him know she wasn't really mad and pressed her hand to his ass, pushing him in the right direction.
"Will you wait here?" he asked.
"As long as you promise not to scare me again."
"I swear that I won't," Chester told her, and kissed the top of her head. "I'll be back before you even notice that I'm gone."
Amy sat down on the bench again, tilting her head upwards to stare into the sky. It was slowly turning dark—the horizon, which had glowed pink and orange fifteen minutes before, was now a dusky lavender color. It would be twilight soon.
Twilight had always been her favorite time of day. There was something magical and mysterious about the darkening sky and the emerging stars, about the time when it wasn't quite certain whether it was day or night. The park right now was made even more beautiful by the rosy glow of the Christmas lights in the trees, which shed a soft white light over everything below them.
Chester couldn't have picked a more romantic spot in the entire city, Amy thought.
She heard soft footsteps behind her and Chester rounded the edge of the bench to stand in front of her. "Was that quick enough?" he asked.
"I hardly even noticed you were gone," she answered truthfully.
He smiled lightly and reached for her hand, entwining it with his own. "Walk with me," he offered.
Amy stood, smiling, and followed him down a path that led farther into the center of the park. It cut diagonally through the center of the green square, edged on both sides by the light-strung trees. They walked slowly as if they had all the time in the world, and in that moment, it was almost as if they did.
"It's so beautiful tonight," Amy murmured.
"It's perfect," agreed Chester. His thumb rubbed circles into the back of Amy's hand to stop his from shaking out of fear. He tried to calm his nerves and his voice.
The reassuring movement made Amy's hand tingle and she shivered lightly, a soft smile on her face. She really doesn't have any idea what I'm about to do, Chester marveled.
It was now or never.
Chester took a deep breath and stopped walking, his girlfriend pausing behind him. "Amy," he said.
"Chester," she replied in an equally serious tone.
She still doesn't realize?
"We're about to start our new lives tonight. Our new lives together."
"I know," she said, bemused.
Oh God, what do I say now? "I—I—" he stuttered, letting go of her hand. "I love you?" he finished weakly.
"I love you too," she answered.
Man up, Chester, you've got to be confident! Don't fuck this up!
"I love you, Amy," he said more confidently. "And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. All of it."
He sensed that she was beginning to get it, even if she didn't completely realize it yet. There was something in her ice-blue eyes that recognized what he was about to say.
"I want to do everything with you—live together, have children, grow old—because you're the love of my life. I'll never want anyone else. More than ever, these past three months have made me realize that."
Amy got it. She knew. She was gasping, covering her mouth with both hands, but a massive smile was growing behind them even as Chester bent down on one knee in front of her.
"Amy Lee," he whispered slowly, drawing out each syllable. He paused to look up at her, his beautiful angel. She was shaking her head back and forth slightly, happy tears forming in the corners of her eyes, and her mouth was tugged up into an ecstatic, disbelieving grin.
"I love you. I've loved you for six years now, and I'm going to love you for a whole lot more." He swallowed nervously, reaching into his jacket pocket for the box. The top flipped open with an audible click in his hands.
"Will you marry me?"
The tears were flowing in earnest down Amy's face now, but her smile was radiant. Her eyes locked with Chester's. Neither of them looked away.
"Yes," she whispered.
Tenderly, Chester found her left hand, holding it in his own. With his other hand, he slid his mother's old sapphire ring, yet another thing he had rescued on that night so long ago, onto her fourth finger. He let go carefully.
Amy's hand hung there frozen. The blue stone reflected shards of moonlight, breaking them and refracting them in a million different directions. Neither of them moved at all.
Then Chester stood and threw his arms around her, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around even as she wrapped her arms tightly around her neck. Their laughs and sobs mingled in the air. Amy's lips found Chester's and they kissed like they never had before, like it was their first day together, like it was their last kiss. They melded together under the soft moonlight, two parts of a whole. The girl couldn't stop repeating the words "yes, yes" quietly—whether a delayed response to his question or just an ecstatic exclamation, even she didn't know.
Chester set Amy down again finally. Both were dizzy and giddy, and they collapsed into each other, laughing. Amy was still crying slightly, causing her body to shake with hiccups. Chester held her steady.
"Married," she whispered when she was able to speak again. "Married."
"Us," he added.
Her smile had faded from blindingly brilliant into a soft, dreamy grin, and she wound both her hands with Chester's. "Thank you," she murmured.
"For what?" he asked, confused.
"For asking. You've just made everything perfect."
"You honestly had no idea it was coming?" he laughed.
"Absolutely none. I've dreamed about it, sure, but for it to actually happen—" the raven-haired girl sighed, obviously overwhelmed by the multitude of emotions. "It's a dream come true."
"And it means just as much to me," Chester reminded her, rubbing her back lightly. Amy leaned in to kiss him again, their mouths only millimeters apart, when a loud tune split the near-silence.
The pair exchanged wide, startled glances. "Seven o'clock," they said in tandem, their voices reverent.
Chester reached into his pocket quickly, silencing his phone, and grinned at his fiancée. "You ready?" he asked quietly.
"I am now," she replied, subconsciously twisting the ring on her left hand.
"Then let's go," he grinned.
It didn't take long for the couple to gather their few possessions from the car and to walk the three blocks from the park to their new complex, and before they knew it, Chester had signed in at the front desk, received two keys to their apartment, and they were in the carefully repaired elevator that would carry them the last leg of their journey to their new home.
They didn't talk during the time it took to get there, but the silence was perfect and happy and full of life. Instead, Chester and Amy couldn't stop smiling at each other ecstatically. Neither could completely believe how perfectly everything had fallen into place for them.
The elevator dinged, breaking the peaceful quiet, and Chester led his girlfriend out of the metal box and into a tiled, unpainted hallway. Amy seized his hand.
He paused to stroke her cheek, trailing a finger down the side of her face with a light touch. "Ready, roomie?" he smirked at her.
"As I'll ever be, Mr. Bennington," she teased back. Suddenly, the ground was gone from under her feet, leaving her breathless.
"Chester! Put me the fuck down!" she gasped, clinging to his neck for dear life.
"I want to do this properly," Chester whispered huskily as he unlocked the apartment door. Both boy and girl took a deep breath as he pushed the door open lightly.
The wood barrier swung open, revealing a small entryway with openings to the left and right. The walls were stark and unpainted, the entire area looking highly impersonal, but neither had ever seen a more beautiful sight.
Hugging Amy tightly to his chest, Chester stepped over the threshold cautiously. Amy's cold fingers curled around his neck tensely.
"Welcome home," he whispered, gently setting her on her feet.
"That sounds perfect," Amy whispered back.
And then their lips connected in a burst of passion, both of them smiling into the kiss even as their mouths bloomed open against each other. Amy closed her eyes and fireworks exploded behind the lids.
Kicking the door shut behind him, Chester pressed forward until Amy's back was parallel to the wall, her hands splayed out against the surface for support. She turned her face upwards into the kiss, allowing Chester more access, and he tentatively slid his tongue into the warm cavity. His fiancée moaned and leaned against the wall, allowing it to hold her up. Her legs seemed to have suddenly ceased to work.
"Oh God, Chester," she sighed, biting back another moan. Honestly, the things that boy could do with his tongue…
Chester could only murmur into her mouth, making her moan even more from the vibrations. His hand slid down her torso and waist to cup her thigh, lifting it up to hitch over his hip. Amy's arms followed, gripping his neck tightly. Her legs locked around his waist.
With a groan, Chester pulled back from Amy a bit, carrying her away from the wall. "Let me show you the bedroom," he whispered, slipping one hand around her back to support her ass. Her eyes grew wide, her breathing heavy, but all the same, she smiled seductively. She was ready.
"The take me to bed, Chester."