Chapter Forty-Two

Gabby's POV

Two months passed, and our indescribable first year at World Academy seemed to come to an untimely close. No way had an entire year already passed… Probably the most eventful year in my life, at that. I had been reunited with my forlorn twin sister, gone through more relationships than I had in my entire lifetime, made so many lifelong friends, faced so many academic challenges… I was going to miss all this over the summer… The school, the students, even Mr. Edelstein. I didn't want to go back home.

Not only that, but Francis and I were somehow miraculously still going strong. We both heard the whispers as word of our relationship got out; people saying we wouldn't last… To be honest, I sometimes contributed to those whispers. I was nearly certain I had ruined it myself by absently kissing him good-night after being together for just a week, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, even though my and Francis Bonnefoy's lips had never locked before. Yet my worries were proven fruitless when Francis just smiled and pecked my lips in return, wishing me a bonne nuit.

And now here we were, nearing our two-month anniversary, still together.

"You live in north Jersey, don't you?" I confirmed as Francis helped me drag my luggage down from the dorms. I remembered Francis telling me about his family's long-awaited move from France five years ago, but how he had recently had a falling out with his parents and moved himself all the way from New Hampshire to New Jersey. "That's only about an hour away from my place, maybe we could hang out sometime…! Meet halfway…"

Francis smiled softly, setting one of my suitcases by the curb. He cupped my face with his hand, first tucking my hair behind my ear then gently caressing along my jaw line, finally pressing his palm against my cheek. I leaned into his touch. "Even if I still lived in France, I would do everything I could to come see your beautiful face, in person, over the summer," he murmured affectionately. I made a pathetic sort of whimpering sound, pecking his lips before burying my face in his chest and hugging him as tightly as possible.

"I'm going to miss you…"

One of his hands wound around my waist, pulling our bodies together, while the other slipped through my hair, playing with the locks. "Moi, aussi. But I'll find my way down there, je promets. I couldn't possibly stay away from mon petit ange for an entire summer…"

I aimed a sad smile at his face- his perfect, lovely face- and once again brought our lips together, longer this time. I had fallen speechless, so we just stood there gazing at each other until I noticed a familiar black pickup truck pull around the school. "Shit, that's my ride…. Thank you, for carrying my bags out," I forced out of my mouth, tears jumping into my eyes. I glanced away from Francis to stare up at the school; the academy I'd come to love as my own home. I heard the truck pulling into park beside me. I'd already said good-bye to everyone, now I just had to climb in and… leave…

Wait. No. I was forgetting someone.

"Where's- Kay! Come here, I gotta go!" I spotted my sister hugging Gilbert tightly and waved her over. She reluctantly peeled herself away from him to shuffle over to me, and I immediately set my bags down so I could open my arms for a hug. And for once… She didn't hesitate to hug me in return, planting her face against my shoulder.

I squeezed her tightly, heartbeat increasing. This was my twin sister… My fellow victim of a fake marriage full of lies and hatred; the girl ripped away from me far too soon. The girl that had once understood me like no other, that could make me laugh when nobody else could and that knew all my secrets… She had changed. Drastically. I think we both had. Yet… That inseparable sisterly bond was still there. Even if we didn't get each other, at all, we still had each other. I was sure of this as we stood there in each other's arms, both on the verge of tears. "I love you," I breathed. Six years… It had been six years, since I told her that…

The surprises just kept on coming. "I love you, too," she murmured. I planted a kiss against her forehead- heat of the moment, I guess- and we hesitantly peeled apart, eyes locking. I hardly acknowledged the sound of a truck door opening then shutting, or that someone had begun picking my bags up off the curb. I did, however, take note of my favorite voice saying: "Permettez-moi, Monsieur Bibus."

Oh God, Francis, don't… I glanced over my shoulder to see my father staring at Francis, who had picked up two of the bags he had carried out himself. "Who're you?" Dad mumbled. Well, he didn't purposely mumble, that's just how he talks.

"Francis Bonnefoy, sir. Gabrielle's significant other," he indicated with a charming smile. Wow, he was brave… My dad continued to just stare at him, probably thinking "What the hell?" Better intervene before things got bad. I slipped away from Caliegh, grabbing a couple of my bags.

"Dad, this is Francis. He's my boyfriend," I told him, tossing the bags into the truck's backseat. Francis nodded, offering his hand after setting the bags he was holding next to the ones I had put away; my dad gave it a single, awkward shake before retrieving the last of my luggage.

"Whoa, Gabby! You're leaving?" I turned at the sound of the Romanian-accented voice. "I don't care that we already said good-bye, I'm saying it again. Rămas bun!" Vasilica then enveloped me in a tight hug, flashing a toothy grin that I couldn't help but return. As I hugged him back, I noticed Arthur hanging slightly off to the side. My smile softened, and when Vasilica let go I immediately wrapped my arms around Arthur.

"No more Magic Club, eh?" I said, taking a step back after he released me from our brief hug.

"Not until next year, no… …it's been fun."

"It has… Bye, Artie."

He smiled sadly, gripping my shoulder. "Goodbye, Gabby. Keep in touch?" I nodded, and before I could say anything else, I was being pulled into a bone crushing hug by I-don't-even-know-who.

"Think you can just sneak off without saying good-bye to your awesome future in-law?" Ah. Gilbert. I grinned, hugging him back then messing up his platinum hair.

"I said good-bye!" I exclaimed, crossing my arms.

"Ja, this morning! Too long ago." He placed his hands on his hips. "We're going to get together this summer. You, your sister, me, Francis, und-"

"Me!" Antonio finished, grinning brightly. His expression softened, and he ruffled my hair. "Adios, chica."

"See you, Toni." We hugged, and then I reluctantly found my way back to my waiting father.

"Call me when you get home?" offered Francis, who was still standing patiently by the truck with Caliegh. …oh, my god. Caliegh was standing there alone with Francis and our dad. I wonder what I had missed….

I nodded, letting Francis bring me into his arms. "I will… I'll miss you, Fran."

"I'll miss you more." Identical, tiny smiles appeared on our faces and suddenly we were kissing, holding each other close and positioning our mouths just right. My dad coughed; I couldn't tell if it was intentional or not, but regardless, Francis and I pulled away blushing. I pecked his lips one last time, gave Caliegh a final squeeze, and waved to all my friends that had gathered before climbing into the truck. I rolled down the window in order to stick my head out and wave some more until the school was nothing but a speck looming in the distance. I'd wanted to say good-bye to Gabrielle again, but I didn't know where she'd gone… Oh well. We would text.

A quiet, awkward car ride followed, and I had expected no less. It started out with conversation, at least: "That was your boyfriend?"

I smiled absently at the mere mention of him. "Uh huh. Ain't he handsome?"

My dad just made a "hn" sort of noise. "Said 'is name was Francis… I thought you were dating some guy named uh, Matt somethin' or other."

For a moment, I just stared at him. "…Mathias? Dad, we broke up months ago."

"Thanks for the update." That would have sounded sarcastic, if my dad was capable of speaking not-monotone. I tuned the radio to my favorite station, and it was silent from that point on. At least, until…

"Joey's home." We'd gone so long without talking that hearing my dad's voice literally made me jump. At least he chose to talk to me during commercials, as opposed to in the middle of one of my favorite songs, as he usually did. ….hold on, did he-?

"Wait, what?"

"Joey's home," he repeated. "Back from college."

….oh my god!

I left all my things (except for my iPod, phone, and laptop) in the truck once we pulled up the long farm driveway; I'd get it all later. For now, I just wanted to trudge inside, see how much the place had changed, call Francis, then take a long nap. But first…..

I knew what my dad had said was true when the first thing I heard stepping out of the truck was the barking of a pitbull: my brother's most trusted companion. She tugged on her chain and wagged her tail so fiercely her entire body shook, then proceeded to coat every visible inch of my skin in slobber. I rubbed and patted and pet her all over, giving her a big hug before unclipping that awful chain from her leash. If there was one thing I hated that my brother and father did, it was that they left her on that stupid thing all the time… She danced around my ankles as I walked up the porch, swinging open the kitchen door.

…there he was. Red hair cropped short, tattoos on his forearm and back of his neck, dirty tank top and ripped jeans, a horrible farmer's tan, grabbing a root beer out of the fridge. One of my favorite people in the world… I just couldn't help myself. I dashed right over there, nearly tripping over the dog, and hugged him from behind. "Hiya, Brother Dear."

Only mildly caught off-guard, Joey glanced over his shoulder and wrapped one arm around me (he was never one for hugs). "Hey, Gab. Long time no see. How was it at your schmancy prick school?"

I did my best to summarize my year at the academy, neglecting to mention anything about Caliegh: he never liked her. When I told him about Mr. Edelstein, his response was "Sounds like a faggot," and all he had to say about Gabrielle was, "Is she hot?" Every time I talked about a boyfriend, he asked "Didja have sex with 'im?" to which I would blush and insist I hadn't, then he would say "Good, boys are gross/stupid."

"And what about you? What was college like?" I asked, content that I had told him plenty. He shrugged, popping open his root beer bottle.

"It was a'ight. Only white kid on the block, parties weren't all that great." And that was all he had to say. Things like that just remind me that he is in fact his father's son…

"How're you and Priscilla? Still together?" Last time I had talked to my brother, he and his girlfriend that I already looked up to as an older sister had been fighting; I never got the chance to see if they had smoothed things over.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. Broke up for a little bit, got to date a few more bitches. But they was all dumb sluts, I missed my 'Scilla."

I squealed at that; I loved Joey and Priscilla together, even if she was way out of his league. "So when're you two gonna get me some cute little nieces and nephews?" Joey just shook his head and ruffled my hair, taking another swig of root beer. I smiled to myself as he returned to watching Nascar without a word, pretending I didn't know I missed him a thousand times more than he missed me.

I'm glad to say how often Francis and I managed to keep in touch. We texted all day, every day, went on Skype as often as possible, and called to say good-night every night. Then one day, about two weeks into summer, he called in the middle of the day. I stared at my phone in surprise for the first couple lines of my ringtone, then quickly answered it. "Allô, ma cherie~ You live near the Garden State Motel, oui?" came his cheery, heavily accented voice.

"Uh… Yeah, why?" I answered, taken aback quite a bit by this sudden call.

"Excellente. Drive down there, d'accord?"

"Sure…? But, why?" Before I received a response, the phone had cut out. The hell? "Dad? Wanna drive me down to the Garden State Motel real quick? A friend wants me to meet them there… I think…" That possibility made my heart leap. Getting to see Francis, today… But I was only in sweats and my hair was barely brushed, shouldn't I clean up a bit-? Ah, he wouldn't care… Probably… I decided to dab on a bit of mascara, spritz myself with some perfume ,and pull my hair into as high a ponytail as it could go before hopping into the pickup truck.

Sure enough, about 10 minutes later when we arrived at the motel, there he was, standing in the parking lot with his hands in his pockets and a huge grin on his face. I squealed as I threw myself into his arms, burying my face in his chest. Ah, I had no idea how much I missed that scent of rose cologne… He hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead, then leaned down to kiss my lips. I could feel my dad staring us down from the truck, and didn't do anything more until he reluctantly pulled away. Then I gave Francis a longer kiss. "What are you doing here?!"

"I told you I would visit, did I not?" He winked at me and slid my hand off his shoulder, planting a kiss on it. "I paid to be here a week, I was hoping for longer, mais…"

I shook my head quickly, pecking his lips again. He had eaten crepes for breakfast; I could still taste it. "Every second with you is better than none."

"Aww, you're sweet," Francis purred, running a hand up my side. "So while I'm around, how about we go on a little date? Catch a movie, I heard there's a good new horror film playing…"

My face lit up. "Sure, I'd love to! When?"

"Let me check movie times and I will get right back to you," Francis responded, whipping out his phone and opening the internet.

A thought crossed my mind, then. "This'll be our first official date, won't it?" It was true, once I thought about it. Don't get me wrong, Francis and I hung out alone plenty of times in our two months together, but we had never officially gone out. Every time we tried to make plans, either one of us had a project due or a major test the next day that we had procrastinated working on or studying for, the location in question was too crowded, or anywhere we wanted to go was closed by the time we got around to going. So aside from snogging in the halls, studying in the library, and hanging in each other's dorms, we had never managed to really go on a date.

"Hm, you're right…. Et according to this, we should be on that date in an hour."

I nodded. "Sounds good… The theatre is about forty minutes away, so if I stop home first and then we go, we should get there in time to buy something to eat and still make it in time for the previews," I deducted out loud. I paused. "…can you drive me home?"

Francis chuckled. "Oui, of course. We can head out right now, I'm perfectly ready." Of course he was. It was like Francis Bonnefoy woke up every morning perfectly groomed and ready to melt every girl's heart.

And so we hopped in Francis's secondhand car, and I showed him the way to the farm. "I'll be real quick," I promised as he followed me through the door, and I meant it: I didn't tend to take ridiculously long getting ready as most girls did. "Dad, I'm gonna go to the movies," I called as I trotted up the stairs. When I received no response, I figured he was out in the fields. Well good, he couldn't tell me I couldn't go if he wasn't around to know I was going.

Due to the echoing acoustics of the stairwell, I could easily overhear the conversation that suddenly occurred downstairs as I splashed my face with water, applied a better dose of mascara plus some blush and lip gloss, ran a brush through my hair a few times, applied more perfume, and stripped out of my sweats and replaced them with a skirt and layered tank top. "The hell're you?" came my brother's naturally loud voice.

"Francis Bonnefoy… Are you Gabrielle's frère?"

"Y'mean brother? Yeh… Francis. Ain't you 'er boyfriend?"

"That I am." I could just hear the prideful grin in Francis's voice.

Joey's tone turned to the aggressive one he reserved for when he was uncharacteristically serious. "Listen here, my baby sister's still just a baby. She don't know what she's doing. You break her little heart, and I'ma find you, and I will kill you. Got it, queer?"

"…yes, sir," was Francis's feeble reply. So Joey was the type of brother to intimidate the hell out of his sister's boyfriends, huh? …how sweet… I guess he figured that since our old man was too spineless to do it, somebody had to. I grinned slightly as I slipped into my sandals.

"Did you hear me? We're going to the movies," I told Joey as I hopped over to Francis, who was trying to regain his composure off to the side while my brother messed around with his dog.

"A'ight, but don't have too much fun. They'll kick ya out. Don't ask how I know that." I just grinned and linked my arm in Francis's, trying not to laugh at his horrorstruck demeanor when Joey motioned "I'm watching you" at him.

"I see you have a protective grand frère…" Francis murmured as he let me in the car.

"Apparently so. Normally he doesn't seem to really give a damn about me…"

Francis half smiled, turning the key in the ignition. "Well at least he found some way to show he cares, as terrifying as that may have been." I grinned at him, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

We decided it would be cheapest to eat at the theatre, as opposed to finding a restaurant afterwards. So, along with popcorn and two boxes of candy, we both got an order of mini hot dogs (I'm not usually a hot dog person, but I love the ones at the movies). My estimate had been spot-on: by the time we found our seats (at the very very top, upon my insistence), the previews were just starting to role. We provided our commentary as to which upcoming movies looked good and which ones looked stupid, while I pointed out some of the hottest actors and Francis jokingly agreed with how gorgeous they were. I tried to restrain myself from eating anything- didn't want to finish it all before the movie even started- but of course by the time the lights went down and the movie began, we had devoured almost half the popcorn and I was down a quarter of my water and one hot dog.

I don't know why I continue to allow myself to watch horror films. I always tell myself I can handle it, then I'll have nightmares for a week and have to leave every light in the house on. Yet, seeing one with a date was… relieving. In fact, most of the time we weren't even watching the movie. It started with Francis doing that cheesy fake-yawn move, then we spent the majority of the film popping popcorn and candy into each other's mouths, stealing sips of each other's beverages, and trying to find each other's tonsils if you know what I mean. More than once, I felt Francis's hand slip onto my knee while we were lost in our passionate kissing. It felt awkward the first time, but then I didn't think anything of it.

Usually, when we were paying attention, we'd be unfortunate enough to look up during the scariest parts. I would gasp and bury my face in his shoulder, images of the deformed creature that jumped at the screen flashing in my mind as Francis pulled me close and nuzzled his nose into my hair. Every time I peeked back at the screen, he would murmur something about how adorable I was, we'd kiss a little more, than revert our attention back to the movie for the time being.

At one point, when we had taken a longish break from kissing in order to eat our hot dogs, the movie started to take a turn for the tragic. A sick little boy's dog had been killed by that monster that I'd be seeing in my nightmares tonight (I had nearly thrown up my popcorn at that very gruesome scene), and his parents had to tell him. The next day, the kid died. I couldn't help it: tears started to roll down my cheeks. Francis, who I could see was actually rather watery-eyed himself, used his thumb to brush away the tears leaking from my one eye while kissing down the trail gliding down my other cheek. Smiling weakly, I turned to face him, and soon enough our lips were locked once more.

During this particular make out session, I could feel a fiery sensation building up in the pit of my stomach. I had felt like this before, while kissing Mathias and Alfred, but in both instances it had been… weak. Easy to overlook. Now, it was practically screaming at my attention, begging me to do something, but what-? ….oh, my god. Was this what… lust felt like? Was Francis making me- ew. God, no, I was not going to use that word. I was only 16…! Then again, with teenage hormones and all, I suppose it was more than natural to feel that way…

I peeled away from Francis, taking a bite of my last hot dog and taking a long sip of water. He didn't comment on my sudden protest; just leaned his head on mine as if he expected me to pull away exactly when I did, and was totally okay with that. The movie ended (on a cliffhanger) 10 minutes later.

"What would you like to do now, cherie? Go somewhere else… Go home… Come back to the motel…"

"Let's go back to the motel for a bit," I answered without even thinking about it. Why-? I guess I just wanted to spend more time with Francis, yet I wasn't really in the mood to do anything.

Francis nodded in agreement, wrapping his arm around my waist then proceeding to open the car door for me. He let me pick the radio station, so the entire car ride consisted of my singing with the occasional comment from or duet with Francis.

"And here we are, my home for the next seven days," Francis announced upon turning his key in the door to his motel room. I'd seen much dingier places, but this motel was certainly not the best. I'd have to make sure he was out of this craphole as often as possible… "Have a seat, ma cherie." He sat on the bed and patted the space beside him; I sat.

"…so where were we?" I admit, I mildly regretted ending our little snog-fest back at the theatre, even if a voice in my head kept insisting it was for the best. Francis smirked lightly and delicately brushed a few loose strands of hair behind my ear, leaning in for a kiss. I scooted a little closer and positioned my head better. …he was being so gentle, this time around, as if he was going to hurt me… Why? Well, I guess I couldn't complain. It felt nice.

The series of ginger little kisses went on for who knows how long, our hands gliding over one another's hair, waists, and arms. I don't know who started it, but one of us kissed a little rougher than before, setting a new pace: not exactly a feisty one, but just enough to ignite that dirty little flame I had felt during the movie. I tangled my fingers into his blonde locks as I felt his tongue glide across where my lips met. If he was attempting to French me, I wouldn't know, because I was too frightened to grant him access and he never did it again.

His hands had wound around my waist for about the third time, only now, it seemed like he was fiddling with the hem of my shirt. I wasn't sure, though, and I was content with not finding out. However, I suddenly felt one hand disappear under the fabric of my shirt, tracing over my spine and making me shiver. It felt, nice, so I didn't protest as he stroked my back up and down and in circles… until his fingers stopped at the hook on my bra, and started to undo it.

I gasped and pulled my chapping lips off of his, pressing my hands against his chest and instinctively pushing him away. "Francis, what the hell-?"

Francis blinked a few times, then smiled apologetically. "Désolé, I was getting carried away…" He pressed a kiss to my forehead, not a trace of anger on his face. My eyes widened. He was completely content with me turning him away from sex; totally understood that I wasn't ready to go that far.

"…sorry… I just, I'm not ready," I whispered. Francis gave a slight nod to his head.

"Oui, je sais. I suppose that just seemed a better way of asking instead of suddenly pulling away and saying, 'Would you like to have sex right now?'"

I laughed weakly. "Yeah, yeah, that woulda been bad… …thank you."

A sincere, sweet smile appeared on his face. "L'amour is not something that should be forced on others. If you want to wait, that's alright, and if you don't want me to be the first one to take you to that level, je comprends."

A jumbled mess of emotions darted around inside of me. "I… I don't know what to say…" I told him honestly. So I just grabbed his face and kissed him, picking up where we left off. I allowed him to lean me down against the bed… but we kept our clothes on, and only touched skin that wasn't revealed already.

"I love you… Francis…" The words spilled out of my mouth breathlessly, before I even realized it. I froze; never in our two months together had I told him that… I was too much of a coward to say those three words myself, and I guess Francis took that to mean he shouldn't say it either. He stared down at me, blue eyes widened, hair dangling around his face and almost touching mine.

"…quoi?" Maybe he didn't hear me; I did kind of mumble it, after all. Should I cover up my moment of confusion and just say "never mind…."?

"…I love you," I repeated after a deep breath. Francis's eyes widened even further, confirming that he had heard correctly the first time. Instead of diving back in to kiss me some more, he sat up on his legs and pulled me up with him, hugging me close.

"Je t'aime aussi, Gabrielle," he insisted, stroking my hair and hiding his face in my shoulder. "…je t'aime aussi…" he breathed more to himself than me. Dazed, I slowly hugged him back, and when he looked up at me… All I could see in his face was an overwhelming amount of relief and affection.

…yes. I did love him. And for whatever reason, he certainly loved me too.