Come Closer

Chapter 20

Lyena and James were wearing matching clothes; Lyena with a red turtleneck sweater and dark blue pair of trousers, and James with a red t-shirt, black jacket and a pair of black trousers. They walked through the busy streets, feasting their eyes on the sparkling Karberry city.

LYENA POV

It was a sight to hold. The city itself looked like it had come from a fairytale, with its streets and shops with lights and decorations, and with the happy people who gathered to celebrate the upcoming of the New Year. It felt like everyone had decided to let go of the worries of their lives, and to enjoy the evening.

Your hand in mine….

We walk on and on…

Sparkling lights over our heads…

A brighter light in our hearts…

Laugh and laugh on and on

Talk and talk on silly things

And we sit and eat at a fancy place

Just you and I in our own world….?

As James had planned, we were taking a tour around the city.

“Look there!” He pointed at the huge Christmas tree mounted in the middle of the city, in the public park, with all its glory. People were surrounding it, marveling at its height and looking at the sparkling, colorful lights and decorations. The big star at its top was lit, completing the whole scenery.

“It’s beautiful!”

“Come, let’s go”, he took my hand and led me through the crowd. “Where are we going?” I asked, as we were practically running now. The sound of our feet thudding on the marble ground was faded in the people’s laughs. He spoke over his shoulder, “somewhere fun”.

Panting slightly, we stopped in front of an oval shaped building. I looked around and saw the board saying, “ICE RINK”.

I let out a giggle. “Do you like ice skating?”

“It’s fun. Come on, let’s hurry up before the queue gets longer.”

He tugged at my hand and we ran to join the line, passing others, squeezing through them and tripping over ourselves on the little stairs.

“Woah!....Woe!.....Aaargh!”

I don’t feel the safe solidity of the ground under my feet anymore. I was standing on two strips of metal. My knees started bending left and right, going further and further away like two magnets. My hands were spread wide, to keep me balanced. I should admit that it didn’t work, as I had to keep waving and moving my hands in all directions. So basically, I was a clown.

“Hahahahaha…!” James was laughing like a hyena, giving me, the clown, quite an audience, clutching onto his stomach, like it was hurting. I wished him to have an actual bellyache. ‘Let’s see how hard he laughs then.’

My heart dropped to my stomach as my feet decided that it was time to slam my butt on the ground. “Ooff!” And congrats! My audience got doubled as some strangers letting out small giggles. I looked up at James accusingly as his laugh rang in my ears. “It would be nice if you at least TRIED to help.” I grunted as my feet slipped under me, again, when I tried to stand up.

“I thought you knew how to skate” James said, helping me up, still with a grin on his stupid face. I huffed. “I didn’t think it was that hard.”

“I’ll teach you”.

I felt the wind on my face, cooling it down, after all the failed attempts in skating. My hands were not tense anymore. The ground passed beneath me, my legs gliding on the white surface. I WAS SKATING! Well, not exactly; James was still holding me. But let’s just ignore that fact.

A huge smile had taken its place on my face permanently. I flew round and round, round and round, around the ice rink. “IT IS THRILLING!” I stopped with James, colliding with him, my arms thrown around him tightly, to keep the balance.

He let out a short bark of laughter. “I know!”

“Let’s go again!” I squealed.

By the time we went out of there, the sound of the clock tower was heard, indicating it was 7p.m. We were skipping, giggling, running around the street, not caring about the amount of shoulders bumped into ours.

It was quiet. James took me here after our dinner. We both had cups of hot chocolates in our hands. There was only me and James, sitting on the ground, glancing down at the brightly lit town at a distance. Surrounded by trees left and right, it felt a lot calmer than the busy city. James sighed as he looked up at the starry sky. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

“Lyena?”

“Hmm?”

“…Do you know what this place is?” he asked after a pause.

“No” I shook my head.

“This is where me and my brother came to, when we wanted to have some time to ourselves.”

I turned to James. “Do you miss him?”

“Yes, sometimes. I think I’ve gotten used to his absence.” He gave me a thin smile.

I put my arm around him, patting his back. A few seconds of silence…..stayed between us, one acknowledging the other’s sorrow, the other simply enjoying the company.

“I’m sorry.” I heard James. He was looking at his lap.

“For what?”

“For doing that to you the other night”

I pursed my lips. “James-’’

“Let me finish, please.” He cut me off, and I gave him a slight nod.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I was drunk, but that does not justify my actions. And I-’’ his voice cracked. He took a deep breath and looked directly at me. “I have feelings for you; not like a friend, it’s more than that. And I know you won’t give me a chance after all that has happened.”

“James no, I-’’

“You don’t have to say anything Lyena. I just needed to get that off my chest” He sighed. “I just needed closure.”

I drew breath to speak, but he had already stood up. “Come, let’s go. I’ll take you home.” He turned to leave.

No, this can’t be happening. Even before our story starts, he is going to move on. No. I have been a coward, but I won’t be anymore. I will not hide my feelings anymore. I scrambled off the ground in a haste, and grabbed James’s arm. He looked at me in surprise. “What’s wrong?”

“Shut up and listen to me!” I grabbed both of his arms and turned him towards me.

“I have feelings for you too.”

James’s eyebrows shot up but then he sighed. “Lyena, you don’t have to do this. I’ll move on, don’t worry.”

“Will you just LISTEN TO ME!” At this point, I was shouting at him. “I said that I have feelings for you! Why can’t you get these words inside your head, huh? I’m not doing this out of pity. I. Like. You.” My glare turned into a pleading gaze by the end of my confession.

“I don’t know when this started. But I have thought of you for a while now. I hid that. I didn’t want to hurt you. I knew that I would move on once I leave you to my sister; that we both would be apart. I didn’t want to hurt you. But, I didn’t know at that time that you have feelings for me too. But now that I know, I don’t want to let you go. I want to be selfish this time. Please, don’t…go…” Tears were running down my face at the end. I want to be with him. It hurts, it hurts to let go of him.

My heart dropped as James pulled his hands away from my grasp. I looked down, saddened by the silent rejection. But….then I felt two arms wrap around me, and I was pulled towards James. Both of our eyes were closed. We both stayed in each other’s arms, engulfed in each other’s warmth.

“Thank you” I heard him say.

He broke the hug and took my hands in his. When he looked at me, I saw his eyes were glazed with tears. He sniffed, looking at our hands, and again looked up at my eyes, and smiled. “Wow!” His lips tugged upward and revealed his dashing smile. “It feels different when I know that you also like me”

He tightened his hold on my hands, and looked at them in disbelief, shaking his head. “It really feels different. It’s warm here” he said, placing my hand on his chest, above his heart.

Lub dub! Lub dub! Lub dub!

I felt his heart beating rapidly. He took a deep breath.

“Lyena, will you be my girlfriend?”

I beamed at him, and I nodded. “Yes!”