His blood on my hands

Belle twelve

I stare at her in shock. This was the last thing I expected to happen today. She looks at me, her hair frizzy from the rain.

"Yes, of course, yes!" I smile, hugging her. She looks just as shocked as I am.

"Wait, I have something!" I say excitedly, quickly searching through my pockets. I pull out the ring pop from years ago and slide it onto her finger.

She laughs, "Why the fuck do you have this?"

"It's a long story"

"Well, now we've got forever and more." She pauses then remembers something, "Wait! I have something too."

She takes off her yellow bracelet and slips it onto my wrist. I didn't notice that she was wearing it at first.

"This is yours, you must have put it in my bag by accident."

"Thank you." I say smiling so big my jaws hurt.

A few moments go by and we're looking at each other and to the floor like a middle school couple.

"So, what now?" she asks.

"Now we dance." I say, determined. Slightly afraid but ready.

"We already danced, dumbass." she furrows her brow laughing.

"No. Let's dance, Jamia."

It takes her a moment for her to understand. To understand that we're leaving our safe little corner. In here, decisions are ours, out there they're everyone's.

She smiles and stands up, taking my hand. I grab it and we walk outside, down the long hall, the door getting smaller behind us.

We reach the edge of the dance floor and I initiate the first step, walking her onto the floor. She puts her hand on my waist and on my shoulder, and I do the same. We're close and I can feel her breath on my skin, her eyes wandering around the room anxiously.

Should I introduce her to my parents? Is she going to introduce me to her Aunt and Uncle?

She's slightly taller than me so I have to tilt my chin up ever so slightly.

"You're such a bottom." She laughs, staring into my eyes. It feels like she could burn through my soul with her stare.

I don't say anything, I just smirk, wink, and pull her closer, digging my nails into

her side very slightly.

She winces just a bit and her eyes go wide immediately after.

Such a bottom.

I break focus and I see that a few people are looking at us but I don't really mind. Then I notice my parents are looking at us. With a disgusted look on their face. Great. I try to focus on Jamia again but I can feel their burning glare.

"What's wrong?" She asks.

"It's my parents."

She looks over and rolls her eyes which confuses them.

"I should tell them about us." I say.

"Belle, you know how they're going to react." She says, sadly.

"But, if we are... you know. Getting married. Wouldn't we have to tell someone?"

She seems to seriously consider my question which was obviously a rhetorical

question.

"No." She says it as more of a question, gaining confidence as she talks, "We don't have to tell anyone."

"What do you mean? Like run away? Never see our families again without saying goodbye?" I ask, considering the possibility. It feels so out of reach and impossible.

"I mean, yeah. I wouldn't mind it, would you?"

I think about my family. Something I don't do very often. There's not much I'll miss. Maybe I'll miss the greenhouse and the kitchen. And maybe Claud. I scratch my brain but there are no memorable moments with my family. My parents and I are just strangers who live under the same roof.

"Yes." I say on a rush of adrenaline.

"What, really?" Her eyes shimmer.

"Yes."

She smiles. We notice my parents walking over to us and Jamia's Aunt has noticed us too. She's giving us a disgusted look and motioning for her husband to look; my parents get closer. I look at her and she nods. Right as my parents were close enough that we could hear them, I grab her hand and start running for the door. We push the double doors and the guards are surprised for a moment then they start to close the doors again. I notice my parents making a slight effort to follow us.

"What the hell is going on?" I hear from the distance along with a few confused mumbles from others at the ball.

We ignore them and keep running. The wind, the rain and the smell of warmth and wood surround us. We make it far past her castle so that it looks small in the distance and we're at a field in front of a hill. The grass is wet and the droplets of water reflect the moonlight off of her skin.

Our lungs are out of breath so both of us fall to the ground laughing and giving each other gentle punches. Then we stop, looking up into the stars and the deep blue. She loves stars. I hold my hand up and she grabs it, looking towards me.

"For forever and more." I say.

"For forever and more."