the summer things changed

The Inevitable

The week came and went with nothing but peace. It seems like Zach was over the whole bus incident and things were going back to normal, I finally felt like I could breathe.

I had been given another invitation to join Anthony at the Larusso house with specific instructions to "dress nice but not too nice", after further interrogation, I found that Anthony had something planned that would happen outside and I would be upset if I hadn't dressed nicely for the occasion. I settled on a nice blue sundress that looked like the sky on a cloudy day. I tried to put on some makeup but ultimately wiped it all off and settled on mascara and lipgloss. I met my mom in the car and realized that I got so carried away with the makeup that I am now 7 minutes late.

We arrived at the LaRusso's and after a short goodbye and a "make good choices" talk, I ran to the front door to knock. The door swung open almost immediately to reveal a very well groomed Anthony, it appeared he had put some kind of product in his hair and he was wearing a white button down with khaki shorts.

"Hello M'lady"

"Do me a favor and don't ever call me that again"

I waited for him to move to the side and invite me in, but instead, he went inside to retrieve a basket and blanket and directed me down the driveway and onto the sidewalk.

"Where are we-"

"Shhh...just, let me do this please"

I gave a small nod and let his hand intertwine with mine. It was about a five minute walk to our destination, I felt terrible that he had to carry the basket that looked awfully heavy but he protested every time I offered a hand. We stopped in the middle of a large park, there was an amphitheater, concession stands, and even gazebos scattered about. We laid out the blanket on a spot near a fountain.

"I've prepared a picnic"

"Did you prepare it or did Sam?"

"Actually it was my mom, but I came up with it"

"It was a lovely idea Anthony"

He opened the basket to reveal a plethora of food; fruits, pasta, breadsticks, and a small green velvet box at the very bottom. I picked it up attempting to open it when it was snatched out of my hand. 

"What's in it?"

"That's a surprise for...after"

I found it rather odd but figured it's probably in my best interest that I just let myself be surprised later on.

"Well let's eat then"

After we had eaten our fill, we lay on the blanket and looked up at the sky, it had gotten pretty cloudy so we decided to point out what we saw.

"It's a pony"

"It's obviously a unicorn Stevie, do you not see the 3rd point?"

"Ok maybe you're right...this time"

I found his hand beside mine and connected them, I turned my face to see Anthony already staring at me.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No...it's time for the surprise"

"Ooo yay"

I reached for the box in the basket but before I could Anthony grabbed my hand. 

"I want to say something first"

"Ok go for it then"

"Alright, Stevie Jackson, ever since we met that summer, I knew you would be really important to me and so far I'm correct, I think that the universe brought us back together for a reason and that we shouldn't take our time for granted, I think you've wanted this for a while and I wanted it to but I was scared... I am scared...of losing you again... but none of that matters right now because what I want to ask you is...will you please be my girlfriend?"

"Yes Anthony I would love to be your girlfriend"

I leaned over to give him a kiss when I remembered the box.

"So what's in the box?"

"Oh right"

He pulled out the box but seemed skeptical to open it.

"Ok so before I give this to you, I want you to know it's totally up to you if you want to wear it or not, and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if you didn't but I thought it would be a nice way to make it official"

He placed the boxed in my hand and I opened it to reveal a small charm, it was a lowercase "a" in cursive.

"I love it, Anthony, can you help me put it on my bracelet?"

After finishing up at the park, we walked back to the LaRusso house where we shared the good news with everyone. You would think we announced our engagement the way everyone was acting. When I returned home I informed my parents and they gave me a make smart choices talk which I guess is better than nothing. I slept peacefully that night, at ease knowing where Anthony and I stood, with no idea the fallout the news of our relationship would cause tomorrow.

Authors note:

Hi, I am genuinely so sorry it has taken me so long to get back to writing. There's just a lot going on with school and this isn't even the full chapter I wanted to give you so I apologize for that. I cannot tell you that I will be consistent from now on because I cannot predict how the rest of the school year is gonna go but during summer I will definitely finish this story...at least until next season. I hope you enjoy <3