Scars [An Exclamation Point Fan Fiction]

PART 28

The next day is Christmas Eve. Danny left in the morning to be with his family. Paul is leaving after dinner with my family. He and are in

"What time are y'all leaving tonight?" I ask.

"Plane takes off around ten." Paul says.

"You should go with them Nik." Brady says.

I give Brady a weird look.

"You can if you want to." Paul says. "My family wants to meet you soon."

"I don't know. I don't want to intrude. You haven't seen them in so long, I feel like I shouldn't."

"Well, your parents already said you could, and I talked to mine. They're excited." Paul says smiling at me.

I laugh. "When were you planning on telling me this?"

Paul shrugs. "I don't know. I was kinda hoping I could've kept it a secret until I was boarding. So I could've dragged you onto the plane."

Suddenly my mom appears around the corner. "Dinner's ready." She says.

We all go to the kitchen and eat the huge Christmas meal my family made. Maggie and Justin walk through the door right as we all sit down. "Sorry we're late." Maggie says. "Traffic was horrible." She and Justin sit down, with Leland in her lap.  After dinner we open presents. I hand Paul his, but he wants to wait until we get to the airport to open it. After presents I hurry upstairs to pack for Maryland. Paul helps me know what the weather is like up north.

"Ok I think I'm ready." I say zipping my bag.

"Are you sure you want to come?" Paul asks sitting on the bed. "I don't want to make you do anything you're not comfortable with."

I sit next to him and hold his hands. "Of course I want to come. I just didn't know if you wanted me to come."

Paul kisses my head. "Is there something else going on that you're not telling me?"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"Nikki you're a horrible liar. Tell me the truth." He pulls my chin so I'm looking at him.

I sigh. "Last night I was talking to the guys, and I was telling them about my auidtion coming up. Then Drew pointed out that my auidtion interferes with the trial. I can't do both Paul. I don't know what to do."

He wraps his arms around me, and kisses my forehead. "We'll figure it out. Don't worry."

I nod my head against Paul's chest and stand up. "I guess we should get going soon." I say grabbing my bag.

Paul takes my hand. "Wait. I want to give you your present."

"I thought you wanted to wait until we got on the plane?"

"For mine yeah. I don't need anything from you, but I want to give you yours. The rest of it is in Maryland with Danny." He smiles and takes a box out of his jacket pocket. He places it in my hands, and kisses my cheek. "Merry Christmas."

I open the box and find a ring with a heart on it. On the inside of the ring is engraved. A heart of numbness, gets brought to life. 10/25. I put the ring on my finger, looking at Paul with tears in my eyes. "I love it." I say huging him. "Thank you."  I whisper before kissing him.

Brady walks in on us kissing. "No more tonsil hockey! It's time to go" He says. We break apart laughing.

We get to the airport and I say goodbye to my family. Once on the plane Paul takes out his present from his bag. "Should I open it?" He asks.

"I don't know. It's kind of lame compared to what you got me. I'm horrible when it comes to present shopping. "

He opens it anyway. He takes out the watch and stuffed penguin I bought. Inside is also a card I wrote with my favorite memories of us, and how much I love him. He leans across the seat and hugs me. "It's not lame I love it, and you." He softly kisses me, then puts the stuff away. The pilot comes on and announces we're about to take off.

Paul grabs my hand." You ok?"

I nod. "I just wish plane rides would get easier."

Paul's thumb strokes my hand. "It'll get easier eventually. Don't worry I won't let anything happen to you." I lay my head on his shoulder,closing my eyes and await the dreaded take off.

During the plane ride I fall asleep. Towards the end I'm starting to wake up when I hear an older woman next to Paul talking to him.

"Weren't you on the X Factor this year?" She asks.

"Yes ma'am I was. With my best friend, Danny." He says.

"I was so hapy you two won." She says. "I loved the songs you sang for her, they were so sweet. How long have you two been together?"

"Two months." Paul says. "We met back in March though."

"Is it true?" She asks. "About the boy hitting her?"

I feel Paul stiffen underneath me. "Yes it's true."

The woman sighs. "That's so sad. It broke my heart hearing about it. Did you know he hit her?"

Paul nods his head. "I've seen the aftermath of his hits. It's worse seeing them up close."

"I don't doubt that." She pauses. "It's nice to see that there are boys like you left. That know how to respect and love a girl."

The pilot comes on again and says we'll be landing soon. Paul kisses my head. "Wake up beautiful." He whispers. "We're landing soon." Instead I snuggle closer to him. He puts an arm around my shoulder and leans his head closer to my ear. "I'll make you wake up." He whispers. "I'll tickle you, and the whole plane will hear you."

I open my eyes and look at him. "Jerk."

He laughs. "You know you love me."

"Eh that's debatable." I say leaning away from him. Paul laughs again and kisses my hand.

The plane lands and we make our way to where Paul's family waits for us.