As Close As Strangers

Twenty Eight

Ella

I spent a decent amount of time on straightening my hair and getting my makeup perfect.

Perfect. That was exactly how I needed this to go. I couldn't be away from him any longer. If this went perfect, then maybe he would want to be together again.

Everyone says that you should never rely on someone to feel whole. In that case, it was too late for me. I didn't feel whole without having Michael at my side.

I wore a black and white lace romper with a pair of black sneakers on my feet. I wore my guitar pick necklace that Michael gave me before he left. I was ready. I think.

Ding Dong.

Here it goes.

"Good evening." Michael said as he took my hand.

He was wearing black jeans, a led zeppelin shirt, and a snap back. His guitar was in a case hanging of his right shoulder. In his left hand he was holding a picnic basket.

"Hi Michael."

"You look so beautiful." He gushed.

"Thank you. Did you dye your hair?" I asked.

"Yeah. I remembered that you liked it black so I figured I could use a change." He explained.

"Well, it looks great. So um, where are we going?" I asked.

"I was thinking about a picnic on the beach. How do you feel about that?" He asked.

"That sounds lovely." I smiled.

Michael

My hands were sweaty and shaking as I walked alongside Ella. I didn't want to mess this up. It had to be perfect. Only perfection would win her over.

When we got to the beach I laid out the blanket and placed down my guitar.

"So, what's for dinner?" She asked.

"I'm glad you asked. Well, I packed some iced teas, sandwiches, macaroni salad and a little dessert for later." I explained.

"I'm shocked." She gasped.

"At what?"

"No pizza!" She laughed.

"Well yeah. I um, didn't know if it was appropriate enough or... If you want some I can or-"

"Michael, calm down. I was kidding. This is perfect. Everything is perfect." She said as she placed her hand in mine.

"No it's not. I should've taken you somewhere classy. Or a movie. Fuck, this is so lame." I sighed.

"Michael Gordon Clifford, stop that right now!" She shouted.

"Stop what?" I questioned.

"This is perfect. Don't you get it? We could've sat on your couch or in my backyard and it wouldn't have mattered. I'm with you. That's all I wanted. To be with you!" She explained.

"Really?"

"Of course. You're such an idiot, but you're my idiot and I love you." She smiled.

"I love you too. Hey, so I wrote this song. For you. And I wanna play it for you." I told her.

"Alright, go for it." She said.

I took the guitar out of the case and grabbed a pick. Here it goes.

"Six weeks since I've been away
And now you're sayin' everything has changed
And I'm afraid that I might be losing you
And every night that we spend alone
It kills me thinking of you on your own
And I wish I was back home next to you

Oh, everyday
You feel a little bit further away
And I don't know what to say

Are we wasting time
Talking on a broken line?
Telling you I haven't seen your face in ages
I feel like we're as close as strangers
Won't give up
Even though it hurts so much
Every night I'm losing you in a thousand faces
Now it feels we're as close as strangers

Late night calls and another text
Is this as good as we're gonna get?
Another timezone taking me away from you
Living dreams in fluorescent lights
While you and I are running out of time
But you know that I'll always wait for you

Oh, everyday
You feel a little bit further away
And I don't know what to say

Are we wasting time
Talking on a broken line?
Telling you I haven't seen your face in ages
I feel like we're as close as strangers
Won't give up
Even though it hurts so much
Every night I'm losing you in a thousand faces
Now it feels we're as close as strangers

On the phone
I can tell that you wanna move on
Through the tears
I can hear that I shouldn't have gone
Every day gets harder to stay away from you
So tell me...

Are we wasting time
Talking on a broken line?
Telling you I haven't seen your face in ages
I feel like we're as close as strangers

Wasting time
Talking on a broken line
Telling you I haven't seen your face in ages
I feel like we're as close as strangers
Won't give up
Even though it hurts so much
Every night I'm losing you in a thousand faces
Now it feels we're as close as strangers

Six months since I went away
And I know everything has changed
But tomorrow I'll be coming back to you."

"Michael."

"I love you a lot. I was in a pretty bad place when I wrote this. I felt like I was hurting you. I knew I was and I couldn't do anything about it, so I broke up with you. I thought that would help. I never wanted to hurt you. That's my greatest mistake. Letting you slip away from me. I love you Ella." I told her.

"I love you Michael. I love you so damn much. Forever." She smiled.

"Forever." I repeated.

I put the guitar down and scooted next to her. She took my face in her hands and kissed me. It was a slow and passionate kiss. The first kiss since I went away. The kiss I had been aching for. Her lips were soft against mine.

It was everything I could've hoped for.

Ella

We spent the rest of the night talking and staring at the stars. My head on his chest and his hand in mine.

Everything felt okay again for the first time in a very long while.

Author's Note

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't written in a long time. I have been really busy. So I'm pretty sure this is the last chapter before the epilogue :((( I'm so sad but I'm definitely gonna start a new fic which is either gonna be calum or luke! So yeah thank you for reading and the epilogue should be up soon!