Light In The Dark

Chapter 12- Anaiya

"let me get this straight. He kissed you? Then he told you he's loved you since 3rd grade?! That's not even possible. How can you love someone for that long." I was in shock.
"I don't know! But Finn does and he has. I've been in love with him since 5th grade. I just didn't know it. That is except for when I was dating Carson." Julianna scowled when she said Carson's name.
"Okay whatever. I just think that's crazy." I shrugged.
"It is. Anyway he had to go home to help his sister get into her apartment. I'll see him tomorrow though." She got up and walked downstairs.
"Hey beautiful." Alex walked in my room.
"Hey." I smiled.
"What's happening?" He sat down next to me and gave a quick kiss to the top of my head.
"Nothing much. Just asking Juli about her love life." I shrugged.
"Is she finally with that blonde guy?" He asked.
"Yeah. Finally." I laughed.
"So. I was wondering if you would want to go on a date tonight? We haven't been on one since our first. Which actually wasn't technically a date. So this means I need to take you on a proper first date." He smiled and hugged me.
"Sounds awesome. I'm down for it." I smiled.
"Great. I'm going to go figure out details. I'll come back in a few. Love you Anaiya." He gave me a quick kiss.
"Okay. Love you too Alex." I smiled. Alex walked out the door and I picked up my phone. There's a missed call from a random number. Five texts from it too. I open the contact and save it as a question mark.
?; Hey Anaiya
?; I need to talk to you.
?; Please don't block me.
?; I want you back.
I have no clue who this is or why they want me back. I respond anyway.
Me; Um who is this?
?; It's me. Jasper.
I drop my phone and freeze.
No no no no no no no no no.
How did he get my number?!
I continuously shake my head. My whole body is shaking. I'm sweating and crying.
I walk over to the bathroom and get a cup of water. I can barely hold the cup in my hand, I'm shaking so bad.
I sink to the floor and stare at the wall.
Then Julianna walks in.
"Hey." Julianna doesn't look at me. I don't say anything to her.
"Why are you-" Her face changes to panic, "Anaiya what's wrong?!" She starts to freak out.
"H-he got my n-number." I couldn't barely talk I was so panicked.
"Who?!" She was freaking out and stroking my arm.
"J-Japser." I start to sob.
"No. No. No. No way." She shook her head.
"He said h-he wants me b-back." I managed to get out.
"No. He did not." Julianna looks furious.
"H-he did." I shake my head.
"Calm down please. Where's your phone?" She stands up.
"My b-bed." I say. Julianna goes out of the room to get my phone.
Jasper is my ex boyfriend. He was awful. He cheated on me with three different girls and punched me once. Then he tried to tell the police he wasn't the one who did it. After that he wouldn't let me break up with him. He told me if I broke up with him I wouldn't want to go to school ever again. I don't want to see or talk to him. Ever.
"Got your phone." Julianna walks back into the bathroom holding up my phone. I just nod at her.
"Okay. I'm going to text him back." She opens my phone and starts texting him.
"O-okay. You just need to t-tell me what you're saying." I was shaking even harder.
"Okay. First message sent. I told him 'get out of my life I never want to talk to or see you again'." She smiled.
"That was harsh." I'm not shaking anymore.
"Yeah well he's harsh." She rolls her eyes. I shrug.
"He responded. He said 'Please Anaiya. I promise I've changed. Just give me a second chance'." She scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah right." I laughed.
"Okay. I said 'I moved on Jasper. It's been three years and suddenly you're begging for me? Sounds like you're desperate'." She laughed.
"Awesome." I laughed.
"He responded. All he said was 'Please Anaiya'." She started laughing really hard. I did too.
"Say, 'I have a new man now. He's way better than you have ever been or will be. Leave me alone'." I start bursting out laughing. Suddenly the subject is more funny than scary.
"I did." Julianna is laughing really hard.
"Did he respond?" I was still laughing.
"Yeah. He said 'Please'." She laughs.
"Say 'no'. Then block him." I started laughing so hard.
"I did it!" She starts laughing as hard as me.
"Yes!" I high-fived Juli.
"That really wasn't that bad." Julianna is trying to catch her breath.
"Definitely not." I laugh, also trying to catch my breath.
"Alright. I have to go. I'm going over to Finn's. See you later." Julianna gets up and waves.
"Alright. See you." I waved. Now I'm alone again. I grab my phone off of the counter where Julianna set it, then I walk out of the bathroom.
"Hey beautiful." Alex comes into the hallway and grabs my waist from behind me.
"Hey." I sigh.
"What's wrong?" Alex turns me towards him.
"My ex texted me." I frown.
"About what?" He frowns.
"He wants me back." I look down and back up.
"Oh. What did you say?" Alex's face is coated in panic.
"I basically told him to never talk to me again. Then I blocked him." I laughed. Alex's face relaxes.
"Haha. Okay." He laughs and kisses the top of my head then he walks the other direction.
"Love you too babe." I laugh and shake my head.
"Sorry. Love you sweet girl." He turns back around and gives me a hug.
"Quick question! Fancy or not?" I smile.
"Fancy. Got to go. Love you." He smiles.
"Thanks. Love you too." I walk to my room to pick out an outfit for tonight.
I picked the one I wore for the first time we went out together. The blue sparkly sequin dress.
Perfect.
I walk over to my vanity and curl my hair. It takes an hour. I'm not sure when me and Alex are leaving but I thought I'd better get my hair and makeup done. That's what I move on to next. Makeup. I put on a nude sparkly eyeshadow, curl my eyelashes, put on blush, and mascara. I finish my makeup and get up from my vanity to grab my phone. There's only a few notifications. No messages. I set my phone back down and walk over to my closet at put the sparkly sequin dress I chose on. Then I walk back over to my bed and lay down.
"Hey beautiful. Are you ready?" Alex is standing in the doorway.
"I am." I smiled and got up.
"Let's go then." Alex smiled and linked his hand in mine.
Once we got in the car I begged Alex to tell me where we were going. He refused to tell me.
"I can't tell you Anaiya. That ruins the point of a surprise." He laughed and squeezed my hand.
"Ugh. Please! I love you!!" I begged.
"That's not going to work on me." He shook his head.
"Ugh." I rolled my eyes.
"But I love you too." He looked over to me and smiled.
"Eyes on the road." I rolled my eyes.
"You really do hate surprises." He laughed.
"Yes, because it's like I'm watching a suspenseful movie! I just don't know what's going to happen next. Except it's with my own life." I frowned.
"Well, I promise everything we're doing is going to be fun." He squeezed my hand again.
"Okay," I huffed, "I believe you." I squeezed his hand back.
"Good. I love you Anaiya." He smiled.
"I love you too." I smiled back.
"Ooh! We're here." He laughed and got out of the car to open my door.
"Yay! Thank you." I grabbed his hand and we walked out into the parking lot. It looked like we were downtown.
"Where are we going?" I said impatient.
"Your favorite restaurant." He smiled.
"Really?!" I jumped.
"Yup. There's Felio's just up there." He started walking, but I was the one dragging him instead.
"This is amazing." I smiled and then leaned in to kiss him.
"Nope. You don't kiss on the first date. Sorry it's the rules." He shrugged.
"Whatever." I rolled my eyes and kept waking.
"You're cute." He laughs grabbing my hand again.
"Mhm." I walk next to him.
"You bet." He laughs and opens the door for me.
"Welcome. Do you have a reservation?" The waitress asks.
"Yes. It's under Alex." Alex wasn't even looking at the waitress. He was staring at me.
"Found it. Right this way." The waitress starts walking. Me and Alex follow.
"Here's you're table." The waitress pointed to the table right in front of us, the table was just for two. It was square and small. The silverware and plate was nicely laid out. Alex pulled out my chair for me and I sat down, then he walked over to his and sat down.
"You look beautiful." Alex smiled.
"Thanks. You look handsome." I smiled back. Alex was wearing a suit and tie, his hair styled like always, just the top of his hair brushed to the side.
"Thank you." Alex grabbed the menus off the table and handed one to me.
"What are you going to get?" I asked smiling at Alex. He was staring at me, not even looking at his menu.
"I don't know. I'll probably get whatever you get." He smiled.
"I think you should get whatever you want." I pinned him with a look.
"Fine, fine." Alex held his hands up and picked his menu back up. I chuckled and he looked up at me.
"What?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing." I kept smiling. What I really wanted to tell him was how much I was in love with him.
"Mmhm." Alex laughed. I laughed with him.

<~~•~~>

The rest of dinner went by super fast. When we ordered our dinner we talked for what felt like forever. We talked about school, college, jobs, and even a little about our families. Me and Alex want to go the same college. Stanford University. He wants to work with kids when he's older, I want to be a teacher. Our families also have tons in common. Now me and Alex are talking even more, just walking around downtown.
"Yeah I probably need to check in with my Parents, they've been gone for almost four months. They are coming back two weeks before my birthday." I smiled.
"Yeah, you should do that." Alex laughed.
"Alex?" I looked up at him. He was staring at me.
"Yeah?" He smiled.
"Everything okay?" I frowned. Alex was acting a little weird.
"Yeah. Yeah. Just thinking." He laughed.
"About what?" I stopped walking. We were standing on a bridge looking out at a river. I put my arms on the railing and Alex came to stand next to me.
"You. I really love you Anaiya. More than anything. Heck, more than anyone." Alex laughed.
"Really?" I smiled looking down at the water.
"Yes Aniaya. Gosh I'm crazy about you! I want to marry you. I want to grow old with you, I-I want to be with you forever." Alex smiled and did a small nervous laugh.
"R-really? I mean I do too, but I never thought anyone would ever say anything like that to me. This is crazy," I laughed. Gosh I love him so much, "I mean, forever?" I looked up at him.
"I don't think even forever will be long enough with you, Aniaya." Alex was still staring at me.
I got on the tips of my toes to kiss him-
"Right. Stupid first date rule. Sorry." I turned back to the water. Then Alex grabbed my face and kissed me. I was shocked for a second. Then I put my arms around his waist.
I want this kiss to last forever.
When Alex let go I looked up at him and said, "What happened to the 'no kissing on the first date' rule?" And laughed.
"That rule was stupid." He rolled his eyes and pulled me close to him.
"Yeah, no kidding." I laughed.
"I love you." Alex pulled me even closer.
"I love you too." I felt a tear roll down my cheeks as I buried my face in his stomach."

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I'm actually so sorry this took forever.
I had REALLY BAD writers block and a lot was happening and I was so busy.
Really sorry!
Love y'all ❤️ 🫶🏼