His Girl #Wattys2016

18. 'You set me free'

"So, do you still think about him?" Aaron asked, placing my coffee in front of me. "Vaughn."

We had entered the first coffeeshop we found on the street and were seated at a booth by the window.

"Honestly? I don't. I never think about him anymore. It still hurts, though, the way things ended with him. I thought we would, you know, last."

"And what if he asks you to take him back? Will you give him another chance?" Aaron was avoiding my eyes, and it was awkward.

"Aaron, what's with all these questions?"

"Just answer me." He looked at me, his eyes piercing mine.

"No." I shook my head violently. "It's over, Aaron. And no matter what, it'll stay that way. I might still feel bad about it but I don't want him back. I'm over him, I'm over us."

At this, Aaron nodded slowly. He picked up his coffee and finished it in one big gulp.

"I was worried for a moment there, when I saw you at the parking lot. I thought you were... it looked like you wanted him back." He picked my coffee, which was untouched, and drank from it. "I'm sorry."

"Hey!" I hit him on his hand and snatched the coffee mug from him. "That's my coffee."

I quickly finished it before he could put on a fight, which I was sure he wouldn't but why take a risk.

"I wanted to show you something, I don't know if it's too weird but-"

I looked up from my mug and at the piece of paper he was holding. "Oh. What is it?"

"Are you sure? I... I don't want you thinking I'm crazy."

"Aaron, I already think you're crazy. Come on, now," I grinned.

"Right. Very funny." He looked at the paper again before handing it over to me. "It's a poem, a song."

I nodded and slowly opened it. "Is it for me?" He laughed.

"Well, no. It's just a song I wrote. We decided to make it the last song of our new album. I normally don't write songs, you know." He was fidgeting with the sugar pack, carefully choosing his words. "I wanted to know if it's good."

I smiled and started reading it.

A glimmer of light, you brought,
Like the rays of sun on a winter morning,
Breaking the barriers, you walked in,
Filling in warmth for which I was craving,

If only you knew, if only you knew,
That when you smile at me, you set me free.
If only you knew, if only you knew,
That when you look at me, you set me free.

Like the morning dew, you touched,
And every bud blossomed under your light,
You brought in me a wave of hope,
Of a future we shall together make bright,

If only you knew, if only you knew,
that when you smile at me, you set me free.
If only you knew, if only you knew,
That when you look at me, you set me free.

From the depths of the sea, emerges,
Feelings so new; I dare not name them at all,
For fear of not doing justice to them,
And you,
The one who held my hand through this fall.

If only you knew, if only you knew,
that when you smile at me, you set me free.
If only you knew, if only you knew,
That when you look at me, you set me free.
You set me free.

I was beaming, by the time I finished reading the poem. I looked up at Aaron who was studying me, almost dubiously.

"Aaron, it's beautiful."

"Really? The words came out of me, and I wrote them down. It wasn't even hard to rhyme, you know?" He laughed lightly.

"You should definitely write more. It doesn't seem like an amateur's work at all," I said, handing the paper back to him.

There was a tiny part of me wishing he'd admit it was for me, but I knew it'd be too much to expect. The words were still lingering in my mind when he asked if I'd like to leave.

"Yes, but let's not go back to school. I need a break from that place," I muttered under my breath.

"We're practising tonight, at the auditorium. But I'm free until, I don't know, five in the evening?"

I brightened up to the thought, it was good to know he looked forward to spending time with me. Maybe not as much as I did, but a little more than I had expected. Suddenly, I remembered that I didn't know when the concert was and was ashamed of it. My favourite band's concert details should have been pasted all around the walls of my room, but they weren't.

"Wait, when's the concert again?" I asked, sheepishly.

"Wow, Sarah. And here I thought you lobed our band." He shook his head, mockingly. "It's tomorrow!"

"Holy shit!" I put my hands on his hand, and stopped him from opening the passenger's door of his car. "And you're going to play that song tomorrow?"

"Yes, we will. Why?"

"Oh, my God. I know of a song no one else knows about! Even before it got finalised. Wow!" I was jumping up and down in ecstasy, ignoring his failed attempts to hold me still.

"Did I just unleash the fangirl mode of Sarah?" He laughed, when he had managed to finally settle me down.

"Take me to school!" I kept chanting. "Please, I wanna go to the school! I have to tell everyone. They need to know!"

He was shaking with laughter now. "No. We're going home, I'll let Drake deal with you."

"Oh!" I stopped my happy chantings and hissed at him. "Is that why Drake isn't at school?"

"He's helping us set up at the auditorium. He knows a lot of people, very influential." Aaron sounded impressed, and I was jealous.

"Yeah, he knows a lot of people. You included." I pouted.

He grinned at me as if it'd help make my mood better. And it did.

"Hey, you never told me your middle name!" He said, out of the blue.

I looked at him, questioning his sudden interest. When he shrugged, I decided to tell him anyway.

"Ava," I told him.

"Ava", he repeated and smiled. "Mine is Nate, after my dad, Nathan." When I nodded, his smile grew wider. "Which of course I'm sure you already know."

"Aye," I grinned.