Beginnings and Endings [complete]

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Every step I took made me shudder slightly at the thought of seeing Dom again. I forced myself up the back staircase, which was brightly lit this time, my heart beating irregularly when I thought of him hugging me and greeting me with a sensual kiss. When I got to the place we were supposed to meet, I took a detour; instead of going up the steps, I walked round the corner to the library where I had two friends chatting. They welcomed me happily, and I spent longer than I should there.

It was far too late for Dom to come to meet me after that, so I took another route to the auditorium, when I saw him walking towards the back entrance, no doubt to check whether I'd arrived yet. A smirk played on my lips, and I called him just loud enough to hear. He stopped, obviously in surprise, and turned; I swear, the light in his eyes when he smiled at me stopped my heart.

"H-hey," he said breathlessly, taking my hand in his - oblivious to the other students half-asleep in the audi - and leading me to the table he'd been sitting at previously.

"Sorry I'm late," I said, tucking my hair behind my ear and blushing furiously as he kissed my cheek discreetly.

"Don't worry. There's always recess." He winked at me and plugged in his earphones, handing me one to listen. "I got you something."

My eyes widened at him as he brought out a small velvet pouch and handed it to me. Pulling it open, a flash of gold caught my eye and my breath caught in my throat. It kind of died when I brought the item out - it was a ring, shaped like a panda and adorned with gold, white and black pieces of cut glass. To be honest, it wasn't really my style; I knew he'd gotten it for me because of my temporary obsession with pandas. Still, the thought was nice, and as I smiled at him, I brushed my fingers over his hand affectionately before keeping it in my pocket.

"And this too," he added uncertainly, pulling out a pastel blue box from his pocket, tied with a chiffon ribbon. "Merry Christmas," he said nervously with a shy smile.

I grinned at him and eased his nerves before opening the box. Oh, now this was class - neatly set on a thin white pillow of cloth was a delicate chain with a cross hanging from it; the cross itself had this big ass white Swarovski crystal set into the centre, and the arms extended at a slight angle to catch the light any which way possible. I sighed in appreciation. "Oh, Dom..." I said softly, taking it out. "It's beautiful. Thank you..."

Before I could say much else he took it from my hands, undid the clasp and fixed it around my neck. Taking it out from under my shirt to adore it for a while longer, I kept it back when my 'son' Derek made his appearance with Beats plugged into his iPhone, followed closely behind by Shaun.

"Hey guys, check it out," Shaun said immediately, pulling out his phone and flipping through pictures until he found the one he wanted, the one of this girl at my church, Natalie. I didn't want to say that I didn't know she was this camwhorish, because it was obvious Shaun liked her a lot. They'd been together for a couple of months but I had bets placed that it wouldn't last long.

"Not bad, not bad, bro!" Derek slurred, sounding like he was high or drunk as usual, when in reality he was just perpetually extremely hyper. "She's cute! Name?"

"Natalie," I replied for Shaun before he could start drooling. "Girl from my church, slightly shorter than me, quiet but funny, sweet and very, very for Shaun." He grinned at me, but something seemed forced about it, and I made a mental note to force it out of him later.

At that minute the bell rang, and Dom shot me this slight pout of disappoinment. I smiled at him with a whispered, "I love you, see you later," and walked off with Shaun at my side.