You, Me, And A Boy Named Steve

Chapter 9

The sky was blue. Birds chirping happily. The sun shone brightly through the stain glass windows of the church giving a holy spot light upon the box standing in the middle of the altar. It would have been a wonderful day if it weren't so a gloomy event.

Nicola stood before her audience holding up a brave face. She knew Steve and loved him like her own little brother, or even a son. But now he was gone.

"Today we say goodbye." Nicola began, "but today is not the end. No. Today is the beginning of the end. Today we will continue to live our lives in the best possible way, we shall live the way Steve would have wanted us too. Not by sorrow, but by love." Nicola looked to her parents to comfort her, the wind blew her hair across her face hiding the tears that began to form in her eyes.

Music rang out through the kingdom to inform everyone that the burial would begin soon. Flags of various colours filled the sky as the crowd gathered around a 9ft hole in the ground. Six strong men carried a small handmade wooden coffin, inside lay the body of the the freckled boy. The men carried the casket through the crowd of gathered people. As it passed, people would touch it to give their blessing to the deceased. Many people had mixed emotions about the procession, others would sob and weep silently - even if they had never met the boy before. Some figured he was a royal, since it was the royalty of Istania who hosted the funeral and gathered them all there.

As the coffin passed the royal family, a teardrop escaped from Nicola's eye and slowly raced down her cheek, along the curve of her face, before leaping off at the bottom of her chin - only to land in the soil of the earth, making a small darkened mark from its liquid self. Jack looked over to Nicola to make sure she was alright. She caught his gaze and sent a small smile to him in an attempt to tell him that she was fine. Jack would then give a small smile back before lifting his head to observe the rest of the burial process.

Jack wrapped his arms around Nicola as she stared down at the hole where the wooden coffin lay, her eyes were fixated on it as servants and workers would cover it up with the soil that was dug up to make the hole.

"Do you ever wonder what our lives would be like if we had never met?" Nicola mumbled as her eyes remained glued to the slowly filling hole. Jack thought for a moment but he couldn't think of the right thing to say. Removing his arms from the female, Jack rubbed his chin as he thought about his answer.

"Boring. I suppose." Jack replied looking down to Nicola. "I mean, if I had got a promotion, I wouldn't have came here to write an article in hope of getting said promotion. I wouldn't have met Steve, and most of all, I wouldn't have met the love of my life."

Nicola looked up at Jack, her eyes looked deep into his. And for a moment, it felt like they were the only two people in the world. "I'd probably be married to some prince guy." Nicola blinked and looked away.

"Steve would most likely still end up dead." Nicola glared at Jack, making the hairs on his neck stand up. "Sorry. Too soon?" The male looked down and away, knowing he had done the stupidest thing ever. Fiddling with his thumbs, Jack glanced over to the female. "At least we're still here. We can still change the world. Just the two of us." The male smiled warmly as he put his arm around Nicola's shoulder before bringing her close to him.

Nicola smiled up at Jack. "You're right! We Can change the world! One step at a time. Even if it is just the two of us."

"It's more fun and more challenging that way." Jack brought his other arm around her, pulling her closer to him before kissing her forehead softly. "It shall be Steve's legacy."

"For Steve." The female mumbled against the male's chest.

"For Steve."

{A/N: if you made it this far, congratulations! You have reached the end of this story. Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion of the book. I'm always looking to improve! Also thank you for being super patient with me. Took forever to write an ending. Till next time,
X. }