Mary's POV:
"I...I don't know what to say."
"Just say what you're thinking."
"I don't know what I'm thinking."
"I've wanted to ask you to marry me ever since our last year of high school. I knew we were too young, but I think we're old enough now. I want to go to sleep with you and then wake up to you every day. I don't want to see you and then have you go home. I want us to raise kids together and make big decisions together."
"Luke-"
"I know things are weird right now but I want you."
"I want you too."
"Please say yes. If you don't then I'll ask you again and again."
"Yes."
"And I'll never want anyone-Wait, did you just say yes?"
"Yes. I'll marry you."
"Really?"
"Yes!"
We stand up and I wrap my arms around him.
"I know it's not much, but that's just temporary."
We walk outside to his car.
"I'm sorry, I can't wait any longer." He says as soon as we get out the door
He stops me and wraps his arms around me. Before his arms are all the way around me his lips smash into mine.
"I want us to be happy." He says, looking over my face
"We're going to be."
"I'll make sure of it...I promise."
I wrap my arms around his neck and rest my head on his shoulder.
"I think this is a little fast but...I love you Luke." I whisper
"I've missed hearing you say that."
We stand in the parking lot, hugging.
"I love you too." He whispers a few minutes later
"How long have we been like this?" I ask
"Ten minutes."
"I think we should go. I'm freezing."
"A few more minutes."
I allow him to hug me for a few more minutes and then pull away. I look up at him and see snowflakes land on his eyelashes.
"It's snowing." I say
He looks up at the sky and squints, even though the sun is nowhere to be seen.
"Yeah, it is."
We get in his car and crank the heat up.
"It's colder than a witch's tit with a brass bra on."
He looks over at me and smiles.
"Do what?"
"I said it's colder than a witch's tit with a brass bra on."
"I've known you for five years and I've never heard you say that."
"I never made a habit of saying it around you."
He stops and looks over at me.
"What?"
"You."
"Me?"
He nods his head, "Mom said I needed to chase after you. She said I'd never be able to find another girl like you. She was right."
I look at him and then look out the window.
"Hey, it's really starting to come down." I say, pointing at the sky, "We should get going."
We start driving to my house but halfway there, it starts to snow really hard.
"Listen, uh, since it's snowing so bad, do you want to just stay at my place? It's closer."
"Yeah, that's fine. I'll just call Mom and tell her so she doesn't worry."
I get my phone out and call her.
"Hello?"
"Hi Mom."
"Mary! We were worried about you. We didn't hear you go out. Where are you?"
"I'm with Luke," I look over at him and raise my eyebrows, as if to ask if I should say anything, and he shakes his head, "it's starting to snow pretty hard, so I'm just going stay at his house."
"Oh. Is everything okay?"
"Yes, Mom. Everything's...everything's perfect."
"I'm glad. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if that boy asks you to marry him one day."
Luke looks over at me.
"Yeah, that would be nice." I say, wiggling my eyebrows at him
"I hope it's soon!"
"Yeah. I gotta go. I love you Mom. Tell Ash I love him."
"I love you. Bye."
"That reminds me..." Luke says, "I was going to ask Ashton before I asked you. But I think it's kinda late now."
"Just a little."
By the time we get to Luke's house, the snow is almost up to my ankles.
"Why is there so much fucking snow?" Luke yells at the sky as we walk into his house
"What are you yelling about?" I hear a deep voice say
I look up to the front door and see Jack standing there, watching us walk up the sidewalk.
"It's so fucking cold. Wen did you get here?"
"About an hour ago. Ben was supposed to be here at the same time I was, but we haven't heard from him yet."
I get really nervous at the sight of him. I was only around Jack maybe twice the whole time Luke and I dated.
"Hi Mary." He adds, flashing a smile
"Hi." I say quietly, pulling my left sleeve over my hand
"Still hanging around this guy, huh?" He asks, gently punching Luke's arm
"Yeah, I am."
We get inside and I feel my frosted skin melt as soon as I enter the warm house. Liz already has all the Christmas decorations up and the house seems so...Christmasy.
"Mom, Luke's home safe! He didn't end up in a body bag!"
"Jack!"
She walks down the stairs but stops at the bottom.
"I didn't know...Is everything okay between you guys?"
"Yeah Mom. We're great." He says, pulling me into a side hug, "Can she stay here until the snow clears up? I didn't want to risk wrecking the car."
"Yeah, that's fine. How are you doing Mary?"
"I'm doing fine. How are you?" I say as I pull my sleeve down even more
"I'm good, thank you."
Everyone seems to gravitate towards the dining room and we're left alone.
"Do they know?" I whisper as I slip off my coat and hang it up
"I told Mom and Dad that I was thinking about asking you, but I didn't really know I was going to ask you today. It kind of just...came out."
"Luke, Mary, dinner is ready. Could one of you tell Audrey?"
"I'll tell her." I say
"Her bedroom is the one before mine."
"Okay."
I walk upstairs and knock on her door.
"Come in."
"Hey Audrey," I say, poking my head through the door, "dinner is ready."
"I assume you and Luke are back together?"
"Yeah."
"I always hoped he would pick you."
"What do you mean, 'Pick me?'"
"I always hoped you would be the girl he marries."
I look at her, confused.
"I know he proposed to you."
"How?"
"For starters you just admitted it. And I can see the ring."
I stretch my sleeve even more.
"Don't tell anyone."
"I won't...I guess now you're officially part of the family."
"Yeah, I guess so."
I walk downstairs with her behind me and sit between Luke and Jack.
"I just heard from Ben," Andrew says, "he should be here in a few minutes."
"I think we should wait for him." Jack says
"Yeah, me too." Luke says
He seems nervous because he's bouncing his leg.
"You okay?" I whisper
"Yeah," he whispers back, "just a little nervous."
We sit at the table and make small talk, mostly about the snow.
"I heard this was supposed to be a really big storm," Luke says, "and there is a chance of being snowed in."
"Is that why you wanted me to stay here?" I ask, "So you could be snowed in with me?"
"Maybe."
I hear the door open.
"Sorry I'm late," Ben says as he walks into the dining room, "it's awful out there."
"That's okay," Liz says, "we sat down a few minutes ago."
"Yeah," Jack says, "we just had to wait so long for you."
"Yeah, it's nice to see you too."
He walks around to Liz and Andrew and hugs them. Then he hugs Jack and comes to me.
"Well, it's been a while since I've seen you." He says, looking down at me
"Yeah, like three years." Luke says
"Luke, no hats or beanies at the table." Liz says
He reaches up and yanks the beanie off of his head.
"How are you?" Ben asks
"I'm good."
"Still hanging around this guy, huh?" He asks while reaching over and messing with Luke's hair
"Why do you guys keep asking that?"
"I guess I am." I say, looking over at Luke and smiling
He walks to Luke and Luke stands up and hugs him.
"How are you doing?"
"I'm doing good."
"Have fun in California?"
"As much fun as you can have sitting in buildings instead of going to a beach."
Ben goes to Audrey and they hug.
"Long time no see."
"Yeah, it's been a while."
That's the last time California is mentioned the whole evening. We talk but I mostly listen to stories I've never heard.
"How does it feel to be done with college?" Liz asks me
"It feels great. I almost don't know what to do now that I don't have any homework."
"What do you think you will do?"
"I'm not really sure yet."
"That's okay, you're still young. You have plenty of time to get a job, get married."
I look across at Audrey and she looks at Luke.
"Maybe this guy will ask you soon." Jack says and I feel him reach around me to gently hit Luke's arm again
I feel Luke's hand on my leg, searching for mine. I find his hand and lace our fingers together. He squeezes my hand and I squeeze his. Then he shakes his head, telling me not to mention anything. I smile because we finally have a little secret between us...and Audrey.
Luke's POV:
"Do you want to go upstairs?" I whisper
"Yes, please."
"Hey, we're going to go upstairs." I announce to anyone who listens
"Okay. If the power happens to go out there are some emergency candles down here."
"Okay Mom."
I grab her hand and we walk out of the dining room. As soon as we're out of the dining room I turn and lean against the wall.
"What are you-"
I put my finger to her lips.
"Mom, you're really going to let them do that?"
"Let them do what, Ben?"
"Let them go up to his room by themselves."
"I don't see any problem with it," Dad says, "he's an adult now."
"Yeah, but..."
"Ben, we had girls over when we were in high school."
"Yeah I know but it's just weird. I mean, he's still my little brother. He's still seems like a kid to me. I don't want to think about what they might be doing up there."
"I don't care as long as I don't hear it, see it or know about it." Mom says
"Besides, he's responsible and so is she."
"Plus, he's proposing soon. And they've been on and off for years. It's going to happen sooner or later."
"Please stop." Ben says
We quietly walk up the stairs.
"What was that about?" She asks once we get in my room
"Ben is basically my third parent. He has always been like that. Jack isn't so uptight."
"I love how your mom said, 'It's going to happen sooner or later.' She obviously doesn't know me otherwise she would know that it hasn't happened."
"But we've come close." I say, wiggling my eyebrows, "But wouldn't it be kind of weird for my mother to know about that?"
"Kind of."
I walk over to me window to look outside and remember her medicine.
"Hey, won't you need your medication? You know, if we really do get snowed in tonight?"
"No, I should be okay. I forget to take it every once in a while anyway."
"Oh," I look back out the window, "okay."
"Thank you for getting me out of there." she says, walking to stand beside me, "I love your family, they're great, but it just felt kind of weird."
"I agree. I needed to get out of there before they started asking too many questions."
"Just imagine how it will be with my mom."
"I might let you handle her on your own." I joke
"Hey!" She says, playfully hitting my arm, "You're the one who asked me to marry you, so we're in this together."
We stand there and watch the snow fall.
"I love watching it snow." She says
"Yeah, me too."
"Sometimes I don't know if I would rather it be cold and snowing or it be hot and sunny."
"Same here. I like autumn and spring better because it isn't too hot or cold. It's just...perfect."
"It's so quiet out there," she says leaning against the wall, "no cars, no people. Just snow."
"Yeah but then it stops snowing and everyone decides to go outside."
"I remember in my old neighborhood, hardly anyone would be outside on nice days, mostly because we lived near a lot of older people. But as soon as it would start snowing, everyone decided it was time to go outside in the freezing cold."
I walk over to my desk chair and sit down.
"What are we going to do if the power goes out?" She asks
"I guess we'll have to find a way to stay warm."
I didn't necessarily mean that in a sexual way, but I wiggled my eyebrows, so it's kind of late.
*
It starts to get a little chilly, so we grab a blanket and cuddle on my bed while watching a movie.
"I'm in the mood for a Christmas movie." She says
"That's weird."
"What's weird?"
"We've been together during Christmas a bunch of times and I don't even know your favorite Christmas movie."
"Okay, don't laugh."
"I won't."
"I guess this is considered a movie ten year olds would watch."
"Just tell me."
"The Nightmare Before Christmas."
"I love that movie!"
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, it's great because you can watch it at Halloween and Christmas."
"You could watch it in April and it would still be acceptable."
We get halfway through the movie, then the power goes out.
"I'll be right back." I say, turning the flashlight on my phone on
I walk downstairs to the living room.
"Luke," Dad says, "will you and Ben go down and check the breaker?"
"Sure Dad." I say, even though I've always hated the basement
Ben follows me to the basement door.
"Do you remember where the breaker is?" He asks before we go down the stairs
"Yeah. Down the steps and straight across on the opposite wall."
Well, it isn't straight across. There's basically a maze in the middle of the room. So it's more like left, right, step over some things, right, straight.
"Here, hold the phone and I'll flip the switch." He says to me
He flips the switch again and again, each time turning the light on to see if the power is back on. After about five minutes, the light turns on.
"There." He says, stepping back
"Woah," I say, looking around, "I forgot all this stuff was down here."
"Yeah, it's pretty old too." He says, pointing to the opposite corner, "That's my first bike."
I walk over to a box and look at the pictures in it.
"Hey Luke?"
"Hm?"
"Are you really thinking about asking her to marry you?"
"Yeah," I turn around, "I am."
"Why?"
I lean back against the box.
"Because I love her."
"Do you really think she's the one?"
"I know she's the one."
"What about when you have to leave for a long time?"
"We haven't talked about it yet. We will after I ask her." I say, trying not to give anything away
"Okay. I'm just checking."
"We should get upstairs...it's getting cold down here."
We walk up the stairs and all the Christmas lights are back on.
"We we're watching a movie, so I'm going to go back upstairs with Mary."
"Okay. Why don't you guys come down here after your movie?"
"Okay, we will."
I go up to my room and she's still sitting in the same spot.
"Have you not moved?"
She shakes her head.
"Make room. I'm freezing."
I get under the covers and instantly feel her body heat.
"You're so warm." I say, finding her hand in between the blankets
"And you're so cold."
"It was freezing in that basement."
"Well, cold air does sink."
"Wow, thanks Bill Nye."
Her eyes scrunch up and I assume she's smiling. I can't tell because she has the blankets pulled up to her eyes.
"This is crazy." She says, muffled
"What's crazy?"
"I hated your guts a month ago and thought we were through. Today I said I would marry you and we're back to normal. What the hell is wrong with us?"
"I don't think anything is wrong. That's just the way we are."
She stares at me for a long time.
"Do you think your mom will like me?" She asks
"Are you kidding? She loves you."
"No, like...do you think she'll like me when we get married?"
"Why wouldn't she?"
"I don't know. I just thought about that. What if she only likes me now and not when I'm married to her son?"
"She already lives you and she'll always love you."
"I hope so."
"Do you think your mom will like me? After we get married?"
"Of course. Ashton will too."
"Ben and Jack really like you now. I'm one hundred percent sure they'll like you when we get married. It will be like getting a sister they never had."
"I just hope they don't give me nuggies like they do you."
"I can't promise that."
"They kind of scare me."
"What?"
"They're just so tall and...you know, a bit intimidating."
"They're no taller than me...they're like six inches taller than you."
"True. I don't know, maybe it's because I don't know them that well."
"Do I intimidate you?"
"Luke, you couldn't if you tried. I know what a cute, giggling, little teddy bear you are inside." She says, poking my stomach
"Hey, I'm a tough teddy bear." I say, poking her stomach
She gasps.
"What?" I ask, thinking something is wrong, "Oh...I forgot you're ticklish there."
I squeeze her sides and she lets out another gasp.
"Luke, if you start tickling me I am in no way responsible for any injuries you may receive."
I tickle her stomach some more.
"Luke!" She yells and starts tickling my sides
"Hey!"
I get on top of her and pin her arms at her sides with my knees. I keep tickling her and she starts to kick her legs.
"I swear, if you don't stop-"
"What are you going to do?" I ask
"I- I'll tell you what I'm going to do!"
I stop tickling her but I keep her arms pinned under my knees.
"I'm listening."
She tilts her head and frowns.
"I haven't come up with anything good yet."
"Too bad." I say, now tickling her thighs
"That's not fair!" She whines
I take her hands out from under my knees and hold her by her wrists, pinning her arms against my bed, making her squirm some more.
"What do you mean?" I ask innocently
"You know what I mean. That's my weak spot."
"Is that so?"
I look down at her, trying to catch my breath from tickling her. She's out of breath too from laughing and squirming around. I do the only thing any other guy would do in this situation.
Mary's POV:
He has me by my wrists and I'm pinned to his bed. He's breathing heavily from tickling me and I'm breathing heavily from rolling around, trying to get away from him. Our faces are inches apart from each other. We haven't like this in a long time.
I look up at him, wondering what he is thinking. Neither of us can talk right now because we're trying to catch our breath.
He starts looking over my face, like he's searching for something.
"What-"
He slowly makes his way down to my face and stops to hover over me centimeters away. I can't do anything but look back into those eyes because I feel paralyzed. He doesn't do anything, he just stays there.
"Stop teasing me, Lucas."
"Is that what I'm doing?" He asks innocently
"Yes and you know it."
A smirk spreads across his face and he starts playing with his lip ring. I don't know how he does that, how he goes from cute and cuddly to this.
"I know what you're thinking." I say
"Good." He says, closing the space between us, kissing me with my arms still pinned down
We've shared a lot of kisses over the years. This one said everything: I hate you. I love you. I want you. I need you.
He stops kissing me, which makes me a little sad.
"Last time you said, 'Next time we do this, you can be as loud as you want.'"
"You seriously remember me saying that but you can't remember yesterday?"
"That's just how my brain works."
"Well," I say, running my hand down his chest, "I don't think that would be a good idea right now."
"Why not?"
"Well, your parents' room is down the hall, your cousin is next door, your brothers could be anywhere at any given moment. Oh yeah, and it would be extremely weird for me to have sex with you while your entire family is downstairs."
"I can never catch a break."
"Aw," I say, pouting, "you will one day."
He starts to kiss me and then stops again.
"I told Mom we would go downstairs after we 'finished our movie.'"
"We'll go now. We might pick up where we left off when we get back." I say, wiggling out from under him
"But-" I go downstairs before he can finish his sentence
He walks down behind me and has me sit on the couch with him.
"What are we doing Mom?"
"I just thought we would all just like some family time."
Family time. And she included me.
"But Mary isn't part of the family." Ben says
"What do you mean? Of course she is!"
Luke looks over at me and smiles.
"I have something to say."
Luke's POV:
I have absolutely no idea what I am doing.
"What do you mean?" She whispers
I regret saying something as soon as the words leave my mouth. But now I have everyone's attention.
"I...never mind."
"Okay..." Mom says
"So," Jack says, obviously trying to move on from all the awkwardness, "how long do you plan on staying with Mom and Dad, Audrey?"
"Well, I've been with them for a while now. We decided I would just stay here and finish school, since the school here is better than the one back home."
We all settle into an awkward silence.
"Hey Mom, where is everybody going to sleep?" I ask, even though the only person who doesn't have their own room is Mary
"I guess everyone will go to their old rooms."
"And Mary?"
"I assumed she was sleeping in your room. If that's fine with her?"
I look over at her.
"Yeah, that's totally fine."
"In the same bed?" Ben says
"Again," Jack says, "we had girls over when we were younger than him."
"Yeah, but we never slept in the same bed together."
"Well, I don't know about you-"
"Mom, are you okay with that?"
"Yes, I am."
I look over at Mary, embarrassed this is happening in front of her. It's dark and freezing outside, so I can't take her outside to get away from this. I grab her hand and we slip out of the room.
"Does your brother have something against me?" She asks once we're away from the living room
"No. Like I said, he's just my third parent. He likes you, he really does. He just has a weird way of showing it."
"Were you about to tell them you proposed to me?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"In a way I kind of wish you would have."
She starts rubbing her eyes.
"Are you tired?"
"What? No I'm just..." she yawns
"What time did you go to sleep last night?"
"I don't know...5 or 6."
"A.M.?"
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep."
"What time did you wake up?"
"Like, 6:30."
"You've been up for seventeen hours on not even two hours of sleep?"
"My sleep schedule has been messed up."
"I'll say. Aren't you tired?"
She nods, closing her eyes but not opening them.
"It just...hit me...all...of a...sudden."
She falls over, asleep on my bed.
"Hey," I whisper, "Mary? Wake up."
She doesn't, so I nudge her arm. Nothing.
"Wake upppp. Mary."
She's out cold. What do I do? Do I leave her in her clothes and move her to a more comfortable position? Or do I change her into some clothes to sleep in and put her in my bed?
I decide to go with the latter so I move her so she's laying on her back. Then I go over to my dresser and get some clothes out for her. Do I take her shirt off or do I leave it on? It's not really a shirt to sleep in, so I take it off of her and neatly fold it. I'm just starting to undo her pants when I hear my door open.
What do I do?
Before I can do anything my brother is standing in my doorway.
"I swear, this is not what it looks like."
"It looks like you're undressing your girlfriend."
I pause and think it over.
"Okay so it is what it looks like, but she's asleep. I was just changing her into some more comfortable clothes."
He doesn't say anything and turns around, shutting the door behind him.
I put a shirt on her, leaving her bra on because I have no idea if girls sleep in bras or not. I get her jeans off and strategically put sweatpants on her without waking her up.
"There." I say to myself
I get dressed and get in my bed with her, draping my arm across her.
"Goodnight." I whisper, placing a kiss on her temple
AN: aha cute and slightly cheesy Make scenes :-). I'm sorry, I just had to add that part at the end. I now realize this doesn't make sense and it sometimes sounds like the story is set in Australia but then it seems like it's set in America. Yes, I realize that in December it's summer in the Southern Hemisphere so it wouldn't be snowing but YOLO.
