The Story Of Us

Ready

"Let's get married"
Sunny wasn't sure she had heard right. For a moment she almost thought it wasn't Amy the one who had spoken, but that it was just a line from them film they were watching. But given that it was Sharknado, she doubt it.
"What was that?" She asked cautiously from her girlfriends lap, where she was currently laying her head on, having stopped sucking on her Ring Pop to speak to her. The other girl looked down at her girlfriend, taking a moment to play with her girlfriends black hair, which she knew she loved.
"I said, that we should get married Sunny" She repeated, this time staring directly at Sunny, who's mouth was hanging slightly open, the Ring Pop on her finger long forgotten. Now Sunny was sure that she had heard her right, she wasn't even sure how to process the words. Amy continued playing with her hair, her sleepy eyes absolutely concentrated on Sunny, and for a few moments the only noise in the living room was that of sharks flying in the sky and eating people. The silence between the two of them seemed to stretch for an eternity, neither of them breaking eye contact. It wasn't until Sunny looked away, catching a glimpse of what seemed to be a guy using a chainsaw to get out of a shark, that she finally mumbled an answer.
"Why?" Amy stopped playing with her hair, suddenly realizing that things weren't going the way she bad thought. With a small sigh she turned her attention back to the screen, her voice stiff.
"Why not? We can get married now Sunny, its not illegal, its not wrong. We can do whatever we want." And Sunny knew that she was right, almost. They could do anything they wanted, but that wasn't going to stop people from trying to stop them. She snuggled closer to Amy's lap, but the other girl seem to stiffen up and Sunny knew she still wanted an answer to her question.
"I don't know," She finally admitted, sitting up and hugging a pillow from the couch closely. Amy didn't look at her, simply continued watching the TV and nodded, not making a sound. Sunny hugged the pillow to her body, unable to watch either the television or her obviously upset girlfriend. It was so strange for Amy to get even remotely angry or sad, most of the time she looked just bored or sleepy. And truth was most of the time she was bored or sleepy. Even when she smiled it looked like a lazy smirk, but Sunny always thought it was the most gorgeous thing. And with her ginger hair, brown lazy eyes and that smile she was a piece of art. And Sunny always saw something the rest didn't, that little sparkle on her eyes every time they were alone. That little snore that she made when she laughed a little too hard, which was such a rare occurrence. It was a lazy kind of beauty, one that drove Sunny's heart to the edge every day. But marriage had never even crossed her mind, she had simply lived her life day by day, barely making plans for a future sometimes she was afraid wouldn't come. This and everything was so new for her. It was all exciting, but scary at the same time. Just like that night.

***

It was her first time in a gay bar. It was so strange to truly be there, and she couldn't help but to constantly want to check over her shoulder to make sure her strict Korean mother wouldn't appear out of thin air and screamed at her that she was a disgrace. But with every step she took, she felt a little more at ease in the new place. She could barely believe she was actually there, even though she had thought and planned for that night for about three months, it all still felt so dream like. But she woke up from her dreamy state when her friend, and professional encourager, Felix nudged her on the arm, a smirk on his lips.
"Didn't I tell you that this would be fun?"
She smiled brightly at him and nodded. Meeting Felix had been the best thing to happen to her first year of college. Since the first time he had sat next to her on their college algebra class, and immediately began to talk to her as if he had known her his whole life, she knew she had found a true friend. And given that Felix never tried to hide who he was, the things he loved, and much less his sexuality, it was the push that Sunny had needed all along to accept herself too. And just like he had promised her, he was here with her on her first time at a gay bar. She wasn't sure what would have been of her if it wasn't for him.
The place was loud, packed and colorful. There was so many people that Sunny immediately felt a small heat of body heat hit her, and she welcomed the sensation that was now going through her body. Excitement. Soon Felix took her by the hand and led her to an open space on the dancefloor and they began to wildly dance to whatever song would come on. She felt the adrenaline run through her. She had never done something like this, dancing and cheering and grinning with strangers as if she had known them her whole life. And after being out there in the middle of it all for what felt like hours, they finally took a seat by the bar and rested, both friends out of air and sweating slightly.
"Didn't I say this would be fun?" Felix asked Sunny as he dropped some complementary peanuts into his mouth. Sunny nodded furiously, her body still trembling from the excitement. And suddenly, a bright red hair caught her eye, and that was the first time she laid eyes on the girl passing by, who would later become so important on her life. Sunny wasn't one too stare, but she couldn't help to. The girl was slim, had an athletic figure and this dreamy sleepy look on her face, as if she was tired and ready to take a nap in the middle of the floor. And those sleepy brown eyes had Sunny's heart beating fast, her mind concentrated only on that girl and her shoulder length red hair. Felix soon caught on as to what had Suddenly struck his best friend so strangely, and raising an eyebrow at her he playfully elbowed her on the arm.
"Seeing something you like Sunny girl?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she smacked him in the arm, her face turning red at having been caught. Felix simply laughed as he popped more peanuts into his mouth, and Sunny looked over to where the girl had stood, and where she was now looking directly back at her. Sunny immediately looked away, sure that the only reason she was being stared at was because she had been staring first.
"Hey" Before Sunny knew it, the mystery girl was standing almost in front of her, her green eyes focused on nothing more but her.
"Hi?" Her face felt hot, and she couldn't help but to think about how much more attractive she even was up close. The girl offered her a small smile before speaking again.
"You were staring at me, so I think I should introduce myself. Name's Amy" She said extending her hand for Sunny to shake. Hesitantly she shook the girls hand, which was warm to the touch.
"I'm Sunny".
After that, they had spend what felt like a lifetime talking and shamelessly flirting with each other. Felix never returned, having sent a text to Sunny letting her know that he was giving her time alone with the redhead.
The rest of the night was a blur of dancing, drinks and shameless flirting. And then end of the night, they made their way to Amy's Uncle's small bar, that was apparently just a few blocks away from where Amy herself lived. There, she met the uncle who seemed like the sweetest man in the world and who smelled strongly of aftershave. They didn't drink anything, just sat by a window until they realized that the sun was coming up and they had just spend the whole night together. It all felt almost magical to Sunny, and the memory of that night still brought warmness to her heart and seemed to fastened her pulse all over again.

***

But now as she stood there in that couch with the girl she loved the most, knowing she had made her upset, almost seemed to break her heart and every beat of it felt slower than the one before. The silence felt heave in between the two now that there wasn't even the sound of the movie playing anymore, and t seemed like neither of them were daring to say a single word. Amy stared at the carpeted floor, and Sunny kept her eyes glued on her. Their breathing almost in sync with each other.
Suddenly Amy stood up, causing Sunny to flinch at the sudden movement of her girlfriend.
"I'm going to my Uncle's bar for a little bit" She mumbled, still loud enough for Sunny to hear as she walked away and grabbed a coat before Sunny could say anything, only being able to hear quick steps and the closing of the front door. She sat in that couch for what felt like a really long time, unable to move, her thoughts a rambling mess and the silence of the house louder than before. What had she done? Was it all over now? The thought of losing her, the thought of losing the only person she had loved made the tears start dropping from eyes. Just what had she done?
She tried wiping the tears away and felt something sticky hit her face. She looked at her hand and realized that there in her finger was the Ring Pop she had forgotten about. And she couldn't help to giggle through the second incoming wave of tears. Now her face had candy on it, Amy would have found that hilarious. Amy found everything about her funny, sweet, perfect.
She loved Amy more than anyone else, and she knew her girlfriend felt the same way about her. She knew why she was scared. Her family knew nothing of their relationship, they knew nothing of Amy. Her mother and little brother, just how would they react? She knew that perhaps her little brother would be more understanding, after all the two siblings were close and he was kindest twelve year old in the world. But her mother... That was a different story. And she did love her, and she respected her and admired her but she knew that there was no way she would approve of this.
The tears seemed to be flowing down her face more and more, and a pain on her chest just seemed to increase but the minute. But she loved Amy, she wanted to be with Amy, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Amy. And she knew that sometimes, the pain and the rejection, were worth her happiness.
She sprung out the couch, still on the pajamas she had never bothered changing out of, and ran to the front door, grabbing the first jacked that got in her way and shoving her feet into whatever shoes she could find, not stopping to even lock the door or look back or even think who the fact that it was snowing outside and it felt as the coldest day that winter had to offer. And even though the first icy wind hit her hard, she didn't want to wait any longer and so she hugged the jacket closer to her body and ran. She ran with tears streaming down her face and the cold wind hitting every part of her body that the jacket didn't cover. She ran even though she felt like breathing stung, even though her skin hurt and her eyes were watery. She didn't stop until she burst into the bar, absolutely breathless.
She stood there at the door catching her breath, her hands on her knees as she welcomed the heat from the small place. It seemed to immediately warm body and bones, and with a deep breath she looked up and looked for that red hair she could find anywhere. Everyone in the bar was staring at her, and had it been any other moment she would have been embarrassed, but there was no time for that. And there, in their spot by a window was her girlfriend, holding a glass of what looked like beer, her eyes wide opened and her mouth slightly opened too, absolutely surprised to see Sunny there.
With meaningful and steady steps she made her way to where her girlfriend sat, all eyes glued to her. She stood in front of Amy, who seemed unable to get a single word out as she stared at a red checked Sunny who had such a strong look on her eyes.
"Amy" Her voice finally seemed to bring everything back to reality, and Amy's eyes returned to their lazy look as she closed her mouth into a thin line. Sunny continued, taking a deep breath as the tears threatened to spill over again. "I love you. I love you so much, God I really do. You make me feel real, like myself... You have helped me find who I really am" Her voice seemed to be breaking, and she knew tears were streaming down her face now but she didn't stop. "And I need you to know that you mean the world to me, I need you to know just how much I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I don't care if it means losing everything else" And with this, Sunny took a knee in front of Amy, who was crying now too, and she slipped that Ring Pop out of her finger before offering it to her girlfriend, to her future bride.
"Amy Walsh, will you marry me?" And before Sunny could get any other word out, she had already been tackled by a overjoyed Amy who was hugging her and kissing her all over the face as the people in the bar applauded and even cheered. And as Sunny hugged and kissed her fiancée back, she knew everything would be alright. She was ready for whatever there was to come.