One Hope {A Lachlan Fanfic}

Thirty Nine

I slip on a cute dark blue dress that falls just above my knees and throw my hair up into a half-ponytail. I admire my makeup; black eyeliner with silver eyeshadow and pink lipstick. I slip on silver earrings and put on a cute silver necklace. Once I'm finished, I grab my silver flats and phone.

I open the door and notice Lachlan, wearing  a black top and dress bottoms and red tie, just outside my door, waiting to knock. I blush as he checks out my outfit that hugs me in all the right places. That's why Autumn forced me to buy it.

"Wow... You look... You look absolutely stunning." He says, causing me to smile.

"Thanks, Lachy." I smile. "You don't look too bad yourself." I add, teasing him.

He smiles and much to my surprise, grabs my hand. He leads me downstairs and to his car, holding the door open for me as I get in. He gets in the drivers side and we drive for a few minutes in silence.

But, me being the curious girl I am, I ask, "So... Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." He says, causing me to groan.

I wanna knooooooowwwwwwww...

"Don't worry, you'll like it." He reassures.

I nod, turning back into my own thoughts and fantasies. Suddenly, a big one slaps me across the face.

If Lachlan were to ask me out, could I really say yes? I'm still damaged and slightly heartbroken from Jay.

I ponder it for a few minutes, my heart sinking every second I dwindle on it.

Can I really?

I look out the window, remembering Jay's letter and last words.

I want you to be happy Caitlin. I want you and Lachlan to get together already.

I shake the thoughts from my head; now is not the time.

"You okay?" Lachlan asks, and I turn my head to see him.

"Yeah." I respond as we pull into Cutler & Co.. "Cutler's?" I ask, eyes widening.

"Yep." He smiles at me.

"Wow." I breathlessly whisper as Lachlan opens the door for me and I take his hand.

Cutler's is really expensive....

We walk inside and are seated almost immediately, and a menu is set in front of me. I pick it up, looking through it until my eyes land on the seafood. I glance at Lachlan over the menu and blush, hiding myself from his view with the menu.

What's wrong with me? I'm never like this whenever we go out?

A waiter comes to us and we order our drinks. A few minutes later, we order and our meal comes. After the meal, Lachlan pays, much to my discomfort, and we head back to his car.

I will admit, however, that I absolutely loved it. I felt like we were on a date.

I mean seriously, who takes their friend out to an extremely expensive restaurant?

My eyes jerk back to the road as I notice Lachlan doesn't go the way we normally go to get home.

"W-what?" I mutter to myself, confused. My thoughts are answered when Lachlan parks near the park. "Why are we here?" I ask him as we both get out. Lachlan goes to the trunk and grabs... A blanket?

"There are fireworks tonight, did you forget?" He asks, and that's when I remember. Lachlan said something along the lines, but I was too upset to understand.

I smile as we both walk alongside each other until we reach my favorite spot. Lachlan sets up the blanket and I sit next to him. We start to talk before the fireworks begin, although I can tell he's getting slightly nervous.

Why would he be?

Suddenly, fireworks interrupt my thoughts.

"Wowwww...." I say, watching in awe as different colors light up the sky. "It's so prettyy..."

"Like you." Lachlan says, loud enough for me to hear and causing me to blush.

"W-what was that?" I ask, turning to face him, a little shaky.

He thinks I'm pretty?

"You're really pretty; no, scrap that; you're drop-dead gorgeous." He says, causing me to blush as red as a tomato.

"R-really?" I squeak out, completely baffled but the events currently going on.

"Yes, Cait." He says, and after a moment of silence of just looking at each other, he speaks. "I know this is not what you might not want to be hearing right now, with everything that's been going on, but Cait... I hate when you're sad, because I feel sad as well... I love the way your eyes light up when you see something you love. I love the way you pay attention to every little thing. I love the way you care about others and the way you try to help as many people as possible. But most importantly, I love you." My eyes open wide, completely surprised at his statement. "I love you more than anything in the whole world, and I guess... I guess I just wanted you to know that before you go back to England." He passionately says.

"L-Lachlan..." I gasp, a hand over my mouth as I start to cry, fireworks still behind us.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" He asks, panicked.

"N-no." I respond, wiping the tears away. "I'm just really touched. And... I love you too. The moment you helped me. I just knew." I add, hugging him tightly. He wraps his arms around me and I relax into his chest. I let go after a few minutes only to realize how close our faces are. If I make even one move, our lips will touch. But I don't make that move.

"I love you so much." Lachlan says, lips finding mine. I smile brightly as fireworks erupt not only behind me, but between Lachlan and I. I wrap my hands in his hair as his find my waist. After a minute or two we separate, resting our foreheads against each other.

"What makes you think I'll ever go back to England?" I ask him, eyes closed.

"I don't know; the fact that you have friends over there." He says.

"But you're here. And that's all I care about." I respond, hugging him tightly as more fireworks go off. He pulls me back so my back rests against his chest, his arms wrapped around me.

"Thank you." He whispers into my hair, and I smile to myself.

I can't believe it's happening. Something I thought would never happen actually happened...

I love you, Lachlan Power.