Unexpected

Chapter 89.

I eagerly open Albert's present and my heart flutters on my chest when I see a black leather box.

My heart is beating on my chest as I carefully open it and see the most beautiful silver necklace I have ever seen; but what made my heart jolt and melt at the same time was the immortal drawn letters written on the small oval medal,

When I saw you I fell in love and you smiled, because you knew.

I have so many feelings right now, my deep love for him, my need to kiss him and thank him for making me so happy, for giving me the happiest numbered days I could ever wish for, I feel nostalgia that I'm leaving him in less than two weeks and a hole on my chest because I feel like I'm missing him already. But mostly, I feel joy, a feeling that you can't describe until you actually feel it. I feel joy when I look at the curly haired boy curiously eying every movement of my face, who holds a nervous expression waiting for me to reach out and hug him or to just simply say a casual thank you. No, saying thank you is not enough and that's why I grab the silver bracelet on my hand and run to him to press my lips against his.

He jolts in surprise but then wraps his arms around me and guides our lips passionately.

"Go get a room!" I completely forget about the people around us until Sophia mocks us and I pull away blushing terribly.

"Thank you." I finally say and he grins widely down at me while caressing my cheek.

"No, thank you.." He winks and I giggle as he pulls me to him.

We talk about random things until Albert excuses himself to go to his bedroom to grab something.

He grasps my side telling me to follow him and my heart beats faster as he opens his bedroom door and pulls me inside.

He eagerly presses his lips against mine and guides us to the bed. He positions himself above him and we're interrupted by the sound of his hand pressing against the bag I hid earlier on his room.

I decided when I arrived here to not give him the book. I thought he would find it silly so it was safer to hide it in his room during the dinner. Apparently, I was wrong.

"What is this?" He looks at me with curiosity and I instantly shift to grab the bag from him.

I stand up and raise the bag higher behind me away from his reach.

"You won't you let me see what's in it?" He smirks down at me and I shake my head lifting it higher.

"You know I'll get that, don't you?" He plays and I huff. He's right.

"Fine." I give in and hand him the bag.

He laughs and pecks my cheek.

Damn it.

"Is this-" He looks at me with wide eyes and I nod.

"Oh My God, babe," Albert's lips are parted and his eyes hold a special glow.

"I'm sorry, I know it's silly," I try to apologise myself when Albert presses his lips against mine.

"I loved it. You gave me the material thing you love the most in the world, you gave me your guarded thoughts, inedited ideas and secrets scenarios. Thank you, babe. Thank you". He tells me, holding tightly the book in his hands and I can't help the huge grin on my face.

"Open it, I wrote something for you. I know I can't break your troubled past into small acts and put them together myself, but I can talk about our love story.."

'You know, I've always wondered myself of why I was so fond of Shakespeare's lungs (Romeo & Juliet).

I used to think it was because the story was so old, the grammar was so different yet so smart and kindly chosen. Then, I thought it was due to its odd end. It's rare to read a story where the lovers don't stay together, then again, Shakespeare did not write romance, he was a writer of tragedy. I was nearly convinced that I liked it because of the reckless way Romeo drunk the venom as soon as he saw Juliet dead. He didn't even think he would still have a life in front of him, he could fall in love again just like he did when he saw Juliet and still loved Rosaline. No. He didn't even think in a future without her. Maybe he was just immature, maybe he was too passionate or maybe just stupid, but he did made me realise that love is still but so wild, it's willingly, it's giving and it's healing. It's losing fears and carrying the tears away. Love founds you before you find yourself. Love doesn't have to make sense. It just has to be there, awake, and demanding to be felt, it only needs to be real and true.

Romeo and Juliet showed me that forever doesn't have to be always an incorrect concept. Benvolio gave them their forever when he held their hands together proving that not even death could do them apart. It doesn't matter if you fall in love for a person at first sight or if you grow and learn to love them, it doesn't matter. Our story proved me that you don't have to know someone very long to fall in love with them, our story proved me that love is odd yet so ordinary. So simple yet so difficult. This is us sacrificing our own soul; giving without taking back, Being your friend was a choice but, Albert, my love, falling for you was so painfully behind my control. It was stubbornly, slowly, suddenly and mostly inevitable. Loving you is joyful and intriguing; it's petulant, selfish yet so fulfilling. It's warm, bright and miraculously healing. It will forever stay within us. I know I can't promise you much or erase harsh spilled words from your sleepless nights, I can't make you love yourself or change your past but I can love you the best I can and I promise you, and I do promise you, that I love you very much, more than I can say in words, more than the sound of my voice can possibly describe, more than a simple feeling can take or behold, it's short but so intense. Our love showed that even a moment can feel like an infinity so thank you for giving me the best infinite moments I could ever wish for. Our love is beautiful and it blooms where sadness can't grow.

So this is me loving you deeply, innocently, this is me fighting for you, holding onto insecurities because sometimes giving love gets too overwhelming and less metaphorical. Thank you for making me feel special, thank you for loving me when I'm not able to do it myself, thank you for showing me that life doesn't have to be perfect for love to be extraordinary and thank you for teaching me that life even being pain, even being behind suffering, horror, and sometimes a battle, it's being alive after all.

You gave me life without numbered days, joy without laughs and healing without medicine. You gave me too much to count and I love you too much to measure. Maybe we're too young to know about love, about the other kind of love, the wild one, the addicted want and need, but our love is beautiful, it's still, it's sacrificial and intriguing, it's healing and it's young.

Our love is ours.

Our love is unexpected.'

I watch as Albert's eyes leave the paper after following attentively and carefully each paragraph. He simply looks at me with a glow in his eyes, he smiles widely and my heart hammers on my chest because I know I've gave him happiness in every word I've put him to. But I find more than his love for me in his eyes, I find guilt.

"I love you so fucking much, you know that don't you?" He looks at me seriously.

"Yeah, is it something wrong?"

"No, I just- I want you to know that my love for you is exactly how you described it, it's true, Emily. It's so fucking true and real and I can't even tell you how afraid I am of losing you." He lays his hand nervously on mine and my heart skips on my chest.

"Albert, are you sure everything is okay?" Why is he telling me this?

"Albert?" I press as he keeps looking at me seriously.

His phone starts to beep on his bed and I grip his hand a little so he can answer it.

"I need to take this. I'll be right back." Albert tells me staring at his phone with heavy eyes.