“Death was in that poisonous wave, And in its gulf a fitting grave.” I spoke through the ice cold air, letting my hands succumb back into the sleeves of my jacket for warmth. I should’ve brought a pair of gloves, but we didn’t really plan this.
“Switch.” Juliet softly said, matching the entire feel around us. I only got a passing look at her rosy cheeks and icy eyes as I took my turn facing the stoplights about fifty or so feet away.
“Oh, and Edgar Allen Poe’s, The Lake. My turn.”
She took a minute to think about it, and I let all the nostalgia soak in while I waited. I don’t know what made us want to stand in the middle of the road, maybe it was my girlfriend’s obsession with the movie The Notebook, in which Noah and Allie lay in the middle road, enjoying the daring act and each other’s company. Or, that I know she got high before she came over and is probably not thinking of consequences that much. Whatever it was that got us here doesn’t matter now. We’re here, although we opted out of actually laying down out of shear fear.
“Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” I could hear the suppressed laughter behind each word, slightly muffled since she faced the opposite way.
“Hmmm, I have no clue.” I sarcastically said, feeding off the sound of her laugh that somehow made my heart feel warm despite the air around us and the falling snow. “William Shakespeare. Shall I compare thee to a summers day.” I chuckled, then let both our laughter die down.
“Switch.” I said, letting the material of our jackets rub together as we turned.
“Last one. I end not far from my going forth, By picking the faded blue, Of the last remaining aster flower, To carry again to you.” Her voice was like a clean chalkboard or a blank page, so innocent and perfect, smooth and complete. I could listen to her talk and laugh forever, because I know she would let me.
“I know it’s Jack Frost, but I’m seriously blanking on the title.” I search my brain for it, through every title I knew by Jack Frost, but nothing was fitting.
“A Late Walk.” She said, and she sounded distracted. I let that be the end of our talking for a while, and instead I enjoyed having her so close to me and enjoyed each falling snowflake; the way it fell to the Earth and was swept up by the wind at the last second to re-fall again. I enjoyed Juliet’s steady breathing beside me and wished we could be looking at each other right now.
“Oliver.” Juliet finally said, making me turn towards her. “I really love you.” It wasn’t the first time she’s said it, but the first time she said ‘really’ along with it. The words sounded so strong now, like without a doubt, one hundred percent, she loved every bit and every piece of me; almost as much as I love her.
“I really love you more.” Juliet buried her head in the cushioned material of my jacket over my shoulder, and I held my hand over her hair. I could tell she was cold by her rosy cheeks and the tiny shivers she did now and again. My hand was almost numb but holding her like this helped. Having her with me always helped. I promised myself right then and there that I would never let anything bad happen to her. She’s mine and that’s how it always will be and always should be. I’ll fight against every last wish the world may have against us.
After another minute or so, she pulled away, and elevated just the inch or so needed on the balls of her feet to have her lips meet mine. I could feel the slight chap of her lips and through the next ten seconds, where her mouth ended and mine started was hard to define. When I felt like I needed a breath I moved my lips away and hugged her as best I could in all our winter wear. “Don’t ever let me go.” Juliet said just before turning away to her view of the stoplights. I turned away too, until I felt her soft, now un-gloved hand slide into mine. I held her hand with as much love as you can hold hands with; I won’t ever let her go. Never.
“It’s funny…last year we were making fun of Torin and Allison for acting so sappy all the time. I had no idea I could fall in love like that too.” I wanted to say something, because I’m young and young people are usually bad at not talking while standing so close to another person. I follow the stereotype.
“I don’t want to be the stereotypical high school love story Oliver. I don’t want to grow up and go to different schools and pretend like we can have this long distance. We’re not long distance people, we’re not strong enough for that. I don’t want the lying or the pretending until the fire burns out. I want to beat the system.” Juliet does this a lot. She likes to say whatever she’s thinking and she does not like to be like everyone else. I want to be like that too.
“What if- what if we ran away? We could do this, we could run away, elope, live in New York or Chicago. London. Anywhere in the whole world, Juliet. I want to have that life with-“I wanted to continue, but the pavement below us started to brighten with light, interrupted with-
“CAR!” Juliet screamed. It seemed to break every last piece of ice in the air and I couldn’t feel the temperature and I felt my heart beat in every part of me. Our hands must have dropped but I swear I could feel her soft skin still just under mine. I swear to God or to whatever the hell is up there that I pulled her with me to the end of someone’s driveway.
Until I looked back.
I screamed out for her, it was too late to run back, although I tried, then tripped over the mound of snow on the curb. I screamed her name as she stood there, frozen. Just watching. Like she didn’t even care. Like she didn’t even care that I was watching every part of me I loved disappear forever. The car swerved to the right but it was too narrow a road. The impact was so loud in my ears, it was all I could hear, then the blackness took over and I fell again off my hands and knees. I wish I could’ve died right then.
