Getting broken up with was one thing Aliana Haven was used to. Her first years of High School mostly consisted of heartbreaking break-ups. But on top of all that, she has to deal with the remnants of sadness left behind after her mother left her and...
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Aliana's POV
"Do you want to go to the park? We can have a snowball fight or something like that," Ashton suggested as we laid in front of the fire on the couch.
"Sure. We can do that." I stood up and pulled him along with me. We slipped on our winter stuff and headed out the door.
We walked down the sidewalk, my hand intertwined with his. Snowflakes fell slowly, light and fluffy. The town was quiet, most people probably all cozy inside their homes.
The park was empty too, luckily. We ran into the middle of the park where the soccer goals were set up.
"I challenge you to a snowball fight, Haven," Ashton said fiercely. I tried not to laugh.
"Okay, Dobias. You're on." I kneeled in the snow and started rolling the snow into snowballs. I was piling up my snowballs when one hit my back. I stood up and turned around. Ashton had a triumphant grin on his face. I glared at him, then leaned down to grab one of my own snowballs.
He looked between me and the snowball, then smirked and turned around to grab another one. When he turned around, I chucked it at his chest. He looked down at his snow-covered coat before shaking his head at me, a smile playing at his lips.
I shrugged casually and grabbed another one. He suddenly started running towards me. I forgot about my pile and stared running away from him.
"Come back here!" he yelled playfully. I looked back and giggled before picking up speed. I dodged a pile of dirty snow in the parking lot and jumped over a leafless bush. I turned around and threw the snowball from my hands at him, but it missed.
He chuckled evilly and charged towards me. He bounded in front of me and I turned around, running the opposite way. But Ashton had an advantage, he had long legs. In seconds, he was right behind me. I slid in the snow and grabbed a bunch, trying to grab enough for another snowball.
I balled it up and stood. I ran backwards to watch him. He chucked the snowball at me and it hit my leg. I stopped in my tracks and held up the snowball threateningly. He stopped too and looked at the snowball in my hands.
"Don't you dare," he said breathlessly. I raised a brow. He crossed his arms, acting serious, yet a grin was flickering on his face. I tossed the snowball back and forth between my two hands. He watched my face the whole time.
I lifted up my hand in the air before throwing it right at his shoulder. He stared at me, a warning look on his face. His lips quirked into a sneaky grin.
"Oh, you're gonna get it." I squealed and turned around, running away from him, but he was too fast for me. He jumped in front of me and grabbed me from the front, lifting me into the air. I kicked my legs, trying to get away, but I was still laughing despite myself.
We were suddenly falling forwards. I yelped in surprise. I closed my eyes tightly, bracing myself for the fall. But instead of landing hard, we landed soft. The snow blanketing the ground cushioned our fall. We both breathed heavily, our cold breaths mingling together.
"Oops." He chuckled nervously under his breath. I didn't say anything, but started laughing. He stared at me before joining in, and we were laughing together. After a little bit, we started just breathing heavily. I leaned my head back into the snow, feeling the the cold dampness seep through my hat and coat.
I looked up to see Ashton staring at me intently. The smile from my face faded and we just stared at each other silently. His eyes flickered to my lips, mine flickered to his. My lips parted, and I took a sharp breath. He didn't wait any longer.
He crashed his lips onto mine. I was shocked for a second but I gave into it. Our lips moved against each other. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. We kissed like that for a second before he pulled away slightly. He nuzzled his nose against mine, then kissed it.
I sighed, and kept my eyes closed as he kissed both of my cheeks, then my forehead. Then he laid he lips on mine again, and I responded.
He pulled away for a second to get a breath of air. I did too. He rested his forehead on mine, and whispered something I had always almost dreaded hearing ever again.
"I love you, Alibear." I took a deep breath, very caught off guard by his statement. I had promised to never love again, because I hadn't wanted to get hurt again. I loved all of those boys, but they didn't love me back. I messed up, and made mistakes. And I had the perfect chance to redeem myself.
I loved Ashton. I had loved him for a long time, I just didn't want to believe it. I wanted to deny it, tell myself that I could never love a boy again. But it had happened, and I couldn't do anything about it. I didn't want to do anything about because Ashton was different. He was amazing, he was just so perfect. He was always there when I needed him, he always knew exactly what to say.
I loved every single thing about him.
I loved those cute things he'd text me everyday. I loved the way he always grinned when he saw me, like I was the most amazing person to him in the world. I loved the way he openly told me everything, because he trusted me.
I seriously, undoubtedly, loved Ashton Dobias.
He pulled away and stared intently at me, concern and regret shadowing his face. "I'm sorry, Ali. I shouldn't of said that. I just wanted you to-" I cut him off by laying my lips on his.
"I love you too, Ashton," I whispered against his lips. My promise to myself no longer mattered. None of it mattered, because I had let my wall get broken down by such an amazing boy, and he was here to stay.
He grinned against my mouth. "Really?" he asked softly. I nodded surely. He chuckled against my lips. I sighed.
He rested his forehead on mine. "I knew I would fall in love with you since the day I laid eyes on you. I noticed you before that day, you know, I noticed your beautiful hair first, then your beautiful eyes, then your beautiful face. Your beautiful everything. That one night in Paris is when I realized that I was totally in love with you, in love with everything about you. And I don't regret anything, Ali."
I almost cried at his proclamation. He was just the sweetest, kindest, most amazing boy I had ever laid eyes on.
Sure, he broke me down piece by piece. He kept coming back when I pushed him away. I never thought I would love someone again like I loved Ashton. But I opened up to him, let him in, and loved again. And I didn't regret it whatsoever. Actually, letting Ashton in was one of the best things I've ever done.
I was totally, definitely, absolutely loving all over again. And my life was finally put back together again.
