92 Days of Fate

Day 7

The couch seemed to get harder each night Keaton slept on it, making his this week even worse as the days drug on. The couch had become his bed for the past four days, ever since Lily decided that she didn't want anything to do with him. Since their fight, Keaton had done everything to try and make things right with his girlfriend. He cleaned the house from top to bottom, cooked dinner every night, and even bought her the flowers that she loved. But the broken girl didn't seem to notice that all of Keaton's clutter had been contained, and she left the homemade food untouched until it was too cold to eat. And the daisies that Keaton had handpicked for her, from the field that she loved, were left in a heap in the bottom of the trash bag. The same flowers that he had given her on their first date.

His hands were too sweaty and his thoughts were jumbled as he pulled up to her house, the porch light shining like a candle in the night. His hands gripped the steering wheel as he tried to calm himself down. "It's no big deal," he thought, "just a date with the prettiest girl that you've ever laid eyes on." He managed to chuckle before his nerves took back over, and he had to force himself to get out of the car. The walk up to her front door seemed to last an eternity, and his legs were shaking by the time he made it. His knock was so quiet that he was surprised when someone answered the door, their eyes meeting his in a mean glare. The man was older than Keaton, with a face as hard as stone and dark eyes to match. This, he assumed, was Lily's father. They had matching chestnut hair, and shared a nose, but that seemed to be all that they had in common. "Can I help you?" The man's eyes stared at him expectedly, intimidating Keaton as he tried to gather his thoughts and speak. "Uh-hello sir, i-is Lily here?" "Maybe, what's your business with my daughter?" The younger boy tugged nervously on his shirt collar. "I-I would like to take her on a date tonight sir."

"Dad," Keaton had never been so relieved to hear a voice before, especially because it was her voice. Lily appeared behind her father, purse in hand and a frown on her lips. "Dad," she repeated, "leave Keaton alone." He couldn't draw his eyes away from the way her lips moved as she formed the words, that even with her mouth drawn down in a frown, there still wasn't a flaw on her face. He was relieved when her father finally closed the door, leaving the two of them alone on the front porch, the porch light highlighting the shadows on their faces. "You look like a picture." Her cheeks flushed with color as he cursed himself for saying such a stupid compliment. "Why thank you good sir, so do you." They both had laughter in their eyes. "Oh," the sound escaped his mouth quietly as he reached into his pocket, closing his palm around the object he'd been carrying all day. He opened his palm to her and revealed one yellow daisy. "I got this for you," his smile was timid. "Daisies are your favorite right?" Her smile was bright as she took the flower from him, placing it behind her ear. "Anything is my favorite as long as it comes from you."

Keaton was just about to drift off to sleep when he heard quiet footsteps down the hall. "Keaton?" Lily's voice was quiet but unmistakable in the small, dark living room. Sitting up, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at her. "Hey, what's up?" "Can we talk?" She looked nervous, wringing her hands together as she looked at him. Keaton patted the couch beside him and she joined him, tangling her legs with his. "I'm sorry," she whispered, looking down at their feet. "I was being dumb and overreacting. I'm sorry for the stupid fight, and saying what I did. And I'm sorry for ignoring you and making you sleep on the couch." He sat quietly as she rambled her apology, watching her face contort from sadness and guilt, when she was done he placed a gentle kiss to the side of her head. "Hey, it's not all your fault. I'm sorry too." He laced his fingers through hers and brought her hand up for a kiss. "I'm sorry for yelling, and not listening to what you had to say. And I'm sorry for being such a dick." Lily's giggle was quiet, but captivating, and Keaton couldn't help but laugh along with her. "And thank you," Lily said looking at her boyfriend with a smile on her face. "For what?" "For cleaning the house, and cooking me dinner, and the flowers. I shouldn't have thrown them away but I was still so angry with you." He smiled softly, "It's okay, and you're welcome. I'd do anything to make you happy." "Anything?" The corner of the girl's mouth turned up in a smirk. "What do you have in mind my dear," he couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice as he looked at her. "Come back to bed with me?" "Gladly." A squeal escaped Lily's mouth as he scooped her up off of the couch and took off running down the hallway towards their shared bedroom, bot missing an opportunity to be with her again. Maybe, Keaton thought, just maybe the rough times are behind us.