Abstinence x Grayson Dolan

thirteen

A B S T I N E N C E
T H I R T E E N

SIX months is usually deemed a long time in the book of many, but for Mabel and Grayson? Six months seemed like six days. Everyone dreams of not only dating a lover but to date their best friend, and that's exactly the kind of luck the two had. They had spent Labor Day together camping like it was any other year, except this time it was a little more special because they had a special person beside them.

Halloween came and went with the pair celebrating at Lisa's Monster Mash, she held every year after all the kids turned sixteen. Mabel and Grayson coordinated costumes, going as the devil and an angel, despite the irony of the situation.

Thanksgiving was spent at Lisa and Sean's house, Margret being invited over as a guest of Lisa and Mabel now invited as a guest of Grayson. Together they all laughed, shared stories, and ate enough food that knocked all the men out after they were done eating. Lisa and Margret finally made a toast to the story was unlike any other of two kids who knocked heads until they finally got it right. Ethan tried to bet with Cameron on how long they would last, but the older girl knew that they'd last a lifetime so she never bothered.

Christmas came by and went in flash. The couple went to every family event that either were invited to. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins basically portraying their gratitude that they were finally together in one way or the other. Mabel and Grayson decided they were going to ring in their Christmas by going to the midnight mass, then spending their whole day at soup kitchen. Their parents joked they were pretty much the romance of a Hallmark Christmas movie, but the duo wouldn't have it any other way.

They rang in the New Year together, toasting to the bright new year and the bright future ahead of them that they'd conquer together.

Valentine's Day came and went without a fuss from either of them. Mabel was recovering from a cold the day of, so, essentially, leaving the house was not on the itinerary. Grayson put rose petals from the roses he bought her into the soup he cooked up to relieve the sore in her throat and brought Mabel's favorite chocolates and tissues to the girls side. They watched cheesy romance movies all night, completely knocking out on the couch in each other's arms. Mabel was a thousand times more pleased, claiming that what Grayson had done was the most romantic thing some one could ever do for her, than she ever would've been if they went out.

It was the night of their sixth month anniversary and Grayson was dying to take Mabel out some kind of extravagant date. He blinded folded her, like all the men did in all the romantic movies, and drove her across town and back, only to surprise her with a picnic under the willow trees in his backyard. He had set up lanterns to alight the space, and Lisa had put together the most adorable dinner of ham and cheese sandwiches, strawberries, and pink lemonade. It was simple, but the thought that someone would go out of their way to do something like this for her, had Mabel speechless.

They sat together under the willow trees, grinning like fools and eating the same exact food they had when they were younger. They couldn't quite believe that they were their together, sharing that moment, but, yet, at the same time, they could. Grayson's intentions with Mabel at first were all the wrong intentions. He wanted her in the most greedy and selfish way, but God showed him that if he wanted her enough, he'd learn to love her with giving hands. Mabel had always wanted Grayson, even when he wanted her in the worst way, but she couldn't have him until he wanted her in the best way. Since she had stuck by him through all of it, she could believe that her prayers were answered and that the boy was finally hers in the way she desired.

It's crazy how things work out.

Grayson played slow music on his phone, anything that had a slow tempo so he could hold Mabel close and sway with her. Her chest was flush with his, her head resting on his shoulder as the melodies flitted through the February air.

Mabel lifts her head, gently pressing her lips to his and speaking the one thing on her mind, "I'm so happy to be with you and Jesus in this life."

The kind of love they hadn't wasn't anything found in the movies or in any kind of book. It was one of kind, it was patient, it was indestructible, and it was everything the bible said that it was. Jesus was the only one to know of this kind of love, and since they knew of God, they knew of this love that would never, ever stop.