Dating the Dead • lrh

36. a thousand years

I didn't run a marathon but my heart felt like it could burst right out of my chest. It physically hurt. Half of my senses were numbed, too.

My eyes were shut the whole time. The pounding in my ears rang louder than the applause around us. And all I could feel was her lips on mine.

"Is that a yes?" I whispered once we broke apart.

Shelby frowned at me. "No. That was definitely a 'no'." Sarcasm laced her tone.

I laughed as I pulled her into another kiss as I stood up. She got to her feet and wrapped her arms around me. I pulled apart and stared at her eyes. "Eh, that felt like a yes."

Her smile grew wider and I hugged her closer. "This should be one heck of an adventure, Luke Hemmings," she whispered into my ear.

A Thousand Years started to play and we both looked at each other. It was our version. Somebody recorded it and now they're playing it.

Shelby and I swayed along our voices. Couples slowly stepped in front to dance. We both laughed when we saw Kendall and Jack waltzed in the middle. They kept bumping the kids who were dancing.

"Time has brought your heart to me, I have loved you," I sang to her and playfully bit on her earlobe. We were dancing in an embrace and I could feel her fast heartbeat.

"For a thousand years, I'll love you for a thousand more," she continued.

It's ridiculous to think that last month, Shelby was just another girl I go to school with. Someone the whole school seemed to love spreading rumors with. Almost everyone talked about her.

"Did you hear? Shelby Lawler flipped shit again."

Gossipers. Nerds. Jocks. They all talked about her. Even me. I laughed when Melanie, one with a voice bigger than her mouth, told me during English III that she caught Shelby talking to herself during lunch.

Who would have thought I'd be having adventures with her. The same person everyone, including myself, made fun of just because she didn't act like everyone else. The one person who taught me how to live.

"I'll love you for a thousand more."

The song changed into Runaway by The Cranberries. Perfect. I asked Shelby if she wanted to leave the dance floor.

At first, she took a step back, confused. But when her attention was caught by a pair of guys, let's just call them Jack and Kendall, boogying their way towards us, she bolted. I laughed, trailing after her, even if she had a tight grip on my hand.

She led us to the stairs and I thought we were going to the room we were in earlier. I thought wrongly. We walked through a corridor and made a right turn where we arrived at another flight of stairs.

Cold air greeted us as Shelby pushed open the door leading to the rooftop. The sun had already sunk in the horizon. Purplish clouds tinged the blue sky.

"Aww, we missed the sunset," she said, dropping my hand to lean over the ledge.

I propped my elbow next to hers on the four feet concrete barrier. "We could watch it tomorrow," I draped an arm around her waist, "and all the sunsets after."