New Start

Part 29

She tore out of the car as they pulled up to the apartment block. She ran up the stairs, wrenching the door open, throwing herself into the elevator. It climbed the floors too slowly, she had too much time to think. She wanted to see Chanyeol, but she didn't know what to say to him. Her leg began bouncing too quickly.

When the doors opened, she came face to face with Junmyeon. As her eyes found his, she could see he knew everything, she could see he knew he had lost. Yet he still found it on his face to give her a smile.

'Junmyeon,' she whimpered in a soft voice. She didn't know what to say to him. She was sorry, sorry she had gotten involved too soon. Sorry for messing up.

'Alex.' He breathed in his silky voice. She stepped out, but he did not step inside. He kept staring at her and she was unable to look away from him.

He took a half step towards her, a look of apprehension on his face as he hesitated, bending down to hug her. She hugged him back, holding him around his shoulders, trying to convey without words how much she was sorry.

'He's waiting,' he whispered in her ear, pulling back slightly. Her eyes softened at him, her heart breaking a little at his simple words. He was giving his blessing. He would be ok.

'I'm sorry – ' she began breathlessly, the need to say something even though she had no words taking over.

He reached out stroking her cheek he pulled the hair back from her face, tucking in behind her ear with a sorry sigh.

'Don't be, you don't have anything to be sorry for.' He smiled sorrowfully. Taking one last lingering look into her eyes he told her, 'You really are beautiful.' Then he kissed her cheek tenderly and stepped into the elevator. She looked behind her, watching him sadly, wishing that this situation had never happened.

'Are we still friends?' She asked him in a desperate plea.

'Always.' He winked kindly as the doors closed.

She was alone in the hall way, her nerves had come back tenfold, something was doing a dance in her stomach, and she was sure she wanted to throw up.

Surveying the door she needed to go through to get on the roof, she noticed it had been left slightly ajar, which was good, since she realised she didn't have the code for it anyway. Uncertainly, with her hand shaking, she pushed it open, and took the steps slowly to the top. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she pushed open the second door at the top of the stairs.

The roof had changed from what it was like the night before. Tonight, the entire roof had rows upon rows of glimmering lights, crisscrossing in the air, making the rich dark sky seem like it was alive with thousands of tiny white lights.

She gasped as she stepped through the doorway, the sight took her breath away. Whipping her eyes around, the tent was open, the pillows and blankets had been arranged neatly waiting to be used, rose petals covered the floor, white and red and pink, they intertwined in patterns on the floor, along with small tea lights, that she hadn't noticed on first glance, leading a pathway for her to follow.

The nerves were still dancing away ludicrously around her, her head was spinning with the complexity of it all, it was so much, too much to take in.

She stepped carefully, flowing the lights as they twisted around the air-conditioning vents, she couldn't see Chanyeol, and she had no voice to call out to him. As she took each controlled step, music started playing, low, from somewhere around the roof, she couldn't find the source, turning her head around every direction, but she recognised the song, it was the same one Chanyeol had been playing on the guitar. As she turned a corner, something was hanging in front of her, on a string adorned with roses, a note attached to the bottom on crisp white paper.