Running with Shifters (completed)

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Meg-Elaine

I faintly hear the car pull away from the window and I turn to Vlain. "Why do you look so happy? Come on, spill." Usually I don't have to ask, he's extremely open about himself.

"It's not my place to tell." He looks at me innocently and I can't help but roll my eyes. Really? After everything he's gossiped about with us (and he's a huge gossip, nearly as bad as Toree, which is definitely a rank hard to achieve), he's withholding something that actually has to do with us? Usually he tells us the latest news from the town closest to us (which is definitely not close) and Vlain, Iz, and I speculate- okay, we gossip- about it.

"Yes but someone told you, which makes it your business, which means that it is your place to tell." He thinks a moment, trying to find fault with my logic, and I smile victoriously as he nods. He looks around and then walks to me before whispering it in my ear.

I step back in surprise before giggling. I know, I never giggle when I can help it, but this is totally worth it. We smile at each other conspiratorially and before I know it my inner gossip's taken over and I find myself running to find Eli.

He's really easy to find, he's sitting in the garden with everyone else, and I walk towards him while trying not to step on any of the flower buds. Once I'm within hearing distance I ask him if he knew about it. He looks up, knowing to what I refer, and smiles, "yeah, he told me a while ago." We smile at each other like a couple of loons and I sit next to him, cuddling against his side as he wraps an arm around me as we watch Em and Brad roughhouse as animals.

Isadora

He leads me towards the table where they check for reservations and the lady there smiles at us before calling over a waiter to show us to our table. We're led through the tables of well-dressed people to the back of the dining room where a single table sits in front of a giant window that shows a small garden studded with fairy lights.

The whole restaurant's beautiful and I look around after we're seated. I smile at Lin and he grins back as I finger the ruby table cloth. This is all too much, far nicer than our previous dates, and I'm about to ask him about it but the waiter returns and sits two champagne flutes in front of us along with our menus.

I look back up to him, wondering if he forgot I don't drink, and he only picks up his glass and sniffs it. Copying him I realize it doesn't smell like alcohol and I realize why once I take a sip. It isn't champagne, it's Sprite!

We place our orders; meat lovers lasagna for myself and raviolis with Alfredo sauce for Lin. We eat in companionable silence once the food comes and listen to the piano music from across the restaurant as we chew slowly. The lasagna is beyond amazing, the cheese super gooey yet not running all over the place, the meat seasoned to perfection, and the noodles easy to cut. Lasagna has to be my all-time favorite food... too bad I can never make it right.

Once we finish eating we order dessert, he orders some kind of chocolate mousse thing and I get the chocolate cheesecake with coconut. It doesn't take us nearly as long to eat this course and I sip my Sprite (in a champagne glass! It's sneaky, it looks like the real thing, bubbles and all) while waiting for him to finish.

My mind wanders as I listen to the music as it changes songs; this song seems... really familiar. It gets to a certain part and I realize its La Vie En Rose. I'm about to remind Lin of our dinner on the Eiffel Tower when he takes my hand. "Isadora," he says, and when I look up to where he was previously sitting I find his chair empty. He squeezes my hand again and I look down and to my left... to where he's kneeling before me... with a tiny box in his hand!