The History of Us

The Thirteenth Hour (Part Two)

The Thirteenth Hour (Part Two)

Nathan Dean. The boy who ruined my life.

The boy who I'd been in love with since I was seven, who broke my heart at age fourteen when he left and I thought he was never coming back. The boy who turned up when I was eighteen and stole my heart again.

Everything I am seems to be wrapped up in him. Every twist and turn of my life has been made according to his Labyrinth. I thought maybe I'd never solve it, but now it seems I have.

I'm waiting for him in the treehouse. I wanted to wear my best dress, my nicest underwear, my makeup, but it felt too false with him. He's seen every side of me, and I know he'll love me whatever I'm wearing.

I have the treehouse light on, shining at his house so he can see it. There's not a shred of doubt in my mind. I know he'll come.

It takes eighteen minutes before I hear footsteps on the stairs, and his head pokes through the floor. He gives me an unsure smile, seeing all the fairy lights are on and there are a few candles lit.

Nathan pulls himself up into the room and takes a seat on the mattress beside me. "I saw the light on. Do you want to talk?"

I shake my head gently and press my lips to his. "Not yet" I murmur and pull his lips back down to mine. He tastes like everything I've ever wanted, and of something even better than that.

Nathan threads his fingers into my hair and kisses my lips softly. He begins kissing my cheek, down to my neck, and my eyes close, melting into him.

"I've missed you" He says between breathless kisses, and I moan softly, smiling. "But Maddie, we need to talk"

"Do we?" I ask, kissing his lips again "What about?"

"Us" Nathan responds, his fingers nimbly sliding the thin strap of my top down my shoulder, his fingers brushing the skin of my shoulder and making me tremble.

"There's an us?" I question, pulling away, and Nathan looks at me wryly. He kisses the end of my nose, and I giggle.

"There's always been an us, Maddie" Nathan reassures me, his voice low and sending shivers down my spine "But I'd like to be your boyfriend now, as well as your best friend"

It's funny, that's what I thought I wanted to hear. But now that he's said it, I'm not sure. Nathan seems to read the hesitation on my face.

"I just got out of a pretty serious relationship. I'm not quite sure I'm ready to be someone's girlfriend again so soon" I explain gently, and it breaks my heart when I see Nathan looking a little crushed.

"Oh..." He says. I can see he's thinking of what to say next.

I can't help but smile, and I pull him back with me on the mattress so we're both lying down. I prop myself up on one arm and lean over his chest, stroking the side of his face.

"Have you heard about the theory for the film Labyrinth?" I begin, and Nathan raises an eyebrow, intrigued.

"No, I haven't" He responds, then adds "But Maddie what does that have to do with-!"

"All in good time. So, it basically suggests that everything in the Labyrinth has happened before. Once upon a time, the Goblin King was in love with a human girl named Sarah, whose father and wicked step-mother wouldn't allow them to marry because she would no longer be a nanny and servant for their child, Toby"

"Where have you read this?" Nathan asks, his face full of amusement. I shush him and continue.

"So, the Goblin King stole the child away and turned him into a goblin, and decided to create a magical world for Sarah and him to be together in. But time moved differently in the Goblin King's dimension, and by the time his masterpiece was finished, his love was dead, and this sent him mad"