Beat Of My Heart

Verse Twenty One

"Thanks for coming over so last minute... I just wanted to say thank you for-"

"Stop, Holly.  You don't have to thank me for anything, trust me.  In all honesty I think its me who should actually be apologizing to you for all of that drama that happened right before everything went down.  It wasn't fair of me to not explain everything to you.  I should have ran harder, tried to follow you better than I did.  For a while I blamed myself for everything that happened to you, if you hadn't seen those pictures then you wouldn't have ran away and-"

"Okay now its your turn to stop.  Yeah, it was part of the reason why I ran, but it was the fact of seeing you coming outside my house where I knew my parents were, it was just too overwhelming.  I had just figured out that my dad wasn't biologically my father and it was all just too much for me to handle on top of that scandal with...her.  And honestly, I forgave you the minute I realized that I would probably never get to see you again."

He looked at me, stunned.  Those gorgeous green eyes that I had come to know and love as they were helping me to heal the past few weeks emulating the love that I was sure reflected back towards him in my own eyes.  He must have known that I had forgiven him, especially considering how easy it had been between us since I was kidnapped. 

"I just thought you were waiting until you felt better about everything to hash it out between us. That's what I thought was the reason that you called me here today, to break things off between us..." he trailed off, his face developing a stormy quality. 

I sighed and looked around my childhood bedroom.  Everything seemed so small and meaningless when I looked at things from such a different perspective.  The things didn't matter anymore, it was the people and the memories from those experiences with those people that mattered most, and I wasn't about to let the man I loved think I hated him for something that was most likely unimportant in every way. 

"So tell me, what reason would I have to break things off, whatever this is, between us?" I asked him, finally giving him the chance to tell me his side of the story even though I didn't need to hear it to forgive him. 

It was his turn to sigh, running both of his hands through his perfectly styled hair. 

"Obviously, it wasn't like that.  My manager wanted us to meet up and do an interview on how we broke up but we were still going to be friends.  Well, she took that as an opportunity to ambush me behind the building where we were doing the interview.  She told me how much she missed me and still wanted to be with me but I told her I was in a relationship, whether it was fake or not for the cameras I knew then that I didn't want to be with anyone else but you.  She came on to me and that's when they took that picture, right as I was pushing her away. That's why my hands were on her shoulders.  She used that picture to her advantage, but my manager arranged for her to go on tv and clear everything up considering everything that happened to you afterwards. 

"She's actually going on air in a couple of days if that makes you feel any better.  Look, I'm glad we didn't talk about this sooner, you were still trying to cope with everything that had happened to you, and I didn't want to bring it up and make you feel worse.  I know our relationship was just fake and for the cameras, but I don't want-"

I cut him off with my lips crushing into his. I felt him tense up under my abrupt actions but he came to life beneath me, his hands roaming all around my body, up and down my arms, encircling me in his warmth and safety. 

I felt myself melt into him, realizing that I never wanted to leave his side, no matter where life would take me.  He deepened the kiss, his mouth opening allowing us to truly become one together.  I moaned into him, my hands running through his dark locks, tugging gently which elicited a husky moan from him as well. 

I smiled against his mouth at his reaction and he decided to get feisty with me as well, biting down gently enough on my bottom lip but enough for me to gasp and catch me off guard.  He used this surprise to his advantage as he lifted me up with his arms and I wrapped my legs around him, glad that we were in my room, alone.  With the door locked. 

He stumbled over to the wall with me still firmly in his grasp and he trailed a fiery trail of kisses down my neck all the way down to my cleavage.  I stifled another embarrassing moan as I guided his lips back to mine, my hands running all the way up and down, up and down his arms slowly, achingly so. 

I never wanted that kiss to end, but unfortunately it had to.  I had to remind myself that the real world still existed outside of the two of us, and although we never fully defined what our relationship was that night, I knew exactly where he stood.  I was scared to tell him the extent of my feelings for him, however, and I knew just the way to do it. 

***

"Next!" the teacher called out and I walked up onto the stage with my heart in my hands.  I looked out into the crowd of other students who were auditioning and the judges who would determine my fate and cleared my throat as I walked over to pick up the microphone. 

"What is your name and what are you singing?"

"My name is Holly Vickers and I'll be singing 'Run to You' by Whitney Houston," I said as strongly as I could, hoping it wasn't shaking from the nerves running rampant throughout my body. 

I took my seat at the piano and placed the microphone in the holder and cleared my throat again, hoping everything came out clear.  I knew I had practiced the song so many times before, but I desperately wanted to make sure everything sounded good so I could make it into the talent show and perform it for the person I was singing it for in the first place. 

"Whenever you're ready," the nice teacher instructed me and I began playing the keys, the soft intro flowing quickly from my hands. 

The first few words were easy, and the verses were as well.  It was when I got to the chorus that I started to get emotional, putting more and more feeling into my words as I went.   I looked out into the crowd, turning my head while still keeping my face next to the microphone and I could see their widened eyes, probably not realizing how much I loved to play piano and sing. 

I came to the bridge and belted out the high note, almost wanting to jump for joy when I hit the high note without straining or any problems whatsoever and finally the song died down into a soft melody and when I was finished I looked up to see a standing ovation.  

It was my turn for my eyes to widen and be surprised at what was happening before me. 

"That was amazing.  You're in!" they exclaimed and I was so happy I could have fainted.  I couldn't wait for Sebastian to hear the song that I was more than ready to sing for him. 

Before the week was out, Sebastian would know that I loved him, and that thought was more terrifying than the hundreds upon hundreds of people I was about to sing for.