So it Goes : Erik Durm 🗸

:CHAPTER 18:

The only sound Stefanie hears is her ears ringing, until a new sound appears. Screaming. A lot of screaming. She comes back to her senses and realizes that she is on the ground. She slowly opens her eyes, but closes them at the sudden brightness. She tries to move her right arm, but horrible pain greets her instead. She opens her eyes slightly and sees a faint silhouette of someone running towards her. She doesn't see the person's face clearly, but she knows that they are screaming. The person reaches her and picks her up gently, but that still causes a lot of pain. She cries out, and the huge amount of pain makes her faint. The only thing that remains with her is the familiar scent of the person who picked her up.

Stefanie slowly opens her eyes and is met with a white room. She hears beeping next to her and looks up to see a heart monitor. What the fuck? she thinks, realizing that she is in a hospital. She tries to move her right arm, but then realizes it's in a sling. She hears shuffling to her right, so she looks over and is met with green eyes.

"E-Erik?" she says with worry, "Why am I here?"

He doesn't respond, but instead tackles her in a tight hug.

"I thought I lost you there," he says into her shoulder.

Stefanie hugs him back as tight as she could with one arm. She pulls apart from him and looks in his eyes, "Erik, what happened?"

He looks away, "There-there was an attack at the office...and you were right in the middle of it. I was at the bus and saw you waving from the door. I was about to wave back when, BOOM, there was smoke everywhere and I couldn't see you. Isabel started to run towards where we saw you last, but Chris held her back. I started running towards the smoke and started screaming your name, and I found you laying on the ground with rubble all around you. I picked you up and started screaming for help...Stef, you've been out for 3 days."

She looks at him with wide eyes, and starts to tear up, "Is everyone ok?"

He brushes a hand through her hair and nods, "Everyone is fine, but your arm is broken..."

He trails off as Stefanie realizes something. She looks towards her arm and whatever tears were building up in her eyes are let out in a huge wave. Erik starts to hug her again as she cries into his shoulder.

"This-this is what I was always scared of," she says thinking back to the first time they met, "When I asked you what fears you have and you said-you said that you are scared that you will get badly hurt and not do the things that you love...that's me right now. I can't take pictures with only one arm. I need both arms-"

"Shhh...it's ok, it's ok Stef," Erik sooths.

"I'm nothing without my photography," she bawls, "I-I can't live without it...it seems it's the only thing people like about me-"

"Halte den mund, Stefanie," says Erik sternly, making Stefanie shut her mouth at once. "You are so wrong."

He places a hand on her cheek and continues, "There are so many things that I like about you. Of course I like your photography, but I like your quirky ways and your cooking. Although I understand nothing about hockey, you try to explain it to me, and I like how you always get so into the game. I like that you try your best at school and try to do assignments ahead of time to go to my games. I like your loving ways towards animals, and the way you talk to your mom, even though I don't understand French. Stef, you are so caring to everyone and everything around you, and you are so so wrong when you think that people only like you for your photography. I'm positive that nobody likes you just for your photography. Because I know that I don't."

By this point of time, Stefanie is bawling even more, "N-Nobody has ever told me so many nice things about me before. I became popular in high school because of my photography, and my so called friends always would ask for photoshoots. I thought that's the only thing they liked about me."

She sniffles. Erik wipes some of the tears streaming down her face.

"Those 'friends' of yours were arschlöcher," he says, grabbing her left hand, "I promise that everyone here are not like them."

He kisses her forehead, but when he pulls back, he lingers in front of her face.

"And I personally promise to never let something like this happen to you ever again," he says. She sees his eyes flicker down to her lips, and they slowly move in. When they are barely a centimeter apart, Erik stops.

"May I?" he asks.

Stefanie nods, licking her lips before Erik puts his lips on hers. As cliche as it seems, she feels literal sparks fly as they kiss.

"Um, are we interrupting something?" a male voice asks, and the two lovebirds quickly split apart.

"Chris!" yells a very pissed off female voice, "You ruined the moment!"

Stefanie looks up to see Isabel and Chris at the door. Isabel is currently trying to mess up Chris' hair but since she is shorter than him, she can't exactly reach.

"I've been shipping this since Stef came here and you just interrupted their. First. Kiss!" now she is jumping to reach his tuft of hair, but he keeps dodging her.

"You know who I ship," Stefanie says, getting the attention of the two children, and the big child next to her.

"Us?" Erik asks cheekily.

She starts to blush, "Uh-um, yeah, of course. But these two younglings also look cute together."

Stefanie sees Isabel freeze and move a couple of inches away from Chris.

"What, us?" Isabel says, with an evident blush on her face, "No, we would never work."

"Lies," Stefanie says, "How about this: we go on a double date and if after you two still think that it won't work, we will leave you guys alone. Deal?"
"Free food? Count me in!" Isabel yells.

"Wh-what do you mean free?" Chris says, eying her. Stefanie giggles at his reaction.

"Um, dude-" Isabel starts.

"Did you just dude me?"

"Not the point but yes, I just did. But as I was saying, before you rudely interrupted me, the guy usually pays for first dates," Isabel says with a smirk, "Meaning basically free food for me!"

She spins around with her hands held up, and Chris starts sulking.

"That's no fair," he whines.

"Suckerup buttercup, that's life," Isabel says with a satisfied smile.

Stefanie smiles at the younger, soon-to-be couple, and feels Erik's fingers start playing with her hair. They watch as the two continue bickering, until Chris gives up and tells Isabel that he will get her some Starbucks to make her stop arguing with him.

"Ooh could you get me a tall Triple Mocha Frappuccino?" Stefanie says, and Chris rolls his eyes.

"You girls are so white," he complains.

"Says the one who calls his friends the 'Gucci Gang,'" Isabel shoots back and Stefanie can't contain her laugh.

The two leave and Stefanie and Erik are left alone in the room. He is still playing with her hair and Stefanie sighs contently.

"Hm, liebling?" Erik asks.

Stefanie looks up, "You meant all of that, right?"

He drops the stray strands of hair that he has in his hands, "Every." He kisses her forehead. "Single." He kisses her nose. "One." He kisses her lips and she kisses him back.