While I'm Still Yours

Chapter One and Only Chapter

‘That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles.’
Nathan woke up to Taylor Swift as his phone ringtone for his girlfriend, Arianna, singing and Ari’s picture flashing on his phone screen.
“Nathan! Nathan, come here. I have a surprise for you,”  Arianna shouted to him from the other side of the phone line.
    “Alright, hold your horses! I’m coming!” Nathan shouted back. Today was Nathan’s 19th birthday and he was planning to take Arianna out to a movie. Afterwards he would take her down to his house where they would sit all snuggled up in a huge blanket watching their favorite movies and eating chocolate fudge cake and cookies ‘n cream ice cream. When he got out of be he saw a small box covered in brown paper with a piece of twine tying it all together. In this newfound present there was a dark mahogany ring etched with celtic symbols in gold and a phrase in Finnish on it.The box had no card or signing but there was a letter and the phrase on the ring said,”Toivon, minä tahdon soitan sinua,” which is Finnish for “I wish, I will, I call on thee.” The letter, however, also said to twist the ring three times clockwise while the ring is on the right index finger and say a wish out loud. He put on the ring thinking it was from his parents and walked outside to meet Ari. As he walked out the door looking down at the ring one more time before deciding to keep it on, then he ran down to Arianna.
    “Ari, my little angel, what have you got for me this time?” he asked his baby girl.
    “Well I know you love to watch movies with me, but the blanket we usually use is so thin and it doesn’t hold in much heat. So for your birthday I made you this!” she explained excitedly as she held up her creation. It was hand sewn, extremely thick and fluffy, but the fabric was his favorite. The fabric was not just some pattern it was pictures of them together throughout the years printed onto fabric. There was one from the beach, his 16th birthday, her 15th birthday when he shoved cake in her face. His absolute favorite was the one right in the middle of the blanket collage of Ari in her pale blue ball gown dress with her dirty blonde hair hanging off her shoulder standing next to him in his black tuxedo and his dark hair neatly combed back at prom of their 10th grade year.
“Aw. Thank you, baby! I love it!” Nathan lovingly said to her.
“ I was hoping you would. I worked on it for two weeks straight!” Arianna explained as she told him why she put each picture in and the significance of them.  
“Don’t worry, Arianna. I will love anything that you make or get me,” he told her soothingly. “Look what I found on my nightstand this morning after I got off the phone with you,” he raised his hand as he spoke to show her the ring.
“Wow! Its beautiful Nathan,” she said in awe as she examined the ring. “Do you,” she questioned, “know who it is from?”
“No, I have absolutely no idea who it is from,” he explained as he told her about how he found it and about the letter.
“Maybe we should try it then. There must be some reason whoever left it left it with that note,” Arianna asked. At first Nathan wanted to say no, but he couldn’t help but give in to the babydoll eyes she was giving him. “Oh, yes! This will be so much fun!” she cried out. “ What should our first wish be?”
“Well, I think it would be wonderful if you stayed happy forever!” Then he twisted the ring three times and yelled, “ I wish for Arianna Jane Quaron to be happy forever!” Suddenly the world felt as if it was spinning out of control, stars were flying, and the ground and sky began to distort and fold. Finally the confusion, distortion, and discombobulation all stopped. Nathan then realized he was on the ground after that small duration of insanity. After righting himself back onto his feet he also noticed that Arianna wasn’t with him. “Ari! Ari, baby where are you!” he yelled in desperate attempt to find her. There was no response. Nathan tried to find his bearings as he figured out where he was. 140th South Second Street. This was where his best friend Jace lived. “Maybe he might know where Ari is,” he commented to himself while he walked up to his friend’s front door. He was about to ring the door when he saw Arianna. He was so happy he found her and right as he was about to walk in to talk to and hug her Jace came up and kissed her. His best friend kissed his girl! What was happening? “What is going on here?!” Nathan yelled at his friend and girlfriend after he swung open the door so hard it almost snapped off its hinges.
“What are you talking about Nathan? Jace and I have been together for an entire month now. You know this. We got together after you broke up with me because you said you wanted me to be happy,” Arianna said in an annoyed voice while glaring at Nathan because he interrupted them.
“No! No, this isn’t happening. This isn’t happening!” he yelled trying to convince himself. Then he realized something he hadn’t thought of before. “This is because of the ring!” he screamed at the ring. “This was all its fault! It said to make a wish and it would come true!”
“Nathan you’ve gone nuts! Get out of here!” Arianna commanded him. “Get out!” Now Nathan was very hurt and wanted with all of his heart to be back with his baby. He finally decided to use the ring again in hopes of making things right. He twisted the ring once, then twice, and one final time.
“I wish that Arianna Jane Quaron was my girlfriend again.” he whispered to the ring desperately. Next the world started to turn and fold again, spinning out of control and then stopping. This time he stopped at his own house. Arianna was sitting on the couch watching TV. “Ari, baby come here I need you for a moment. Come over and give me a hug,” he told her lovingly.
“You want me to come over there after what you just did to me! I can’t control my own emotions or actions and I kissed your best friend! I hate you!” she yelled across the room at him. Nathan realized then that she knew what was happening around her but the wishes and the ring make her do and feel things she has no control over.
“Oh, my poor baby girl!” Nathan thought to himself. He was torturing her by wishing wishes for her! “Oh, Ari, I’m so sorry! I will fix this I promise,” he made sure she understood by looking her in her beautiful blue eyes and searching for any comprehension. She nodded her head as she went off uncontrollably about how she hated him. Even though her words hurt him, he knew she didn’t mean them. He twisted the ring three times very quickly and urgently yelled, “ I wish for everything to return back to before I ever made any wishes! Go back to normal!” Then everything started to spin and fold for the third time. When it stopped Nathan was in his bed and the box was on his bed stand again. This time though his phone didn’t ring, instead Ari burst through the door and ran to Nathan.
“Oh, Nathan that was awful!” she said and then started to explain how she was fighting herself during the wishes. “We have to get rid of that thing!” So then both of them ran downstairs and threw the whole package into the fireplace and it set ablaze.