Abroad

Chapter 52

I'm just finishing the seafood risotto when Lizzie walks in.

"This smells amazing. Please please marry me!"

"I would love to! But Jack probably wouldn't like it!"

"Jack wouldn't like what?" Jack asks confused when he walks in with Killian.

"I want to marry Charly."

"That's fine. I can get used to living with two women," Jack says with a broad smile. We all burst into laughter when Lizzie slaps Jack.

"Jack is stealing your girl bro," Killian says when Hero walks in with Stefan.

"No he's not. No one is stealing my girl." Hero takes me in his arms and kisses me. My knees get wobbly. Woa, this was a nice kiss!

"You okay there honey?" Lizzie asks with a cheeky grin. I have the broadest smile on my face.

"Dig in everyone!" We all take a seat around the counter and the kitchen is silent for a while.

"Damn woman, I'm going to marry you too!" Stefan declares.

"We should just all move in with Char and eat her food every day," Killian says.

"That would be so awesome," I sigh. "I can get used to this every day!"

After finishing our meal we head to Bute Park. We've packed blankets, pillows, snacks and whine. The air is full of promise and excitement. We find ourselves a nice spot near the Taff and spread the blankets and pillows. We're not allowed to start a bonfire but we've brought some candles to create the same mood. Lizzie cuddles up against Jack and he wraps them in a blanket. Hero does the same with me. His arm is tight around me and his chest is warm against my hand. His heartbeat is so calm. I take a deep breath to take in his smell.

"I'm happy," he whispers underneath his breath so that the others can't hear. I smile up to him and kiss him on the cheek.

"So am I."

"I wish we could stay here and now forever but I also want to win a Oscar when I grow up," Stefan says.

"I think we all want to!"

"Not me," Jack points out. "I'm not a film student but you can all thank me in your speeches!"

"That's a great idea!" I'm excited. "We should all just thank flat 708 and at that moment we'll all think about this one."

"Lizzie, Killian and I don't live in 708," Hero pouts.

"You're more in 708 than in your own flat, you're part of 708!" I point out.

"Still, I want to hear my name in your speech."

"Okay, I'll prepare mine tomorrow and give you a proper mention." They all laugh.

"You guys! You're adorable!" Lizzie squeals.

"Guys, I have a great idea!" Jack suddenly says.

"We all want to stay together right?" We nod. "And the dorms are too small to fit all of us in so why don't we rent a house together for our second year?" They're all super excited and start making plans immediately. Jack will look into houses tomorrow. They need to be early if they want to find a nice one close to campus. I'm a bit sad because I won't be a part of this. Maybe I should stay?

"Obviously I need the biggest room. Charly will miss us too much and will probably move in at some point." They all agree and beg me to move in with them. We keep talking about our future dreams for a while. We're all very different and have different backgrounds but we all share the same dream, we all want to be successful. We don't know what life will throw at us but here and now we're full of hopes and dreams and we can take on the world.

After a while, we all go lay down to watch the sky and the shooting stars. The paper was right, there are a lot of them. We all make a wish and secretly believe in the magic of shooting stars. It's a perfect night. It feels like the calm right before a storm.

When the sun rises we all feel like we've shared something magical together. When I watch the sky turn red at the horizon I feel like I'm part of something bigger than me. I'm grateful to be alive. I take a deep breath to suck it all up. I thank the universe for this moment. I'm happy, I'm alive, I've found the best friends in the world, I've found this amazing city, I've had the perfect night and above all, I've found Hero.