locked away - ethma

four

ethan's pov

i stopped thinking about the fan and focused my attention to the butterflies in my stomach. the excitement in me was bubbling to its breaking point, and i couldn't wait to show emma what her surprise was. i pulled her by her wrist through louis vuitton, all the way up the long, winding glass staircase to the jewelry section on the top floor.

emma's pov

as ethan dragged me through the store, i started to get a little nervous. but, finally, we arrived at the jewelry section. we approached a small glass case that only contained a few small items on top of a red velvet cloth. ethan stopped me and stood in front of me, blocking my view of the jewelry case.
"okay, we're here. close your eyes," ethan whispered excitedly. i pouted at him and crossed my arms on my chest. "come on emma." i rolled my eyes at him and then shut them tightly, scrunching my face up. ethan giggled a little, walking behind me and placing his large hands on my shoulders.
"okay, walk forward... slowly," he said. i took tiny steps towards the case, being careful not to trip on the soft shag carpet beneath my feet.
"stop!" he commanded. i obeyed, stopping dead in my tracks. i felt ethan's hands leave my shoulders, and i heard the clinging of metal. a key, i thought. he's opening the case.
"okay emma, you can open your eyes in three... two..." i blushed a little. i couldn't wait to see what he got for me.
"one... open." i opened my eyes, squinting slightly as they adjusted to the bright lights inside the store. i peered into the case, and right there, laying atop the velvet cloth, was a single chain necklace with a lock attached to it. it was beautiful. so beautiful that a tear cane to my eye, and i embraced ethan.
"ethan... it's beautiful," i whispered into his shoulder. even though i couldn't see his face, i knew he was smiling.

ethan's pov

emma stared at the lock necklace, and she suddenly hugged me.
"ethan... it's beautiful," she said. i smiled warmly even though she couldn't see me.
"really, you like it?" i said softly. emma pulled away from me. she took my hands in hers and looked in my eyes.
"yes, of course i do e." she stood on her tiptoes and craned her neck to place a kiss on my lips. i looked away from her, unable to contain my excitement and my joy at her reaction. i really couldn't believe it. i really did love this girl. i had one of the employees take the little silver lock from the case and package it securely. i paid for it and we exited the store, emma's head resting on me. at this point, we didn't care  if a fan saw us. we were living a fantasy. we had both met our soulmate at such a young age, and we couldn't be any happier.
we both got into my jeep, the little louis bag in emma's lap. she hurriedly unpackaged it and took the necklace from its case. she handed it to me to put it on. when she turned back to face me, i saw the little lock sitting on her chest. it made me the happiest man in the world to know that she was mine. and in that moment, i pulled her in for another kiss. it was sweet, full of compassion and love.

emma's pov
at one point while i was kissing ethan, i heard a conversation between two girls. i heard one of them say "look in there!" and the snap of a camera. i didn't think anything of it at the
time - i was too caught up in my moment with ethan. he gave me a final peck on my cheek before turning the key in the ignition and pulling out of the parking lot.