Wasted Opportunities

Chapter 28

Emily's POV

As I closed my eyes under the shadow of the bridge, I felt two soft pairs of lips press themselves to my cheeks. I desperately wanted to turn round and kiss both of them – but I couldn't do anything; I was frozen. I concentrated on keeping my breathing steady, and remembering the feeling of their lips on my skin. Hope that they really might like me kept growing in my mind, taking over my thoughts, and I was finding it more and more difficult to convince myself that we were just friends, and nothing more would come of it. The tour guide laughed, bringing me out of my thoughts, and I opened my eyes to find that we had come out from under the bridge and she was now talking about buildings on our left. Michael looked at me, smiling, and I couldn't stop myself from blushing. Luke was watching Calum and Flavia in amusement; they obviously kissed, because both of them were sitting in silence and awkwardly looking away from each other, but each kept sneaking sideways glances when they thought the other wasn't looking. Maddy and Ashton were still kissing, despite the fact we were long past the bridge by now.

“Hey, guys,” called Michael. “You must have finished making your wish by now.”

“Yeah, you're missing the view!” said Emily. “There's the Eiffel Tower!”

Ashton's POV

“Look, there's the Eiffel Tower!” I said, taking Maddy's hand as we walked through the brightly-lit streets. We gazed up at the famous landmark, which shone out against the black night sky, a few stars beginning to twinkle above it.

“It's beautiful,” she breathed.

“Not as beautiful as you,” I whispered, kissing her forehead. “Come on, let's go.”

Call me cheesy if you like, but I thought since we were in Paris and finally Maddy and I had a little time to ourselves, I would take her out in the evening, to see the Eiffel Tower, and do other romantic stuff. It may have been cliché, but there must have been a reason everyone liked it so much, so I decided to give it a go.

“You want to go up to the top?” I asked as we stood underneath, holding hands and looking up.

“Of course!” smiled Maddy. We decided to take the lift, as it was late and we were both pretty tired. Strangely, we were alone; the flocks of tourists normally exploring the landmark seemed to all be absent that evening. Maddy yawned as she leant against me. She was wearing shorts and a thin Captain America jumper, and she looked gorgeous as usual. I bent down and pressed my lips to hers gently. She turned to face me, looping her arms around my neck and getting more into the kiss.

“Come on now,” I said, pulling away. “We're in a public place, there's plenty of time for that later...” She pouted at me, but then the lift stopped, and she giggled and pulled me out onto the top of the Eiffel Tower.

“Wow...” she said, running over to the rail and looking over the edge. “This is amazing!” I leant on the rail next to her and stared out as far as I could see at the streets of Paris, the river behind us, and the moon, directly in front of us. Maddy wrapped an arm around my waist, and we stood in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the beauty in front of us.

“Smile,” I said, pulling out my phone and pointing it at us to take a selfie with the view behind us. She posed and I took several pictures. Turning round to kiss her again, I took another selfie of us kissing. I showed it to her, smiling.

“Aw, that is so cute,” she laughed.

“Definitely going to be my lock screen,” I said, changing it as I spoke.

“You're so adorable,” she said, hugging me. She turned round to look at the view again, and I joined her, thinking hard. I had wanted to tell her for a while that I loved her, but that was always such a big moment in a couple's relationship, and I didn't want to mess it up, or for her not to be ready. Seeing her smile at the sights in front of us, and her happiness at being with me, I couldn't resist.

“I love you,” I said, looking directly into her eyes. “I love you, Maddy.” She looked slightly surprised, but broke into a massive smile.

“I love you too, Ash.”

“Great,” I said, smiling stupidly. “Are you done here, because I think we could head back to the hotel...” Maddy blushed, picking up on the hint in my voice, and followed me back into the lift.

We were just entering the foyer of the hotel, and I was finding myself wanting Maddy more and more, and I could tell she was in a hurry to get to our room as well, when my phone rang.

“Ash, can't you leave it?” she pleaded, as I got it out and looked at the caller ID.

“I don't know... It's Emily, she doesn't call me often... Do you know where they are tonight?” She shrugged, and I answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“A-Ash? C-can you come and help us?” Emily's voice came weakly from the phone, and she sounded like she was crying, but I could hear shouts and crashes in the background.

“Where are you?” I asked, panic rising in my chest. She described the location of a bar to me in a shaky voice.

“Pl-please hurry! I'm scared...” She hung up. I wanted to know what was going on, but she sounded really worried, so I decided to hurry.

“Ash... what's going on?”

“Emily needs help. Sorry babe, we'll have to come back.” Maddy frowned, but we ran out of the hotel as fast as we could, and rushed to the nearest metro station.

A/N

What do you think is happening to Emily? Thank you for reading, please vote and comment if you liked it :)