As Long As You Love Me

10 ~ Chocolate, Feelings, & Phone Calls

☼ mitchie sky ☼

See, when a girl is completely alone all her life and lives in an oceanside tour spot in Maine, she does what any normal girl would do - explore. I could literally map out the city of Bar Harbor, every street, sign, and tree. I liked climbing things, running around, sitting on the benches and drawing, rolling down the lush green hills. I was used to being rough, having fun by myself. And when a girl like me was curious...she found answers. 

Too bad Niall didn't. 

"Okay, when I said you could pick where we could go next, I meant which RIDE," he hisses as I duck into the bushes, trying to find an entry. "Not which private party to invade." 

"Just relax. I'm only playing." I peer through the leaves. "Okay, we gotta jump over this gate." 

"Over this GATE?" Niall echoes. "Since when do you jump over gates?" 

I ignore his lamenting as I stick my feet in the holes of the wired gate, grunting as I heave myself up. Behind the gate, there was a long pathway leading to the gazebo. 

"Pretty sure this is illegal," Niall sniffs. 

"Would you shut your pie hole?" With a quick leap, I throw myself over the fence and land swiftly on the balls of my feet. "Come on."

"Alright, answer me first." Niall glares at me through the wired fence. "Where the hell were you last year? You're...you're not the same. You're not the same person. It's like you're not even YOU, but someone else." 

If only he knew. 

I sigh heavily. Niall wasn't an idiot, and I knew he wouldn't stop trying to find out all he could. I needed to give him something to work with before he started asking questions. Because that was the last thing Demetria and I needed - questions. 

Luckily, I've always been a good storyteller. 

"I'll tell you," I assure him. "Jump first." 

Satisfied with his progress, he grips onto the fence and hauls himself over, losing his balance at the last second and pummeling onto me, slamming me to the ground. 

"Oh, SH*T," Niall cusses, his hands fluttering all over my face as if he's waiting for some healing magic to sprinkle out. "Demetria, are you okay? Jesus, I knew this was a bad idea..." 

I snort and pull myself to my feet, brushing myself up, pleased with his shocked expression. "I'm fine, you sap. Now let's go." 

"Okay." Niall stands up, leaning towards me. "I'm really curious to hear your story now." 

"There's not much to say," I say casually as I walk along the pathway. The gazebo's at least three hundred feet away, across a little pond that we had to cross over soon. Niall's hand finds mine, and I'm not at all disturbed by the contact. It actually feels nice. Like we're connected.