hello, goodbye • jonah marais

43.

off-screen

⤛◈⤜

after a fun night of dinner,
catching up, and various family
board games, everyone called it
a night and retreated to their rooms.

however, it was now 1 AM and
luna was still wide awake. no matter
how many times she tried to close
her eyes and doze off, it just wasn't
happening. instead of trying to
force something that wasn't working,
she decided to go and sit out on
the swinging bench on the front
porch outside. she quickly realized
that she underestimated how cold it was
outside and grabbed the flannel blanket
that was draped over the loveseat.

meanwhile, just as jonah was
beginning to doze off, he was
quickly awoken by the sound
of the front door creaking open.
he decided to go down and
investigate, and took his bat
for protection just in case.

when he opened the front
door, he was relieved to see
that it was just luna.

luna: oh god, you scared me!

jonah puts his bat on the
floor and smiles sheepishly.
he takes a seat next to luna
on the swinging bench.

jonah: sorry. Pause. what are you doing up?

luna: couldn't sleep. thought i'd come out here and enjoy the snow.

jonah: and are you enjoying it?

luna: very much so. i love cold weather. which is so weird, seeing as i was born and raised in one of the warmest states in the country.

they both chuckle. and then,
it was silent. but not uncomfortable
in the slightest. more like the
"we're not saying anything but
we don't need to" kind. the only
sound to be heard was the creaking
of the bench with every swing and
an old wind chime that hung just
above the entry way. as luna began
to shiver ever so slightly, jonah
decided that it was best that
they finally went inside.

jonah: you're shivering. let's head inside.

luna nods.

luna: yeah, good idea.

the two head inside and jonah
made a stop at the kitchen
to make two cups of chamomile tea.
he snuggles next to luna on
the loveseat and hands her
the tea. taking it, she uses the
long sleeves of her oversized
USC crewneck as a barrier
from the hot mug.

luna: thanks. Pause. your family is so awesome. you must look forward to coming home all the time.

jonah: i do! i have a great time in LA with the guys but it's always nice to come home and spend time with my family.

luna: yeah, all of this makes me miss my mom.

luna sees the look on jonah's
face—the one where he's going
to apologize because he feels bad
for making her sad. she interjects
before he could get to it.

luna: you're giving me a look like you feel bad, but don't. don't, for one second, feel bad about being happy with what you have. it's one of the things i admire about you the most.

jonah stares. and he knew
it already, like he's known
for a while. but he really,
really loves this girl.

jonah: luna, i love you.

without thinking twice,
the words just come out.
no sugarcoating, no leading
up to it. just straight up.

luna is stunned. not in a
bad way at all; everything
just happened so quickly.

jonah: i love how you text me every single time before we meet up to ask if i want coffee. i love when you laugh because that single dimple on your right cheek shows up. you know having one dimple is more rare that two? you're special, lu.

they both chuckle softly
at this. happy tears are being
shed. jonah keeps going.

jonah: i love how witty, smart, and ambitious you are. once you set your mind on something, there's no stopping you. everything about you just exudes power and grace. it's badass.

jonah breathes in a deep breath.

jonah: you've got the most beautiful soul i've ever seen. you're everything. you—you complete me. and i know this sounds like i plagiarized something from a coming-of-age teen novel but i swear to you it's all true. i'm madly in love with you, luna cruz.

luna takes a short moment
to collect herself and wipe
the happy tears off her face
while jonah waits nervously.
she then places her hand
on his cheek.

luna: i love you too, jonah marais frantzich. so much. i don't think i'll be able to top your speech but i really do. you're my other half, and you've mad me so happy from the moment you sent that random ass text.

they're both shedding tears
now. jonah puts his hand over
the hand that's on his cheek
and uses the other to bring
luna closer to him until their
foreheads were touching.
luna says this last
sentence in a whisper.

luna: i love you and... i don't want a future without you in it.

jonah: i'm not going anywhere.

and then they kiss.
like they have all the time
in the world. with everything
melting away. not long after,
they fall asleep in each other's
arms under the warmth of
the flannel blanket.

⤛◈⤜

A/N: i'm so soooo sorry
this took so long 😭
life has kinda been... not so
good lately for more reasons
than one, as many of you
may know. but i will try my
absolute best to keep updating
and finally get this story done!

i can't believe this story has 40k!
it's absolutely insane. as always,
thank you! love you guys!