The Imperishable Flame⎪✓

❨23❩

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Trying to get a fucking grip is hard when the woman inside this exact building holds my heart in the palm of her delicate hand, she can crush it if she wishes and that thought is enough to scare the shit out of me. Even though it sucks to fear what will happen between us, there is an underlying need to know where her head is at. She snuck out on me and we need to clear the air before suffering through more sessions. 

It's Sunday and none of us have made any move to reconcile, hence me being here and hating every minute of the nervousness running down my spine. Taking two steps at a time, I enter her dorm building and find the number of her room. Luckily for me, she informed me how much she hated the random number during our talk at the bar, it gives me an opportunity of seeing her again. 

Tightening the grip on the bag in my hand, I thank Edgar in my mind for pulling through with some burgers for me, even though the diner is closed off for the night. I think the time is around 10PM and the darkness has settled across the sky a long time ago, it truly has taken me a while to get myself together and confront her. 

Knocking on the door I hold my breath, feet pad across the floor on the other side and the door opens revealing a very beautiful Dakota. A breath leaves my lips by the sight of her. Her brown hair tucked into a messy bun, the big glasses perched onto her nose compliment her features so amazingly. Her body is hidden behind a big shirt and no pants, seeing her tan legs again makes it hard for me to focus on the task at hand.

"Hi, Elijah," She whispers and opens the door wider, gesturing for me to come inside. Looking around for her roommate, she nods her head at my silent question, "Lucy isn't here tonight."

"I brought some food, thought it would be the most typical way to your heart," I explain with a light tone and hand her the bag. She digs through it and pulls out two burgers, one of them with a missing bun and the other with an insane amount of ketchup.

Her beautiful grey eyes meet mine and I force myself to breathe, "You remembered?"

Scratching my neck with a small laugh, I try to seem indifferent, "Of course I do, you're weird with the amount of ketchup you put on food."

She smirks at me, her straight teeth showing, "And you're weird with only one bun."

"Edgar doesn't find me weird," I joke and sit down next to her on the bed when she pats the free space. 

A fond smile takes over her lips, "Edgar is quite extraordinary, he doesn't even judge me for my issue with ketchup."

She opens her burger and takes a big bite out of it, an unexpected moan escapes her full lips and I readjust myself on the bed. That surely isn't helping my situation. "This burger is fucking delicious!"

"Definitely the best burgers in town," I nod my head and eat my own. Game of Thrones is playing on the little TV in the room and I smile at the sight, my favorite series. She's at the beginning of season 4 and I find myself completely enthralled by the plot once again. 

"Hell yeah! Did you see that, Lij?" She asks in excitement and points to the TV when Joffrey falls to the floor after consuming poison, this is one of the more iconic scenes in the series. That kid gave me a headache. 

I laugh at her reaction and nod my head, "Such a relief, right?"

She laughs gleefully and the sound is fucking music to my ears, "Definitely! He annoyed me so much. But for some reason, Sansa's constant need to be rescued was also pushing my buttons, she was acting like a child." 

"Quite harsh for a therapist, don't you think?" I grin at her bluntness and she smirks at me while shaking her head. 

"Nope, I'm being honest here."

Before I know it, both of us are finished with the food and I throw the paper into a trashcan on the floor. Allowing my eyes to scan the room, I enjoy how much Dakota decided to decorate her side and fill it to the brim with flowers of all kinds and colors. Sometime during our senior year, I realized how much she truly loved flowers, it's definitely one of the things I find endearing about her. 

Sitting down next to her, she pauses the show and turns her full attention to me. Some part of me desperately wants to reach out and touch her, but I have no fucking clue where we stand. It's so frustrating. My eyes look at every part of her beautiful face, having her this close brings back so many amazing memories for me. Hearing her soft moans in my ear, seeing the sexy goosebumps dancing across her delicate skin and how beautiful she looked while asleep in my arms. 

"Thank you for dinner, Lij," She smiles at me and my lips turn upwards on instinct.

"It really was no problem, love."

"Can I ask you why you decided to come tonight?" Her bluntness doesn't surprise me. 

Nodding, "We need to talk about what happened between us."

"Can't we just forget about it, please?"

"No, in no fucking way will I ever treat you like some one night stand. You're more to me than that, love."

"I really don't want to discuss this, Elijah."

Her indifference annoys me so much and I try to control myself, the anger is building in my veins, "What in the fuck do you mean?"

Her sharp eyes cut to mine, a sudden angry fire hiding behind her familiar irises, "I said I don't want to do this tonight."

"Hate to break it to you, Dakota, but I don't care. You don't get to sit here and act as if nothing happened, both of us acted upon emotions from years ago."

She clenches her fists and the mad expression on her face grows more stoic, "High school was years ago, both of us have changed and grown since then. You're going through shit right now and I went through shit back then, none of us need any distractions!"

Her voice grows more intense as does my anger, "You don't get to decide that for me."

She stands up and tilts her head to the side, "Well sucks for you then, I won't place myself in that situation. Who even knows if your feelings for me were real?"

Rising to my full height, I look down at the infuriating girl in front of me. Her breathing quickens and I can visibly see the rise and fall of her chest, my veins are pumping with a need for her and the anger only fuels the flame, "Don't, ever, question what I felt for you! Both of us made it fucking clear where we were standing."

"We never officially tried, Elijah! It was always behind closed doors, you never tried to make it official with me. Of course, I couldn't sacrifice so much if you didn't even wish to show how much we actually meant for each other!" The frustration grows in her voice and I find myself hating how she truly questions my feelings for her. 

Taking a step closer to her, my mind is reeling with all of the possibilities. I want nothing more than to kiss her, but I also need her to know how much she actually meant to me. She still means so fucking much to me. 

Grabbing her jaw in my hand I urge her eyes to meet mine, and when they do I see tears rimming her beautiful eyes. "Love, I fucking hate being corny and I want nothing more than to kiss you right now, but you need to know the truth. You've always meant so much to me, even though we never made anything official and kept it behind closed doors, that means shit compared to how important you were to me. Believe me."

She doesn't waste another second, before her lips softly land on mine. Our lips move in a perfect symphony, tasting how beautifully sweet she is, drives me mad. The need grows when her fingers tangle themselves in my hair. She is fucking perfect. Nothing less.