Save Me - clifford (a.u.)

18.

Dani

"What do you want for Christmas?" I asked Michael who was pulling his French text book from his locker. He smirked and looked at me. Then he bent down to grab a binder. He didn't answer until he closed his locker.

"Well...." He began putting his hand on my hip and pulling me into him. I laughed and pushed him off.

"Seriously, like something I can wrap." I said holding his hand, swinging our arms back and forth.

"And let me get this straight. Your virginity is off the table?" He said seriously looking at our hands.

I stopped rocking them and looked at him seriously. 

He started laughing "IM KIDDING, I'm kidding." 

I sighed in relief giving him a look.

"Okay maybe half-kidding..." He began.

"Michael, it will happen eventually I- I promise." I said swallowing what felt like a metal ball in my throat.

He nodded and smiled. He stood in front of me pushing me up against the wall across from our class. Then he took his finger and pushed a piece of hair out of my eyes and behind my ears. He left his hand on my cheek for a moment, staring into my eyes intensely. 

"Whenever you're ready..." He said leaning into me.

"Shouldn't we be getting to class Mr. Clifford?" Said Mme. Foerter

He looked down as his shoes and put his hands in his pockets.

"Hmm miss Froster.  Very good job on your last quiz. Mr. Clifford, you as well.  You two are kind of like a-" she paused and made air quotations "French power couple". I'll give you two a minute." She said smiling, and walking into the class.

Michael turned back to look at me.

"French power couple?" He suggested.

I shrugged. "I guess we kind of make each other better, even when we don't try..."

He furrowed his brows and rubbed his chin. "No I don't think that's it. Maybe it's the French food that we eat together?" He suggested smiling.

"We don't eat French food?" I asked and stated at the same time, narrowing my eyes trying to figure out what he was implying.

"Oh that's right, maybe it's something else that's French-" he kissed my neck once, 

"That we," he kissed the other side of my neck,

"Do often." He then placed his lips on mine and kissed me hard.

The warning bell went off and he pulled away. We walked in together, along with others rushing to not be late.

I opened up my notebook and looked up, and I swear Mme. Foerter was looking at Michael and me, and was now smiling.

*

"Well Holly I just don't know why he's so hard to shop for I mean we've been dating for over a month, and I still don't know what he likes." 

I said picking up a book in the bookstore. Holly and I had a pretty mutual friendship, nothing too intense but we've hung out a couple of times. Today we were at the mall Christmas shopping.

"I don't know, I mean all I know about him is that he is a hair dye enthusiast and that you guys are cute together." She shrugged. I closed the book and put it back on the shelf and sighed in hopelessness.

Michael

"I don't know what to get her..." I began talking to Ashton. 

Ashton shrugged playing Mario Kart "what does she like?"

I shrugged back. "It's weird. I know what she likes, and I know absolutely nothing that she likes."

Ashton now furiously turning the Wii remote.

"What about band merch?" I suggested.

"Yea, no dude. As much as girls love bands, they probably don't want band merch from their boyfriend on Christmas.” He said not even looking back.  I threw my head back and looked up at the ceiling.  What do I get for someone that means so much to me?

Dani

“Merry Christmas!” Michael said rushing up to me on the last day before break.  He took me into his arms and spun me around, and then put me back down.

“Merry Christmas, Michael.” I said hugging him.

“Oh wait,” He said pulling something out of his back pocket.

He hung a sprig of Mistletoe above my head.  I looked up at it and then at him and smiled wide.

He then leaned in and kissed me on the tip of my mouth and then forcefully kissed me harder. He pulled away and smiled.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” He paused and pulled something out his back pocket.  A small white box revealed itself, and the old Dani would panic and think that it’s an engagement ring.  The new Dani just goes with the flow.

He smiled and opened it.  It was a gorgeous golden chain, with a small piece of silver on the bottom.  I covered my mouth in shock.  It looked so expensive and precious I couldn’t believe it.

He lifted it up to reveal that the small piece on the chain was shaped like a guitar pic.  He moved my hair from the back of my neck over my shoulder, and put the necklace on me; not without leaving a kiss where the two ends met.  I looked down at the necklace and examined the pic.  On the front there was an engraved heart.  I turned it around to find D + M engraved into it.  I felt my stomach go all knoty and a lump rise in my throat.  I felt tears begin to swell in my eyes.

He pulled me into a hug, and I cried into his shoulder.  He rubbed my back in comfort.

“Is it that bad?”

I pulled off of him.  “This is the best Christmas gift I have ever received in my entire life Michael.” I said going back into his shoulder.

“I’m glad you like it.  Ash helped me out, I can’t lie, but the pic on the necklace is the one I used to learn how to play guitar when I was 12.  This guy at the jewelry store covered it in silver and then I got it engraved.”

I hugged him even tighter and then pulled away. “Why are you always crying, Love?” He asked doing his usual wiping my tear with his thumb and then resting it on my cheek.

“I guess it’s because I’ve never been as happy as I am when I’m with you, and I don’t know how to be this happy.”

He pulled me in for a kiss and then gave me a big hug.

“I love you.”