Awakened

XXXVII

I opened my eyes, seeing the sunlight pour through the windows. I looked over to see Star curled up, snoring. I loved the weekends. It was the only time we were able to wake up after the sun came up and I wasn't rudely awakened by Star's cursed alarm.

Feeling refreshed, I grabbed my things and headed to the showers. I took a long, scalding hot shower before throwing on my clothes and unbraiding my hair. I fluffed my curls, giving them volume before returning to the Section.

Finding Star still fast asleep, I pulled out my phone. As usual, my phone was spammed with notifications that I rarely went through but the most recent one was an hour ago from Zion. I opened it up.

Text me when you're awake.

I'm up.

Come to my room.

I felt a jolt of excitement at the invite. Despite how quickly things went left last time, I was optimistic. Suddenly hating what I had on, I tore through my closet for another outfit. I ended up settling for another black top, no surprise there. But this one was less 'I don't care about anything' and more 'I tried today'

It was a short sleeved black shirt that had strings that needed to be tied in the back, exposing my back partially. I decided to stick with the sweats I had on, no reason to go all out. It was the morning, after all. I put on my shoes, grabbed my phone, and left. I got there quickly, walking into his Wing and making my way to his room, not bothering to knock before entering.

My worst fears became true. It was a date. And I was extremely underdressed. There were irises leading from the door to the center of the room, where there was an entire set up waiting for me. I walked in slowly, not failing to notice how the colors of the flowers matched the blue splatter on his walls. Even the table cloth, partially blue and partially black went perfectly with his room aesthetic. On the table was all sorts of food, piled in a line like a buffet. But that wasn't even the best part I looked up to see him, dressed in a dark blue cardigan, which can I say looked both elegant and strikingly stunning on him. His pants were plain back and semi baggy which made me feel a bit better about my own pants. He watched me take it all in, never taking his eyes off of me as he waited for me to speak. He seemed so calm and collected but I could tell from the way his left pinky kept twitching every so often and from the vulnerability reflected in his partial grin, he had taken his time to do this for me. I absolutely loved it but even if I didn't, there was no way I'd ever tell him that.

This date seemed different than the last. Every detail mattered and it was symbolic to him. This wasn't just a romantic gesture, it was him opening himself up to me and finally being completely vulnerable. It wasn't just my approval he was looking for it was my acceptance. This wasn't just it was about approving the set up, it was about accepting him, completely and fully. All I could think about when I looked at him was how damned good he looked in that cardigan. Since the moment we locked eyes in that Cafeteria, I had loved him. And everytime I was with him, that love grew more and I don't think there's anything on this planet that could stop it.

"It's perfect," I remarked, purposely looking at him and not the setup. I could see his eyes light up and his muscles relax slightly at the realization of what I'd just said. Unable to hold myself back any longer, I darted over to him and wrapped my arms around him.

"I love you," he whispered, pushing my hair out of my face as he looked into my eyes.

"I love you," I said back, putting his hand on my chest so he could feel how hard my heart was beating.

We stayed like that for awhile. I couldn't even tell you how long. That's what tends to happen when we're together, we lose track of time and nothing else matters. I didn't have much time in my childhood to read romance novels so I don't know how being in love is supposed to work but I figure it's something like this. Although, not quite as strong as this. Zion, he was everything. Everything I loved, everything I cared about, everything in this world and beyond. Nothing could change that, not Liam, not the Five, not death itself. Our love was so strong, I believed it would continue past the realm of death itself. We were made for each other. Nothing could stop that.