Just Pretending

fortyone

Riley

Follow the roses, what kind of sick twisted rouse is that?
I swear I better now die..
As I continued to walk towards the clearing when I saw a single rose with a small note attached, I furrowed my brows but also couldn't help but smile

'Whether we like it or not. This shouldn't have ever had to be pretend'

I continued to walk towards another tree that had 2 roses around it both of which had notes again

'I don't think I would have wanted to do this with anyone else'

'Listen, I know I've made mistakes, I promise I learn from the quickly'

I chuckled lightly continuing on the path. I had been lit with candles now, this was clearly set up for something besides murdering me 
The next Rose was propped up against a lantern filled with a candle 

'Learning, how ironic since we first met in a Library huh?'

It was at this moment I was certain it was James, I had my suspicion but this merely confirmed it. I don't tend to meet people in the Library
As i continued to look for these roses, I came to another three that had been wrapped around the tree just like before

'You never know how much someone will mean to you at first glance'

'Or at least it isn't as obvious as it should be'

'Understandably, who said this would ever be easy for us'

I continued to smile reading every single one, it was pretty sweet reading all of it however, I don't know. Something seemed off
This isn't how James would usually talk
As i walked deeper into this path, I came to to another two roses propped up against a random bush

'Before I met you Ri, I had no idea what I wanted in life'

'Everyone would tell me I was just a stupid kid going nowhere in life'

That isn't true, if James truly puts his head to something. He's not easily defeated. I learnt that much while we played pretend. It was one of my favourite things about him
Amongst a lot of other things that shall not be mentioned
"What is going on" I muttered to myself as I continued till I came to a big clearing
The clearing was covered in candles, rose petals and the thing I'm certain I'm here for
In front of me a dinner set up with 4 roses with their notes sitting on one plate. The plate I'm assuming is for me

I walked over to the table picking up the top rose unwrapping the paper

'Maybe I am crazy, maybe i am a stupid kid'

'I wouldn't want to be anyone different'

'Now if I was someone else, I would have never had the honour of meeting you'

'Eventually everything falls into place and I'm pretty sure meeting you was the first thing to fall into place for me'

At this point, I couldn't care about what James had done in the past. It was just that.. The past
Beth is the type of person who won't stop until she realises it isn't going to work on someone. If I truly want to try and make things work with James or who ever else comes my way. I can't let little girls like Beth ruin everything I put into place 

"I see you made it here, just on time" A voice said making me jump, I turned around to see James leant against a tree
"What is all of this about" I asked as he came over to me hugging me
"You don't get it?" he asked and I looked at him confused
"Get what? I got the notes. They are super sweet" I said smiling placing a hand on his chest while one stayed on my waist
"What?" I asked again looking at the utter confused look on his face
"Ri, I thought I was meant to be the dumb one?" James asked making me scoff as we both broke out in laughter

"Give me the notes" He said finishing laughing, I did as he asked watching as he walked over to the table
He began to lay each note out one by one and that is when it clicked...
He had made sure the first letter of each note was darker
"Are we talking in code now?" I asked making him laugh as he nudged me to take a closer look

W
I
L
L

Y
O
U

B
E

M
I
N
E

I quickly jumped around to look at James who was standing a little behind me playing with his hands, the nerves probably finally kicking it
He certainly wasn't Mr Don't-Even-Worry-About-It- Now
"James" I said making him chuckle looking at me
"Ri" He replied raising his eyebrows at me
"Are you being serious because like, I don't think play pretend worke-" I started before being cut off in the most perfect way

James moved forward grabbing my waist and cupping my cheek before smashing our lips together, it's been a while since we've kissed and I didn't realise how much I missed it until now
"Fuck play pretend" He muttered placing our foreheads together
"I only want you Ri" He whispered making me smile as I intertwined our hands
"Yes" I replied making him look at me again our foreheads still against each other
"Yes?" He asked and I nodded before closing the gap between us.