BUBBLE POPPER

Alternative Ending

15 years later

"Okay, my turn. If you could be stuck anywhere in the world for the rest of your life, where would that be?"

I think about my answer while rubbing the ring on my finger with my thumb. It has been on my finger for five years now but I still feel unbelievably happy whenever I see it.

"As long as I'm by your side... I don't think it'd matter."

I smile and lock eyes with the love of my life.

"You sure you want to be stuck with me for the rest of your life"

"Yup! No doubt in my mind."

"What if we were stuck on a tiny deserted island? You'd have to see me every day for the rest of your life. You'd have to put up with me every single minute of every hour of the days we spend there."

"And I'd love every single second."

"I'm not going to lie... I'd probably get sick of you."

I smile and watch as her face turns pink. It's adorable how she doesn't notice when that happens. My friend, Ronny, told me to fall in love... That was the last thing he ever said to me. I always wondered why anyone would waste their last breath to say something so mediocre. I mean, I didn't understand the importance of it. Why would me falling in love mean so much to him that it would be his last request of me? I didn't understand it before, but after I met Sarah... it became crystal clear. Ronny always wanted me to be happy. He always did his best to look out for me even though I often protested. He knew I'd do whatever he'd ask of me and so decided to ask me to make myself happy. And I did. Well, Sarah is the one who makes me happy but if it weren't for Ronny's request I'd have never pursued her.

"What are you thinking about?"

Without taking my eyes off her I smirk and then kiss her on the cheek.

"I'm thinking about how happy I am."

She smiles and turns to look ahead at the beautiful beach view. Her face turns an even darker shade of red and I chuckle to myself. She hasn't changed much since high school but she did learn to stop denying her feelings and instead just goes silent anytime she feels flustered.

"Can I be honest with you?"

She looks back at me and I nod.

"I've never been optimistic about anything before. To me, when something good happened I always thought it'd be a matter of time till something bad happened to counter. Then we started dating and all I could think about was making sure it would work out between us. I prayed, begged and even considered using witchcraft but decided it wouldn't be worth it because it never ends well in movies. Anyway... When we broke up in college I gave up completely. That served as proof to me that nothing was worth hoping for..."

I remain silent, waiting for her to continue but she doesn't.

"Go on..."

I encourage. She turns back to face the beach and leans on the balcony railing.

"That's all I wanted to say..."

As I said, she hasn't changed since high school.

"So you're telling me you have no hope for us?"

I hold her waist and turn her to face me. She looks at me with an arched brow and not a hint of regret.

"What I'm saying is that I'm going to enjoy whatever this is right now and not worry about what's going to happen."