"I found her"

Ch. 6

"We're not in Kansas anymore, Todo." The tv said as I poured the popcorn in a large bowl. Grace looked at me with a smile. "Is that the good popcorn?" She asked me. I chuckled as I looked at her. "What's the good popcorn?" I asked. "Well what'd you make?" She asked. I looked at the box. "Um, it's 'Act 2 Butter Lovers'. Is that good popcorn?" I said. "That's some good microwave popcorn." Grace said. I smiled as I went over to her. I sat down on the bed and watched Grace smile at the movie. Old movies are the best movies.
I reached for some popcorn and said, "Grace?" She looked at me. "Hm?" "I'm gonna try to get this in your mouth." I said. Grace laughed as she faced me and opened her mouth. "Okay, ready?" I asked. She nodded. I threw the popcorn and it hit her nose. She burst out into laughter. "Wait, okay, let's try again!" I managed to say through laughter. I threw another piece of popcorn and it hit her chin. I sighed with laughter. "My aim sucks." I said. I threw one more and it landed right in her mouth. We both cheered and jumped on the bed. Then, it was her turn. And back and forth it went. We forgot Wizard Of Oz was on. We chased each other around the beds and jumped on the beds, hopping to the other one. We attempted the Dirty Dancing lift and we fell on the bed in laughter.
When it was about 2 a.m., the two of us were laying on the bed and Grace was asleep. I smiled as I pushed her hair out of her face. She looked so peaceful...not how she looked at the hospital. This was different. I got up and went into the bathroom to change into some sweats. I came back and laid next to Grace. I turned off the lamp and closed my eyes. My dream came faster than usual.
"Andrew?" Grace asked. We were slow dancing the bridgeton ballroom and she was wearing that purple dress with the butterflies. "Hm?" I asked, looking down on her. "I know something you don't." She said. "Really? What's that?" I asked. She leaned in and whispered "I'm 'the one'." in my ear. She grabbed my hand and walked out of the ballroom swiftly.
      We made our way to a garden, like the one in that live action Cinderella, and walked up some rocky stairs to a balcony made of stones. We looked out at the kingdom, the night sky covering everything we saw. It looked like a giant blanket had covered the kingdom. I looked up at the stars. "You shine brighter than all these stars." I said, still looking at the sky. Graced wrapped her hands around my forearm. I looked down and kissed her hair. "You know I love you, right?" I asked her. She nodded. "Good." I said. And we looked at the horizon.
         "Andrew?" Grace mumbled. I opened my eyes. "Hey, beautiful." I said softly. She rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?" She asked. I reached over her and picked up the clock. "About noon." I said. I set the clock down and sat up. "You passed out at around two." I told her. She sat up, too. "No wonder I just woke up." She said. I smiled. "You hungry?" I asked. "A little." Grace said. I walked up to the mini fridge and opened it. "Well, we've got nothing, or we have nothing, and...nothing." I said. Grace giggled. I turned to her as I closed the fridge. "I think the hotel has free breakfast. I can bring you a muffin or something." I offered. "No, it's okay. I'll go down with you." She said. "You sure? If the media see you coming out of my room, they're gonna jump to conclusions." I told her. "So just go down and then I'll go down a few minutes later. They'll never know." Grace said, getting up. I pulled her in slowly by her waist and crouched down so that she was slightly taller than me. "Hey, can I just tell you that you are the most beautiful person ever?" I said. Grace smiled. I kissed her lips for a long moment. "I hate that I caved in." Grace said. "Hm?" I asked. "I didn't plan to fall in love this year but now...I'm glad I did." She said. I smiled. "Me too." "Now stand up straight, you look ridiculous." Grace said with a laugh. I chuckled as I went back to my normal height. "I'll get my food and then come back in here. When I'm downstairs, I'll text you. That's when you'll come down. Right after you get your food, get up here. Got it?" I explained. Grace nodded. I opened the door when Grace grabbed my arm. "Wait." She said. I turned to her. "What if...what if someone's down there? What if one of the guys who hurt me is down there?" She asked. She started hyperventilating. I closed the door and put my hands on her shoulders. "Hey, hey. Grace, look at me. Hey...who cares about the media? If you need me down there, I'll go with you." I said. She looked up at me. "You'd risk it?" She asked. I put my hands on her cheeks. "I'd risk it all for you." I said. I opened the door, took her hand, and walked down the hallway to the elevator. When it opened, we walked in and waited. When it opened, I didn't even hesitate. I took a step into the hotel lobby with Grace's hand in mine. We walked to the breakfast table, got ourselves food, sat down at a table, and ate our food. I knew people were staring. Soon enough, the media would have it. But I didn't care. I didn't. I just wanted to be with Grace no matter what happens next. Love made me crazy. Grace made me crazy.