I smile, making my way over to them as Cal slips away.
"Hi," he says, tilting his head.
"Happy birthday," I reply simply.
"I hear you planned all this," he says, gesturing around as the chatter continues.
"Mostly Cal but he dragged me in last minute. I could have helped more if someone had told me it was their birthday today."
He rolls his eyes, "I'm sorry, okayyy."
"I guess I can forgive you..." I say, "I don't want to keep you. You should go make the rounds, say hi to everyone.."
"I'd rather stay here and talk to you," he says, smiling lightly.
"Oh go on," I say, pushing him lightly into the crowd. He looks back at me for a moment and smiles before disappearing. I bite my lip, smiling after him. I feel a hand on my shoulder and jump a bit, spinning around.
"Jesus Christ Simon, you scared me."
"You're completely smitten," he says smirking at me, Talia next to him.
"Shut up."
I sigh, blushing, still smiling.
Talia sidles up next to me and hooks her arm into mine.
"Leave her alone," she says to Simon, before dragging me away to say hi to Gee and Will, who've just arrived.
The rest of the party passes uneventfully. I talk to nearly everyone, making eye contact with Tobi from across the room but not getting a chance to talk to him again.
People start to head out around 12:00, and the party slowly empties until only Tobi, the Cal's, Sarah, Simon, Josh, Freya, and JJ are left. I stand up from where I've been sitting with Freya, feeling a bit dizzy.
"I'm gonna go get some air," I say, walking out towards the balcony.
I pull the door open, getting hit with the cold night air and the sounds of the city. I sit down on the makeshift couch we had set up out here from cushions, resting my back against the glass door. I feel slightly tipsy, but only enough to make me a bit tired. I lean my head back until it rests on the glass, tipping my head up and closing my eyes. I breathe in the chilly air, a sense of calm settling in. I sit there for a few minutes before I hear the door slides open.
I crack my eyes open and tip my head, looking over to see Freya poking her head out onto the balcony.
"Me and Josh are headed out. You okay out here?" she asks.
"Yeah," I nod, my voice cracking a bit.
She smiles at me, "you want us to walk you home?"
"No I'll be fine, I might just stay here tonight."
"Alright, see you."
I smile weakly at her, waving my fingers in some semblance of a goodbye, then close my eyes again.
The door starts to slide shut, then I hear her whisper, "Just go out and sit with her, idiot."
I hear the door stop moving, then slide open again.
"Hey," he says. I smile at his voice, keeping my eyes closed.
"Come sit," I say softly, and he drops down next to me, leaning back.
I turn my head towards him, opening my eyes, to find him already looking at me.
"You, Jade Myoung, are a work of art," he murmurs, "My favorite one in the whole museum."
I smile, intertwining our fingers.
"You're the best visitor that's ever come to see me," I say, resting my head on his shoulder.
The sounds of the city rush by underneath us, and I can hear JJ laughing from inside. The only other sound is the slight whisper of his breath past my ear. I feel like for the first time in my life, I am completely safe, like nothing could ever get to us. I breathe deeply, feeling completely and utterly content. We stay silent for a while, just enjoying each other's calm.
I can't tell if we've been here for only minutes or for hours, but I decide to break the silence.
"Tobi?" I say softly.
"Mmh?" He responds.
"I'm so glad I know you. I don't know what I would do without you. I love you so much, truly. And you know I mean as a friend but I think you should know I mean more than that too. If I know what real love is, it's because of you."
He takes a deep breath and breathes it out again. I pick my head up, looking him in the eyes.
"Please say something," I whisper.
He reaches his arm up, placing his fingers across my cheek, his palm cradling my chin.
"There's only one thing I think we should change about what you just said," he says finally, "Cause I'm really not sure why I can't hold your hand in front of my friends, or why I can't kiss you when I want to when I've come to love you so much."
"Well then why don't we change that?" I smile.
"Let's," he says, leaning in towards me and kissing me softly on the cheek
I turn my head, intertwining out fingers once more, and kiss him, slowly.
We pull away, and he rests his forehead on mine for a moment before pulling back.
"So what does this mean?" He asks
"I think it means that you, Tobi, have finally got a girlfriend."
He smiles at me, and I respond in the same fashion.
"Let's go back in, it's cold," he says.
He stands up, pulling me up with him, our hands still attached.
He slides open the door and we walk in to find the lights mostly off, a crack of light coming from below Lux's door, the other two seemingly already in bed, and JJ and Simon having gone home.
I walk over to Lux's door, Tobi behind me, and knock lightly.
"Yeah?" I hear Sarah say from inside. I push open the door, seeing her sitting on the bed, taking her makeup off.
"Cals just in the shower," she says, and I nod.
"Well we just came in to say goodnight," I say, "We're off."
"Alright, it was so nice to meet you, we should really hang out sometime."
"We should," I smile.
"Tell Cal thanks for the party," Tobi says, and Sarah nods.
"Will do."
"Alright, see you," I say
"Bye!"
And I shut the door gently behind us, taking Tobi's hand as we walk down the darkened hallway back to the kitchen. I grab my jacket from the couch and my shoes from the floor, having slipped them off once most people had left. Tobi picks up my purse and hands it to me, and we walk out, locking the door behind us.
YOU ARE READING
Stars - Tobjizzle
Fanfiction"If I know what true love is, it's because of you" -- In which Jade meets a stranger who comes to mean much more to her than she thought possible
