'S mise le meas 012

Chapter Twelve: The Fourteenth of What Now?

January went by kind of fast. Mime was fun. It didn't matter that I couldn't hear the background music we used. The instructor added visual clues for me to know when to do things. She was nice. She was a tiny little woman, probably in her mid-forties, early fifties. She had short blonde hair and was very energetic. The only problem I had with the class was that I was not as flexible as a lot of the people in it. Two of the girls were dancers, and others were in sports, so these movements came easily to them. We weren't doing anything very difficult in our routines though.

January term came and went, beginning the Spring semester. I was exceptionally busy and hardly had time to read for pleasure anymore. It was taking me weeks to get through a short book. I used to be able to do it in a day. Every night, I would collapse onto the bed and wake up in the morning in exactly the same position. I think I was more like passing out than sleeping. I didn't even dream. I was about one month into the semester when it happened.

It was Thursday morning and my alarm went off just like normal and I began to get ready. I checked my email and I had a package in the mail room. I frowned. The mail didn't come until the afternoon. I left for class early so I could pick up the package. I brought the cardboard box to class and got there early. As I opened it, some of the girls peeked over at me to see what I had gotten.

I smiled as I pulled the teddy bear and a letter out of the box. I recognized Damian's handwriting on the envelope. The bear wasn't anything too fancy. It was dark brown and wore a plaid shirt that was unbuttoned. It was very soft, though, and really warm. It smelled like Damian. Maybe he sprayed it with his cologne or something. As I was burying my cold nose in the bear's soft fur, the girls came over.

"Oh that's so sweet!" Angelica gushed, feeling the soft bear. She was one of the dancers who had been in my January term class and always managed to look perfect. She was nice though. Maggie, a tough, almost boyish girl who was really a romantic at heart, took the box and looked at the return address.

"Whoa," she said. "Northern Ireland."

"Must be some special bear factory over there," Stacy, a tall, gangly softball player, mused. I chuckled.

"Not really," I said. "My boyfriend lives there." I tucked the letter away in my bag and saved it for later.

"Oh, I didn't know you had a boyfriend!" Maggie said. I nodded and pulled out my phone. The background was a picture of us. They passed the phone around.

"Wow, he's certainly easy on the eyes," Angelica said. Everyone laughed.

"Does he have an accent?" Stacie asked. "Oh wait… sorry…" She blushed and put her hand over her mouth. "Or… can you tell?..."

"I can tell," I said. "And yes, it took a while to be able to understand him. Apparently, his accent is really thick. He's from the North. Someone described it as like the Cockney of Ireland."

"Oh, I love Cockney accents," Angelica said. Somehow, my phone was even circulating around the boys and teacher, who happened to be a man in this particular case.

"And I love Damian," I said, trying to bring the conversation to a close. "I don't know why he did this though. It's rather spontaneous of him."

"It's the fourteenth, honey," Maggie said. "That's why he did it, I'm sure."

"It's the fourteenth of what now?" I asked.

"February!" Angelica said, pulling her textbook out of her bag. "It's Valentine's Day!" I'd never had a Valentine before.

"Huh," I said, gazing into space.

I was overly happy throughout classes. Everything went smoothly and we were let out a half hour early before lunch. I went to drop off my stuff before going to lunch. I held the bear tightly by my nose, keeping myself warm from the snow that had started to fall. It had only been snowing for two hours and there was already enough for me to wish I'd worn boots. My socks were wet and cold. Not a good mixture. Another reason to stop by the room before lunch.

There was no surprise that my door was open when I got back after lunch. I usually kept it propped open during the day. Butterfinger knew better than to leave the room and she usually slept all day anyways.

What was a surprise, was that my light was on. I frowned as I walked in, and my eyes were immediately drawn to a vase of flowers. There were at least a dozen crimson roses and a box of chocolates on my desk. The teddy bear Damian had mailed me was leaning against the vase, and it had a smaller rose tucked in its hands.

Would the gifts ever end?

Apparently not.

I felt someone watching me and turned around. He was leaning against the doorframe looking a little smug and gorgeous as ever. His bright blue eyes twinkled under the fluorescent lights. He was wearing a shirt with the same plaid pattern as the teddy bear. I let out one laugh, and it almost felt like a cough. His smile widened and the corners of his eyes began to crease as the smile was about ready to take over his entire face.

Before I could do anything, he spoke. Well… he sang…

"Here we are
On earth together
It's you and I
God has made us fall in love
It's true
I've really found
Someone like you

"Will it stay
The love you feel for me
Will you say
That you will be by my side
To see me through
Until my life is through

"Well in my mind
We can conquer the world" I smiled.
"In love you and I
You and I, you and I...

"I'm glad
At least in my life
I've found someone
That may not be here forever
To see me through
But I found my strength in you

"Cause in my mind
You will stay here always
In love you and I
You and I, you and I
You and I, you and I

"You and I
In my mind
We can conquer the world
In love you and I
You and I, you and I
You and I..."

I shook my head like I was clearing out the cobwebs and smiled wide. I ran into his arms and held him as tight as I dared, not wanting to choke him or anything. (In other words, I squeezed him as tight as I physically could.)

"Damian," I breathed. I don't know if I made any noise, but I didn't care.

He was here.

He was really here.

I tangled my fingers in his hair and just held onto him, afraid he would dissolve in my arms.

--Damian's POV-

This must be heaven, I decided. Nothing else mattered. She was here. It seemed like we had been separated for years and now I could finally see her, touch her, smell her….

She was clinging to me and I held her just as tight, burying my face in her hair and inhaling that scent I had missed for so long.

"Damian," she whispered and I tightened my hold and began to rock back and forth. I don't know why, but I started to cry. I'd missed her so much, I hadn't even realized how much joy this moment would bring.

I leaned back and held her face in my hands, leaning our foreheads against each other. My nose started to run, so I sniffed, closing my eyes.

--Lila's POV-

I saw a tear fall down his face and his eyes closed. I reached up to wipe away the tear.

"Don't cry," I said. "You'll make me cry!" He laughed and opened his eyes, causing another tear from each eye to drop down his cheeks. I wiped those away too. He laughed again and began wiping at his eyes on his own, blinking back tears. He looked at me.

"I missed you," he said. My heart ached and I began to blink back my own tears.

"Me too," I said. "You weren't kidding when you said your visit would be a surprise." He laughed.

"When I found out I couldn't make it to the States for New Years, I immediately began planning this," he said. "I bought the bear first and it stayed in my room for about a month." So that's why it smelled like him. "I didn't actually mail it. I was going to, but figured I'd just drop it off in the mail room myself." And that's why the package came in the morning.

"So, have you been here all day?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Nice campus you got here." He winked. I blushed.

"It really is…" I trailed off.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head. "Just…" I quickly pulled his head down for a kiss, catching him by surprise. Oh after being away from this for so long, the need for it came back a hundred fold. I didn't want to stop kissing him. But I had to, and all too soon. I broke away.

"Oh," he said, in a bit of a daze.

"I have class in ten minutes," I said.

"I know," he said. "I've been told you're allowed to have observers in the classrooms."

I smiled and we headed out to my Western Civilizations class. This was going to be… interesting.