Archive of Our Own ^beta

The two and only things Olivia could sense in the pitch darkness of the forest were the sharp pain in her left side and the terrifying noises of mobs inching closer and closer to her. Her breathing was ragged and irregular and her lungs blazed, as if a hand was clutched over them while her chest burned. She had to do something, she had barely noticed the giddy feeling of something fluid running down her side.

The jungle's air was humid and thick, making it even harder for her to breathe. The tall, large-leafed trees blocked most of the full month’s light and was not helping the girl in any way. If only she could see the bag she had brought with her. She just needed somewhere that wasn't pitch dark. She looked around as she squinted her eyes. Thankfully, she could see weak light from a little afar, she assumed it was the exit of the enormous jungle.

As fast as she could in that situation, Olivia started limping towards the source. Every fiber of her body was burning with an inferno, every breath she took made her chest sting. Come on, come on, she encouraged herself, just a little more!

Eventually, the humidity left its place for the fresher air of the open fields. The full month’s light took full effect here since there were barely any trees to block it. She slumped down in front of a nearby tree, resting her back against its bark. She quickly surrounded herself with a narrow two-block long wall made out of the materials that dropped into her inventory with some close Creeper explosions.

Now that she could see more clearly, she looked at her left and examined the pain, but instantly drew her hand back, wincing as a yell left her lips. The tips of her fingers were coated with her own blood, bits and pieces of her so-called “unbreakable" armor had sunken into the red, gaping area. Her dizziness had increased, she could barely fixate her gaze on the crimson mass on her side. Her hands trembling she reached for her red bag in search for a remedy.

There was nothing inside.

No wonder it was felt so light when she got it in a rush. If only she had checked it before leaving.

Her heartbeats ringing in her ears, she frantically rummaged through the bag, her heart filling with more and more dread with each passing second as she realized there was nothing inside except her dandy bow and arrows. No healing potions, no bandages, no nothing.

Deep breaths, Olivia, she thought but the invisible lump that had suddenly grown in her throat blocked everything. Numbness spread through her body like venom as the only thing she could do was to watch bound hand and foot, to let panic take control of her. Her mind wouldn’t let her think anything else except death and the fact that she was going to die in the middle of nowhere.

She was going to die. Either from her bleeding wound, from an infection her gash would get if not treated in time, from hyperventilating in panic or from the mobs that approached her even more each second. No one would find her body if she died like this.

She suddenly thought about her friends in Beacontown, her friends that probably were laughing and dining as if nothing was happening: Jesse, the leader. After saving the world from the Witherstorm, everybody had started counting on him as both the leader of the New Order of the Stone and the founder of the humble Beacontown. Petra, fierce and fearless, always supporting Jesse and fulfilling her duties as his loyal girlfriend. Axel, one of her best friends since forever even though they were complete opposites of each other, one of the people very dear to her heart. Ivor, a tad bit mysterious and a tad bit crazy, he was actually very helpful when he didn’t try to summon a nearly invincible creature that nearly made the entire world its dinner.

And Lukas. Loyal, understanding, caring, forgiving. Silent most of the time, but not afraid to speak his mind if the chance is given. Maybe that little bit of mystery was the thing that made his dark turquoise eyes even more naturally charming.

Her heart broke as she realized she’d never get to wish him a proper farewell. A small goodbye was enough. Maybe a last smile, maybe a last embrace, maybe even a last touch of lips before drifting away from the world?

Olivia chuckled to herself bitterly. A last kiss? Now she was dreaming. Didn’t matter what farewell she had in mind to wish or what future she dreamt of was, none of them mattered. Wouldn’t mean anything either.

A sob pierced through the invisible lump in her throat. Another one came afterwards. And another one, and another, and another until they all formed a chain of hysterical sobs. Numbness continued to spread as the messenger of the grim reaper approaching, she was getting dizzier and dizzier. Her eyelids started to weigh down on her eyes like bullions. The girl couldn’t do anything—not even a simple dressing—because of the macabre feeling, a dressing that would maybe only delay her inevitable death.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw a spider that had managed to climb over the wall. She didn’t pull her bow and arrow out; she knew she couldn’t even raise an arm, let alone fight the damn thing. She was already going to die. It would be better if it ended quicker and hurt less. 

“OLIVIA!” Suddenly, a scream of her name pierced through the night. The girl could hear a galloping horse, coming closer and closer.

Through half-lidded eyes, she could see a figure drawing all the mobs to himself and slaying all of them with swiftness. She unintentionally groaned, in contrast to the suffocating numbness, the gash was still stinging.

After the last mob’s corpse that he had slain disappeared with a puff of smoke, the figure spent no time in kneeling down beside the girl. 

“Lukas...?”

It really was him. The feeling of warm arms holding her confirmed that this wasn’t just a hallucination before death.

“Oh god…” The boy’s voice was trembling so wildly that Olivia could barely figure out what he had said. She felt the boy’s hands tremble as he inspected her. He pulled out a small bottle filled with an amaranth liquid and poured it over the gash, being extra cautious so not even a drop is wasted. The girl yelped as she felt the potion burn her wound, but the feeling was soon replaced with relief as the pain ceased and the liquid eased up her tense muscles. Unfortunately, her head still spun since the potion couldn’t bring back the blood she had lost, it was probably one of the weaker doses.

“How are you feeling?” asked Lukas, his voice was soft (and more stable) as if he was talking to an Ocelot and trying not to scare it away.

“It still stings a little,” Olivia admitted, her voice croaky. “It’s fine, though.”

“I would’ve brought more but I could only grab one bottle before leaving and to much luck, it's the weakest one.” He sheepishly ruffled his silky blonde hair. “Sorry.” The girl shrugged.

“I told you, it’s fine.” The blonde boy shot a skeptic glance at the remains of the wound after his gaze caught up on the weird glint on it.. It had closed a bit —since he had grabbed the weakest of the potions—, there was still some blood oozing out of the semi-congealed gash and the places where fractures of her armor pricked the skin around. Still pretty inviting to infections, though, Lukas thought.

“Still, I need to bandage your side,” he said as he took out a roll of gauze out of his bag. “The wound doesn't look too good, despite the potion.”

“Lukas, I told you I was fine.”

“Even though you’re telling the truth, you’re still very vulnerable against infections.” The sigh of defeat coming from the girl announced him as the winner. He directed his entire concentration on the metal pieces of the armor that had sunken into Olivia’s flesh. He picked the major pieces out by his hand but couldn’t dare to work on the smaller ones in order not to make them sink deeper.

“I’m going to do a temporary dressing, so it’ll keep the gash protected until we arrive at Beacontown and get you to a proper medical unit as fast as possible, alright?” The girl sucked in a sharp breath when she felt Lukas’ cold, gentle fingers against her skin. His touch was gentle; his pale fingers danced against her chocolate brown skin ever so gracefully, creating a pleasing contrast with her skin. She could feel her whole face heating up, she was eternally grateful to her dark skin for hiding the flush rushing on her cheeks.

She realized, in dread, that every single touch left her helplessly yearning for more.

Sure, they had hung out lots before, but there wasn't even the slightest exchange of touches; let alone something like this. Olivia was frightened by how so desperately her body longed for this, his warmth to shield her against the cold breeze of the unforgiving inky night, his soft lips pressed against hers, his hands tangled up in her black locks, his fingers tenderly grazing her cheeks. Oh how helplessly she wanted to latch onto him and never let go, how much she wanted those entrancing blue eyes to be only hers, how his gentle touch hopelessly made her fall over and over again; how much she wanted to be the only one who knew what his lips tasted like, how his cologne smelt like. She was shocked by the amount of the effort she had to make to withstand her feelings. She was trying the hardest to resist, yet she was only coming closer and closer to slipping.

“…livia? Olivia!” The girl snapped from her thoughts, jolting a bit with the sudden transition. She looked at Lukas and slightly gulped.

“S-sorry, I got a bit dizzy,” she lied as she scratched her nape. She took the hand the boy in front of her lent and pulled herself up. The world started to wildly spin around her, she could feel her stomach twisting and straining to puke everything she had eaten until now. Her vision went black for a moment.

“Whoa-” She felt two warm hands gripping her from under her chest and she started seeing again. She gagged on the puke threatening to escape her mouth and put her arms on Lukas’ shoulders for support.

“Let’s just hurry,” she said, her voice coming out as nothing more than a weak mumble.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay on a horse?” the boy asked, he had realized Olivia’s upset stomach. “You don't look so good. Maybe we should just walk, or I can get help from Beacontown—”

“You told me that we should get to a proper medical unit as fast as possible. Those are going to take too long. I’ll try to hold on.” She felt Lukas’ chest tense down but didn’t know if it was either from relief or defeat.

“You’re brave, Olivia. Really brave. You know that?” With that, he passed to her left side, his soft hands never letting go, and walked her to his horse. Olivia could feel the boy’s soft breathing over her head and tickling her. Like his arms holding her, the rest of his chest was warm. Maybe she could put the blame at the chilling cold and snuggle closer to him, just this once…

The neigh of the horse brought the girl back into reality, they had finally arrived (which was surprisingly fast considering her condition). Lukas rested his hands on the animal’s body and jumped on the saddle in one swift move. Olivia once again gripped the hand he lent and pulled herself behind the blonde boy. Her head still a bit dizzy and her eyes now drowsy, she could vaguely feel his hands wrapping her arms around his waist.

“Hold on tight, okay?”

“Mhm.” Her voice was still weak, but it was louder than last time. Lukas was a bit hesitant as he spoke again, they still hadn’t started moving.

“You can rest your head on my back and rest until we arrive if you want to.” Slowly, she lowered her head on the boy’s back. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she did so, her cheeks were warming up once again.

Lukas gave the horse the command to run and they started moving. The chilling night breeze brushed against the duo; Olivia was still feeling cold, even though the boy was shielding her from the wind. The full moon’s light illuminated the path back to Beacontown. Her stomach was once again rebelling against her, doing somersault after somersault to make sure nothing remained. She tightened her embrace and snuggled even closer. Lukas’ perfume was musky and mixed with the scent of old paper.

Part coldness, part queasiness. That’d be how she would explain it if he were to ask her what in the bloody hell she was doing (In all honesty, Olivia thought, he has literally every right to.) Her drowsiness had gained a lot of strength, her eyes were already closing. She drifted right into the calm, sneaky claws of a tranquil nap.

Lukas felt the girl behind him relax, but her grip on him was still tight. He slightly shivered when one of her hands softly brushed against his abs. Every time, even the slightest of touches sent sparks to his heart and made the butterflies in his stomach go wild. Her light snores were like music to his ears, he could listen to them all day. It felt so unreal, yet so thrilling to, at last, feel how her touch felt against him, the touch he dreamt of for so long.

It had been a crazy evening for him, exhausting and crazy. It had happened just… too suddenly, and fast, he could newly comprehend what was going on.

“Hey, Jesse!” The brunette male standing in front of the front entrance of the grand hall turned to the source of the voice and waved at him.

“Lukas!” he shouted back, smiling as he watched Lukas tie his horse to a fence. “Glad you could make it to the dinner on time!” The duo shared a quick, brotherly hug before Jesse led him to the main hall, where a large dining table was set. The huge, glass chandelier Stella had sent them as a gift from Champion City was lit with real candles instead of fake ones like in normal evenings. The table was topped with meals, appetizers, drinks; some Lukas hadn’t ever even heard of in his life. The head-spinning smells of the dishes filled the boy’s lungs, he hadn’t realized he was starving until now. Around the table sat 6 people: A girl with a bandana tied over her auburn hair [Petra], a bulky guy with raven hair and a monobrow [Axel], a woman with shoulder-length brown hair [Ellegaard] , a man with a long raven beard [Ivor], another man with dark skin and a shorter beard [Gabriel], and last but not least, a dark-skinned light-haired woman [Harper]. His smile growing wider, he sat on Petra’s right and quickly fist-bumped her. The seat at his right—the one between him and Axel—was empty, probably preserved for the absent-for-now guest.

“Thank you all for coming!” Jesse started speaking when he was settled on his place (which was Petra’s left and at the head of the table). “It’s really nice to see all of you guys here. Celebrating the Founding Day with people very dear to my heart—" Lukas had realized the brunette had been glancing at Petra only with the second sentence — “has been an honor for me. Without further ado, please enjoy the meal!” He sat down and everyone started eating. Chatter and clashes of knives and forks filled the room in an instant. Lukas helped himself from everything around him, everything tasted absolutely amazing, but he just couldn’t enjoy the savory food as much as he wanted to. His mind was thinking about the absent guest and the seat, he couldn’t concentrate on any of the stuff said to him.

“Hey Jesse,” he nudged the brunette after a short while, “Where’s Olivia?” Jesse—apologizing to Gabriel for interrupting their dialogue in the process—turned to him.

“Well, I don’t know,” he replied. “She told me she’d be back in time.”

“‘Be back’? What do you mean, ‘she’d be back’?”

“She said she was going on an emergency mission out of Beacontown earlier this morning. She didn’t tell me what exactly it was, though.”

“Um, Jesse?” Axel’s puzzled voice grabbed everyone’s attention, the chatter died out and immediately left its place for an eerie silence. He was looking at the quartz pedestal behind Jesse, where the Order of the Stone’s signature artefact was being displayed. “Why is the Amulet all lit up?”

Just like Axel said, all of the golden artefact’s colorful glass panes were now glowing red. Lukas was the first one to stand up and run up to the pedestal. A voice, a girl’s voice was weakly echoing as if she was in a huge chamber made out of glass.

“Oh no, no, no!” Olivia’s voice sounded frantic and desperate, her breathing was ragged and irregular. They all could hear many mobs’ sounds in the background: the crashing bone sounds of Skeletons, arrows shooting through the sky, the groans and the heavy steps of Zombies, the hissings of the Spiders, teleportation sounds of Endermen, giggles of Witches, glass bottles breaking, some explosion noises in the background made by Creepers, you name it.

“Olivia?!” Lukas yelled back, then remembering the Amulet’s communication worked only one-sided. He muttered a curse under his breath as he looked outside the large reinforced window next to the pedestal.

Night life would usually be quite active in Beacontown, the citizens would either hang out in the parks, in cinemas, in galleries or in the restaurants; although this night, nobody could be seen on the streets. Not even a single soul was outside, nothing—human or not—could even dare to step foot outside in nights like these. The full moon illuminated the streets in a false sense of safety, though as if it were an enchanting young woman trying to draw people out with her beauty just to lead them to their deaths.

Every full moon—that happened approximately once in a month—a whole swarm of hostile mobs would appear outside the city but even though the walls surrounding the town was pretty strong and the streets were brightly-lit, there were still the chances of mobs spawning randomly on the streets so no one would go out in those nights. Lukas listened to the girl’s screams and begs of help, wondering how he’d face seeing her name engraved on a tombstone.

He would not.

He had to do something, anything.

The next second, everything was chaos.

It was all a blur for Lukas, he barely remembered the fact that his hand had instinctively reached for the Amulet. He started sprinting towards the main entrance as fast as his legs could take him right after he felt the cold, metal handle secured tightly in his hand. He could hear the hectic and concerned yells behind him, asking him where he was going and what the hell he was doing, but he didn’t answer any of them. He didn’t stop until he exited the Order Hall and got next to his black horse.

He was not going to see her like that. Never.

“We have to go,” he said as he untied the horse, then added seeing his miffed glares: “I’m sorry Blackjack, but it’s an emergency. I’ll buy you the best apples in town later, alright?” He jumped on the saddle in one swift move and galloped away into the horizon, not realizing that he dropped the single crimson rose in his pocket alongside the note attached to it.

Everything had formed into a mishmash in Lukas’ head, so complicated that it made him lose track of time. The only thing he could grasp was the fact that it was now pretty late, the mob swarms had lessened with the Moonset (that’s what the locals called the time period when the mobs had started to spawn less). Olivia was still sleeping behind him, her head on his back, her hands holding onto him. Lukas would unintentionally hold his breath whenever she moved the slightest.

Would she wake up if he put a hand on one of hers?

No, the blonde thought as he shook his head. I can’t. He didn’t know what was holding him back though. His embarrassment? His fear of getting rejected?

He shook his head one more time, trying to get rid of the nearly irresistible thought. I need to hold the saddle with two hands. Though, he still felt a bit guilty for not trying his chance. Maybe some other day when she’s not wounded.

Blackjack’s neigh brought Lukas back to reality. In front of them, at last, stood the walls surrounding Beacontown. He could see Jesse pacing the bastion, his hands clasped behind him. Near him stood Petra leant on one of the crenels, pensively watching the horizon. Even though he was sitting behind the crenellations, the blonde boy could still spot Axel with his green shirt and bulky build. The old Order of the Stone (plus Harper) had gathered up in a separate corner, grimly talking about who knows what.

“Jesse!” hollered Lukas and every head waiting up at the bastion turned to him.

“Lukas!” Jesse replied, the blonde boy could hear the huge smile the brunette wore. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” His smile then fell. “Is that…”

“Open the door, I need to get her to a healing station!”

“L-Lukas...?” As the piston doors opened, Lukas felt the girl budge behind him and mutter. “What’s going on?”

“We arrived,” he softly replied, “we’ll get your wound treated, alright?” He tensed up when Olivia rested her forehead against his back once again. Thankfully, he could see the hospital’s light from there.

“What do you mean, ‘we accidentally gave her too much anesthesia’?!”

“Just like we told you, mister,” the petite doctor replied, nervously fiddling with her glasses, “my intern June is usually a very careful person, although lately she says she is feeling pretty down so she might have slipped away and given the patient the wrong dose accidentally. I sincerely apologize on behalf of her.”

“Well, what if Olivia had a secret allergy to anesthesia that none of us knew about?! There were so many bad possibilities that could happen, you could’ve put her to a coma, you could’ve even—”

“Lukas, that’s enough!” The brunette’s stern voice immediately quieted Lukas down. Shooting one last glare at the (probably scared for her life) doctor, he slumped in a chair between Petra and Axel.

Jesse turned back to the doctor. “Please excuse my friend Lukas’ behavior, he’s had a very tough day today. He’s really worried about our friend. I really appreciate your understanding.” The doctor smiled and bowed to Jesse one last time (Lukas had counted 7 times of her bowing since they arrived, this one adding as the 8th) and walked away.

“What is up with you today, Lukas?!” snapped the brunette when he was sure the doctor was out of the hearing range. “You’ve been acting so hostile and repulsive and mean since we arrived! This is not the Lukas I know! What’s going on?!”

“I’m sorry if I’m worried about my friend’s health, being the one to bring her all the way from wherever the hell she was to here as fast as I can while trying to keep her alive!” the blonde boy yelled back, he had stood up again.

“We’re all worried about Olivia, but this doesn’t excuse your behavior as a total prick!

“Guys, please.” Putting a hand on both of their shoulders, Petra made both of them sit back down. None of them resisted, they both knew how strong she was and even though she had softened a bit, it was still the best for both of them not to anger her. She sat down between them as well and turned to Jesse. Lukas couldn’t hear the things Petra was telling her boyfriend, but in the end, they shared a quick hug and Petra turned to him.

“Lukas, I understand your worry about Olivia very well,” she started to speak, her voice was gentle and caring, yet very stern. “But this doesn’t mean you can go around and take your anger out of people who are trying to approach you nicely and help you. Please, for both your and others’ sake, calm down.”

Petra was right. Jesse was right. Just because he was mad at his life for pulling this kind of stuff on him or because he was immensely worried about her, it didn’t mean he could go around and yell at people for the slightest things they had done.

“Jesse…?” Lukas muttered sheepishly.

“Yes?”

“I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I was just… too blinded by my concern for Olivia.” He mentally cursed at himself for cutting his apology too dry, he wished he could think of more things to say but his brain just wouldn’t function normally after the events of that night. Jesse let out a small chuckle, implying that the tense atmosphere had already left.

“I’m sorry as well,” he replied, “I shouldn’t have treated you that unfairly, I know how that feels and it’s not the best thing in the world.” The vocabulary the brunette had decided to use grabbed Lukas’ attention and he turned to him, a puzzled expression on his face.

“You know how what feels?” The smirks Jesse and Petra shot at each other confused him even more, his brows furrowed, he repeated the question. “Jesse, what are you talking about?”

Petra, her smirk now a whole grin, replied: “How worried you must be for someone like her feels. The type of ‘her’ that makes you go all fuzzy and stuff, you get me?”

Lukas shook his head. “I do not get what you mean.”

“Hah!” Axel, who was probably eavesdropping on them, decided to join the conversation. His monobrow was raised in suspicion, his eyes mocked Lukas and his terrible lying skill, his lips were curled upwards in a nasty way.

“Tell that to the rose you dropped on your way out the Hall.”

The blonde boy went through the pockets in his leather jacket, his mouth went dry when he noticed he couldn’t feel the slightly prickly sensation he felt on his way to the dinner. His heart sank as he watched Jesse take out the rose, realizing everyone in the lobby knew about the feelings he had tried to conceal for so long. Not because he thought his friends would judge him, instead because he was trying to avoid being the main target of their relentless and unforgiving teasing (he had first-hand experience on the battlefield and flashbacks to the time where he would tease Jesse about his feelings. He would definitely get revenge sooner or later).

“So, you guys… know?” Lukas finally managed to ask after getting out of the small state of shock. It was a fact that he was pretty bad at lying, but he never thought he’d be this obvious.

“For a while now, yes,” answered Jesse, “we were kind of suspecting it when you wrote in one of your letters that you were seeing Olivia and enjoying it and pretty much gushed about all the stuff you guys had done. Then, we came back to Beacontown and you guys had grown a heck lot closer. After that both you and Olivia started rejecting our hangout invitations a bit more often, saying you guys were “busy”. Then Ivor saw you and her chilling at a park when you were supposed to be doing “important stuff for your next book”. Then, the thing you pulled in the Order Hall and this—” He held the rose up. “—confirmed everything.”

“Don’t be embarrassed,” said Petra, patting his back when she saw how fast his face turned poppy red in mere seconds, “it’s a natural thing for people to like each other. You like someone, they don’t like you back, normal thing. You like someone, they like you as well; it sometimes works out, sometimes doesn’t. All normal, all natural. And you won’t know if they like you or not if you just stand there and do nothing about it. And, you live once so I can't see a reason why not to confess. Worst case scenario, you stay friends. Now go get her.”

“I wish people gave me pep talks and advice like that as well when I was too afraid to ask Petra out.” They all laughed at the brunette’s joke, the tension in the atmosphere was long gone and everyone was back on good terms.

“Thanks, Petra,” the blonde boy told the auburn-haired girl, taking the rose from Jesse and putting it back to his pocket. The color of the rose was faded, the petals were damaged and some of them had detached from the base of the flower, but that was all he could do right now. Maybe he could get to the whole asking out thing when everything had settled down.

“I’m going to stay with her,” announced Lukas a few minutes later, after one of the nurses told them Olivia was finally in a stable condition to have visitors. “You guys can go and rest, you’re all probably super tired now. Especially Gabriel and Ellegaard, since you guys have to leave Beacontown tomorrow.”

“Are you sure you’ll be on your own?” Surprisingly, it was Axel to ask this. When Lukas nodded as a reply, he sighed.

“Please take good care of her. She has been… like a sister for me. I’m one hundred percent sure you will, but just to make sure.” They fist-bumped one more time before the nurse led Lukas into the room where Olivia was put to rest.

“She’ll be staying at the hospital overnight, so I reckon you’ll be with her?” she asked as they walked through the white corridors.

“Yes.”

“I wouldn’t be wrong to guess your name is Lukas, right?” The boy frowned in confusion.

“Yes, my name’s Lukas. Why?”

“Olivia, I think her name was. The patient was murmuring your name while we were putting her out for her small surgery. Are you her… partner, of some sort?” Trying not to give his embarrassment away, he shook his head as normally as he could.

“N-no,” he answered. “We’re just good friends, nothing more, nothing less.” He didn’t know who he was trying to trick: The nurse who probably overheard their entire conversation with Jesse, or himself. Not long after, the duo arrived at the room.

“I’ll be occasionally checking in on her as her nurse, but if you need anything, please don’t refrain from using the room phone to call the lobby.” Lukas nodded and muttered a small thank you before twisting the doorknob and helping himself in.

It wasn’t a huge room; the boy didn’t expect it to be big either. The walls were painted a light shade of baby blue and the room was softly lit by a few lanterns in order not to hurt anyone’s eyes. The room was simply furnished; a few serums were piled up at one corner of the room, some chests near the serum stash (the boy assumed there were medical supplies inside those and didn’t touch them), a red-sheeted bed across him, a bedside table on its right and a chair on its left.

On the bed laid the dark-skinned girl, her eyes closed in such tranquility, such grace, such pulchritude. Her breathing seemed slow but regular. Her skin looked so smooth under the soft lighting; she was drawing Lukas to himself without doing anything at all. She wore a baggy nightgown, the types people who just got out of surgery would wear. The surgeons had left her arms out of the red quilt she was tucked in.

Lukas approached Olivia. Her mellow lips were slightly parted, her curly black locks scattered across the pillow and framed her anodyne face. He could hear the light snores escaping from her mouth, it was almost like music; it had a rhythm, a beat, notes even.

He finally sat on the chair and rested his head back on the wall behind him. His head suddenly started to spin, his calves ached, he hadn’t noticed he was this fatigued when the adrenaline was kicking in his veins. His entire body felt so jaded.

His gaze drifted off to her hand, and the urge to hold it blazed once again. This time it was more intense, more piquant, more intoxicating than the last time.

I can’t, he desperately tried to control himself, to control his urges, but he was failing. His body was moving against his own will for the second time this evening.

Was he complaining, though? If he hadn’t let his nerves take control, Olivia would probably be laying down in a tomb, not in the warmth of the soft sheets of a safe hospital bed. Would it be bad if he let go of the controls one more time? Would he regret it?

Taking a deep breath, he slid his fingers into her open palm and intertwined them with hers. Their skin colors created a nice contrast under the soft lighting. Her palm was lukewarm, pristine and comforting; everything he imagined it to be. He imagined how it’d feel like, to let Olivia’s fingers linger inside his palm, to interlace her hand with his over and over again every day.

Lukas smiled to himself, thinking about how his life would be like if Olivia became much more than a friend to him. Someone he could tell the secrets even Jesse or Petra didn’t know. Someone he could rest his head on and listen to the heartbeats of. Someone he could laugh with, someone he could stargaze with, someone he could kiss under the mistletoe on Christmas evenings. He wondered how it’d feel to have the chance to let her fingers play with his blonde hair as she ranted about all of the stuff that had angered him at work; how it’d feel to be able to wrap his arms behind her and pull her closer to him, using her soft curly hair as a pillow.

His eyes started closing and at last, probably for the first time in that evening, he felt at peace. He let his body finally surrender to the webs of sleep wrapping him and he drifted off into a well-deserved slumber.

Psst! Lukas! Lukas!” The blonde boy woke up, being lightly shaken from his shoulder. He was greeted with a pair of emerald green eyes looking back at him.

“Hey Jesse,” he greeted the brunette as he stretched on where he sat, it had felt very uncomfortable to sleep on a wooden chair. He looked out the window. The sun had barely started to rise, and although every fiber in his body was begging him to go back to sleep, he had a feeling that whatever Jesse had in his mind was very urgent to come to a hospital in literally sunrise.

“What’s the hold up? Why did you come here so early?”

“Well, your hand kind of explains it, doesn’t it?” Lukas immediately looked at his right hand, the hand he held Olivia’s hand with last night (or a few hours ago), and his face reddened when he felt her hand had replied to his touch as well; she was squeezing his hand to almost reassure him that she was still there. The corners of her lips were raised up, forming a light smile.

The blonde boy carefully let go and he stretched his wrist. It was really numbing for his hand to stay in a single position while he was sleeping, but it was definitely worth it.

“So, what were you saying?” asked Lukas, stifling a yawn.

“Remember how you dropped the rose you were going to give Olivia at the dinner?” He gave the brunette a deadpan stare but couldn’t help the fact that his heartbeats were getting faster once again.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“The flower got a bit mauled when we found it, as much as I remember, so I hope you were not thinking about giving that to my best friend…” He shuffled through his inventory, the small smile he wore grew as he took out two things: The first one was a crimson rose, its color much livelier and more vibrant than the dead one in Lukas’ pocket. The second one was a bigger heart-shaped box with red ribbons tied around it to hold the lid down.

“If you’re going to ask her out, do it properly.”

“Jesse, I…” The blonde boy was speechless, his gaze shifting from the box and the flower, to Jesse, then back to his hands. “You really didn’t have to do this.”

The brunette chuckled upon seeing Lukas’ both surprised and flustered face. “Well, I couldn’t just let you ask one of my best friends out in such a lame way.” The blonde boy took the gifts and put them in his inventory as he watched Jesse walk towards the door.

“You know what you have to do. Don’t chicken out at the last minute.” He winked at the sitting boy one last time before exiting and closing the door from his back.

Lukas looked at Olivia, she was still in her deep slumber and hadn’t waken up from the small conversation he and Jesse had. She was still as peaceful and calm as before. The small amount of sunlight that leaked into the room fell on her face.

Maybe I can rest a bit more until she wakes up. With that, he rested his head on the wall one more time and closed his eyes. He felt his body numb in a calming before slowly letting himself fall asleep.

The sun mercilessly shone on Olivia’s face and forced her to open her eyes. Groggily yawning, she looked around the room. Her right side was particularly numb, and her head was slightly aching, everything else seemed to be okay. The sunlight was bright, she assumed it was pretty late in the morning. The baggy hospital nightgown was at least generous enough to let her walk.

A slight murmur on her left made the girl jolt a bit, and she turned towards the source of the voice. Stifling a laughing fit, she inspected the sleeping boy (which was very, very underestimating according to Olivia; he was no better than a knocked-out opponent at a duel). He had rested his head on the wall behind him, his silky blonde hair mellowly gleamed with the late sun’s light. His thin lips were agape, his eyelashes slightly quivered every time he snored.

And he snored both a lot and very loudly.

Letting a yawn out, she gently nudged the boy’s shoulder. It was a bit hard for her to move her arms, they still felt numb but she didn't think it'd b too much of a problem unless she had to hold something. “Lukas? Wake up.” He hummed in response and fended his face away from the girl.

“Five more minutes,” he muttered and shifted in his place. Olivia—very amused by his quarter-awake state—nudged him again, this time a giggle slipping from her mouth. She decided to play along to his little dream.

“Lukas,” she repeated as she gently grasped his shoulders and shook him. “Wake up.”

“But I don’t want to.” The way he pouted and furrowed his eyebrows childishly sent her heart to oblivion and back.

“Pfft- come on, wake up!” This time, Olivia’s hand moved to his face and she poked his cheek. Lukas groaned in a protesting way a final time before his eyes finally fluttered open. He narrowed them a split second later, hissing from probably the sun’s bright beams blinding him.

“Took you long enough.” Resting her elbow on one of her knees and her cheek on her fist, she chuckled as a small smirk curled on her lips. Lukas rubbed his eyes before turning to her.

“Good morning to y—” His words were cut off by a yawn which he failed to stifle. He blinked a bit before suddenly stiffening, he could feel his cheeks heating up. Olivia’s raven curly locks were messy as they framed her small, round face, she looked at him with a small smile (that could be classified more as a smirk, though) and drowsy eyes. She looked… adorable.

“Slept good, I assume,” she said while tilting her head. The boy massaged his stiff neck, it ached from being stuck in sleeping on a chair.

"Well yes, but actually no. I did have a good sleep after staying up for half of the night, but sleeping on a wooden hospital chair was not too comfortable.” He stretched his shoulders and groaned before sinking on the chair again.

“So how was your sleep?” he asked after a while, then gestured her side. “How are you feeling?”

“A bit numb,” she admitted, “and my head hurts a bit but I’m good.”

“Glad to—” The boy’s sentence was cut off by a knocking on the door. Lukas was sure that the person speaking at the other side of the door was grinning cheekily.

“Hope we’re not interrupting anything in there. We can come in, right?”

“You can,” laughed Olivia, a small tint of red on her cheeks, “we’re just talking.” With that, the doorknob twisted and three people entered: Jesse, holding a tray with food for breakfast; Petra, lightly smiling and Axel, who was indeed smiling from ear to ear. The amazing smell of pancakes spread through the room, Lukas hadn't realized how hungry he was. “Good morning, Olivia!” the brunette boy greeted as he put the tray on the bedside table. We brought breakfast for you!”

“And some spare clothes, for when you finally get discharged from the hospital,” added the raven-haired guy.

“Thank you, guys!” She watched her friends settle on the seats Axel had brought with him.

“So… how're you feeling?” Taking off her bandana and ruffling her auburn hair, Petra was the first one to break the short silence.

The girl shrugged. “Good,” she said as she reached for the tray, her hands visibly shaking. I’m starving though—OH GOD!” Accompanied by a small yelp, the tray slipped from her hands and fell on the ground with a loud ‘CRASH!’.

Lukas immediately stood up and went to collect the tray. Thankfully, the tray had landed on its back so nothing had spilled out of the plates. He picked it up and headed back to his own seat, sat down and put the tray on his lap. He jabbed a fork to the piece of pancake he had just cut and held it in front of the dark-skinned girl's face.

She frowned and looked at him, her eyes waiting for a reasonable “We both know you can't even hold the tray,” he answered her confused glances, “so eat it before I do.”

“I mean… there’s an extra fork.”

“Just eat it. Just like you know me, I know whenever you're beating around the bush.”

“Fine.” With one last (playful) huff, Olivia leaned in and took the pancake in her mouth. She quickly swallowed it as the blonde boy cut another piece.

The rest of the morning went along with chatting, jokes and laughter, they were all very relieved that Olivia was now okay. Throughout conversations, the girl sometimes caught a pair of blue eyes glancing at her from time to time.

Just when Jesse and Petra were telling an exciting memory about how they helped a Village through a Raid, the door was knocked. The nurse Lukas had chatted with last night entered the room.

“After I do your checkups and make sure everything's okay, you'll be free to go,” she said, brushing strands of her black hair back while she inspected Olivia. A slightly upsetting feeling rose in the blonde boy's stomach as he watched the nurse's hands lingered on her.

It's her job, he told himself to calm himself, but he just couldn't help but seethe in this new… feeling.

Jealousy? Probably, although Lukas would never admit it in front of the others.

He was jealous of a nurse. For doing her job.

“Alright, everything seems fine!” He was brought back to reality by the nurse's sudden announcement. “I think you’re ready to go! If you still feel tired, I can help you out with dress up.”

“No thanks,” denied Olivia. “My arms feel better now, I can manage on my own.” Jesse, Petra, Axel and Lukas stood up and got outside, leaving the raven-haired girl inside.

“So, are you ready?” The blonde boy turned towards the redhead as he rolled his eyes and sighed with slight annoyance, but the intense heat he started feeling on his cheeks probably gave everything away.

“I guess so, yeah,” he answered after a while, “though, I'm still a bit anxious.”

“You have nothing to be anxious about.”

“Wait, what do you-" Before he could finish his question, the door swung open and Olivia came out. 

“Let's go.” They started heading for the exit. Axel, Jesse and the redhead quickly got in front of them, leaving the duo behind. The blonde could feel his hands getting clammy, the world started to spin around him as the invisible hands clasped around his lungs squeezed his chest tighter and tighter.

He tapped on the shorter girl's shoulder. “Olivia.”

Olivia looked at him. “Yeah?”

“Let's go to the park. I have something to tell you.” The rose and the box were getting heavier and heavier in his pockets, he could feel them sinking deeper and deeper.

She frowned, her eyes glimmered with a spark of concern. “Alright. Everything is okay, right?”

“Mhm.” Just like that, their conversation ended and Lukas once again brooded into his own thoughts. No going back now, you got to man up and tell her. No chickening out, no being a wussy. You've avoided this for too long, Lukas.

Soon enough, the chatter of the lobby filled their ears and the rays of the midday sun greeted them. They got out through the revolving door, they let the gentle breeze brush against them and envelop them in ease. Across the busy street, the city park stood with all its green glory.

Well, that's our cue. The boy's cold hand slithered in the girl's palm, he heard her soft gasp and felt her flinch but she make any effort to pull her hand away. They crossed the street, none of them were brave enough to break the awkward silence between them. Lukas' heart raced so fast he feared it would break free from his ribcage.

The sudden change in the texture of the ground indicated that they had arrived. In their right, children played in the playground, their joyful laughs spread through the rest of the park. In their lefts was the garden-like park, the pebble path beneath led them to benches under the trees, giving them some shade. The pebble path stopped at the prismarine fountain a bit further down. Benches and trees were put around the build, Lukas could hear the distant sound of the running water.

Slightly tugging on Olivia's hand, the boy led them through the pebble path. The laughter and chatter of people surrounded them. Some familiar faces, some not; they were sprawled on benches, eating the stuff they had bought from the peddlers, reading, talking, just having a good time. The chocolate box was like a bullion in his pocket, as if its only purpose was to weigh him down.

They finally arrived at the fountain. Birds were chirping and singing sweetly to greet them. Lukas couldn't think of a better place. Despite the sound, not many people knew about this particular part of the park (or they simply liked the other benches more). There wasn't anyone lingering around them, their only witnesses were the sparrows on the branches and the fishes in the fountain.

They sat down on one of the benches. The blonde boy's stomach had already started twisting and doing somersaults.

“So, what is it?” Olivia inquired, looking at him with half anxiety half impatience. Her fingers tapped on her knees nervously.

Lukas took a deep breath. “Remember the time we were nothing but strangers to each other? Like, when our friend groups were arch rivals. You hated us, we hated you.” His blue eyes pensively gazed into the distance.

She remembered, the times before the New Order wasn't a thing. The times when her, Jesse and Axel were in a strong rivalry with a group named “Ocelots", the group Lukas was once in as well. The times when she was trying her best to smother up the flutters in her heart for him; the times she tried to force herself to hate him, but just couldn't.

“I honestly hated you less than I hated your other goons.”

The boy chuckled. “Uh, thanks?”

Then, while the Witherstorm was on the loose, she remembered how they had to stick together. How she stayed behind, how she gave up her dreams of meeting the idol of her life (for a short while) just to be with Lukas in a desperate attempt to get closer to him. And it had worked, in a way. At least they weren't complete strangers anymore.

At last, the Witherstorm was killed. Jesse, Petra, Lukas and Ivor were once again whisked away into a fresh adventure. An adventure in a weird hallway with portals—the Portal Network was the official name—,an adventure that whisked away Olivia's hopes alongside Lukas.

Thankfully, they had returned. Alongside a woman named Harper, they were once again back in Beacontown. Everything was normal, for about a year or so. She remembered the first time he had asked her to hang out with him. Just the two of them.

Approximately six months after Jesse's return to Beacontown, it was a nice day but Olivia couldn't care less about going outside. She was sprawled on her couch, reading a book Harper had brought her about Redstone engineering (she had said that it was a very aspiring book that she had read when she was getting into Redstone herself). It was probably close to noon, but it was a weekend so she neither had to worry about getting up on time, nor caring to change her pajamas that only consisted of an oversized shirt and some shorts.

She jounced with the sudden notification sound from her phone. She set the book aside to see who had sent her a message.

Lukas

Hey are you free

Curious, she quickly typed an answer.

Olivia

Yup just chilling, what's up

Lukas

My editor said she had an emergency thing so she cancelled our meeting for today

I thought maybe we could hang out

Olivia's face heated up, she blinked a few times to confirm that she wasn't in a dream of some sort.

Not a single damn way, no way Lukas was inviting her. On a private hangout. But the text on her phone validated that this was indeed, real. Her fingers automatically typed out the answer she was thinking of.

Olivia

Sure where are you?

Lukas

I'm in that café near the octopus statue, but we could meet somewhere else if you'd like

Olivia

No need, coming in 20 mins

Lukas

See you there

After reading the last message, she shot up from the couch and sprinted up the stairs, straight towards her bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth, tried to comb her hair (but that just made her hair even more bloated than it was before) and headed for her wardrobe. She quickly got dressed and not bothering to fold her clothes, she dashed back to the living room. She stuffed her phone, her keys and her wallet in her red purse and threw herself outside. Her heart rushing with both euphoria and excitement, she walked down the pavement.

Then, the whole Romeo shenanigans had happened. Whenever she heard that name, she would unintentionally shiver in disgust. It… it was horrible, to say the least. When Romeo had disguised himself as Jesse and pretended to be him, it was probably one of the worst things that had happened to Beacontown. He saw their city nothing more than a chess board to reign over. She had witnessed how brutal and nefarious he could be first hand, when he forced her and Axel to be around him. He would use fear and power to make people do whatever he wanted, and the people resisting would be arrested.

Lukas was one of the people who was thrown into jail.

Back then, the Primary Terminal (or whatever the hell Romeo called it) wasn't built and the rebels would be put in a temporary building, made entirely out of obsidian blocks to prevent any escapes. But Olivia knew she had to do something. 

She knew she'd definitely get in trouble if someone saw her like that and snitched to Romeo. She knew what she was trying to do was a very risky thing and probably not worth it, but she just felt like she had to. Climbing up the dirt she had piled up under the iron bars, she peeked inside.

Her calculations were right. It was the cell she was looking for.

The cells were an eyesore sight, Olivia's heart crumbled into pieces with one glance into the room. The obsidian room was small a d cold, there was only a bucket and some carpets laid on the floor, which the boy in the cell used as a bed. Nights were usually chilly in Beacontown, and this was no exception. The girl could see him shiver in his sleep.

Taking a deep breath, she called out to him. “Psst, Lukas!” Her voice came out slightly louder than an average whisper, but it was enough.

The boy immediately shot up on the carpets. He looked around, his eyes were wide with fear and paranoia.

“Over here!” He looked at the bars' side and their eyes met. There were purple bags under his eyes, his face was pallid, he had definitely lost some weight.

“O-Olivia..?” He stood up and staggered towards the bars, he was limping. “Is that… is that you?”

The girl nodded, her concern-filled eyes lingered on his body. “You look awful.”

“The guards here aren't exactly the nicest people.” After a while of silence, Olivia shuffled through her pockets and pulled out a bottle filled with a raspberry liquid and a loaf of bread. Lukas’ eyes bulged with shock, he stared at the items in Olivia's hands.

“Take these.” The girl pushed the items behind the bars. “You clearly need them.”

“Aren't bread loafs getting ration and aren't all potions locked away?” The boy shook his head.

“Axel and I are fine, don't worry about us.”

“You stole them.” She angrily growled at the boy's stubbornness.

“Yes, yes I stole them and I stole them for you. Now will you eat?”

As if they were delicate illusions, Lukas approached the items. He first grabbed the bottle and wasted no time in drinking the entire thing in one sitting. Color was back in his face, he wasn't grimacing with pain. He quickly ate the loaf as well.

“I… thank you,” he said after a while of silence, “I don't know what I'd do without you.” Olivia took the now empty bottle and put it away.

“Just… try not to die, okay?” They both chuckled, bittersweet expressions on both of their faces. A loud voice, a shout suddenly pierced the tranquility of the night.

“SHE WENT THIS WAY! SHE CAN'T BE THAT FAR!” The girl muttered a curse under her breath.

“Go to sleep!” she commanded the boy, her voice more of a hiss.

“Olivia, I-" But she had already started running, Lukas saw lights approaching near his cell and immediately laid back on his uncomfortable makeshift bed. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his racing heart. Footsteps became louder and louder, then more and more distant. They had passed his cell.

He opened his eyes and looked out the tiny view that the bars granted him.

“Stay safe,” he muttered, he didn't know if he was talking to Olivia or himself. Then, he rested his head on the carpet and hoped for the best for the girl.

《♡》

Olivia didn't know how many people were running after her, trying to strike her down with whatever they had in their hands. She could hear their constant shouts to her, yelling profanities at her, trying to slow her down. She licked her chapped lips and sped up, but she didn't know how longer she could last. Her chest burned with hellfire, her breathing was ragged, her legs ached.

ACK! A sudden pain punctured her left shoulder and made her stumble. She quickly pulled herself together and glanced at the source of the pain.

One of the arrows had stricken its target, Olivia's black clothes were already soaked with the crimson liquid. Gritting her teeth, she pulled the arrow out and threw it aside, but soon realized that was more than just a simple arrow. A burning feeling was spreading through her veins, like wildfire spreading through a forest. The world started spinning around her, the burning feeling left its place for numbness, her stomach strained.

She was poisoned.

Throwing a Fire Charge at the guards and creating a cloud of dense smoke, she swiftly changed her course to one of the smaller alleys that led to the secret street in the back of the buildings. She dashed, dodging the stuff in the alley and rested her back against a wall when she arrived at the backstreet. She kneeled down, the numbness had spread through her legs and made them immobile, and hoped that the guards that were sent after her didn't have many brain cells.

Thankfully, after a while, Olivia heard the footsteps grow more and more distant. Her head was throbbing and she felt the numbness crawling on her veins and nerves as if it was trying time suffocate her. Her vision was not blacking out, but rather getting blurred and her senses were getting blanker and blanker. She could barely remember hearing her name getting called out by a familiar voice she couldn't just make out, a pair of arms lifting her up and getting laid on a softer surface. The pain in her left and the numbness that had taken over her entire body slowly fading, her throbbing head calming down. She forced herself to open her eyes and look around. She was in her house, laying on her red bed.

“Where have you been?” A worried male spoke, Olivia turned to the other side to see a bulky guy with raven hair and a green sweater. His monobrow was furrowed, his black eyes looked at her with almost pain.

“Where have you been?” he repeated himself, his voice shaking as he did so. “I found you unconscious and wounded in the back. I was… I was scared, y'know ? You could've died. Why? Why did you go out and where?” The girl responded by looking away and not saying anything; the guilt growing inside her twisted her stomach, knotting her throat, pricking her eyes and blurred her vision, making her hands shake, drying her lips.

But she had to. She knew she had to go deep down in her heart, even though the feeling in her stomach was telling her she never should have. She swallowed and opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

Axel bitterly chuckled to himself. “Why am I asking this? Of course, you were with him. You went out, in the middle of the goddamn night to bring him supplies.”

“You didn't see how bad he was being treated!” Finally, Olivia's throat started functioning again. Despite the nauseating feeling in her stomach and the lump that pained her every time she spoke, she continued. “You didn't see in what conditions he was trying to survive in! He was thrown into an obsidian cell—the ceiling was so low that he could barely even stand up—with nothing more than a bucket and carpets. He didn't even have a proper bed! He was mere skin and bone, he looked sickly pale. The… the glint in his eyes were gone.” She almost choked on her last words as the lump grew heavier.

The dread in his eyes, the paranoia, the sadness, the dullness… it was just too much.

She felt a pair of arms gently wrapping around her frame. A hand gently rubbed circles on her back while the other one traveled to the back of her head to press it on its owner's shoulder.

“You really love him, don't you?”

She slowly nodded.

“It was awful, Axel.”

“I know, Olivia. I know.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Olivia rubbed her eyes and broke the hug, slightly tilting her head and frowning in confusion. The boy sighed and sat on the bed, next to her.

“Olivia, you're like a sister to me,” he started speaking. “I don't want to lose you. I don't want to live that pain all over again. I don't want to read your name on tombstones, or the only thing remaining from you to be your photos. I don't… I don't want to lose you like I lost her.” His voice was shaky as well, the girl could see the tears gathering at the corner of his eyes. She put a hand on his shoulder.

“Axel…”

“Look, I know I've been very overprotective with you to the point where it may be considered unhealthy lately and I'm sorry. But the situations don't look so good at the moment and you're constantly risking yourself. Don't get me wrong, I do support how you want to help people, but I don't want to lose you like I lost Abby. I don't think I can handle the pain again.”

The duo sat in silence for a while, Axel rubbed the tears away from his eyes and Olivia patted his back, her lips fined down into a thin line.

“I promise,” she said after a while, “I promise I will take care. You won't be alone again.” He smiled.

“Thank you.”

《♤》

Thankfully, nothing serious had happened after that. As the New Order, they had once again fixed the damage Romeo had dealt. After that, Jesse and Petra had gone out to another adventure; leaving Axel, her and Lukas in Beacontown. Since Axel had taken over the task of governing Boom Town, they couldn't see him too often. Ellegaard was back in Redstonia and had taken the responsibility to govern it, she must've noticed how gloomy she was when she way away from her friends. Even though they wished they could hang out with him more often, it was fine for both of them.

Jesse and Petra returned one year later, and the Order was back together once again. Everything was fine.

For now.

Olivia hummed after everything flashed inside her mind quicker than a second. She urged him to go on. Lukas took another deep breath and continued.

“Anyways, we started off as strangers, and… I mean, look at where we are now! We faced a whole Witherstorm and lived to tell the tale, we helped our friends take down an Admin… Even though sometimes the circumstances weren’t very pleasant and I really wish we had gotten closer in better conditions… I'm glad we did. Look at us! From enemies to close friends. We took a huge step together. And I'm really happy that we did.” He cleared his throat. “Now, getting to my main point. I know that you might not want to—which is completely fine—but I want to take another step with you. Another big one. You're the most amazing person I've ever met, and I want to be something more with you More than friends. Olivia…” He stopped to take something out of his pocket and met her eyes again, his gaze was so soft and innocent and attractive, her heart was burning with a full-fletched inferno as she fell deeper and deeper in his ocean eyes. She gasped when she noticed what the stuff in his hands were.

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

He had finally done it.

6 words. Those six words that were pestering him for such a long time, those six words that made him toss and turn in his bed for hours, those six words he desperately needed to help her had finally left his mouth. Now he only needed to wait.

The air in his lungs were suddenly knocked out by the shorter girl, who had suddenly wrapped her arms around his frame tightly, indicating she never wanted to let go. She rested her forehead on Lukas' shoulder and it took him a few seconds to realize that tears streamed down her cheeks and wet his shoulder.

“Yes.”

Her voice was wobbly and discordant, yet Lukas could still understand what she had said. She broke the hug and rubbed the tears away from her eyes with her hands.

“Yes,” she repeated herself, out of breath but smiling, “I will be your girlfriend, Lukas.” A sigh of relief left his lips, he was the one to initiate a warm, caring hug this time.

They didn't speak a word, they sat like that for a while, resting their heads against each other's as they let the comfortable silence wrap them.

They had finally gotten to experience what they had been desperately wishing for.