When Gray felt her collapse in his arms, he held her tighter. And then after a few more seconds, he pulled away from her, breathing heavily, forehead pressed against hers.
"I could never get tired of this," he breathed. "Never."
His dark, devastatingly beautiful eyes stirred a whirlwind of longing in the hollow of her ribcage, drawing a sigh from her lips. "I can't—I can't believe how long I've been missing out on this… on you…."
Gray cupped her cheeks with his hands, never removing his eyes from her hauntingly beautiful ones. That look in those eyes satisfied him immensely, and so did her statement. “Well, you’re here now,” he said quietly. “We’re here now, together. That’s all that matters, right?”
"I really like it…" Violeta breathed, trailing her fingers unconsciously down the plane of his back. "When you say 'we'. Or 'us'. We're together— a collective pronoun."
Gray shivered at her touch, briefly closing his eyes. “I like it when I use them, too,” he kissed her cheek. “And it’s going to be ‘us’ for as long as you want me.”
Something flickered in her expression—uncertainty. "No, Gray… for as long as you want me." Violeta looked a little sad at the thought—realistically, how long would he really want her around for?
Gray pulled her close, breathing her in deeply. “Are you sure about that? About it being ‘us’ for as long as I want you?” He hugged her tightly. “If you are, I’ll have you know I’ll want you forever. I can’t see myself with anyone else. It’s only you. It’s always been you.”
Gray… we both know that I'm going to want you for much longer than you'll end up wanting me. I know you love me now, but…. you'll realize eventually that I'm not worthy of that.
Violeta said nothing, only leaned her head against his shoulder and breathed a slow sigh.
“You know, I always feel like you’re too good for me. Which, actually, you are,” Gray started softly. “And I don’t think I deserve you. I’m—I used to play around. You know my reputation. But you… you’re so pure, Vy, nothing like the other girls. And I’m not saying the other girls are bad. Everyone’s different. But you’re special to me. You’ve always been special to me. And I’m still wondering why you chose me out of all the other honest guys out there. And I’m still selfish. I’m undeserving of you, but I still want you. Ever since we started dating… I’ve been hoping you aren’t swept off by a man better than me, though that’s selfish of me. You deserve a better guy. You deserve better than me. But I still want you. And I’ll want you twenty, thirty or even for a lifetime of years until you change your mind about me.”
Violeta pulled back to look at her boyfriend in utter disbelief.
"Gray—what on earth are you talking about?? A man better than you? You think that you don't deserve me? If anything, it's the other way around—–" She paused to collect herself (and thoughts), chewing on her lower lip. "Gray…. you're one of the most amazing people I know. You have no idea how much you mean to me, even so early in this relationship. I don't understand how you can just… think that."
“That’s exactly what I feel when you tell me you don’t deserve me,” Gray’s hands cupped her cheeks again, “You are wondrous. Amazing, beautiful, alluring, dazzling, charming—God, there’s so many languages in this world and there still aren’t enough words to describe just how much you mean to me. And I don’t want you to think less of yourself. Stay with me, Vy. As long as you can, stay with me. And if you pull away from me… I’ll try my hardest to pull you back.”
Violeta shut her eyes before tears could form. His loving words caught her off guard every single time…. it felt so nice to be spoken to like this. "I really don't deserve you…. God, Gray, I could never begin to explain what you mean to me."
Gray hugged her tighter, kissing her on her jawline. “No, you deserve better. And I’m glad I mean this much to you. It makes me so happy.”
Violeta exhaled shakily. “I still can’t figure out how this miracle managed to happen..”
“Well, you made me fall in love with you,” Gray shrugged. “And agreed to be my girlfriend.”
Violeta buried her face in his chest, flushing lightly. “Gray…”
Gray chuckled, kissing the top of her head. “Yes?”
“I’m really, really glad there was a closet in that room at the party,” she laughed, referring to the Seven Minutes In Heaven game they had been forced to play together.
Gray smirked. “I am, too,” he chuckled. “I loved how you let me kiss you like that.”
"Are you kidding?" Violeta's cheeks were red right now, but she didn't care. "I practically melted. I think I almost fainted, actually."
Laughter erupted from Gray’s mouth. Still chuckling, he fell back on the bed, Violeta still in his hold.
“Well, that makes me extremely proud,” he kissed her nose. “Making my girlfriend nearly faint just by kissing her.”
"It was my first kiss!" Violeta protested indignantly. "And there was no 'just' about it! I was in extremely close quarters with an extremely hot guy—–and he was kissing me."
“So I’m extremely hot, am I?” Gray pinched her nose with a grin. “Good to know, Vy. Good to know.”
Violeta scrunched her nose up, swatting at his arm before he could shift away. "What do you think, Gray? You're the hottest."
Gray shifted, rolling on his back and pulling his girlfriend on top of him. “I’m fine with being the hottest for only you, Vy,” he winked. “Just as you’re the sexiest for me. “
Violeta buried her face in his chest with a loud groan. Her cheeks flamed, hot and red from the compliment, and they both knew there was no way for her to come out on top in this situation.
Gray decided it was enough teasing for today. He didn’t want his girlfriend melting completely, as much as it amused him. So he kissed the top of her head and tucked her close to himself.
“Sleep, love,” he murmured. “It’s late.”
Violeta released a soft 'mmph' against his chest, curling her body closer to his. Unconsciously, she entangled their limbs, soaking up his warmth like a cat in the sun.
Gray smiled, spooning around his girlfriend, his arms around her tight. “Sleep well, love.”
[TIME SKIP: TWO DAYS LATER]
Laura hadn’t seen Josh after that incident, and as much as she wanted to see him, she couldn’t. They had just bonded over his heartbreak. He was probably getting better. He didn’t need her anymore.
She shouldn’t be crushing on someone who couldn’t be hers.
Yet she couldn’t help but constantly look at the pictures he had sent her that night. Time flew by incredibly quickly, and the bell rang, and Laura picked her things up and walked out of her classroom.
