Bonus chapter - The date

♪: Love grows - Edison Lighthouse

Y/n

I feel like it's always when I actually want to look good, that everything decided to not go how I want it to.

"Honey would you stop fussing? You look amazing. If you keep at it, that poor boy will be waiting until next week for you to be done."

My mom's voice carried across my room as she stood in the doorway, though she had sort of faded into the background of my mind while I focused on getting my two front pieces of hair to sit exactly right on either side of my face.

Because honestly without them, I looked like a greasy rat that's just walked out of the sewer.

"Yeah mom I know, but I've still got time before he gets here it'll be fiiine."

I glance to the side using the reflection of my mirror to give her a half sarcastic eye roll, to which she just sighed and shook her head before holding up her hands in surrender to my stubbornness, and she began walking away from my room, muttering under her breath as she did so.

"Alright, if you say so..."

And she wonders where I get the attitude from...

Okay, it's not like I'm complaining that she's actually taking a real interest in my life for the first time in god knows when, but part of me just kind of wished I had a little more space to do my own thing in regards to how I look for MY date.

Mom's been hovering around me way more than usual ever since I got back home from school about a week ago, and I'm assuming it's because at least one person, if not more, had reached out to her and told her all about what went down with the whole getting kidnapped and almost dying and the hands of an undead evil scientist thing.

And hey, I can't really blame her for being a little more on edge after hearing about what happened, I mean if it were my kid who went through what I did I'd be pretty wary too, but I also don't think she needs to interrogate me every time I go outside to water my flowers, it just seems like a little bit of overkill.

I will admit that it's kind of nice that her and I have been talking more too, and I don't just mean in the occasionally chatting about how nice the weather is kind of way, but like, actually talking. 

And it's not like I could exactly avoid telling her about everything, nor did I feel like I really wanted to, especially since she's the only other person in the house with me over the holidays, and I dunno how to explain it, but ever since I got home, there's just been something...different about her, and it made me feel like I was able to talk to her again.

It was a little silent and awkward at first after I'd returned through the front door, and she didn't really acknowledge me right away, but that was nothing too out of the ordinary for us so I just went about heading off into my room and unpacking while I talked to Pugsley over the phone just like I promised him I would, to help keep me focused, though honestly I think it did the opposite, because I still have a pile of clothes sitting in the corner of my room that I have yet to deal with.

But god was it nice to hear his voice again.

There was just something about listening to him ramble on and on about the journey home and what it was like finally being back in the Addams mansion after so long that just soothed me, and for a few moments it made me forget that we had ever parted ways in the first place.

It kind of felt like he was there in the room with me, even though in reality he was still miles away probably in his own little space that he calls home, listening me talk for hours on end, and I can just imagine that cheeky grin on his face even just by hearing his tone as he spoke.

Talking to him has become the most natural thing in the world to me. And yes I know that it helps that he's my boyfriend and all, but even before then, it was like no matter what weird thought popped into my head and then came out of my mouth, he matched my energy perfectly and just went along with it no questions asked.

The fact that I happen to also be dating him just enhances that charming quality of his.

And so even though I was supposed to be putting all of the stuff that I brought back home with me away to where it all belonged and unpacking like I told myself I would do as soon as possible, because I was most likely going to forget about it otherwise, I may have gotten a little sidetracked and caught up in really a fun conversation with my boyfriend.

Because then next thing I knew, I was sitting on the floor surrounded by clothes and books while my phone was up on my bed, and I had in fact forgotten all about the task at hand.

Though it's kind of inevitable that'll happen when you decide to date your best friend.

Sadly for me, that peaceful feeling didn't last forever like I hoped it would, and suddenly almost 4 hours had passed by and I heard my mom from down the hall calling me out since dinner was ready, and I was forced to bid my sweet boy farewell.

Because while I did want my mom to know about him at some point, I didn't want his voice through my phone to be the way I told her.

And boy if I thought my entrance through the front door was silent and awkward, nothing could have prepared me for the utter amount of uncomfortable metaphorical crickets chirping as I sat across from my mom at dinner that same night.

I'm pretty sure both of us were waiting for the other to say something first because neither her or I really knew how to start the process of talking about what happened, and eventually she got fed up with the dead silence and just straight up told me to start from the beginning and tell her everything.

I was a little hesitant to just jump into the chain of events that I had gone through in the past couple of months that I had been away from home, mostly because my brain was running through all of it in that moment and I had no clue where I was even supposed to start in the first place.

But logic was not completely lost on me, and I decided to quite literally start from the beginning, and I told her EVERYTHING. Give or take a couple of more personal things that weren't that important for her to know.

I think I definitely stuttered a lot at first as I tried to get out all of the information out of my mouth in a way that made sense, but eventually I got into a good rhythm and she just sort of sat there in silence as our food got colder by the second, and I explained it all.

And even when I brought up the fact that there was a literal zombie brought back to life by the boy that I had been sharing a dorm rom with for the entire two-ish months that I've been away from home, she didn't say so much as one word.

I mean I figured that she's probably seen her fair share of weird things in her own outcast life, so what happened might just be some regular day for her, or at least was, but I would have thought I'd get more of a reaction out of her than I did, but nope.

Not even when I told her very happily told her about the fact that not only did I make a new best friend, but that he also so happened to have become my boyfriend in less than 3 months. 

She just sat and stared at me the whole time, only very rarely giving me one of those looks that only a mother can give, the one that made it very known that she didn't entirely approve of some of the decisions that I'd made.

And you know what, fair.

Frankly I was kind of glad that she didn't get all dramatic and hysteric on me like I thought that she would, because it made me feel a little better about telling her a few of the things that I had originally planned to keep to myself.

Like the scar on my leg, and the one on my arm too.

That was the only thing that she really perked up at, and asked to see them to make sure that she didn't need to do anything more than had already been done for me in order to make sure that I was okay, but I assured her that I was fine, and if it weren't for Pugsley, they probably would have looked a whole lot worse.

Every time I told her about something that had happened, it always ended up circling back to him, and I think by the time I had finished telling her the whole story of the crazy things I went through at school, she was just as fond of him as I was.

I mean it's not like there was really anything bad to say about Pugsley, aside from the occasional bad decision that he made on impulse, but they were truly nothing in the grand scheme of things.

And now almost a week has passed since that talk with her, and I wouldn't say that she's been constantly on me about Pugsley and how it's going with him, but she had the odd question here and there to fill in the gaps of things that I hadn't told her about, and just generally checking in.

But just because she now knew that I had a boyfriend, doesn't mean that I need her telling me how to do my hair for a date that she's not even going on. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful, I really am, but I am perfectly capable to deciding how I want to look for a date with said boyfriend. 

Thankfully though I'm pretty sure I've now gotten my hair to cooperate as best as I can make it, and I drop my hands back down so I don't ruin it now that it looks alright.

I take a step back from the mirror to give my outfit a once over again, just making sure that I still liked it and didn't need to change anything, and my eyes stop when the reach my arm level, looking at the still very visible scar that's now free from the bandages as of yesterday.

Seeing it all exposed like this is different than having it hidden under sleeves like I've been doing since I got it, and it's not like I don't think it looks fucking awesome, cuz it does.

I just think that I still have a little bit of worry left in me about what people will think if they see it while I'm out in public.

I know that I'm probably overthinking it, since it's not exactly a huuuge deal what other people think of me, and out of all the kinds of scars to have this definitely did look really cool, I just gotta convince myself to forget about it and focus on having a good time tonight.

I sigh deeply, brushing off the lower part of my dress again before smiling at my reflection.

"It's gonna be fine. Just don't give a shit, easy peasy."

When Pugsley asked me out on this date, he told me to wear something nice. But that was all the information he had given me, so I just sort of made a judgement call on what kind of 'nice' he was meaning, and chose a dress that fit the temperature outside, and looked flattering on me at least a little bit.

I just hope he's not taking us rock climbing or something, because I am definitely NOT dressed for that.

I know that I probably could have asked him for more details on attire in one of the phone calls that he and I have had over the past week, but the thing is, neither of us is really all that good at staying on topic when talking to the other.

So even if I had asked him, we probably would have gotten a few sentences in before getting distracted by something else and then completely forget about it, and I figured it wasn't worth the trouble.

He had however texted me this morning, saying that he'd be here around 6, and if the clock over on my desk was showing the correct time like I hope it is, then I've still got like 20 minutes to pick shoes and do any last minutes checks before he's at my front door.

I look down at the floor next to me, where the two options in terms of shoes sat in wait for me to decide on one of them, and I weighed the pros and cons in my mind.

On one hand, I had a pair of low heels that matched my dress almost perfectly and looked really nice, but not very practical if we end up walking a long distance, and I think I've learned from last time I wore heels that I really should choose comfort over style.

And next to them, were my very trusty converse. Worn, so they didn't exactly look the greatest, but they do go with basically everything, including this outfit, and they don't hurt my feet after five minutes of wearing them.

"Not even a question."

I shake my head as I reach down and grab my converse off the floor, kicking the heels under my bed while I do so, and I walk over to my desk chair to pull them onto my feet, feeling the very comforting and familiar shape around each foot as I tied the laces.

I finish tying the second one up, and for a very split second my head tips up towards my window when I could have sworn that I heard footsteps out on the path in the front yard, but when I listened for a few more seconds and heard nothing else, I figure I'm just being paranoid and stand up to look back in the mirror to check that my makeup still looks good.

But perhaps I should have trusted that gut feeling I had, because while I still thought I had a good 15 minutes left until I needed to leave, I was proven very wrong by the sound of the quiet music that I had playing in my room was very abruptly interrupted by the sound of my mom yelling from the living room.

"Y/N! HE'S HERE!"

Shit-

My head whips over to look at the clock on my desk, and the time it shows would imply that the dude is still a little early, but there was something telling me that I might have been deceived, and I quickly move over to my nightstand and pick up my phone which is still on charge, and I turn it on to see if my hunch is correct or not.

And when my beloved lock screen of Pugsley and Eugene comes into view, along with the current time, I internally curse at myself for not just using this time.

"Stupid fucking desk clock!"

I whisper yell to myself before turning my head over my shoulder in the direction of my doorway and raising my volume so my mom will hear me all the way from where she is, probably looking out the window to get a look at my boyfriend as he walked up to the house.

"Just a second!"

Turns out he is in fact on time, and I have to remember to change the batteries in that fuckass clock when I get home because apparently I haven't in a while and I somehow didn't notice, so it's slow by 15 minutes, and now I'm rushing just a tiny bit.

I didn't expect to have to scurry around my room trying to grab everything that I needed, but here I am doing exactly that, and I'm pretty sure that the-

*ding-dong*

Yep, thought so.

I have to get to the front door before my mom does, otherwise she is going to open it and start talking non stop to Pugsley, most likely embarrassing me beyond repair in the process, and that's really not how I had envisioned the evening to begin.

I quickly grab my phone off of where I'd dropped it on my bed and unplugged it from the charger, before reaching for my bag and yelling out my door once again as I double checked that I had everything.

"Mom I'll get it just wait!"

But I was already too late.

By the time I had raced out of my room and down the hallway to try and reach the door before my mom did, she was already standing there with it wide open, blocking my view of the boy waiting patiently on the other side of threshold, and she had somehow started to chatter away in the 5 seconds that it took me to get over here.

I didn't want to just straight up shove her out of my way so that I could greet my boyfriend, but I was also very aware that if I didn't stop her now, then he'd be stuck there all night listening to her talk about me and how I never shut up about him and all of the great things she's heard, and I don't think either of us particularly want that.

So instead of kicking her out of the way like I sort of wanted to in the moment, I just stand behind her and very loudly clear my throat in hopes of grabbing her attention away from Pugsley, so that she'll leave him alone.

Her rambling is cut short when she hears me, and she seems to catch the hint and glances over her shoulder at me as I stare at her expectantly, making her give me a sheepish smile before stepping to the side and muttering a very small 'sorry'.

I watched her walk back away from the door, disappearing into the living room with a tiny knowing smile on her face, and I let out a breath of relief knowing that she probably couldn't have embarrassed me too much in the time she had been talking, and I look back in front of me to see how much damage had been done based on the face of the boy standing less than 2 feet away from me.

And there he was.

In all of his gorgeous Pugsley Addams glory.

I was fully prepared to see the look of someone awkward and uncomfortable, like people usually became after talking to my mother, but instead my eyes were met with the sight of that adorable smile that I had come to love so dearly, and his cheeks held quite the pink tint to them, a very stark contrast to his pale skin.

And I couldn't help the wave of admiration that washed over me when I saw him grinning ear to ear, especially when this was the first time I had seen that smile since we had said goodbye at the school gates, which felt like an eternity ago.

I let myself look over him, admiring the effort he had put into looking nice, though he always looks perfect, tonight is just a different form of that.

He wasn't in a full on suit and tie luckily, so I could rule out and sort of super fancy dinner as where we were going this evening, but he had a white long sleeve under a black graphic tee that I did in fact recognize from the previous times he's worn it, paired with dark grey jean shorts and his very worn but very charming boots that went everywhere with him.

He also had a black zip up hoodie tied around his hips, probably just in case he got cold later on in the night.

My beautiful monochrome boy.

He had a couple of rings on either of his hands, which I haven't seen before today, but perhaps he didn't bring them with him to Nevermore because he didn't want to risk losing them.

The one on his thumb was silver and shaped like a skull, and he had one on his other hand on his forefinger, silver again, and it looked as though it was a pair of vampire fangs. The others were pretty simple, all silver but I think they really suited him.

Every time I look at him I can't help but think how I really did hit the best friend and boyfriend jackpot.

He's perfect.

And right now all I could think was how happy I was to see him again, to finally have him within reach.

And I wasn't about to waste a single second of this. 

I didn't even give myself time to say hello to him, and I almost immediately closed the gap that kept us apart, and I jumped into a hug, wrapping my arms around his neck, and I felt my feet be lifted a couple of inches off of the ground as Pugsley hugged me back and buried his face into my hair.

"I missed you too mi amor..."

He spoke softly, but I could still feel the gentle rumble of his voice in my skull.

Even though he and I had been texting and calling all week, I know exactly what he meant by his words. Having him here in my arms was so different, and it was something I missed just as much as he did.

I pull my head back as Pugsley set me back down on the ground beneath my feet, just enough to take a good look at his face, and my eyes very quickly glanced up to look at his hair, and surprisingly it wasn't parted along the side like I assumed it would be, but instead was left curly and a tad messy.

I wonder if he did that for me...I mean I do like his curly hair after all.

Well, no matter why he did it, I love it. He looks amazing.

I wasn't sure if it was his sweet words that brought a warmth to my chest, or the fact that I was hugging a human heater, but I very suddenly had the overwhelming urge to smother his face, though I'm not really sure how he'd react if I did that, so maybe I'll leave that for later.

And by the time that my gaze dropped back down to meet his own, he apparently had already been staring at me with that look in his eyes that made it seem as though he's fallen deep into the chasm of love and has no intention of leaving any time soon.

Whenever he looked at me with those eyes, all I wanted to do was capture the moment and keep it forever. I wish I could have him look at me like that whenever I wanted, especially when we're apart and I miss him with every fiber of my being, I think his eyes could cure that heart ache.

"You're staring.."

He was well aware of that fact, and it's not at all like I wanted him to stop, but I couldn't help poking a little fun at him for it.

His expression didn't falter for even a split second, and that tiny smile that he had on his face grew a little wider at my words.

"You're worth staring at. You're beautiful."

This boy...I swear, if old age isn't the cause of my death, then it'll definitely be an overload of love in my heart when Pugsley says sweet things like that. 

His eyes stayed locked on my face and he watched as my smile matched his own dorky one, and I quickly buried it into his shirt so that he couldn't comment on how pink I'm sure my face had become because of him.

"Shut up.."

I felt his chest shake slightly as he laughed, and before I could bring myself out of hiding, he leaned his head down towards mine, and planted a kiss on the top of it through my hair, which I'm sure by now is probably not looking as good as before.

And even after all of that, I wasn't the one to lift my own face to look at him again, because he had already gotten to it first, holding either side of my head in his hands and making me tilt my gaze back up at him, and he just kept smiling.

"Never."

He pressed one final peck to my forehead, and I honestly could just die happy right now.

Everything about this moment was just perfect.

Or you know, mostly perfect.

Before I could use my own words to express how nervous he was making me right now, I heard a very high pitched and excited voice from behind me, and I knew instantly that this moment wasn't as private as I thought it was.

"Awww you guys are just the cutest!"

I immediately pulled myself away from Pugsley, letting my arms fall back down by my sides as I whipped my body around in the direction where my mom's voiced had come from, and as soon as I see her, I glare right into her soul and she giggles from where she stood.

"Mom!"

She holds up a hand in surrender and starts to close the front door, smiling at the two of us as she does so.

"Sorry, sorry. Have fun you two, be safe and keep your phone on, and make sure to be back-"

"By 10, yes mom, I know."

She gives me an insincere eye roll at my attempt to get her to stop talking yet again, and she fully shuts the door, leaving us alone.

I sigh deeply, turning back to Pugsley with an embarrassed look on my face.

"Sorry about her, she's been really excited about meeting you."

He shrugs, shoving his hands into his pant pockets and shaking his head softly.

"Nah it's okay, I mean she is right you know."

I let my head tilt a little to the side out of instinct at that, not knowing what he meant by it, and he took a step closer to me at my confused expression, leaning down so he was at eye level.

"We are just the cuuuutest!"

His voice went up in pitch, copying the way my mother had said it, and even made his version a little more dramatic.

It caught me entirely off guard, and I couldn't stop the snort of a laugh that escaped my mouth. And then the fit of even more laughter that followed, none of it could be stopped when he made sarcastic remarks like that.

And by the time I had managed to calm myself down at regain my composure, standing up right again and softly sighing at him, he was back to admiring me with that sweet look again that made my whole body feel warm. And this time I knew it was because of those eyes.

"You're ethereal..."

His tone had dropped back down to normal, holding a slight calmness to it as his eyes looked me up and down, finally looking at the outfit that I had spent half an hour choosing.

I could tell when his eyes dropped down to my arm where he could definitely see the scar that I got from him, and his eyes softened when he saw it.

"All of you."

My cheeks are gonna be sore with all of the grinning this guy is making me do.

"Thank you..."

My eyes dropped back down to give him a once over, and I smiled as I felt myself be pulled into a sort of trance as I just stood there and admired him, not saying a word.

"Now who's the one staring?"

I could practically hear the smugness behind his voice as he snapped my mind back into reality, and I quickly looked off to the side so that I wasn't tempted to ogle him again.

"Yeah well...you look good too."

There was a very soft huff that left his nose, and I just know that I've boosted his ego ten fold with that one comment, he's gonna be on cloud nine for the rest of the evening for sure.

But, I will myself into looking him in the eyes again nonetheless, and he shrugs as he removes his hands from his sides and reaches over towards my shoulder where my bag was hanging, and he plucked it into his own hand before taking the small weight off of me and placing it over his own arm.

"I don't mind if you stare my love, it makes me feel all pretty when you do."

I tried to grab my bag back from him, making a small noise of protest because he didn't have to carry it for me, I could do it myself, but he kept a firm hold on it with one hand and pulled away from me when I reached for it.

"Uh-uh, not while I'm around little missy, the only thing your hands will be doing is holding mine."

I just stared at him for a few seconds, trying to see in his eyes if there was any chance of his gentlemanly stubborn side to let up, but when I couldn't find anything but a stern look that told me he wasn't going to change his mind about this, I just sighed.

It was pointless trying to carry anything myself when I'm with him.

"Fiiiine, you can carry it. But don't lose it or you're dead meat."

Pugsley nods in understanding, and his smile returns as he looks at me.

As much as I would love to just stand here and stare at him all night, I'm pretty sure he had more planned for us, though I still have no idea what that was.

I shift on my feet, rocking back and forth slightly as I take a deep breath.

"Sooooo, you gonna tell me where we're going or what?"

His expression changes at that, and his eyebrows raise and his teeth show in his grin as he nods.

"Oh right that, yeah....no."

Wha- this dude...

"Why not?"

He shrugs.

"It's a surprise."

His hand that wasn't holding onto my bag lifts up from his side over to me, and he stands in wait for me to place my own hand atop of his, wiggling his fingers at me a little.

"You trust me?"

««« ♪ ♪ »»»

Who would have thought this was going to turn into a blind date.

I'm not saying that I particularly mind that I can't see anything right now due to Pugsley's hands being over my eyes, 

But I've been blind for the past 10 minutes and I have no idea where we are any more.

I trust that Pugsley knows where he's leading me, it just feels weird not having my vision.

We had been walking to god knows where for about 20 minutes and I only became blind around half way through the journey, but we kept talking and catching up with each other the whole time, and as fun as it has been to hear about all the things going on back home with him and his family, at this point I was getting a little antsy.

I could feel Pugsley's chest pressed against my back behind me as we moved, his arms wrapped around my shoulders as his hands rested over my face in order to keep me from peeking too soon and ruining this said 'surprise' that he has for me.

"Can I look yet? I think I'm starting to feel a little dizzy."

And I really was. Not being able to see for this long was beginning to have the same effects of whenever I get carsick, and it always starts with feeling a little light headed. I just really hope that wherever he's taking me is close, or I may just puke.

I felt Pugsley's hands lift from my face, but he made no noise about me being allowed to look yet so I kept my eyes shut as his grip dropped down to either side of my arms, and he brought me to a gentle halt on what I could only assume was asphalt or some sort of concrete beneath my feet.

The sudden stop made the dizzy feeling creep back up my spine for a second, but I relaxed again when I heard his voice next to my ear.

"It's only a couple more minutes cara mia, I promise. But we can take a break if you need, do you want some water?"

I don't think I'd gotten to that stage yet, so there wasn't much need for him to go digging through my bag right now, not that there was anything in there that I wanted to hide from him, but a woman's bag is the closest thing to real life Mary Poppins magic, I'm afraid he'll fall in and get lost forever in there.

So I think just having a second to breathe in some air was nice.

And now that I thought about it...the air smelled kind of...different, I dunno what it was but there was a slight salty aroma that was invading my lungs.

Weird.

I shake my head gently, trying my best to direct my words to wherever he was standing.

"No I'm okay, let's keep going come on I wanna see where we areee."

There was more of a hurrying tone in my voice, and I heard a small but amused huff from the boy holding onto me, and he sighs.

"Alright, if you're sure."

We started to move again, and Pugsley's hands stayed firmly by my sides as there was a silent understanding between us that he trusted me to keep my eyes shut until he said otherwise. I was a little tempted to peek just to shit stir for no reason, but I didn't want to ruin this for him, he seemed pretty excited about having planned all of this for me.

I could tell from the fact we were walking a little slower this time around that we must have been getting somewhat close, and the feeling of the ground under me was making it pretty obvious where it was.

It only took around a minute for the terrain to change, and the once solid feeling of concrete slowly started to sound crunchy, and before I knew it, it was like I was walking through something squishy and extremely messy.

And the fucking annoying pieces of sand that had already found their way into my shoes were a pretty clear indicator of where I was currently standing.

The salty smell from earlier made so much more sense now that I had put all the pieces together in my head, and now I was definitely itching to open my eyes even more than before.

"Pugsley, are we where I think we are?"

I know that the answer to my question would be yes, just by the sound of the sloshing water and the birds calling up from the sky as they flew above us, but hey I just had to be sure.

We had come to a complete stop on the soft sandy surface that I'm sure surrounded pretty much everywhere, and Pugsley's hands removed themselves from my arms and I felt one of them tuck my hair behind my ear before he spoke.

"Open your eyes, beautiful."

I very slowly followed his gentle instruction, as to not actually blind myself and give my equilibrium time to return to normal, and the sun encroached on my pupils as I finally opened my eyes.

Honestly I'm not really sure what I was expecting to see in front of me in this moment, but I guarantee that this was so much better than anything I could have imagined.

Not only were we standing in amongst the sand of the very familiar beach not far from my house like I had realized, but laying down on the ground not even 2 feet away from me was what I could only assume was the so called 'surprise' that Pugsley had kept from me all week, and boy was I definitely not expecting it.

"Woah.."

I whispered, my volume barely audible over the sound of the waves washing into the shore.

My gaze fell upon the view of a black picnic blanket, spread out on the sand being weighed down via a few medium sized rocks placed in each of the corners so it didn't kick up from the gentle wind that was constantly passing through. 

Atop of the very contrasty colored fabric, was an arrangement of various things that I wouldn't have thought possible for Pugsley to pull together on his own, but this boy never fails to amaze me in the most wonderous ways, so perhaps I shouldn't doubt his date planning abilities again.

There were so many things, I didn't know where to look first.

I could see all my favorite snacks laid out in one of the corners, along with chocolate and-

Oh my god he got my favorite fruuuuitsssss.

How on earth did he know basically all of the things that I love though? I mean yeah I've probably told him him about a few things here and there in passing when he have random conversations, but I have no idea how he found out everything.

Eh, why question it? This is amazing.

There was a deck of playing cards laying atop an open laptop that was playing very quiet but romantic sounding music, and they sat next to a whole bottle of my favorite drink, and there was even a couple of blank canvases and tiny paints off to the side next to a few fake candles that continuously flickered gently.

In the other corner, there was a glass jar planted into the sand so that it didn't get knocked over, and inside it held a bunch of little daisies, that looked as though Pugsley had hand picked each one of them himself, and wrapped them together with a piece of string to make a tiny bouquet for me. 

And everything glowed softly underneath the light of the sunset that was slowly lowering over the horizon, giving the vision before me the most gorgeous orange hue, and it just made everything look so magical.

I could feel a small lump in the back of my throat forming as I saw everything in front of me, like there was a different kind of wave washing over me, one that was filled with gratitude and just this deep rooted feeling of admiration,

And love.

When my eyes looked left and right over the shore, I saw that there was quite literally nobody else around. Which rarely ever happened at this time of day because this was the perfect spot to take nice photos in the golden hour, but we really were the only one's around for ages.

I was speechless, truly.

And I was also apparently so caught up in admiring all of the hard work that Pugsley had obviously put into setting all of this up for us, that I didn't even realize that he had stepped back from me completely until his voice broke through my dazed state, catching me a little off guard.

"You like it?"

My whole body turned around to face him at the sound of his sheepish question, and I'm met with eyes that look scared to meet my own, as Pugsley stands in front of me with both of his hands behind his back, and I see his smile has now turned to something more nervous than before.

I have no idea how to answer that. 

I mean, 'like' didn't even begin to describe how I felt about the situation, and it's like for the first time in my life, my brain has gone completely quiet, and it won't tell me the right words to say. And right when I needed it to the most.

Internally I was screaming at myself to just say something, anything at all, because by the looks of it my lack of a proper response wasn't just making me nervous, but him as well. 

Pugsley swallowed very awkwardly, and cleared his throat as his eyes finally brought themselves up to look into my own, because in this moment all I could think to do was stare.

"I uhm, I wasn't really sure what you'd want to do so I just chose a few things, but if you don't like any of them that's also cool we can just sit and talk if you want. And you may not be that hungry but if you are then I got a bunch of stuff, I kind of took a guess so I hope I got it right."

He was rambling, so so much, and it's adorable.

I could feel a smile creep up upon my face as he kept talking, pointing out every tiny detail about whether or not he thought I liked what he had done for me, and I take a step closer to him as he got lost in a sea of his own words, not even noticing that the gap between where each of us stood was slowly getting smaller.

"I didn't wanna ask you about any of it cuz I was worried I'd spoil the surprise so I'm really just winging this and I hope I did okay. If not we don't even have to hang out here, if you wanna do something else that's fine with me I just thought it looked really nice out here so-"

The gap was now practically non existent, and I stood right up in front of him, reaching up with both my hands to grab onto his cheeks and his spiral of words was cut short when I squished his face, and I smiled as I put my weight up onto my tip toes and leaned in towards him.

"Pugsley, shut up.."

His expression turned upwards into the faintest of grins when he finally realized what I was doing, but it took only a second before that gap became completely closed, and I connected my lips to his, pressing a soft kiss upon the mouth that spouted nothing but dozens of worries that he need not have, ever.

The kiss lasted several seconds, as I tried to use it as a way to tell him that everything that he had done here was not even a speck less than the most beautiful thing anyone has ever done for me in my life, and he seemed to get the memo, because I felt his whole body relax, and his hands found their way to rest upon my waist as I pulled away from him again.

I watched as his eyes blinked a couple of times at the loss of contact, and he let out a deep breath of relief.

"So uh...you do like it?"

A small laughed creeped its way up my esophagus, and there was a tiny snort that escaped me as I nodded my head. As if that kiss wasn't plenty enough to say that he didn't have to double think his efforts for a god damn second.

"I love it. It's perfect."

Thank god, I finally got the words out.

 His eyebrows unfurrow themselves, as his soft smile matches my own and I can practically see the tension rid itself from his face. He truly was worried over nothing, because I can very well see this date being the first and best one that I ever go on, unless he can out do himself in the future, who knows.

I pulled my body away from him after a few seconds and turn back to look at the gorgeous sight down on the ground again. And as wonderful as everything was, there was something that I wanted to do first. Something that needs to happen, since we were at the beach and all. 

Plus I think it'll help ease Pugsley's worries.

I move over to stand next to the blanket, glancing up to look out at the water as I crouch down and reach for one of my shoes. I had been craving to remove them from my feet anyway since those first little pieces of sand had wormed their way into my socks, and now I was going to do just that.

As soon as my laces were untied, I flung both of my shoes off of my feet into the sand next to me, and my socks went right along with them, so now I was standing barefoot in the millions of grains beneath me, and it was so much nicer feeling the beach this way.

"Y/n what are you doing?"

Pugsley questioned from behind me, confused as to why I had discarded my footwear so soon.

I turn my head to look over my shoulder back at him as I straighten my legs back out, and I let my feet settle into the sand.

"We're at the beach, you gotta feel the warmth in your bones or it's just not right. Besides,"

I dip my head down at the fake candle-lit picnic.

"There's oneee thing we gotta do before we can enjoy all of this. So, first things first."

My feet take off on their own, kicking up a bit of sand as I begin to run across the coarse terrain, leaving a very confused Pugsley in the dust as I call back to him.

"Last one in the water is an evil zombie!"

I hear a sudden sound of protest from my boyfriend when he catches on, and when I glance back at where he was standing, he was already half way through taking off his boots, balancing on one leg and hopping with an annoyed smile on his face.

"Oh come on! That's so not fair you got a head start!"

He digs his hands into his pockets, grabbing whatever was in them and emptying them out onto the ground next to him. You know, phone, keys, all that jazz. The things that you don't wanna get wet in the ocean water. And luckily for me all of my stuff was still in my bag, which was now discarded onto the sand as well, courtesy of him.

I listened as Pugsley shouted out after me, but I just kept moving further and further away from him towards the water, not caring for a second that he was definitely going to call me a cheater for not giving him any warning whatsoever. But I enjoy being a menace towards him, because I know that he can never stay mad at me for too long, it's just not in his nature.

I had just about reached the point on the shore when the sand stopped being dry and instead was dampened by the waves brought in by the tide, and I was fully prepared to take that final jump into the sea, but before I was able to, I felt a pair of arms stop me just mere inches away from the water, and they plucked me up from where I was.

Even though I knew for sure that it was him, I still let out a shriek when I felt my whole body be spun around in the air from behind, which very quickly turned into a fit of giggles that I couldn't hold back as I looked down to see the water kicking up against his legs as they continued to circle around.

That whirling feeling eventually did come to a stop when he decided he had gotten back at me well enough, and he put my feet back down into the water, and his words were spoken right next to my ear and echoed through my mind.

"I win."

Pugsley's arms loosened from around me just enough that I could turn around to face him, but as soon as I did so, I felt a rush of dizziness and lost my balance for a second. And it was like he knew, because when I felt myself fall backwards, his hands were right there under my back to hold me up. He kept me hovering about the water effortlessly, staring down at me with that smug grin, and staring at me as if I was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen in his life.

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if he told me that truly was the case. That look in his eyes, the one I wished I could frame and keep forever, never letting it go for as long as I live. It told me everything I needed to know, and he didn't even have to say anything.

I honestly wouldn't have cared if he had let me fall into the ocean, because I still would have known that no matter how long I spent under there, he'd still be waiting for me above the surface. But I know that as long as he's around, he'll never let that happen, he told me so himself.

"Falling for me again princess? I'm flattered."

Sometimes I forget how much of a teenage boy he can be. I love it, don't get me wrong, but boy is he one smooth motherfucker.

I raise my brow at him.

"For you? Always."

Okay so maybe it was a little fun to go along with it.

My quick remark caught him off guard, and he just stared at me with pink tinted cheeks and a shocked look on his face, and his stunned state gave me the perfect opportunity to shimmy my way out of his grasp, and I reached both my hands down into my water around my shins and scooped some into my palms.

And I threw it right at him.

Not so violently that I felt bad about it, but with enough force that it lit something in his eyes, and got his competitive side to come out.

My attack snapped him out of his trance, and he soon retaliated with his own splash.

Oh it is so on.

He was a lot faster than me in the water, so most of our ocean fight was just him chucking water at me and trying to catch me while I ran away from him, occasionally fighting back if I could muster up enough courage. But boy was this the most fun I've had in a while.

It was like he had this magic way of making every single worry of mine just disappear without a trace, no matter how shitty of a day I might have had, I'm pretty sure he could make it better just by looking at me. I swear he's got me under some sort of lover girl spell, I never used to be this down bad before I met him.

It made me think that maybe this is how it was supposed to feel all along.

I used to think that my favorite feeling in the world was when people laughed at my jokes, or when they confided in me knowing that they were in a safe space, and even the feeling of someone telling me they saw something and thought of me. I thought those things were the best that life was ever going to get for me.

But that was before I knew what it felt like to love him.