This afternoon around five, though, I decided to venture past Eugene's shelf to get the iPod. I wanted to blog, but I was also hoping Eugene was there, so I could see him....but he wasn't, and neither was Pascal.
I retrieved the iPod and went back to my shelf.
Anna noticed me and grinned. "Blogging?"
"Yeah," I answered.
"You must be feeling better about things, then?" Kristoff asked.
I sighed. "I wouldn't say that, but...I just feel like I need to write."
"That's good, though!" Anna grinned. "Mind if I watch?"
"If you wish..." I said, turning the iPod on. I hated having people read over my shoulder, but if Anna wanted to, I suppose she could.
"Aww, you're gonna complain to all your cyber-space friends about your stupid mistake?" Punzie asked in a most annoying, high-pitched tone.
"Shut up." I said it almost without thinking. I hope it's the last time that sentence ever comes from my mouth. She gave me a wide-eyed stare, but she obliged.
Anna was the first to notice the background had been changed on the iPod.
"It looks like some writing - I wanna read it!" She exclaimed, swiping until she found a page mostly clear of apps.
'Rapunzel -- listen to the first song that comes up on the playlist on here, and then come see me, please. I heard this song the other day and I wanted to show it to you so bad, but didn't know how, except this way. I need to see you and talk to you. I know things probably won't be the same, but I can't do this anymore. And I am so, so, so sorry for Thanksgiving night. I blew it, I'm a pathetic fool. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. If you don't want to even see me, because of that, I understand completely. [And... I still love you.]'
"Eugene..." I trailed off, going to find the song.
It was 'If I Didn't Have You' by Thompson Square.
By the end of the first chorus, tears were dripping off of my nose.
When the song was over, I turned to Anna. "I'm such an idiot!"
"Yeah, you are," Zelia laughed.
"Zelia, hush it! Rapunzel, you go find that guy and...whatever he has to tell you, don't mess up, okay? He's giving you a chance to come back. You've been wanting to be back with him, like, all along, haven't you?!"
"H-he wasn't on the shelf when I went to get this, though," I sniffled and dried my face, thinking frantically.
"Go wait for him, then!"
I gasped. "That's weird, Anna! I don't want to seem like a...a creep, or something!"
She laughed. "I think he'll be so glad to see you that he won't even consider contemplating why you were waiting for him on his own shelf." She neatened my hair as we spoke. "Now, go. I'll turn the iPod off."
I pulled her into a quick hug and ran. I almost tipped the alarm clock, but I managed to jump off of it onto the bins beside the chair, before it fell.
Questions flooded my brain, and I just prayed that whatever this madness was, it went well.
My heart was going about a zillion miles an hour - make that a zillion and one - and my churning stomach twisted into a knot. I saw him on the floor near the chair, so I leapt from the bins to the chair...and made it! I stumbled and fell to my knees when I landed, but I made it. I stood and waited, anxiously wringing my hands.
He reached the seat of the chair, and as soon as I saw him, the anxiousness slipped away, the knot in my stomach unfurled...and my heart pounded faster. I wanted to run to him and throw myself into his arms, but I restrained myself.
When he saw me, he froze. I couldn't read the expression his face wore.
"I, ah...saw the iPod...and I'm sorry for...you know. And...I love ya," I explained lamely, giving him a small smile as I clasped my hands nervously in front of me. I still had an overwhelming urge to run into his arms, but I wasn't sure what to do.
I expected he would come over to me bashfully, or cautiously; not knowing what to expect either, but nope. As his eyes filled with tears, he took two huge steps towards me, grabbed me up; lifting me clear up off my feet. He wrapped me into a tight hug, and I did the same to him. Burying his face into my neck, he finally spoke up. "I've missed you so much, baby. I love you so much it hurts, and this was the longest two weeks of my life, since I'd met you. A-and...I've missed US. And I'm so, so, so sorry about Thanksgiving. I really messed up, and I'm so sorry. It was uncalled for and I'm an i-idiot." His voice cracked, and he kissed my hair before resting his chin on top of my head. I bit back tears; this time, they were tears of happiness.
I melted into his embrace, which was the best thing I'd felt all week.
"I'm sorry I'm such an i-"
Suddenly pulling away and putting his hands on my shoulders, Eugene gave me a disapproving look. "Don't say it. You just reacted to your emotions."
But I'd caused such grief! How could he be so forgiving? "But I caused-"
He leaned his forehead down onto mine and gave me a pensive stare. "All I care about right now is that you're here. I don't care what happened, and it never did matter to me that you're a little awkward. I love your awkwardness, actually. I just....I need you, sweet girl." He shook his head, and I heard him getting choked up.
I gave him a pensive stare right back. "You mean it?"
He wrapped me up even tighter than before, keeping his forehead on mine. "Yes. I love you...and I mean that, too!"
I laughed quietly for the first time since we parted ways. "I'm sorry."
He traced my hairline with kisses before answering.
"It's fine," he told me, pulling away to brush the hair gently away from my face, studying my eyes. "Gosh, you're so beautiful....And I can't believe how much I missed you. I didn't think it was possible to miss one doll so much, but I found out otherwise."
"I know...same here," I said. His face was turning an adorable shade of red, and I grinned.
Suddenly, he reached for his shoulder and scooped up Pascal, whom I hadn't even seen.
"I just remembered this guy! He's been pining away for you, too. Especially since Thanksgiving."
He held him out to me with a grin, and I gasped, picking him up and cuddling him against my cheek, grinning.
"I missed you, buddy!" I exclaimed, gazing at him lovingly before I set him up on my shoulder and looking up at Eugene. He was patiently giving me a moment with Pascal, giving me a relieved smile. The loving expression didn't leave my face. "And I missed you, too...a lot."
He winked. "I know, I know. I always come in second to the chameleon."
I giggled, feeling like the weight of the world was finally off of my shoulders. I reached to grab him into a hug, but he dodged away playfully. His long legs got tangled up, and I gasped as he tripped close to the edge of the chair. He righted himself, laughing, and turned to me with a gleam in his eye.
"But I'll take my chances and come in second to Pascal, as long as I can be with you -- so I have to ask this-- will you marry me?" He said it all in one breath.
What?!
I gave him a blank stare, my mouth going dry, as I watched him pull a crumpled purple ribbon from his pocket.
[Side note - a male doll gives a female doll a ribbon when they ask for their hand in marriage. The girl can't take the ribbon off of her wrist or her hair until the day of the wedding - then, the bride and groom each take an end of their engagement ribbon and together, they tie a knot. This is the only time a guy can give a girl a ribbon, until after they're married. ]
So much for me feeling calm.
"W-what?" I asked, still staring at him in complete and utter shock. "I...I-I, ah...oh my gosh, Eugene. Oh my GOSH! Y-you're proposing! Good grief, you just about gave me a-a heart attack!" I clapped my hands over my mouth, trying to calm myself down.
Swallowing, I realized I should've given him my answer by now.
"Oh, gosh. I still haven't - I mean, it's a simple yes or no answer, and I still...and I'm rambling. Sorry. Yes. A zillion times yes!"
"You don't mean a zillion billion?" He joked, trying to conceal the grin furiously attempting to spread across his face.
"An infinite amount of yeses, then!" I threw back, and he laughed.
"Okay. You win!" He told me, stepping back over to me. I held my wrist out, since my hair was loose. My hand and arm were shaking, but his hand was, too. It took awhile before he was able to tie a bow! :D (I know, it looks ridiculous, but it was a long ribbon. I'm more concerned with the fact that I'M ENGAGED NOW!!!! ...over how it looks :} )
When he finally did, he immediately pulled me close and we both melted into our first kiss - which was the most tender and perfectly exhilarating thing I'd ever felt thus far.
After he pulled away, he simply beamed down at me, and so I stood on tiptoe to return the kiss. I stumbled off of my poorly-balanced tiptoes, and he pulled away abruptly, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me closer so I didn't fall.
"Thanks...sorry," I giggled, feeling slightly giddy.
He chuckled, giving me a warm gaze. His face was beet red, and he flashed me a bashful smile. "It feels so good to get that off my chest. I've had that in my pocket since the fifteenth of November."
"Oh my goodness...THAT'S what you were trying to tell me. Oh, Eugene...I am so sorry. I love you so much." I gasped at how long he'd had to wait to propose to me.
He gave me that grin of his. "Love you, too, my gorgeous, precious girl."
"So, um...When did you put that background and everything on the iPod?" I asked, blushing.
"The day after Thanksgiving. I figured that sooner or later, you'd use it to blog," he said, still smiling and giving me a gaze about the equivalent to what someone would give their most prized treasure.
"What if I hadn't for months?"
He paused while he considered that. "Well...if you had not have come to talk within a couple of weeks, I probably woulda looked for you or something."
I sighed, and he immediately pulled me close again. "It feels so good to be right here with you. I'm sorry." I told him again.
"Like I said...it's fine. I'm sorry for my behavior on Thanksgiving." He told me, kissing my hair.
We sat down, lacing our fingers together, and we just sat in silent companionship for a good while, leaning up against one another.
Finally, Eugene spoke up.
"I heard you and Anna talking Thanksgiving night....That's when I realized how wrong I'd been. I wanted to go over to you and Anna, grab you up, and never ever let you go, ever again, right then and there...but I didn't. Maybe I should have, but I didn't."
I shut my eyes and scooted closer to him. He took my silent hint and wrapped his arm tightly around my shoulders, kissing my cheek.
"When we're married, let's never argue, okay? I can't handle it," I joked.
"I can't guarantee no arguments, baby girl, but I can assure you that we'll work things out, no matter what. Okay?"
I nodded quietly. "M'kay."
After a few moments, he spoke up again. "Why don't we go up there?" He asked, looking up at the dark window.
I looked up as well, and saw the stars were just starting to come out!
He grinned at me, and I eagerly followed him up onto the windowsill.
As soon as we were up there, I stepped away from him and stared up at the billions of stars, gasping. "Oh my gosh...it's just perfect....I've wanted to do this for so long, Eugene!"
"I know," he told me, smiling.
I remembered the conversation we had had, like, forever ago, about my dreams. "My gracious, you remembered that?"
"Every single thing," he said, reaching for my hand.
"How?! Half the time, I can't even remember what I did the day before!" I joked, laughing.
"Because that whole day, I was just dying to tell you how I felt, but I was afraid to....and I fell in love even more as you told me about your past and your dreams....and I remember how terrified and excited I was to tell you." He chuckled, squeezing my hand before he let go of it.
With surprisingly quick reflexes, I grabbed his hand back into mine and held it tight.
We stood in comfortable silence until the stars really came out. It was as clear a night as what you could ever want. Millions of stars covered the black satin sky.
"This is just perfect, Eugene!" I told him again, smiling from ear-to-ear.
I pressed my nose against the window and stared outside, taking it all in for a few minutes, and then Eugene went to sit in the corner of the sill. He patted the spot beside him, and I didn't hesitate to sit, bringing my knees to my chest and still staring outside.
"C'mere," he said after a few moments, so I reached to put my arms around him. He stroked my hair for a few seconds before plopping a kiss in it and holding me close, loosing a satisfied sigh. I leaned my head on his shoulder so I could see out the window, and we just sat in silence. It was cold on the windowsill, but neither of us wanted to leave.
My eyelids were drooping, finally relenting to my exhaustion, when I caught sight of a flash. I'd just seen a shooting star! I quickly pulled away from Eugene and watched out the window, wide-eyed and on my hands and knees.
"What?" He asked, and I glanced back at him.
"I just...wow. Didn't you see it? There was a shooting star!" I said, looking back to the window, grinning excitedly.
"Cool! I didn't see it. What'd you wish for?"
"Can't say," I told him, sitting back on my heels and glancing back for just long enough to see he was giving me an adoring gaze. He promptly dropped it as soon as he realized I'd seen it, his face flushing a little red, but then he gave me an impish grin.
"I see how it is," he said dramatically, before he reached to tickle my side.
"Um, no," I giggled, giving him a shove.
Chuckling, he snagged the arm I'd used to shove him with, pulled me close again, and then put his arms around me again. Of course, I didn't complain! ;)
The next thing I remember, he was stroking my hair and whispering. It took me a few seconds to decipher what he was saying.
"Wake up, sweetheart....sorry to wake you, but you need to get to bed...you're so tired...wake up..."
I shot upright from my slouched position and gave him a horrified look. "H-how long was I out?"
"Just a little bit. I dozed off for a few minutes, too - our sleepless week caught up to us both, I guess. I was going to try carrying you to your shelf, but I didn't want to drop you - especially since it's dark."
"Ohh. Sorry!" I told him, apologizing for falling asleep.
Chuckling, he stood and held a hand out. "That's fine. You're really tired, sweetheart - let's get you home."
I took his hand and quietly followed him back to the deck.
When we got back, I realized how reluctant I was to face Zelia and Punzie in the morning.
"Want to do something tomorrow? Talk about a certain wedding that needs planned, perhaps?" He whispered, winking and taking both my hands into his.
"That would be awesome," I told him with a smile.
"Ten AM work?"
"Epic! The less time I have to spend around Zelia and Punzie, the better," I groaned.
"I know. Ten it is! That'll give you a bit to tell everyone else, then?"
"Oh yeah. Anna will be just bouncing off the walls. She's reinforced the fact that I was stupid for breaking up with you."
He chuckled. "I'm sure. I'll see you then,"
I grinned and reached up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. He pulled me close and gave me a slow, gentle kiss in return, one that made me feel a little dizzy, and then we stood in each others' embraces, in total silence, for a few seconds before we exchanged goodnights and I love you's. He watched me as I made my way up to my shelf, so I gave him one last grin before I changed into my nightie, dove under my blanket, curled up; carefully put Pascal beside me under the blanket, and then commenced the best snooze I'd gotten in nearly two weeks.
Until I woke up sometime really early in the morning and remembered I'd just gotten engaged.
And so that's why I'm up typing this now! =D
