A Lot of Potential

I was taken home against my will when it was time for me to leave the hospital. Alex didn't argue with my father over it, leaving me out in the dark. I still never told him about slipping the secret to my dad, I just couldn't bare it. But on the bright side, my loving boyfriend promised to take care of me during winter break. I also persuaded my sister to come home.

I laid in the recliner in our living room, looking forward to Alex walking through the front door at any minute now. He was going to help me decorate my Christmas tree now that I was able to stand on my own. Oh, did I mention that it's Christmas Eve? I heard a light knock at the door, then it smoothly opened and shut. I felt a pair of hands cover my eyes and a familiar pair of lips meet mine. "Good afternoon, love." he whispered, pulling his hands away from my eyes.

"Finally decide to wake up?" I giggled, pushing myself up from the chair. I was still in a bit pain, but it wasn't as bad as it was last week.

"Yes. Lets decorate this tree!"

"I would of made cookies to match your enthusiasm, but I don't have the patience right now." I smiled, wrapping my arms around his large body. I laid my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat get quicker.

"Boo." he laughed, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

"Buh, you're warm."

"You always say that."

"I know, it feels good today. Especially the fact that it's snowing." I pulled away, grabbing his hands and slowly walking backwards. "Lets decorate it."

"Okay. My dad and I decorated ours yesterday and a string of lights killed our electricity. We had to fucking take off all the lights again and restring it." he shook his head, looking pretty darn cute.

"Okay, so lets not kill the electricity in my house." I said jokingly.

"You're funny baby."

"I know."

"You're super lucky I love you." he laughed, helping me string garland around the tall tree.

"Shut up Alexander William." I smiled mockingly at him.

"Oh, you use my middle name huh? I can do the same thing too, Haley Noel." he placed his hands on his hips.

"Oh my god, Alex you look like a chick!" I began laughing hard, nearly on the verge of peeing my pants.

"You're a mean little girl!"

"Hey! I'm not little!" I said, frowning and flipping him off.

"Baby, you are little. You're one short person."

"You're a guy! Guys are usually tall." I shook my head, placing a few ornaments on the tree.

"I don't know where I get it from. My mom and dad are pretty short." he raised his eyebrows, placing more decoration on tree.

"I take more after my mom. Quiet, honest, and my looks. Bella takes more after my dad."

"I like the qualities your mom gave you."

"See that picture?" I nodded towards a picture frame sitting on the table. "That was my mom."

"Holy shit. You're not kidding. I swore that was you when I very first looked at it." he laughed.

"Yeah. I miss her. I still find it pretty odd we didn't have a funeral for her."

"You didn't?" he asked, confusion playing on his face.

"No. I can't even remember much. I was young." I shook my head. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Okay. Hey look, we're almost finished." he smiled, walking over to me and kissing me.

"Yeah! After were done, I say we make hot chocolate and watch a stupid Christmas movie."

"I can live with that. You get to put the star on the tree now. Ha ha! Short one." he smirked, handing me the yellow star.

"Um, I'm going to need your tallness or a chair." I bit my lip, looking up at him.

"Okay!" he said loudly, bending down and throwing his arms around my thighs. The ground disappeared beneath my feet as he held me carefully up.

"Oh my god I hate you so much." I shook my head, placing the star on the tip of the tree.

"You're lying." he smiled, walking towards the sofa.

"Alex, please put me down. I don't like heights."

"I'm sorry." he apologized, slowly setting me to my feet. I began to feel a tad bit dizzy so I sat down, taking a deep breath. "Did I upset you?" he asked sincerely, setting down next to me.

"No, I just felt dizzy." I said, touching my forehead.

"That's not good baby." he shook his head, grabbing a blanket on the end of the sofa and throwing it over my legs. He pulled me into his lap, rocking me slightly, resting his head on my shoulder.

"Nope, not at all."

"Are you feeling fine now?" he asked, pushing the bangs out of my face.

"Yeah, I'm fine now." I smiled. "When is the good movies going to come on?" I sighed, looking at the TV.

"Christmas story is supposed to be on at eight." he whispered, kissing my neck. "Oh yeah! I've been gonna tell you that Jack, the asshole he is, met a girl!"

"Oh really?" I laughed, leaning my head on his shoulder, my forehead laying into his neck.

"Yeah. I swear she's attracted to him."

"What's her name?"

"Um," he said, trying to remember her name. "Kaylyn Rivers."

"Oh." I smiled, thinking about Jack finding someone. "I think it'll be good for him."

"Man, but you should of seen the way she looked at me." he winked. "I think she wants me."

"Um," I bit my lip. "no. You're mine."

"I'm kidding baby." he whispered, his breath tickling my neck.

"You better be."

"I am." he said solemnly. I knew he regretted saying what he did. I kept my eyes on the television, ignoring him playing with my hair. "Love, I'm sorry."

"It's fine." I shrugged, keeping my eyes to the TV.

"No, don't tell me it is when it's not." he sighed. I turned to him, placing my hand under his chin, gently raising it to my eye level.

"Alex, it's fine. I don't mind."

"You seem angry." he frowned, his eyes still locked to mine.

"I'm not." I leaned closer to his lips, trying to resist kissing him. He closed the distance between them, kissing me lovingly like usual.

He pulled away, his breath tickling my lips. "I'm sorry still."

"It's okay." I whispered, leaning my forehead into his chest.

"Baby? Can I give you something?" he smiled down on me.

"What?"

"Something I got you for Christmas, but I'm dying with excitement and I want to give it to you right now."

"Don't you want to wait til tomorrow?" I raised a eyebrow, looking up at him.

"No! I'm dying with excitement. I can't wait." he smiled. "It's at my house. Let me go get it." he slid me off of his lap gently and stood up, running to the door. He walked out, slamming it shut behind him. I started thinking about what it could possibly be. I hope he didn't spend a lot of money on it.

After a few moments, the door opened and shut again. He sat down, pulling me back into his lap. He pulled a black box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing a small diamond ring. He slid it on my left middle finger, kissing it afterwards. He smirked, watching my reaction. I was lost for words.

"What is this?" I choked, looking into his eyes.

"This is a ring. A promise ring." he smiled wildly. "A promise that I'm yours forever."

"M-mine forever?" I blushed and smiled, loving the word forever.

"Forever and always." he said, running his lips into mine. "I love you Haley."

"I love you too."

"I figured you would freak out when I put this on your finger."

"Why?" I laughed at him.

"Because it's a pretty big thing." he shrugged.

"I don't care. I like the thought of forever with you."

"Seriously? You really wanna put up with me?" he laughed, smiling into my neck.

"Maybe." I giggled.

"I do plan to marry you one day." he whispered, making my heart flutter. "You are my only one."

I smiled. Happiness filled my body. I loved hearing what he was saying. Knowing that someone loved me so much. "Alex, I love you so much."

"As I love you, baby." he whispered back, letting me lie my head on his chest. I watched the television, seeing the Christmas Story come on. He laid back, keeping me in his arms. He stroked my hair, keeping quiet and watching the movie. I yawned, getting tired. I couldn't take it anymore as I shut my eyes, falling asleep in the best place on the earth.

____________________________________

I woke up to darkness. Alex was fast asleep beside me with his arm thrown across me, holding me to his chest very tightly. I tried to remember what the hell I was doing when I fell asleep. I grabbed my phone on the nightstand, ignoring the text messages from people I didn't feel like talking to, just to see the time. It was 4:37 AM. I sighed, trying my best to roll over to my other side. I shook with cold chills, pulling myself closer to his warm, bare chest.

He began to stir for a moment, making me freeze. I didn't want to wake him. He tightened his grip on me again and continued to snore. I laid there for a while, listening to his heartbeat thud in his chest. I became bored and decided to find a creative way to wake him up. I ran my lips into his collarbone, placing kisses on it. I ran my lips to his jaw, kissing it too, then under his ear. "Alex, wake up." I whispered, waiting a minute. He began to move around and yawned.

"What's wrong baby?" he asked, his voice heavy with sleepiness.

"What the hell happened last night?"

"You fell asleep when we were watching the Christmas Story."

"Oh." I yawned, still not even tired.

"What do you want to do?" he sat up, rubbing his face with his hands.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I'm kinda hungry."

"Then lets go eat."

"I'm too lazy to eat." I sighed, blinking quickly to adjust to the light he had just flipped on.

"We can go for a walk then." he looked at me as he laid back down.

"At four something in the morning?" I giggled. "Okay." I said, getting up and walking to my closet.

"Dress warmly. It's still snowing." he laughed, getting up and putting on his jeans. He pulled on his black v-neck he was wearing earlier, grabbing his coat from the floor too. I kept my flannel pajama pants on and just slid on some jeans over them. I put on my boots and a long black long sleeved shirt. I pulled on my coat and let my hair down from the messy bun it was in, slipping a beanie on. "Are you ready, love?" he asked from the corner of my room.

"Yes, yes. Lets go." I say, walking towards the door. He grabbed my hand as we walked down the stairs. I grabbed my house key from the key organizer by the door, as he pulled open the door and locked it. We walked out, hand in hand, the cold air stinging my face. "Ugh, it's so cold."

"You wanted to do this." he laughed, throwing his arm around my waist.

"Because I wanted to have something to do other than sit inside."

"Spring time will be here before you know it, babe."

"It can't come sooner?" I frowned, looking up at him.

"Nope. I wish it would though. I prefer springtime and spending it on the beach." he said, taking a deep breath. "Where are we going anyway?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "The beach is all-out beautiful. I could stay there all day."

"Last spring break, my parents and I stayed in a beach house right off of the beach. God damn, it was amazing. There was a thunder storm and it gave me the best nap of my life." he laughed, as we found the neighborhood park.

"I don't like thunderstorms."

He raised a eyebrow, curiosity playing on his face. "Why not?"

"I've never really liked them. I've been terrified of them since I was younger. I guess it hasn't stormed yet for you to see it." I said, trying to keep it cool.

"What's so scary about them?"

"The light flashed and the loud noises. I don't like it. I can handle the rain, I mean I love the rain. I just hate the extras."

"Oh. Well, it's good to know I know this now. I don't find out later when it's storming and you're digging your claws into my skin, trying to get away." he smiled, making me punch his arm. "Ow! I'm sorry. Lets swing?"

"I dislike you, but okay." I said, letting him pull us to the swings. He sat down in one, pulling me on top of him, swinging us back and forth.

"I can't wait until you see your other present." he said, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"I've been recovering from my surgery and I haven't had the chance to get you anything, so why you've been at school I made you something. I hope that's okay."

"Baby, it's the thought that counts." he whispered, kissing my cheek. "You wearing that promise ring I gave you is the best gift of all."

I looked down at the tiny diamond ring that was put on my left middle finger. The word forever repeated in my head. "I do agree. I want you to see what I made you."

"What is it?"

"I'm not telling. I'll just tell you that I made it out of a broken charm bracelet I had and some beads and a chain. I really do hope it's good enough."

"It will be good enough. It came from you." he smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too. Like a lot." I whispered back, laying my head against his shoulder.

"I couldn't ask for anything more perfect than you."

"I don't know what your definition of perfection is, but I am not that." I shook my head.

"Yes you are. Well, you're perfect to me." he said, running his hand down my leg, sending cold chills up my spine. "I remember when I very first met you. You pretty much had me the first time I looked into your eyes. Then you and I went to Denny's and had a conversation and you opened up to me like I was your best friend."

"You became my best friend."

"You put interest in me, which made me fall for you even more. Then that day I kissed you, I couldn't resist the urge. I didn't think you liked me like that, but everytime that I found myself kissing you, you kissed back. That's what gave me the idea that you liked me back, so I asked you out. When you said yes, I couldn't describe how happy I felt knowing that you're mine." he smiled seductively.

"Why is it funny that I feel the same way?" I giggled, kissing him tenderly.

"I don't know." he shrugged. "I'm super lucky to have you baby. I pictured myself to be forever alone, but you showed up and took my breath away. You've kept me together this last month and I thank you for that."

"You're welcome Alex. I-I don't even know how to use my words and define or express the fact that I love you more than you could possibly think. I'm not sure what I would do without you as my boyfriend and my best friend. I'd probably still be alone too, maybe even dead if you wouldn't of saved me from that hit when you met me. I still owe you my life and taking me in when things got rough at home." I stuttered, trying to make things have sense to it.

"Baby, it's nothing. Don't you even worry about it. I'm never going to let a prick lay a finger on you ever again."

"I'm sorta happy it happened though, then we wouldn't of met. I just wished it was more of a better way." I shivered. "Can we go now? I'm getting kinda cold."

"Yeah, lets go." he said as I stood up from his lap. I hugged onto his arm as we stomped through the white snow, walking in direction to my house. "I do wish we met in a better way too, but I'm still happy we met either way."

"I am too." I smiled up at him, watching him smile back down at me. I grabbed his arm with a death grip as we slid across a sheet of black ice on the sidewalk. He held me up, being very still so he didn't fall.

He took a step back, into the snow. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off of the ice and placed me in the snow. He laughed when I looked down at the ice and gave it a not-so-pleasant glare. "Nice save, huh?"

"Don't get cocky now, Alexander."

"Psh. Everytime you get on to me, you use my full name." he gave me his puppy dog face.

I smiled in satisfaction. "I know. I do it on purpose because you actually listen."

"That's not even cool! I feel like a nerd when I'm called Alexander."

"Because you are one." I winked at him, walking carefully up my driveway.

"That is pretty accurate." he chuckled, helping me over the ice on the sidewalk. I walked to the front door, sticking the key in the doorknob, unlocking it quickly and letting us in. The warmth of the room felt nice on my freezing skin. I ran upstairs with him following me into my blue bedroom. I pulled off my shoes, coat, and jeans, throwing them in the floor as he did the same.

"I want to give you your Christmas present now." I smiled, opening my closet and finding the tiny box.

"I wanna give you yours too. It's down stairs. I'll be right back." he said, walking through the door.

I sat on the bed with the little tiny cardboard box in my hand, hoping he'd like my gift. It was a necklace with a bunch of random charms from a broken bracelet and a few random items I could find. He walked through the door with a larger cardboard box, setting it down in front of me. I handed him the tiny box, urging him to open it. He pulled open the top of the box, and pulled out the necklace. He grinned as he toyed it in his hands, looking at each and every charm. "I love this baby, thank you." he hugged me, then kissing me lovingly. "I really love the random ice cream cone on it too." he said, undoing the hook on it. He put it around his neck, clipping the hook back together. It fit him just right. "Open yours now."

I lifted the top off of the box, looking down in it. I gasped when I saw a tiny grey, white and black kitten laying in a ball. "Oh my god! Alex thank you so much!" I cheered, attacking him in a hug.

"I got this little guy at the animal shelter a couple days ago." he smiled, pulling the kitten from the box. "Oh wait, it's a girl."

"Get the gender right, babe." I giggled, petting her head. "Does she have a name?"

"Kitten for right now."

"Kitten? That's what you've been calling her?"

"Yes. Give her a name, love. But don't give her a cat name like boots or whiskers, sprinkles, whatever. You get the point." he shook his head while laughing.

"Sure won't." I said, beginning to think about names. I began to think about my favorite Disney movie, Oliver and Company. "I should name her Oliver."

"Oliver? It's a girl, love."

"I know, but from the movie Oliver and Company? I freaking love that movie." I giggled.

"Ooh, sappy Disney movies now huh?" he shook his head, laughing at his own joke.

"This kitten's name shall be Oliver."

"But it's a girl!"

"I don't care!" I stuck my tongue out at him.

"It should be Olivia. Female name originating from Oliver." he shrugged.

I took his suggestion into consideration. "Okay. Olivia then." I smiled, gently petting her.

"I take it that you like it." he laughed, leaning into me.

"Very much." I grinned. "Thank you so much Alex. I love you."

"I love you too, baby." he said, easing into a sweet kiss. He yawned, laying back down on the bed. I played with Olivia for what seemed to be forever, growing tired. Alex still laid there, his eyes glued to the ceiling, a half-smile on his lips. I picked up the lightweight kitten and sat it on his chest, watching her curl into a tiny ball. I snuggled close to him, letting him wrap his arm around me.

"I'm tired now." I said, resting my cheek on his bare shoulder.

"I've been tired. Go to sleep babe."

I nodded in response, taking one last look at the tiny sleeping kitten laying on his chest.