In the End

Resting his weight back against the side of his car, Gerard smirked to himself, his blue eyes settled on the door of the apartment building which stood a little ahead of him, awaiting Ariella’s appearance. It had been a little while, after their first date, a little over a week had passed, but with the following morning away from training, Gerard had been quick to make plans with the brunette, wanting to talk to her face to face as opposed to the conversations that they’d had via text.

It seemed to be going well, the rapport between them still appeared to be strong, and it was a relief to Gerard who, after the way they’d broken up, had been worried that things would be a lot more awkward than they had been. He knew that it was still a work in progress, despite the two of them appearing to be comfortable around one another, he knew that it was still going to take them both some time to settle back into being boyfriend and girlfriend, but he was cautiously optimistic that they would, even if it was early days. He couldn’t help but be a little hopeful that second time would be the charm for the two of them.

Shifting his feet slightly, he spared a glance down towards his watch before the sound of footsteps reached his ears, something which caused him to lift his head slightly, a smirk stretching across his lips at the sight of Ariella who was walking towards him, an amused smile playing on her lips. “I bet I can guess what you’re going to say” he chirped as he took a pace towards her, greeting her with a soft hug.

Ariella hugged him back tightly for a couple of seconds before she ducked back slightly, enabling Gerard to keep his arms around her waist “You think so?” she played along.

Gerard nodded before he dipped down, pressing a quick kiss against her lips. “You’re going to make a comment about me being early” he mused “This is what, the first time since you’ve known me that I’ve been early for something?” he added, offering her a crooked grin to assure her that he was joking. He knew that it was something that bothered her, even before they’d started to date, she had often pointed out that he was late to almost everything, and he wanted to try and get better at being on time, even if it wasn’t the biggest deal in the world. He wanted to show her that he was prepared to do his part when it came to making things between them work.

Ariella admired the soft grin which played on his lips before she quirked a shy smile of her own, her fingers fiddling with the sleeve of the sweater that she wore. “Perhaps” she quipped “But mostly, I was going to say how glad I am to see you. I know it’s only been a week since we went out but I am glad that you texted. As silly as this is going to sound, I’ve been looking forwards to this for most of the day” she added, her cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink.

“You’ve been looking forwards to seeing me?” Gerard asked impishly.

Ariella let out a sheepish laugh before she nodded, her eyes settled on her hand which fidgeted shyly with her sleeve. “It sounds silly, doesn’t it?” she mused.

Gerard moved to lace his fingers through hers before he shook his head, moving to press a sweet kiss against her forehead. “I’ve been looking forwards to seeing you too” he mumbled against her skin.

Ariella’s already pink cheeks flushed a shade deeper at the feel of his lips against her forehead before she leant back, offering him a soft smile. “Are we just going to stand here all night or are you going to show me what you’ve got planned?” she posed “I mean, the pavement outside of my apartment building is OK, but it’s not exactly what I had in mind for our second date” she joked shyly.

Gerard let out a soft laugh before he tugged on her hand, leading her towards his car. “I can do better than this” he mused.

“I don’t doubt it” Ariella replied.

~#~
“It’s your turn, Ella” Gerard grinned as he padded back towards the bench, slipping into the spot beside Ariella who was sat there, sipping on the cup of lemonade which sat in her hand.

It had been a fun night, from the moment that Gerard had pulled his car to a stop outside of a local bowling alley, the two of them had settled into a playful and comfortable date, and Gerard was pleased with her reaction, more than slightly relieved that she appeared to have enjoyed what he had planned. He had given it a lot of thought, after their previous date, he had wanted to do something a little more relaxed and fun, and he was glad to see that Ariella was enjoying it, even if there had been a couple of slightly awkward moments. He was pleased to see her looking slightly more relaxed than she had done when they’d gone out the first time.

Ariella, who’d been watching him take his turn, grinned up at him before she pushed herself to her feet, moving to collect a ball before she padded up towards the top of the lane. Gerard watched her, flashing her a boyish smile when she turned to look at him over her shoulder, before he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, something which caused him to shake his head before he slipped out it. Scanning the screen, he moved to unlock it before he opened the message that Lionel had sent to him.

“Was it someone important?”

Gerard, who’d moved to slip his phone back into his pocket, looked up at the sound of Ariella’s voice before he shrugged. “Just Leo” he mused “He was wondering if I was free for dinner tomorrow night” he added.

Ariella simply nodded as she sat down beside him, taking another sip of her drink.

Gerard watched her for a moment before he gently poked her side, causing her to let out a small squeak of laughter. “You want to come with me?” he asked.

Ariella blinked. “Huh?” she posed.

“To dinner with Leo and Antonella” Gerard clarified “You want to come with me?” he added, offering her a small hopeful smile.

“You...You want me to?” Ariella spluttered.

Gerard quirked a small smile, slightly amused by the tone of her voice, before he nodded his head. “I do” he quipped “I mean, I could probably survive it without you there, but I think I would have a lot more fun if you came too. Why, don’t you want to come?” he added, his voice softening slightly.

Ariella stared at him for a moment, allowing his words to hang around them, before she let out a soft sigh, something which caused Gerard to shake his head. “Talk to me” he encouraged, nudging her side softly once more “I might be able to help” he added.

Ariella sighed. “It’s going to sound selfish” she mumbled.

“I don’t care” Gerard replied “I just want to hear it. I want you to talk to me, Ella” he added as he gently reached his hand out, taking a hold of hers which fiddled with the straw which poked out the top of her cup.

Ariella glanced down at their hands before she gently lifted her head, her blue eyes mirroring his. “They’re going to ask if you know what you’re doing” she mumbled “As soon as we show up together, they’re going to ask if you sure that us...us trying again is a good idea and I guess...I guess that I am worried that if they ask you, you might...”

“I know exactly what I am doing, Ella” Gerard interrupted firmly.

Ariella blinked a couple of times, surprised that he had cut her off, before she dropped her head, something which made Gerard sigh gently before he gently reached forwards, tilting her head back so that she looked up at him. “I know what I am doing” he repeated “I know that I am going out on dates with a girl that I really care about, and that I am enjoying that, and I am not going to pretend that I am not. I know that we have a past, and I know that now, we’re taking things slowly, but I am not going to pretend that going out on dates with you doesn’t make me happy, Ella, because it does. We have baggage, what happened before isn’t just going to disappear, and people are going to have questions and doubts about us, it’s inevitable, but I don’t and I don’t want you to think that I do, nor do I want you to have them either” he insisted, his thumb gently tracing the line of her jaw.

He knew that it was inevitable, with what had happened between the two of them, he knew that there were a lot of people who would have their doubts about the two of them, but he wanted to assure Ariella that he didn’t have them, even if things between were still a work in progress. He didn’t want her to think that he was uncertain of what it was that he wanted.

Ariella leant into his touch slightly. “You mean that?” she posed.

Gerard nodded without hesitation. “Of course I do” he replied “You know how I feel about you, Ella. It’s not just going to change” he added.

Ariella stared up at him for a moment, a soft blush on her cheeks, before she quirked a soft smile, something which caused Gerard to lean forwards, pressing a soft kiss against her lips. “I am taking that smile as a means of you saying that you’ll come with me tomorrow, you know” he mumbled.

Ariella hesitated momentarily, mulling over his offer, before she cautiously nodded her head, agreeing that she would go with him, something which made Gerard smile at her, wordlessly reassuring her that there was nothing for her to be worried about.