You Had Me At Hello

I woke up to the sounds of clattering down the hall. I got up and stumbled towards the sound. I looked at the kitchen table and smiled.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Gerard said sweetly as he put his arms around me from behind. I studied the table. There was a vase of roses, a stuffed panda, a box of candy, and a beautifully drawn heart. I leaned back into his chest and grinned as he kissed the top of my head.

“And to you, my good sir.” I turned to kiss him. He pulled back and smiled.

“So, I tried to make breakfast… As it would turn out, I can cook many things… Pancakes is not one of them…” I looked over at the mess on the counter. “I don’t know what happened. It was too thin, so I added more powder, but then it was too thick, so I added more water, and the next thing I know, I have enough batter for thirty people.”

“Oh dear god,” I chuckled to myself. “Babe, just leave pancakes to me. It’s one of the few things that I can make.”

“Deal.” He shuffled around me and began to clean up the mess he had made. “So, I was thinking… Can I take you out tonight? Since it’s Valentine’s Day and all.”

“I guess so,” I said suspiciously. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, it’s a surprise. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay with it, before I just kidnapped you.” I rolled my eyes.

“You and your damn surprises.” He just shrugged.

“I don’t know. I like surprises. They’re fun for me,” he defended. I laughed. “Well, if you are willing to go with me, I have some preparations to make. So, I will head home and get them ready. I’ll come back for you around six?”

“Well, I guess that’s fine. I will need to clean up and take a shower and all that jazz.” He smiled at me.

“Good. Well, I am going to go ahead and get a start on my list. I’ll be back before you know it,” he grinned as he leaned down to kiss me. He headed out the door, and I began the process of cleaning up the mess he had made. After I got everything cleaned up, I went to take a shower and get dressed. I sat on the edge of my bed and waited for him to return. Right at six, there was a knock on my front door. I went to open it, and behind it stood a slightly dressed up Gerard. His hair was slicked back, with the exception of the few strands of stubborn hair that never wanted to cooperate. He was wearing a black button down and black jeans. I smiled at him.
“You are wearing what you wore on our first real date,” I commented. He nodded and smiled back at me.

“You remembered.”

“Of course I do. I had never seen someone look so perfect.” His cheeks turned pink, and he coughed nervously.

“So, shall we?” He asked, holding his hand out towards the sidewalk. I nodded and as I stepped outside, I saw Don’s Impala.

“He let you borrow it again?” He shrugged.

“It’s for a good reason this time,” he said dismissively. I raised a brow at him, but he shrugged it off. I shut the door behind me and followed him to the car. He opened the door for me, and I slid into the passenger seat. He shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side.

“Are we recreating our first date?” I asked once he was in the car. He gave me a half-smile.

“You could say that.” He pulled away from the curb and headed down the block. We didn’t say much, but it was a comfortable silence. I watched as the street lights passed, looking for an indication of where we were going. When we pulled off onto the side of the road, I smiled to myself. He got out of the car and walked around to open the door for me. After I got out, he went to the back of the car and pulled out a bag and a blanket. I studied his movements. He seemed just as nervous as he did that first night. He took my hand and led me through the woods, walking slowly so that I didn’t trip. We made our way to the clearing, and he set the blanket out and placed the candles.

“This is still so amazing.”

“What do you mean?” He patted the blanket, and I sat down next to him.

“I have never in my life experienced half of the things that we have done, and every time, it just never ceases to amaze me.” He smiled as he pulled out the glasses and the wine. I poured while he removed the other containers from the bag. We talked while we ate. There was a sense of nervousness to his tone, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary. He had a tendency to panic about whether or not he could still impress me. After we finished, he poured us each another glass.

“So, it’s been six months since the first day you decided to talk to me…” I nodded. “We’ve been through a lot in these past months.”

“You can say that again.” I took a drink.

“In these past months, we’ve grown attached to each other. At this point, I’m not sure what I would do without you. You are the light in my darkest hour. You are the hope in the most grim moments. You are my savior. So… Well, there’s another reason that I wanted to come back out here.” I looked at him with confusion. “This was the place where I first told you how I felt, and I asked you if you wanted to be with me.” I stood up to get my cigarettes from the bag.

“I remember…” I said as I rifled through the bag. I pulled the pack out, and as I turned back around to face him, I saw him knelt down on one knee. I felt my eyes widen as I looked at him. He pulled a small black box from his pocket, and he looked up at me.

“Well, I figured this would be the place to ask you this… Will you marry me?” I put my hand over my mouth as tears started to fall. I couldn’t manage to get the word out, but I nodded eagerly. He stood up and picked me up, spinning me around. “You’ve just made me the happiest man in the whole world.” He pulled me to his chest and held me tight. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” I sighed happily. “I love you too.”