I Wish...continued! (Updated 5-13)

[Mars]

For now, though, I had to settle with making it through this party. Up until that afternoon I thought nervousness was a thing of the past. When he called to confirm we were still going I realized that I was only fooling myself. As usual, though, I was determined not to let it show.
Some things never change, I guess.
The moment I opened the door he grinned at me and I knew, somehow, that everything was going to work out alright.
“Wow. Nice dress.”
“Not bad, huh?”
“Not at all. You look great.”
“Then I guess we match.” When I said this his grin became a smile, and he handed me a neatly wrapped box. Crap, I had almost forgotten. Oops. I blushed at this and handed him a small gift bag.
“Sorry. I suck at wrapping.”
“It’s alright. Go on, open yours.”
“Okay…” I took a deep breath, and I noticed that my hands were shaking a little. Not noticeable, really, but still. Relax, I told myself. I tore through the paper and realized I wasn’t holding a box. I was holding a sketchbook that was covered in airbrushed roses. “..Wow. Thanks.”
“Wait. Look inside it.” His poker face was back in full force, without so much as the slightest trace of any emotion. I flipped the cover open. There, on the first page, rested a small, sparkling butterfly charm on a slender chain. I touched it tentatively, feeling more than just a little star-struck. The warm touch of his hand on my shoulder brought me back down to planet Earth. I was still speechless. All I could do was blink slowly and gaze incredulously at him, which made him drop his guard and smile.
“You’re welcome.” He squeezed my shoulder again then turned to the gift bag. The whole time his eyes were gleaming. He pulled the black and silver ring out, examined it for a minute, then turned those beautiful eyes to me.
“This is sweet. “ I was pretty sure that he meant sweet as in cool, not ‘aw, how sweet.’
“You really like it?”
“Yeah. It’s cool how the little designs in the middle spell out ‘Apolo.’ “ In a split second the ring went from his palm to his finger, and he glanced at it again. “Thanks.” In one smile I saw genuine sincerity, but also noticeable sophistication. Apolo-the-Gentleman was showing in full force, and I wasn’t complaining one bit. “So..Shall we?”
“Yes. Definitely.” I grabbed my purse, pulled on a jacket, and offered him my hand as we walked out. He grinned and shook his head, totally ignoring the hand and wrapping an arm around my waist. For a second I was startled. Still, I couldn’t help smiling. If he could be sophisticated the least I could do was try…or at the very least, fake it and hope for the best.

[mellie]

He is such a gentleman, and oh so sweet to Marlise. Great chapter. More please.

[Mars]

My first impression was that this wasn’t just any old party. If was freaking HUGE. Cameras everywhere. Introductions left and right. I’ll admit that it was pretty d**n intimidating at first. His hand immediately kept a warm grip on mine. The way his thumb traced over my fingers made me relax…at least a little.
There was a super-cute smile on his face. He tilted his chin enough for our eyes to meet.
“You don’t seem jumpy tonight.”
“Nah. Not as much, anyway. I mean, it’s like you said, we’re both human. Nothing to be nervous about, I guess.” Oh crap. There I was, saying I wasn’t nervous and proving just how nervous I was by rambling. “Y’know what I mean, right?”
“Completely, Marlise.” Hand squeeze. Suddenly his face lit up and he waved for some unknown person to come over to where we were sitting. “Dad’s here.”
“Ah. Cool.” I knew this was coming. Apolo had told me early on that Yuki would be there. I figured that it was mostly to support his son, but realized that “meeting the new girlfriend” had to be pretty high on the agenda. After a quick introduction I sighed quietly, relieved that “the worst” was over. If I thought I’d been nervous the first time I met Apolo, it was nothing, absolutely NOTHING, compared to meeting his dad. One false move, one stupid mistake, and I could have screwed myself by making a crappy first impression.
“What do you do?”
“Huh?”
“Apolo told me you’re an artist. Do you paint? Draw? Sculpt?”
“Oh..A little bit of everything, I guess. I draw a lot, though. For me, art is…relaxing, I guess. Like…”
“..Like it’s what you’re supposed to be doing.” Apolo supplied.
“Yes! Exactly! Thank you.”
“No problem.” He squeezed my hand and for a moment that was all I cared about. Then something caught his attention and he stood up.
“Duty calls. I’ll be back soon.” A barely audible sigh escaped his lips. Within seconds his stance had changed, becoming more calm and confident as he approached the mic. That smile …Wow. I wanted to take in every word he said, at least until Yuki spoke.
“Would you still like him if he wasn’t so well known?”
“..Yeah.” I didn’t even have to think about it. “He’s…amazing. Smart, sense of humor, caring…” Not to mention the onslaught of butterflies that happened every single time he touched my hand. “Fame isn’t really important compared to all that.”
“That’s an interesting perspective.” Traces of a smile. “Refreshing, in fact. Some women seem to think otherwise.”
“…Idiots.” I didn’t mean to say it out loud, but it was too late to take it back. “Don’t see the man behind the medals..”
“Exactly.” Yuki’s tone suddenly turned serious. “The truly talented are those who cherish and respect their gifts. Remember that, Marlise.”
“Gotcha. I will.”
By the time our conversation ended Apolo had returned. I heard the explosion of cheers as he finished speaking, but its significance didn’t really register until he was back with us. He stood behind me, one hand resting on the back of my chair. Subtly, discreetly, I felt his fingers touch my shoulder.
“I’m stealing you for a few minutes.” He helped me to my feet and immediately his arm was back around my waist. “We’ll be right back, Dad.”
Yuki’s response was an understanding nod paired with a gesture that seemed to say, “Go on, then.” Before we left I grabbed my glass, sipping slowly as we walked. For the first time that night I can honestly say I was genuinely relaxed. Curious, sure, but not nervous.

(more's coming! it should be in by thursday, i -hope-!)

[mellie]

Yikes, meeting Dad for the first time!!!! At least it went well for Marlise, and Yuki seemed to like what she said. More please.

[Mars]

He led me to a side room away from the crowd, stopping only when we reached the balcony. It was a dark night, with snowflakes slowly falling. The only outside light visible came from the buildings themselves. In the distance I thought I saw the Space Needle glowing in the night sky. A pretty nice view, in other words.
As I gazed a snowflake landed on my shoulder and gave me an involuntary chill. Not quite as obvious as a shiver, but still noticeable. He turned to me with a raised eyebrow.
“Cold?”
“A little chilly. That’s all.” I had barely finished talking when I felt his jacket and left arm drape over my shoulders. To be honest, I thought it was pretty d**n sweet of him to do that. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” For what seemed like about six hours nothing else was said. Finally, thankfully, he broke the silence. “So, what did you and Dad talk about?”
“Actually…most of the conversation was about you.” He didn’t seem irritated or even slightly upset. In fact, he was grinning.
“That’s not surprising. You weren’t making fun of me behind my back, were you?”
“Nope. He asked questions, I answered honestly and hoped for the best. That’s about it.” I shrugged then shuffled a little bit closer to him. He didn’t seem to mind at all.
“It’s cool. I will say this, though…” As he spoke he rubbed my shoulder casually. Butterflies galore. “Dad trusts my judgment. He knows I don’t use the word ‘girlfriend’ unless I really mean it.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“M-hm.” He ran his free hand through his hair. I watched out of the corner of my eye, realizing that I hadn’t seen him do that in a while. For the first time he was actually showing traces of shyness. It was…sweet. Very, very sweet. “Y’know, I’ve heard people say that this is the perfect city for falling in love. What do you think?”
Holy CRAP, did he really just say that!? I knew I wasn’t dreaming. Couldn’t be. But there was still a chance that I was hearing things. That chance was thrown off the balcony the second my eyes shifted over to his.
“Well..I guess ‘people’ have to be right sometime.” If he noticed the nervous wobble in my voice he didn’t care. In a split second his hands were back around my waist, while mine were relaxed around his shoulder. I let my right hand shift closer to his neck, feeling warm skin and the low beat of pulse. He was close enough that I could feel his breath and have a good view of freckle. He kissed me, and I closed my eyes. Screw the pending vacation, I was in heaven. Then..
FLASH!
“What the hell?!” I heard Apolo’s voice before I saw anything. Then I blinked and saw a man holding a camera right in front of us. The guy was smiling like a cat with a canary until I grabbed my glass and dumped it over his head. Ah, impulsiveness.
“Get lost, moron.”
Well, it worked. The guy ran off swearing, clutching his camera in a death grip. Meanwhile, Apolo was giving me the most incredulous look I had ever seen.
“That was great! Good thinking.”
“Thanks..but I didn’t really think about it.” It was my turn to be shy, at least until he hugged me again. That single action made everything okay again. “Think we should head back?”
“Yeah, but only if you’ll dance with me.”
“In that case…you’ve got yourself a deal.” This single sentence made his eyes brighten and smile widen. I didn’t care if I fell, or if some other idiot decided to shove a camera in our faces. All that mattered was getting to spend as much time as possible with him. I was happy enough just relaxing and enjoying his company.
---
That night he walked me to my door for the first time. It was still snowing, but I didn’t really notice it. No chills this time, only butterflies mixed with a touch of bitter sweetness. In less than twenty four hours I would be back in Illinois, surrounded by family. Tonight would seem like a really good dream, and I would be missing him. Horribly, in fact.
“I think tonight went pretty well, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I mean, except for that guy with the camera.” An overly dramatic sigh that made him smile.
“That was kind of funny. Dad even smiled when you told him about it.” The smile widened at this and he swiftly pulled me into his arms. “I think you made a good impression.”
“Really? He doesn’t think I’m crazy?”
“No. Mostly because you’re not.” He shifted his hand to my cheek. The cool metal of his ring and the warmth of his fingers felt…soothing. Pleasant. “Are you alright? You almost look like you’re on the verge of tears.”
“It…It’s nothing. Really.”
“It’s gotta be something or else it wouldn’t be bothering you. What’s wrong, Marlise?”
“I don’t want to leave. I don’t want this to end. What we have, I mean.”
“It’s not going to. Your vacation isn’t going to change anything between us. Besides…” He stepped a little bit closer. “You know what they say about absence, right?”
“Yeah. I do.” My voice was right above a whisper. “Thing is, I’m already pretty fond of you.” I flashed a nervous smile. “Sorry. That probably sounded really weird.”
“Nah. I know what you meant.” I felt his fingers trace across my skin and vaguely noticed how electric the air felt despite the snow. A few seconds of silence passed. Then, in a flash of impulse, I closed the distance between us and kissed him. My right hand stayed on his chest, feeling his heartbeat under my fingers, while the left stroked through his hair.
“…Wow. This week’s going to suck.”
“Yeah…Majorly,” I sighed again, this time more serious than before. “Call me, alright?”
“Definitely.” He kissed me gently then slowly moved his hand from my face. “Try to have fun, okay?”
“Gotcha. Bye, Apolo.”
“See you next week, Marlise.” I squeezed his hand and immediately felt his thumb brush against my fingers again. It lingered for several seconds, replaced by a wave as we parted ways. Wow. He really knew how to make me feel better, that was for sure.
As I closed the door and sighed, one question was racing through my mind: How the hell was I going to get through the week?

[mellie]

Very nice chapter. More please.

[Mars]

more's coming! haven't been online since thursday, but i've pretty much spent most of my (non-homework-related) time since then writing.

[Mars]

The first of several postings Enjoy!

It was Christmas night. All of the festivities were over, and I was in my old room getting ready for bed. Suddenly there was a knock on my door.
“Can I come in?” Ah, Tess. The oldest of my three sisters. She was tall, slender, often complimented along the lines of model-pretty. She also had a bit of an attitude, which tended to make our relationship rocky. To put it lightly, anyway. For the sake of holiday niceness, though, I opened the door and let her in.
“Sure. What do you want?”
“I just want to talk, that’s all.” She glanced around, shifting a strand of loose blonde hair behind her ear before glancing back at me. “..So, do you really have a boyfriend?”
Ugh. I should’ve seen that one coming. From the moment I stepped off the plane I’d been bombarded with curious questions, but that didn’t make this particular question any less annoying.
“Yes, I really do.” Instinctively my hand touched the butterfly charm and I couldn’t help smiling.
“Okay. That’s cool. What’s he like?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” My smile widened, and I couldn’t resist telling her anyway. “He’s a really nice guy, though. Sweet, too. I’m glad he’s in my life.” Another sigh, since this last statement was, without a question, THE understatement of the century.
“You know what? I’m happy for you, Mars.” Sincerity. Unexpected, but I realized that she meant what she said.
“Thanks, Tess. That means a lot. Is that all you wanted to talk about?”
“Yeah. That’s all.” She paused, shifted again. “It’s been so..different without you around.”
“I had to leave sometime. I mean, I couldn’t just keep burdening Mom and Dad. You know that.”
“I guess..” She shrugged, as if she understood what I was getting at. I was about to respond when my phone rang. Speak of the devil, huh? “See you in the morning, Mars.”
“Night.” I waved her off, pushed the ‘talk’ button, and yawned. “Hey, Apolo. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Marlise. Did I wake you up?” He sounded amused. I had never been so relieved to hear his voice, even if it –was- over a shaky and downright questionable cell phone connection.
“Nope. I just had to get one of the girls out of the room.”
“Ahh, I see. How’s your vacation going?”
“Okay, except for wishing you were here. Or that I was there. Same difference, I guess.”
“At least you’re getting some quality family bonding time, right?”
“Yeah. Definitely.” I couldn’t help smiling again. “So, um, how was your day?”
“As far as holidays go it was pretty uneventful. It snowed a little, I visited with Dad…” He paused, sighed reflectively. “No different from any other year.”
“Mm-hm. It’s been the same old routine here too. By the way..I’m glad you called. Way glad.”
“Miss me?” The amused tone was back. I thought I heard teasing affection there too, but that could’ve been static. Possibly, but not likely.
“You have no idea. Good thing this is only for a few more days…” My voice trailed off for a second. “..I really miss talking to you without worrying about eavesdropping relatives, static, or dropped calls, though.”
“At least it’s something. I’d rather risk all of that than not talk to you for a week.” His voice was soft, sweet, and pleasantly relaxing. Just listening to him made me wish I could jump through the phone and hug him as closely as possible. “We’ll see each other again soon, though.”
“Yeah. I can’t wait till we’re in the same time zone again.”
“Me neither.” I imagined a small, sweet smile on his face as he spoke. “I’ll let you go so you can get some sleep. Talk to you tomorrow, alright?”
“Gotcha. Night, Apolo.”
“Night, Marlise. Sweet dreams.” Yep, that was definitely affection. Those four words made me feel like he had just pulled me close, gazed into my eyes, then kissed me deeply…even though distance made that impossible. Still, if our relationship had taught me anything, it was that ‘impossible’ didn’t really matter.
I was in love. I loved him.
…Wow. It felt good to admit it, even if only to myself. Now all I had to do was work up at least some courage and tell him exactly how I felt.
No problem, right…?

[mellie]

Awwww...they miss each other. That's so sweet. More please.

[Mars]

That night I dreamt about telling him. In the dream he smiled, like he’d been expecting it. Right when he was about to respond, though, I woke up. Go figure.
At first that dream was the most eventful part of the day. That changed unexpectedly shortly after lunchtime. I was in the kitchen, helping the girls put things away after the meal, when the doorbell rang. One of the girls answered it. The next thing I knew I was called to the back door, faintly aware of the little girl darting past me to the living room.
What I saw made my breath catch in my throat. Apolo was standing there with an exceedingly proud/smug smile on his face. The inevitable sparkle in his eyes was obscured by stylish sunglasses, which he removed the moment he saw me.
”Hey, Mars. Surprise.” Those three little words made me do a flying leap directly into his arms.
”First, never call me that again. Ever. Second…Thank you.” I sighed, discreetly taking in the scent of his hair and thoroughly enjoying the fact that he was standing there in the first place. “You didn’t have to do this, y’know..” Before I could say anything else he rested a finger on my lips.
”Yeah. I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. There’s a difference.” The finger moved over to my cheek, and I felt the familiar sensation of my heart pounding in my throat. “We’ll talk later on. Right now, though…I want to meet your family.”
”Gotcha, I guess. C’mon.” All I could do was lead him to the living room, squeeze his hand, and, frankly, pray for the best.
---
Apparently, ‘the best’ included feeling the heat of five critical pairs of eyes, which was more than just a little awkward. On the bright side, though, the introduction itself went pretty smoothly, but before I could even sit down I had to shoo all three of my sisters away from Apolo. The moment I sat down, though, I felt his arm wrap discreetly around my waist. The action was paired with a smirk that was practically daring me to complain about it.
Whiiich, by the way, I refused to do. Instead, I decided to attempt a hushed conversation.
“How long are you here for?”
“Three days. I leave the day before you do.” His expression changed from smug to sweet. “By the way, do you have any plans for tonight?”
From across the room I could’ve sworn I heard muffled giggles, but had to ignore it.
“No. Not really. I mean, not at all.” I was rambling again. Oops. I took a deep breath to regroup before continuing. “If you want we could, like, drive into town, and I could give you a tour of the sights.”
“That sounds good to me, Marlise. Let me know when you’re ready to go.” That wouldn’t be for a while, I thought, carefully resting my head on his shoulder and attempting to pay attention to whatever show it was we were watching. The afternoon was young. If he wasn’t in a hurry, then neither was I.

(More's coming still! gotta love unexpected twists ;D )

[Mars]

Nope, not done yet Gotta work out tweaks in a few upcoming pages. For now...Enjoy!

It wasn’t much of a sightseeing tour. Sure, we drove around and I pointed out a few notable places, but he seemed more interested in our conversation.
“I just realized there’s something important we haven’t done yet.”
“Really? What’s that?”
“We have never gone out for pizza. Not even once. It’s a shame, really.” This was said with a completely straight face. I don’t know how he pulled it off, since I couldn’t help smiling.
“Iiin that case, we should definitely do that tonight.”
He finally smiled and squeezed my shoulder gently. All I could really do in response was smile shakily and attempt to blink away a mad case of the jitters.
“Are you alright?”
“Y-yeah. I guess.” By this point we had just pulled into the parking lot. I took a deep breath and felt him squeeze my shoulder again.
“Okay. If you say so.” The shoulder squeeze became a quick hug after we left the car. “Between you and me, though, I think it’s kinda cute that you still get a little jumpy around me.” To emphasize this he took my hand as he led me to the door. Almost instantly my smile widened, steadied, and those pesky yet comforting butterflies were back. Then again, so was that familiar little voice, which was screaming “Tell him, you IDIOT!!” at the top of its lungs. For now I just ignored it. This wasn’t really the time or the place for heartfelt emotional confessions. Soon enough, though…
---
Apolo didn’t like ‘quiet’ dates. Every time we went out we talked. Got to know each other…Bonded, I guess.
This particular night was no exception, and I was glad. Despite the butterflies I was really starting to feel comfortable being myself around him. You know, without having to worry about coming across as some crazy weirdo.
He understands me, I thought. I didn’t know exactly how, but he did. This revelation came to me in between bites of pepperoni. Moments earlier, in the middle of an intense conversation, he had taken my hand, tracing over my fingers reassuringly even as we talked.
As I pondered this I noticed something: He was looking at me with a considerably cute amused expression.
“What’s so funny?”
“You have pizza sauce on your chin.”
“Greeeeat. How bad is it?”
“We could almost pass for twins.” By now he was laughing softly, yet contagiously. I couldn’t really blame him. I mean, I was giggling too, even as I wiped the sauce away.
“Is that better?”
“Almost. Wait a minute.” He glanced around, possibly making sure none of our fellow diners were watching, then kissed me. Short, but still sweet. Just like the expression on his face. “That’s much better.”
“Agreed.” I dipped a breadstick in ranch and nibbled on it for a minute or two before finally thinking of something decent to say. “How do you like Illinois so far?”
“It’s not bad at all. A little cold, sure, but the pizza’s awesome.” There was a pause as he grinned. “A pretty girl and good pizza…What more could a guy ask for?”
“Um…Nothing?”
“Exactly.” We talked for a while after that. Then he helped me to my feet and handed me my coat before grabbing his own. Gentleman-mode once again, I thought with a smile as we left hand-in-hand. I couldn’t help wondering what would happen next.
One thing was for sure: It certainly wouldn’t be boring, no matter what happened.
That just wasn’t his style.

[mellie]

Another awwww moment. He is so sweet to her. More please.

[Mars]

“I know what we could do tomorrow.”
“Huh? What?”
“Is there an ice rink in town?”
“Yeah…” Suddenly I knew where this was going, and felt a twinge of apprehension.
“Alright. Great. I was thinking we could get up early, pack up your sisters, and spend the day skating.”
Instantly the apprehension was gone. I should have been terrified, since putting me anywhere near ice usually felt like the recipe for an accident. The truth is, I thought he had a great idea.
“That sounds cool. Mom and Dad will LOVE having a day to themselves for once.”
“I’ll have time to get to know your sisters, too.”
“If they don’t tear us both to pieces first.” I pulled into the driveway mid-sentence. He unbuckled his seatbelt, poked me in the nose, and smiled again.
“Relax, Marlise. What’s the worst that could happen?”
---
(Short snippet this time, kinda previewing for next time. Gosh, I'm having way too much fun with this )

[mellie]

Short, but sweet. More please.

[Mars]

Apolo did everything he could to convince my parents to go along with his idea, and it paid off. Mom and Dad discussed it privately for a few minutes, but that was just a formality before they officially agreed.
I’m pretty sure the resulting cheer was heard, clearly, as far away as Japan, and was only silenced when the girls went to bed. A while later I was leaning on the arm of the couch, busily attempting to unstick the zipper of a sleeping bag. While I was working on that, he re-entered the living room. His feet were bare, there was a lingering scent of toothpaste, and he had an utterly and completely amused smile on his face.
“Need some help?”
“No. Thanks, though.” I tried again, and the stupid thing still wouldn’t budge. “..Okay, yes, I do.”
“Okay. Let’s see..” He went straight to work, somehow managing to solve the problem after a few minutes. “I guess there was some kind of snag in it.” He handed me the sleeping bag. I suddenly felt a little awkward and irrationally shy.
“Apolo? Do you think we’re moving too fast or too slow?”
“No.” He stepped closer. Since I was technically sitting down I had the rare chance to look up into his eyes, amber and green intermingling visibly in the dim light. “I definitely don’t.” Before I had a chance to respond he was kissing me exactly the same way I’d imagined it. It felt…different somehow. More electric, more intense than before. I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to let go. After a while he broke the silence and the hug with a yawn before moving over to the couch.
“Sweet dreams, Sleeping Beauty.”
“Night.”
So much more needed to be said. The problem was…I was still considerably dazed from the kiss. Saying ‘I love you’ now would have sounded like nothing more than an airy, dazed side effect, which it definitely wasn’t.
The timing was just plain awful.
I curled up on the recliner, convinced that I wasn’t going to fall asleep. That I had too much on my mind to fall asleep. Like tomorrow…Yeah. Tomorrow. Surely I’d be able to talk to him in private at some point…
--
(best/worst part about spring break: so much has been written that i'm probably gonna spend most of the next week typing it all up, lol.)