Easy To See(Sequel to 'Didn't Know It Before' - an EJ Caswell Fanfiction)

Chapter Thirty: Easy to See

~~~Megan~~~

"Um...this is great and everything, and I want to support the cast but um...I don't think I can stand here and watch EJ ask Gina out so...I'm gonna go home early." I said, gently pushing Ashlyn's hands off of my arms. 

"Do you want me to come with you?" She asked. I shook my head. 

"No, that's ok. You should stay, revel in our victory," I replied, "And you guys are all still welcome to stay the night if you want to, I just...I need a minute."

"Ok. Call me if you need me, ok? I mean it." She said. I smiled, nodding before turning around and heading out the stage door and into the dark hallway. 

In spite of myself, and my instincts that told me that this whole situation was my own fault, and I had no right to be upset about it, I still couldn't stop the tears in my eyes from escaping down my cheeks. I quickly wiped them away, stopping at my locker and grabbing a wipe so that I could wash my face on my way out the door. I positioned myself in front of my door mirror, wiping the tear trails off of my skin. 

"Can you let me explain before you gouge my eye out with a baby wipe?"

I chuckled tearfully, closing my locker as I recalled the last time I'd heard that phrase, at Homecoming, in this very spot...also in a shockingly similar situation.

"You don't owe me an explanation." I said, turning around and slowly moving toward the door again. "I told you, if you want to be with her, you should, and I meant that." 

A hand wrapped around my elbow, and EJ pulled me to a stop, towering over me at his close proximity. 

"I don't want to be with her." He denied. I shot him a skeptical look. 

"Really?" I asked. "Because you too look a heck of a lot like we did, back when we were 'just friends'." 

"We're not just friends," He said, "I like Gina, but...I don't want to be with her. That's what I was telling her just now." 

I raised my eyebrows at this. 

"Really?" 

He sighed, reaching up and raking his fingers through his hair. 

"Megan, I think I owe you an apology," He told me, "I should have listened to you when you said you weren't ready for a relationship." 

"Well, actually-"

"And I meant what I said too, about waiting for you." He continued. He reached down, grabbing my hands and running his thumbs over the backs of them. "Megan, I...I love you. I have loved you since the minute I sat down beside you in AP English, and if this past few months has shown me anything its that...Its you."

I smiled, the tears welling up again. 

"Its you, its only you and...yeah, things got a little muddy there for a moment, but its so easy to see now that I don't want to be with anyone else. You're it, you're Belle, you are...the only girl for me. And I desperately hope that I am nothing like my character, but if I share one thing with Gaston, its that I'm not giving up that easily, so...if you're not ready for a relationship right now...if you're not ready five, ten years from now, it won't matter. Where I go to college won't matter, the success or failure of your music career won't matter because I love you, and I am going to keep loving you for as long as you'll let me and, even if that means only as a friend-"

I needed him to stop talking in that moment. Right then and there, the sheer amount of words coming out of his mouth, and the passion and desperation behind them, it was positively overwhelming, and I needed it to stop.

So I made it stop.

I took several steps towards him, closing the gap between us and grabbing the back of his neck so that I could pull him down to meet my lips. I grabbed his shoulder with my other hand as he grabbed my waist, pulling me tightly against him as he kissed me back. Our hearts were hammering together in our chests, and we could feel it because of just how little space there was between us. That was something we'd had in abundance this semester, so to finally be able to crush all of that distance and pain and heartache...to finally be wrapped up in each other again, like we had both been longing for for months...

It was perfect. 

EJ pulled away first, leaning his forehead against mine. I laughed my tears flowing yet again. 

"I was going to say that I am ready for a relationship." I whispered, causing him to laugh. I pulled back to look at him. 

"Are you sure?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, I've...I've been thinking about it for a while. Since the airport, actually," I explained, "I actually forgot my granola bar and then you thought to bring me one, and it made me think...maybe I have my issues. Maybe I still have a lot of stuff to work through, and I might not always think clearly but...you have always been there to fill in those gaps. You seem to always do and say exactly what I need, whether I realize it at the time or not, and I hope I can do that for you because if we can stick together, if we can...be strong when the other is weak and vice versa then...nothing is going to come between us. Not ever again. I think we can do this EJ, I think-"

I stopped talking as he reached into his pocket, pulling out my Romeo and Juliet book necklace. I glanced back and forth between him and the pendent. 

"You just...have this on you?" I asked, taking it in my hand and running my thumb over it. 

"I wanted to keep it close," he replied, "In case you wanted it back."

I chuckled, meeting his eyes again. 

"Do you want it back? Because-"

"Yes! Yes, I want it back you doofus." I said, leaning in and kissing him again. He smiled against my lips, still holding the necklace in one hand while wrapping his other arm around my waist, pulling me against him again. He pulled away after a second, turning me around and securing the necklace around my neck once again. I laughed, holding the tiny book in my hand as I turned around to face him. He smiled, reaching up and pushing my hair out of my face. 

"So-"

He was cut off by a loud crash, followed by a scream coming from the direction of the stage. We both looked towards the door, looking back at each other before taking off running back to the stage door.