2.6 | Forget Me Not ✓

-2 || rosa

A/N

Hello my darlings and welcome back to Forget Me Not! It's literally been like...two months since I last updated? I'm so sorry, I promise I haven't forgotten about this story. I just needed some time to settle down with Killer Instinct updates and clear up my own very busy real life schedule.

On the bright side, I'm finally back. Forget Me Not will resume weekly updates, and I'm already thinking of what to write next. Even though I'm keeping my readers well fed on radish with Killer Instinct, I promise I'm always thinking of all of you.

If you're still reading this, thank you for not giving up on me! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I think it's very fitting for the first update in a long while.

x Noelle

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– 2

r o s a

For passion.

(then: –2)

"HEY, EMMA, HOLD up!"

She falters in her steps and glances over her shoulder. A sting of guilt tightens in her chest as she watches Dylan race down the steps with her suitcase in hand. But as soon as he draws near, she resumes her pace again. He keeps up with his long strides, and she feels his gaze on her.

"What's the rush?" he asks, after a moment's silence.

"No rush. It's just nice to finally leave the hospital."

"I'm glad you're alright now," he says, with a warm smile. "Do you need a ride?"

She shakes her head. "I'll just get a cab."

"Are you sure? My car's parked just across the street."

"No, I have to get to the hotel my parents are staying at. It'll just be out of the way for you."

He must have sensed something in her voice, because he doesn't push. "Okay, then," he says, and passes her suitcase back to her.

Their fingers unexpectedly brush, and Emma quickly snatches her hand back. Her cheeks warm, and she looks down at her feet. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"Seriously, thank you," she says, glancing up again, only to find him already staring at her. She fights the urge to look away, and meets his gaze steadily. "For everything."

There's a beat; a silent current of understanding—she knows that he knows exactly what she means. He nods without a word; his lips curving into a small smile. She tightens her grip on her suitcase and starts to head down the steps.

"Hey, Emma." His voice stops her. She turns back in surprise. For a moment or two, he seems to falter. He runs a hand through his hair, and starts, haltingly, "Do you want to give things a try?"

She blinks. "What?"

"Between us, I mean, you and I." Her eyes widen, and he hesitates again for a bit, before he continues on. "I know the circumstances and the timing aren't perfect. You just got out of a traumatic relationship a few weeks ago, and I had my first breakup some months back. And now you're leaving when summer ends, and I'll be stuck here for the foreseeable future."

She frowns, a little unsure where he's going with this. If he's making a list of all the reasons for them not to be together, he's doing an excellent job at it.

"But I really like you," he says. "I think you're smart and kind and pretty, and in all these months as lab partners, we never run out of things to talk about. And if these past few weeks have proven anything, it's that you already know me better than anyone else. I know this probably won't amount to anything, but I also know that it'll be the biggest regret in my life if I don't at least try to let you know how I feel so..." he trails off and bites his lip, looking right at her. "What do you think?"

She stares at him for a moment. His eyes are bright with hope; a million shades of sunlight threaded in his hair. He reminds her of the first light of spring; of hardened hearts melting softly into new green beginnings.

She takes a deep breath and heads back up the stairs, one by one, until she's standing on leveled ground with him. "Here," she says, pushing her suitcase towards him, "hold this."

Once her suitcase is in his hands, she leans up and kisses him.

It takes him by surprise. She can feel the way he tenses beneath her; and she knows that if she didn't have her eyes closed, she would find his wide and open. She lingers for a brief second, then pulls away, tipping back on her heels to gaze up at him.

They're still close enough that she can count the freckles on his cheeks, and the flecks of green in his brown eyes. He smiles, warm and light and full of hope, and asks, "Is that a yes?"

She smiles, just as bright as him, and nods.

He sets her bag down at their feet, then frames her face between his hands and kisses her. Soft and gentle at first, the way she'd kissed him earlier, and then, when she leans into him, heavy and deeply. A slow heat rises between them, and she is utterly aware of him. He tastes of the candy they shared earlier in the hospital; and there are calluses on his thumb when he brushes her cheek. She grips onto his jacket and opens her mouth beneath his; her mind spinning with his kisses and the heady realization that everything about this is brand new.

The start of every relationship must be like this, she thinks, in the back of her mind, where you learn minute details about the other person that you've never noticed before.

And she can't wait to discover them all.

  

(she will, in the years to come.

he is like a book she never tires of, because with every reread,

she learns something new.)