Fairytale Green

The party was in full swing. I could hear it. Yet, I still had not seen it because I was too busy hiding in the bathroom wearing the ridiculous costume that Lana had bought me.

‘Get out here!’ She called from the other side of the door ‘I am sure it does not look bad at all.’

Her idea was to dress me up as a fairy. I wore a pink satin dress that ended mid-thigh and rainbow translucence wings attached to the back.

I did look like a fairy. Maybe that was why she picked it. It meshed well with my long bright hair, dainty features and my wide eyes.

‘I liked my idea of a costume better.’ I moaned while pulling my dress down.

Lana sighed loudly ‘Wearing an orange dress and saying you are a carrot is not a costume.’

‘It is an original idea!’

She banged at the door ‘Get out here. You are missing the party!’

I finally surrendered and opened the door.

It was a big mistake. She was waiting there with a deadly weapon. A makeup brush covered in glitter.

I closed my eyes and tried to push her off as she dabbed my face with sparkles.

‘What was that in need of?’ I asked while wiping at my face to get a handful of glitter off.

‘So you look more the part.’ She answered while grinning triumphantly.

Her costume was also pink. She had decided to dress up as one of her favourite characters from a Barbie movie. Something about a rockstar princess. Whatever she was meant to be did not matter because she made it work.

‘Ella?’ She called to me sheepishly.

‘Yeah?’ I answered her.

‘I knew that Brennan was in love with someone else.’ She sighed as she rocketed nervously on her feet ‘He told me the very first night we met.’

I sent her a small yet confused smile ‘Why would you choose to date him?’

‘Because I thought I would be like Jennifer Lawrence in The Silver Lining’s Playbook. I thought I could make him like me.’ She huffed out embarrassedly ‘I’m a fool.’

I decided not to comment on the fact that The Silver Lining’s Playbook was about a lot more so I sealed my lips shut and made my way over to her.

She wrapped her arms around me as I embraced her in a hug. We squeezed each other tight for a good minute.

‘Let’s go downstairs.’ She said as she took hold of my hand.

‘Okay.’ I agreed and let her drag me along the hall to the staircase.

All I could hear was people speaking and shouting. It mostly drowned out the headbanging music. The volume pretty much gave away that there were at least a hundred people in the one house.

We reached the bottom of the stairs and blended into the crowd of already half-drunk teenagers. Some people I recognised and some people I did not.

The first person that stuck out from the crowd was the blonde quarterback.

Chase saw me and started to walk over. He had not made much effort with his Halloween costume because he had on an old letterman jacket with fake blood splattered all over it. The only ghastly thing about his appearance was his nose and unfortunately that was not fake.

‘Hey.’ He smiled before sticking out his fist for a fist-bump.

I bumped it with mine and shouted over the music ‘Hey.’

‘You look great.’ He complimented while giving my costume an appreciative look ‘What are you meant to be?’

‘A fairy.’ I bit out so he knew that I was not happy about it.

Chuckling at my distressed expression, he reassured ‘Well, you are the nicest looking fairy I have seen.’

‘Have you seen a lot of fairies?’ I asked with a raised brow before rolling my eyes ‘You need to get off the green stuff, Chase.’

He joined in with my laughter before seeing a friend of his and leaving to go and speak with them.

Lana had disappeared to the other side of the living room and was talking to a few girls from our French class.

Feeling kind of awkward in the middle of the room, I started walking around mindlessly and greeted random people. Some people were swaying to the music playing and singing along so I just dodged past them.

Ten minutes later and I found myself in the kitchen. It was probably the quietest place in the house. Which was weird because it was where the alcohol was.

I ended up standing right where I was earlier that day with Stone.

The song blaring from the speakers in the living room came to an end. For a small pause, there was just a chattering of people. Until the introduction of a very familiar song started playing.

Teenage Dirtbag filled the house and my stomach sank.

I hoped Lana’s speakers were not expensive because I was planning on kicking them.

Questions ran through my head. Why would this song play? This song out of all songs? Our song? It was nearly twenty years old and was no longer seen as hip. It was also not one usually played at a party.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the wings on my back flap as I exhaled.

I missed him. I missed him so much.

‘Hey, Sweetcheeks.’ A voice interrupted my train of thought ‘What is your name?’

The owner of the voice was a boy dressed as a vampire. He had on a lot of white face paint on but I did not recognise him.

‘My name is Ella,’ I smiled sweetly as I crossed my arms over my chest before I bit out ‘And I do not entertain random guys who flirt with me at parties.’

He looked like he was about to say something else but a hand on his arm stopped him. The boy who was dressed as a vampire’s friend was dressed up as a clove of garlic.

The garlic was looking at me in fear as he stopped his friend from saying any more.

‘Do you have a death wish?’ The garlic asked to the vampire before elaborating ‘That is Vulcan’s girl.’

The vampire looked back at me with raw terror on his face as he asked ‘Is that true? Are you Vulcan’s girl?’

There was no hesitation in my answer as I affirmed ‘Yes. I am.’

Both of them scurried before I could say any more. I laughed at them as they ran faster than a bat out of hell.

Stone really was a big scary giant but he was my big scary giant. I could not deny that any longer.

Just as I was about to go and find Lana, a buzzing came from inside my bra. I reached into my chest and grabbed my phone.

The caller did not have a name. It was just a random number.

I declined but it rang again.

The number was not recognisable. I frowned at the screen before pressing accept.

Knowing that I was not going to hear the caller in the middle of a room of drunk teenagers, I ran past the crowd and rushed up the stairs. I closed Lana’s bedroom door behind me as I pressed answer.

‘Hello?’

The voice was male and it sounded like it was an older man as the voice was strong and croaky ‘Hello. Is this Ella Miller?’

‘Last time I checked.’ I joked before clearing my throat and replying properly ‘Yes. It is.’

‘Miss Miller, my name is Robert Smith.’ He introduced himself before explaining ‘I am the CEO executive of Smith publishing house.’

‘Smith publishing house?’ I repeated in disbelief ‘As in the biggest publishing company in the country?’

I thought someone was pranking me.

Lana was the only one to know about me sending my draft but she was too nice to pull such a prank. Plus her light lyrical voice did not go that deep. Not like the middle-aged smoker voice on the other end of the line.

He hummed in agreement before speaking again ‘I am sorry to be calling so late at night. I have been reading over the manuscript that you sent. It is good. Actually, it is more than good. We would love to publish it.’

Moving my phone away, I got over my initial shock and let out a squeal of excitement.

‘Are you still there, Miss Miller?’ The man called.

I quickly brought the phone back to my ear as I remained cool and calm so I could reply nonchalantly ‘Yeah. I am still here but are you sure you have the right person?’

‘Are you Ella Miller?’

‘Well yes.’ I confirmed before explaining ‘Ella is a very popular name however. So is the last name Miller.’

‘It says here your name is Drizella,’ The man said after I heard him clicking on his computer.

‘Then it is me.’ I told him ‘I am sure only one person has the absolute burden of that name.’

He chuckled before continuing with the matter at hand ‘The company would like you to sign a contract with us for three books.’

My book was originally a cliffhanger. It had an open end. I was going to have to change that. I had to complete my story.

‘I would be honoured.’ I mentioned while still surprising myself that I had not broken out into a happy dance.

‘That is great.’ The man said before he informed me ‘We have drawn up a ten thousand dollar cheque. That is for the rights for the book but you will earn more once it hits selves. We will discuss the details at a later date.’

Still pacing the room because I could not stay still, I replied ‘Thank you so much.’

‘We have your contact details already. We will be touch.’ He promised before uttering a goodbye.

I said a quick goodbye before hanging up. As I got off the phone and there was no need to reign in my excitement I then twirled around on my toes and let out another large squeal.

A massive wave of pride washed over me. My book was getting published. I was going to be a writer.

I doubted my book would make it big but the news was massive to me. It was my dream.

The only thing wrong about it was the person I wanted to revel in happiness with was not here with me.

Once I had calmed down and stopped spinning, I spotted the cardboard box on top of Lana’s bed. On top of the box sat Stone’s essay. Never had a plain box and piece of paper been so inviting. So tempting.

Lana had not hidden it as I told her to.

I caved. I threw my phone on Lana’s bed before sitting on the edge of the pink sheets. I lifted the piece of paper off the box and brought it to my chest, holding onto it so tightly that it started to crumble.

There was no doubt about it. His note and present was Pandora’s box. If I opened it then every emotion bottled up inside would pour out of me.

It did not matter. I had already made my mind up.

There was no denying that I needed him.

The essay was handwritten in his neat cursive yet aggressive handwriting. That was the first thing I noticed about the essay. The second was the title.

I did not waste another breath. I read it.

Fairytale Green

Drizella Miller once told me she transcended stereotypes. I think she transcends everything. There is nobody like her. Nothing like her. If that girl told me she was from a different planet then I think I would believe her.

The night I met her, she mentioned that she saw a green light. So did I. It shone so brightly that I could see nothing else but her. It still does.

In the Great Gatsby, the green light symbolises hope and dreams. The one thing you want more than anything. She is my green.

My fairytale green. The colour of trees at our outdoor wedding. The colour of the grass I will sit with her when we are old where we will shake our fist at skateboarders who trespass. It is the green of her hair. It is her.

Yes, I remembered her whole speech about her colour word by word from that night because I was a lovesick fucker instantly. I fell in love with her the second I saw her. She wears her wild and wonderful personality on her face for all to see. Unashamed and beautiful.

I never gave her the name Medusa because her hair was green. I gave her the name because my fate by her side was sealed as soon as her doe eyes met mine. I will forever be next to her, unable to move like a statue. The name is ironic. Medusa turns people to stone by her gaze but I was stone before her. She brought me to life.

She has a brightness about her that is so infectious and there is no cure. The only time I feel at peace is when I see the green. There is so much anger built up inside of me but as soon as I see the colour, it fades away because I know she is there. My mood depends entirely on her. When she is happy I feel complete and when she is not then I know that I would do fucking anything to put a smile back on her face.

I love how her nose crinkles when she reads and she is trying to concentrate. I love how she crosses her arms and stands on her toes when she gives it out to me. I love how she has to drink tea in a cup that you cannot see through because she is ashamed that she hates coffee. I love how a blush covers her freckles when she is embarrassed. I love her wacko theories and I go a little crazy if I go a day without hearing one. I love how when she eats gummy bears she bites the head off because she thinks she is giving them a quicker death. I love how she dances and slides around the kitchen when she thinks I am not watching. I love how she owns three slipknot t-shirt’s even though she does not listen to them. I love how she tries to deny that she has a big heart and that she does not cry at books and movies. I love when she smiles so widely that she looks down at the floor to hide it. I love everything about her.

The word limit of this essay was meant to be five hundred words but it is impossible to describe her in that short amount. It is hard to describe her in words at all. She is a synonym of surreal in the best fucking way. She is an extraordinary dream that I have no intention of waking up from.

He was my fairytale green too, I thought to myself, He was my happiness and my future.

Only Valentine Stone would curse in an essay.

I really hoped this essay was just for me. I wanted to keep it for myself forever. I wanted him forever.

Also, I hoped he did not submit the essay because it would make Mr Dankworth die with happiness.

The door of the bedroom opened. It interrupted my third reread of the paper.

I looked up and seen Lana grinning as she leaned against the doorframe. There was nothing else but triumph in her eyes as she gazes at the note in my hand.

‘I knew you were not going to last long before eventually giving up and reading it.’ She mentioned while sitting down next to me on her bed.

‘I really love him. It is not going to stop. I do not want it to.’ I said aloud but quietly.

‘It is about time you realised that.’ She giggled before questioning ‘What was it that changed your mind?’

Setting the note down beside me, I turned to face her ‘My book is getting published.’

‘What?’ She erupted excitedly ‘That is amazing, Ella!’

‘The phone call just gave me a boost.’ I told her ‘I needed to know that I could do something and a reassurance that I could be somebody.’

Lana smiled as she spoke, ‘I am so happy for you.’

I thanked her before I promised ‘I will dedicate the book to you. My amazing yet annoying friend who clicked send on the email to the publishers.’

‘Annoying?’ She poked my arm as she feigned being offended ‘You owe me so bad.’

When we fell into silence was when I started thinking up scenarios in my head that I dreaded for them to come true

‘What if Stone is finally done with me? What if I have pushed him away so far that he won’t come back?’ I rambled on ‘What if I am not enough for him?’

She swatted my head with her hand in response.

‘Ow!’ I shouted at the impact while putting my hand on the top of my head.

‘Do not be silly.’ She scolded me while pointing her finger at me accusingly ‘Sometimes I do think your dad was right with that one quote he used to say about you.’

‘He said it all the time.’ I reminisced before I changed my voice to a deep tone and quoted him ‘Ella, you have so much knowledge and fact in your mind that there is not enough room in your head for common sense or social awareness.’

Lana leant forward and reached around me so she could set the plain cardboard box on my lap as she encouraged ‘I think you should open his present.’

The box length was longer than its depth. I racked my brain for an idea of what it could be. I had never mentioned anything that I wanted.

There was only one thing that I wanted at that moment and it would need a much more colossal sized box to hold him.

I ran my nail over the taped seal on the top of the box and opened the two flaps. I let out a small gasp at what caught my eye.

The inside of the box was not plain. It was painted blue and purple with white stars among it. Like a galaxy.

He had remembered what I told him in the hospital about my dad. That my favourite gift was a plain cardboard box because I could imagine it to be whatever I wanted it to be.

My dad had painted it like a galaxy. Stone had also. He wanted me to have that feeling again.

Once I saw what was inside the box, I picked it up so I could see the bouquet of flowers closer. A dozen or so roses bloomed from their stem. They were beautiful and unlike anything I had ever seen before. They were not a common red or even white. On top of the dark green stem sat beautiful petals that were a vibrant shade of green. Fairytale Green.

Stone was kind of in love with me.

Smiling at the flowers, I decided to put them back in the box until I found a vase for them. I set the flowers down gently before I noticed that they were not alone in the box.

At the bottom of the galaxy painted box laid an envelope.

My fingers were shaking as I brought the envelope out and into both my hands. Written in the white sealed paper was Medusa written in his handwriting.

I looked up to see Lana was still watching me with a massive grin on her face. She almost looked excited for me to open it.

Tearing open the envelope, I pulled out what was inside. It turned out to be another folded up piece of paper.

I secretly hoped that it was not another essay or a love letter from him. I did not think my heart could take another one.

The piece of paper was a booking confirmation that was made a few weeks ago. A booking confirmation for two plane tickets for next summer.

‘He bought me a plane ticket to Brazil.’ I whispered in absolute shock.

Stone bought me a trip to Brazil. He wanted to take me to Brazil because I told him that was the one place I wanted to go in the world.

I only mentioned my desire to go to The Royal Portuguese reading room once but he had listened. He always listened.

He knew every part of me. Every single thing and he had never turned away or tried to leave.

‘He bought me a plane ticket to Brazil?’ I repeated louder to Lana because I was still completely amazed.

Lana giggled while stating the obvious ‘Well, I think he is planning on going too.’

‘This is… I have no words.’

‘That is a first.’ She grinned at me before mentioning ‘You were meant to open his present first before opening mine. It made no sense that you did.’

After a minute or two, I finally pieced it together ‘The swim suit. It was blue and yellow. With my green hair, that is all the colours of the Brazilian flag.’

She nodded ‘That is why I got you that ugly swimming costume.’

‘I liked it.’ I argued.

Her nose twitched in reply

Setting the sheet of paper on top of my flowers, I uttered ‘I still can not believe he would do this for me. He got me tickets to Brazil.’

‘He also got you two a villa to stay in.’ She told me ‘You will not be sleeping on the streets.’

‘What!’ I erupted before shaking my head ‘He has spent way too much. I will be telling him that the next time I see him.’

After I have jumped into his arms.

I stood up from the bed urgently.

There was no point in sitting around and waiting. I was going to get to him. We had spent far too long apart.

Lana called from behind me as I rushed to the door ‘Where are you going?’

‘I am going home.’

My mother always told me home was not a but rather a person. Stone was my person. He was my home. I was not going to give that up and lose the only home I had ever known.

He was the person I wanted to go home to. The one I wanted to share everything with. My happiness and my sadness. The good times and the bad times. Like I wanted him to do with me.

‘What?’ She replied as we both make our way downstairs and into the noise of the ongoing party.

At the bottom of the staircase, I turned around to her and shouted over the music ‘I need to go to his fight. I need to be there.’

‘You are dressed as a fairy. You do not even have shoes on.’ She mentioned while pointing to my bare feet.

‘I have to do this.’

She nodded her head, studying my headstrong expression ‘Then what are you waiting for?’

The group blocking the door was the jocks. Most of them were too busy on their phone to see me trying to get past.

What I saw on one of their phones made me stop trying to get past them.

‘When does the fight start?’ I shouted over the loud noise of the crowd at them.

‘Twenty minutes.’ One of them replied.

It would have been a really good time to have a car. Rest in peace, Kermit.

‘Ella. You are not going to make it.’ Lana pointed out.

‘The beach is just a few miles away.’

I said determinedly ‘I can make it.’

‘Yeah.’ She sarcastically remarked, ‘if you were a track star.’

I gave her a quick hug before I pulled back and said bye ‘Thank you for organising this party for me. I will come back after. I will see you soon.’

‘Go and get your man.’ She replied while gifting me a gentle shove in the direction of the door but she did not need to tell me twice.

Sprinting down the street as fast as my little legs could go, I started to realise how unfit I was. I had always known but after stopping about seventy-two times to catch my breath it became apparent. Especially when I had to haunch over and grip my knees at the exhaustion I felt.

For a second I consider joining Stone the next time he worked out. Then I remembered that he got up at six in the morning and I thought better of that idea.

Eventually, the beach came into sight so I picked up my face for the last part. I got nearer and nearer until I could see the moonlight shining on the water.

The night sky lit up with stars. I was just glad it was not headlights from cars lighting up the streets. My attempt at sprinting was ridiculous.

If anyone saw this pathetic excuse of my running then I would just blame it on my injury. Or on the fact that I was barefooted.

My toes touched the sand as I headed towards the commotion. From the start of the beach, I could see the ring of fire lit torches among the crowd of people talking among themselves. The number of people still lingering around the beach walkway meant that the fight had not yet started.

I walked closer and looked around for any sign of a person I knew.

When looking around, I noticed that there was a large range of different age groups among the people ready to watch the fight. The fight club was rising in terms of popularity. The crowd was much larger than it was the last time.

‘Ella!’ A familiar voice called.

I replied in pants as I asked Reed ‘Do you know where Stone is?’

The red-headed male grinned ‘Thank god you are taking him back. The moody fucker was a whole other level of moodier this week.’

‘Where is he?’ I repeated before motioning to the crowd ‘Is it too late to talk to him?’

Reed shook his head ‘He is at his truck wrapping up his knuckles. I think he is still at the parking lot.’

‘Thank you.’ I responded gratefully before I turned around to go and find the giant.

As I rushed off, I heard Reed call from behind me ‘Tell him that he is two minutes late and tell to get his overgrown self over here!’

There were only a few cars in the lot right next to the path down to the beach. Brennan’s white car and Stone’s truck. Two shadows in the dark were between them.

I recognised my Lurch instantly. It was hard to miss the large form. It was impossible not to notice the wide shoulders and the well-built body that screamed danger.

He had his back to me. I could see the medusa tattoo on his back and that lit me up with joy.

When I neared closer, Brennan peered around the giant’s shoulder and met my eye. He was grinning ear from to ear while paying attention to me and not Stone’s grumble of a rant.

‘I know this is an illegal fight club and you are somewhat a criminal but surely you should still have some sort of time management skills.’ I spoke up because I could not bare any more time apart from him ‘You are two minutes late.’

His dark tone withered away and he stopped. He froze where he stood like he might have been imagining my voice.

Then he slowly turned around.

The tension in his shoulders disappeared as he took in the sight of me. He was staring at me with so much adoration in his gaze that I could feel heat overtake my body. It was like he was in a trance. He blinked a couple of times like he could not believe that I was there.

After he realised that I was real then his eyes soaked up every inch of me. A slow grin formed on his face when he saw what I was wearing.

Stone looked at me like I actually was a fairy. Something magical and beautiful. Like I was weird yet wonderful. He always made me feel this way. I wanted that feeling to remain for all of my life.

‘I am sorry.’ I uttered because it was all I could manage.

He shook his head as his gravelly voice commanded me ‘Come here now, Medusa.’

Demanding ass. I would listen to him just this once.

My feet took off in a small run before I jumped. For a second, I was flying like some otherworldly creature. Then he caught me. He was always there to catch me.

I felt his strong arms wrap around my waist after I crashed into his firm chest. My arms wrapped around the back of his neck and my legs found themselves curled around his waist as I buried my head into his shoulder. He tightened his grip around me so that I was moulded to him.

He nuzzled his face in my hair and let out a deep groan of content. Then he left a kiss on the edge of my lips. Right on my smile.

I inhaled his scent before pulling away so that I could see him. My smile was uncontrollable and my cheeks coloured at his grin.

‘What are you doing here?’ He breathed out, his harsh features struck with wonder.

There was so much that I wanted to say. There were not enough words to describe how I was feeling. How happy I was that I was there with him.

Instead of saying one of those options about how in love I was, I ended up letting out ‘You can not buy me a trip to Brazil. That is too expensive. I am not accepting it.’

His deep chuckle vibrated through me as he peppered kisses all over my face ‘That is what you came here to tell me?’

‘No. I came here to tell you that I love you and that I am so sorry I got scared’ I replied while feeling the edge of my lip move up ‘Also to tell you that you spent too much on me.’

‘Deal with it. We are going to Brazil’ He stated while studying my face like he has been deprived of the sight for too long ‘I would give you anything that you wanted.’

I moved closer so that our foreheads pressed together as I spoke  ‘I do not want trips or expensive gifts. I just want you.’

His hands moved up my cold exposed arms in an attempt to warm them up. Meanwhile, he never let his attention drop away from me.

‘I am so sorry.’ I apologised again, feeling the need to ‘I thought I was doing the right thing for you. I thought that you would be better without me. I never once wanted to leave you.’

‘You have nothing to be sorry about.’ He told me while moving one hand off my hips to cup my cheek ‘I need you more than anything in this fucking world.’

The other large arms moved so that he could pull me closer than close to his chest.

His voice turned softer and more vulnerable than I had ever heard it as he pleaded ‘Do not leave me again.’

‘I will never.’ I promised him and myself ‘It was only three days and I went crazy, Lurch.’

‘You went crazy?’ He asked as his darkened eyes looked at my lips ‘I was demented.’

I kissed his jaw in another small apology.

‘There is no reason for us not to be together.’ I affirmed, ‘You won the bet.’

‘Fuck yes, I did.’ He assured, the words coming from his chest in a dark rumble.

Stone appeared victorious as he leaned in. He was determined to lay his lips on mine and bring every part of our skin together.

Before he could, I slapped my hand over his mouth and stopped him from kissing me.

I smiled sweetly at him while he glared.

He was furious at the privation. He looked like he might have killed someone if he did not get to kiss me in the next few seconds.

I felt the exact same but it had to be done.

As I moved my hand away, I told him firmly ‘I am kissing the winner of this fight.’

‘You are what?’ He gnarled, his face contorting to a murderous one.

‘I am kissing the winner of this fight.’ I said it again before warning him ‘So you better win.’

Another animalistic sound escaped him at my words.

‘If you come back with a single scratch on you then I will kill you.’ I leaned closer so he could see my stern expression up close.

I was still scared of his fate in the fight and I needed to give him the right motivation.

His stance and his expression made it clear that he was ready for war. His jaw ticked in a steady rhythm as he flexed his chest and arm muscles.

He then looked at me and his gaze immediately softened before he pulled me back into his chest.

Stone kissed the top of my head multiple times while whispering ‘I love you, Drizella.’

‘I love you, Valentine.’ I smiled into his chest, finally at peace that I knew where I belonged which was by his side ‘I love you more than gummy bears.’

A chuckle filled my ear and I smiled as I snuggled into him further.

I pulled back and added, ‘I would not have ran three miles from Lana’s house to the beach for just anybody.’

Silence filled the air.

Then a growl shook the large chest.

‘You did fucking what.’ His deep anger filled tone was a dead giveaway that he was still insistent that I should be resting with my injuries.

I should probably not have said that.