TWENTY-TWO | 1/21/16

THE SUNLIGHT STREAMS through the window, and I can practically feel it against my cheeks. I turn on my side, enjoying the cool bedsheets against my bare body. I snuggle closer to the warm body next to me, but I blink open my eyes when I notice the comfortable dip of the bed disappear.

"Where are you going?" I mumble from the bed, watching as Harrison sweeps up his pair of boxers from the floor.

"Gonna take a shower," he says, leaning down and pressing soft a kiss against my forehead, "Sleep some more, babe. It's your special day."

"I have class today," I groan, sitting up and holding the blanket against my chest.

"So do I," he answers, sliding his eyes up my body with a slight smirk on his face, "but we're ditching class today to celebrate, yeah? So, sleep some more, or you can join me."

I grab a pillow and throw it at him, "You're such a pervert."

Harrison catches the pillow, and his smirk grows wider, "You didn't think so last night."

"Oh my god," I groan again, flopping back down on the bed, "Just take your damn shower and let me sleep."

He laughs the whole way there.

•••

WHEN I WAKE up for the second time that morning, it takes a few lethargic moments for me to realize that Harrison is no where to be found in his room. Disgruntled, I slip out of bed, grab walk into the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes. Taking a quick shower, I let all the signs of sleepiness fall off, hoping to start my day with some liveliness. After all, I can't spend my nineteenth birthday like I'm a completely sleep-deprived person.

Well, I am, but that's not really necessary at the moment.

Once I freshen up and put on a light-coat of makeup, I finally make my way back into Harrison's bedroom. There, I find a bunch of balloons all over his room and a boyfriend smiling at me with bright blue eyes. I grin in return before walking forward and wrapping my arms around his waist in appreciation.

Harrison hugs me just as tightly, resting his chin on my head and whispering, "Happy birthday, baby."

"Thank you, Harrison."

"Now c'mon," he says, untangling ourselves from the hug but still reaching for my hand, "I made breakfast for us."

"Damn," I say, impressed, "and you didn't burn down the apartment? Harrison, you really know how to make a woman love you more."

"Oh?" Harrison raises an eyebrow as we walk into the kitchen, revealing the wonderful breakfast he's made, "You only love me for the food?"

"Totally," I seriously say before breaking into a smile, "Of course not, loser."

"You wound me," my boyfriend says, clutching onto his chest.

"Your heart's on the other side of your chest, idiot," I roll my eyes and sit down, admiring the chocolate chip waffles and strawberries.

"Arden, you're so mean to me," he whines, sitting down across from me.

"I love you, too," I say, taking a bite into my food and closing my eyes in delight, "Compliments to the chef. Anyway, what're our plans for the day?"

He licks his lips, "Well, we shall go to Dairy Queen at noon, and then rest is a surprise."

"Dairy Queen?"

"Dairy Queen."

"Oh my lord, I love you so much."

He breathtakingly smiles, "I love you so much, too."

•••

RIGHT AT NOON, Harrison and I finally head out after a few lazy hours of watching The Office. Entering his car, I immediately connect my phone to the cord, so we can listen to my own music. There's a specific playlist I have for my boyfriend and me, which consists of every genre we both enjoy.

Harrison puts the car into drive, grinning as the first song by Fall Out Boy comes on. Like the awesome dorks we are, Harrison and I belt out the lyrics and completely jam out to the song. Even though the car ride isn't a long one, we still manage to make it a good one.

"Ah, here we are," he says, pulling into the parking lot, "Some Dairy Queen for my queen."

We enter the shop, and I make my way towards the counter, but Harrison tells me to go find a seat. I raise an eyebrow in suspicion, but he sheepishly smiles and says that he wants to pay for the both of us without me demanding to give money as well.

"Okay," I respond, "You know what I want, yeah?"

"Oreo Blizzard, as always," Harrison responds with a wink.

A few minutes later, my boyfriend comes to the booth I chose with two Blizzards in his hands. He sits down across from me, just like how he had during breakfast, and rubs his hands together.

"Cold?"

"Yeah," he says, grabbing one of my hands with his icy ones, "This is why people shouldn't have ice cream in winter."

"Ice cream is a year-long treat, and you aren't allowed to tell me otherwise," I protest, taking a bite out of my Blizzard.

"Whatever," he says, scooping some into his mouth.

The next spoonful I take, I end up biting something hard. Scrunching up my eyebrows in confusion, I pull the cool piece of metal out. Why the fuck was there metal in my ice cream?

I examine it and notice that it's a ring. I look up at Harrison.

"Surprise?"

"A ring?"

"A promise ring," he corrects, wiping the remnants of Oreo ice cream away with a napkin, "Sorry for the lame way of presenting it, but yeah."

I run my finger over the ring, feeling the ridges that are engraved into it, "It's beautiful."

"You really think so?" Harrison asks with a shy smile on his face, and I almost melt, "I just wanted to promise that we'll still be together for the long run, y'know?"

I lean over the table and place a chaste kiss on Harrison's lips, "You better keep that promise, Gage."

"Don't worry. I wasn't planning on breaking it, Arden."

•••

PILLOW TALK IS something Harrison and I have grown accustomed to whenever either of us spend the night. Sometimes there's a physically intimate turn to it, but most of the time, it's just us next to each other, enjoying each other's presence through a conversation. It's something that helps us make it through the night without worries burdening us.

"Jake doesn't mind me spending another night, right?" I whisper to Harrison, "I feel bad for making him stay somewhere else, even though he's your roommate."

"And you're my girlfriend," Harrison says back, fixing his pillow from under his head, which ruffles up his black hair even further, "He doesn't mind, I'm sure of it."

"Okay," I finally say, snuggling closer to Harrison, feeling protected by the warmth he radiates, "Let's talk about my mom."

"I-- Arden, I don't want you to end the night with a bad note."

"It's okay, babe," I say, running my fingers down his jaw, which makes him close his blue eyes in delight, "I want to talk about her with you."

"Tell me about her, then."

"She was always a good mom when she was there. She'd always sing when cooking and tell these stories about how she met my dad. I thought she was happy," I start off, slowly starting to feel my throat close up, "I don't know what went wrong between us, between my family. She was there, and then she wasn't."

Harrison kisses my forehead to calm me down.

"When she left, I was absolutely devastated. I honestly thought I did something to drive her away. My dad would spend nights sitting in their -- his -- bedroom, and he just looked so upset with everything and everyone." I feel tears running down my cheeks, and I try to wipe them away before Harrison sees.

"He threw himself into work, and I-- I had no friends, no mom, no dad. I felt utterly alone," a son wracks through my body as I remember the saddest moments of my life, "I tried to call her so many times, asking the fucking voicemail why she left. I have so many unsent letters to her, Harrison."

I bury my face in the crook of his neck, trying to take comfort in the lazy swirling of his thumb against my waist.

I lift my head to look at him, and he offers me a sad smile in return, "Thank you for telling me, Arden. You're so unbelievably strong, and I admire you a lot as a person. These are just bumps in our road, and sometimes they're too much to handle. But hey, life goes on."

"Yeah," I sniffle, "Life goes on."

With those words on our tongues and in our thoughts, we manage to fall asleep.

________________________

AYYE ARDISON.

AYYE SAD ARDEN.

AYYE HARRISON BOYFRIEND GOALS.

AYYE LONGEST CHAPTER I'VE WRITTEN FOR THIS BOOK.

AYYE I LOVE YOU.

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--thyselves