Madeline woke to Elijah pressed tight against her body, molding himself against her perfectly, with his arm draped around her and his bandaged hand covering her own. It was doing perfect things to her stomach, and she wanted to relish in this feeling forever.

Then she remembered college. Elijah told her the night before that he was staying, but now she was the one who would have to leave in just a few short months. Did that mean he'd be staying with her parents for the year while she finished college two and a half hours away? Would he follow her there if she asked him to?

"Shh," Elijah whispered, the puff of air hitting her temple.

"I didn't say anything." Or had she?

He let out a tired laugh. "Maybe not, but the gears turning in your head are loud as all hell, M&M. Say what you need to say, because right now it feels like I'm holding a stiff board."

If she could say what she said yesterday, albeit in a letter, surly she could say this. "What happens when I have to go back to college? And what about when it's time for me to join the workforce? There won't be any jobs in my field in this town. And what about your-"

"I can do construction anywhere, M&M," Elijah mumbled against her ear, cutting her off. "And I'm going to tell you this one time, and one time only. Once summer's over, I'll be so in love with you that I'll follow you anywhere. Hell, I would have followed you regardless, because you're still my best friend, and I've lost too much time with you as it is."

Just hearing him say 'in love' was enough to set her insides ablaze. Madeline remembered so many books and movies spouting cliches of fireworks shooting off in the brain, butterflies fluttering around in the stomach, and being weak in the knees. She assumed it was all bullshit, creating this glorified, sappy version of romance. Either that, or Madeline was doing something wrong.

As it turned out, the only thing wrong was the man. With Elijah in her life, kissing her underneath the stars and whispering sweet nothings into her ear, Madeline could safely assume that if she'd standing while he said that, her knees would have given out.

There was a quote by Dr. Seuss, which played well with the quote she'd been repeating in her brain. "you know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

Elijah had told her he'd stayed up an hour later than her that first night, just so he could watch her sleep and study her. Last night, long after he'd fallen asleep, all Madeline could think about was his arms wrapped around her, how perfect it felt, and became hypnotized by the sound of his steady breaths.

"You're kind of perfect."

Elijah laughed behind her. "Far from it, M&M. I've got issues, just like everyone else, and those issues run deep as hell. But I'm going to work through them, because you deserve the best version of me. I told you the reason why I left to begin with, how I felt like I was becoming too angry to control for much longer, and I didn't want you around that.

"I still get angry. I still have some of that darkness in me. You saw what I did to that man's house. But the moment you walked into that room, that darkness and anger slipped away. You're the one who brings out the good in me, Maddie. You're the one who brings me light and calmness, and I should have found a way to keep you in my life."

Madeline swore those butterflies just did a line of cocaine, because those wings were moving at warp speed. He brought up being hopelessly in love with her by the end of summer, but if he kept this up, she'd be there by the end of the week. At the very latest.

"You know what I think?"

Elijah pressed a kiss against her bare shoulder, then a second just below her ear. "What do you think, M&M?"

"I think there was a typo in my letter to you. I said you were possibly my fate."

"But this was always our fate," Elijah told her. "Unlike you, my letter didn't have a typo. I told you that no one's ever gotten into my head or my heart like you. At the time, I wasn't meant to know why. But that fate brought us back together exactly when it was meant to."

Those coked out butterflies were about to make her pass out or puke. "Like I said, perfect."

His hand left hers to tickle her stomach, causing Maddie to thrash and squeal.

Two taps against her bedroom door caused the tickling to seize. "If that's foreplay I'm hearing, time to put it on hold. Breakfast is ready."

There was nothing subtle about the blush that crept onto Madeline's face.

Elijah turned her face by her cheek, and gave her the briefest kiss. Closed-lipped, sparing them both morning breath she'd happily welcome. "Come on. Time to have a talk with your parents," he told her, before rolling himself off the bed.

Neither bothered to change out of their pajamas before heading downstairs to meet her parents in the kitchen, but once Madeline saw the full sized picture on the kitchen table, she froze. "What the actual hell?"

Her mom smiled, looking very pleased with herself. "I woke up half an hour ago, and noticed the guest bedroom door was open with no one inside. And low and behold, this is what I found in my daughter's room. This is fridge material right here. Tell me that isn't the most adorable shit you've ever seen."

Her dad chuckled as he sat at the table, already eating his breakfast. Madeline picked it up for a closer look. Her mom had taken a photo of the two of them in the same position she awoke in; pressed against one another like their lives depended on it, holding hands in their sleep. Not only did she take a photo, but she printed it out on a full-sized gloss paper.

"I like it," Elijah told Madeline over her shoulder. "It's how we woke up after the night you asked me to stay."

Her's dad's fork dropped against the plate. "I'm sorry, you're going to have to repeat that for me."

The worlds biggest smile took over Madeline's face. "I asked him to stay."

"Which is why I was acting so weird at dinner last night," Elijah explained before turning his attention to her mom. "It wasn't because you were overstepping. Maddie and I had a talk yesterday before dinner, and I realized I didn't want her to go through losing me a second time. So I let her know she was free to ask me to stay, which she didn't do until after dinner. Since I didn't know where her and I stood, I wasn't sure how to answer your questions."

"And where do the two of you stand?" Her mom asked.

Madeline leaned her back against Elijah's chest, then felt his arms wrap around her stomach.

Her mom suddenly turned beat red, and her hand flew up to cover her eyes. "I was joking about the foreplay thing. Oh my god, I knocked on your door during foreplay."

Elijah kissed the top of her head before going over to her mom. "You didn't, I swear. I know you guys have made a lot of jokes about walking in on us naked, running off to get married, and knocking her up, but I promised to behave while we're sharing a bed, and I keep my promises."

"I don't care if it's happening," her dad told him. "I just don't want to overhear it. Just be a gentleman about it, and take her out on a few dates first."

"And don't knock her up before she finishes college," her mom added in. "Oh, those grand-babies are going to be perfect."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, mom." While any baby that shared Elijah's DNA would be beautiful, that would be in the distant future.

"Why in the hell do you think we kept making those comments?" Her dad asked without waiting for an answer. "The two of you were always going to end up with each other. I knew that before he left, and I knew it when I saw he was back. You two always looked at each other with so much adoration. It was completely innocent then, but your mother and I could both see it. He was your first love before you were old enough to even understand what that truly meant.

"When we were driving home after you graduated, you were so quiet. You said nothing was wrong, but I knew better. Every big moment of your life, you never felt that sort of excitement you're meant to feel, because Elijah wasn't here to feel it with you. Then you saw that prism hanging from the mailbox, and you fell on the ground and started sobbing. If I didn't know it for certain before, I did in that moment. You're heart only ever belonged to his man," he told her, pointing to Elijah.

"It's why I never warmed up to Marty, amongst other reasons. You may have been with that boy for over two years, but it was never more than dating. Someone to fill your time before Elijah came back and took the place he was always meant to have in your life. Every teasing comment I've made was to wake your asses up to it before he left town again. So, you're welcome."