I missed him.

I missed his voice, his violin, his music, his presence.

But most of all, I just missed...him.

He was always a quiet one, but yet again, I found myself thinking about him...

...And thinking about the song that he wrote.

I sunk further into my pillows. There was no way he actually wrote that for me, right? Was I getting ahead of myself? But the lyrics sounded familiar to what had transpired on the day we first met each other.

It was early morning and I hadn't got any sleep. I had lost my appetite and sleep when the fact that violin boy could possibly like me was ingrained in my brain.

Did I like him?

I don't know!

But I was lying to myself. Even though we hadn't talked much with each other, we had still spent our evenings together with me singing to the accompaniment of his violin. I had looked forward to meeting him every day.

Now that he was gone, there was a hole gaping at my heart, reaching out for him, bleeding for him.

And those blue butterflies...were his eyes as bright as the blue on the wings of those butterflies?

Different thoughts and questions ran in my mind, so I started cleaning and dusting my room in order to distract myself.

It has been a long time since I went outside to my balcony. 

I wondered if my plants were as dead as my heart.

The dust unsettles the air as I open the doors to the balcony with a cough. I stepped out and let the breeze pelt my face. I greedily inhaled the fresh air as I hadn't opened my windows to the world outside in weeks.

True enough, my plants were on the verge of dying, so I brought back a bottle of water to nourish them.

I should truly get some work done. There was no point in wallowing over someone you might never see again.

I swiped my fingers over my ear when I felt a fly grazing my ear while I watered my plants. When it happened again, I started to slap the air impatiently.

Tsk, were there flies around or was I just feeling the wind?

I curiously looked above me with crossed eyes, only to feel the wind knocked out of my body as the bottle slipped through my fingers.

B-Butterflies?

The familiar vibrant blue butterflies were humming around my head, making my head swirl in a frenzy. As seconds passed by, more and more butterflies gathered around me, sending me into a fit of panic.

"Woah, woah. What is all this?"

I jerked back in surprise at the voice I heard from somewhere below me. I whipped my head back at the fluttering butterflies registering the familiar voice in my brain.

My heart started to have palpitations as my hands began to sweat.

There was no way-

I rushed towards the railings and bent my upper body over it, looking down at the apartment below mine as my hair flowed down like a waterfall.

And there he was, looking like an angel brought down from heaven, surrounded by a symphony of emerald-green butterflies who were swirling around him like a mild cyclone.

At my loud gasp, he strained his eyes up at me which simultaneously widened as he saw me.

Before I knew it, a big tear rolled down my face and dropped onto his freckled cheek like a crystal shattering my emotions into shards. Suppressing my sobs that threatened to break away, I ran back inside, opened the front door of my apartment and flew down the emergency exit to the floor below mine.

My teary orbs scanned the door numbers before I heard the banging of a door opening from ahead.

Please, please tell me that this wasn't a joke and that I was not hallucinating.

My feet took me towards the sound and I ran straight into a chest that was breathing as heavily as mine.

Our eyes became transfixed on one another instantly. Green and blue butterflies adorned with different designs on their big wings swooped down, cocooning us in between their swirls and dances of happy fluttering.

The violin boy watched the green butterflies breathlessly before looking into my eyes in disbelief. As if to confirm what he was seeing, he did the same action again.

Yes, my eyes have the same colour as those of the butterflies.

And so did his. The butterflies that had been following me around whenever I met him resembled the bright oceanic colour of his orbs.

"H-Hey," he stuttered, his hands trembling as he took in everything that was happening.

My emotional barrier broke down, the waters breaking the dam that could barely hold them. I couldn't restrain myself anymore.

I dashed into his arms and wrapped myself tightly around him as I broke down in tears.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" I gushed out, smothering my sobs against his shirt.

I felt his arms surround me tightly, bringing me closer to his warmth.

"Shh, it's alright. Everything is going to be fine."

He stroked my hair gently, swaying us from side to side as my sobs slowly ceased. I pulled away from him slightly.

"I missed you," I sniffled, internally taken aback at my actions. I was never the one to jump onto people like this, but I this boy had rattled my heart and emotions.

He cupped my face and searched my face, "Is this really you? I am not dreaming?"

I let out a wet chuckle. "No, I hope to everything that none of us are dreaming." 

I embraced him again. "Why did you not come to the park? Was it what I said, about the butterflies and love?" I asked against his chest.

I felt him hum and tighten his hold on me, confirming my thoughts and reasoning. 

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, it's fine. I just needed some time away to- I don't know, move on, I guess?" he stated, rubbing his neck nervously.

"I don't believe this, when did...it happen?" I asked him.

When did you start liking me?

His face flushed like a heat furnace as he mumbled, "When I saw you for the first time..."

My breath caught in my throat, my legs wobbling and my heart running into overdrive, "Wh-How?"

"Don't make me say it now," he retreated a little towards his door before effectively changing the subject. "But, is this really happening right now? Do you- uhm, have any interest in me?"

"If these butterflies can't tell you enough, then I think it is time I accept the truth that is staring right in my face." I wiped the tears on my face and took a deep breath. "Yes, I have grown to like you, a lot."

He slumped back onto the wall, mouth agape with a flabbergasted look.

"I never really thought that you'll return my one-sided feelings. I was afraid that you would can on to the fact that butterflies fluttered around you, some increasingly more than the last time whenever you came to the park. But then you said that you never believed in love because of them. My hopes were crushed and I forced myself to stay away from you because I was afraid to bother you with the butterflies that reflected my feelings."

Had he really looked at me that way since the first day?

Then I remembered, yes, there was a lone butterfly on me that looked different from the other ones flying around the engaged couple and lovers in that park.

One lone blue butterfly.

The same I had found the next day hovering by my window.

Violin boy had been below my apartment all this time.

"How did I never see this?" I exhaled, the revelation hitting me like an earthquake.

"We can put it all behind us now," he said, placing his hand on my shoulder in concern and regard.

I nodded my head weakly, feeling a little dizzy, especially with the butterflies swarming around us.

"Do you want to come inside? That way, the butterflies can't bother us. I hope they don't, come inside" he said, his hand on his door as he waited for my answer.

"I think that'll be a good idea."

We were seated at his kitchen counter, drinking a hot cup of cocoa as we talked amongst ourselves. 

I revealed to him the reason for my hatred of butterflies and he was very attentive and understanding of me, asking me questions and regarding me watchfully.

"I will not pressure you to do anything you are not comfortable with," he affirmed sternly and I smiled at him, knowing that he was already different from anyone else I've acquainted with.

"I know you won't, I trust you."

"So, do you want to date me? For real?" he inquired, watching me from underneath his long eyelashes.

"Yeah, I would love to give us a try," I replied with a blush.

He was the sweetest human being I've ever met.

"I missed you very much too," he said, hesitantly intertwining my hand with his. I shifted in my seat so I could hug him. His musky scent wafted to my senses and I snuggled closer to him.

"Would you mind if I kissed you?"

The question he asked in that husky voice of his sent shivers down every muscle of my body that I was rendered wordless, but I nodded in consent, wanting to feel closer to him.

I leaned forward and gently caressed my lips with his, making him jump back with a startle.

"W-What is it? Did I do something wrong?" I panicked, but he watched me with his hand closed over his lips.

"I thought kissing meant- kissing the forehead..."

Please bury me, right now.

I plopped my head on the counter, hiding my face in embarrassment.

"No! No, it was okay! There was nothing to be worried about. Of course, I wanted to kiss you there! I mean not only on your forehead but everywhere! Wait- I meant not everywhere in the literal sense, but your rosy cheeks and plump lips...your collarbone- not that I was staring at it! I meant-"

I had to shut his adorable self up with a quick kiss on his lips.

He gets more easily flustered than me.

He was the most adorable human being ever.

He froze for a second, before he reached out and tenderly held me, bringing his lips down to mine as we kissed each other, and like a sea of rippled waves, my skin erupted in goosebumps.

 For the first time in ages, I didn't mind the fluttering of butterflies above me.

He touched me as if I was made of glass. He kissed my lips in relaxation, repeatedly pecking them for as long as he pleased.

"I didn't believe in love before, but I will give us a chance," I promised against his lips, and his fingers threaded down my hair.

"I will do my best to show you how worthy you are of love, my little nightingale."

My body warmed at his words as I recalled the song he had composed and sung to me at the park.

"Will you play the violin for me?" I questioned as I leaned against his broad chest. 

I wanted to hear his voice. I craved the melodies he strung from his violin.

"Of course. Wait for me," he kissed my forehead before leaving towards the direction of his room.

He came out from his room with his violin and I take a seat next to him as he he got ready.

I spent the whole day at his apartment, singing along to his violin, singing with him, listening to him as butterflies hovered around us and outside the windows, dancing along with us.

"Hello, my old heart

How have you been?

Are you still there inside my chest?

I've been so worried

You've been so still

Barely beating at all

Don't leave me here alone

Don't tell me that we've grown

For having loved a little while

Oh, whoa-oh

I don't wanna be alone

I wanna find a home

And I wanna share it with you"

I was elated. There was no stronger feeling that was I was feeling right now with him by my side.

I felt strangely...free.

It was easier to speak with him now and he opened up to me.

Just like me, the solidity was eating him up, and he had found me by chance when he had left to the park for the first time with his violin to get rid of the loneliness.

Every time he saw me, butterflies would swarm the space between.

Every time I saw him, the butterflies would guide me towards him.

We walked up the stairs and stood in front of my apartment door. We faced each other, sporting equally happy smiles as we hugged each other for the last time today. 

He planted a feathery kiss on my forehead and whispered a 'good night' into my cold ears. Despite the cool night, my body warmed up and I reciprocated his actions, wanting to stop time from moving my new-found world with him. 

The butterflies faded away when he walked away with a little skip, making me watch him with admiration.

We really found each other thanks to those butterflies, huh?

I glanced at one of the butterflies that still lingered about. 

"You win, you stupid little insects. I guess I hate you less." 

But my tone was far from resentment as I watched their blue wings flutter against the air teasingly. 

Suddenly, I let out a choked laugh when I realised something absolutely bizarre.

I swiveled around just as the violin boy too, turned around with eyes as big as moons. 

The butterflies increased a tenfold when we laughed out loud.

"Isn't that just absurd?" he yelled from the other end of the hallway.

"I know! I can't believe we forgot!" I chuckled back in humiliation.

I could see his pearly white teeth from here when he tried to cease his laughs.

"You go first," he encouraged as the emerald butterflies perched on his dirty blond hair.

"My name is Ophelia."

"Ophelia. You can call me Theron."

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Credit: "Old Heart" by The Oh Hellos

And that was the end of this short story! Thank you a2e2023 for this unique prompt, I loved writing this!

Tell me thoughts about this! Let's not forget to vote and comment.

Best wishes, everyone!