And this why you don't remove a story from your library after you've finished it.

Surprise!

Third POV

He tapped his foot impatiently on the ground, wandering back and forth across the pavement.

So many late night texts, so many video calls, so many missed video calls because of college work...

And the whole summer was waiting right then and there for them.

Then... he didn't know. Well, he did... kinda.

These months had been tough; and not just because he had to be away from his love.

First, it was teaching Wu how to use Nyoom, a video conferencing app. He was happy that Nya had taken a liking to him, but continuing sessions online was... hard to get used to, to say the least.

Then, it was the apartment. Kai had brought in his girlfriend (now fiancée) to live with them. At first, it was 'easy peasy lemon squeezy', as he described it; since the two shared a room, Jay got to keep his own, even if it wasn't used that often anymore.

The two sure did love making noise, though, most of which weren't for a child's (heck, or even his) ears to hear. In the end, he would have described it more as 'difficult difficult lemon difficult'.

After that, his best friends. He had forgotten how good it was to hang out with them ever since Nya had moved in. Not that he minded her, just that his past mistakes had kept him... occupied. It felt good to finally let go of the past.

The best part of all (other than finally making up with Nya, of course) had been knowing she was somewhere safe. Vania was an absolute sweetheart, while Seliel made sure to keep them both safe.

They were much better roommates than Chamille and Tox, from what he had gathered from Nya.

Speaking of Nya, his... crush? Girlfriend? No... Yes? He wasn't quite so sure.

But anyway, he was currently waiting across the restaurant Sushburger, a favourite amongst the residents of Stiix. How someone could love a combination of burger and sushi was beyond him (not like he had tasted it, anyway).

When he tilted his chin up, his smile was bright enough to light up the entirety of the foggy town by the docks. There was something about seeing her happy that made his heart skip a beat.

Even if only three months had passed, she couldn't have looked any different.

Her clothes were colourful (well, when she wasn't bored, like in that occasion), his favourite one being the blue dress she was currently wearing. Of course, her blue sneakers (a gift from her brand-obsessed brother) were present in her outfit as well.

The final touch was the phoenix-shaped necklace, gifted to her by the one and only during that party a few months back.

Her hair had grown slightly longer, though not enough to be pulled up; not that he minded, though.

But the most important thing to him (other than the fact that she had gained some healthy weight after so much time) was her smile; it finally seemed real. And boy, had he missed seeing her dimples.

She stopped in front of him, fiddling with the chain of her purse.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey there."

They both looked at each other for a bit; then laughed.

He pulled her into a tight hug, her giving him a peck on the cheek as a response. He tried to get the gears on his brain to turn again, but she had noticed his blush quickly enough for the shade of her cheeks to match his.

"So..." he said, "ready to spend the next two weeks with your super duper amazing..."

... He hadn't thought of that last part when rehearsing his speech.

"Boyfriend?" she finished for him.

His voice cracked a little. "Yeah?"

She looked at the ground shyly, slowly slipping her hand around his. "Great," she said, almost in a whisper. "But first... sushburgers."

Before she could head inside, he quickly grabbed her hand, yanking her a bit closer to him than he'd like.

"Sorry..."

"Don't worry about it," she said, lightly rubbing her wrist. She looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

"Well..." He thought for a moment. "May I?"

"May you what?"

Oh no.

"Nevermind."

Nya grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down, connecting their lips for just a few moments.

"I'm just messing with ya," she chuckled, opening the door to the old establishment.

She suddenly pointed at her lips. "By the way, you've got something there," she said with a wink, trying to supress a giggle.

Upon brushing his thumb over his upper lip, the colour of her new lipstick started to show.

His brain stopped working right then and there, but the sound of her laughter from inside was enough to jolt him awake.

He wouldn't mind hearing her laugh every day, in fact, he craved it. But at the same time...

... he knew he was too much of a coward to pop the question; they had just established their relationship, after all. But they both could use a new roommate at the end of the day...

He wasn't going to think about it for now.

He headed inside the shop, accompanying her to their reservation by the ancient docks with a surprisingly excited smile.

They had been through some stuff, that was for certain. But they were happy, and that's what mattered to them.

The End.

Hope you enjoyed this story... I'm really going to miss it and I just had to give it an epilogue!

Either way, thank you all for supporting me throughout this book :).

C ya <3.