~~~~~

About a week later, I was sitting in the courtyard finishing up my project for my major when I noticed Lucas approaching me out of the corner of my eye.
"Oh, hey." He greeted me, seeming to be pleasantly surprised to run into me. "I didn't expect to run into you out here. How are things?"
"Good." I smiled as I held up the sheet music so that he could see it. "I'm nearly done with this."
"Really?" He asked excitedly.
I nodded.
"That's really good timing actually because I've been meaning to ask you something." He smiled shyly as he looked down at the ground.
"What is it?" I asked, his statement having sparked curiosity within me.
"Well, I was wondering if you would allow me to take a video of you playing the song that you wrote for your project so that I can use the footage for that personal project I briefly mentioned to you." He requested. "If you don't want to, it's totally fine. I'd be able to find or obtain other footage for this particular part of the project without a problem."
"Yeah, I'd love to be a part of your project."
"Great!" He exclaimed excitedly as he sat down next to me. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm just going to get some editing done while you finish up the rest of your song. Can you let me know when you're done?"
"Of course." I nodded as I turned my attention back to the several pages of notes that were on my lap. Lucas's request had given me the last bit of motivation that I needed to finish this song up, and I found myself drawing out one note after another until I was finished.

I lightly nudged Lucas's arm as the finished work rested on my lap. He jumped slightly, the nudge having broken his focus. Nonetheless, he removed his earbuds and looked over at me.
"Done?"
I nodded.
"Awesome!" He quickly saved his progress and closed his laptop. "Let's go get the footage then."

Lucas and I decided on going into Watson Hall, which I later realized was the very place where we had met since the piano practice rooms that I became accustomed to using were for piano students only, and I didn't really want to risk getting into trouble for bringing a cinematography student into them.
"Would you mind if I played through the song a couple of times before you film me?" I asked him as I sat down at the piano and as he began setting up his camera.
"No, not at all." He replied as he continued to set it up. "I'll need a bit of time getting everything set up and ready to go anyways."
"Okay, perfect." I set the sheet music on the music rack and played a few notes to make sure that the piano was tuned. Just like last time, the most beautiful notes that I've ever heard come out of a piano filled my ears, and I couldn't help but smile.

My smile only widened when I started playing my song. I honestly didn't think that I would fall in love with it all that much ( which is funny considering the fact that the song is about what I think falling in love feels like,) but I actually ended up liking it a lot. I also ended up only making a couple minor adjustments to the song after I played it through a couple of times.

"Wow," Lucas said breathlessly after I had played through my song for the second time. "It's even more beautiful than I anticipated it being."
"Thank you." I felt my face grow hot and a small blush form on my face when he said this. "I'm really glad that you like it."
"I don't like it." Hearing him say this made my heart drop into my stomach. However, what he said next made me feel flustered all over again. "I love it."
"Thanks," I said again, not really knowing what else to say. "I'm glad that you enjoy it."
Lucas gave me a smile as he asked, "Are you really for me to take a video of you?"
I nodded and placed my hands on the keys that I needed to start with.
"Just give me a nod when you're ready." He instructed.
I waited a couple of moments before I nodded again and began playing my newly written song for the third time. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Lucas slowly circling around me with his camera. I then spotted him kneeling down when he was at a certain angle at one point.

"I got it!" Lucas exclaimed after he stopped recording. "I'm really happy that we got it in one take. I was thinking that we would do at least two or three, and that made me feel bad because I didn't want to make you play the same song over and over again.
"Oh, I wouldn't have minded doing that." I shrugged. "I actually really enjoyed the fact that I got to play my song three times in a row."
"And I enjoyed getting to hear it three times in a row," Lucas said as he smiled brightly. "Speaking of your song, do you have a name for it? You're not just going to call it 'My Song,' are you?"
"No, of course not." I shook my head.
"What are you going to call it then?"
I thought about it for a few moments before I settled on a title. "I'm going to call it 'It's A Wonderful Life.'"
"I like it." Lucas gave a nod of approval. "What made you decide on that?"
"Well, I imagine that when you fall in love, life is wonderful and the feelings that you feel for the person that you fall in love with are wonderful," I explained.
"Okay, I like it even more," Lucas said. "By the way, if you don't ace this assignment, I'm filing a complaint to your piano professor."
"I'm sure that won't be necessary." I laughed. "I think that I'm going to do very well on this assignment."
"You better." Lucas laughed as well. "If I was your professor, I'd give you an A+."
"Really?" I found myself blushing ever so slightly all over again.
"Yeah, definitely." I noticed that Lucas was blushing ever so slightly as well. "I think your song sounds quite nice."

Silence fell between us until Lucas broke it a few moments later.
"Hey, so, if you wouldn't mind, that is..." He trailed off. "I'd like to learn a little bit about playing the piano. Would you be willing to teach me a couple of things?"
"Absolutely." I grinned brightly as I moved over so he had room to sit down and patted the newly made space. It made me really happy that he was willing to learn something that meant so much to me.
Lucas grinned back as he sat down next to me. "I'm ready to learn."

*****

After spending about an hour or so teaching Lucas the very basics about playing the piano, I decided that that was enough for the time being since I could tell he needed to have a break.
"Thanks for teaching me some things." He said, smiling a bit.
"No problem," I replied, smiling back. "Thanks for showing interest in something that means quite a lot of me and even going as far as wanting to learn a little bit about it."
"You're welcome." He continued to smile as he stood up. "I should also thank you for allowing me to film you playing the piano for my personal video project so... thank you for that."
"No problem," I stated once more, standing up as well. "Well, it's been really nice spending time with you today. However, I, unfortunately, must get going because I have some homework that I need to get done before my classes start back up on Monday."
"Yeah, I should get going too," Lucas replied as he was gathering up his camera and other filming equipment. "As always, it was super great getting to hang out with you. We'll text and/or call later, right?"
"Definitely," I said as I grabbed my sheet music. "I'll see you around, Lucas."
"See you around, Ellie." He replied as I turned and began walking back to my dorm.

*****

Once I was finished with all of my homework, I called Lucas, just like I had promised. He picked up after just a couple of rings.
"Hello?"
"Hey, what's up?" I greeted. "I just finished up my homework. What are you up to?"
"Working on homework and my personal project as always." He sighed, his exhaustion extremely apparent. "There's really never a moment where I'm not working on something, I swear."
"Maybe you should take a break then," I suggested. "It's not good to overwork yourself."
"I know, but I've got to stay on top of everything." He sighed again. "I was barely getting by last year because I barely ever did my assignments. Thank God for my amazing test-taking skills though. Without that, I would've failed every single one of my classes."
"I still think that you should take a break." I insisted. "You're clearly exhausted. I can hear it in my voice."
"I'm not exhausted because of all of the work." He sighed yet again. "I'm exhausted because of my insomnia. You know those nights where we don't talk on the phone until we fall asleep?" He didn't bother waiting for my response. "Those are the nights where I don't sleep. At all."
"I'm sorry." I frowned, not really knowing what else to say. "If there's anything that I can, just let me know. I'd like to help you in any way that I can."
"Thanks, but I'd rather not trouble you." Even though I couldn't see him right now, I could tell that Lucas was frowning as well. "Especially since you'd probably already be sound asleep by the time my insomnia really started to bother me."
"You wouldn't trouble me," I told him. "I promise. You're my friend, and friends are supposed to help each other out when they need it."
"I know, I know, it's just..." He trailed off. "I have to go. I'll see you at lunch tomorrow."
Before I could even begin to come up with a response, he hung up on me. I let out a heavy sigh when he did this since he had been slowly opening up a little bit more every single day until fairly recently. Now, instead of gradually opening up, he was gradually closing himself off.

However, this didn't discourage me. If I was able to get him open up, even if it was just a little bit before, I was able to do it all over again. Lucas was a friend that I valued more than any friend that I back in England because I've never clicked with someone like the way I clicked with him. I've never talked on hours on end like I have with him. I've... I've never cared for someone like I've cared for him.

No matter what it took, I was determined to prevent Lucas Devereaux from closing himself off again.

~~~~~

The next morning, I awoke to an empty bedside. This didn't alarm me, however, since I figured that Lucas had just gone to the bathroom or something.

With that in mind, I slowly sat up and stretched as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I heard the door open a moment later and spotted Lucas out of the corner of my eye. A small smile formed on his face when he saw me and he walked over and sat down next to me.
"Good morning." He greeted, the smile still on his face. "Did you sleep well?"
I nodded. "How about you? Did you sleep well?"
"I sure did." He nodded as well and pulled me into a hug. "I sleep much better when you're here with me."
"If that's the case, you'll be sleeping very well for the next couple of weeks then," I said as I hugged him back.
"I know, and I'm very much looking forward to it." He grinned as he ran his fingers through my hair. "These next couple of weeks are going to be absolutely amazing."
I nodded again. "I can't wait to show you around London. You're going to really love it."
"I'm very certain that I will." He continued to grin.
I was silent for a couple of moments before I spoke again. "Hey, I'm going to go downstairs and get something to eat. Do you want to come with me?"
"Yeah, sure." He shrugged as he released his grip on me and got off of my bed. "I might actually attempt to eat something, but I'm not too sure quite yet."
"Okay." I smiled softly and hoped that he would make the right decision and end up eating something, even if it was just an attempt.

The smile that I had had on my face faded away once my feet (though I was still wearing heels, of course) touched the ground. That was because the moment that they had made contact with the ground was also the moment where a sharp pain shot through both of my feet. I wasn't too sure why it was affecting me so much since I had grown used my feet almost always being in pain due to the fact that I was constantly wearing my heels. Nonetheless, I winced as I endured the sharp pain for nearly an entire minute.
"What's wrong?" Lucas asked, clearly concerned and alarmed. My pain was nothing serious, and I couldn't but feel bad that I had made him so worried so quickly.
"Nothing," I whispered as the pain subsided a little bit. "Nothing at all."
"No, there's something wrong." He insisted, not accepting my response for an answer. "I know there is."
"Okay, fine." I sighed, knowing that I should just tell him since I knew he wouldn't stop asking until I did so. "My feet hurt really badly. Like way more than they usually do."
"Maybe taking off your heels would help." He suggested.
"No way." I immediately rejected his suggestion because it would mean him seeing how short I truly was. "I have my secret and you have yours, and unless you reveal that secret to me, these heels are staying right where they belong; on my feet."
"Fine, fine, fair enough." He sighed in defeat, clearly not ready to reveal whatever he was hiding, much to my dismay. "Can we just go downstairs now?"
"Yeah." The pain had become bearable again and plus, I was more than ready to get myself some breakfast.

*****

As soon as Lucas and I had made our way downstairs, we were greeted by Dad and Papa, who were in the living room sitting on the couch, eating cereal, and watching the telly together.
"It's about time you two got up." Dad teased as he let out a laugh. "Papa and I were starting to think that you were dead or something."
"No, we're very much alive," I replied, going along with his teasing and laughing as well. "We're just getting used to it being five hours earlier than usual."
"Fair enough." Dad shrugged as he gave Lucas and me a smile. "You guys must be starving. You're welcome to have whatever you like, of course."
"We have quite the selection of cereal." Papa boasted proudly as he chimed into the conversation by bringing the fact that there was plenty of his favorite breakfast food to go around to our attention.
"When do you ever not have quite the selection of cereal?" I questioned, laughing slightly.
"Never," Papa stated just as proudly. "I always keep my cereal supplies high and full of variety."
"God, you're such an idiot." Dad groaned with a very slight smile on his face.
"But I'm your idiot." Papa happily pointed out to him.
"Yep, you sure are." I found myself smiling happily as they exchanged a quick kiss.

After the exchange with Dad and Papa ended, I headed into the kitchen and went over to where the cereal was kept, Lucas following behind me as I did so.
"Oh my God," Lucas said a couple of moments after I opened the cupboard where the cereal was. "I think that's the biggest box of cereal that I've ever seen."
"What?" I asked, feeling confused. But then I saw what he was talking about.
Tucked away in the far corner of the cupboard was, in fact, a giant box of cereal.
"Oh my God." I echoed Lucas's previous statement as I reached in and pulled out the oversized cereal box. This box of Shreddies, according to the label, was one kilogram.
"Dad, Papa bought a one-kilogram box of cereal!" I called out.
"Philip Michael Howell-Lester, I told you not to buy that ginormous box of cereal!" I laughed as Dad scolded Papa as if he were a child. "We're not a family of ten!"
"But it's Shreddies," Papa whined in response.
"I don't care what it is!" I continued to laugh as they continued to bicker. "A kilogram's worth of cereal is too much for two people to handle!"
"Not for four people!" Papa continued to try and justify why buying a kilogram's worth of cereal was a good idea and a good investment. "Last night, the number of people in our house doubled, so that means that double the people eating the cereal."
There was a silence before Dad finally gave his response. "You are absolutely ridiculous." He then called out to Lucas and me. "Can you please do us a favor and eat some of that cereal?"
"Us?" Papa asked, sounding like Dad had just kicked a puppy instead of requested us to eat some of Papa's precious cereal. "No, this is just you."
"Oh, whatever." Papa scoffed at him. Afterward, he called out to Lucas and me again. "Ignore him! Just eat the cereal!"
"Will do!" I called back as I placed the massive cereal box down on the counter before I got out two bowls and the bag of milk (not the dairy-free one that Papa drank since I don't like dairy-free milk) and placed them down on the counter as well.
"What the hell is that?" Lucas asked as he pointed to the bag of milk.
"It's milk."
"What?" His eyes widened in disbelief as he picked up the bag. "You can put milk in a bag?"
"Yeah..." I was puzzled by his reaction until I remembered that he had spent his whole life in America and this was his first time being out of the country, so he was therefore unaware of the fact that some other countries had bagged milk rather than milk that was in a plastic container. "Oh yeah, I forgot. You've lived in America for your entire life, so you've therefore never seen milk like this."
"No, I haven't." Lucas stared at the bag of milk in amazement. It was like he was staring at an invention that was going to change the world for the better rather just an insignificant bag of milk. "This is seriously one of the coolest things that I've ever seen. If we weren't an entire ocean away, I'd buy some of these and take them back home to North Carolina."
"I bet you would." I laughed as I poured cereal into both of the bowls. "Enjoy it while it can."
"I will." Lucas laughed as well as he watched me.

*****

After I finished with the cereal, I put the box away, went over to the silverware drawer, and grabbed two spoons from it. I then handed one of the spoons to Lucas before I placed mine into my bowl of cereal, picked it up, and began taking it out to the living room.
"Are you two done bickering about cereal?" I teased Dad and Papa as I walked by and picked a spot on the couch. Lucas, of course, picked the spot that was next to mine.
"Yes, we're done bickering about cereal." Dad laughed. He allowed a couple of moments to pass by before he asked, "So, what are you planning on doing today?"
"We haven't discussed that actually," I remarked. "However, I was thinking about taking Lucas here around the city since it's his first time being in London, and I want to show him the great things that this city has to offer. Though, I was also thinking about the fact that you and Papa probably want us to stay here and hang out with the two of you since, you know, I haven't exactly been home for two years."
"Oh, well, you two can go out and explore the city if you'd like." Dad shrugged. "You guys are going to be staying here for a couple of weeks, so it's not necessary for you guys to stay here if you'd rather go out and explore, especially since it's only your first full day of being here. Besides, you're twenty years old and therefore an adult, so you're perfectly capable of going out and about around London if you want."
"Thanks, Dad." I smiled softly. I was really lucky to not only have parents as amazing as Dad and Papa but to also have parents that understood that I was no longer a child and was perfectly capable and responsible enough to take care of myself. "We'll head out and explore London then."
"Alright," Dad replied as he smiled back. "Papa or I might send you a text checking up on you later on in the day, so be on the lookout for that."
"I will," I promised.

*****

Dad, Papa, Lucas, and I all made small talk amongst ourselves until both Lucas and I both finished our cereal. When we had done so, we walked back out into the kitchen and placed our bowls and spoons into the sink. We then made our way upstairs and into my room so that we could start getting ready for the day.

Lucas picked out what he wanted to wear fairly quickly and took his outfit along with his toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, and what appeared to be... concealer? At first, I thought I was crazy, but as I looked at it while he was walking to the bathroom, I realized that it really was, in fact, concealer.

Questions raced through my mind as I picked out the dress that I wanted to wear, not really caring if Lucas ended up walking in on me (we've been dating for a little more than a year now, and because of that, I didn't really mind if he saw me right now.) Questions such as 'Why the hell does he have concealer?' and 'What exactly is he hiding?'

After a few minutes, Lucas walked back into my room after he had finished getting ready in the bathroom. I watched as he placed the items that he had taken in there (except for the outfit he was currently wearing, of course) back into his bag. As he did so, I wondered if I should question him about the concealer.

I gave my idea a few seconds of thought before I ultimately decided against it. I wasn't really in the mood to bicker with it. I just wanted to go out and show him all of the beautiful things that London had to offer.
"I'm just going to go and brush my teeth, comb my hair, and do my makeup," I told him. "After that, I'll be ready to go."
"Okay, but you don't need makeup." He replied. "You're beautiful already."
"You don't need it either." The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself from saying them in the first place. I covered my mouth as my eyes widened, just wanting to disappear.
"What do you mean?" Lucas asked as he raised an eyebrow and pretended to be genuinely confused about what I had said.
"Nothing." I sighed, still not in the mood to bicker with him. "Just forget about it. I literally just said something dumb without thinking."
Before he could do or say anything else, I quickly disappeared into the bathroom so that I could do what I needed to do.

*****

After I was done getting ready and told Lucas that I was ready to go, he and I headed out to face London head on.
"So, what's first on the agenda?" He asked me as we walked down the streets holding hands and our arms brushing together occasionally.
"Well, let's see..." I began listing off what I thought were must-see locations here in London. "There's Parliament, there's Big Ben, there's Buckingham Palace, there's Hyde Park, and a super secret location that we're going to today that I'm going to leave a surprise for the time being."
"A surprise?" Lucas's curiosity was immediately piqued. "First you surprise your dads and now you're surprising me?"
"Yep, I sure am," I said with a grin. "You're going to absolutely love it though." I then added, "But it's the last destination of the day, no matter what. Because of that, you'll have to pick several locations for us to visit since we must wait until nightfall to visit this super secret place."
"Okay, well, if that's the case..." Lucas trailed off and began deciding where he wanted to go first. "I think that I'd like to go to Hyde Park first. I've always been a big fan of parks, so I'd really like to see what this one is like."
"Alright, Hyde Park it is." My grin widened as I began leading him to the place that he had chosen.

*****

Once we had arrived at our destination, I took Lucas on a stroll through the park and I began telling him the history of where we were at right now. Since I secretly had a love for history and since I had learned about Hyde Park's history a couple of times in secondary school, I was able to give a pretty in-depth history lesson about this location.

"Wow, that's so cool!" Lucas exclaimed after I had concluded telling him the history that Hyde Park held. "Also, I didn't know that you were a history buff."
"Yeah, history was my best subject in secondary school, and it's still my best subject in university." I shrugged like it was no big deal, which I really didn't think that it was. "It doesn't really come up in conversation all too much so many people do not know this, but I actually really love history." I shrugged again. "I don't really know why. It just really fascinates me for some reason. If music didn't capture my heart so much, I'm pretty sure that I'd be studying to be some sort of historian rather than a piano player."
"You know, I'd like to think that music wasn't the only thing that captured your heart," Lucas smirked and winked at me.
"It wasn't, you big lovable goofball." I smiled back as I planted a kiss on his cheek.
"I knew it." Lucas continued to smirk. "But you know what else that I've done?" He didn't wait for my response and instead just picked me up bridal style. "I've swept you off of your feet."
"You really have." I was ecstatic as I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Figuratively and literally." I then proceeded to plant a kiss on his other cheek.
"But you know what else?" He asked. Again, he didn't bother waiting for me to respond. "It works both ways because you've also captured my heart and swept me off of my feet."
"Man, I don't know what it is with you being so romantic all of a sudden, but I'm really quite enjoying it," I said to him as I kept my arms wrapped around his neck.
"Good. I'm glad to hear that." Lucas replied. "Now, are you going to enjoy this?"
Before I even knew it, Lucas very briefly put me down before he grabbed ahold of me once more. This time, however, instead of picking me up bridal style, he picked me up so that he was giving me a piggyback ride.
"What do you think?" He asked once he had secured his grip on me. "Do you enjoy it?"
"Yeah, I do," I replied while nodding. "A lot actually."
"I do too." Even though I wasn't able to see for myself and confirm this assumption, I was almost one-hundred percent certain that Lucas had a huge smile on his face, especially as he continued to walk and hold onto me.

*****

Lucas gave me a piggyback around Hyde Park and made small talk with me until lunchtime had arrived and I had grown hungry.
"I don't know about you, but I'm more than ready to go and get some lunch," I informed him as he finally grew tired and carefully placed me back down on the ground. "Oh yeah, I meant to tell you this morning, but I completely forgot." I paused. "I'm really proud of you for not only attempting to eat that cereal but eating all of it." I then added, "Because I got so caught up in the conversation we had with my parents this morning and because I just wanted to get ready and get out the door as quickly as possible so that I could show you the sights of London, I completely forgot to tell you how proud I was of you for doing that, so I'm doing it right now." I paused again. "Lucas, I'm so proud of you for eating all of your breakfast this morning."
"Thank you, Ellie." He smiled sheepishly and looked down at the ground. "I know that you're always worried about me not getting enough food every single day, so I bit the bullet and faced my demons in order to finish that cereal this morning all for you."
That was when I pulled him into a tight embrace. "Okay, I'm officially even more proud of you."
"Thank you." He said again as he returned my embrace. "Although, I think I'm going to have to sit this next meal out since getting that cereal down was a lot more difficult than I anticipated it being, and it's actually been keeping me full."
"That's fine," I replied. "I'm just happy with the fact that you've managed to get one meal down today, especially since you usually only get half or even a quarter of a meal down every single day."
"That's very true," Lucas said as he broke off the embrace. "Since I'm not going to be having anything, you can eat wherever you'd like."
A small smile formed on my face when he said this. "I know exactly where I want to go then."

*****

Even though he vowed on not eating anything for lunch, I still took Lucas to my favorite restaurant, The Golden Chippy. They had the best fish and chips that I've ever tasted there, so much so that it was the only thing that I ever ordered whenever I ate there. Plus, fish and chips was my favorite food, so of course I was going to order it at the place that, in my opinion, had the best of my favorite food.
"Fish and chips, huh?" Lucas teased after a waitress had come by and taken my order. "Don't you mean fries?"
"I may be American since America is where I was born, but my best years were spent being raised in England, so, no, they're not fries. They're chips." I smiled proudly. "Just like how a trash can is actually a bin, how college is actually university, how a vacation is actually a holiday, how a sweater is actually a jumper, how gas is actually petrol, how a cookie is actually a biscuit, how a biscuit is actually a scone, and, most importantly, how soccer is actually football. There are many more examples, of course, but those are just some."
"Wow, your dads really honed British English into you, didn't they?" Lucas seemed taken aback that I was able to list so many British equivalents to American words.
"They sure did," I said. "That, and I just gradually picked up on it over the years."
"That's fair." Lucas shrugged.

*****

Lucas and I talked amongst ourselves until my fish and chips had arrived. Once they had, I thanked the waitress and immediately began devouring them, not realizing just how hungry I truly was until I continually ate the fish and chips.

"Holy shit, Ellie." Lucas's eyes widened in shock when I managed to finish off the fish and chips in just five minutes.
"I guess so." I shrugged.
"I've truly never seen a meal appear and disappear so fast." His eyes were still wide in shock and he was even staring at the now empty plate.
I couldn't help but laugh when he said this. "I don't mess around with fish and chips, you know."
"I can see that." He replied. "Let's just say that next time I take you out to eat, I'm going to hunt for a place that serves this or something similar since you love it that much."
"That would be much appreciated," I said with a chuckle.

*****

After I had paid the bill and tipped the waitress (who was equally as amazed as Lucas that I was able to eat the fish and chips as quickly as I did,) I asked Lucas where he wanted to go next as we exited the restaurant because, again, we had to wait until nightfall until I could reveal what my surprise was to him.
"I actually wanna go back to Hyde Park." His response surprised me quite a bit. While I had gotten the vibe that he had enjoyed Hyde Park, I didn't get the vibe that he enjoyed it that much. "I wouldn't mind staying there until nightfall where you can show me the surprise that you have for me."
"Well, okay, if that's what you want, that's fine with me." I shrugged. "Luckily, if we manage our time well, we have time to go out and see the other sights that London has to offer."

*****

When nightfall finally made its arrival, I could no longer bear to hide my excitement. The hours I had spent with Lucas, while I still enjoyed since I always enjoyed getting to spend time with him, had dragged on immensely, and I was unbelievably relieved that nightfall was here.
"It's time for your surprise!" I cried out in excitement as I jumped up and down like a child would after their parents agreed to buy them the toy that they wanted. "Are you ready? Because I'm ready!"
"Yeah, I'm ready!" Lucas chuckled at my childlike excitement.
"Alright, close your eyes," I instructed him. "And don't you dare open them until I tell you to do so. Don't even try to get any sneak peeks in because I'll be watching very closely."
"Alright, alright, I'll keep my eyes closed." He chuckled again as he followed my instructions.
"Good. now, let's go." Without warning, I grabbed ahold of his hand and began dragging him behind me as I began making my way to our secret destination.
*****

"Okay, okay, you can open your eyes now!" I cried out excitedly once we had finally reached the breathtaking place. "We're here now!"
Without even a moment's hesitation, Lucas opened his eyes. When he did so, they immediately widened and he let go of my hand and covered his mouth.
"Surprise!" I cried out in excitement once more. "Welcome to the London Eye, arguably the greatest sight that London has to offer."
Lucas was speechless and he marveled in wonder at the giant Ferris Wheel. It wasn't until he had taken everything in for a few moments before he was finally able to formulate a response.
"It's beautiful." He whispered breathlessly. "Do we... do we get to go on it?"
"We sure do," I replied as I walked over to the ticket booth and bought two tickets. "If this amazed while we're still on the ground, just wait until we get on and actually start rotating."
"Oh, I can only imagine." Lucas smiled the biggest smile that I think that I've ever seen him smile before after I said this.

After dealing with a thirty minute wait and an impatient Lucas, it was finally time for us to get onto the London Eye. I eagerly handed our tickets over to the operator and watched as, after he had accepted our tickets, he opened the door for us. I happily stepped inside and took Lucas's hand into my own as the door closed behind us.
"You hear that?" I asked, referencing the fact that the door has just been closed. "The door's shut. There's no going back now."
"I wasn't wanting to go back anyway." The smile still hadn't left Lucas's face, and I didn't think that it would until we turned in for the night.
"That's good because I was going to ride this thing with or without you while being pissed that I spent extra money on a ticket that I ultimately didn't end up needing." I teased.

Within a couple of minutes, the thirty minute rotation of the London Eye began. Lucas watched through the windows in wonder as we slowly began rising above London and all the city lights.
"It's even more beautiful than I imagined it being." He whispered as he walked right up to the window and placed his free hand on the glass.
"Yeah, this is a sight that I've never grown tired of." I grinned because I yet again succeeded in making a person happy with a surprise. "Honestly, this is also a sight that I'll more than likely never grow tired of."

As the London Eye gradually rose higher and higher, no words were exchanged between Lucas and I. We were too busy admiring London's beauty for that, after all.
Well, until we reached the highest point of the London Eye, that is.
When that had happened, Lucas and I turned to face each other at the exact same time. We were still dead silent as I wrapped my arms around his neck and as he wrapped his arms around my waist. Then, while I held onto him, I closed my eyes and leaned in towards him, feeling the soft lips that I loved so much meet mine just seconds later. Lucas tightened his grip on me as we exchanged a kiss above London's city lights and away from everyone else, and we continued to exchange this kiss until we were both desperate for air and forced to pry ourselves away. Even so, it didn't end there. As soon as we had gotten our much needed oxygen, we leaned in towards each other again, yearning for even more.

And, at that moment, I came to the realization that I couldn't have asked for a more perfect night, even if I tried.

~~~~~