Baby, you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But when you smile at the ground, it ain't hard to tell
You don't know, oh-oh
You don't know you're beautiful
If only you saw what I can see
You'll understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm lookin' at you, and I can't believe

~♥~

Nikolai's P.O.V. : 

Staring at Riley, Nikolai couldn't believe that she was his girlfriend. He had never met a girl like her before who would make his heart go crazy. He smiles as remembers this quote about how every guy thinks their girl is special till they break up and he mentally wishes the day never comes when he had to live without her.

She is the one, he could feel it in his bones.

He didn't know when this thought occurred to him but while staring at her sleeping beside him with her hair all messed up, her hand holding her as if he wasn't already her puppet and her breath fanning his neck he realized he was in love. 

He was in love and it was so peaceful that he could get used to it.

He had never been happier in his life. As a kid, he would watch a lot of romcoms along with Reign on movie nights and he would often wonder when would he fall in love. In all the movies, love sounded like an amazing thing to happen. He wished he would get to experience that. 

In Reign's words, when a person is in love the world seems brighter but now that he could definite it himself he would disagree. When in love the world doesn't get brighter but with the right person beside you even the gloomiest of days can be easy to live by.

He smiles at the thought how one hour in love and he is already sounding like a poet when he feels Riley's hand move up from his stomach till her thumb traces his smile. 

"You know smiling at three a.m. alone in the dark is another giveaway about your craziness."

Nikolai's smiles broaden as he turns to look at Riley. At three a.m. with sleep in her eyes and moonlight decorating her face, she looked gorgeous. "Crazy for you," he says as his nose scrunches up when he hears how cringe he sounded.

Riley stares at him with a dreadful expression and he thanks the stars for the darkness so that he only sees her eyes rolling, "Should have gone with creepy."

Nikolai and Riley burst out in a fit of giggles after that.

"You are beautiful," Nikolai says as he realizes he had never said that to her before. It's crazy how we forget to say out loud the most obvious things in the world.

Riley chuckles and says, "Your three a.m. thoughts are beautiful. Keep up with them and I will let your three a.m. creepiness continue."

Nikolai's heart flutters as Riley gives him a peck. He wonders if he should tell her now but as she snuggles beside him and closes her eyes he knows that it could wait. It could wait not just because she was sleepy but also because he wanted it to be special.

So special that even the best of Hollywood romance couples would shy away.

***

Nikolai knocks at Reign's door impatiently. She hadn't been picking up her phone and he just didn't know what to do so he showed up at her dorm.

In the past three weeks, they have rarely talked let alone met. The first week because of period cramps and he knew better than to annoy her then. The second week because she got cold and the third because she was catching up with missed classes.

He hoped she was better now because in a week it was the marathon Riley had been so hyped up about and if he wants to turn out how he had hoped there is a lot of work he needs to do first.

Reign opens the door and in a second Nikolai's palm is on Reign's head checking jer temperature.

"Well it's not hot but why is it cold?" he says and it must have been a rhetorical question as he continues, "Do you feel okay? I brought soup and you eat it in either case. Did you see a doctor because you look like you have lost some weight?"

Nikolai sees Reign rolling her eyes as she removes his hand from her forehead. "Get in, Nikolai."

"That was a great response. What took you so long to open the door," Nikolai says plopping down on her bed and picking up the magazine kept on the side table. He flicks and few pages and then keeps it back at its place. Not his type.

His eyes land back on Reign as she says, "You should call before showing up."

Nikolai's eyebrows furrow as he notices that Reign wasn't joking so he gets up and sits, "It was never a problem before."

"Just because it was okay before doesn't mean it is supposed to be alright always."

"Reign are you fine? Really fine?"

Reign's mind wonders to five minutes before when she was vomiting her gut out when the doorbell started ringing and she puts on a smile. "Yes, I am sorry. All these pending assignments and college work is making me cranky. Don't mind me. So, what brings you here?"

If one could get an award for changing topics smoothly it would definitely belong to Reign but then again, when there is so much at stake you give your everything.

Luckily Nikolai took the bait as soon as his mind got back to why he was here which led it to Riley. 

"Well there is something I need your help with," Nikolai says as he could feel his cheeks turning red.

Reign raises an eyebrow in question.

"I want to do something for Riley. Something special that she would remember forever."

Reign makes a face as she says, "Are you two going to have sex because I will definitely not be covering your bed or hers or a motel's bed with rose petals. You are dear to me but that's where I draw the line."

"No. We had plenty of sex and it's --"

"Not interested."

"--out of the world but I need your help with something else. Though Do you think I should have covered the bed with rose petals?"

Reign's glare was an answer enough.

"It's not sex something else," Nikolai says clearing his throat. Talking to your sister like bestfriend about your sex life wasn't really a great idea no matter how great it is.

"What is it?"

Although Nikolai had come to take Reign's help he wasn't ready to tell her about he was thinking about confessing his love to the person he has fallen for. He knew he wanted the first person to know about his feelings should be Riley itself and he wasn't telling that to anybody else before her.

"Something I want her to remember," he says as if that was an explanation enough but as Reign doesn't say anything and continues to stare at him as if he had more to say he sighs and continues, "I can't tell you."

"You can't tell me?" If Nikolai couldn't hear the hurt in her voice he could surely see it in her eyes.

"Reign it is not like th--" Nikolai tries to explain but even he knew he couldn't explain this without ruining everything.

"No. No. It is alright. I get it. I get it just fine," Reign chuckled and Nikolai didn't know if it was fake or real because he couldn't seem to find the difference anymore.

Fortunately, Reign changed the topic and distracted him before he could ask her a series of questions that she couldn't answer. She could hardly blame the guy for keeping secrets when she for herself was keeping a secret for so long.

"How special are we talking about?" she asks.

"On a rate of ten starting from the first date to moving in together we talking a solid eight special."

 Reign takes a deep breath and sighs, "You two have been together for less than a year don't you think it is a little fat for moving in together?"

"That why it is stuck at eight and if you haven't heard it before in live time and age is just numbers."

"Literally no one had said it before. Guess why? Because this sentence looks like the go-to line of every pedophile."

Nikolai thinks about it and then just shrugs and agrees.

"Can we get back on the task now?"

Reign sighs, "Heat the soup till I brainstorm." She felt hurt, broken, and hungry. For now, she will deal will hunger hurt, and broken will be solved later.

"Aye, aye captain!" and in a second Nikolai was out of sight.

She plops down on her bed where Nikolai was sitting a few minutes earlier and basks in her scent. Closing her eyes she gives herself a few minutes to get everything and the overwhelming emotions together.

"There you go," Nikolai says as he keeps the tray with a bowl of mushroom soup in front of her.

"Mushroom soup?" Reign asks.

Nikolai nods sheepishly as he explains, "Riley and I found this amazing place and their mushroom soup is amazing. Even Riley liked it and she barely eats anything other than salad so I thought that I would bring it for you too."

"Lovely," Reigns says as she tries not to gag. She hates mushrooms but of course, that tiny detail must have escaped his mind in the presence of Riley.

"Take a sip what are you waiting for?"

Looking at the excitement in his eyes Reign's heart softens. So what he forgot? His intentions were pure. She dips her spoon and then takes a sip. 

"So...?"

Awful.

"Lovely," she says as her hand reaches for the bag of chips he brought along with it.

"Maybe one day we all could go there together."

Reign doubted that but nevertheless, she nods in agreement as she opens one bag of chips and starts stuffing her face. 

"So did you think of anything?"

"Yes, actually I have a few ideas." She offers her soup to Nikolai and too engrossed to realize he starts taking his sips. Smooth, isn't she?

"A few already?" Nikolai asks impressed. "I have been thinking since morning and have come up with nothing yet."

Reign smiles the first genuine one since they have been talking as her hand reaches for another packet of chips. She had made so many scenarios in her head in the past few years that now she didn't need to think for ideas anymore. 

As Reign starts sharing her ideas with Nikolai and him rejecting some of the ideas and getting aw-ed by the others even though he tried not to show it the sun sets and it is already time for Nikolai to leave for a date he had with Riley.

Although they did decide on one particular idea and made some phone calls to make it happen.

As Nikolai stands on the threshold of Reign's door he bends to give a small peck on her head, "Thank you so much Reign. I could have done nothing without you. I am gonna make the marathon the happiest day for her. Well hopefully."

They chuckle as he turns to leave when Reign all of the sudden says, "Nikolai?"

He looks back at her as she says, "I am happy for you."

Nikolai's eyebrows furrow but before he could understand anything Reign had already shut the door. He looks at the door for a while as he comprehends knocking again when his phone in his pocket rings.

Riley.

Maybe she was just happy about the plan he thinks as he leaves for real.

Reign looks at his retreating figure from between her window blinds. His leaving is probably the thing she should get used to she thinks as her eyes find their way back to empty packets of chips, biscuits, and ice cream she ate, and like a guilty person, she makes her way to the bathroom.

No, she wasn't fine or really fine either but she will get used to it.