Chapter 7

His eyes fluttered open when the waves on the beach got louder and louder, birds chirping in the distance and the feeling of Una pressed against him, lying between his legs sleeping soundly with her head on his chest and her breath fanning his skin setting him up for the day ahead. His hand rested on the bottom of her back, feeling content to have her so close - skin to skin, body to body, it was perfect and all he could ever have hoped her.

The previous night was all he could ever have hoped her.

His fingers brushed over her skin, dancing over the curve of her back and down to her legs as far as he could go until he heard the softest sound, a tiny hum coming from the girl in his arms. Her eyes fluttered open, her face scrunching at the brightness of the early morning sun beaming down on them and she let out a groan, burying her face into the crook of his neck whilst he couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"What time is it?" she mumbled, the events of last night waving over her and allowing a smile to tug at her lips. She didn't exactly think that her first time would be in the back of a car overlooking the beach but she didn't care either, she had fun, and she liked to believe that it was with the right boy.

"Just past eight," he whispered in her ear, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "are we getting up?"

She protested at the very thought, pulling the blanket closer to her and snuggling closer to him whilst he ran his fingers through her hair softly, and she moaned at the feeling.

"So..." Gus trailed off, "should we talk - y'know, about last night?"

"What kind of talk is this?" she asked, leaning her head on his chest in order to stare at him, "a good one or a bad one?"

"Well hopefully a good one," he mumbled quietly, "if you...if you don't want to be with me that's fine but please just tell me now-"

She cut him off, one hand cupping his cheek and her lips on his. He reacted with a smile and his arm slid around her in order to just hold her again, "there wouldn't have been a 'last night' if I didn't want to be with you, Gus."

"Well last night could have been a test," he trailed off, "to see if I'm...good enough for you."

She let out a loud laugh, moving a stray hair that fell in front of his face and leaned in to kiss him one more time, "well you know there's always time to practice."

"Oh yeah?"

"Practice makes perfect, and we could practice all the time, y'know," she trailed off, dipping her head to kiss his neck before laying her head back on his chest, "day and night, midday...every day, the possibilities are endless."

"You are something else, Una Reynolds," he chuckled, tightening his arms wrapped around her, "what happened to the shy girl that sipped tea in the tea shop."

"She's still here," she smiled, "just...happier."

"Good," Gus muttered, "actually that's so much better than good."

"So, this talk," she trailed off, blowing the hair out of her face, "are we...together?"

He smirked, pressing his lips to her forehead whilst her heart raced and she reached for his hand to lace their fingers together, "what do you want us to be, Una?"

She thought for a second. She hadn't truly thought about it...she knew she liked him of course and he proved last night that he very much liked her too but she didn't have time to truly think of the possibility of them getting together, it allowed the butterflies to swarm in her stomach at the very thought of having him, of being his and him being hers, it sent a smile onto her lips and a warmth into her heart.

The way he held her, touched her - she wanted it all the time, she wanted to hold him and kiss him and be with him. Her time with him, the few days she had spent with him had been unreal - there was no true way to describe it because it was incredible, amazing, scary, and good all at the same time. She did things she never thought she ever would, she left her family and the town behind her and ran off and it sounded so idiotic to word it the wrong way but she was happy and having a blast and she trusted Gus, she trusted him with her life and the feelings she had for him waved over her so suddenly but she loved it.

"What do I want us to be?" she whispered. He moved his head to the crook of her neck, and she wondered if the small kisses he was placing on her neck was a way to sway her to want him as much as he wanted her. But he didn't need to do any persuading for her to like him because she did.

"I want us both to be happy," she turned in his embrace, pressing her lips to his slowly and just for a moment, "and you make me happy, you make me so happy. I'm the happiest I've been in a long time actually, and all I ever wanted was a friend and I landed with you and I think you're so much more to me than anyone else could've been. I want you, I think I've known that for a little while and last night just proved how much."

He cupped her cheek, lifting up her chin just to kiss her again. That's all he wanted to do, he would delay going to the city for a million days if it meant spending all of them with her. He loved kissing her, the way her eyes closed and her eyelashes brushed his cheek and her lips were soft against his, it was a perfect feeling.

"I know that you make me happy," he mumbled against her lips, "so happy, in fact, that I don't think I've smiled more than I have when I'm with you."

"You could always make me happier and be my boyfriend?" she winked cheekily, wiggling her eyebrows and grinning when he howled with laughter, pulling her in closer and soon flipping them over.

"Well maybe my new girlfriend can help me practice like I oh so need to," he dipped his head to her neck, trailing kisses lower and lower down her body until she gasped.

"Your new girlfriend would love to."

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

"You look amazing today," Gus muttered in her ear as they wandered the side of the road into the small town nearby. She couldn't help but chuckle, tightening her grip on his hand as she guided him through the small wooded area beside the road. They hadn't the faintest idea of where they were going and both of their phones had died last night leaving them without any form of communicating.

They would have to wait until they got to the city in order to get power for them and both of them decided that the best thing to do was to drive as far as they can without stopping, even if that meant driving through the night seeing as they didn't know how far away from the many stops they had taken already.

"So, does that mean I don't look amazing every day?" she teased, and his arm slid around her waist to pull her into him as they walked.

"Oh no, you look amazing every second of the day," he muttered, "but before I had to stop myself from ripping those clothes off you, right now I just don't want to."

"Angus Cohen please control yourself," Una scoffed, rolling her eyes and stumbling onto the pavement through the grass they had to previously walk on. She stopped so Gus could walk beside her, and as their hands laced together again she couldn't help the smile that rested on her lips.

"I can't wait to get to the city," she sighed, "I just...want to see it you know? You've hyped it up a lot so my hopes are very high and I just think it's going to be...magical."

He snorted at her choice of words, but nodded nonetheless, "it definitely is magical. There's so much I want to show you, so many places to go and things to see, you're going to love it, I just know it."

"I'm excited to meet your friends," she smiled brightly, "they just seem amazing and I want to put faces to names and personalities. I want to be able to talk to them if they made you that happy I want to know them."

"To them, you used to be the girl from the shop," he admitted, pulling her into his side whilst they walked. She almost tripped over a lace of her converse as they walked, and she had to stop to tuck it in whilst he laughed at her, "there is so much I wanna do to you right now."

"Like have a pleasant conversation? Oh, me too!" she smiled innocently, winking at him and walking ahead of him, "why did they know me as the girl from the shop?"

"Because I didn't talk to you then but you were always there and I found you so interesting. You had a new book every day and so many things happen, sometimes I would drop something to see if you would notice...and you didn't, you were just so invested in your book and I thought it was incredible.

And you were so shy but you still worked up the courage to make sure my parents and I knew that you took two and a half sugars and that the half was important. I told my friends about you and after that I just couldn't stop talking about you, I'd find ways to bring you into conversations - things you did that day...if you talked to me.

That day you were getting bullied and I caught them I was so angry, I can barely remember all that I did, I just wanted to make sure you were alright and you were so different from everything I thought you would be but somehow you managed to be better."

"I was never scared of you," she said, "In school, before summer...you were always at the office with another cut and another bruise and this expression on your face and cuts on your hand and I knew you were there because you put the other person in hospital but that didn't scare me, it didn't faze me because I got it.

I realised why you did it...for attention, right? So that people would realise that you needed attention, and not just for the sake of it but because you were sad and you wanted people to know and I think a part of me wanted to talk to you then...every time I saw you at the office I just felt so sad for you.

I never was scared of you, I was frustrated that you were there so much because it meant no one was listening to your cry for help and you were getting hurt and so was someone else and you were new so you had no one and I definitely can relate to that!"

He took her hand, turning her around to face him and lifting her chin with his finger, "we aren't alone anymore."

She didn't think her smile had wiped from her face since she woke up but somehow, he managed to widen it, and sparing just a moment to loop her arms around his neck and kiss him was entirely worth it, "no," she mumbled into the kiss, pushing herself onto her tiptoes in order to reach him better than before and also so she could get closer to him, "we most certainly are not."

It took them longer than they wished for them to find a garage in order to get petrol. The town was small but it wasn't the smallest and on foot made it worse for them to navigate, they knew it would be easier to split up to find it faster but with no way to contact each other.

They had decided that whilst it may have been wise to explore every part of the town, that they would try and ask someone, but it seemed as though the townsfolk weren't the friendliest and everyone they ask either grunted a failed attempt of a response or just looked away from them ignorantly.

It was at least half an hour before the two found a small garage and they were glad that the workers where much friendlier from the others in the town, even offering to help them out a bit and look at Gus' car but the two teenagers insisted that there was no serious damage done.

Both of them were thankful that it started up after they had filled the tank, and as they drove further and further away from the village, blasting one of the CDs that they had first listened to a few days ago, their happiness had returned in full swing.

Una's legs draped over Gus' as he drove and when one of his hands were free he would trace his fingertips over the bare skin and allowing the goose bumps to form. The day was cloudy and Una's suspicion of rain was right when the first droplet fell onto the window, followed by a bucket of many more lashing down after it. she wanted to sleep but she didn't want to leave Gus awake on his own, especially considering that he was driving and just as tired as she was - if not a lot more tired than she was.

"You tired, babe?" he asked, and whilst the thoughts of sleeping surely had entered his mind, he was much more concerned for her.

"Babe?" she repeated, shuffling in her seat to get comfortable, "I like the sound of that."

He laughed, "you didn't answer my question."

"I'm alright," she shrugged. She hadn't lied, she really could fall asleep but she was content just listening to the sound of the rain and feeling his hand touch her skin, it was relaxing in itself, and she could sleep plenty of ours once they reached the city.

"You should sleep...babe," he smirked as he used it once more and she made a point to roll her eyes.

"I can sleep when we reach the city!" she shrugged, leaning down and taking his hand that rested just above her knee, "I don't want to sleep and leave you all alone."

"I'm sure I can manage for a few more hours, and I'm also sure my friends are going to be more interested in you than me," Gus scoffed, "so whilst I can sleep when we get there, you're not gonna have that luck."

"What if we sleep together?" she asked, her eyebrow raised and he knew she was teasing him by the smirk on her lips.

"Then maybe I'll just have to keep you hidden for a few hours," he squeezed her thigh whilst she let out a loud laugh.

"Wake me up in an hour," she wagged her finger in his face, "I don't want you missing me."

"I don't want that either," he tutted, trying to concentrate on driving whilst fishing in the backseat for the blanket that draped over them earlier in the morning. She took it from his grip, snuggling closer to it whilst a sigh left her lips and she couldn't help but stare at him.

Everything between them had been so sudden, just over a month ago had he declared their friendship and now she looked at him as though he put the stars in the sky. She was blinded by the love she felt but she was happy and he was the exact same that she was completely fine with putting her heart out for him.

She trusted him, and that surprised her more than anything because she hardly trusted many, and those that she did trust were family, but she felt right and it felt right to trust him, to be able to laugh at his jokes and touch him and be with him.

Her goal had always been happy, to rid the loneliness that had waved over her and find someone to be her friend, and she got Gus, and she could repeat it until her voice gave up on her but Gus was more than anything she had ever wished for, he was nothing like she thought he would be and he had admitted the same for her but somehow the boy she was staring at was a trophy and she wasn't sure she deserved to win him.

"Staring at me isn't sleeping," he pointed out, turning down a road lined with trees, trees, and more trees that it seemed that there wasn't an ending to them. The car had shaded from the height of the forest they were driving through, and the sudden darkness seemed to lure Una into a more tired state when she yawned.

"I'm admiring you," she murmured, leaning her head on the back of the seat, "you know you're nothing like I thought you would be either."

"Oh yeah?"

"I thought you would be a bit brooding, maybe a little rude...more on the angry side," she shrugged, "I knew that the fights and all...it wasn't you but I thought maybe you'd try and keep up that classic bad boy act." She was smirking whilst he barked with laughter at the mere thought of seeming like a bad boy.

"If my friends could hear you now...I think they'd cry laughing," he snorted, rubbing her knee for just a moment and sparing a glance to see her drooping eyes, "sleep, Una."

"Goodnight," she whispered.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

It was huge.

Gus had nudged her softly awake after what was definitely longer than an hour and when her eyes opened there was only one thing she could do and that was stare in awe of the city around her. It was real, of course, it was real but she was in it, she was in the place that Gus gushed about and she understood why he did, she understood why it was the city of daydreams, called after dreams, why it would have been hard for him to leave.

She could hardly see into the distance but she was trying to savour every part of it, pressing herself against the window as though that would help her see better until she scrambled to roll the window down, sticking her head out in a vivid wave of fascination.

It was modern...contemporary and regardless of the towering buildings on either side of the road, it was bright and airy and wonderful. The pavement was lined with flowers and trees of all kinds, roses and daisies and daffodils and sunflowers...sunflower, and she had no idea how that was even possible to have so many plants in such a place but that was just one of the many thoughts that swirled in her head.

It was lively and crowded and charming and the loud crowds could be heard for miles and she was simply ecstatic to even just catch a glimpse. Buildings towered higher than what she could see, with windows that reflected the bright blue sky above and the perfectly white clouds moving further away.

The smell of tea whiffed through her nose, and coffee, and cupcakes and then it was gone to be replaced with beautiful scents of perfumes as they drove through bit by bit, stuck behind a crowd of cars in front of them of all models that looked clean and sleek and shiny and it was flawless.

Her eyes fixated on the locals, all in fashion she hadn't ever seen before, with dresses of different colours and perfectly tailored suits and some casual attire from a select hurried few that pushed themselves through the crowd in order to get where they wanted to go.

"Mums inspiration," Gus said, bringing her from the mountain of thoughts and to him, the boy who brought her here - the boy who opened up her eyes and showed her something so beautiful that had they broken down one million times, the journey here would still be worth it just to see the place she already could confidently say that she loved.

He was pointing to a small shop...a tea shop on the corner of two streets and beautifully out of place amongst the modern feel of the city. She wished she had a camera, something that she could capture the place other than her head and she knew that leaving the city in a months' time would be so hard that she didn't even want to think of it.

"My mum found it on one of her walks, she just loved to take in the city and the views and everything she could and she wandered in there and she fell in love. She fell in love with the shop and the feel of it and the decoration that she decided she wanted to open her own. The idea fell away when we had to leave but then she decided to open one in our town and it's so she'll have that little piece of Somnium to remember," he smiled softly at the thought of his mother and Una took his hand.

Any tiredness she once had, had slipped away and she was happy she slept in the car, happy that being tired couldn't shield her from enjoying what she was basking in. It was popular, she noticed, and she wondered if all of these people walking the streets and smiling brightly and all looking so...beautiful where tourists just visiting like she was, and she wasn't sure.

Because everyone looked as though they felt at home, and she felt it too as she stared and stared and stared at every piece of scenery she could gulp down, she felt at home, she felt as though she belonged here, that Gus bringing her here was some sort of fate and she was living in a dream.

And then it clicked, it felt like a dream, and she had to laugh.

Her eyes crinkled with delight and the smile on her lips felt permanent and it was wonderful, "what are you laughing at?"

"It just...it makes sense, doesn't it?" she whispered, squeezing his shoulder and kissing his cheek, "Somnium...dream, it makes so much sense because it feels like a dream, it feels like a wonderful dream and I don't want to wake up."

"That's the city square," he pointed to a large open space as they passed it, and it was just as beautiful as the rest of it. The middle of the square was guarded by a stream of water and the entrance was a small glass bridge to walk over, and she was peering curiously at the large monument right in the middle though she couldn't quite make it out.

Her eyes had moved so fast in a matter of moments that she was getting dizzy but she just couldn't stop, there was so much to take in and more trees and more flowers and benches to sit down but the benches looked so comfortable that she wished to get out of the car and explore on foot and try everything she could in order to see everything up close.

"What are they doing?" she whispered, curiously eyeing a few boys who had oddly large paintbrushes and furrowed looks of concentration on their faces.

"Are they still there?! Bloody hell," he laughed, "they paint murals...they paint a new one every day."

"In the same space?!" she asked, wide-eyed and looking closely at the ground they were painting on.

"The murals disappear in the night, so they redo something differently every morning," he grinned.

There was no other way to describe how she felt other than completely and utterly awestruck, they had just passed a building much smaller than the towering ones around them that had been painted in so many different colours that her mouth hung open in such a state of shock.

She didn't understand how it was simply possible for such a place to stay hidden, of course, it wasn't truly hidden because that was simply impossible but it was just so beautiful that the thought of not hearing about it just confused her.

She had heard of many other cities, of Paris, and Edinburgh, and New York, and many cities all around the world and yet she had never heard of Somnium, or the story behind it, or that it was the most beautiful place she had ever had the complete fortune of ever seeing.

She couldn't find the words to speak, could barely process the number of things all at once and she wondered how it was possible for Gus not to be as awed as she was regardless of how long he used to live here. She gasped at the sound that floated through her ears, it was a woman and she seemed to block out the loud sounds of traffic around them and shouts and car horns beeping and all Una could hear was her voice floating through her ears.

She was singing a song unknown to her and she was sure the words she spoke must have been another language but it was just so beautiful and that was the only words that Una could even think to describe it as.

"It's the city anthem," Gus spoke as he spared a few glances in the traffic, watching her face and feeling a warmth in his heart that she was in love with the city as he was. The city gardens and park was just up ahead and he was excited to hear what she thought of it, it was such a wonderful place that he used to get lost in countlessly but that didn't stop him from going back, he loved it.

"Hmm?" her voice was squeaky and she simply couldn't speak, she was lost for words.

"The song she is singing, it's the city anthem. My father...he wanted to change it to suit him, to brag about himself and make the residents sing about his greatness but he can't make rules like that without consulting the others that work with him and they all said no," Gus rolled his eyes.

"Bloody hell," Una whispered, shaking her head, "it's so beautiful, her voice too, it's just...incredible."

Gus nodded with a smile, lacing their fingers together as he drove, "just up here is my favourite place in the full city."

She didn't think it was possible to even pick a favourite place, there were so many shops she had seen that she wished to explore, so many café's and restaurants and she wished to go back to the city square, to those flowers and watch those painters and embrace everything the city had to offer.

But then she saw what he was talking about and her eyes fixated on the large fountain in the middle of the park she could hardly see. She lurched forward in her seat in order to get a better view, it was so airy and beautiful and vibrant with so many wonderful colours that made her head spin in the best possible way.

She was in her element, she was truly happy. So many feelings swirled in her head, so much she could hardly comprehend and she wondered if this was the happiest moment in her life, and it was certainly one of them.

But then her eyes shifted to Gus, to the boy who trusted her enough to bring her here, who kissed her and made her head spin, who gave her everything and who she gave everything to, and she realised that the city was a close second to her favourite memory.

But her favourite involved him, and the backseat of his car.

He stopped at the traffic growth and they waited and waited and she was feeling so much at once that she kissed him with so much force, she accidentally hit the wheel and sounded the horn. Her giggles rang through his ears as they both pulled away, "thank you," she whispered into his lips when she kissed him for the second time, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't even slightly dazed, "thank you for bringing me here."

She moved away from him and back into her own seat, still looking out of the windows and around them and she wondered how long they would have to stay in the car for. She wondered where they were going, where they would be staying or if the inside of the houses and apartments and buildings were just as beautiful as the city itself.

And they drove for what felt like forever until Gus parked the car in front of a building so big that the top hid in the peaks of the white rolling clouds. She couldn't even ask where this was if it was Gus' old house or maybe the house of one of his many friends.

Gus held open the passenger door for her to climb out of and she could hardly take a step, her head spinning again and the air refreshing to her that she couldn't contain the smile that widened again. Her eyes caught those of a girl in front of her, standing at the entrance and she could hardly contain the gasp at her beauty.

She was the most beautiful girl that Una had ever seen and she wore a smile so kind that Una couldn't help but feel drawn to her. She wondered who it was and the girl's eyes were on her, she was staring at Una, and Gus too and Gus wasn't even remotely fazed by it, he was too busy getting out their suitcases and making sure Una was alright.

"Una, what's up babe?" he turned to see her staring at the girl and couldn't help but laugh - as well as roll his eyes - at his girlfriend's reaction.

"Hi, Elysia," he snorted, leaning against the car and slipping - a slightly protective - arm around his Una.

"Elysia Ari, and just hi?!" she exclaimed, "it bloody took you long enough to get here and that's all you can say?!"