I waved goodbye to Melody as I climbed into the carriage that was to take me to the port, for I was leaving for Italy.

I was a ball of pent up nerves and energy. I was happy that I was going to get to see my family again, but also worried that my parents may try to force me to stay and marry Lord Antonio Vebranicco, whom I had never met.

As I settled into the indoor compartment of the carriage, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. Letting out a soft gasp, I whipped around toward the movement. What with the sudden adrenaline, I could not identify the man's face, for it was shrouded in a shadow cast by his hat. I quickly grabbed my thick, hard-cover copy of Anna Karenina, a personal favorite, and threw it as hard as I could a the stranger.

He yelped in pain as my copy of Tolstoy's work hit him squarely in the nose.

"Sakes alive, (Y/N)!" he exclaimed, clutching his nose with one hand, and catching my book with the the other.

With a sudden gasp I realized that man was no stranger at all, but my beloved Lawrence.

"Oh good god, Lawrence! I'm so terribly sorry!" I said quickly, moving to the seat beside him and giving him my handkerchief for his nose, which was slightly bleeding.

"Well, now I know never to sneak up on you, again," he said, chuckling and brushing it off in his usual way, though I noticed his eyes were watering slightly. He gladly accepted my handkerchief.

"Sorry, again," I said, giving him a sympathetic and sheepish smile.

He waved away my concern and worry with a flick of his hand. "It's alright. You have quite an arm on you, though," he replied, chuckling again. He was finally able to pull the handkerchief away from his nose, since it had stopped bleeding.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, looping my arm through his. "I thought you had a seminar."

He smiled down at me, lacing his fingers through my own. "My professor fell ill. So I was able to come see you off, instead."

Then he seemed to remember something. He reached down beside him and grabbed a black box that was only a little smaller than my book. I knew it wasn't a ring; the box was far too big, and a ring would be a dead giveaway to my parents of my intentions to elope. I cocked my head to the side, one of my loose curls falling into my curious face.

Lawrence smiled at me lovingly, gently tucking the curl behind my ear. "You really are so beautiful," he breathed.

I ducked my head, blushing and smiling at the ground. After a couple of seconds of silence, Lawrence cleared his throat and put the black box into my lap. "Happy birthday, (Y/N)."

With everything that had been happening, I had forgotten about my birthday. It hadn't seemed all that important when I had weighed it against my education, difficulties with my parents, and my plans with Lawrence.

But even with everything that he had been struggling with in his own life, Lawrence had still remembered my birthday.

I was turning twenty-two. I could practically hear my mother's words ringing in my ears.

"(Y/N), the mage told your papa and me that you would stop aging on your twenty-second birthday. Which means you must marry a lord before or shortly after that time, before they discover the truth about you, my fiore."

I quickly pushed that memory away, and just simply focused on Lawrence and his gift to me. I opened the box, and inside was one of the most beautiful necklaces I had ever seen. I inhaled sharply.

"Oh, Lawrence! It's gorgeous!" I breathed, gently lifting it out of its box. "I love it!"

It was a silver chain, with a large pendant in the shape of a beetle; its head and cephalothorax were made of bright green gems, while the legs had small, clear diamonds dotting their way up and down the insect's appendages.

"I'm so happy you like it!" he beamed. "I thought it might help you remember me while you're away in Italy for the holidays."

I looked up at him.

Out of all the things I had been dreading when it came to returning to Italy, I had never let myself stop to consider how much I would miss Lawrence. At least now with this necklace I would feel a little less alone.

"Of course. It represents your middle name," I said, grinning as I recalled the first time he had told me what it was.

"Precisely," he replied, his grin revealing that he, too, was reliving the same instant.

I had asked him for his full name, because I was curious, and I had always heard him refer to himself as "Lawrence B. Shoggoth". He had blushed and reluctantly told me that it was "Lawrence Betelgeuse Shoggoth". I had giggled and asked him if his mother was fond of insects, when he quickly rushed to explain to me that it was German and was in actuality the name of a star.

Neither of us had forgotten that night, because it was the night that we both started to desperately yearn for each other's company.

"I'm going to miss you so," he said suddenly, cupping the side of my face in his hand.

I gazed at him, fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall. "Not as much as I'm going to miss you," I replied as I blinked rapidly, my voice growing thick.

And then, for the first time, he did something he had never dared to do before. He pulled my lips to his. His arms snaked around my waist and brought me even closer. I put mine around his neck, melting into the kiss.

When he finally pulled away, I noticed he had somehow sneakily fastened the necklace around my neck without my knowledge.

I looked down at it, stroking the cool, smooth surface of the beautiful pendant.

"I don't know whatever I shall do with myself while you're away," he told me, the carriage suddenly lurching to a stop.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be able to manage, somehow," I replied playfully, quickly gathering my things. "Just promise me you'll behave and stay out of trouble." I gave him a mock stern look.

"That might be very hard, but I will certainly make a valiant effort," he said, giving my hand one last squeeze as I stepped out of the carriage. He smiled at me in that mischievous way of his.

Little did I know that that would be the last time I ever saw it in this lifetime.