Song of the chapter is
Can't Help Falling In Love
by Elvis Presley

-55-
-Veronica D'Rosario-
-present-

__________

Arora Residence
12 December, 2030
5:45 p.m

As I walked through the front door to his house, my eyes scanned through the place to catch a glimpse of him.

"Moose?"

But there was no answer. I took off my scarf and walked towards the kitchen to grab a bottle of water when my eyes fell on the small note sitting atop the island. Picking it up, I turned it around and read,

'Meet me at the backyard.'

My brows knitted in their place as I ran my fingers across the words. Licking my lips, I slowly made my way towards the back door to his house and stepped out. Turning left, I walked a few steps along the picket fence running around his house and paused when I caught the glimpse of what seemed like several string lights hanging between the two Poinciana trees that grew in his backyard.

My heart skipped several beats.

Trudging forward, I felt my breathing grow shallower. Several polaroids were suspended from the string lights. My eyes scanned through each and every one of them. They were pictures of us. Moose and I, from when we were young.

I was never really a picture person. To be very honest, I hated taking pictures of myself. I was among those people who felt that every fleeting moment had a time of it's own, and that capturing them into photos was equal to ruining the essence of that very moment. I was always for living in the moment.

Ahaan had always been a shy kid, so he also wasn't too enthusiastic about clicking pictures, except for the usual pink skies that appeared in Delmore once every six months. But when I had become friends with Moose and Siya, things had changed. Moose loved taking pictures. He had a small polaroid in which he used to love capturing moments, and collecting them like little snow globes. I remembered being so annoyed by him at first whenever he used to try to take candid pictures of me. But slowly and gradually, this habit of his had grown on me, just like everything else about him.

A smile blossomed on my face as I sauntered through the place, glancing at every picture. Our young budding smiles, his more, provided a gush of warmth that spread inside my heart. In one of the pictures, I had my head rolled back, probably laughing at Zoya and Ahaan bickering with each other and he was sitting next to me, with his face resting on his hand and his eyes trained on me. The scene floated in front of my eyes and I could see all of us back in our old booth at the Paper Lantern, the polaroid in Siya's hands as she, unbeknownst to us, captured this moment.

I softly grazed my finger across the picture, over his face.

In the faint glow of the diner's warm lights, his face resembled that of an angel's.

I tilted my head as realization dawned on me. How lucky was I to have him?

"Did I send you on too much of a nostalgic trip?"

Without looking back, I smiled even further. He came and stood beside me moments later.

Facing him, I asked, "How did you find these pictures?"

He licked his lips and rubbed his hands together. "When I left town, I had stored all of my polaroids in a tiny marble box that Siya gave me for my seventh birthday. Surprisingly, they were intact when I found them again yesterday."

I gave him a wide smile. "Can you believe these were taken so many years ago?"

"Feels like yesterday, doesn't it?" He said, glancing back at the pictures. Doing the same, I nodded.

"I'm guessing....you're wondering...what exactly is going on..." He stuttered slightly as he looked back at me. I nodded again. "Sort of."

"Well," he breathed, looking nervously at me. "Okay....how do I begin?"

"Moose."

"Yes."

"It's me, come on. You can say whatever you wanna say."

His gaze remained fixated on me for a couple of seconds before he lowered his gaze. "Um...o-okay...here it goes...."

I watched as he nervously fidgeted with his fingers as he began, "Ronnie....ever since this whole thing started again, my thoughts had been preoccupied with just one thing; how do we get out of this mess? I've been so focused on thinking how to get away from this situation unscathed.....that I never stopped for once, to contemplate or realise....that there is a high chance....we might not."

My brow furrowed. "Moose, what are you-"

"Ronnie,....I know that no matter how optimistic or how positive we try to be about this whole situation, there is always a possibility....of something going wrong. I mean....eleven years ago, when we all had....gotten involved in that mess in the first place....did any of us imagine that we'd lose our friends on the way?"

My gaze lowered as a sharp pang bloomed in my heart.

"Saina and Kartik lost Avinash,....we lost Ahaan."

I blinked to preventing myself from tearing up.

"What I'm saying is that....we aren't guaranteed the next moment of our lives right now." He continued, "And ever since we got that invitation to the final round, I had been thinking....that if we really have just a few moments left to...live,...then do I really want to let them go in vain?"

I looked up at him, confused.

"What?"

He looked me straight and responded, "If these few days are really gonna be the last days of my life,-"

"Don't say that-"

"Let me finish, Ronnie." He assured me with his eyes. "If these really are the last few days of my life, then.....I want to spend every moment of every second....with you."

I blinked twice.

He slowly got down on one knee, retracting something square from the back pocket of his jeans.

I staggered back two steps. "Moose...."

He slowly opened the small black box, to reveal a small blue alexandrite stoned ring. My eyes widened as my hands instinctively clasped over my mouth.

"It isn't Dhrashti's, if that's what you're thinking-"

"Moose,...." I looked at him bewildered. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

His brows knitted in a comical manner. "Well, I'm obviously not baking a cake."

I gave him a poker face.

"This isn't funny, Moose."

His eyelids drooped once before he gave me the softest of smiles.

"Ronnie.....the day that I met you.....back when we were just thirteen, I knew that....there wasn't anyone else in this entire world that I'd rather be with....than you."

Tears stung the back of my eyes as I struggled to keep myself composed.

"For the fifteen years that I've known you," he continued, his eyes glistening. "....there has never been one fleeting moment.....where I've not loved you...with all my heart."

"Moose....." Tears rolled down my cheeks as tremors ran through my body.

"I know....." He looked up at me. "I know we've had our fair shares of ups and downs....... mostly downs, but...."

My lips quivered as he continued, ".....deep down in my heart.... I think I've always known that.... eventually.... we'd find each other again."

"When you left eleven years back....there were moments when I would often loose faith....in us." He placed slowly. "But...then I'd remember your parting words to me...."

"....if we're meant to be... then we'll be together. No matter what happens.... we'd always find and come back to each other."

I succumbed, my body feeling like it would give up any moment.

"....and see...we did find each other again. You know why?...... because we're meant to be. Have always been."

He held my hand as he finished, and I squeezed it tight.

"I've longed for you enough, Ronnie." He spoke softly, tears glistening in his eyes as well. "I don't want to anymore."

"Because at the end of the day, you're the person I wanna come home to."

I looked up at him, eyes wide. I couldn't stop myself from looking.

"You know, for the past two days, I was sweating myself because I thought that it mattered what I said or where I said it." He chuckles softly, speaking. "But then I realised that....the only thing that matters is you. You make me happier than I ever thought I could be."

I smiled through my tears, squeezing his hand tighter.

"And if you let me, I will spend the rest of my life making you feel the way."

My heart skipped several beats as I waited in anticipation.

"Veronica, will you marry me?"

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat for a long time and giving him the smallest smile, I answered.

"No."

_____________

and i oop-

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