Chapter 36:

Beckinsile's Point of View

January has come and gone in record time. I spent most of my time studying for mid-terms and that's still what I'm doing. It's the first week in February and I have midterms on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Oliver, Fiona and I have studied after school together every day in the nearby coffee shop and now we're all pretty confident in our abilities.

"Oliver, I need to get some sleep..." I yawn a little and lay back on my pillows.

It's Tuesday which means that tomorrow I have two midterms and having a two hour long conversation with Oliver is not ideal at the moment. I've spent all of my free time studying today and I almost fell asleep while reading over my notes one final time. I think I'm ready but there's no way to tell and if I don't get enough sleep then I'll never know.

"Oliver, I seriously need to go to bed; I'll see you tomorrow..." I plead.

"Fine," Oliver sighs. "I love you, Becks..."

"Love you too," I say as I hang up and fall immediately asleep.

~~~~~

I'm fully awake and focused as I go to my math class. I'm only supposed to go there until they call people for midterms. I'm anxiously waiting for my teacher's name to be called; my nerves are so bad that I'm actually shaking.

"You'll do fine," Oliver pats my thigh and gives me a reassuring look.

"Thanks," I smile a little and then go back to shaking as my English teacher's name is finally called.

I grab my bag and join the little group of students that are going to our designated testing area for the English midterm.

I pick up my test ticket and take a seat. I pull out a couple of pencils and begin filling out the test ticket while everyone else finds their seats. As soon as everyone else is seated and has filled out their test tickets the teachers hands out our testing booklets and allows us to begin. I open mine up with shaking hands and take a deep breath.

"I can do this..." I whisper to myself and begin reading the passage for the first set of questions.

~~~~~

It's an hour later and the teachers call time. I've finished all the questions and am feeling drained more than relieved. I hand my test booklet to the teacher and grab my bag before heading out the door.

During testing, we only have a half-day of school so now I get to go home and study some more. Tomorrow my test is in the afternoon so I get to go into school late. Oliver takes my hand and leads me out to his bike. We hop on and drive to our favorite coffee shop.

Oliver parks his bike and leads me inside. The shop is buzzing with the lunchtime coffee rush but we don't mind. The coffee shop is full of plush chairs and cozy booths with jars of flowers and a candle sitting atop each table.

"What are you going to get?" Oliver asks in a light tone.

"Anything with at least two shots of espresso; I need caffeine so badly after that midterm." I chuckle as Oliver wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"I agree..." He smirks as we get up to the register. "I'll have black coffee and a blueberry muffin."

The barista inputs his order and then looks at me.

"I'll have a double shot espresso latte," I smile as the barista inputs my order and tells Oliver the grand total.

"Your order will be ready in a few minutes..." The barista dismisses us and we go off to find a table.

I pull out my notes for the science midterm tomorrow and begin studying.

"You need to stop stressing, Becks..." Oliver puts his hand on my notebook and tries to pull it away from me but I hold tight.

"I need to do well," I whine a little and beg him to take his hands off my notes.

"You will, sweetheart..." Oliver sighs in an exasperated way as the barista calls his name.

He runs up and gets our drinks and his muffin. He hands me a steaming mug and I immediately take a sip. The caffeine has an instantaneous effect on me and I feel alive again. I'm finally alert and ready to study some more. I begin to read over my notes as I take another sip.

"Beckinsile please quit stressing; you're really smart and I know you'll do well." Oliver begs but I just roll my eyes and go back to studying.

"Thanks but there's nothing that's going to stop me from studying, Olly Pop..." I smirk and continue reading.

"I beg to differ; I'm sure I could find something to take your eyes off those science notes."

"Is it Zac Effron shirtless?" I mumble with my eyes still on my notes.

"I thought you said there was nothing that could stop you from studying?" Oliver has a huge grin on his face because he knows he has me trapped.

"Oliver, quit being annoying; we seriously need to study..."

"Oh no, don't you drag me into this; I'm fine not studying." He crosses his arms and smirks in a completely annoying way.

"Well, I need to so I'd appreciate it if you'd let me..." I tap his nose and then go back to reading my notes.

"I guess but you're really being no fun..." Oliver sighs and takes a drink of his coffee.

~~~~~

It's Friday, February 14th, Valentine's Day and also the day our teachers hand out the results of our midterms. I got Oliver a gift last night which consists of a coffee mug filled with all his favorite candies. My hands begin to shake as I walk into my math classroom. Mr. Meyer has a stack of envelopes on his desk that contain the results that have the potential to make or break us. When I told Oliver that last night, he called me crazy and said that I needed to calm down just a tad.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" I wrap my arms around Oliver the minute I see him and give him my gift.

"Thanks. Babe..." He gives me a small kiss on the cheek as we take our seats. "Your gift is being sent to your house," He smirks as the bell rings and Mr. Meyer begins to hand out the dreaded envelopes.

He comes to me last and places the crisp envelope in my nerve-ridden hands. I open it and read the results of all my midterms. I got high marks on all of them. I breathe a sigh of relief as Oliver takes the envelope from me.

"Now what did I tell you about stressing, Becks...tsk, tsk, tsk...." Oliver shakes his head and grins at me triumphantly.

"Fine you were right...Are you happy now?" I roll my eyes.

"Yes, yes I am..." Oliver nods his head.

~~~~~

The day at school goes by relatively quickly. Soon enough I'm going home on Oliver's bike as usual. He drives to my house and then leaves the minute he has my helmet which is highly unusual for him. I soon understand why when I see the dozen red roses sitting on my front porch. I walk up the steps and pick the card out from amongst the flowers.

Dear Princess,

I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to call you my own. I love you with all my heart and I want you to know that no matter where I go I'll still love you. You make me the happiest man alive and I don't care how sappy this whole speech sounds because every word of it's true. Happy Valentine's Day!

Completely yours,

Prince charming

I read and re-read the card until I have every part of it committed to memory. I pick up the flowers and carry them inside the house. They're vibrantly colored and some of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen. I put them in a vase before dialing Oliver's number.

"I see you got my special delivery..." Oliver has a smirk evident in his voice the minute he picks up.

"They're so beautiful; thank you so much..." I gush and take a seat at the breakfast bar.

"I'm glad you like them..."

"I don't just like them; I love them, and the card was so sweet..." I can feel a huge smile making its way onto my face as I think back on what the card said.

"Thanks, only the best for you, sweetheart...I need to ask you something ..." Oliver takes a pause and waits for me to say something.

"Sure, go for it..."

"Would you like to go ice skating with me tomorrow? As another add-on to your Valentine's Day gift..." Oliver's voice trails off and silence emits between us.

"I'd love to!" I say with enthusiasm.

"Great, I'll pick you up at noon." Oliver sounds happy that I accepted his offer which warms my heart a little.

"See you then; I love you..." I smile a little as Oliver responds.

"I love you too..." With that he hangs up and I go off to my room with the beautiful flowers in my hands.

Once I reach my clean room, I set the flowers on my desk and turn on the radio.

~~~~~

It's Saturday right at noon and Oliver is on my doorstep as promised. I say goodbye to my parents and zip up my winter coat before wrapping my arms around his neck. He's dressed in blue jeans and a dark red winter coat. Oliver's hair is tucked under a beanie and his hands are hidden by navy blue gloves. He leads me to his car and we're off to the ice skating rink.

When we arrive, the man at the front desk asks us for our size and then hands us each a pair of skates. We slip into them and get on the ice as soon as we can. I'm a little wobbly so I clutch onto the wall with all I have.

"Are you having fun?" Oliver asks in a teasing tone.

"I suck at ice skating; I don't want to fall flat on my face." I mutter as Oliver easily glides in front of me and sets his hands on my shoulders.

"I'll be there to catch you if you're about to fall; I won't let anything bad happen to you while I'm around." Oliver kisses my cheek and grabs my hand, pulling me away from the comfort of the wall.

He holds onto my hand and slowly pulls me around the rink. I feel extremely unsteady but I try my best to stay upright.

"You're doing great; now I'm going to let go..." Oliver releases his hand and I surprisingly stand up.

I'm feeling good about how I'm doing until some kid whizzes out in the middle of my path and almost knocks me over. Oliver grabs me around the waist and pulls me back up. He has a smile on his face as he holds my hand once again. We skate more towards the wall so we avoid any more almost collisions. He holds me close as we continue to skate around the rink.

"You're so beautiful," Oliver says completely out of the blue.

"Thank you..." I blush a little and can feel the smile inching its way onto my face.

"I just wanted you to know that because you deserve to be told that every day for the rest of your life." Oliver gives me a kiss on the forehead as a little kid skates out in front of us.

"You're the sweetest guy anyone could ever ask for..." I say in almost a whisper.

"I love you..." He whispers back.

"Same, Olly Pop..." I wrap my arm around his waist as we continue our journey around the rink.

~~~~~

It's about 4:30 in the afternoon but the sun is already sinking low in the sky since it's still technically winter. Oliver and I are walking back to his car after having a late lunch at his favorite diner. I'm about to get into the car when I hear a little noise coming from under the car next to us.

I walk over and check it out. I peer under the car and see a pair of sparkling eyes staring back at me. I set my hand out and a little gray kitten comes out to sniff it. Oliver bends down and pick up the squirming fur ball.

"Aw, he's so cute..." Oliver muses and pets the little kitten's head.

The kitten is purring and looks like he's about to fall asleep thanks to Oliver's petting.

"He doesn't have a collar," I take the little kitten from him as he walks us back to his car.

He opens the door for me and I slip in with the little kitten still in my hands.

"We should keep him," Oliver pets the kitten's head a little more before driving out of the parking lot.

"I agree but we need to get some supplies for him first..." I stroke the kitten softly as Oliver turns left.

"Okay, I think my mom has some bowls and toys from when we actually had a cat." Oliver smiles a little and continues to drive.

"That works; we just need to go buy him some food." I smile down at the sleeping gray blob that's now sitting in my lap.

Oliver pulls into the parking lot of a pet store.

"I agree, we need to get some food and a collar..." Oliver gets out of the car and I follow him into the brightly lit shop.

He goes down an aisle and picks out a bag of cat food and a pack of wet food. Next we go to the machine where you can have an ID tag made.

"What should we name him?" Oliver gives me a smile as he begins to ID making process.

"I've always liked the name Jasper... How 'bout you?" I ask with a small smile.

"I actually like Jasper a lot; I think that name works." Oliver enters the name on the machine before adding our phone numbers and an address.

"Done," He sounds proud of himself as he grabs a red collar off the shelf to put the ID tag on.

We make our way to the Cashier and she rings everything up.

"Let me pay, Oliver; you always pay..." I hand the cashier my debit card and sign the receipt when she hands it to me. "Thank you very much..." I smile as I attach the collar around Jasper's little neck.

Oliver grabs the food and we go back out to his car.

"So, the next issue we need to solve is where he's going to live..." He muses as he pulls out into traffic.

"We could switch off week to week...I mean we spend a lot of time together so bringing the kitten back and forth should be a piece of cake..." I smirk and stroke Jasper's soft fur.

"That sounds like a good plan; would you like to have him first?"

"You're too sweet and yes...I'd love to take him this week."

"Good," Oliver pulls up in front of my house and helps me bring up the food. "I'll bring by the supplies tomorrow." He whispers and kisses me on the forehead before going back to his car.

"Becky, is that you?" my mom calls from the living room.

"Yes," I say and walk towards the living room. "Mom, I need to tell you something..."

"I'm hoping it has something to do with the kitten in your hands..." My mother smirks as I sit down.

"Oliver and I found him tonight and we're going to take care of him...I promise I'll feed him and I'll clean up after him' I'll do anything to keep him..." I plead.

"I can't see why you can't keep him but he has to be yours and Oliver's responsibility; I can't take care of him, it's all on you two..."

"Thank you so much!" I squeal and wrap my arms around my mother.

"Does he have a name?" My mother smiles as I release her.

"Yeah...it' Jasper..." I say in a soothing voice as my mom pets the once again sleeping kitten.