Chapter Thirteen (Adrian’s POV)

Yhprum’s Law

Adrian ran inside his house, in obvious hurry, passed by his mother and little brother who were sitting in the living room, only sparing a few seconds to say, ‘Hey’, before speeding up the stairs to his bedroom. As soon as he got inside it, he quickly launched into a frantic search effort. He searched in his desk, inside his closet, inside his drawers, under his bed, everywhere, but he couldn’t find it. Where was it? He couldn’t quite remember where he had put it. He had bought it weeks ago. As soon as he saw it, he had to buy it. It reminded him of her, immediately. Then, when they had gone through the awful phase of constant fighting and ignoring each other, he had hidden it somewhere, because it reminded him of her and he was convinced that he would never get the chance to give it to her.

Fortunately, everything was perfect now. He just needed to find it so he could finally give it to her.

He moaned in frustration and looked around his bedroom, wondering what places were left to search.

“Looking for this?”

He turned around to find his mother leaning against his door, a playful smile on her lips and the little box carefully resting on her hand.

He smiled back at her. “Thanks.”

“You look mighty cheerful,” she noticed, as he took the box from her and carefully put it in his pocket. “I’m glad to see you so happy. It’d been a while.”

“Yeah, everything’s great.” His smile grew wider and he studied Andrea. She was looking better, too. Tonight was going to be a good night, she wouldn’t cry. He looked at her with a new light. He finally understood her. Or, at least, he understood her better. “See you later, mom.” And he practically ran out of the house.

“I will want to meet her!” He could hear her yell and he chuckled, closing the door and walking to his car.

As he drove, Adrian couldn’t help but shoot nervous glances at his cellphone. All he wanted was to pick up the damn thing and talk to Sophie. His self-induced phone-abstinence was a necessary torture, but torture nonetheless. He just hoped Sophie would stand by him, even if he barely talked to her after their moment the day before.

After such a long time, they were finally hours away from meeting each other. He would finally see her, touch her, make sure she was real. He felt excited, anxious and very happy. He was finally going to see his Murphy.

Ever since their conversation the day before, ever since Sophie told him she felt the same kind of love towards him as he did for her, it was like a major re-birth. Adrian not only felt like his old self again, he felt happier than ever, better than ever, like an upgraded version of his best self. Never before had the world made so much sense. He never felt lighter. This must be what everybody talks about; this must be that awesome feeling.

The night was setting while he drove. His cellphone rang and he knew he had received a message. He grabbed the tiny object and, taking glances at its screen while maintaining most of his concentration on the road, Adrian read Charlotte’s message. She was with Sophie, they were having dinner and then they’d be going to JazzBell. True to her character, Murphy was clueless. She wasn’t even dreaming about the possibility that he might show up tonight – which was probably a good thing. If she knew, or suspected it, Murphy, being Murphy, would probably be swallowed by her usual shell of insecurity and paranoia and Adrian, not only wanted to surprise her, he wanted to make sure she wouldn’t back out on him again. He quickly answered Charlotte’s message and returned his full attention to the road.

He felt relaxed and, at the same time, anxious about meeting Sophie, if that made any sense.

After a few minutes of driving, Adrian finally arrived at his destination. He smiled wildly and got out of his car, walking in the direction of his friends. Chad and Marshall were at their usual spot, at the back end of a park, both leaning casually into Marshall’s car, drinking a cold beer. After the usual handshakes and manly pats on the back, he grabbed one of the fresh drinks and joined his friends in watching the sunset. Ever since they had met this had been a ritual.

A few seconds of comfortable silence passed, until Marshall finally talked, “So, tonight’s the big night, huh?” He smirked. “How are you feeling about it?”

Adrian smiled back. “Awesome.”

“I gotta tell you man, I never thought you and Sophie would get it together,” he admitted.

“I seriously doubted it, myself.”

“I always knew,” Chad answered with smugness.

“Yeah, right.” Marshall chuckled. “Easy to say now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I acknowledge you were the last one to give it up, but you’re also the one who told Sophie to stop calling for good.” Marshall smirked. “Making her cry in the process, might I add.”

“I apologized for that, I never meant for her to cry!” Chad replied in an almost panicked tone. “Adrian, I apologized!”

“Chill out, Chad, it’s okay.” Adrian grinned.

“So, was it worth it? I mean, all the girlish moping,” Marshall asked, smiling with mockery.

“Totally,” he answered relaxed, taking a quiet sip from his beer and not feeling the least bit insulted. He was too joyful for that. “Would do it all over again.”

“Get out of here!”

“I’m serious!” Adrian laughed at his friend’s incredulous expression.

“You’re a sucker for punishment, dude, that’s all I have to say.” Marshall smirked and drank from his own beer, after slightly shaking his head. “So, figured out what you’ll tell her when you’ve finally seen her?”

“No.” Adrian smiled again. “Not worried about that, we never had a problem talking.”

“Right… It’s everything else that remains a mystery.”

“Hopefully, not for long.” Adrian’s smile grew wider.

“Dude, what if she’s… you know…” Marshall seemed to struggle for words, which was very out of character. Adrian pretty much knew what he was thinking already, though he appreciated his attempts at being polite and careful. “Not very... attractive?"

“Haven’t really thought about that, not for a long time, anyway.” He shrugged.

“Oh man, get real, will ya?” Marshall laughed. “What if she’s, frankly, butt ugly?”

Adrian grinned. “Man, let it go. It doesn’t matter. As long as she’s Murphy, it doesn’t matter.”

Marshall stared silently at Adrian for a few seconds, a look of profound disbelief in his face, studying his friend. Finally, he snapped out of it, shaking his head as if deeply confused and sighed, with a wild grin. “Well, it must be love then.” Then he held his beer high, as if making a toast. “To you and Sophie. May she be as good looking as she is good sounding.” They all drank and Marshall added, “And if she isn’t, hey, at least you have your cellphones.” The three of them laughed.

After a couple of hours, talking and joking around, Adrian received a new text message from Charlotte. Realizing it was time to get a move on, especially since the bar they were in, JazzBell, was at least half an hour away, Adrian let his friends know he had to go.

“I’m coming with you,” Chad announced, in a strangely excited mood. “I mean, if you don’t mind, of course.”

Adrian found it a bit weird, but shrugged. “Sure, if you want to, no problem.”

“What the hell are you gonna do there?” Marshall asked, “Play the freaking candle?”

Chad shot Marshall a serious look, before playing with the hair on the back of his head. He looked almost embarrassed. “I just thought it might be a good chance to see Charlotte again. She’ll be there, right?”

Adrian nodded with a giant smile and Marshall just rolled his eyes, mumbling, “Another moron.”

“You want to come, too?” Adrian asked him, more out of politeness than anything else, since he already knew Marshall well enough to pretty much predict his answer.

“Hell no!” he replied with a shocked, slightly disgusted look, making Adrian chuckle. “You know I don’t do romance.”

Adrian shrugged again. “Suit yourself.” He and Marshall shook hands briefly. “I’ll see you later, then.”

Marshall gave Adrian a friendly pat on his back. “Good luck.” To which Adrian answered with a smile. “It’s good to have you back.”

The drive to JazzBell was quiet and, frankly, nerve-racking. No matter how loud the music was playing, Adrian couldn’t focus on anything else but his immediate future. The closer they got to their destination, the more nervous he’d become. The way there seemed simultaneously short and never-ending.

“Chill out, Adrian. It’ll be awesome,” Chad finally spoke, though Adrian could detect small glints of nervousness coming out of his voice, as well. He was probably nervous about his own upcoming encounter with Charlotte. Adrian just smiled, finding himself incapable of doing much more, and remained fixated on the road, meanwhile a million scenarios playing in his mind, all of them surrounding Sophie.

The nerves he felt weren’t terrible though, and, at the same time he felt them, he was also extremely happy, strangely calm and at peace – like he was finally doing the right thing, like he was finally getting what he needed. Like he and Sophie naturally belonged on the same space, not just the same phone line.

He felt anxious, but he desperately wanted to see her, touch her, acknowledge she was definitely real, that she was definitely there. His heart beat intensively; he couldn’t contain his huge smile. How would she look like? How would her smile be? How would she feel, smell, taste? How would her voice sound close to his ear? He could barely wait to hear her laughter in person. He never felt so excited, he never wanted something to happen so badly, but he also couldn’t help but feel a small inkling of fear.

They finally arrived and, as soon as Adrian parked the car, his cellphone started ringing. He didn’t even had the time to feel more anxious, neither he nor Chad had the time to go outside. He stared at the screen and immediately smiled – it was her.

As soon as he took the call and rested his cellphone next to his ear, he heard his favorite voice in the world. “Adrian…” she whispered and, just like that, all the nerves, all the anxiety, all the fears were erased. He could only feel bliss.

“Murphy,” was all he said, in the same quiet, but happy, tone she used. He noticed there really wasn’t a lot of noise on the background of her call, so he quickly assumed that she was outside of the bar. With this thought in mind, Adrian got out of the vehicle and looked around, searching for her, his heart racing in anticipation. Probably startled by his friend’s quick actions, Chad got out of the car immediately after and looked around as well, with a confused expression.

“I miss you,” she confessed.

He laughed, those words made him really happy. “I’m glad you do. I miss you too.” He started slowly walking around, still searching, even though he was completely aware that he had no idea how she looked like. There was something that made him believe that once he saw her, he would just know.

“I wish I could see you right now,” she almost whispered, in a sweet, although a bit sad, voice.

He grinned mischievously. “Do you want to?”

“Yes.” She sighed, as if she was speaking about a dream, something impossible. His grin only grew wider.

“Then maybe you will.” He kept searching for her. Chad looked at him and shrugged, as if silently asking what the hell was he supposed to look for.

“Don’t play with me, Adrian-“ He heard her say but, quite abruptly, the call ended. He stared at his cellphone screen, confused, not knowing what had happened. He started frantically searching, walking around faster than before – did something happen to her or had she simply gone out of battery on her cell? Chad followed him like a lost puppy, clearly not understanding what was going on.

“What exactly are we doing, Adrian?”

“Looking for her.”

Chad stopped and pointed back to the bar. “Shouldn’t we be doing that inside?”

“She’s out here, somewhere,” Adrian replied with confidence, reaching for his pocket and making sure the small box was still in it, while his eyes wandered through the dark parking lot.

Then, something happened. Something clicked in him. As soon as his eyes fell on her, he felt it. He knew it, right away. There was a girl, almost hidden in the semi-darkness, save for the lonely lamp that lit the street a few feet from her. She was looking for something on the ground, on her knees. It looked like she had recently fallen. He couldn’t see her features, or any details about her, except for her wild, dark, curly hair. And he knew. Somehow, he knew.

She was Murphy. He smiled wildly at his own realization. It was like he was breathing for the first time. There she was, so close to him – and she was real. For the first time, Sophie was within his reach. He couldn’t spare another moment without seeing her.

Still a little taken back by this, he stood for a few seconds, while he spoke to Chad, “Chad, you can go inside now. Go to Charlotte, have fun.”

“Uh… okay,” Chad slowly replied, more confused than ever. “What about you?”

“I think I’ll stay right here.”

“What about Sophie?”

Adrian grinned. “I found her.” Then he pointed at the lonely girl in the distance, still frantically searching for something on the stone ground. “She’s right there.”

Chad starred at him like he was crazy and then looked into the girls direction, slightly squinting his eyes to see her in the distance. “How can you possibly know that?”

As a response, Adrian only smiled and walked in her direction. His blood was warm, his heart beating fast, not from anxiety, but from excitement and a quiet, overwhelming joy. He was almost reaching her when she finally stood up, her back turned to him. He smiled as he noticed her small, frail looking frame. He just wanted to hold her in his arms, right then and there, with gentle strength. Once he finally got close enough to her, the first things he noticed was her delicious perfume – a soft vanilla – and her beautiful, dark, wild hair. He just wanted to run his hand through it. She put her cellphone next to her ear, still unaware of his presence and called for him, “Adrian?” It was a sweet thing, to finally hear her voice this close, in person, calling his name. She dusted herself off and quickly glanced at her hands and knees before suddenly tensing her body. She had felt him standing behind her.

He grinned and quietly spoke, so as to not scare her, though he couldn’t hide the amusement from his voice, “Sophie.” The way her body stiffened even more told him that she had recognized his voice. He smiled wilder and stepped closer to her, taking in her wonderful scent as he whispered, “Turn around,” right next to her ear, making her slightly shiver. He reveled in the way she was affected by him.

She turned to him, rather slowly, rather unsurely. When she finally faced him, he was breathless. There she was. Finally. And she was everything he wanted, everything he expected, everything she was supposed to be and more. So much more.

His eyes explored her with a touch of hunger. Her skin was a delicate white, like she was made of the finest porcelain. Her body was slender and beautifully shaped. He was aware that, for most guys, she would be nothing but average looking, but to him, she was perfect. He longed to touch her, to feel her, to kiss her precious clear skin. When her eyes finally met his, he felt lost in their deep blue. The most wonderful eyes he had ever seen, the deepest blue, like a powerful ocean. His eyes travelled to her mouth, to her plump red lips and he felt a burning wish to kiss them. It was hard to believe that she was finally close to him, that she was finally real and that she was so perfect for him.

In Sophie’s eyes, he could read insecurity, fear and a strong desire to be accepted. Her breathing was quick and nervous and, maybe, excited and surprised. Her cheeks blushed, illustrating her feelings at his deep scrutiny. He smiled, not able to contain his feelings any longer and she returned it, with a shy, adorable smile of her own. It was obvious she felt relief at his approval. Her smile made her look even more striking.

Soon enough, he found himself reaching for her. Slowly, as if unsure if she would be comfortable with it, and gently, as if she was as frail as she looked, Adrian caressed her cheek. Her skin was as soft and smooth as he had imagined and he was surprised at how warm she felt, like he was expecting her to be cold to the touch because of her porcelain color. When she closed her eyes and smiled at his touch, he let couldn’t help but think she was the cutest, most beautiful thing he had ever seen, her slight blush still lingering in her. He let his hand travel through her face, as gently and slowly as before, enjoying the feel of her, reaching her jawline, her chin and letting his fingers rest in her soft lips. Sophie finally opened her eyes and looked at him with something very close to desire. It made him want her even more.

“How did you-“

“Charlotte,” he answered, before she could complete her question, his smile still present with adoration. “We wanted to make you a surprise,” he explained, “I didn’t talk to you much since yesterday because I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep it from you. Sorry about that. It was our last secret, I promise.”

If he had wondered about her reaction at being tricked, his fears quickly faded as she gifted him with a brilliant wide smile. Her eyes were lit with joy and they shined in their glorious blue, almost making her glow. He made a promise to himself then – he would do everything he could to make sure she would always smile like that.

Suddenly, he remembered, “I have something for you.” He grinned, reaching for the small box in his pocket. He took it out and gave it to her, hoping that she would like it. Sophie looked at the little box with surprise plain on her face, slowly accepting it and staring at him wide eyed. Adrian laughed at her sweet attitude. The way she reacted to him was exactly how he had always imagined her to. “Open it.”

He watched with full attention as she complied with his request and opened his gift. As soon as she saw the silver bracelet with the little pendent in the shape of a turtle, she gasped in delight. He knew she would love the turtle. Sophie took the bracelet from its container and admired it.

“Oh, Adrian, you shouldn’t-“

“When I saw it, I had to get it,” he told her, excited. “It reminded me of you instantly. I bought it weeks ago. Do you like it?”

“It’s perfect. I love it!” She looked at him and he melted. He felt great knowing that his gift made her happy.

“Cool.” He returned the smile and took the bracelet from her, promptly helping her to put it on her wrist. He noticed she had the palm of her hand slightly bruised and assumed it had been from the fall that interrupted their latest phone call. He couldn’t help but gently caress her bruised skin. “It suits you,” he said, still looking at her hand.

“I wish I could give you something as well.”

“Don’t worry, you have plenty of time to do that.” He smiled mischievously. He wasn’t planning on letting her go. “Besides, there is something that I really want to do right now and it’s something that only you can give me.”

At this, she blushed again, but retained her smile. “Well, that depends… What is it?” He could tell she was being playful, grabbing his shirt and stepping closer, looking him in the eyes with longing. Adrian wasn’t sure if she was aware of the effect she had on him. When she looked at him with that playful smile, those wanting eyes, when she touched him and reduced the distance between them so significantly, his blood boiled and all he wanted to do was have her right then and there.

Yeah, she probably would never be aware of that.

Adrian smiled and wrapped his arms around her. Having her finally in his arms did nothing to soothe his urge to claim her. “It’s a good thing, I promise,” he almost whispered, losing his smile and examining her.

His hands went to her cheeks and he wondered if he could do it. Ever since he had laid eyes on her, all he wanted to do was make her his. He needed to kiss her. He was just looking for confirmation that she needed it too. The last thing Adrian wanted was to ruin everything again. He couldn’t lose her again. Sophie, however, seemed to have interpreted his look the right way and, as soon as she closed her eyes, he knew she wanted it as badly as he did.

It was all he needed. His lips crushed hers with hunger and he felt the fire within him ignite with passion. Her lips were delicious but, as much as he wanted to ravish them, he knew she deserved the perfect first kiss. He kissed her rather slowly and sweetly, taking in the full flavor of her, relishing in the full pleasure of her lips against his. It wasn’t a fiery kiss, but it was surely sensual. One of his hands travelled from her cheek to the back of her neck while the other rested in her lower back, bringing her closer to him. Sophie explored his chest, every single touch of hers burning through his shirt. Soon enough, he was wanting more. Afraid he might scare her, he decided to end the kiss, before he would lose control and let his lust for her take over.

When they parted, he looked at her and saw pleasure in her eyes, which made him smile. Though, there was also something there that told him she wasn’t ready to let go. And, when she grabbed his shirt seconds later, with hunger and passion written all over her, he knew they were definitely on the same page. And he loved her even more for it.

Sophie desperately locked her lips with his again, kissing him hard and with urgency. Adrian happily complied and returned it with just as much passion. He deepened the kiss as his hands travelled to her waist, making sure not an inch of space stood between them while she tangled her fingers in his already unruly hair. She felt perfect against him. She was perfect.

When they reluctantly parted, they stared at each other, smiling, their lips still close to each other. It was obvious that neither one of them wanted it to end. Their breathing was fast and furious, like they had just finished a race. Sophie couldn’t stop smiling and, soon enough, she was hugging him with a strength he never thought she had. He returned the gesture. They held each other like they were afraid the other one would suddenly vanish.

“I thought this would never happen.” She laughed.

“Tell me about it.” He just wanted to kiss her again and again. Instead, he remained satisfied with just playing with her hair. There would be more than enough time to kiss her, he would make sure of that.

Adrian carefully tugged the hair at the back of her hair to turn her face to him. He loved the way her eyes shined, the way she looked so happy, complete and secure, the way she looked at him like he was everything. He couldn’t resist her. He playfully kissed her bottom lip, slowly reaching her chin and finally her earlobe.

“God, I’m happy you misdialed the number that night.”

She giggled but something seemed to have struck her. Slowly, she grabbed his shirt again and gently pushed him apart a few inches. He was concerned for half a second, but as he looked at her, he knew there was nothing to worry about. Sophie simply looked curious.

“Adrian?”

He would always love the sound of his name when it was her voice calling. He kissed her forehead before looking at her again. “Yes?”

“You had never seen me before tonight, right?”

“Unfortunately.” He grinned and started to lock his arms around her waist again. “Because if I had seen you before, you would’ve been mine a long time ago.” And, as always, he truly meant it.

Sophie spared a few seconds to look to the ground, blushing furiously, before looking at him again. “Then how did you know who I was?”

He pushed a few loose strands of hair from her face and got his lips as close as possible to her ear, whispering with sincerity and adoration.

“Murphy… You look just like I imagined.”

Author's Notes - I can't believe it finally happened - Voice Addiction is now officially over. The End. I shall miss it and all the awesome people who read it, voted, added and commented =') You guys are great and I love you deeply, passionately, creepily.

I really hope you had as much fun reading this as I had writing it. I will miss Adrian and Sophie. Hope you will, too ;) eheheh.

Anyway, this is not goodbye for us, my penguins, oh no. I won't give you the satisfaction. Nope, stalking will still occur (from me) and will always be encouraged (to you), mwahahah. Besides, dudes, I have other stuff written around here, somewhere. You are always welcome!

Talk to meeee*