oneshot #1: Dreaming This Night Away

what is this?! me, actually posting a
oneshot? no! really??
but seriously, this is the first oneshot of
this book! so, i hope y'all enjoy it! it's a bit
angsty and kind of long and there are mentions
of depression and grief but this is filled
with fluff, which is my favorite kind of romance!!
just goes to show just how pure bill and steph
are!!!!

As the girl sat at her boyfriend's desk and read the book that she had pulled off of his bookshelf, she couldn't even concentrate on the words she was glancing at. Her mind had been filled with terrible thoughts all day long since the sun had risen over the horizon and she wasn't able to focus. She just wanted to get away from the depression for once today, but she was failing, which made her sigh; she put the book down on the desk as she put her face in her hands, the tears beginning to fall as she shook.

Bill had briefly gone downstairs to get a glass of water for Steph, since she had shyly asked him to do so. She felt terrible for having him do it for her when she could have easily done it herself, but she just felt so emotionally miserable today that she didn't have any motivation to do anything, not even spend time with Bill. She thought to herself that she would apologize for how horrible she was being to him; at least, that was what she thought she had done. She felt incredibly guilty for having to go through stress around him.

Their four year anniversary was today, and here she was: spending it just sitting at his desk and reading while she suffered through the grief of her mother's death.

Jamie had been dead for two and a half years now, and the poor girl wasn't finding it any easier to move on from the fact that she was now an orphan. Sure, she didn't cry as much as she did during the first few months following the tragedy, but the tears would inevitably fall sometimes during the late hours of the night after Bill had fallen asleep beside her. They would cuddle in his bed and watch a comedy every night, mostly because the boy wanted her to feel cheerful before falling asleep but, whenever that television shut off and he drifted off, that was when the girl cried the most.

If someone had told Steph about five years ago that her mother would die from tuberculosis and that her boyfriend's parents would take her in to watch over her before she went to college, she would've laughed in their faces. But now that the awful truth had hit her, there was no more running away from it.

Her mother, the only true family that she had left, was dead. Jamie Palmer was dead and she wasn't coming back.

The now seventeen-year-old young woman glanced upward and looked into the full-body mirror to her right. She wasn't even focused on anything else, even as she began to hear footsteps coming up the stairs and to the room; she was just gazing at her own reflection and shuddering a little bit at the recognition in her eyes. She then peered back and forth between her reflection and the picture on the nightstand with her and her mother in it, the middle-aged woman smiling joyfully for the camera.

A long time ago, Steph would've never believed those that told her that she looked just like her mother. She would've never seen the similarities whatsoever.

But now, she saw it.

Every time she looked in the mirror, every time she saw herself in any sort of reflective surface, she saw Jamie staring back at her. Steph had the same facial expressions of the older woman, the same smile, the same frown, the same blonde hair that her mother had had when she was a young adult before she had dyed it black. The only thing that had always been different about the two were their eyes; Steph's were midnight blue, Jamie's were sea green.

But everything else was the same.

Everything changed when Steph's mother died. Her entire life had started going downhill.

Her friends and boyfriend were the only good aspects of her high school years anymore; but even that didn't help completely. Not even the therapy from her guidance counselor couldn't stop her from having so many negative thoughts.

She still couldn't believe that she was gone. Why couldn't it have been me? she thought to herself. She deserved to live a long life, and I don't. It should've been me that died instead of her.

The blonde girl snapped her eyes away from the mirror before her thoughts could get too dark and she put her hands back over her face, her shoulders shaking with quiet crying. She sniffed a little bit as she shut her despairing eyes, sighing to herself as she propped her arms onto the desk by her elbows; she tried her best to stop crying, but she couldn't stop herself from doing so. Her heart had been shattered to billions of tiny little pieces and she didn't know if she were to be able to place it back together, even if it were to be slowly.

Steph felt a gentle hand land on her shoulder and, since she was wearing a white tank top, she was surprised at the warmth of the hand on her bare skin. But she didn't dare move as she felt the hand move to her other shoulder as Bill wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his forehead against the back of her neck. She couldn't prevent her heartbeat from kicking into overdrive from the tender embrace, and it only got worse when she felt him peck her shoulder lovingly; she removed her hands from her face as she shivered at the touch, unable to fight the smile creeping upon her face.

"Y-You okay...?" came a gentle whisper from behind her as Steph turned around in the chair to face him.

Unbeknownst to the girl, Bill's heart ached at the fact that she was crying and it even made him tear up a little bit. He wished he could do something for her, since he knew immediately what was wrong and what she had been thinking that made her cry. He missed Steph's mother as much as she did, but he always tried to be strong around his girlfriend, not wanting to be weak in front of her. But he had always assured her that it was okay for her to cry when she needed to, although it hurt him every time she did. He needed to do something, anything.

Bill placed his hands on either side of Steph's face and began to wipe her tears away delicately, staring deeply into her eyes as he sniffed a little. When he saw his girlfriend close her eyes and begin to cry more, this time with appreciation, he shook his head lightly and rested his forehead against hers. "No, no, no," the boy whimpered, trying not to let the tears fall from his own blue-green eyes. "Huh-Honey, please don't cry... Everything's g-g-gonna be okay. Can I do anything to help?"

Steph felt awful now that she knew that Bill was crying, so she opened her eyes and caressed his left cheekbone, her lips pursed into a sad little pout. "No, please don't be upset because of me," she murmured comfortingly, staring right into his soul. "I'm so sorry, Bill... I ruined our anniversary, and it should have been a great one, too. But here I am, being pitiful and crying like a baby, not even spending time with you. I'm so sorry..."

"No," Bill replied firmly, shaking his head instantly. Steph sighed and tried to argue with his protest, but he placed a finger on her lips to silently shush her. Don't tuh-talk, just let me comfort y-y-you, okay?" When the girl reluctantly nodded, he slowly took her hands into his and pulled her out of the chair and closer to him; he took one of her hands and smoothly twirled her around, making a slight giggle leave her thin lips as she landed back in his arms.

It was the first sign of happiness that either of them had seen all day, and Bill was so proud of her. Only one step at a time, he thought to himself. He knew that he had to take baby steps in regards to cheering Steph up, but he would patiently do that with her in order for her to be truly happy again. At this point, he would do absolutely anything for his girlfriend because he was so in love with her.

"There's th-that gorgeous smile," he complimented her, chuckling a little when he saw her beam a little bit. He then took the Walkman that he had found in the living room earlier and put a mixtape in there that he had made a few days prior. Even if they didn't go out on a proper date for their special day, he would rather spend their anniversary dancing to music and comforting each other in the safety of his bedroom than just laying around the house and feeling miserable.

In fact, he was more than happy to do something more simple for this anniversary.

He quickly went to his dresser and took a pair of headphones before going back to his timid sweetheart and he placed them over her ears, preferring that she be comforted by the lyrics of the song he was about to play. He had heard it on the radio the other night and he wanted to record it so he could let her hear how much he loved her, so he had to request it about twenty times the night before. But, before he pressed the 'Play' button, he leaned closer to Steph and kissed her cheek sweetly as he smiled sadly.

"Don't apologize, sweet girl," he whispered in her ear without stuttering once, closing his eyes. "You didn't ruin anything... I promise, beautiful."

Steph heard a soft clicking and whirring sound, and then the harmonizing lyrics of Neil Young's Harvest Moon filled her ears and she closed her eyes out of bliss as she felt Bill's forehead touch hers. She moved even closer to him, not wanting to let go of him at that moment; she needed him to be by her side more than ever, and she had the feeling that he would do whatever she requested, no matter what it was. He would go to the ends of the earth for her, whatever it took to make her the happiest girl in the world.

One of Bill's hands rested itself against her back while the other went to her hair so it could comb itself through the messy blonde curls, and it made a few more tears trickle down her face at how soothing he was to her. She felt as if she were in the most beautiful daydream that could've ever been conjured in her fantasies, her heart fluttering at the kiss pressed to her forehead, and she felt more vulnerable around him than ever. She should have dressed nice if she knew that they were going to dance, but here she was in her pajamas and looking ridiculous.

Almost as if Bill had read her mind, he removed one of the headphones and pressed his lips to her temple. "Beautiful..." he muttered to her gently, rubbing her back appeasingly as he placed the headphone back where it was, their noses brushing against each other. All he could feel was longing to be closer to her emotionally, to want her to let him in and willingly be vulnerable in front of him, because he knew that she didn't have to be strong every single day.

Steph's midnight blue eyes fluttered shut when she suddenly felt Bill's hands on her jaw and pull her in for a kiss. Her parted lips pressed against his as his fingers rested on the back of her neck, and they were soon kissing each other lovingly. They were so gentle with each other, but the passion in their kisses was so obvious to the point that their hearts were about to beat out of their chests. They tilted their heads as they deepened the kiss ever so slightly, although Bill made sure to not cross any boundaries.

The girl gasped softly against his lips at the feeling of his thumbs caressing either side of her jaw very gingerly, not wanting to hurt her. Bill let out a sigh of content and happiness as he leaned into her softly, feeling the palms of Steph's trembling hands rubbing his back to keep him comforted. The moment made his heart beat faster than it had in a long time, since what they shared was so tender, innocent, and sweet-hearted.

They both knew what this kiss represented; it was a silent exchange of "I love you's."

Normally, on their anniversary, they would've been going out to eat or going to the movies for a proper date. But, today, here they were... dreaming the night away as they danced to Neil Young's songs in their pajamas and kissed.

And they wouldn't have had it either way.