Page 98 of The Story Of Us

In the next scene, Isaac is alone, and all the colour drains from the screen as he sits with his head in his hands. It sends an ache through my chest that has me clutching onto his arm. I want him to know that I’m here now, that I’m not going anywhere.

When I appear again, the colour gradually starts coming back, starting as a faint glow around Isaac’s chest until it grows to fill the whole screen. A series of quick flashbacks of all our best moments play out before us, the sound building to a crescendo before it quietens again.

The last scene is our imagined future, the one we talked and dreamed about - us standing side by side in a small apartment, my head on his shoulder and his on top of mine, our hands linked together as we stare out of the bright window at what’s to come.

When the screen turns black, I bring my hand up to Isaac’s face and turn his head to make him look at me. His bottom lip is drawn between his teeth and I want to soothe his worries away. I want him to know this is the best thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

“I love you so much.”

I hope he hears everything else I’m saying with those words.

I’m so proud of you.

Your work is amazing.

I’m so lucky to have you.

I can’t wait for our future.

I’m yours, and you’re mine.

He lets out a shaky breath before pressing his forehead to mine, eyes closed as he speaks.

“Jaanu, jaanu, jaanu,” he whispers like a prayer like it’s the only word he ever wants to say, like it means everything to him. “My life, my soul, my everything.”

I pull him towards me, kissing him like it’ll seal those words between us forever and make sure they can never escape.

We smile at each other before looking at the screen again, and it’s like he can read my mind because he presses play on it, and we watch it all over again.

“How long have you been working on this?” I ask, knowing that it must have taken months to make something like this.

“Do you want the real answer or the answer I want to give that seems less creepy?”

I poke his side, and he lets out a small laugh.

“The real answer.”

“I started it the summer after Year 8.”

“We were barely friends then. You were that confident we’d be together at eighteen?”

“I always knew we would end up together. We’re fated, remember?” He kisses the side of my head. “It was just a matter of time. I didn’t know what it was at the time, but looking back now, I think I started falling for you that year. I used all of my allowance for that book, but I didn’t even think twice about it. And then your eyes lit up when I gave it to you, and you got so excited talking about the first one, and when I trace it all back, I think it was that moment.”

“I never told you but I actually already had that book.”

Isaac pulls back, a crease between his brows as he looks at me.

“When you gave it to me, I felt so special and so relieved, too. Because I thought that maybe it meant you’d been noticing me in the way I’d been starting to notice you. I kept trying to convince myself that I was reading too much into everything you did, but I think I knew then, too.”

He smiles at me, pure joy lighting up his face, and he’s so beautiful and so mine.

“If it’s okay with you, we can submit this for the competition. It’s pretty much ready to go, but maybe you can just add some words between each scene so they know you worked on it, too.

“That’s fine with me. But actually, I have something I want to show you, too.”

I shuffle off the bed and rifle through my desk drawer until I find what I’m looking for, and then I take my place next to him again. I pass the book to him, a puzzled look on his face as he opens it and starts to read.

I watch the way his expression changes when he realises what he’s reading, starting with his brows furrowed but then relaxing, his mouth slowly curving upwards into a soft smile as he leafs through the pages.

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