The feeling that I was going through was indescribable. It was as though emotions were in rollercoaster. Did Daniel Matthews say he loved me? Scratch that. In love with me?

I lifted my body, my face at his level, leaving only a few inches between us.

"Say it again," I whispered, staring right into his deep forest green eyes.

He smiled and paced both hands on my cheeks, "I'm in love with you Astrid Maria Johnson."

That was it. I couldn't take it anymore. I placed my hands onto his shoulders and leaned in to kiss him. I felt him lean on his back, resting onto the mattress. Slowly, I pulled back, trying to savour the kiss.

"I'm in love with you too, Donald Matthews," I laughed, causing him to chuckle and pull me in to kiss me as I ignored the fire burning inside of me. As soon as the kiss got rougher, Daniel's phone began to buzz, causing him to groan and pull back as he reluctantly accepted the call.

"What do you want?" I chuckled at his response. "Yes...no...Alex I don't give a shit...why would I want to have a piñata?"

The hell?

Daniel looked at me and rolled his eyes, "Listen I gotta go...yeah bye."

"Piñata?" I struggled to contain my laughter.

Daniel chuckled as he ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, Alex is really taking my birthday very seriously!"

"Wait what?" I sat up. "When's your birthday?"

"In a few days-"

"And you didn't even bother mentioning it?"

"It's not a big deal-"

"Yes it is!" I exclaimed, causing him to chuckle. "How didn't I know this sooner?"

"Because," he smiled as I played with my fingers. "You were being very approachable during our first interaction."

I smiled as flashbacks of us interacting appeared in my mind. From the moment I confronted him, playing with the guitar whilst wearing his jacket and beanie and our kiss at the beach.

"To be fair, you were an asshole." I countered

Daniel cringed as he remembered the time I confronted him. Ah, good times...good times.

"Anyways," Daniel got up. "You promised me pizza, unless..."

"Let's get you the pizza then," I teased, causing him to chuckle behind me as we walked up the stairs.

"Kinda like the view from here," Daniel spoke up. "Maybe I should let you go up the stairs first more often." I flipped him the finger as a response whilst he chuckled.

***

"So you're telling me," Daniel wiped his hands as he finished his last slice. "That you add the milk before the cereal?"

I nodded as I continued to eat my pizza.

"You're so backwards!" He exclaimed. "It's like...showering before taking your socks off!"

"Ok, that's by far, the worst comparison you could ever use." He rolled his eyes. Besides, the results are the same!"

"It's not the same!"

"Ok, let's put it in a formula," I began. "Ten plus nine is equal to nineteen right?"

He nodded as I continued, "Well, nine plus ten is also equal to nineteen! Whether you change the order, it's going to give you the same result!"

"Ok now that you put it like that it does make sense," he mumbled as I grinned with satisfaction.

We both cleaned the table and headed towards the kitchen to clean the plates, silence filling the room. My mind kept wandering about why he didn't tell me about his birthday. I mean, I don't want to overreact, but there's got to be a reason why.

"You look constipated," Daniel mused.

Romantic, I know.

"I was just thinking,"I began. "Why didn't you tell me about your birthday?"

"It's not a big deal," he muttered.

"But I wanted to-"

"I said it's not a big deal," his hard tone caused me to flinch and back away. He realises seconds later and guilt filled his eyes. Carefully, he steps closer and reached for my hand.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he looked down at our intertwined hands. I stroked his knuckles as a signal that it was ok. "It's just...my birthdays are really a hard time for me."

I looked up and saw that he was still avoiding my gaze. Slowly, I cupped his cheeks, causing him to look up.

"My mother died in my birthday," his eyes turned glassy. "We were in the car, my mom, sister and I heading home. We were going fast as we were trying to avoid the storm outside. Because it was my birthday, my mother let me drive the car, only on one condition, that I was sober."

He looked away as tears rolled down his cheeks, using my thumbs to wipe them away.

"I lied to my mother and told her that I didn't drink any alcohol, and she believed me. We were nearly at home when the weather got worse, it was nighttime so the chances to see what was going on outside were minimal. Until I saw the upcoming truck and I-"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into my body. He reacted quickly and snaked his arms around my upper body as he placed his head into my neck, shaking from all the tears he was releasing.

"My father blamed me and refused to acknowledge me for two years. He told me I was worthless and irresponsible, and you know what's the worst part Astrid? I believed him," he cried.

"Listen to me," I maintained a calm tone as I wiped the tears from my stained cheeks. "You are not responsible for your mother's death. You hear me? Yes, you had a drink, so what? You drove on your lane."

He lifted his head and placed his forehead onto mine as he relaxed. I don't know how long we stood there but it didn't matter. Being with him, alone, holding each other was the only thing that mattered to me and I didn't care about anything else.

"Will the piñata be a unicorn?" I teased, trying to cheer him up.

And it worked. He chuckled and kissed my forehead, "I think it's going to be an haribo bear. But that's a good thing cause I love haribo's"

I laughed and pecked him on the lips, "I love you, you know that right?"

He tucked a strand of my hair and smirked, "I know."

"Even more than those gummy bears?"

"Only on a good day."