(Cover art by the lovely )

Titus asked me out a month ago, and since then we've been on a few dates. They weren't super extravagant or anything, just simple dates like going for a walk or having dinner on the beach. I remember him bringing a candle one time to "set the mood," but the candle didn't light since it was all wet. But it was still very thoughtful of him, and it showed that he really was trying to be romantic, even though he was failing miserably.

If anything, these dates ended up being very awkward for the both of us. Its not like I was expecting our relationship to start off with smooth sailing, but I kind of hoped that at least one of us would finally figure it out and everything else would naturally fall into place.

But alas, love takes time and lots of work. It may not have been immediate, but it ended up being inevitable for the both of us.

As time went on, since nobody was there to cut or dye it, my hair started to get longer and its natural colors were finally starting to show. For most of my life, I had never known that this was what color my hair truly was. When I saw those colors for the first time I thought it was absolutely beautiful! Unfortunately, due to how many times my hair had to be altered over the past 18 years, it suffered damages beyond repair.

Instead of growing up, like I thought it was supposed to, it grew down towards my shoulders. At first, this bothered me, but when I confronted Titus about my concerns, he proceeded to run his fingers through my hair, smiling as he did so.

"Just because your hair isn't growing in the right direction doesn't make you any less beautiful," he said. "Don't worry, there is nothing wrong with it. It's perfect just the way it is."

His compliments always made me feel better about myself, and he always seemed to know how to make me smile.

There were a few things that strangely didn't change right away. Just like he did before we started dating, he would sometimes hide under the docks and eavesdrop on me playing my violin or singing different songs to myself. I don't know why he wouldn't just come up and listen to me on the beach, but at the time I think he was just scared he would distract me or something like that.

However, one day, I found out why.

------

I woke up one morning to a knock on my door. I jumped.

"Titus?" I asked. No answer. I cautiously crept over to the door and slowly opened it. "Hello?"

There was a neatly wrapped box at my feet with a note addressed to me on top. I picked up the envelope, opened it, and slowly began to read the letter aloud.

"Don't go down to the beach today. I have something special planned for us this evening. No peeking! I'll come get you around 7. Anyways, I got you something special to wear this time. I think it'll look good on you. :) I'm sorry I suck at writing letters. See you later!"

I chuckled at his note and proceeded to open the box. I gasped and dropped the lid on the floor when I saw the beautiful pale blue dress that was inside. The sleeves were cold-shouldered and see through, but I didn't mind. I hung it up to smooth the wrinkles out and waited until about 6 o'clock to put it on.

I spun around in the mirror with a smile on my face, making sure to get a good look at it from every angle. The dress was just long enough to reach my knees. He was right. It did look good on me.

I had just enough time to do my hair a bit before I heard a knock on my door for the second time that day. I cleared my throat.

"Who is it?" I asked sweetly.

"You already know who it is, you weirdo," Titus chuckled from the other side of the door. "Come on out, I want to see you!"

I smiled and opened the door. "How do I look?" I asked shyly.

He hovered in front of me completely stunned. Then, he smiled as well.

"You look...extraordinary," he said as he approached me.

"So," I said. "What is this "something special" you have planned for us tonight?"

He pulled a blindfold out from behind him and held it out to me. I crossed my arms.

"Seriously?" I asked while taking it from him, only to quickly be disgusted by the fact that it was soaked. "Why is it wet?"

He laughed. "Why do you think, Roxy? I live in the ocean. Everything I own is wet."

"But why the blindfold?!"

"Because it's a surprise and I don't want you to peek!" He said as he took the blindfold back from me. I gagged a bit as he started to put it on. "Stop that! It won't even be on for very long, so calm down."

After he was sure I couldn't see anything, he took my arm and started leading me towards the docks.

Even though I couldn't see, it felt like the area was getting brighter the closer we got to our destination. Then, we stopped walking.

"Alright, you can take it off now!" He said excitedly as I could feel him rush in front of me.

"Finally!" I said as I yanked it off and tossed it aside. "Never make me wear that again, you hear me?"

I froze in shock. The docks had been decorated with beautiful hanging lights that stretched from one end to the other. There were also a few sea lanterns floating in the water past the dock, with each one being surrounded by dozens of LED squids. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't romantic.

Titus smiled and walked with me out onto the dock until we reached the very end of it. He turned around and held both of my hands in his.

"Surprise!" he said as a soft layer of blush began hovering over his cheeks.

"What's all of this for?" I asked curiously.

"Well," he began. "A few days ago, I realized that we had never danced together before. I've watched you dance many times now, and I think now I understand the proper way to do this, so..."

He stared into my eyes longingly. "Won't you dance with me, sunflower?"

My eyes widened as I felt my heart drop into my stomach. I suddenly felt sick.

"Do you know how long it takes for a sunflower to wilt in the dark?"

"No...n-no..." I let go of his hands and started backing away slowly. This was a mistake. I should've never came here. I should've ran away to a place where nobody could've ever found me.

"I-I'm sorry, Titus...I-I can't...this is...very not allowed..." I was breathing so hard I thought I was going to start hyperventilating. I had to bite my lip to stop the tears from falling from my eyes. Titus had a look of worry on his face.

"I-I don't understand...what did I do wrong? Was it something I said?"

I shook my head. I should've known this was a bad idea, but I went along with it anyways. What a fool I was.

"M-Maybe this whole relationship thing was destined to be a total bust from the start. I-I'm sorry, Titus...but I don't think I can do this anymore."

Distraught, Titus lowered his head in defeat. I turned away from him and started the long walk back towards my house. I started mentally preparing myself to pack up and leave at first light tomorrow morning.

You know I want you

I stopped walking. I had never heard him sing before.

It's not a secret I try to hide

I know you want me

So don't keep saying our hands are tied

Something didn't seem right about this song. This wasn't techno, not that I was judging. But what surprised me was that he went out of his way to find this one song in a genre that he knew almost nothing about...for me.

You claim its not in the cards, fate is pulling you miles away

And out of reach from me

But you're here in my heart

So who can stop me if I decide that you're my destiny?

I turned back around to find his hand outstretched towards me. He asked me once more:

"Won't you dance with me?"

Almost out of pure instinct, I made my way back towards him and took his hand. He smiled gently as he stepped out onto the water. I hesitated on the edge of the dock. "Trust me, sweetie," he said as he gently pulled me out. A few LED squid swam over to us and positioned themselves right underneath my feet. I was shocked that they could hold me up, but I was even more surprised by the fact that they were following me wherever I stepped so that I didn't fall into the water.

Titus smiled.

Why don't we rewrite the stars?

Say you were made to be mine

Nothing could keep us apart

You'd be the one I was meant to find

It's up to you, and it's up to me

No one can say what we get to be

So why don't we rewrite the stars

Maybe the world could be ours

Tonight

My pink arm bands started glowing as I walked away from him on top of the LED squid. They were so beautiful. I spun around, looked him straight in the eyes, and sang:

You think it's easy

You think I don't want to run to you

But there are mountains

And there are doors that we can't walk through

I know you're wondering why

Because we're able to be just you and me

Within these walls

But when we go outside you're going to wake up and see that it was hopeless after all

As I was singing, I slowly danced my way back to and around him as I continued the song.

No one can rewrite the stars

How can you say you'll be mine

Everything keeps us apart

And I'm not the one you were meant to find

I could see him watching my every step and listening to every note I sang with this look of pure awe in his eyes.

It's not up to you, it's not up to me

When everyone tells us what we can be

How can we rewrite the stars?

Say that the world can be ours

Tonight

Suddenly, Titus grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. He place one hand on my waist while leaving the other hand in mine. I became lost in his eyes when I looked up and saw nothing but pure love. We sang to each other in perfect harmony, almost like we knew what the other person was going to sing next.

All I want is to fly with you

All I want is to fall with you

So just give me all of you

I kept shaking my head, refusing to give in to his tactics, but both my heart and my mind begged to just let me accept his love.

It feels impossible

(It's not impossible)

Is it impossible?

We kept singing and dancing together until Titus dipped me down very slowly and dramatically. Something big was about to happen. I could feel it.

Say that it's possible

Suddenly, without warning, Titus threw me up into the air, sending me spinning towards the sky and then caught me as I made it back down into his arms.

How do we rewrite the stars?

Say you were made to be mine?

We finally started dancing together, our bodies perfectly in sync with each other. Our dance moves didn't need to be taught, because we already seemed to know them.

Nothing can keep us apart

'Cause you are the one I was meant to find

It's up to you, and it's up to me

No one can say what we get to be

Titus proceeded to place both hands on my waist as he picked me up and started spinning me around. A whirlpool of water started surrounding us as we closed our eyes and kept spinning.

And why don't we rewrite the stars?

Changing the world to be ours

We were smiling and singing and having the time of our lives. After a while we stopped spinning and Titus placed me gently back down on a LED squid. We were breathing so hard from all the dancing that it hurt.

I met Titus's gentle gaze as he slowly caressed my cheek. A look of shock slowly began to appear on his face as he continued to examine every feature on mine.

"Titus? Is something wrong?" I was now worried that now I was the one who had done something wrong.

"I'm sorry in advance for what I am about to do," he said suddenly.

"What do you-"

He kept the one hand on my cheek and placed the other on the small of my back. Then, he quickly dipped me down, brought his face closer to mine and...and...

He kissed me.

His lips were sweet and warm, like honey. All of the stress that I had felt about our relationship up to that moment suddenly melted away and disappeared the moment his lips touched mine. I could feel my body loosen as a thousand tiny fireworks exploded in my mind at this new feeling. It made me feel so free and alive.

But there was a different feeling as well. The fire of desire had ignited again. It was a burning sensation in my chest, like all those years ago when I had first met him, except this time, it actually hurt. It felt like something was being carved onto my chest, but I didn't know what to think of it at first. I thought that this chest pain was what was supposed to happen when you kissed someone for the first time. I chose to ignore it.

After our lips parted, I stared deep into Titus's yellow eyes and smiled softly. His cheeks had turned a marvelous shade of red during our kiss.

"You don't need to apologize," I said to him as he carried me back towards the docks.

"I know," he giggled. "I was just taking precautions."

He set me down gently on the dock as he kissed my forehead.

"So," he said. "Did I do good?"

"Yes, of course you did," I said sweetly.

Suddenly, a soft flash of pink light throbbed from my chest. When I looked down to see what it was, my jaw dropped.

"What is it?" Titus asked, completely confused.

I pointed to the brand-new pixelated heart that had just appeared of my chest. "Did you do that?" I asked in disbelief.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I've never kissed a girl before." He hovered closer to me again. "But if I somehow did, now you'll have a part of me that goes with you wherever you go."

I couldn't stop smiling. "Oh really?" I said as I raised an eyebrow at him.

He nodded and kissed me again. This one was much quicker, but just as sweet and soft as the first one. "I'll see you tomorrow, my love," I said as I started walking back towards my home.

"I love you, my Roxanne!" I heard him call after me as he dove into the water. I smiled happily.

"I love you, too."