∞ into eternity , [zander]

[ilyssa]

ily had been in love with zander since they had been in diapers. even before mrs. parks and mrs. white had started talking about the two of them being together to her, ily had thought zan was cute. he was her brother's best friend, though. even though ily and ian were close, when ian's friends were around she was just the dorky, annoying little sister. everyone on the face of the earth knew about ilyssa and zan, how they'd run off to buffalo and he'd taken her virginity and that ily's entire life had turned around. she had figured herself out, but the fact that everything seemed to fall into it's regular routine as soon as they were back in bluewater killed ilyssa.

following zan over to the swings as he lead her, ily chewed on her lower lip. she didn't know why she was even there. wait, yes she did. it was because zan had asked her to go there, and she had way too hard of a time saying no to him. that was her problem, though. ilyssa's small frame swung a bit as she sat down, her tip toes planting themselves in the ground as she continued to sway just a small bit and watching zan. what was he digging out of his pocket? ily blinked at the velvet box, shock written all over her face. "i.. zan, what are you.." she didn't even finish her question, instead she just stared at the box, then back up at zan's face. she licked at her lips, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

[zander]

Ilyssa had always been the constant in Zander's life. When he felt there was nothing and no one else there for him, he knew he was wrong. Ily and her love for Zan had always been there. That wasn't to say he didn't return her feelings--he did, more than she'd ever realize. He just wasn't one to do it openly. In all honesty, he was just a scared little boy. He was scared of everyone else teasing him--but he was also scared of losing her. He had seen what his father had gone through when his mother had been diagnosed, and it killed him to see Mr Parks living through this new nightmare. He didn't want to have to live through that, under any sort of circumstance.

Zan ran a hand through his hair. He eyed her cautiously for a second--still a little surprised she'd showed up after the hell he'd put her through. He hesitated a moment, unsure how to position himself before he finally sat himself down on one knee. But, like always he clarified what he meant before he did anything, "Don't worry, I'm not proposing." He licked his lip once before continuing. "I just want you to know I've loved you forever." Zander opened the box then to show a thing silver ring twisting into an infinity loop. "I've loved you the time you were two and kissed me on the cheek. I loved you the time you fell off your tricycle and would only stop crying when I hugged you. I loved you when we were eight and we got lost at the mall." He took a breath, closing his eyes, scared this would be the time she would run away from him. "I loved you when you were twelve and got those hideous green things on your braces, I loved you when you were fourteen and I saw you dressed up for your first high school dance with another boy. I loved you this summer when I realized just how beautiful you really are." Zander took her hand then, finally fixing his dark eyes with her green ones. He needed her to see how sincere he was. "I loved you, and I'm going to love you forever, for infinity. So..Ilyssa White? Will you be my girlfriend?"

[ilyssa]

through everything, ilyssa's love for zan never faded. she didn't regret a single thing that they'd done together or she had done for him over the years. she could remember when they were younger how whenever she was upset, the only thing that would make her stop crying would be for zan to hug her. he'd put up a fight but ended up hugging her anyway. she had kissed his cheek multiple times when they were younger, before they hit middle school and she ended up realizing just what her feelings were. she had always worried that she looked stupid, like a little immature girl that zan would never like because he was so much better than she was. ily was the only person that knew the real zander, more than even his friends did, and he was the one person that knew her better than she even knew herself.

ily's eyes went wide as zan got down on his knee, though she was soon enough reassured when he clarified. she stayed silent as he spoke, tears fighting to well up in her eyes. not out of sadness, but out of happiness from actually hearing the words falling from his lips. she'd wanted to badly to hear him say that he'd loved her for so long. she thought about all of the situations he listed, picturing them in her mind as he said them. she bit down on her lower lip, holding back her huge smile as it grew bit by bit. staring at the ring, she turned bright red. she could feel his eyes on hers, so she looked to him as he finished his speech. the question at the end sent butterflies rushing through her stomach. a few tears welled up but didn't fall as she nodded furiously, sliding out of the swing to wrap her arms around zan's neck, clinging to him tightly. "yes, of course i'll be your girlfriend. i love you, zander." she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the smile on her face as wide as it could get.

[zander]

Zander knew he never treated Ilyssa like he should have. He had broken her heart too many times to count, but he'd also cared for her--he wasn't sure she'd noticed. When girls in his year commented on how 'weird' Ilyssa was, he'd turn around in class and tell them off. It wasn't a surprise everyone had always thought him and Ily had a thing. He wasn't very good at hiding it from everyone. But now he was making a promise to himself and to her to always let her know how he felt. How he'd always felt.

Zan's mom liked to say the first and last step to any relationship was friendship. He knew he'd long ago accomplished those, and now it was only the middle he had left to fill up. Zander's face, that had been so serious moments earlier cleared as Ily hugged him. He wrapped his own arms around her waist, burying his face in her hair. It had always been so easy, it was his fault for not doing this before. Smiling just as widely as her, he pulled away, taking her hand. Gently, he slid the ring onto her ring finger--like his father had done to his mother back in college. "There. Forever." He looked back up at her and smiled, gently placing a hand on her cheek and kissing her.

[ilyssa]

ily had been certain that her heart would never heal when zan rejected her. it felt so final. like everything that had happened and changed in them had just disappeared and was nothing that was going to change the fact. as if ilyssa was going to live her entire life alone because she would never get over zan and he would move on in no lime, just like he always did. she had spent sixteen years wanting to grow up with zan in a cute little house on the beach with one or two kids, maybe a puppy.. and it had felt like there was absolutely no chance that any of that would happen, at least for her. it had felt like he was going to go fall in love with some other, prettier girl. no matter how well much she had realized about herself and fixed her confidence, she always worried that zan would realize one day that there were so many prettier girls than ilyssa.

the infinity ring was gorgeous. it was simple, and ily liked that. she'd always loved simplicity with things like jewelry. the ring caused all of her doubts to jump out of her brain and run a thousand miles away. forever felt like a long time, but she couldn't picture her life in any way than with zan. if she pictured herself ten years from that moment, zan was right there. twenty, thirty, forty years.. zan was always there, holding her hand along the way. zan was the one person that ilyssa could never lose. "forever.." she repeated quietly, beaming brightly. her arms stayed wrapped around his neck as their lips met, another blush creeping up on her cheeks. after everything that had happened, she could finally call zan as her own, and that had her heart racing at a million miles an hour. she had never been so happy before in her life.