She had lost her best friend to a fatal car accident no more than 5 years ago, for one. And two, it was the month of Valentine�s Day. Words cannot even express as to how much, she hated the holiday. It had always held such discomfort for her. She closed her eyes, wishing the memories of days gone by would just vanish into thin air, much like the sun did as it set below the water. Sighing to herself, she felt a hand touch her shoulder, and she opened her eyes to see her boyfriend standing there, looking concerned.
�Are you alright?� She smiled and nodded, noting the worry in his voice. �I�m just fine.� He nodded. �Are you going to come back inside now? Everyone�s waiting.� She looked back at the ocean. �For me?� He nodded. �For you.� She sighed. �Could I have a few more minutes out here?� He smiled sadly and bent down to kiss her cheek. �Sure. Just come in when you�re ready.�
She averted her gaze back to the endless waves and he frowned to himself. Ever since Megan�s death, his girlfriend hadn�t been the same. Although it had been nearly 5 years ago, her memory stayed fresh in her mind. Slowly, he trudged back inside, to where her friends, Christine and Max were. Christine looked up, as he entered the house. �Is she coming in?� The dark-haired man nodded. �She just needed a few minutes.� Max sighed. �I really wish, she didn�t go through this every time February rolls around. It�s not good for her.� Christine nodded. �Especially since she loathes Valentine�s Day.�
Max shook his head. �It�s a shame. No one deserves this.� JC sighed. �Will someone please tell me why she hates Valentine�s Day so much?� Christine looked at Max, who nodded slightly. �Well� Gracie�s always had it hard. She�s never really known the true effect of the holiday� about how you�re supposed to be all mushy and stuff with your significant other.
For some bizarre reason, whenever Valentine�s Day rolled around, she was always single, alone. She never had anyone to spend it with.�
JC rubbed a hand over his face. �Why didn�t she ever tell me?� Max chuckled. �You know how Grace is. She�s always been a bit closed off, when it came to love.� JC nodded. �I know.� Christine looked at him, closely. �Have you ever told her you loved her?� He looked up, surprised. �What?� Christine frowned. �You haven�t, have you?� JC looked down. �No. I think, we�re both a bit afraid of those 3 words.� Max nodded. �I think you should tell her. I mean, you do love her, don�t you?� JC nodded, miserably. �So much it hurts.� Christine smiled. �Well, if I know Grace, she�s going to tell you, she�s sorry, but she won�t be able to spend Valentine�s Day with you, and she�ll think up some excuse, and she�ll end up staying outside all night, staring off into space. But I think, maybe you should, ya know, do something that�ll change her mind. That it isn�t just some stupid holiday. That it�s a day where you can profess your love to the one you wanna be with.�
Max nodded. �Prove her wrong, man.� JC opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped upon hearing another voice. �Prove who wrong?� Max�s eyes widened and JC turned to her. �Prove my sister wrong. She knows that mint chocolate chip is the best ice cream ever made, though she denies it.� Grace looked at him confused, but nodded and made her way into the kitchen for a glass of water. Max let out the breath he�d been holding and looked at his watch. �Hey, Gracie? I gotta go, but I�ll call you later on, ok?� Grace walked back into the room and hugged him. �Ok, Max. Thanks again for the notes.� He smiled and glanced at Christine. She looked at him, and he made a face. She stood up as well. �Same for me. I have an early morning tomorrow. Ya know, gotta find a Valentine, and all. I�ll see ya later, girl.� Grace waved. �Good luck.� Christine laughed. �Oh, you know me, I�ll have plenty of luck. C�mon, Maxwell. Let�s go.� Grace watched as her friends left and she looked at JC, who looked lost in thought.
She touched his arm, gently. �Is everything alright?� He broke out of his thoughts and nodded, smiling brightly. �I�m fine. Just thinking about Valentine�s Day.� She rolled her eyes and leaned back to rest her head against the couch. �What a pointless holiday. And a waste of money, if you ask me.� She looked at him, noticing his silence and she sighed. �Oh, I�m sorry. You aren�t into all that stuff, are you?� He shrugged. �Nah.� She nodded. �Well, I�m a little tired. Do you mind if�?� He stood, and she trailed off. He reached down and helped her up. �No, I don�t mind. I�ll see you tomorrow?� She nodded. �Ok.� He smiled and kissed her lightly. �Bye Grace.� She frowned, watching his retreating figure. �Goodbye.�
~Next day~
She awoke the next morning to the sun shining brightly in her eyes. She groaned and covered her face with her pillow. She felt someone trying to steal it away from her face, and after putting up a fight, allowed it to be taken away. �Morning, sunshine.� She mumbled something to herself, turning over onto her side. He smiled to himself, and crawled in, next to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She sighed, in pure bliss. This was how she loved to be woken up. She didn�t get this very often, due to him always being on tour with his friends. But she didn�t mind, too much. She was used to the loneliness.
�Why aren�t you up, yet? It�s nearly 10.� He asked, into her hair. She smiled and turned to face him. �Because. I was waiting for you to come wake me up.� He chuckled softly and kissed her. �It�s Valentine�s Day.� She groaned and pushed away, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. �Don�t remind me.� She grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled it over her head, before walking out into the bathroom. Still lying down, he groaned to himself. Just how was he going to show her that today wasn�t as bad as she believed it to be? He had to prove his love to her, and he didn�t think he knew of a better day than today. The only problem, was he had no idea as to how to do it.
�Hello?! Are you awake?� He blinked and looked at her standing over him. He nodded and sat up. �Yeah.� She looked at him, strangely. �Ok. Well, get up. I gotta make the bed, before I head out.� He looked at her confused. �Head out, where?� She frowned. �I need to pick up a few things. You�re more than welcome to come with me.� He shook his head. �No, um, actually, there were some things I needed to finish up, but will you please be back here at 7?� She cocked her head to the side. �Why?� He sighed, tiredly. �Because, I want to spend some time with you, that�s all.� She sighed and hugged him close to her. �I promise I�ll be here.� He smiled. �Thanks. Oh, and Justin says hi.� She laughed. �Oh, how I love that little devil. Send him my love.� JC rolled his eyes. �No, that�s ok. I think I�ll be greedy and hold onto that love.� She laughed and kissed his cheek. �I�ll be back later.� He smiled. �You�d better.� Oh, you�d better, Grace. Because I�ve got an idea that will change your mind about Valentine�s Day that�s sure to win.
~That night~
Grace looked up at the clock and sighed sadly. He had told her to be here at 7, but he himself, wasn�t even here. She heard a key in the door, and looked over, assuming it to be him. �Christine� what are you doing here?� Christine smiled. �Hey, hey. C�mon. JC told me to come get you. He had some work to do, and he was afraid it would run late, and he wanted to be with you. Don�t you think that�s sweet?� Grace sighed. �Sure, I guess. Where are we going? I�m wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. And I�m a mess. I�m in no way ready to go anywhere.� Christine shrugged. �Oh, don�t worry about it. Ya look fine. Now come on.� Grace silently groaned, and followed her friend out to the car.
A little while later, the car stopped in front of a building and Grace peered out the window. �This place looks deserted. Where are we?� Christine shrugged. �No clue. He told me to bring you here, that this was where he had to finish up some things. Now, let�s go.� Christine walked her to the door and opened it. �Go down the hall, to the left. I�ll see you later.� And with that, she pushed Grace inside and slammed the door. Grace looked around and crossed her arms. �This place is gross.� She said aloud. Sighing, she trudged down the hall and to the left. She opened the door and stepped in noticing there wasn�t much light. As soon as the door closed, the lights went completely dark and she turned around, in warning.
She sighed, not liking the pitch dark at all. �Ok. C�mon out, guys. This isn�t funny. Nice prank, but seriously. A bit childish.� She slowly walked forward, before kicking something with her shoe. Bending down she found a box of matches and she looked at them curiously. �Guys�� she warned. �Not funny anymore.� Resuming going forward, Grace found something else to be on the floor. She leaned down and picked it up, seeing it was a candle. Groaning, she struck the match and lit the candle. Holding it in front of her, she saw a dark figure, further away. Recognizing it, she sighed. �JC, I know, it�s you. Now enough with the games. I�m in no mood.� He smiled to himself, praying this worked. Seeing, he wasn�t moving, she swiftly turned around and headed back toward the door, and flicked the light switch next to it. Turning around, she gasped and gaped in shock.
He smiled. �Well, about time.� She shook her head and turned around to leave, but he ran over to her and shut the door, grabbing her arm. �Grace, don�t. Please.� She looked away. �I�m not stupid. I know what�s going on here.� He looked at her. �Do you? Well, I�m sorry. I�m sorry, for trying to do something that shows you how much I care about you. I know you hate Valentine�s Day, but I wanted to show you, that it�s not as terrible as you make it out to be. Please, don�t leave. At least give me a chance.� She sighed, and turned to him. �Ok.� He smiled and took hold of her hand and led her over to the candlelit dinner he had set up. As afraid as she was, she sat and remained quiet. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. �Lighten up, ok? It�s only me. Plus, there�s some things I�ve been needing to ask you, for awhile now. I know why you hate today so much. And I�m sorry. But you�re not alone anymore, Gracie. You have me.�
She looked down. �But for how long?� The defeated look on her face, broke his heart and he knelt down next to her, taking her hands in his. �Forever.� She looked at him. �How do you know?� He sighed. �I don�t know. I can�t predict the future. And I would never want to. I just want to focus on being with you right now, ok?� She smiled slightly and nodded. He grinned. �Ok, then.� He reached behind him and pulled out a present. �Open it.� She shook her head. �No way. I have nothing for you.� He pouted. �Please? It�s nothing big.� She sighed, and did as he asked. She looked at it and then at him curiously. �A cd?�
�Open it.� He urged. She shook her head and opened it, to find a silver bracelet fall out onto her palm. He smiled sheepishly. �Well, I had to get you something you could wear.� She shook her head again. �Why? Why are you doing this?� He smiled. �Because I love you.� Her head shot up and she saw the truth in his eyes. �I love you too.� She whispered. He grinned. �Flip it over.� He said, referring to the cd. She turned the cd case over and looked at the songs he had put on there. She read through them, seeing it was all the songs that they had made their own and held special meaning to both of them, then launched herself into his arms, holding onto him tightly. �Thank you.� She whispered. �Thank you so much.� He pulled away and looked at her. �For what?� She smiled, brushing away a stray tear. �For changing my mind.� He smiled. �That�s not all you get. Come on.� He pulled her over to the piano, he must have had brought in, and sat down, pulling her next to him.
�Are you going to sing me a song, now?� He nodded, hands over the keys. �Yes, yes I am.� She leaned her head upon his shoulder and closed her eyes, letting his voice take her away to places she had only dreamed of�
If there were no words
No way to speak
I would still hear you
If there were no tears
No way to feel inside
I'd still feel for you
And even if the sun refused to shine
Even if romance ran out of rhyme
You would still have my heart until the end of time
You're all I need, my love, my Valentine
All of my life
I have been waiting for
All you give to me
You've opened my eyes
And showed me how to love unselfishly
I've dreamed of this a thousand times before
But in my dreams I couldn't love you more
I will give you my heart
Until the end of time...
You're all I need, my love, my Valentine
And even if the sun refused to shine
Even if romance ran out of rhyme
You would still have my heart until the end of time
'Cause all I need is you, my Valentine
You're all I need, my love, my Valentine�
He glanced down at her dreamy expression and smiled. Leaning down to whisper in her ear, he asked, �Grace?� She sighed. �Hmm?� He smiled. �Will you be my Valentine?� She chuckled and looked up at him. �Of course I will.� She smiled and pulled his face down to hers and kissed him, for once wishing Valentine�s Day would never end�
The End!
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