Chapter 13 - The Velvet Box The next few weeks were pretty uneventful, unless you count the principal catching Nathan and me making out in the hallway at lunch. Twice. We both got detentions for it, but it was worth it. We got out for the summer a few weeks after that anyway. Over the summer, I planned on doing what I usually do: sleep all day and doing nothing. Apparently, that wasn’t good enough for Nathan. “Lily.” he whispered. “Lily, wake up.” “Nathan? What’s going on? Something wrong?” “No,” he said, smiling softly. “I just... I wanted us to spend the day together, and I wanted to get an early start.” I sat up, yawning slightly. “What time is it?” “Five.” “Five?! They have one of those in the morning too?” He laughed. “Apparently.” I got up and changed quickly, and we walked out to his car, with our arms around each other because it was chilly. I woke up a few hours later in his car. When Nathan saw that my eyes were open, he smiled at me. “Good morning... Again.” I rubbed my eyes. “It’s still morning?” “Yeah.” “Then why the hell am I awake?” “Because you love me.” He said with a smile. “Yes I do.” I said. I reached out and grabbed his hand. I really wanted to kiss him right about then, but I decided I probably shouldn’t; it might make it kinda hard for him to concentrate on driving. He looked over at me again, still smiling. “Happy Fourth of July.” “Is it the fourth?” “Yeah.” “Wow, I didn’t even realize it. My friend’s birthday is tomorrow. I should get her something...” “How about today, we just focus on us?” He asked. “Ok.” I agreed. We stopped at the edge of a forest. Nathan looked at me, a huge smile on his face. “Where are we?” I asked, confused. “You’ll see.” He said. We climbed out of the car. Nathan walked over to me and put his hands over my eyes. He began leading me through the woods. “Where are you taking me?” I asked with a slight laugh. “It’s a secret.” He said mysteriously. After walking for about ten minutes, we stopped, and Nathan uncovered my eyes. I looked out across the calm waters of a large lake. It was surrounded by pure white sand that was as bright as the few puffy clouds that were drifting across the bright blue sky. The lake was surrounded by trees and rolling hills, and the trail that Nathan had led me in on was the only path leading back to civilization. The sunlight beamed down onto the surface of the water, creating the most serene image I have ever seen, and the water was so clear that, even in the deepest parts of the lake, you could see all the way to the bottom. A light breeze flowed gently around us. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. I turned around. Nathan smiled. "Do you like it?" he asked. I kissed him passionately. "It's perfect... just like you." I answered softly. "I'm nowhere near perfect. Now you, on the other hand..." I kissed him again. "You're closer to perfect then I will ever be." He kissed me back. "I love you, Lily." "I love you, too." "Well... I love you more." He said playfully. "That’s impossible... I love you more then life itself." He smiled at me. "No, seriously Nathan... I love you so much; it scares me sometimes... I don't know what I'd ever do without you... But I know I wouldn’t be able to survive for long..." He put his hands on the sides of my face and looked deep into my eyes. “You don’t ever have to worry about that.” He said seriously. “I will never leave you.” He slowly pulled a small, velvet-covered box out of his pocket. “Lily... Will you marry me?”