Evermore - Chapter 14: Chapter 14

"Why the fuck are we hiking in the dark?" Tatum snaps as we walk up the hill while I breathe heavy, out of breath from the walking.
We decided to come to the place me and Natalie spent our first New Years when we were just seeing each other.
Originally it was supposed to be just me and Natalie coming here but Maria and Tatum are definitely....something, Charlie had nobody and Cole and Quinn are arguing so we just decided to do something as a group.
I see the lamp post at the top as we get closer to it, I'm exhausted...I would much prefer to go home and sleep right now. At least it's not freezing, it's just a little cold since it's winter, of course.
Charlie starts running up the hill, that's surprising...Usually he's the one complaining. He drops to the floor and I let out a big breath as I stop at the top.
Natalie walks a little further, putting down the bag she brought as she pulls out a picnic blanket. She shakes it off, laying it on the floor so we don't have to sit on the grass.
I fall down onto Charlie and he groans.
"I hate walking." He says and I laugh.
"I'm serious when I get a big house, I'm getting one of those chairs for the side of the stairs."
"Like the one your grandpa had and we broke it?" I ask and he starts laughing, I laugh too.
I hear...noises and I look up to see Tatum and Maria making out...and their hands going places they shouldn't while being around others. I groan looking away from them and Charlie does too.
"Maria, there's a spider in your hair." Charlie speaks up and Maria jumps away from Tatum as she starts screaming. We both start laughing again and I drop my head.
"Leave them make out, they'll both shut up for a while." Natalie says and Charlie drops his head back to look at Natalie.
"I'd rather not listen to the slobbering and the moaning, it's disgusting." Charlie cringes and I smile, putting my hands on the grass as I push myself up. I stand up from the grass.
Cole and Quinn start talking...Well they aren't arguing, I'm happy about that as I'd much prefer to keep everything civil for awhile at least.
I walk over to Natalie as she types at her phone, facing away from me.
I poke her sides like she does to me constantly, she jumps and I smile as I start tickling her waist. She laughs a little pushing me away before she gets serious, that serious look she does to intimidate me but I can tell there's a smile behind there.
"I'm warning you." She faces me, putting her phone away, I smile looking at her.
"You're ticklish!" I laugh a little and she shakes her head.
"I am not so sit your ass down." She says and I debate whether I should listen and sit down or run at her and tickle her.
I hold eye contact trying to hold back a smile.
"I'll push you down the hill." She says and I quickly run at her, I tickle her sides as fast as I can and she starts squirming.
"Diana, stop!" She laughs and I start laughing too. She's most likely going to murder me but it's completely worth it to see her laughing and squirming.
She grips my shoulders pushing me back and I bite my lip smiling as she looks at me, she drops her smile as she breathes a little heavy.
"I actually hate my life." Charlie says laying on the floor still as I hold eye contact with Natalie. I ignore him since it's probably because of a man.
"Don't think I forgot you have the tickles as well." She says, I drop to the floor trying to escape quickly. She gets down on top of me, trapping me so I can't move. I start screaming, blocking my sides to prevent myself from being tickled.
She laughs moving my arms since she's much stronger than me.
"No, no, no! Natalie, please!" I start squirming quickly but she starts tickling my side making goose bumps run along my skin and the feeling makes me start laughing.
I keep trying to stop her but she starts laughing too as I squirm and keep wheezing at the annoyingly funny sensation of being tickled. It's like I lose control of my body as she keeps making me laugh and I can't do anything else other than laugh.
I gasp a little and she finally stops, leaning down and kissing me as she grips my chin.
I push her hand hand away from me, annoyed while still smiling.
"I hate you." I push her off me as I laugh a little again since my body still feels a little itchy, you could say. She sits down beside me on the picnic blanket.
"Don't do it to me and I won't do it back." She pokes my side making me jump. I slap her hand away, playfully and she laughs.
"That is lies! You always tickle me until I nearly die!" I sit up quickly, I fix my messy hair and she rolls her eyes as she gets up. I lay back down as I lift my foot, I look at the others and they aren't paying attention so I kick her butt. She reaches back grabbing my ankle.
I pull my leg away quickly, fast enough that I slip out of her grip. She looks down at me and I stick out my tongue, she holds the smile back and I can tell because it always happens, she can't stay serious around me half the time.
She goes over to the bag, bending down as she goes through it. I turn my head, looking over to Charlie who's staring at the sky, I look up to the moon. It's...the first quarter moon. There's a few stars too.
I turn over, getting onto all fours as I crawl over to Charlie, I block his view of the sky as I look down at him. He furrows his eyebrows and I smile.
"Hi hi." I say and he pushes my face away, making me fall to the side and onto my butt.
"Hey..." I frown and he looks to me.
"You blocked my view."
"I am a view, an amazing one...Right, Natalie?" I look to her as she stands again, furrowing her eyebrows at her phone, not listening at all, she's in her only little trance as she focuses on her phone.
Charlie laughs and I frown.
"Shut up." I say, hitting his head and he winces putting his hand to his head. I jump when music starts playing, I look to Tatum as she holds up a speaker.
"Play good music, please." Charlie says, I would suggest Taylor swift but Tatum doesn't exactly like Miss Swift, which is just ridiculous.
"Fuck off, Cole." Quinn speaks up for the time tonight. She's giving out to Cole as she shoves all her things into her own arms, moving away from him.
"I'm trying to—"
"What don't you understand about fuck off?" She asks him as she sits down, he walks over to his stuff, leaving her be.
Tatum's music starts playing...it's very...upbeat and most of it is cursing. How great.
"Can you play actual music?" Charlie asks her and she sticks her finger up at Charlie, Charlie rolls his eyes. He looks to me, pushing me again. I huff kicking his hand away, not too hard.
"Where's Natalie gone?" Maria speaks up. I look to where Natalie was standing and to no surprise, she's not there.
"...Baby." I call her getting up as I wipe the back of my pants.
I walk along the grass, I spot her further away, down the hill on the phone.
I huff walking a little but get too lazy, so instead I bend down as I wait for her to get off the phone since she just kind of walked away without saying anything.
She nods looking around, I squint since it is dark and there's only so much light up here from the lamp post. She looks concentrated.
She says something but I don't catch it, I huff falling back on my butt as I keep waiting for her. I push my self back up, wrapping my arms around my legs as I listen to Tatum's crappy music.
Who is Natalie even talking to? She looks concentrated and she walked away to talk to them. Well, I suppose Tatum's 'music' isn't very appropriate.
She moves the phone away from her ear, she looks up doing a double take as she spots me.
"Are you stalking me, Miss Cooper?" She questions, pocketing her phone as she starts walking closer, nodding a little at me. I smile at her as she says it.
"No, you disappeared so I had to find you, Miss Snow." I tell her and she hums.
"Who were you talking to?" I ask and a little smirk forms on her face.
"Why? Are you jealous?" She reaches down squeezing my cheeks with her hand, I cringe pushing her hand away.
"I don't know, should I be?" I ask looking up at her and she looks at me.
"My secret lover, she's amazing in bed so maybe you should be jealous." She says and I frown pushing her back and she laughs.
"That's not even funny, Natalie." I lay back and she sits down on top of me, on my stomach. I look up at her and she leans over me as she kneels up, her hand on the grass, beside my head.
"I'm not joking, I'm admitting it." She leans down to kiss me but I quickly dodge it. I take her phone from her jeans pocket and she lets out a laugh as she sits back, I wait for her to take her phone back but she starts fixing my shirt instead.
I open her phone, huffing as I go into her recent calls.
"Who's Adam?" I ask.
"My publisher."
"You could have just changed the name—"
She takes the phone from my hand, clicking the contact, it begins ringing as she puts it on loud speaker. I quickly look at her confused.
"Natalie, do you need something else?" I hear a man's voice and I furrow my eyebrows at her.
"No, sorry, Adam, I had a question but it seems to have slipped my mind. I'll message you later if I remember." She says looking down at me.
"Alright, that's fine, I'll talk to you later then. I'll try get back to you about you inquiries soon too."
"Perfect, bye, Adam." She says before hanging up. She holds her phone out to me and I shake my head, she hums putting her phone back in her pocket.
She gets up off of me, she holds her hands out to help me up, I take them pulling myself up with a huff.
"What an interesting secret lover." I say and she rolls her eyes, I start walking back up to the top of the hill before I look back at her quickly. She stares at me butt before looking up to me.
"No!" I shout blocking my butt as I run quickly away from the woman who seems to have a thing for attacking my poor butt. I almost trip, but catch myself since I'm used to it now.
I get to the top of the hill, running over to Charlie, he flinches quickly, confused. I drop down beside him as Natalie laughs before she stops running.
"I'll get you later." She says and I let out a breath.
"What are you two doing and why am I being used as a shield?" Charlie says as I hold onto his arm. I lay on his little blanket quite literally...actually using him as a shield. I ignore Tatum's music as she turns it up.
"She's trying to slap my butt."
"That's abuse." He says, sticking up for me and Natalie looks at him.
"It is not abuse, it's called playing."
"Playing drums on her ass? Uh uh, I don't think so." He says and I start laughing as Natalie smiles.
"I'll kick you, Charlie, watch your attitude." She swarms him, joking and he looks to me. I widen my eyes, dramatically.
"Stop being so violent, woman, my goodness." Charlie shakes his head and I keep laughing as I lay back against the fluffy blanket before I decide I want to get up again.
"You're supposed to be a man, aren't you stronger than a woman?" She questions, joking again since that's not true. She crosses her arms as she looks down at us.
"Exactly, genius, I can't hit you."
"You can if I hit you first."
"At that point I might as well press charges for assault." He says and I begin to get a bit lost.
"Help me up." I interrupt as I hold my hands out to Natalie. She takes my hands pulling me up, I keep a hold on her hands for a second as she pulled me up too quickly...I rub my head, letting go of her hands.
"Help me up too, chicken." He says to Natalie and I laugh a little, she holds back her smile.
She holds her hands out to him and he looks at her weirdly. She shuts her hand, opening again, motioning for him to hurry up.
"What? Do you not think I'm strong enough to carry a man?" She questions and he takes her hands, she pulls him up and he gasps.
"Okay, miss She hulk." He says, surprised and she rolls her eyes.
"You're not exactly heavy, Charlie."
"Thats because I've been hitting the gym." He deepens his voice more and I cringe because of it. He flexes his muscles and I walk around him, I put my hands on his shoulders, jumping up to get a piggyback ride off of him.
He catches my legs and I smile down at Natalie.
"Ha! I'm taller than you now." I reach over messing up her hair.
"Just you wait till we get home, Diana." She looks at me, Charlie groans dropping my legs. I get back into my feet right away, just about.
"You two are disgusting." Charlie pushes my hands off.
"Hey! I said nothing!" I say, looking at him.
"Don't think I don't know what she meant." He says walking away, he goes over to Cole and I frown.
"Oh my god, can you play actual music?" Cole asks Tatum. I move closer to Natalie as she fixes her hair.
"Fuck off, Cole. Give me suggestions so." Tatum snaps.
"I have one!" I jump a little as I get an idea.
"It's three minutes to midnight." Maria says and I run over to Tatum quickly.
"I'm listening to your shitty music, blondie." Tatum says and I frown.
"Please, Tatum. I have a song, it's the one me and natalie will be using for our first dance. Let me dance with her, please...it's not even four minutes." I say and she rolls her eyes, handing me her phone.
I search Lover, the first dance version quickly. I look to Natalie who's going over to the blanket.
"Natalie, wait! Don't sit down yet!" I say quickly pressing into the song, I turn the volume up a little before handing the phone to Tatum.
I run over to Natalie taking her hand, she looks at me, shaking her head. She tries to pull back but I tighten my grip.
"Please." I beg her, giving her the eyes so she will give in. She sighs as she keeps looking at me, I don't dare to look away.
"Come on." I say, she turns her hand in mine with another quiet sigh and I smile.
We move back from the blanket, I slip my hands out of hers, moving them around the back of her back as hers go to my waist, she squeezes a little.
"I'm embarrassed for us both." She says and I roll my eyes, I shift my weight to my left foot then the right, just slowly swaying to the music with her. She looks away for a second before she gives in completely and copies my moves.
"I can only imagine what you're going to be like at our wedding." I say as I keep smiling at her, she holds my eye contact as she breaks a smile, finally.
"I'm afraid I'll cry." She says and I laugh a little, still moving to the music, listening to both the lyrics and to Natalie who's arms are wrapped around my waist and who speaks softly to me.
"Wow, Natalie Snow crying? I think I'd faint if I ever saw it." I say as my heart melts a little over the way her green eyes shine looking into mine, the little smile that creeps it's way onto her face even though she usually holds it back around others. I think I seem to forget that we aren't alone. Anytime I look into her eyes I think I forget everything, my problems, the pressure of college, all of it. I only seem to feel happiness when I look into her eyes and too much love to describe, a type of love I know I'll feel forever with her and with nobody else. The best part about it is that I know she feels it too.
She takes her hands away from my waist, she slides one up my wrist taking my hand away from her neck as she holds my hand up, giving me no other choice than to do a little spin. I laugh as I do, my hair blowing a little.
I hear a firework in the distance as the group begin to say happy new year, I jump.
Natalie grabs my waist, pulling me against her before my lips meet hers. I smile, moving my hand to her face as she pulls back. I keep my eyes closed for a second because I don't want the moment to be over yet.
"Happy New Year, my beautiful girl, I love you." She kisses me again and I smile wider.
"I love you. I can't wait for the next one." I open my eyes looking up at her.