Requested by @studynerdwtea
Set in: Modern Times (2018)
Prompt: Edmund and reader were separated, but reunited- what has changed?
(Important: this is set in America. I, like you, wish it was a story finally not set in the states, but I’m ignorant to other cultures but my own, sorry :/ I wanted to place it in England, but I don’t want to be inaccurate and offend anyone.)
Today is Amara’s birthday party. Just like everyone else, she celebrates her birthday with many of her close friends. Some are from school, and others from other states! She is well-known, and befriends many.
The party is later, so you preserve adequate time to prepare. After some simple make-up and hairstyling, you are ready to go. You wear a flowly dress that tickles your bear knees, the fabric bouncing whenever you take a step. Your hair is twisted back simply, and you’re slightly impressed by the transformation.
Walking out of your room, your eyes wander to the pictures on the wall. One is mounted close to the ceiling, hidden in the shadows. A picture of you and Edmund, sitting in the park on a summer’s eve. The golden shadows are forever frozen in the picture, illuminating the soft black of his hair. You both look happy.
Your heart seems to wind down, like a music box that sings, but slowly, fades into silence.
Edmund had moved away three years ago, and there was a special place in your heart that kept him here. The ache of his absence whispered every day.
The clenching sound of your flats on the floor echoes through the hall as you walk away. There was no reason to brood on the past.
A ten-minute drive takes you to Amara’s houses perfectly pruned for the party. The front yard is immaculate, the white fence freshly painted, and the yard scattered with decorations. Cars line the street; their numbers almost dwarf the pavement. Soft laughter floats from the backyard.
You step out, gift in hand. Amara’s mother greets you at the door, inviting you in.
“The party is outside, dear.” She says with a smile. You navigate through the madness of bodies, cups, and streamers, to the backyard.
Sweet, summer air hangs in the atmosphere. A grill breathes steam into the sky as Amara’s dad cooks burgers. The song “Swalla” by Drake plays. You smile.
Amara squeals when she sees you. “You came!” she draws you into a big, warm hug.
The yard is filled with people you don’t know. You place Amara’s gift on the table and immediately gravitate toward the chips and cookies.
A soft breeze blows your hair.
You freeze. Your ears know that voice. Your heart is trained to skip when you hear it. Your mind is trained to think of the boy with the black hair and dark eyes. It is almost like his presence sends off a reaction everywhere that commands shivers to crawl down your back.
“Edmund?” you turn and forget to breathe. Not a boy, but a man. He is different. He’s taller, more handsome. No longer a child.
His lips break into a smile. “Yes,” you find yourself in his arms, wrapping your own around his waist and breathing in his scent. Almost obsessively, he holds you like he doesn’t want you to go away. He is the breath of air that your lungs have missed since he left.
“I haven’t seen you in years,” you whisper. How different did you look to him?
“I know. But I’m coming back.”
Just these words send a fire into your soul, dancing at your toes and fingertips. You fight the urge to run into his arms again. You were best friends, inseparable, like twins, until money and jobs tore your apart.
“Edmund! That is amazing!” but you still can’t point out what changed. There’s something different in the way he talks, and the way moves and breathes.
“I’ve missed you more than you know,” he laughs, almost melancholy-like. You suddenly remember you’re at Amara’s party.
“Hey, do you wanna go sit down and cat-”
“Alright, everyone! It’s time to eat cake!” Amara yells, pumping her fist in the air. You’re distracted by the possibility of cake, so you follow everyone into the kitchen.
After a terrible rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ you’re finally left alone with Edmund. The other party-goers ignore you two, and you can’t seem to focus on Amara anymore.
“Listen, Y/N,” Edmund says, as you too sit on the wooden swing. “I need to talk to you about something.”
You furrow your eyebrows.
“Ever since I left, I never got to tell you that I liked you,” Edmund says, so quietly that you can’t hear him.
Suddenly, you can’t breathe again. Your heart skips a beat, and your hands shake.
“R-really? I thought I w-was the only one,” you stutter, feeling a blush rise to your cheeks.
Edmund grabs your hand, and you stare into his eyes. They are like the sea, deep and mysterious, yet beautiful and haunting. In that moment, the world skips away as he finally kisses you; it feels like a cure to a lifelong disease.
It is then that you finally know what changed. Edmund had sparked the courage to confront the unspoken love that was now roaring like a fire.
