I wish to be free, to be you and me.

The sweat-ridden skin of two stuck lightly together as heavy breaths were exchanged, one body lying next to the other, close enough for hips to be touching. The moments before had been so passionate and heated, and these seconds were taken to bask in the feelings of it all, taking in the sensations of pleasure running through both of their muscles. Josh's mind was almost a blur, his thoughts entirely focused on what had just happened, along with the attempts to control his steadily lightening breaths. His eyes drifted from the ceiling to gaze at the woman there beside him, a sort of side-smile spreading over his lips as he couldn't help but lean over once more and press a small kiss to her's before collapsing back down against the mattress.

A smile of her own drifted onto Ari's lips as she began to shift a little beneath the sheets, leaning over so that her cheek rested against his shoulder and her leg hooked over his own, enjoying the gentle sensations against her bare skin as Josh pulled her closer.

"I love it when we get to spend evenings like this.." She kept her words quiet, softly speaking against his neck and let her nose nuzzle against the teen's jawline. The pair had managed to arrange it so that they got to spend the entire evening together, both hoping that the Friday night hours would pass slowly. Josh couldn't help but admit that he enjoyed the time they spent together, too, especially the times when they had more than just an hour or two to themselves. He wasn't sure what it was that had made him grow so attached to Ari but, when they were apart, his mind refused to stop wandering back to her. He could sit there for ages, just thinking about her hair, her smiles, her laugh.. her expression when she attempted to be stern with him in class. They were things that he could just sit and recollect without growing bored, without really wanting to divert away from them.

"Me too." No matter how he felt, though, the male struggled to express all of these feelings that he had bubbling around in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't tell her that he thought about her so much, and he couldn't really tell her that he was growing more attached to her than he had first thought. After all, what they had was, at the start, more of a simple little student-teacher fling. That had been the plan in Josh's mind, at least.. but even after just a few weeks, these plans had changed. However, the teen still couldn't allow himself to grow too comfortable.. just in case.

Before starting the indescribable relationship with Ari, he'd gotten used to having that feeling of rejection stirring about in the back of his mind. It wasn't as if he never managed to charm girls around or anything like that, if anything, it was something he was particularly skilled at. The rejection he experienced was just from one thing, just one time, but it was something that mentally dragged him down more than anything. His ability was something he had grown up with, as with his sickness. But just that one experience of someone freaking out over it in the morning after spending the night with him.. it had stuck with him, and it had been a good few years since he fell asleep in someone else's bed, or allowed someone to witness just how sick he got every single morning after waking up.

And it was something he was dreading to let Ari know about.

Sighing softly, Josh pressed a small kiss to the top of Ari's head before moving himself a little beneath her, causing the woman to lift her head from his chest.

"I should probably get going," he gently said, steadily sitting himself up until his back was straightened up against the headboard, palms rested either side of him. He could tell by her change in expression that she had half been expecting those words to pass his lips, but also that she had been hoping that maybe they wouldn't.

"You know, you don't have to leave so early," the woman said quietly, also now sat up fully as her gaze followed Josh's movements to the other end of the bed, where he began to pick up some of his clothes. "You can always.. stay, if you want." For a few weeks now, she had toyed with the idea that maybe the reason that he always left before they could fall asleep, curled up in each other's arms, was because he wasn't sure if she was okay with it. After all, what they had was risky.. something that he knew she worried about frequently. The consequences of what they had if they were caught were.. well, it'd probably ruin what she had worked so hard for in the past few years. And she guessed that might be part of the reason why he always left.. that, or he just didn't want to fall into that comfortable relationship state with her.

Josh's eyes wandered over to Ari as he pulled up his boxers to his hips, and then began to pull his jeans up over his legs to follow.

"Um.." He hadn't really had to come up with an excuse for leaving before, and his mind struggled to quickly manifest something moderately believable. But then, the small white lie filtered past his lips, "I would, but.. Lend has been, um, struggling with nightmares a bit the past couple of nights. Like, nearly in tears kind of nightmares." A light smile couldn't help but emerge itself across Josh's lips no matter how hard he tried to control it as he spoke and, even though it wasn't true, that boy got scared often enough that it could be.

"I probably shouldn't leave him on his own until he gets over it."

"Oh, okay. Um, don't worry about it. I just thought I should.. let you know." That small smile Ari had sent him just simply made his heart drop in his chest, the obvious uncertainty that glimmered beneath her eyes. He could tell that.. well, maybe she was beginning to think that the only feelings he had for her were feelings of lust, and that was possibly the only reason he persisted in seeing her. Maybe he simply put up with those times when they'd just sit and have a few laughs together because he knew that they would fall into bed at some point or another. Because he always left, he could understand why it could flit through her thoughts.. and he wanted to so badly tell her that that wasn't it at all. Josh truly cared for her, more than he wanted to admit, he'd even bought her a gift to try and show this, but had yet to work up the right courage to give it to her. But, it was because he cared for her that he continued to tear himself away from her each night.

He just couldn't tell her. Not yet.

It was at that moment that an idea formed in Josh's mind, one that quickly brought his lips into a brighter smile than what he'd had before. Placing down his shirt upon the end of the bed, he crawled over to lay back beside Ari, noting the slight change in expression as he settled down.

"I'm sure Lend can wait long enough for you to go to sleep, though." A grin spread to match his own as she leaned up to press a small kiss to his lips before settling down with her back to him beneath the covers, whilst Josh rested beside her, one arm sliding to pull her closer to him. Despite the slight distance the duvet put between them, the comfort was still there, and it didn't take long for slumber to overtake the twenty-one year old.

And that was when he decided to get his present ready.

---

Alarm clocks were possibly one of the worst inventions in the history of anything. That was the thought that drifted through Ariana's mind as her ears picked up on that horrible beeping noise that she had grown so familiar with.Sliding her hand out from beneath the covers, eyes still closed, she attempted to slide the switch on her clock. However, as she felt about where her alarm usually lay, her mind clicked. It was Saturday. Why did she turn her alarm on last night? And it was then that she felt a different sensation beneath her fingertips, a soft velvety casing. Sliding her eyelids open, briefly allowing her eyes to adjust to the sunlight seeping through the curtains, her hazy vision fell upon a long, yet small, blue box on her bedside table. Brows furrowed partially as she stared at it questioningly, not entirely sure what to make of it with her mind still quite dazed from sleep.

Reaching over, she first turned off her alarm which rested just behind, before allowing his fingers to drift to the box, legs sliding out from beneath the covers until she sat entirely upright. Though her gaze was focused upon the case upon her bedside table, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something else.. two post-it notes had been stuck to her lamp, sat one on top of the other. Tilting her head slightly, Ari reached with her left hand, peeling off the first little note which read, "Go on, open it." in a familiar script. There had been a little arrow drawn in the corner, pointing towards the box. With a curious smile, she tilted the lid open, wondering just what it was that was waiting inside. It was another note, with a small smiley face drawn first. This time it read, 'Look down.' And as she did, Ari couldn't help but notice a slight difference about her neck, a difference that she wasn't that unfamiliar to her. Her gaze fell down to see the end of a thin, silver chain with a pendant hanging down to just above her chest. It was a small heart with a clear stone in the centre, quite simple yet elegant in how it looked.

Ariana's smile broadened as she looked at it, eyes only flicking upwards once she recalled the second post-it note on her lamp. Slipping it off with the tips of her fingers, she skimmed her eyes over the words. 'I hope you like it. I saw it and thought of you.'

Just seconds after reading that note, there was a knock at the door and Ari couldn't help but jump slightly, having been immersed in her happy little world.
"One second!" she shouted, sliding herself fully out of bed and grabbing her dressing gown to wrap around herself. It didn't take too long before she was standing behind the door to her home, fingers going to unlatch the lock to see who it was that had come to visit her quite early in the morning. Her heart soared as those brown eyes of her's fell to look upon Josh's deep blue irises, soaking in that wonderfully cheeky grin of his as he leant against the door frame?

"That wasn't too soppy or anything, was it?" he inquired, his grin not faultering, especially as Ari, instead of replying, simply leant upwards and pressed a delicate kiss to his lips, that usual worry of risks and consequences just melting away.