Unapologetic

One by one the other people in the house came out of their rooms and had to hold in their gasps once they saw them, for fear of waking them up. Seeing them in this position, they were all shocked. The first ones to find them were Harry and Julia, who stood before them, unable to understand when they had gotten this close. They held up their finger to their lips to tell the ones who came after them to be silent and using their other hand to gesture for them to come closer. Soon they were all standing around the sofa, looking at the couple sleeping so soundly and intimately. Just yesterday they saw Nick still avoiding her touch by shifting her head from his shoulder to a pillow and now they were sleeping in each other's arms.

After standing there in silence for a good ten minutes, Elizabeth seemed to start being aware of their presence. Their soft whispers and giggling could be heard and their stares could be felt. She slowly opened her eyes to peek at her surroundings and determined that her feeling had been correct. They were indeed no longer alone. Seeing their curious and excited eyes, their wide smirks and knowing their personalities, she was slightly dreading what was to come. However unlike Jenny, Elizabeth had years of arrogance and a queen-like demeanor, which made her unapologetic towards life and the people she encountered in it. She didn't even show a hint of shyness as she opened her eyes completely to look the others in their eyes. She simply greeted them with a 'Good morning', before wrapping the sheets, covering them both, around her body once more and getting up. Her movements woke Nick, who had been sleeping through all of this, and left him bare on the sofa with nothing more than the boxer shorts he had worn to bed.

As he was still half asleep, he was making movements in the air trying to regain the warmth that was surrounding him. Noticing that there was nothing left to grasp, he shot wide awake once more. He looked around, only to find Elizabeth gone and his friends staring at him with meaningful looks. Now that both parties were awake, the friends wasted no time as they shot question after question at Nick. Asking him the questions that were in his mind as well, but he was unable to answer. Asking him why Elizabeth was sleeping in his arms, if this meant that they were together now, what had caused this sudden development? Harry saw that he was ignoring them and their questions in his search for something else. Or better said, for someone else. With a chuckle, he helped his friend out of his misery. "Don't worry, the keeper of your heart hasn't left yet. She just returned to your room. When we came in, she was indeed sleeping in your arms, so it wasn't just your imagination or dream."

However that wasn't what was keeping his mind occupied right now. The initial fear that the occurrences of early this morning had indeed been a dream, vanished the moment he saw the looks in the eyes of his friends. So he knew that everything he saw had indeed happened, but the uncertainty of his place in Elizabeth's heart was still very real and still present. The memories that were currently blurred were that of what he had actually said out loud and what had been nothing more than a thought. The only person that could answer the questions they had asked and those that were keeping his heartbeat at a higher rate, was Elizabeth. She had done everything at her pace till now and she had been in power and control from start to finish. This was a situation he wasn't familiar with and he didn't like it a bit. Now that the end of his torture seemed within grasp, the one that knew where they stood, had disappeared from his sight.

Nick had heard Harry's words and got up in a hurry to walk over to where Elizabeth was. He opened the door and shut it instantly behind him. In the darkened room he found Elizabeth standing by her suitcase in nothing more than a towel. As if nothing had happened, Elizabeth didn't even turn around and continued grabbing the clothes she would be needing after she was done with her shower. "Lizzy, I have spent most of the past hours thinking about a lot of things, before I fell asleep. I have many questions and things I want to say, but I can't seem to find the right words so I will just be straight to the point. If anyone asks you what I am to you, what will your answer be?"

Finally Elizabeth turned around with clothes in hand and saw Nick standing just behind the door. With clear and strong eyes she looked at him and gave him an answer before heading into the bathroom. Without any hesitation she spoke the words he had been waiting for. Her words replayed in his mind, over and over. 'Boyfriend' 'Boyfriend' 'Boyfriend'. He could hardly believe it. He was fighting for a chance, but in less than a week he had gotten the reward instead. Surprised at her words, but happy at the same time, he stayed in the room. Pacing back and forth for Elizabeth to finish. Where he was a ball of nerves right now, Elizabeth was calm and collected. Though Elizabeth had been fearful to make the decision, now that she had made it, she stood behind it with the full 100%. The games were over and now it was time for Nick to show her if he was worth her leap of faith.