Running to You

Mara stood on the pier. Her family had already boarded the ship to continue their cruise. She was hesitant though. Antoine was probably still at the cafe he had taken her to. Her father didn't approve but then again he didn't approve of anyone she dated or even looked at...or who looked at her.

This stop had brought back memories of high school. Antoine had been a foreign exchange student during senior year. Mara herself was the awkward girl that nobody wanted to ask to Homecoming. He was the cute foreign boy with an accent the other girls assumed was hyper romantic just because he was French. He had ignored all of them.

The week before Homecoming he had pushed his way out of the crowd of girls fawning over him and gone straight to Mara. She had pushed her glasses nervously up her face and clutched her AP books to her chest. He had been just as awkward as her when he asked her to Homecoming.

That year they had gone to every school dance together. He had helped her with her French and she had helped him with his English. He was definitely not the suave French stereotype everyone had expected him to be and refused to look past the expectation of to see otherwise. That's what she loved about him. He was real and awkward. She didn't feel like she was trying to impress a French cartoon character. She just felt like she was with a fellow human being that actually saw her.

As the last call was announced for boarding the ship her heart felt like it was breaking. She turned away from the ship and ran. By the time she reached the cafe the ship had left. Antoine was just leaving to go home. She called his name as she ran towards him. He turned at the sound of her voice, his eyes widening in shock as he caught her in his arms.

"What are you doing," he asked holding her tightly, "You missed your ship."

"I couldn't do it," she shook her head, burying her face in his neck, "I couldn't go. I love you too much for one day to be enough time."

"I love you too and I want you to stay but how is that going to work? You need a visa to move to France permanently," he pulled back to look at her. Hearts were a great thing to listen to but unless they remembered to use logic they could easily lead to dead ends.

She nodded, "I know. Guess it's a good thing I applied for university here. I have to go back to the states to get the student visa sorted but then I can come back to you."

He laughed, "Of course you did. I applied to NYU. My visa was already approved. I was going to call and surprise you when you arrive."

"Well I'm glad you told me now," she smiled incredulously, "I got accepted there too."

"I know. I remember you were excited about applying. That's why I chose to apply too," he smiled and took her hand, "Come on. We should let the authorities know you are safe. They'll be searching for you when your family realizes that you are not on the ship."

She nodded, walking with him, "I guess we should start doing our planning together before we accidentally switch countries trying to run to each other."

"Yes, we should. After this I would like to bring you home to meet my parents. They're paying for my tuition and an apartment I was going to invite you to stay in with me," he gave her an adoring look as he talked about a future with her.

Her eyes lit up, "I would love that."

"It's settled then," he smiled, "You can stay safe with us for this month and then we'll travel to New York together then."

She smiled and leaned on his shoulder as they walked, "A place together to study for a grueling degree? Sounds perfect."