forum Next Steps [Private RP — Closed]

Started January 16, 2019 by @Imperfect_Autumn group

tune

Eden hugged her back, sighing softly.

"I'm okay, too," she couldn't help but let out a bit of excitement, too, herself. "Sterling just told me right now, but I'm looking forward to spending the day with you."

Violeta pulled away, a false little frown tugging at her lips. "Must've slipped his mind," she laughed it off, trying to distract Eden. "But yeah, I'm excited too! I, uh, don't go to spas much."

Eden frowned, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Er, me, neither…” she said, trailing off a little. What exactly was going on? Why was her boyfriend and her friend both acting strange?

"D'you need any help with the food?" Violeta hastened to ask, indicating to the stovetop. "Or I can set the table?"

Eden merely shook her head.

“It’s okay, I can do this,” she said with a smile. “Do you want water? Sterling, can you get V some water?”

"Of course. Unless you'd like something else, V? We've got juice, a few sparkling waters, tea…" Sterling listed off as he grabbed a glass from the cupboard.

“Oh, just water is fine,” Violeta shrugged, shaking a few strands of hair from her face. It felt so strange, to be here with the two of them, but without Gray…

"All right, then," Sterling hummed as he filled the glass with water.

(Hey… Do you guys want to skip to after their spa?)

(COME ON, TELL ME ALREADY.

I’m not it by the way!)

NOT IT

When the girls got back from their spa appointment, Sterling was no where to be found. What was found, however, was a trail of red roses petals, leading in the direction of the bedroom.

The lights had been dimmed, and candles had been lit, giving the apartment a very romantic feeling. Soft music played from a speaker somewhere out of sight.

When Eden found that atmosphere when they got home, she felt a little weird. What was going on? Where was Sterling? Was this another one of his methods to cheer her up? But she wasn’t even upset!

Still, the music warmed her up and the soft, quiet atmosphere raised her spirits. At the same time, she felt a little nervous. Slowly, she walked towards the bedroom.

“Sterling? What’s going on?”*

The lights in the bedroom were off, the only light coming from the candles placed strategically around the room. Red, pink, and white balloons littered the floor and touched the ceiling, some having tea lights lighting them up.

In the middle of the room stood Sterling, wearing a black suit and his infamous smirk, though this time there was a bit of nervousness hidden in it.

"Welcome home, love," he said softly. His gaze flickered behind Eden, hoping Violeta was recording. He looked back at his girlfriend before reaching out for her with one hand, the other shoved into his pocket. "Care to come a little closer?"

Eden swallowed, nervousness gnawing at her throat. She could not remove her gaze from Sterling. The black suit perfectly brought out his features, and if that image killed her, then the smirk did wonders.

She slowly walked towards him, confusion spread on her features. What was he doing? The last time he did something like this, he wanted to ask her to prom… was there another function coming along? What?

Slowly, almost hesitantly, Eden reached out to set her hand on his, her eyes flickering towards their hands before moving back to his face.

Sterling took a deep breath before pressing a kiss to the back of Eden's hand. He smiled down at her, wanting nothing more at this moment than to just kiss her… But he would wait. He had to. It was just going to be a couple of minutes…

"Eden McArthur, you of all people should know how easily you've stolen my heart. And my mind. And… Well, all of me, really… I can't keep my eyes off of you when you're around. You're all that I think about every day and night. And I love it.

"When I first asked you out that day in the hall, I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. I thought I knew what you would be like and how you would act. And, boy, was I wrong," he chuckled softly, shaking his head a bit. "You are more than I ever imagined you to be. More than I ever thought I would get in my life. You're perfect, Eden, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

"So… I guess what I'm trying to ask is—" Here, he slowly got down to one knee, looking up at her with nervous yet hopeful expression as he pulled a small, black box out of his pocket. "—Eden Rose McArthur… Would you marry me?"

… What? Eden stared at Sterling, still as if time was frozen. Her eyes were wide, his words ringing in her head. Was this really happening? Was her boyfriend really on his knees, looking at her like he wanted nothing more than to hold her and kiss her, and asking her if she wanted to marry him?

Shock sent her speechless. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. And then she felt the first trickle of wetness run down her cheek, and soon enough, her eyes gaze way to more. Eden covered her mouth with her hands, bending down to hide the tears that were running down her cheeks. This is why he planned to send Eden with Violeta. This was why he hadn’t mentioned anything to her—not because it slipped his mind, but because he wanted to propose.

“Oh my God…” Eden whispered, unable to look up. “Sterling… I—I… shit.” She swiped furiously at her eyes, cursing herself for trembling so much. She knew was she wanted to say, so why couldn’t she?

“I mean—Ry—god damn it, yes,” she finally whispered. “Yes, I—I would. Of course I would… I’m jus—shit.” She straightened, turning around, fanning her face, trying to control her tears. She bit down on her lower lip but nothing seemed to slow down the clear liquid from running down her cheeks.

“I would,” she finally, finally said clearly. “Yes, Sterling. A thousand times yes. Oh my God.”

"Thank goodness…" Sterling breathed, slipping the ring on her finger. He dropped the box and got to his feet, pulling her into a tight hug before he pressed their lips together. This didn't feel real… She'd really agreed to marry him. Gosh, he must have been the luckiest man alive… "Thank you so much…"

Eden’s arms snaked around his neck, pulling him closer into the kiss, tears still streaming down her cheeks. This couldn’t have been happening. This was too good to be true—Sterling has proposed.

She pulled away from his lips and instead buried her face in his chest, gripping his shirt tightly as she sobbed, letting go of the embarrassment that came with displaying her emotions. She couldn’t believe this was truly happening. Sterling proposed. She’d said yes. Her finger had a ring on it—she would be so heartbroken if it turned out to be a dream.

“I can’t—I can’t believe it,” she sniffled. “I can’t believe you proposed. Oh my God, Ry… how long? How long have you been planning this?”

Sterling tightened his arms around her when she buried her face in his chest. He didn't know if he would ever stop smiling, he was so happy.

"About a week before the ball. I asked V to help not long after we got back. I thought you were going to find out so many times… And the ring… Oh my gosh, I got it from my parents, and I thought you were going to find it after we got home and started unpacking. It was my grandmother's, you know," he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“I’m so glad I didn’t,” she breathed deeply. “This is—oh God, I don’t know what to say… I’ll treasure the ring forever. I won’t—I won’t even think about losing it. This is the happiest I’ve been, Ry, thank you so much for choosing me that day, for not giving up on me, for picking me again and again…”

Violeta stood to the side through it all, a camera in hand and a huge grin on her face. She remained silent, letting them have their moment while she filmed as Sterling had requested.

"And I will continue to choose you again and again and again… Thank you for saying 'yes'. I was so nervous," Sterling admitted, his face still buried in her hair. "We haven't been dating for that long, but I know you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I never want to not have you by my side…"

“Why were you nervous?” Eden sniffled, punching him lightly on the shoulder. “You know I would say yes. I would always say yes. There’s no way I would ever not want to live with you. I was getting tired of Eden McArthur, anyway…”