Arya's POV -

I couldn't wait to finally see Elijah.

He was the one who took the bullet. It would have been me in critical condition if he hadn't.

Delighted that he was finally awake, I tugged on Rome's hand harder, trying to increase my pace.

Rome obliged, knowing I desperately wanted to see Elijah after the incident.

Wyatt trailed behind us with a relaxed expression on his face. That eased my worry tenfold since the doctor looked calm.

Reaching the bottom step I was happy to see the door open and I could make out James' form as he talked, most likely to Elijah.

Knocking a few times on the door even though it was open, Rome and I made our presence's known.

"Hey," I said with a smile, glancing at James and then peeking over at the man in the hospital bed.

Elijah looked at me with an unreadable expression on his face. It wasn't a glare or a cold mask, it was more...relaxed.

However I frowned when I noticed he looked slightly in pain. Whenever he shifted a bit on the bed his face would scrunch up a tiny bit.

His dark brown hair was a mess atop his head. It definitely looked like he was in a coma.

I gave him a small wave and I got the nod of his head in return.

"Hey princess," James smirked and I got shy since all of the attention was now on me.

"Hi James," I muttered but then looked back to Elijah. Licking my lips I turned to Rome and gestured for him to lean down.

He did so with a raised brow and I whispered in his ear, "I want to thank Elijah in private. Could you take everyone out of the room?"

Rome simply nodded and kissed my forehead before straightening his shoulders.

"Diamo ai due un po' di tempo per parlare, sì?" Rome said and both James and Wyatt followed him out of the room.

(Let's give the two some time to talk, yes?)

Elijah looked slightly lost but he was about to know why the three of them left.

"I wanted to say thank you..." I started, and his silver eyes snapped to mine.

"For, for saving me. You didn't have to do that and put yourself in even more danger than what was going on. So...thank you." I say sadly and timidly meet his eyes.

Nothing is said for a few moments and the air was tense. I wasn't sure what his reaction would be. I trailed my eyes over his chest and stomach area where the bullet hit him, hoping he wasn't too uncomfortable.

"It wasn't too bad." He finally answered and then glanced down at himself, "The bullet hit me in my upper chest but I'm fine." He winces again when he moves positions and I clench my eyes shut painfully.

"But you're not okay," I say softly and he raises his eyebrow. "You-you were in a coma for days and then Wyatt said your monitor flatlined. I don't think that's the right definition of being 'fine'.

He simply stared at me while I bit my lip, and then testing my luck, I sat on the corner of the bed.

"I know we aren't nec-necessarily friends...but I want you to be okay. I want you to get better and I will forever be grateful that you took the bullet for me."

I was shocked when I saw his eyes soften a bit. An expression I've never seen on Elijah's face before.

"We are friends, Arya."

My own eyes widened and my mouth dropped open.

"We are?" I asked a bit too excitedly, wiggling a bit on the bed.

The smallest smile formed on his lips and he nodded,

"Yes, we're friends."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I couldn't contain my excitement for the rest of the day. Immediately I told Elijah I'd be back and practically sprinted out of the room, blabbering to Rome about how Elijah considered me a friend.

Rome looked a little dumbfounded when he saw me running like I was in a marathon at him but then he smiled when I told him and gave me a hard kiss on the lips that left me breathless.

He soon went in the room to chat with Elijah since they hadn't talked yet, and I could see a huge wave of relief wash over him when he saw that Elijah was doing fine.

Eventually James returned too and after an hour of small conversing Wyatt kicked all of us out of the room, stating that he had to check Elijah's wound one more time and then he'd be released.

I was happy to see James' blue eyes come back to life now that Elijah was okay. I can tell they consider each other family.

And now I can finally relax knowing everyone is okay, Ivan is gone and hopefully the Russians are no longer a big threat.

Slumping onto the couch I sighed and stretched my limbs only for a large body to sit next to me and wrap a muscular, tattooed arm around my shoulders.

Smiling at my boyfriend who gave me a gorgeous smirk, he pressed a kiss to my cheek and turned on the TV.

Once the two of us realized nothing was on, we decided to watch a movie. Of course I begged for something Disney and Rome surprisingly was fine with it.

Once we put on the movie, James and Elijah both came strolling in.

"Movie night? Why wasn't I told? I'll get the popcorn!" James shouts, running to the kitchen.

I giggle while Rome and Elijah both roll their eyes at their friend.

Elijah takes a seat on one of the couches, slightly groaning as he did so due to his wound.

5 minutes later James has made 3 large bowls of popcorn. One for himself, one for Elijah, and one for Rome and I to share.

The 4 of us relaxed back into the large couches and watched the movie. I watched James with amusement as he tried to throw popcorn into the air and then catch it in his mouth.

Towards the end of the movie James tried to get Elijah to catch the popcorn which didn't work out. After James continued to throw them at him Elijah picked up his own bowl that was half full and threw it at James' face.

James' hair was now covered with popcorn along with his lap and the rest was on the floor while he sat there with a flabbergasted look on his face.

I found it hilarious.

Elijah huffed and stood with a now empty bowl in hand, not saying a word and exiting the room without a glance back.

Rome and I stared at James trying to contain our laughter, but I couldn't help it and just burst out into loud fits.

James' struck face moved over to me and then to Rome in disbelief but even my mafia man couldn't help it because he let out a low chuckle as well.

James frowned and stood, dusting off the remaining popcorn attached to his clothes.

"I'm not cleaning it." He stated with his arms crossed.

Rome raised a dark eyebrow at him and James protested again,

"He's the one who got it all on the floor! Elijah should be cleaning it!"

"Elijah is hurt, though." I chimed in and James playfully glared at me.

"So what? I could have been hurt from that! He could have thrown the bowl at my face!"

Covering my mouth to try and hide my smile, James shook his head and kneeled down, beginning to clean up the mess on the floor.

I decided to help out as well and eventually Rome joined in. Soon we were done and the floor was clean.

"Where did that man run off to anyways?" James questioned, glancing towards the stairs.

"I'm gonna go find the bastardo." He practically hissed, marching towards the stairs.

(Bastard.)

Once James disappeared I yawned which caught the attention of Rome, who walked over to me and picked me up.

"Tired?" He asked and I nodded, laying my head on his shoulder.

Pressing a kiss to the side of my head he walked towards the stairs while rubbing my back.

I caught sight of one of the clocks on the wall to see it was only 7 PM. I'm shocked I was about ready to pass out.

"Should I go to school tomorrow?" I asked as he carried me up the stairs.

He hummed, "It's up to you sweetheart. If you're feeling it then sure and if you're not then that's also fine."

"I think I'll set my alarm and see how I feel in the morning." I mumbled against his shoulder and he nodded, placing me down in the bed once we got upstairs.

"I'm going to go shower," He said and I gave him a small 'okay.'

Soon he was gone and I could hear the shower water running. For some reason the assignment I had in English a long time ago popped into my mind.

The one where I wrote about Rome.

The one that I wouldn't let him read.

And now the one that I wanted to let him read.

Standing up I went inside my room and rummaged around inside my drawers, looking for the essay I wrote.

Grinning once I found it, I pick it up and look over the writing. I remember writing about him when we only knew each other for a little while.

*Flashback*

Rome! I can write about Rome! Why didn't I think of that before?

I write about what it was like before him.

I write about what It's like with him.

I write about a possible future with him.

I couldn't stop. I just continued to scribble and scribble on the paper with a big smile on my face. I didn't think writing could ever make me so happy before.

'Eyes as green as emeralds. A man that is full of so many secrets, and it only makes me want to know him more.'

*End of Flashback*

And boy did I get to know him. Now I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

Emotions bubbled up within me and I wiped at my eyes that were now starting to tear up. I wasn't sure why, maybe it was because I didn't know I was ever going to be this happy.

I didn't notice the large presence behind me until strong but gentle arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me into a hard chest.

Leaning the back of my head against Rome's chest, I looked up to see him looking down at me, a soft expression on his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked, leaning down and pressing his warm lips to my forehead.

I closed my eyes briefly and then opened them, staring into Rome's beautiful green eyes.

"Yeah," I muttered, still in a daze while looking at him and he grinned.

"What's that in your hand, hm?"

"O-Oh," I sputtered, peeking down at the paper.

"It's an essay." I answered and he waited for me to elaborate.

"You know, the essay I wouldn't let you read."

A lazy smirk formed on his face, "The one where you wrote about me, huh?"

Blushing, I looked at my toes. "Maybe."

"Why are you pulling it out now?" He tilted his head slightly when I turned towards him. I grabbed his hand and led him back to his room.

His fingers automatically interlaced with mine and we continued to hold hands as we both sat on the bed.

Looking through my eyelashes at him, I nervously bit my lip.

"I want you to read it."

"You what?" His eyes widened slightly, definitely not expecting that to be my answer when I've hidden it for so long.

I nodded and continued, "I-I want you to read it."

Holding my free hand out with the essay towards him, he grabbed it with his own free hand and pulled it towards himself.

"Are you sure, baby? I don't have to read it-"

"I want you to." I blurt and he squints his eyes for a second before lifting me off the edge of the bed.

"What the-" I gasp as he got us a bit under the covers and against the pillows, placing me on his lap and tucking me close.

"Read it." He says, handing the essay back to me and now It's my turn for my eyes to widen.

"Read...it?" I repeated slowly and he smiled showing his pearly whites.

"I want you to read it to me." He said lowly, resting his chin on the top of my head.

"Oh okay." I cleared my throat and then briefly looked over the words.

And then, I read the essay to him.