- paris, louvre

"Is that it?" I questioned. "That's the Mona Lisa?"

Ava laughed as a response. "I know, it's small isn't it?"

"Small?!" I exclaimed. "I can barely even see it." I tried to stand on my tiptoes to see the world famous painting but the crowd of people surrounding the art made it impossible for me to see more than just a piece of her hair.

"It's art baby, no matter the size." Ava chuckled.

"The artist could have at least painted it bigger." I shrugged.

"You should learn to appreciate the art and the meaning behind it." Ava motioned to the room across us that held a few sculptures and wrapped her arm around my waist. "There's lots of different art, with lots of different meanings. Sculptures for example are a different form of art and each sculpture representing something else."

"Yes, I know that." I said.

"What do you think this sculpture symbolizes?" Ava pointed to something in front of her.

The sculpture was big and displayed a man, i assumed, with his head cut off and wings growing from his back. He was stood on something that I couldn't quite figure out.

"Hmm. I don't know what it's supposed to mean." I said. "Maybe an angel that got the dead penalty but survived because he was an angel?" I sheepishly laughed.

Ava giggled. "Not quite. It's actually the greek goddess of victory, Nike. Historians say she stepped towards the front of a ship while her wet and wind-blown drapery clung to her body. It was created to commemorate a successful sea battle."

"That doesn't explain why she doesn't have a head or arms."

"I think those parts of her body just got lost through time and they never recovered or recreated them."

"Oh." I replied. "Well, let's just say I was way off. I'm not the best at reading art."

Ava smiled. "Don't you worry. Let's get something to eat."

"Now that sounds like music to my ears." I laughed as I followed Ava through the corridors of the Louvre.

The past few months with Ava have been a dream. We traveled a lot through Europe and have already visit a bunch of breathtakingly beautiful places. Portugal and Spain were my favorite places yet. The food there was amazing and the people were so nice it warmed my heart.

By my surprise and I think even by Ava's surprise I had passed my exams. I wasn't there for graduation nor for prom but I received a call not too long after we left with the amazing news that I had graduated. I was happy I did because I had finally come to the conclusion that I did want to go to university after all.

After all that had happened before we spontaneously decided to travel I hadn't really talked to Sam and David. I felt bad about abandoning them the way I did, but after talking to them and explaining everything that went down they understood and luckily forgave me. They were actually both gonna fly over to Mexico next month to have a little trip with just the three of us. Ava was going to go back a little earlier to handle some stuff with her family back home.

Speaking of Ava, she has been wonderful. I got to learn a new side of her that I didn't know before. She was already perfect to me, but if it even was possible, she only got more perfect. I felt free around her, and it showed in the way we behaved around each other.

It was the way she always danced when she cooked us dinner and would take my hand and twirl me around while she was still cooking. The way she quietly but noticeably chuckled at funny parts of the book she was reading. The way she would kiss my forehead at the most unexpected times, but yet always exactly the right times. It's the moments where we laugh so hard tears are streaming down our faces and the ugliest laughs come out that make us laugh even harder. The moments when we are both so drunk we think it's a good idea to film our karaoke sessions only to look back at them later and realize we sound like dying cats.

Every moment with her felt like a dream. Sometimes I'm waiting to be pinched and wake up from this fairytale life, but then I look at her and I know this is real. She is my fairytale. She is my once in a lifetime.

"Are you ready?" I shouted across the hotel room. Ava had booked us a beautiful hotel room in the center of Paris. I felt guilty that she had to pay for most of the stuff we did but she kept telling me not to worry and that she happily paid. She wanted to me to safe my money for university.

"Yes, coming." She called back from the other room.

I patiently waited for her to come out, and when she did I was in awe as usual by the beautiful woman in front of me. This time she was wearing black heels with black trousers, topped with a black blazer and to finish her outfit she was wearing gold necklaces and earrings. No matter what she wore she always looked expensive.

"You always look so beautiful." I said.

"Oh, stop it you." She blushed. I loved how I was the only one in this world who seemed to be able to make her nervous.

"Not getting nervous now, are we?" I joked.

"Oh don't even go there." She laughed. "I know exactly how to make you nervous if you want to test me."

"Maybe I do."

"Hmm." Ava pulled me closer to her and gave me a kiss. Passionate and tender at the same time. "We have to go." She said in between the kiss before pulling away.

"You are the devil." I groaned.

"And you love it."

•

"Holy shit, the Eiffel Tower is huge." I exclaimed. "I expected it to be smaller for some reason."

Ava laughed. "I know right. It's pretty big. Just wait until the lights go on, you'll love it."

"It has lights?" I asked surprised. I sounded like a child who just got a new barbie for her birthday.

"Yes, it's really beautiful." Ava smiled.

We laid down a blanket and sat down. We opened a bottle of wine and waited for the light show to start. I was really excited and I could tell Ava was amused by it.

When the lights turned on I gasped. The whole tower was decorated in sparkling flickering lights that lit up the tall structure. I smiled like a little kid. "It's so beautiful."

"I knew you'd love it." Ava said. "It's beautiful."

I glanced over to her side only to see she wasn't looking at the Eiffel Tower at all but instead had her eyes set on me.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "You should be looking in front of you not at me." I giggled.

"Shut up" She joked.

After watching the light show for a while I turned back to Ava and took a sip of my wine.

"Do you think there's a meaning to life?" I asked.

Ava laughed. "What? You always ask me the most random questions ever."

"I'm just curious." I chuckled. "What do you think?"

"I don't know." She replied. "Maybe there is, but I feel like it's different for everyone and that it's something everyone has to fill in for themselves. Maybe there is an universal meaning to life but how are we supposed to figure that out you know? I think the meaning to life is to find that out for yourself."

"What's the meaning of your life?" I asked.

"I haven't really figured that out yet and I'm not too hung up on it. I think it's important for me that I'm happy in all that I do and have people around me that I love and love me just as hard." She replied.

"Do you think you've accomplished that?"

"I don't know. I know that I am happy and I love hard and I am loved. That's important to me."

"Do you feel loved by me?" I asked. "I sometimes wonder if you feel as loved by me as I feel loved by you."

She smiled and pulled me in closer to her. "I feel loved by you more than I have ever felt from anyone in this world. The way you show love is so pure and refreshing. Different from what I know, but something I never knew I needed."

"Like how?" I asked. I wasn't quite sure what she meant.

"You leave me little notes for me to wake up to. You remember the little things about me that I barely even remember. You always listen to me talk. You don't just hear me, you actually listen. You do these little things that make me so incredibly happy and you have never made me feel unloved. Ever."

"Oh you're so cheesy." I rolled my eyes in a joking way.

"You asked!" Ava exclaimed.

"I regret that now." I teased.

"You're breaking my heart here, Rach."

"Oh." I pouted. "Come here baby. I'll make it up to you." I pulled her closer to me and stroked her hair knowing she hated it.

"You are unbelievable." She laughed.

"Wait, before you break up with me, what's your favorite animal. I don't think I know that?"

"You're so random." She giggled. "You know my favorite animal."

"No I don't." I said. "I know every little thing about you, but you never told me your favorite animal."

"Think." She giggled.

"But I don't know!" I exclaimed.

"It's really obvious." She laughed.

"Don't tell me it's a lion because of your zodiac sign."

"What can I say." Ava said.

"God, you are terrible."

"Deal with it." She said.

"I can't if you're gonna break up with me."

She rolled her eyes. "Good thing I'll never break up with you."

The rest of the evening we continued joking around and drinking wine until it got too cold outside. In between laughter and words I couldn't help but wonder if she was going to be in my life forever, if she was the one I was going to marry. I wondered if she was going to be the mother to my children and if she was the one sleeping besides me until we both couldn't take care of ourselves anymore. I couldn't imagine anyone else being that person besides her and I couldn't bare the thought of someone else in her place. But something told me I didn't have to worry about that. She was my forever.

After a fun night of drinking and talking about absolutely everything and nothing at the same time we sat down in the Uber we ordered. I was tired and tipsy and the world around me started spinning in a pleasantly calm way.

Ava grabbed my hands as I softly put my head on her shoulder. Her thumb stroking my hands made me fuzzy inside.

"I love you." I said to Ava.

She moved her hand to my face and slowly stroked my cheek. "I love you more, sweet girl."

I smiled and without arguing who loves who the most I closed my eyes and we silently enjoyed the ride home.

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Ohohoh! I just couldn't help but write another chapters after having so many people ask me for a sequel. I am sorry but I probably will not be writing a sequel but I figured a bonus chapter wouldn't hurt!!! I hope you guys like it

If you want to read more of me you can read my new book: Stuck together. I'm currently writing it!