A Single Candle

Chapter Nine:

Burning Bright

Yolie sighed contently, staring into Ken's face as he slept peacefully. What had happened... was all behind her now. No matter what happened, she wanted to stay by his side. I mean – she loved him. Loved him like she could not live without him. And she couldn't. Silently, she stepped out of bed and into the kitchen with a bit of quiet humming. She sang to herself, dancing about the kitchen in her sleeping shirt that was more like a dress, being three sizes to big, and her underwear. Yolie pulled out a pan and began to cook breakfast.

Little did she know, Ken was watching her with a dazed, yet highly amused grin on his face. As she started making pancakes, he watched her and took the time to sort out his feelings. The last year had been so hectic that it passed way too fast, and even now, it seemed like a dream. Sometimes he wished he would wake up with Yolie pounding on the door, asking him to tutor her in Chemistry again. If he could go back to that day... after seeing this... things would have been so much better.

Then he looked at her, and realized that as things were, they couldn't get any better. "KEN!" Yolie grinned. "How long were you going to just stand there?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips and sticking out her tongue playfully. Ken wrapped his arms around her, leaving her immobile. "He-ey."
Yolie giggled and pretended to fight with him. Ken laughed and kissed her firmly on the lips. "Well, good mornin' to you too." she laughed.

Ken grinned. "Good morning. What's this?" he asked, looking at the pancakes that were burning slightly. Yolie panicked and began running about in a frenzy, trying to save breakfast. Ken stifled a small laugh, watching her. Ken changed his mind. He wouldn't change a thing. What would dwelling on the past do anyway? It would only hurt the chance he had now, to make their future wonderful and as close to perfect as it would ever get. "That's okay. I think you managed to spare the bigger ones. Let's eat. I'm kinda hungry." he said, wincing as his stomach growled.

Yolie laughed and nodded, turning off the burner and serving them both, before sitting down with him at his kitchen table. "Ken... you're not mad at me, right?" she asked, barely eating. It was more like she was poking and prodding the pancakes than eating. Ken could barely restrain his laughter. She really seemed worried and paranoid. How could she think he was mad at her? Besides – even if he was, it wouldn't last long. Just looking at her made him smile and he was immediately happy.

That was something he hadn't been able to say for a long, long, LONG time. "Of course not, Yolie. Maybe it was I who was wrong. But you know, it doesn't seem very important anymore. In the end, I think I still won. And it's the outcome that counts, right? I love you, Yolie. That's all that matters in reality." he said, placing his hand on top of hers and squeezing lightly. She smiled brightly.

"Yeah! That's right..." Yolie shouted, looking rather relieved. "You know... it feels like only yesterday that I asked you for help with my Chemistry. And I've missed so much school... If I want to get back into my class, I'll have to study really hard to get them to let me back in. But I want to try. I want things to go back to the way they were before... except, I wanna keep you, okay?" she grinned, blushing slightly. Ken laughed.

"Sure, Yolie. I would love to be your boyfriend. Wasn't that what you were asking?" he said, smiling. Yolie nodded, really happy that he understood. She never was good at those kind of things. "But you know, we've been through so much... and now you're a senior. In a year you will be graduating... I wonder... maybe when you graduate... would you ever... consider... marrying me?"

Her eyes went really wide. "Hold on to that thought." She smiled. "There is nothing more I could want or ask for. So... don't go changing your mind on me. I know I can be crazy and incompetent, but... I'm gonna try really hard to be the best I can." she said. "I know I could never live up to you but..." Ken placed a finger on her lips and kissed her from across the table.

"What are you babbling about? You already have. The day you came back... after all that I've done... I have baggage too. There's so many bad things I've done. I'm nowhere near as good as people make me out to be. You've seen it. But you chose to stay anyway. There's nothing more I could ask. Unconditional love... I will always love you... for who you are... and what you mean to me... because you mean everything to me."

She smiled, tiny traces of tears remaining hidden behind her thick lashes. "You have such a way with words. How romantic..." Yolie said, kissing him again and finally taking a real bite of her breakfast. "I feel the same way. Our candle is still burning bright... I want to feel this way forever... I think I will." she said, finishing her breakfast rather quickly, eating in between thoughts.

Ken didn't take long to finish either, as hungry as he was. He took care of the dishes and let Yolie wait for him in the living room.

I'm praying

I'm wishing

You're here

I'm saved

Tonight may be the last of all the firsts we've ever had

But I'm not going to forget

Feverish love will give way to the unconditional kind

I will be by your side forever

And you are my reason

Tonight

Forever

He snuck up on her and laid down beside her on the couch. She grinned and wrapped her arms around Ken tightly. "No more doing things on your own okay? We're a team now, and you don't have to be alone anymore. That's why I'm here. Don't be afraid to let me in, okay?" Ken smiled and nodded.

"And no more falling for guys like that, okay?" Ken said, kissing her cheek. Yolie laughed and nodded. "It's not good for you, and I don't think I could handle going through something like that again." he said. "I think it was hard enough on us this time." She giggled. "What? What was that all about?" he asked, looking at her.

Yolie smiled. "You said 'us'. It's too amazing to imagine, but it's real. We're... together." she smiled, flipping herself around to face him. "And the rest of our lives are ours to live out... together." Yolie grinned. "I can't imagine spending it with anyone else. It was painful, yeah... but I think it was really worth it in the end."

Ken smiled fondly at her. "Yes, Yolie. It was worth it all. And you know, I think I lied earlier... I would do it again, if only things could stay this way." She smiled and snuggled up against him. "Yolie... don't ever change." he said, holding her close.

"Oh, I won't." She said, looking up at him with a wicked grin.

I'm praying

I'm wishing

You're here

I'm saved

Tonight may be the last of all the firsts we've ever had

But I'm not going to give in

Foolish love will give way to the unconditional kind

I will be by your side forever

And you are my reason

And you are the only reason

Tonight

Forever

They fell asleep in each others arms in the middle of the day, without a care in the world. On the windowsill, a single candle remained. It was lit. Since when, no one knows. But it would continue to burn bright long throughout the night...

TA DAH! It's all finished. So I'm going to leave it here, with a fluffy ending and a happy one, too! I hope you all enjoyed it, so please tell me! Review and I hope you enjoyed the final chapter of A Single Candle. Once I finish some of my other stories that I left hanging, I think I might come back and do a sequel to this. I have some ideas, but tell me what you think about the idea of a sequel and if you have any ideas for it, you can share.

3 Chris Lennoire