Dolce's Redemption Quest

It was a dark and stormy night. I had no idea where I was or how I got there.

I trudged through the mud, my boots filling with rain water with every step. The downpour never seemed to let up, and the wind howled louder than I could bear. My long coat whipped violently around my body, threatening to tear off of me at any moment. Finally, I began to see light ahead of me.

I ran toward it, trying desperately to get out of the storm, only to find that it was a house in tatters standing alone in the middle of an empty field. Still too wet and cold to be picky about my shelter, I went inside and pulled off my heavy coat and drenched shirt, placing them on a chair next to the fireplace that hadn't been used in years. The dying embers gave off just enough warmth for me to light a match and start a fire. As I stood by the flames, trying to dry myself off, I heard the door creak open behind me.

"Oh no," I muttered under my breath as someone stepped into the room behind me. "Please don't hurt me..."

"So you're finally awake." That voice... It sounded so familiar... But how? "You've been asleep for days now."

I turned around slowly, my heart still pounding in my chest from fear. I found myself face-to-face with an old friend from high school. He gave me that same charming smile he always did when we were kids; that same smile that broke many hearts then and made countless more now. His shoulder-length black hair swept back from his face as he pushed a lock behind one ear before leaning against the wall next to him. He wore black slacks and a matching button-up shirt covered by a long leather coat like mine had been.

"Noah?" Disbelief crept into my voice as I took in his appearance. "What are you doing here? How... What... Why...?" My words trailed off as he pushed himself away from the wall and strolled over to me with a smirk on his face. He placed his right hand on my left shoulder and dragged it down lightly before holding it between us once again with both of his own hands clasped together.

"Surprised?" He asked with a wink. "I told you I'd go anywhere with you."

"Yeah... You also said you didn't want anything serious." A bitter laugh escaped from my throat as I remembered all those times we'd talked about our futures together; all those times he'd told me we weren't forever people who wanted serious relationships; all those times he'd said he wanted to leave town for bigger things, but not if that meant leaving behind all those fun times we had together...

"Well..." He shrugged nonchalantly before giving me a wry smile again. "People change their minds." Then, without warning, he reached up and cupped my face gently between his hands before pulling me closer toward him, his lips finding mine almost instantaneously as they pressed against each other's hungrily beneath the light of the dying embers of the fire. He wrapped his arms around my waist tightly as he kissed me passionately while I found myself unable to resist or break free from him for several minutes until finally he pulled away slightly and stared down at me with lust filled eyes before kissing me once again lightly on the cheek and stepping away from me slightly again as we both tried to catch our breaths after being so close together for so long after so much time passed since we last saw each other without seeing each other at all during the months apart since school ended...