C H A P T E R E L E V E N
Farewell...   Laurie

Everything felt strange to Delia, there was a large chunk of her heart that felt as if she grew up in Concord but she knew she had to go back home. And that's how her heart was ripped apart.

     She loved this place, she could deal with Aunt Marie and Uncle Daryl, they weren't always horrible to her. They were responsible guardians but they took her in for the wrong reason.

     Delia's mother didn't talk much about Aunt Marie, her sister and Delia assumed that she and her sister were just not close but now that she thinks about it, she thinks something happened between them, an event that caused them some issues.
Enough of that thought, Delia told herself to quit it and she was back in reality.

     She was in her nearly empty room once more, it was like the first day she walked in there, her suitcase was in hand with everything she brought with her inside of it except there was a slight change, in her right hand, she clutched her gifted guitar.

     Delia tried to play it as much as she could in the past few days leading up to her leave but she didn't find much time. Delia knew once she got home her sisters would use it and it would become all banged and scratched up.

     Nevertheless, she hoped it still worked after all it will go through. She sauntered down the stairs and saw her aunt and uncle standing at the bottom of the staircase.

     "It's time to go," Aunt Marie stated in a hurried manner though she had a feeling she wanted Delia to stay. Aunt Marie brought this upon Delia though and Delia wouldn't forget.

     Setting her things down on the ground and dinner table, Delia took her bonnet lying there on a chair and placed it on her head, tying the ribbon to secure it in place.

     It was a blue bonnet with a light blue ribbon, white flowers that resembled daisies covered a good part of the bright blue colour.

     Her hands gripped onto her things once again and she walked out the door. Uncle Daryl and Aunt Marie walked with her to the road. It was a quiet moment, only the flapping of bird's wings and blowing of wind in their ears were heard.

     Delia couldn't wait to see her friends again but at the same time, she didn't want to, it was the mark of the end of her journey and the end of her journey it was but not the end of her story.

     Once she finally made it to the road, her friends were there to see her, all of them were standing on the emerald coloured grass.

     Jo, Meg, Beth, Amy, Mrs. March, Mr. Laurence and most definitely Laurie. Delia could see John Brooke standing in the distance but closer to Meg than anyone. She gave a short wave to him which brought a sad smile to his face as he waved back. The March siblings seemed to have something behind their backs which excited Delia greatly.

     "I'm glad you all are here... for this mood-lifting moment," Delia said in a sarcastic tone.

     "That's a way to describe it." Jo responded, "I'd say depressing moment though."

     "We'll miss you, Delia." Marmee put her warm hand on Delia's shoulder, it brought the girl comfort which she was lacking.

     "We brought you gifts!" Amy announced to cheer up the mood. Beth nodded happily, happy at the gift she picked out for Delia.

     "You have many friends." Aunt Marie mumbled quietly to Delia but she was more focused on other things than what her aunt was saying.

     "Oh! Mine first!" Amy yelled, revealing a paper bag with something inside and she took it out herself to excited to wait for Delia to take it.

     "It's a portrait of all of us, I painted it myself, I messed up your right eye—sorry about that." She explained, Delia felt her heart warm-up at the same time, she felt even more awful for leaving.

     One after another they came and presented their present to Delia. It felt like Christmas to her, normally Christmas wasn't full of presents for her.

     Her mother skimps out on buying her presents saying that her sisters would come at her if they didn't have more presents than her. Delia didn't mind that much, she got one or two presents and she always loved them. Jo presented Delia a set of notebooks in all sorts of colours earthy colours.

     "For your songwriting," Jo beamed as she explained what the use of the notebooks was.

     Amy chimed in and said that Jo bought a few for herself to write her stories which made all of them let out a few laughs at most. Jo being her denied the accusations and pushed Amy harshly.

     Meg gave Delia a pair of blue shoes. They had laces and had a bit of a heel as well. A big blue flower was stuck onto the top of it. She loved those shoes and the gift resulted in a tight hug from Delia to Meg. Delia didn't want to let go of her beautiful friend but sadly she had to and she did it reluctantly.

     Finally came Beth, who was quiet but sweet in giving her gift. She handed her a small bag that was filled with a few guitar strings in case her guitar was in need of a repair.

     "How did you know my sisters are going to rip this guitar apart?" Delia questioned, Beth just smiled and patted her on the back.

     "Sisters do that." Beth murmured, it sounded like a whisper just Delia managed and gave her a short hug.

     With all her gifts, Delia places then in the carriage and called for a group huddle.

     "Mail me as much as possible, I want to stay in touch, you'll have to use code words or else I won't get the letter. My mother is very distinct and reads all the mail I get." Delia explained, Jo's eyes lit up as an idea popped into her head.

     "A number corresponds to a letter in the alphabet, it's an easy trick but hopefully it'll be enough to fool your mother and... your sisters?" Delia nodded and gave Jo a pat on the back.

     "I'll miss all of you," Delia sighed, a frown on her delicate face.

     "Us too," Beth responded in her usual quiet voice.

     "Delia, can I talk to you for a moment... alone?" Laurie walked over to the group of girls who were just breaking out of their huddle.

     Meg had a slight grin on her face while Jo stood with her hands crossed. Beth didn't have an answer and looked to her sisters and Amy had her eyebrows furrowed but shook off the feeling she had.

     "I... yes, Laurie, of course." Delia looked at her friend sadly before walking towards him. Laurie steered them both quite far away from the rest of the group. The two hide behind a large and old oak tree.

     "What is it then?" Delia asked in her calm demeanour.

     "Remember me," Laurie mumbled, handing her that same card that she had given him about a week prior.

     Inside the card, something had changed, "remember me" was written in bold font underneath the previous message.

     "I'll remember you, Laurie, it'd be hard to forget." A grim expression was on both of their faces which brought a moment of silence that was uninvited.

     "I have... something else for you," Laurie claimed and pulled out a silver, moon charm necklace from his left pant pocket.

     "May I?" Laurie questioned, holding the shining necklace in his fingers. Delia didn't dare say a word but nodded.

     She hand reached up to touch the blue ribbon of her uncomfortable bonnet, untying the bonnet and taking it off to help Laurie out the necklace on her.

     "There," she said, taking all her hair in her right hand and parting it aside to make way for Laurie.

     "Thank you." In her ears, Delia finally heard the snap of the clasp which signalled that the necklace was finally on her. Delia used her right hand to tug gently at the necklace to make sure it was indeed around her neck.

     "How do I look?" Delia uttered, touching the necklace as she asked, it was like finding treasure for her, she wanted to keep it safe and she wouldn't let anyone steal it away.

     "You look beautiful... like always," Laurie had that same longing look on his face as last time, there was a spark in his eyes that he tried to conceal by looking down at the ground.

     "You look well yourself." Delia returned the compliment, hesitating before she spoke, a beam on her face but there was a hint of sadness visible in her eyes. Her arms were aching from being restrained from hugging Laurie tightly to her. She didn't know how to thank him for everything.

     "Well... i—is there anything else?" That question rang over and over in Laurie's mind before he finally looked up at her.

     For some reason, Delia's heart started beating, she couldn't make out the reason why whether it was the way Laurie's eyes met hers or how he walked just a step closer to her.

     "Just one more thing," Delia could feel Laurie's warm breath blowing gently like the wind on her face.

     The gap between them was slowly closing in as Laurie inched closer and closer to Delia. His soft hand was placed on Delia's cheek. She was afraid Laurie could see her imperfections, she was afraid he could see the fear in her eyes as she was scared of what he would do. She, of course, knew he wouldn't hurt her, but the mystery killed her.

     Laurie's lips gently brushed against Delia's. She could taste a sweet honey flavour as she embraced Laurie, trying not to scare him off with her movements. Laurie's other hand reached up to be placed on Delia's other cheek.

     Once they pulled away, Delia couldn't look at Laurie as her cheeks seemed to be stained with red. Laurie felt the warmth of the blush as his hands were still gently resting on Delia's burning cheeks. He looked at the girl he just kissed with longing in his eyes, possibly satisfaction.

     "Laurie... what was that—" before Delia could utter another word, she could felt Laurie pressing his lips to hers again.

     She felt like an angel that was flying sky high through heaven. She felt free and alive. When her second flight to heaven ended, she shook her head while smiling giddily.

     "What was that for, Theodore Laurence?" Delia huffed, replaying the moment over and over again and again.

     "Those were kisses, Miss Acker," Laurie mumbled, staring at the shy girl with a smile.

     "... it was a nice adventure, Theodore Laurence," Delia said, taking her bonnet and tying the ribbon once again. Her left hand fiddled with the necklace on her neck while the right held the card.

     Laurie beamed as she looked at Delia for the last few moments before she would leave. From there she walked away before turning back to face him, speed walking back to Laurie and wrapping him in a tight hug.

     In Delia's arms, she squeezed Laurie as tightly as she could. She didn't want to let go of him but she felt that sense of security in a different way when Laurie wrapped his arms around her. Delia wanted to hug him tightly enough for him to feel as though she needed him.

     "This is farewell." She sighed, pulling away from him with her hands still attached to his neck.

     "Farewell, Delia Acker." He frowned at her. While Delia found herself giving Laurie a peck on the cheek.

     "I have a feeling, our stars will align again. Farewell... Laurie." She waved to him and ran off back to the road where her friends were asking themselves why Delia had taken so long.

A U T H OR ' S   N O T E

AND NOW, THEY KISSED. Ahhhh omg Lol. Any opinions on this chapter in general?

I don't know, I feel like I suck at writing scenes now lol. We've made it so far and get we're
far from the end.

There's a few more chapters, (around 10 more? Probably less) so stick along for the journey. I love you guys! Thank you for the support on this story!