 | missbelladavies-deactivated2012: *runs up to and hugs tightly, then rests head on shoulder* Hey. *smiles up at him* |
-strokes head- Hi love, what’s up?
| missbelladavies-deactivated2012: H-hi, Declan. A-are you ready for the ball? *blushes, smiles shyly* |
-laughs- Sure, Bells. You?
 | Anonymous: What do you think about Bella Davies? She's fairly pretty; not awful looking. How do you feel about her? |
Well, she’s my girlfriend. So I think it’s pretty obvious how I feel about her.
Bella smiled at Declan as he let her go to swim. Looking down at the beautiful fish, she ran her hand through the water. Brushing her hand against the fish gently, Bella sighed contently.
Glancing at Declan over her shoulder, Bella grinned at how perfect he was. Bella twirled around in the water playfully, giggling as she felt the water splash up over her skin. The water was warm and felt soothing on her bare body. She felt her blush start to die down in the peacefulness of the pool.
After swimming, splashing, talking and kissing for quite a while, Declan remembered that such a thing as time existed. He could stay there forever, but to his disappointment he was too realistic to believe that that was possible any longer. With a sigh he brought Bella back to reality as well and climbed out of the warm water into the cold October air. He shivered as he used the spell he’d used after their first swim together on both his and Bella’s underwear to dry them up, and quickly slipped his clothes back on, not wanting to catch a cold.
Bella sighed contently, burying her face further into Declan’s shoulder at the touch. She would never understand what he saw in her that was so special. She couldn’t think of anything about herself that would make a boy like Declan Byrne want to be with her. Yet here he was. She kissed the skin her head was buried in lightly, feeling better now that he was holding her like that. “Thank you,” she murmured again quietly, despite Declan’s statement.
Declan decided to abandon the plan of trying to get Bella see that she wasn’t as useless as she seemed to think. At least, for now. He’d try again later. So instead of telling her that she didn’t have to thank him again, he just nodded and mumbled “It’s alright.”
They stood like that, Bella’s head against Declan’s shoulder and his arms wrapped around her, for a while, but then Declan let go and started to swim again, playing with the fish around them.
Bella gasped as Declan grabbed her wrist and pulled her into him. She gave up fighting as he embraced her and just let him hold her. She gave Declan a small, shy smile in response to his wink, feeling herself start to relax at the sight of his smile. She was still nervous though, and she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend loosely and buried her head in his shoulder. “Thank you,” she murmured softly, never lifting her head to look at him.
Declan smiled at Bella, even though she couldn’t see him. “Don’t thank me, Bells.” he replied quietly. He really didn’t understand why she was so insecure about herself. There wasn’t anything to worry about, she was beautiful and talented and way too kind for her own good. He stroked her head warm-heartedly, feeling completely at ease despite him being close to naked in the middle of a forest. He couldn’t help but feel calm and happy whenever he was around Bella, there was just something about that girl.
Bella giggled when Declan splashed her, playfully splashing water back at him. She was so happy everything was okay between them again. She wouldn’t trade the feeling of being with Declan for anything. She flushed when he smiled lovingly at her, beaming back happily. Glancing down momentarily to look at the fish, she caught sight of herself again and felt the insecurities flood back in. Biting her lip harshly, she turned away from Declan. She didn’t want him to look at her. He shouldn’t see her like this; he’d never want her again.
Declan rolled his eyes and sighed before grabbing her wrist gently but firmly and pulling her into an embrace. “Stop being so insecure about yourself.” he said softly. “Bella, you’re great. There’s no reason to turn away, I’m not going to dump you. Even if you did have a few flaws on your body, which you don’t, I wouldn’t break up with you, because they’re a part of you.” He smiled at her and winked cheekily to compensate for the cliché of the moment.
Bella blinked when she saw Declan jump into the water in nothing but his boxers. Merlin, he’s beautiful she thought to herself. Struck by a sudden wave of courage, Bella slowly pulled off the rest of her clothes and gingerly stepped into the pool. She knew she probably looked terrible, and now that she had done it she regretted it. Declan probably thought she was hideous, there was no way he’d want to stay with her now. Too shy to swim over to Declan, Bella stayed in another area of the pool. She smiled shyly at him, before ducking her head down in embarrassment. She observed the fish swimming around her, biting her lip uncertainly.
Declan couldn’t help but laugh at Bella’s uncertainty. She was so insecure, even around Declan, and there was close to nothing that she could do to scare him away. He beamed and swam over to her, teasingly splashing her with the warm water.
It was beautiful to be there with her, laughing and having fun. He was glad that they were OK again. The warm water was soft against his skin and the spectacular fish added to the overall experience. It was like a dream. He smiled at Bella lovingly, letting all the happiness of the moment show on his face.
Bella smiled back happily. When Declan started to get undressed, her face flushed pink. She nodded, biting her lip nervously. “Um. S-sure.” she replied quietly, slipping off her cardigan. She hesitated in taking off the outer layers of her clothes like Declan was. Feeling self-conscious, Bella just sat and stared at the ground, unsure if she wanted Declan to see her without all her layers of clothing on. She wasn’t as beautiful as all the other girls at school, what if this made him finally realize it and break up with her?
Declan stripped down to his boxers, but stopped there. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that Bella was still fully clothed, but shrugged and jumped in the warm water. “Oh come on, Bells. It’s lovely!” he urged. “You can keep your clothes on if you want.” It shouldn’t have surprised him that much that Bella was unwilling to get undressed, she was rather shy and that often let to being a bit of a prude as well, but he thought that they were at a point in their relationship that it was OK to see each other in their underwear. He didn’t make a point about it, though.
