She was always a quiet girl. Not because she was shy or anything—in fact she was the opposite. She was quiet because she wanted to be. She didn't need to be loud to get her point across.

She always sat behind me for finance class. Normally someone else would have sat there like one of my friends but since we had assigned seating that wasn't really possible.

I never knew what she did—I didn't turn around to look—but she was always doing something. I always heard her pencil going across some kind of paper even when we weren't taking notes. I never really wondered what she was writing and if I did then it was only in passing and I didn't think about it for long.

She was also kind of pretty. She had dark brown hair and chocolate colored eyes, pale skin and rosy red lips. She always wore dark colored clothes that looked good with her dark features. She didn't have a lot of friends though. In fact, she really didn't have any at all. She could have been popular though. People said it was such a waste for her not to be. But at the same time they would sigh and say that she wouldn't fit in anyway. She was different, they said. Just because she didn't wear make-up or designer clothes. Just because she didn't drive an expensive car or have a lot of money. Just because she didn't go out partying and did her homework instead. She was nice, smart, and friendly and they didn't like her because of that.

I never spoke to her or anything and she never spoke to me. I should have been one of those popular guys who sighed when ever they saw her but I wasn't. Sure, I was in the popular crowd but I didn't care enough to think of her much. I had everything she didn't; money, a nice car…bad grades. I always went out and put off my homework. Things were normal this way. She had her own little life and I had mine. We never—or I never—thought of merging worlds. That is until we got our seats changed and I ended up next to her instead of behind her. There I could see just what she was doing and she could see what I was doing.

One day she turned to me and proved this when she asked, "Do you need help?"

I looked up from my work, confused at who was speaking to me. When it finally clicked, I turned towards her. She was waiting with a small smile.

"No, I'm fine," I said.

But she still smiled. "But you have five problems wrong so far. Are you sure?"

I blinked at her unsure I heard her right. "How did you know?"

She smiled mischievously, her eyes sparkling. "You don't exactly cover your paper up."

I looked down at my paper and saw that it really wasn't covered up. From where she was, she had a perfect view. Embarrassed that she had seen, I hastily covered it up with a spare sheet. "I'm fine."

She still smiled but this time she shrugged. "Whatever you say. But if you do need help, I'm here." I nodded and with that she went back to her world and I went back to mine.

After that she offered to help more and more. Of course I became annoyed with it but I never snapped at her or told her to stop. She was just trying to help. But then she asked me for help. And it was for the most random thing too.

"Hey can you read this for me?" She asked smiling. She always smiled. "I want to make sure it's OK to enter for a writing contest."

That kind of threw me off guard. How many times does someone ask you to read something for them? Well for me never. But it was only a poem. No big deal. "Sure, why not?"

She smiled and gently placed the poem on my desk. "Don't be too harsh about it."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry." I picked up the paper and starting reading.

It was a poem of her childhood. Or of someone's childhood anyway. Of how one missed the feeling of home, the sweet scent of the roses, the magic that came with being a kid.

I blinked. "Wow its good. I didn't know you could write like that."

She blushed. I noted that it was pretty on her but pushed the thought away. She smiled again and looked up at me. "Anyone can write. They just have to try."

I snorted and tried to look innocent when the teacher shot a glare at me. "Please, I can't write to save my life."

She giggled. "If it were to save your life then I'm sure you could do it. Why don't you write a little story for me?"

I shook my head. "Maybe some other time. I'm not in a writing mood."

She smiled and nodded. "I'll be waiting for it," she promised before going back to her work. I watched her for a few more seconds before going back to my own work.

OoOoO

For a few more weeks, she continued to show to me little poems and stories she had written. Each one was amazing and I began to wonder if everyone really could write if they tried. We still lived in our different worlds though. We didn't speak to each other out side of school though I couldn't think of a time when we did see each other.

One day though, she came into class in tears. It was obvious that she didn't want anyone to see her because she had her head down and wasn't looking at anyone. She quickly went to her seat and though I didn't notice right away, I soon saw the small tear that dropped onto her desk.

My mouth dropped open and my mind froze momentarily. When it came to people crying and stuff, I was completely hopeless. So I did what anyone would do: I asked what was wrong.

She looked up, blinking back tears. "I don't want to talk about it Shane. Not right now."

Not knowing what else to do, I nodded and turned away. It wasn't long before I had a note fall onto my desk. 'Can we talk after class?' it said. I quickly scribbled back a yes and passed it back to her.

It was strange looking over into her little world and seeing her not do any work. She didn't even write anything. She didn't even ask me if I needed help. Whatever was wrong was obviously pretty bad. Even I wasn't hopeless enough to not figure that out.

But then someone from the office came. He asked to talk to her. Her eyes filled up with tears again and slowly she rose and went outside. For whatever reason, the teacher left the door open. Maybe she didn't think about the whole privacy thing. What ever it was, it annoyed me that everyone could look out and see her crying.

I was about to say something about it but then I heard the administrator shout out something. I looked over at the door and to my surprise, she was gone. I don't remember what went through my head at that moment but a second later, I was out of my seat and ignoring my teacher's and the administrator's shouts as I ran through the halls after her.

I didn't know why but there was a part of me that desperately wanted to find her and make sure she was OK even though I knew we wouldn't be.

Finally I did find her. She was sitting in the auditorium lobby and staring out of the big windows. I walked up to her and saw that she was still crying. I wondered briefly if I shouldn't have come but I shook it away as I saw down next to her. If I was feeling this badly then I would want someone to be with me.

I gently put my hand on her shoulder and squeezed it slightly. "Aria, what's wrong?" Her name was like music which was suiting because her name meant music in Italian. Or at least that's what she said in one of her poems.

She whipped her eyes and sighed heavily, her breath wavering as she did so. "My mom left. She went back to Europe. I don't know the next time I'll see her again."

I didn't know what to say. Her mother had just left, abandoned Aria. How any one could do that, I didn't know. I may have not acknowledged her for years or spoken to her but I haven't left her. Out worlds, while having been separate since the day we met, had started merging on the day that she asked me if I wanted help. Only now was I realizing this and I did not want them to divide. Finally I managed to whisper out a sorry.

She shrugged sadly. "It's not your fault. I should have seen it coming. Mama and Daddy have been arguing for ages now. My brother called me earlier and told me she left. I wish I could've done something."

I shook my head. "It's not your fault either. Like you said, they were already fighting so it was pretty much inevitable. Sure there was a chance everything could've worked out but I guess there are some things that just aren't meant to."

"But she was my mom," she whispered with new tears. "I hoped that she would stay at least for me."

If I knew that this would happen before it did, I would've thought about how weird it was that we were talking so seriously without really knowing each other. But at that moment it wasn't strange. It was perfectly natural because of the poetry she had let me read. Her poetry was a part of her, a part of her life and it allowed this closeness between us.

For the second time that day, I didn't know what exactly went through my mind. But one second I was sitting next to her with my hand on her shoulder and the next, my arms were wrapped around her in a tight and comforting embrace and my voice blurted out, "you're beautiful".

I almost regretted it though when she gasped and pulled away. "Please, Shane not now."

A part of me did regret telling her but I held my ground. "You are though."

She shook her head and whipped away her tears again. "Thanks but Shane, my parents just split up. Getting a boyfriend is not on my list of priorities."

I nodded. I understood that. "I'll wait then."

She didn't say anything, just sighed and leaned against me slightly. I put my arm around her and we sat there in the auditorium lobby together before the administrators finally found us.

OoOoO

I don't know when I started falling for Aria but looking back on it now, it was probably the say she let me read that first poem. Her writing was as beautiful as she was inside and out and since her writing was a piece of her, it made sense that I would start feeling something for her. Of course I was still clueless about this before I told her she was beautiful. After that, things made sense again. Like why I ran after her and why I wrapped my arms around her.

A few more weeks passed by after that. Things were hard for her at first with her mom not there but she slowly got through it. Her poetry was her therapy and while it became darker and more depressing, it let out her thoughts on everything and allowed us to be closer. I had started trying my hand at writing without her knowing but each attempt was a failure to me and was nothing compared to her.

Thanksgiving was hard for her because it was the first one without her mother and she said once that her family didn't really know what to do. But she got through it and I somehow managed to help her by just being there for her. Or at least that what she said. I personally didn't think I was doing much.

My feelings for her grew but I didn't do much about them. I kept my promise and waited for her. Sure, it kind of sucked looking back on it now but what else was I going to do?

But a few weeks later, Christmas was coming around and I found myself asking her what her plans were. Again she said that she didn't know; her family was still kind of lost without her mother.

My mind became possessed again and soon I found myself blurting out, "why don't you come to my house for Christmas dinner with my family?"

Her eyes lit up at that. "Sure that would be great! Are you sure it's OK with your mom though?"

I honestly hadn't though about that since my asking was kind of 'spur of the moment' thing but I knew that it wouldn't be a problem. "Yea, it's fine. I'll pick you up at your house around three."

She smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'll see you then."

I smiled and nodded, suddenly excited about the previously boring Christmas dinner. But at the same time I was kind of nervous. When I said dinner with my family, I meant dinner with my family. That meant all my aunts, uncles, cousins, everyone. I guess it was a little over whelming to think about but I knew she would be OK.

It was around then that I started panicking about getting her something. I wasn't really obligated to get her anything but a part of me—a big part—wanted to. It was the least I could do after she let me read all those amazing poems. The only problem was that I had no idea what to get her. So I turned to the only other women who I was close to.

"Mom what should I get Aria?"

She looked up from the cookies she was baking and thought. Of course, her being the ever romantic said, "Give her a kiss."

Both my eye brows went up when she said this. "What?"

She rolled her eyes and went back to her cookies. "You heard me. Give her a kiss. It's nice and personal and shows you like her." She looked up again and saw my face and smiled. "Or you could be boring and get her a necklace. Most girls like diamonds."

I rolled my eyes but thanked her anyway. Only my mom would think a diamond necklace was boring. But the more I thought about it the more I thought 'what do I have to lose?' Sure, I mean there was her friendship and I didn't want to go back to just not speaking to her but then again I don't think I could ever let that happen.

I finally figured out what to get her while reading another of her poems in class. The thought fit me so fiercely and suddenly that I wondered how I didn't think of it before. It was so obvious and so…I couldn't believe I didn't think of it earlier. I knew what I was going to get her and I knew I could do it if I tried. But it I was going to do it, I needed to hurry.

OoOoO

Before I knew it though, Christmas day had come and when three had rolled around I rushed to her house and picked her up. She had given me directions to it the other day on the phone so I pretty much knew where to go. Her house was cozy with two floors and a little bay window. When I pulled up she was waiting on the small front porch and when she saw me, she got up and smiled while walking over and opening the door and getting in.

The drive to my house wasn't that eventful. But when we drove up the driveway to my house, her eyes widened. "That's where you live? It's huge! And beautiful."

I smiled and parked. "You should see it at night when it's all lit up."

She turned to me, treating me to large sparkling eyes and a bright smile. "Really? Can I stay that late?"

I laughed at how hopeful she sounded just to see the Christmas lights. "You can stay as late as you want."

She didn't say anything to that, just continued smiling and got out of the car with me.

Just as we came to the front door, I turned and stopped her. "I should warn you: I have a million family members and they'll probably all try and talk to you and tease you and so on. So I guess…just be you. They'll love you."

She looked down and smiled. "I'll try."

I reached out and let my fingers brush her cheek briefly, causing her to look up and smile. I took her hand gently and with the other, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Like I said, I have about a million relatives. It's hard to keep track of them all and where they came from but they were there. And as soon as Aria and I walked through the front door, hand in hand, they were there, staring at us curiously.

I walked Aria over to my parents and introduced them. Aria was perfect and beautiful and smiled at them prettily when my mom said how nice she looked. She thanked my dad for allowing her to come over when he said it was to have her. She charmed both my parents with her politeness and modesty and made my mom wish aloud that I had been turned out like her.

I rolled my eyes then and took Aria's hand once again and told my parents that we were going upstairs. My parents nodded and reluctantly let me have Aria to myself again.

Aria asked what was upstairs and I gave her an amused look before saying my bedroom was. She blinked a few times and asked if it was alright with my parents for us to go up there. I smiled and shook my head saying that they wouldn't have let us go if they didn't want us to. She seemed to accept this and didn't say anything else about it.

My room, on a normal day, is usually very messy and chaotic. However, since this was a special occasion—the occasion being that Aria was over—I straightened it up and cleaned every piece of furniture that was in it and threw away every bit of trash there was. I was very proud of my room since it hadn't look that good since we first moved into the house and when my mom saw it she said Aria was allowed over any time if it meant my room would be cleaned.

My room was the very essence of my world. It was the inner sanctum of my world and few had entered it. By entering it, Aria had almost entirely merged into my world. She was shy about it at first but after spying a picture frame on the dresser, her curiosity got the better of her and she walked over and looked at it.

She went around to each corner of the room looking at things here and there and seeing my world and memorizing each detail of it. I watched her going around in silence. I don't know all the things she looked at and discovered; all I paid attention to was her.

She opened up only in her poetry and even then she opened up to no one because no one read it but me. I was the only one who knew her true feelings, her thoughts of the world, her secrets. How I was the one to deserve to know these things, I'll never know. All I know is that as I watched her go around and seeing my world, I wanted nothing more than to go around and see her world. I wanted to see the rest of the world with her and I never wanted her to go anywhere. Our worlds were nearly one now but I wanted to make the merge complete.

Soon my mom called us down for dinner and we made our way down to the large dining room where my family was gathered. I got us two seats and we sat next to each other trying to ignore the stares from my family. We—or she—couldn't avoid their questions however and soon she was answering every question they threw at her. Like my parents, they were all charmed by her and they looked at her with approving eyes.

I managed to ignore these looks by focusing all my attention on Aria. This wasn't hard; it was never hard to focus on Aria.

Soon dinner ended and my family all trickled out of the dinning room one by one. I looked out window at noticed it was getting dark. I remembered what Aria had said about the Christmas lights earlier and I drank the last of my drink and asked if she was finished. She said yes and I got up and offered my hand to her. She took it with a smile and I led her to the back door while ignoring the looks from my parents.

When we reached the back door, I turned around. "OK, I have a surprise for you and you have to promise not to look."

Her smiled lit up her face and covered her eyes with her small hands obediently.

"No peaking," I reminded her.

She giggled and nodded her head, promising she wouldn't.

I went behind her and took her shoulders in my hands and led her outside. I guided her down the stairs of the back porch and through the snow on the yard and up a small hill with a few trees. I turned her so she was facing the house and came back in front of her.

I took her hands in mine and slowly lowered them and her chocolate eyes peered at me. She smiled and I noticed the cold made her cheeks pink but she had never looked so beautiful. She continued to look at me until, with one of my hands still holding hers; I turned away so the house came into her view.

She looked past me and gasped. "Oh, Shane it's beautiful."

I looked over too and smiled. Sure, I had lived there for practically my whole life but I never really thought my house looked that great. But when Aria was there and she said it was beautiful, then damn it was beautiful. Great, big and white, it glowed with the white Christmas lights and looked warm and inviting. Just like a house from a Christmas card. Too bad it wasn't snowing.

We stood and stared for a few minutes before I remembered something else. I lifted my free hand and touched her cheek gently like I had a few hours earlier when we first arrived but this time I gently lifted her chin so she would look upwards.

She did and gasped again. I watched her as her eyes sparkled like the stars she was gazing at. She smiled looked back at me. "This is the best Christmas I've ever had. Thank you."

I shook my head. "No, thank you. This is the most beautiful Christmas I've had because of you."

She giggled and turned away. "You're so cheesy."

I laughed. "I try."

She smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back.

"You know," I started. "I wanted to give you something for today but I didn't really get to finish it."

She laughed. "It's alright; you didn't have to get my anything."

"Well I wanted to."

She didn't say anything but smiled instead. Her smile was one of the most beautiful things about her.

"So since I couldn't finish what I wanted to give you, I thought I'd give you my Plan B."

She looked up at me, her chocolate eyes almost black and soul searching. "And that is?"

I wanted our worlds to merge completely. I wanted her world to be my world too. I wanted to be selfish and have her to myself always. I wanted to be charmed by her words, smiles, and eyes every day. I wanted to give her what my mom first suggested. And so I did.

I lifted her chin gently and lowered my head slightly so my lips hovered over hers for just a moment before bringing them to meet mine. Her lips were soft and sweet and I held them with mine for just a second before pulling back.

Her eyes were wide and surprised. She lifted her hand to touch her lips gently before looking back up to me and slowly her lips lifted upwards into the most beautiful smile I had seen on her. I smiled back and lowered my lips onto hers for a second time.

I've kissed a few girls before Aria and they were all good kisses. But none of them were as pure or sweet as Aria's kisses. They were as beautiful as she was and I couldn't get enough of her. Our worlds were finally one.

OoOoO

I don't know how long we stayed out there but eventually we were called back in my mom for dessert. We both walked back inside hand in hand again, shivering at the cold. That night had been the best Christmas either of us had ever had. It was perfect.

However the next day, Aria called me up giggling saying she had a cold and blamed me for it all. But hey, I had one too so I guess that was punishment.

The gift I had given her hadn't been what I originally wanted to give her. But it was a good alternative. But no, the gift I wanted to give her meant so much more to me. It would mean so much more to her too.

I told her once that I couldn't write to save my life. She told me that if it were to save my life I could. Any one can write if they just tried. She tried everyday and she wrote the most amazing stuff there is.

A few days before Christmas I read a poem of hers. It was then, while reading it, that it hit me that I wanted to try and write something for her to read. I would try as hard as I could to prove her right.

I wanted to tell her our story. The story of how our two worlds merged and became one. I wanted to give it to her for Christmas but I couldn't finish it. It wasn't because I had enough time though. It was because it just wasn't finished. Our worlds weren't one yet.

But now they are. Its a few weeks after Christmas now and our worlds have happily been one the whole time. This is our story, our story of our worlds—now world. I hoped it give it to her one day. Now I can.