Welcome to my story. Although I am not a girly-book type of person, (no offense to those who are) I really liked Owen's character in Sarah Dessen's Just Listen. I decided that I would like to write a small piece about the relationship between Annabel and Owen, about five years after the book ends. And yes, I do realize that it is super mushy and sickeningly sweet, but what can I say, I'm a hopeless romantic. I hope it brings a little sunshine into your day, even if it doesn't change your whole perspective on life. Enjoy!

P.S- The characters of Annabel and Owen belong fully to Sarah Dessen. The writing is my own.

The Anniversary

Turning over sleepily, I glanced at the clock. 7:13. My eyes moved over Owen's face, and slowly closed before shooting open again. I sat up quickly, and in my thrashing, almost fell off of the bed. Owen easily caught me and pulled me into his arms.

"Good morning," he whispered, inches from my face. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

I eyed him warily. "How did you get in?" He smiled, and produced a key. I had forgotten, it was my present to him. I had recently moved into this apartment, and it had taken the locksmith awhile to make a new key. It must have been Owen's third key, if you count the combination to my dorm room. We had been dating seriously for almost five years.

Still holding me in his arms, Owen stood up and sat on my bed, placing me sideways on his lap. "Why are you here so early?" I asked him, stretching and yawning for emphasis.

Owen just smiled again, and asked, "What day is it Annabel?" Our faces were only inches apart, and I could feel the light touch of his breath against my cheek. I glanced over at my clock again and smiled. Leave it to Owen not to forget. I opened my mouth to answer his question, but my response was cut off when he moved his mouth to mine. His arm tightened around my waist and pulled me even closer to his body. I moved my arms around his neck. His lips were soft and sweet, but they moved with passion. When we broke apart, his lips curved into a soft smile and he touched his forehead to mine. "Happy anniversary Annabel," he whispered. I couldn't resist touching my lips to his once again.

When my alarm went off at 7:30, we both jumped a little. Such a perfect moment did not deserve an interruption like that. Owen grinned at me. "Time to get up I guess."

I rolled my eyes and hopped off of his lap to stand, pulling him with me. His arms wrapped around my waist once again, and he kissed the top of my head before letting go. "You should get dressed," Owen motioned towards my closet. "We have a big day ahead of us."

I looked at him quizzically. "You might, but I have to work." I had an internship with a company specializing in alternative fuel sources.

He just smiled again, and I couldn't help feel a little week in the knees. It was funny, but even after six years he could still do that to me. "Not today. I've had it arranged for months."

I sighed, exasperated. "Owen, you know I can't miss work…"

"You're not missing it. You have the day off. It has been arranged." He grinned mischievously at me. "Now, I'm going to make breakfast. You get ready."

I rolled my eyes and walked to my closet. "Alright, but no peeking!" As if I thought he would. He would want to, but he wouldn't. That was just Owen. I heard him laugh from the kitchen. I smiled to myself as I pulled clothes out of my bureau.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked, truly curious as I sat down to breakfast. I reached over and grabbed the hand that wasn't holding a fork. I twined his fingers with mine, and smiled when they brushed his ring. The "or not" ring. He told me once that it represented the good in his life. He also told me that I was the biggest part of that good.

He looked at our hands, and then gazed at me, guessing what I was thinking. He dropped his fork and touched one palm to my cheek. I relished in the touch. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a pair of tickets. To a musical. I almost cried. He might appreciate the music, and admire the composer, but what other guy would sit through a musical just because I wanted to?

The musical was Beauty and the Beast. It might have seemed fitting to some a couple years ago. I was the pretty model, and Owen was the towering, frightening "beast", with a bad temper. But now, when I saw Owen, I could see nothing but the beauty. Not just his impressive musculature, or his beautiful green eyes, but his beautiful mind, soul and heart. I think he caught me staring a few times as we sat in the dark theater, but I didn't mind.

After the play, he took me out to lunch. No bacon served, unfortunately. I thought that would be the end of our day out, but I was mistaken. We headed out to the fairgrounds, and Owen won me a giant purple panda. It wasn't something I had lusted after my entire life, but the smile on Owen's face when he handed it to me was invaluable.

Late in the afternoon, Owen whisked me away to a "mystery location." It turned out to be the ocean. Owen laid out a blanket on the fine white sand, and pulled me down to lie next to him. He grabbed me and rolled so that I was lying on top of him, the tips of our noses almost touching. I touched my lips gently to his, and he put his hands on the sides of my face, pulling me deeper into the kiss. His tongue ran once over my bottom lip before he rolled over again. Suddenly he stood, and pulled me with him.

"Come for a walk with me?" He asked. I laughed, startled at this quick change of events.

"Sure," I said, "I could do with a walk." Walk, run, sprint, whatever I had to do to be near him.

We headed off along the beach, holding hands, our footsteps making little pools of water behind us. Owen would often spot a shell and bend over to pick it up. Some he just threw back in the water, but he showed all of the interesting ones to me. It was nearing sunset, and Owen bent down to pick up another shell. I kept walking, knowing he would catch up in a moment. When no hand had grasped mine after a few steps, I turned around to see what shell had so occupied his attention. My breath caught in my throat, and my heart started hammering. Owen was down on one knee, with a small black box in his hand. I took a few cautious steps forward. He gazed up at me with his gorgeous green eyes. "Annabel Greene, will you marry me?"

I was speechless, and his beautiful face gazing at me so intently was not helping me order my thoughts. I was silent for a long moment. Then I began cautiously; "Owen, I…"

Before I got any further, he stood up, misinterpreting my silence, eyes downcast. "I'm sorry Annabel." He said, "I'll leave now." He turned slowly and began to take a step away from me.

I called out to him. "Owen, wait!"

He just shook his head, not turning to me. "I understand Annabel," he said, taking another step, and another, taking himself farther and farther from me.

I watched him walk away, my brain not quite working. And then it all snapped into place. Owen had proposed. He thought I didn't want him. He was taking himself away from me. The last thoughts sent my feet flying, running towards him with all the speed I could manage. After what seemed like an eternity, I reached him. I grabbed his arm, and spun him around to face me. Before he could pull away, I pulled his face down to mine, pressing my lips to his with all of the love and passion that I could muster. My efforts left us breathless. Before he could say anything, I took his face in my hands, and gazed into his emerald eyes. "Owen, honey, you have to wait for me to answer."

Warily, but with eyes bright with renewed hope, he asked "and what is your answer?"

"Yes," I told him, pulling his face to mine. "Were you really expecting anything else?"

His eyes moved from mine, looking down. I forced him to look at me again. "Owen, I love you. I love you more than everything else on this earth. When I saw you walking away from me, it was if my heart had been ripped out of my chest. I love you, and the answer will always be yes. Always."

Owen smiled at me, a smile of relief and complete bliss. I felt my knees turning to jelly. "And I, Annabel, I will always love you. You are the good in my life. Anything that was good before has only become better since you came into my life." Owen moved his arms around my waist as he said this. "You are the sun, the flowers and the very air I breathe. I love you like nothing else in this world. Thank you for being mine." With this, he bent down and kissed me lightly on the lips, and then pulled me down to the blanket. Rolling so that he held himself above me, he bent his head down to mine. "How does it feel to be my fiancé?" He whispered in my ear.

I smiled, and began to answer, when he moved his lips to mine. He kissed me fiercely, passionately and lovingly. When our lips were finally free, he stroked my face and murmured, his soft voice husky, "I love you Annabel."