Leap Year

29 February 2016

Cold grey clouds hung over the Dublin sky. The flowers were opening in the late winter weather. There was a threat of snow but the locals just bundled up tighter and went about their business. It was a time for hot chocolate and walks in the park. It was a time to fall in love.

In a cold white building in downtown Dublin a 22 year old popstar sat in a chair clasping the warm hand of his mother. His gaze seemed to hold the weight of the world. Maura Gallagher just gave her son a soft look. He was more worried than she was. She patted his hand telling him with her actions that she would be okay.

A cold knock came on the door. A man in a white coat entered. Both sets of eyes turned to face him. A mix of hope and anticipation was written in their gaze. The doctor took a deep breath and closed the door behind him, and as he sat in his chair and the popstar’s grip tightened, the doctor’s face was grim. He checked his folder one last time, choosing his words careful.

Maura sat up in calm silence a single tear streaming down her cheek. Her son felt like the weight of his world was crushing him. He didn’t shed a tear trying to stay strong for his mother, but he stood and folded his mother into his embrace. When the doctor left the woman lay back against the pillow feeling deflated and still in a bit of shock. She whispered a few words to her son so soft he had to lean in to catch him. He nodded and grabbed his coat. His fingers trailing down her arm and one last look the popstar left the room slowly closing the door behind him.

~.~.~.

On the other side of town a young university student was just leaving the library. Her gaze turned to the darkening sky. She weighed her options. She could take the bus and spend more money than her scant budget could afford or she could walk across town to the club she was supposed to meet her flatmate at.

Enjoying the cool winter air Sadie Jennison started out walking across town. Her blonde hair whipped around her from underneath her hat, pieces of it kept getting stuck in her lipgloss. Her purse swung beside her. She still looked at the buildings with a sort of wonder. A small smile graced her lips, her steps were light and her gaze wide. An almost skip crossed her steps as she took a shortcut through the park.

The girl’s eyebrows knit together slightly as she peered around. Biting her lip she withdrew a map from her purse. She held it up looking for landmarks. Still peering at the map she slowly walked down the gravel path.

At the end of the park the popstar stuck his hands deeper into his pockets. He shot anxious glances behind him. He was well aware of what day it was. He winced as he hear a squeal behind him. Hearing shouting he tuned it out focused on the ground ahead of him. He wasn’t in the mood for autographs or pictures and especially not what he suspected the girls were screaming at him.

He picked up his pace hearing footsteps. He shot a quick glance over his shoulder and wished he hadn’t. There were at least half a dozen girls walking after him. Some were yelling others were trying to catch his attention. He was sure he saw several cameras in the mix. Niall Horan broke into a slight jog. He ran the length of the gravel path. Scrambling he took a hard right and skidded onto his butt in the loose gravel. He heard the impending squeal that told him that he had lost his lead. Getting to his feet the popstar scanned the park looking for a way to escape. No clear picture presented itself telling him that he was delightfully screwed.

Out of options he stood and went to face his fate, but out of the corner of his eye he saw a girl, her face buried deep in a map. She was pretty in a young, naive kind of way and although she caught his eye for a second and a flash of recognition had crossed her face she had turned right back to her map. With the screams getting closer Niall made a decision he knew he would regret and grabbed her hand dragging the girl over to the bench.

Sadie’s gaze widened as she felt a tug, her hand losing it’s grip on her map. Looking up she saw the blonde boy she had spotted from across the park. She knew he was some kind of singer, his face often gazing at her from her flatmate’s record rack, but she had no idea what he wanted with her. Her hands started to clench into fists in case his intentions were anything other than having her hide him from the gathering crowd of spectators.

“Propose.”

The one word that came out of his mouth had her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. His ocean blue eyes begged her as she tried to figure out how to ask him how to explain. Understanding her confusion Niall took a step closer towards the girl, his lips gently grazing her cheek.

“On the 29th of February a woman can propose to a man and he can’t say no. Propose,” he started to pull away before letting out one more word, “please.”

Sadie didn’t know what it was, his pleading look or the screaming that she just wanted to stop but she hesitantly got down on one knee. Looking up at Niall he gave her an encouraging nod.

“Will you marry me?” She asked sounding unsure.

“Yes.” Came the answer as the screams started to subside, and the yelled half marriage proposals came to an end.

Niall pulled the girl to her feet before wrapping his scarf around her neck, to stop her nervous shivering. He had hoped that they were as far out of public viewing so that this wasn’t going to go public. Slinging his arm around her shoulder he led her the closest way out of the park aware of the strange and slightly suspicious look she was giving him. When they were finally out of view his arm dropped to his side, as she took a large step away from him. He gave her a small nod and handed her her map, pointing out where they were.

“Thank you, keep the scarf.”

His shoulders slouched and his hands again deep in his pockets Niall headed towards the small pharmacy on the corner. With her light eyes following his solemn movements Sadie gave a sigh before pulling his warm scarf closer to her face to fight the biting cold. Neither of them the cameras that had been flashing the whole time.

Notes

Welcome to Leap Year,

I've had this idea for a while but I finally have the time, while rocking cradles, to write it. I hope you like, the prologue is in 3rd person just to set it up but the rest will be in 1st person.

Let me know what you think :)

-Cassidy

(and yes there was a movie of the same name based on the tradition but the only thing in common is the tradition and the name)