A rainy day in Massachusetts, and another car crash on the side of the road. Police lights sparkling and an ambulance there just in case. Two people standing on opposite sides of the wreck on their cell phones. Sobbing in to the microphone and trying to explain that it wasn't their fault. Finally, they approach each other to exchange contact info. And that's when the crash happens. 
     "Hi," he manages to choke out. 
     She stands there. Staring at him in awe. Mouth open, eyes shining; unable to say a thing. 
     They both felt it. Their hearts crashing together. A moment, suspended in time, where it felt like the things constantly beating inside them had suddenly stopped. They had been mashed together. Sculpted into one, then ripped apart again and stuck back into their bodies. 
     "How about," she starts gaining courage and her senses again, "we go for some coffee and exchange insurance information there?"
     He nods and they head off to the nearest Starbucks; leaving their crashed cars and the sparkling lights behind them. 
     They walk in silence. Each too caught up in their own thoughts to say much. He's thinking about her and how she can look so beautiful in a baggy t shirt and a pair of jeans. She's thinking about him and how he can be so breathtakingly gorgeous. Then he starts to think about himself; how many times he's been hurt by girls like her and how it had all been his fault. And she starts thinking about herself; how many guys she's mistakenly let into her heart; a heart now held together with nothing but bits of colourful duct tape and smudges of super glue. They had both vowed to never love again. 
     But here they were. Faced with a new problem - love. 
     Finally, she broke the silence, "so... What's your name?" they felt as if the awkwardness radiated a whole mile, maybe more. The air around them was thick with it. They kept talking, though; never losing the once in a lifetime chance to meet their soul mates - and talk to them. 
     He mumbled something, then asked for hers. She barely whispered a name that he could only assume belonged to her. They looked around for something to tone the awkwardness down - and out of the corner of her eye she spotted the cutest little cafe. 

     Lying in bed, they both look up at the stars twinkling in the night sky. He took the napkin out from under his pillow- the one where she wrote her number down in that adorable handwriting of hers- and looks at the numbers again. Each digit is like a key to a whole new world filled with love and her beauty. Ten digits, ten keys, ten doors. 
     She thinks back to their afternoon together. It couldn't have gone better in her mind. After cutting through the first mile of awkwardness, they started to toe the waters of flirtation. And after playfully stealing his napkin, she wrote her number down; and, with a subtle wink, let her hand guide the napkin back to his side, where his hand gently brushed against hers. Seeing that she didn't pull away, he inched it closer and closer, until, finally, they were holding hands. 
      He takes a quick glance at his clock, wondering if it's too late to call her. After seeing that it's after 11, he decides to play it safe and stick to sending her a text. He gets out his phone, and, after putting each of ten keys in, sends her a message. Then he takes the napkin and hangs it up, right in front of his bed so that it'll be the first thing he sees each morning. 
     She hears her phone give off a buzz, and, after checking and seeing it's a new number, she opens it. 
     "Hey. Looks like we forgot to exchange insurance information after all. How about we do that over dinner? This Friday, 5 o'clock."

     As he sat at his desk, eagerly awaiting 4 o'clock so that be could go home, she occupied his thoughts. He tried to imagine her in a dress - black, flowing freely around her - but he couldn't. She always ended up in a t shirt and jeans, looking flawless. He glanced at his clock; 3:59. He threw everything he needed into his briefcase and rushed home through the streets, stopping to buy flowers along the way. He hoped she didn't mind roses. She was the only thing in his thoughts, until he bumped into someone, shaking him out of his trance. 
     Meanwhile, she was getting dressed; trying to find that perfect outfit. Last time she was in a t-shirt and jeans. She couldn't stand to look like that again. She rummaged through her closet; dug through her drawers. She settled on an elegant, black, asymmetrical dress. Then she found her make up, which had been scattered around various places in her apartment, laid it out ever so carefully, and glanced at the clock. It was already 4:43, and she couldn't risk being late. She applied some of the stuff to her face, put her black heels on, and ran out the door. Reaching the address given to her, she looked up to see the same little cafe they went to the first time. A smile found itself on her face, and she walked in. 
     He glanced at his watch again: 4:59. He had one minute before she arrived - if she's a punctual person. He patted down his crazy black hair, making sure the hair gel did it's job. Fixed his sky blue tie, making sure it's tied right and in the middle. He glanced back at his watch - 5:00 sharp. He glances up, and there she was. Effortlessly walking through the door in black heels, lighting up the whole world with her smile. 
     She spotted him immediately, and floated over towards him. He stood up, and pulled out her chair for her. 
     "M'lady?' he said, with a playful smile lighting up his face. 
     "Why, thank you!" she sat down, smoothing her skirt and placing her purse ever so gently on the table. 
     They sat across each other in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts once more, each taken away by the other's stunning elegance, each worried about their own appearance. 
     Finally, the waiter broke their silence; "would you like something to drink?"
     "Hot chocolate." they said at the same exact time, then they looked at each other and burst out laughing. And so began their first real date. 

     Her phone beeped; another text from him. She looked at it and smiled. She didn't know what to say, so she decided to tell him the truth. 
     "I want to be with you forever." He said. To which she replied:
     "I do too. But I'm scared of forever. Too many boys have said forever and they never meant it."
     The reply came quicker than she expected it to. 
     "What about perpetually? Has anyone ever said perpetually?"
     "No, you'd be the first."
     "Well, perpetually then. I want to be with you perpetually. I want to be with you five ever."
     She was still wearing the black dress. She had come home hours ago, but it reminded her of the great times they had. So she lay down on her bed in the dress, in the heels, in the makeup, and sent him a text back. 
     "Five ever isn't long enough. I want to be with you ninehundredandthreeever."
     "<903"
     "I love you."
     She regretted the words immediately. What if he didn't feel the same way? What of he was just going to leave her? Had she forced him to lie? Does he even like her in the first place? Maybe he just wants her for sex. Or for bragging rights. Or for- a quick beep interrupted her thoughts. 
     "I love you too. Ninehundredandthreeever."

     "I need to see you again. When can you come over?"
     "How about right now."
     She sent him her address, and waited at the door, rather impatiently. 
     He ran outside and sprinted to his car door. He put the car in drive and speeder off towards her place. Suddenly, he realised he should bring her a present. He drove into the nearest parking lot, turned the car off, ran into the store, and bought a box of chocolates. He then speeder away towards her again, and he finally arrived at the address. 
    She heard a car pull up, and ran to open the door. As soon as she flung it out, she saw him standing there. He was holding a box of chocolates. He was perfect. She walked outside, and noticed for the first time that it was raining. Pouring. But she didn't care. She ran into his open arms, and they had their first kiss.

     "Meet me at my place in 20 minutes."
     "Are we going somewhere?"
     "You'll see."
     Those twenty minutes seemed like they lasted forever, but finally she was at his door. Wearing the same jeans she had worn when they first met and his sweat shirt which he had given her the other day. She looked perfect. He was wearing dress pants, a white collared shirt, and the rainbow tie she had picked out for him. 
     "I feel under dressed," she said with a smile, and they were on their way.
     Finally, the GPS stated that they had arrived at their destination. She glanced out the window and saw nothing but the beach, for miles on end. She looked back at him, and smiled; her eyes gleaming like a little child's. 
    "I know how much you love the beach, so here we are!" 
    She gave him a quick kiss and then ran out onto the sand. She kicked off her sneakers and ran towards the waves crashing on the sand, then cautiously approached the ice cold water. 
     She looked back, and he was watching her and smiling. He beckoned her over, and she ran like a little girl. Her face was bright with a smile and her eyes glittering with pure happiness. She ran into his arms, and after a few more kisses said "thank you thank you thank you!"
     "No problem," his dark hair fluttered in the ocean breeze, "but I have just one question for you."
     "Mmhmm?"
     He got down on one knee and took out a ring box; "will you marry me?" 
     The diamond in the ring sparkled and shined brighter than anything she'd seen before.
     "Yes! Yes yes yes!"
     A crowd cheered; people neither of them had noticed before. And they barely noticed them now; too caught up in their own love. They raced back to the car, then fell over laughing. 

     The morning of their wedding, she woke up first. She felt safe in his arms, but she had so much to do, so she kissed him good bye and set out to do everything, leaving him a plate of pancakes and a note. He woke up a little while later and, smelling the pancakes, ventured into the kitchen. He read the note, smiled, and wrote 'I love you too' on the bottom. Then he set out to do everything he needed to do. 
     As they were getting ready, both of them thought about how they met and all of the good times they had. They still went to that cafe every so often, and her number is still hanging on the wall. They smiled as they got into the cars that were to drive them to the happiest moment of their lives. 
      They had both started being more careful drivers after that first crash, but they weren't driving this time. Their trusted friends were. And as both cars were pulling into the parking lot of the beach where they were going to get married, all they could do is helplessly scream "Stop! No! Watch out!" 
     Their screams weren't enough to stop the cars. There was a crash, and when everybody came outside to see what had happened; their eyes filled up with tears, and some people had to look away. The bride and the groom were in the middle of a flaming wreck. Dead. 
     
     Their funeral was the next week, and all of the people who had previously gathered for a celebration of their love now gathered for a reminder of their death. 
     The leader of the services bowed his head for a last moment of silence, and tears ran down people's faces. Then the preacher took out a few carefully folded pieces of paper. 
     "Here are the wedding vows that were going to be said only a week ago;" he took a moment to regain the steadiness in his voice, and read them. 
     "I will love you. But I won't love you until death do us part; no, I'll love you perpetually. I'll love you ninehundredandthreeever. And nothing will ever change that."
     "The first time we met, I just left my car behind. Because I didn't need that car when I saw you, I didn't need anything but your love. And I'll never need anything but your love. Here and now, and later when we die and go into the great unknown. 
I love you. Perpetually. 
And the first time we met, our hearts crashed. And that crash was fatal, I'm afraid. And every time I look at you; I crash. We crash."