the sleepless elite

xvii

Notes 1: Since no one has said anything, I'm going to butcher the living shit out of the romance and there's nothing you can do to stop me because you had your chance.

Notes 2: (also me: reads 2/3 of the Lara Jean trilogy to picture romance as realistically as possible but then gives up from the about of fluff and binge watches Yamishibai)

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the sleepless elite

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chapter seventeen

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Maybe the princess can save herself? That sounds like a pretty good story too.

– Marissa Meyer

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What comes with comfort, gets taken for granted.

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Chase Redford sits on his bed and flips through the array of television channels. It's his off day and he's bored out of his mind as he waits in a hotel located somewhere in Cuba. His fingers twitched to reach for a book; do something other than waste his time watching a TV show that he has no interest in, but something told him 'no'. Something told him that Darling Charming was about to burst into his hotel room any minute now and tell him about her plan.

Whether it was a master plan to have fun, sight-see or just try out this restaurant that has 'super good reviews' on Google, Darling would not let him say 'no' even if he had a say in it.

And as if on cue, Chase hears Darling's footsteps walking outside his door. It's been about two years and a half of their friendship, and a year and half of travelling together, it's not all that surprising that he's already memorized the sound of her footsteps or the fact that he has a distinct memory of the way Darling walks when they get split up in a crowded area. Though, her silver-ish blonde-blue hair is enough to make her stand out (for him, it's his height).

Chase gets up from his bed and opens his door before Darling even gets a chance to knock. He looks down and meets her light blue eyes, absentmindedly answering with a "Hey."

"I'm going out," She answers, dressed in blue jeans and a simple white shirt. A backpack clung to her back, her long curls were swept into a ponytail and she was still wearing the shoes he bought her oh-so long ago. A part of Chase admires Darling for her ability to take care of the things she cherishes.

He raises a dark eyebrow at her and tilts his head. She had said 'I', not 'us'. Chase asks, "Alone?"

"Solo mission." Darling nods. "I'm meeting some people, dropping something off."

"So you're meeting some friends?"

Darling's teeth tugs on her bottom lip and a spark of mischief shines behind those eyes of hers. Uh-oh. "Not exactly."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks, wanting to interrogate her but goes against it.

"What are you going to do while I'm out?" She asks back, adjusting her backpack strap. Just where is she going with that thing?

Chase knows Darling's just trying to change the subject but he plays along, he can't control her. He tips his chin at the book on his bed.

She follows the direction he's point at until she sees it. "Nerd," Darling teases with a scoff.