the sleepless elite

xxxi

the sleepless elite

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chapter thirty-one

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The world is wide, I wanna make some memories

– Donna, Mamma Mia! 2: Here We Go Again

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"I'm so excited!" Darling says, gushing over the news from her twin, Dexter, yet again. She drums her hands on the outdoor cafe table; the rings on her finger rattle the table further, making her act noisier and louder, she's vibrating with glee.

From across the table, Chase smiles. He takes a sip of his smooth latte and looks around the Parisian streets. Yup, they're in the city of love (and they spent the first day visiting museums and turning priceless art into memes).

"Dex is finally getting married to Raven!" Darling squeals further. "God, the wedding is going to be a dream, they've been in love for ages!"

Chase continues smiling and reaches over to hold Darling's hand. It's so nice that they can talk about marriage so openly.

Sometimes, Chase wonders if he's dreaming. But, then that wouldn't be possible because he remembers every event leading up to this day; from their first meet up at that bar, Darling being passionate about motorbikes when she showed up at his workplace, the silky feeling of her pyjamas, the confession at the airport.

"It's a shame we have to go back to Book End so soon." Chase says.

"It is a shame." Darling answers, she feels her rings press against his intertwined fingers.

On their second day in Paris, they went to the Lourve and they ended up looking like sad children forced to take a picture because it started to rain. But, it could have been worse. Back when they were in Greece, Darling remembers about the crazy speed limits. That law was not obeyed. It was Darling's dream and Chase's nightmare.

Their third day was spent at the Notre-dame. Darling did feel a little lied to, like the time she was at, again, Greece and found out the Mamma Mia! island was actually three separate islands. The Notre-dame was ... shorter than what The Hunchback of Notre-dame made it out to be. The steps where Quasimoto's mother fell were missing too and there was no well that Judge Claude Frollo almost threw baby Quasi down. But the architecture was beautiful and eighty percent accurate so that was more than fine. The statutes that were engraved into the Notre-dame looked and felt powerful and strangely frightening all the same.

"But, you'll be there by my side so everything will be okay." Darling says smoothly.

"Oh?" Chase answers, almost teasingly, squeezing her hand.

"Hmm,"

Now that Darling thinks about it, Chase is like a good mix of everything she likes about her friends. He has Dexter's sense of love (big heart, lots of love to give), Raven's bravery (which says a lot as she has to deal with Mrs Charming and Raven's background isn't all that charming), Maddie wacky sense of responsibility (which is strong since Maddie was often on lookout and started working first among all the others), Alistair's adventurous streak (truly wild) and Bunny's hesitance (sometimes its out of shyness, sometimes fear).

Chase was first and foremost, a friend to her, kind and responsible, and that made her feel so free; like riding down dirt paths and beyond. He was someone near and dear to her heart. He was her version of the sleepless elite. He's someone special to her.