Writer in the Dark - J. HALE

80 - ꜱᴘʀɪɴɢ

WINTER TURNED to spring with what it seemed, a single quick flash of the brightest light. All of the vampires left in the early days of January, each with a rather beaming smile and in Benjamin's case, many promises to start sending letters once again. She preferred it to phone calls, especially with old friends like him. As it turned to March, the house had reached a groove of working as it usually did. With everyone living their own little lives, mostly coming together at night for talks that lasted until the very early morning.

 Athena stood on the slight balcony that came off of her own bedroom, one that required climbing through a window to get to. She hardly ever stood on there, giving the entire space to plants but today she felt the need. She had flicked on the record player in her room, playing soft music that barely become thought as she stared out onto the horizon. Her eyes were distant, hazed over as she looked over the setting sun as it lowered itself behind the earth. The sky painted in gorgeous colours: soft pinks, hues of red and yellow, the most delightful brunt orange scrambled together.

Jasper, who she had not realised had walked through the door, halted in the doorway of her bedroom. He leaned one shoulder against the wood and just watched the sight before him. The way the sun hit her face, orange and glowing so subtly that the sparkles of her skin were almost overtaken by the beauty of it. How she played with the necklace she had chosen that day with two fingers, spinning it around on the silver chain and never letting it dangle where it should. The gentle smile that pulled at her lip, a contrast to the usual frown that lay there whenever she was deep in thought about something horrid - it seemed to be more of the horrid thoughts as of recently, given Billy's turn for the worse. The way her hair shone underneath the sunlight, messy yet perfect waves falling from her head like usual. He swore he would never forget that moment, promising himself that it would forever stay in his memory for the years and years to come. The utter perfection that came with Athena.

"It is ever so rude to stare, Mr Whitlock," she grinned, still looking out onto the distance.

He chuckled and climbed through the window too, stepping down from the frame before he moved to stand next to her. "You looked so peaceful I didn't want to ruin it."

"You could never ruin my peace, only add to it," she smiled softly as he wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her cheek briefly.

"What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing," she smiled again, still watching the ever-changing painting in the sky and the ground below it. "Just the sky and the trees."

"That seems to be very frequent with you," he half-whispered, surrounding himself in a cloud of her relaxation and happiness. It soothed away the tension in his shoulders along with the ever longing thirst in his throat. "Though I do see what you see in it. sometimes."

"Good, because you were missing out before," she chuckled softly, leaning back into him instead of the railing. She turned her head and smirked, "I'm planning a surprise for you, by the way."

He raised a brow, looking down to read her expression, "You are?"

She nodded excitedly, a matching grin ruining her previously peaceful smile, "It's going to be far better than the ball."

"Is it now?" he asked, intrigue in the situation beginning to grow the more he looked into her eyes.

"Definitely," she grinned, attempting to smother it with her lips as she did not want him to catch onto what it could be. She really wanted it to be a surprise, desperately wanted it to.

"We better be going, if you don't want to miss it," he smiled, having left it to the very last minute as to not ruin her peace with the nerves he knew were brewing in the back of her mind.

The thoughts swept forward as she sighed. "I don't think I was this nervous last time," she half-whispered as she shut the window up again, shaking her shoulders off the anxiousness before she leapt off the top of the balcony. She smoothed down her dress (that she had borrowed from Luna as Alice insisted) as she locked the front door up, already having her phone and book in the car.

"If it's anything like the book, it'll be spectacular," he kissed her cheek before she climbed into the car, nervousness still bubbling within her as he shut the door and got in the other side. She started the engine of her rarely used car and pulled off the drive, smiling as he reached for her spare hand.

-

Athena had been told to enter the building where the first showing of her movie would be from the back, the appropriate measure to keep her identity-preserved and the many photographers that could ruin the vampire secret. So she and Jasper parked far away then walked through the half dusk, entering the building through the back door that Pria had accidentally left open. They took the various instructions from Pira and walked all the way to the private seating area at the very top of the theatre, where they would not be disturbed or seen by anyone who could piece it together. During the entire walk, Jasper soothed some of her anxiousness away through the use of his gift and his hand in the small of her back, so she could enjoy the time.

When they reached the box, Athena grinned and ran into the area, flinging her arms around one of the mortals in the room. "Ela! I didn't expect you to be here! How are you?" she grinned, hugging the older woman of the two, the one who had been the publisher previous to Pria and had helped her to become the writer she was today.

"Amazed with the turnout," she laughed. Then she dropped her voice to a whisper, smiling proudly, "You did it again."

"You have aged elegantly by the way," she smiled as they parted from the hug, Ela briefly rubbing Athena's arms like she did her own daughter.

"Wish I could say the same about you," she chuckled as Athena hugged Pria just as tight, laughing quietly before and after the hug broke. Then the two glanced to Jasper, both raising the same brow as they looked him up and down.

Athena chuckled, particularly forgetting her surroundings as her mind had been two forced on the mortals in front of her, "Oh, this is Jasper."

"The one the dedication was about?" Pria asked relatively quietly, eying him as Athena took his hand again smiling up to him briefly. Athena nodded then, choosing not to catch the softening of Pria's expression.

"He's like you?" Ela asked and she nodded once more, furthering the smile on the old woman's face. "I'm glad you found someone, truly. You deserve all the romantic things you write about, love," she smiled brightly, winking at her discreetly.

"Oh how I've missed you, Ela," Athena chucked and hugged her again, unable to not after what she had said.

They chattered for a moment, about various different things that just happened to come up. Until Pria said that the movie was about to begin and they each took their seats, the mortals with certain drinks and Pria with a bucket of popcorn that smelled ever so heavenly to her. She watched the movie fully, hanging onto every single detail of it that she did not include in the book and was completely mesmerized by how it was coming along. It absolutely fascinated her, the way something she had written in her room was now being watched by hundreds of mortals, none of which were bored at all.

Then, when the very end scene showed before the credit, she found herself surrounded by flooding tears. Tears which erupted into applause and cheating when the words that ended the entire movie flashed onto the screen, 'Many thanks to the author, whoever they are, for creating such an utter masterpiece.'

Athena fully beamed, feeling what she thought would be the utmost joy an immortal could feel. Venom tears of happiness strung at her eyes. Not once, in all her years and books that got adapted into films, had the reaction been this incredible. Not even Little women, which did extremely well also. And for once, she felt the pride in herself that others felt. It radiated off her so intensely that it broke down the wall of that emotion in her head.

That evening was everything to her, everything that was perfect and joyful in this world.