Once

Fifty Seven

Russell and Jax left them at the corner, so once again it was Elle and David walking side by side through the woods.

After the storm the woods felt lush and fresh. Droplets from the trees spattered all around them on the path, occasionally hitting their faces and arms - the midnight air was refreshingly cool and the dripping water was warm and comforting. The clouds had cleared completely, leaving the blood moon gleaming hot against the blue-black summer sky.

Elle supposed it should have felt eerie out here in the middle of the night, but somehow it didn't. It felt comfortable. These really were their woods; nothing bad would ever happen to them here.

"So," said Elle after a minute.

"So," David repeated.

They looked at each other, and both broke out in a fit of giggling.

"God this is crazy," he said aloud. He looked wildly, unbelievably happy; the next second he screamed out: "Crazy!"

The words echoed off through the silent wood. Elle grinned. His happiness was infectious. It radiated off him.

He gave her an apologetic shrug.

"Sorry. It's just... this week, with you guys..." He gave a little sigh. Suddenly he looked as if he might cry. "I've never had any real friends, Elle. I don't know, I've always just known that I was probably going to get moved on somewhere else after a few months so I never really bothered trying. Plus I've always been hiding this huge part of me from everyone."

"Everyone?"

"Well, not from my parents. They both know. But I suppose I just felt more comfortable keeping some things private."

"But not from us?"

He was smiling again.

"No, not from you, Elle. You and the others are some of the most amazing people I think I've ever met. I don't want to keep anything back from any of you. I just want to be me."

"That's all we want, too," she said. She gave him another grin as she added, "Russell in particular, I imagine."

He looked down at the floor, but there was a coy smile on his lips.

After they'd walked a few paces he said, "So. What happens now?"

It was a question Elle had been asking herself for some time. What did happen now? What would she do now, tonight, tomorrow? There were no monsters left to fight. Everything had gone nicely back into the storybooks, and she was just ordinary Elle once again.

But the question was bigger than that, and she knew it. What happened next? Where would Elle's life go from here? People always seemed to be asking her what she wanted to be when she grew up. They were really asking what she wanted to do as a job; she'd been asking herself that very question only a week ago when she'd walked into school for her History exam. But it was a question that meant so much more than that. What did she want to be when she was older? Did she want to be adventurous, courageous, smart, witty? Did she dream of marrying a prince, or making a fortune, or finding untold worlds that no one before had ever dreamed of?

The funny thing was she didn't really want any of those things. It was like she'd said to Russell earlier tonight: the only thing it felt important to be was happy. It sounded so simple. But for a long time, she suspected, she hadn't been letting herself be happy. She had felt like happiness was for other girls. Girls who lived in exciting places, girls who were pretty and popular and outgoing, girls whose mothers hadn't died when they were young.

But when she took a minute to sit back and really look at her life, she realised it was pretty fucking amazing. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to let herself be happy after all.

She had this in her mind as she answered David's question.

"I think we both know what happens now, David. Happily ever after."

He gave her one of his trademark winning smiles, the light of the moon alive in the gold of his eyes, and they walked on in a comfortable silence between the trees.