Setting Suns | A Coania Short Story

9 | Define Love

Love

(n.) an intense feeling of deep affection.

The party went on exactly how he wanted it to be. The lights were perfect, the food was amazing, and best of all, his grandmother was having the time of her life dancing in the center of the room with his grandfather.

Terran lifted her hand and spun her around him, her dress forming a circle around her feet as her smile turned into a laugh. Cole could only watch from where he sat in front of a round table, a glass of orange juice in his hand.

Everyone else had crowded themselves in the middle of the dance floor as the music played in the background. Overlapping chatter filled his ears, the clinking of wine glasses against another.

In every direction he turned, everyone was dressed their best in the forms of long dresses and tuxedos that were preserved for such fancy events. Cole never understood why people insisted on dressing up for simple gatherings.

But when he found out how embarrassed she felt for having been overdressed—despite being perfect in his eyes—all Cole wanted to do was have the rest of the world dress up to make her feel like she fit in.

So that's what he did.

And despite the strong urge to tear his suit to shreds then burn it and put on something more comfortable, Cole supposed he could last a few hours for her.

He took a sip of his drink, eyes scanning the crowd to find a certain girl that had captured his attention. Vania was dancing with Skylor, running a routine that they created as they went which only led to a series of laughter.

A part of him wanted to get up, grab her hand, and dance the night away with her in his arms, her laughter in his ears. Cole shoved that desire back into his head and buried it deep into his soul.

It was a wonder what Vania Sky had done to him.

A mystery that Cole himself couldn't solve.

He had spent plenty of time building the walls around his heart after his mother broke it into pieces and his father scattered them away. Only for Vania to come in and break the walls with a simple touch.

For a long time, Cole was used to the numbness that came with his emotionless state. To the loneliness and the lack of feelings in his life. He was convinced that it wasn't possible for him to care about anything anymore.

Only for it to all come crashing back in, the second he heard her laugh.

He was filled with all these warm feelings and butterflies in his stomach that Cole didn't know what to do. There was this nervous energy that took over him every time she would smile in his direction that made Cole want to jump up and down just to release it.

All sorts of emotions took over him every time she was around that he transformed into this person he didn't even know existed. His priorities became her comfort and her happiness like nothing else mattered in the world.

Cole ran a hand through his hair before scrunching a fist-ful in his hand. "What are you doing to me, Vania Sky?" He muttered before downing the rest of his orange juice. Perhaps it was time he got something stronger.

Before Cole could even raise his hand to call for a waiter, something cut him off. Well, someone did.

"Get out there and dance with her!" Skylor demanded through her heavy gasps for air between her laughter. She reached for a glass of water resting on top of their table before finishing half of its content. "Now's your chance, lover boy."