Carry Me Home - A LEGEND trilogy (Marie Lu) fanfiction

16: June

I've lost track on how long we've been alone. And I guess it has been long enough for the guests in the event to start dancing and enjoying. Day, though, hasn't left my side, as if he's been wanting to say something but can't. In one part of the room, I see Tess and Eden talking. I can't help myself from smiling when I notice them laughing too, completely happy with each other's company. As if the people around them did not exist, as if the music did not fit the mood, as if there were no people dancing to the sweet dance music.

I hear Day sighing and running his hand on his hair. I catch the sight of the paperclip ring again. "Well, I don't know if it will affect your mood if I ask you..."

I glance at him and notice that he is blushing. I can't help but continue falling in love with him with every glimpse.

"... if I ask you for a... dance, perhaps?" he continues and offers a hand for me to take.

For a while, I doubt that I'll accept his offer for a dance. A part of me is shouting not to and another is telling me to take it. The jealous one and the selfish, respectively. But I take it.

He ushers me to the dance floor as the room is filled with a song that really fits the mood. I recognize the song immediately because it is performed by Lincoln. I don't want to boast but I have every album that Lincoln has - all autographed. You might say that I'm a huge fan or a collector.

Day's hand shyly but immediately eases when he places his right hand by my waist. He eyes my hand as I place it gently on top of his right shoulder. And the two of us watch how perfectly our other hands know to meet. He gently glides through-out the floor and I let him.

I can't help myself from blushing and avoiding his eyes, which stare at me the whole time. He is so focused on looking directly at me.

He immediately asks, "Is there something wrong?"

I shake my head gently. I hope that how much I'm blushing right now isn't all that visible. "No. You're just staring at me so intently."

Day smiles. "I'm sorry about that. But I much wanted to look directly at the eyes of the person I'm dancing with."

"So you've danced before with another girl," I suddenly reply. I don't know if I've purposely inserted the jealousy at the edge of my voice.

"Not really. I just... well, wanted to focus on the person I'm dancing with. That's all."

"That still didn't answer my previous question."

He frowns. "I haven't offered a dance to someone before. I just feel that... uhm, it's not shyness that drives me actually. It's more like a want to fulfil something."

"And what's that?" I ask.

"I want to dance with the woman I really want to dance with."

I don't know if his comment just makes me blush much more but hope it doesn't. Yet, I can almost feel the heat on my cheeks.

Without me knowing, he leans closer for our foreheads to meet. He lets go of my hand just as he guides it to his other shoulder. And his other hand moves to entwine mine with his, placing them around my waist.

It's then that I can't really breathe well. How intimate we may look makes me want to turn into liquid or burst into flames. And dancing with the man you love, you really don't care of your surrounding at all.

It's like, there are only the two of you in the whole world and no one else. Everything is nothing and the lights seems to dim when it's just the two of you together, so close and enveloped in your own make-up world.

"Daniel... I..." I start. I know that I have something to say but I can't find my own voice to continue.

Day coaxes me to hush. His hand gently squeeze my waist and I don't know if I must flinch or even admire how close we are now. "Don't you ever fear, because I'll always be your light in the darkness."

I immediately try to look straight on his blue eyes. There's still the imperfection in one of his eyes but that's just how everyone sees him. But beneath those eyes is the person who once saw that the world is not we all call fairytales; that once saw the imperfection on this world, that our society isn't clearly perfect even if we want to have a permanent peace.

"I know that. You are the people's champion," I assure him.

He smiles. I can say that he does despite the almost dim lights in the room when the dance starts. "No. I'm pertaining more with you. It seems like the events that happened before—when I was gone—made you... devastated. And you don't know how sorry I am about it. It's just that, since you opened up to me a few minutes ago, you've become much... lightened."

"So you're saying that you're like God now?"

"The power above us has nothing to do with this. It's your free will to believe if that's the case. But when I say 'lightened', it's more like you're back to who you are supposed to be," he states.

It's then that I stop dancing. I don't know why I stop; that really surprised Day too. He stands up straighter and backs away for a while to look at me better.

"Hey," he says. "June. Is there something wrong?"

I trail my hands away from Day and try to look behind me slowly. And I shouldn't feel dread at all since I know how guarded the whole place was. But right there, on the second floor, exactly behind me, a few meters away is a man dressed in black all over. He wears a black cap that covers his hair very well, his face as well and his all build-up body. His hands are also positioned to the trigger of a shotgun, clearly aimed at someone.

Aimed directly at Day.

Just as what happened before... when Commander Jameson did shot Day.

"Duck!" I shout as I lunge forward at Day and hear the gun being fired.

I hear the rush of screams and shouting all of a sudden. I even feel Day's arms around my shoulders when I'm clearly in front of him. I see his face filled with dread and he is saying something at me. He is shouting but I can't make out the words.

But before anything else, I hear three words from him.

'Don't leave me.'

And everything turns black.