My Midnight Boy

Chapter Six - Part 2

EDITED. Okay, this was a re-edited chapter. I'm doing this super sneakily...teehee. ermm i will be posting a chapter 6.3 part to ermm...extend the period of them falling in love because lets face it, it wasn't long enough. I know that now, I'm learning. Anway. This was appalling when it was first written, i hope i improved it at least in part.

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I found myself wondering what would happen if I said yes. I was pretty sure it would not be the usual boyfriend girlfriend thing. It would never be holding hands whilst strolling through a park, or texting in the middle of the night. But if it wasn't that, what else could it be? I was completely out of my depth but I knew that I sure as heck wasn't about to marry him. I reminded myself that marriage wasn't what he was asking for, he was asking for love.

But I was only eighteen, I didn't know what that entailed. I knew I wasn't in love with him, not yet anyway. But wasn't it supposed to be like that? If I said yes weren't we supposed to fall in love as time went by? That's how I had always considered it to work, now that it was actually happening I wanted a few more specifics.

I was sure of only a few things, I knew that if I said no he would leave and I wouldn't see him again. The idea of that made my stomach twist almost painfully.

I looked up into his pale blue eyes, so deep and so open at the same time. He smiled and leant his forehead against mine in a sweet gesture. He was defiantly charming, I could guarantee that. Beautiful without a doubt, intelligent from what I had seen. He ticked the boxes I had always dreamt of. I never thought that being human would be a requirement, it didn't even seem all that necessary now anyway.

“Are you okay?” He whispered, leaning back so he could see my face clearly.

I smiled at him weakly and nodded. I was his main priority, he saw everything about me. Understood it all, and I got the feeling he could empathise with a lot of it. He was considerate, kind and gentlemanly. Something that the boys in the local area seemed to be lacking.

My mind hummed as I thought and he waited patiently never pressuring me. He simply sat and watched me, smiling occasionally as if in reassurance. I knew that if I kept starring into his eyes I would never be able to make an objective decision, they were just to enchanting.

Given the choice I would of sat there on his lap and stared into his eyes for the rest of my life, so blue, so bright, so beautiful. I could of said yes just on his eyes alone, but I had to think about the implications of the decision. I had to do what was best for me.

I broke my gaze away from his and looked instead out of the window, before I met him I would've considered the sight that met my eyes to be beautiful. But with him sat beside me it paled in comparision. The sun was falling behind the mountains staining the sky with trails of blues and pinks. It did however create a useful distraction. 

"Do you want to talk a walk?" I asked softly my eyes focused on the sunset the rest of my being focused on him. On his hands splayed on my back and waist, on his cheek just gently brushing mine. 

"I would love to Hayley." He released me from his lap and I scurried over to open the door. I didn't bother with shoes. Neither of us did any more, he had taught me that every thing had greater sensation when you walked bare foot. I hopped down the steps and onto the stony lake shore. Each pebble was perfectly formed, worn by the water into perfect curves. They were surprisingly warm from basking in the sun all day. 

I was worried if I left him hanging he would misunderstand my silence. "I'm sorry I'm taking so long to answer. I'm just trying to see, to understand it all."  

He nodded beside me slipping his hand into mine as he always did on our walks. “I understand.”

Across the water, over its shimmering, tranquil surface was the forest. Aelfric's home. Now that we were outside he too had a distraction, his eyes were focused on his home rather then me. I was glad, his constant staring had been wearing me down. I'd been on the dizzying brink of accepting without a thought.

I wanted to consider everything, what it meant for me, for us, our future, my parents. But I couldn't, with his smooth warm hand in mine and the beautiful view in front of us my mind just went blank. A void between my ears.

So I watched with him, watched the way the trees rose majestically from the shoreline like a phoenix from flames.

The trees were mostly pine and fir. I tried to imagine him not standing with me, but on the other shore by the trees. Surrounded by his family and clan. I could see it all so clearly in my mind. But I wasn't sure I could see me standing with him.  Vaguely I wondered if they were in fact standing on the other side, watching us as we watched them.

"What's it like over there?" I asked quietly and looked up at his face for the first time since we had departed from the house.

"Its beautiful, but I prefer the view over here." He smiled, still watching the trees.

I blushed from his compliment but pushed him further. "Thank you, but what's it like living in all those trees. I can't picture it."  

He chuckled darkly. "I know what you mean I couldn't imagine what it was like to live in a brick house until I did it. Its very green very close very damp. It's beautiful like I said. When the sun filters through the trees in mists of emerald it catches every droplet as if every tree, every leaf and every shred of moss is covered with diamonds.” He said wistfully.

His description was so vivid, so beautiful that I could see it all clearly in my mind, every softly scented pine needle, every glimmering drop of fresh rain.

He sighed beside me “It's enchanting."

"You miss it." I noted.

"I do. But if I left here I know that I would regret it." He smiled nostalgically as if his time here were already over. I felt a pang of worry twist in my stomach, did he plan on leaving? I gripped his hand tighter, as if I could anchor him to me and never let him go. I knew then what my mind was trying to tell me, what my decision would be. So much for rational thought.

He looked down, his face rueful. "I'm not going anywhere." He mouthed.  

I moved to wrap my arms around one of his pressing my face into his bicep. He wrapped his free arm around my waist.  

"I don't want you to go." I mumbled against the sleeve of his shirt. 

"I told you, I'm not going anywhere." He murmured pressing his face into the top of my hair. His corn silk locks fell about me like a curtain, the late sun shining through them turned them to molten silver. Shimmering like his effervescent personality. He was a hundred percent perfect in every way, who could say no to that? Not me.

I was struck by how suddenly it had all come about. We had only met mere days ago and yet somehow he had managed to steal my heart... 

"Maybe we could trade." I looked up into his face firming my resolve he looked down at me waiting for me to continue. "My heart for yours." 

He smiled and pulled me closer into his arms. "That sounds fair."

I loved him in some small way, a tiny glowing warmth in my chest. I hoped that in saying yes he would give me time for that tiny glow to spread. To take over everything. I hoped I could fall in love with him, head over heels, dizzy in love.