Everleigh

In the wake of death by my hand, the discordant note in my Anima was sustained.

The relief of it all.

Dusk when I awakened.

Dusk when the rain began.

Pitter, patter against the water.

Tick, tock against the wood.

We bobbed and weaved. I pressed my thumbs to my wrists until it hurt. To live is to bleed and I was ensanguined.

"Are you doing okay?" he asked.

"Aye. Are you."

A quiet pause. A quickened pulse.

A scream inside. A reminder to smile.

Every one of his feelings my feelings. Every one of his thoughts my thoughts.

A gift he gave, not a privilege I took.

But I still liked hearing him speak, even if he lied.

Even if he knew he didn't have to.

"This kind of thing happens all the time. We've made it out of the hotbed at least."

"Okay," I said. "Do you want me to drive for a while."

"Let's do it together," TSB answered.

To steer was to stare, and we stared.

Celestia;

Where the day is night and the night is night,

The darkest corner in the auditorium. A refuge.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

A haven.

I no longer had to hide.

The rain was relentless.

Cold against cold and yet I felt so alive.

"Do you want to see something?" TSB asked. "It's my special move."

The way his hair fell over his eyes and clung to his face.

It would be rude to touch.

"I guess," I said.

TSB shook the tension out of his body, soaking me though I was already soaked. He wiggled his slender fingers and swirled his sinewy arms skyward.

A secret shared: the mind was enough.

The hand gestures were only for flair.

Be still my immortal heart.

TSB gathered the air and formed a capsule around us, repelling the rain and awakening the wind. I stood at the bow. He wrapped his arms around my stern. Alone in our bubble.

Faster and faster we soared.

The delight of it all.

That night, I sang a song to my favourite star.

TSB sang along, off-key and wrong.

As always. The way it was perfect.

"Was there an actual chance you'd have turned us over to the Anima or was that all just bravado?" he asked.

"Would you be offended if I told you I really did consider it."

"No, I get it. Right or wrong doesn't matter if you're dead."

"But it matters if you live. The other Anima didn't really like me, Matteus. They feared me. Our friends, they didn't like me either, at first. But they didn't fear me. The first time I met Rhian, she attacked me."

"An alarming pattern emerges."

"Aye, but that's what won me over. Her treating me like she would anyone else. And then when I saw the way everybody was together, I changed my mind."

"So, it wasn't because you were worried about upsetting Sebastian?"

"No."

We lay on our backs while we drifted east.

Our destination mere hours and hours away.

The mystery of it all.

"Say a thing or do a thing," he asked.

"Do a thing," I said.

He rolled over on his side.

I rolled over on to mine.

Our faces mere inches and inches away.

"Kiss me," he said. "I mean, only if you want to."

My favourite star reflected in his eyes.

The quickening quickened.

He touched my face and traced my scars as though they were his.

He smelled of peppermint, salt, and solidarity.

Hours upon hours we kissed until we could take no more.

A chance, a choice.

Our bodies one with the other.

Mine, his. I could scarcely tell.

The pain,

The pleasure,

The beauty of it all.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.