Master of the Lights

Chapter Eight Part Two

  Dekka

  Grayson refuses to let me get out of the car on my own.  Instead he carries me on his back again, walking out to the water and stopping just before it reaches his toes.  He carefully removes his Converse with the Joker on them and steps in.

  "Ooh, chilly!"  He exclaims.  "It feels nice.  You sure you're not gonna get in, Dekka?"  I kick my own shoes off, accidentally hitting Griffin with one, and slowly slide off Graysons back into the shallow water.  I squeal at its coldness, but don't protest when Grayson gently grabs my hand and guides me further into the lake.  He lets himself fall backwards when he is up to his waist.

  I swear this lake changes people.  Amity seems less shy and more willing to trust.  She openly laughs at Griffin's cheesy jokes.  Asa seems less tense (keyword being less.  He is still Asa); he still glances at Amity and me every now and then to make sure we're okay, but several times he comes close to pulling out that extraordinary and genuine smile I love so much.

  For hours we splash, float, dive, and race until Silas and Amelia drive up with Matrix.  By that time all of us are starving and tired out from swimming so much, so sandwiches are more than welcome to be in our presence.  Everyone sits on the sand while Silas builds a fire and Amelia passes out food.  I finish eating before everyone else, so I scoot closer to the fire and poke at it with a stick, thinking of the small flames I discovered I could create not too long ago.  The heat feels good against my drying body, shivering from the cold as well as my intense happiness.  Just when I'm thinking that life couldn't possibly get any better, Grayson touches my shoulder.

  "Wanna go for a little walk?"  His smile is just as warm as the fire in front of me.

  "Yes,"  I say simply, standing up and following him.

  Walking along the edge of the trees, we talk about where his family is from, what his life was like before moving so far north, odd things parents do.  The way Grayson turns boring memories into dramatic tales is remarkable.  He has the mind of a storyteller.

  I decide I want to try something new.  I've seen it done in movies and books hundreds of times, but I want to know if I can really get away with it.  I swing my hand closest to Grayson a bit more than it naturally would while I'm walking and brush my fingers against his.  He doesn't seem to notice, or maybe he thought it was just an accident.  Maybe he noticed but chose not to acknowledge that anything happened.  I do the same thing again, still listening to the story he's telling.  Again he does nothing.  A little piece of me crumbles.  I was hoping he would take it as a "you can hold my hand now," kind of gesture, not "sorry, my arm just had a spasm and it ended in our fingers awkwardly colliding."  But to my surprise (and delight) he tangles his strong fingers in with mine a moment after I had given up hope.  I silently sing hallelujah.

  Without any warning, he stops walking and pauses mid sentence.  "Can I tell you something serious, Dek?"  he says, stone faced and looking me directly in the eyes.  I nod.  He takes a breath and begins.

  "I really like you.  I mean really, really like you.  When I met you I thought you were pretty, and I even wondered if I would ever end up liking you, but that was it.  I refused to let myself become too attached to you because I know you'll move out eventually and that is going to hurt.  A lot.  But then I got to know you.  How you're sassy, hilarious, sarcastic, and nice all at the same time.  Your facial expressions, the way you forget the punchline in the middle of a crappy joke, saying 'ugh, every time,' when you make a mistake playing guitar, I love every single bit of it. "  Words spill out of his mouth almost too fast for me to comprehend.  "I stayed up until 3:30 last night trying to figure out how I wanted to tell you this, even writing down several options and practicing them out loud.  I am so unbelievably nervous to tell you this because I'm afraid you don't like me in that way and that would be awkward and embarrassing then you'd probably hate me and we would still have to live together for the time being.  I hope you can't feel how hard my heart is beating through my hand but..."  He pauses to suck in some air.

  "First of all, don't pass out,"  I say through my smile.  "Second, I was really hoping you'd be the first one to say something, cause I was scared too."  Grayson lets out the breath he was holding through a shaky laugh.  He's cute when he's nervous.  I, on the other hand, turn into a tomato.  "Third, even though I didn't come up with a speech you don't have to worry about me not liking you back."  Grayson looks like he could float to the moon and back, fueled with relief.

  He starts walking again, picking up our conversation exactly where he left off.  Like nothing happened.

Grayson picks up a white flower- probably one of the last ones until spring- and hands it to me.

  "It's so pretty!"  I say, taking the flower and twirling it between my fingers.

  He looks at me, head tilted, a glint in his eyes.  "I've seen prettier."

  As he's speaking he stumbles, letting out a little yelp.  He carefully examines the bottom of his bare foot from where he is sat on the ground.

  I kneel beside him.  "Step on a pine cone?"  I ask.  He nods.  "We should burn the pine cone.  It was a straight up jerk."  Grayson laughs at my logic, and follows me to our mini fire pit (basically a hole in the sand).  We watch as it burns, receiving strange looks from everyone around us.  I don't mind though, because I'm sleepy and filled with joy.  Right on queue, Amity yawns, then Matrix, signaling that it's time to go home.

  On the ride home I sit between Amity and Grayson in the back seat, my head resting on his shoulder, our pinky fingers locked together.  I feel so much better now that I know he likes me the same way I like him.  I can sleep more soundly than ever tonight.