The Silver Throne

Chapter 18

[ Edited on July 11, 2016 ]

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"I think it's time for me to tell you that you mean to me more than peanut butter does," said Christian with a wide grin. He was really thankful that it was finally out there; all those feelings he kept bottled up inside were no longer kept secret. Alexandra snorted and told him that his partiality for peanut butter was frightening. Pretending to be offended, he brought his hand up to his chest and gasped. "I do not!"

She had also guessed that he had a whole carton of peanut butter under his bed. (Which was not true, at all.)

"You're bluffing," laughed Alexandra as she rested her head on her propped up arm. "Peanut butter's everything to you in the same way chocolate is to me."

Christian thought that she was wrong and tried to hide the impending smirk on his face. "I bet I could list down all the reasons why I just said that," said Christian as he reached out and pulled her into his lap. She said nothing at what he did but there was a smile on her lips. It was a good sign for Christian. He pulled her closer till their faces were an inch apart. "In just one move." Time seemed to have stopped and they stared at each other for a moment. Their breaths mingled and she closed her eyes. Christian didn't wait any longer before closing the small space that separated them.

At any other occasion, he would have chickened out in doing such a bold move. But at that moment, with her hands on his chest and his lips on hers, he couldn't care less about what others would think.

She tasted good. It felt weird to think that she tasted good (she wasn't peanut butter), but she did.

All too soon, they pulled away. Alexandra smiled shyly as she rested her forehead against his. Christian was too caught up in marveling about what just happened and failed to realize that they were being watched.

It was too late when he finally felt the strange pinch on his neck. Blinking, he lifted his hand and pulled it out. It took him a second to realize what it was. In any other normal circumstance (where he didn't feel like something heavy was on his head) he would have freaked out about being hit by a tranquilizing dart. Alexandra was saying something, though it looked like she was shouting in slow motion. Furrowing his eyebrows, he blinked and thought about how nice it would feel to lie down and sleep.

Then someone turned the lights off.

***

Waking up from sedation sucked, that he could tell. Christian tasted the mud on his lips and quickly spat it out. He tried to sit up, but his head spun and he had to use one of his arms to prop himself upright. The rain made a strange and downright annoying clapping noise which intensified his headache.

He closed his eyes and breathed heavily, wishing that it would go away.

Then, he remembered something. Everything rushed back to him like that one time when he crossed the road and heard the loud honk of a truck driving towards him. Before, he was able to run away in time; but at that moment, he couldn't.

Alexandra was gone. The realization brought him a painful sensation in his heart. He felt like it was going to jump out from his chest and leave him for good from how fast it was beating.

Scrambling to his feet, he tried to get his bearings. Christian failed and only managed to wobble and swing like a drunken man in the rain for the first few seconds. His mind was still a bit foggy, though he knew that she was gone. He couldn't grasp the fact that it was raining, and that the scents were already washed away. As a result, Christian tried his best to catch a trail. His desperate, half-conscious mind couldn't accept that she was gone, and that there was no way for him to find her.