The reason I walk in the light

Chapter #1 June

(A/N: I just re-read Champion to refresh my memory, so I changed a few things so they would go together with the actual book. If something doesn't make sense, read the previous chapters again, because I might have changed something. Or I just don't make any sense. Probably the second one...)

"Hi" he says "I'm Daniel"
"Hi" I reply "I'm June"
I've been waiting ten years for this moment, and here it is in all of its glory. All the memories come flashing back so fast, threatening to overwhelm me. I start feeling a bit week in my knees.

I was way too caught up in my thoughts to notice that I was holding onto Day's--- I mean Daniel's hand for a little too long. I let go quickly.

"This is my brothe-" Day starts saying.
Eden!! Your so grown now." I say, playfully touching his golden curls.
"Hey June, it's been so long." He says looking down and blushing. We get into a small conversation, while Day looks at us, dumbfounded.

I can see that Day's about to speak up, but I cut him off.

"Guess we better get going," I start saying,"Tess will make a big fuss over it if we are late."

We start walking in silence to Tess's house. I have thought of everything to say to Day -- Daniel, but now I'm speechless. Eden's trailing somewhere behind us.

"Hey you two love birds! I'm gonna stay behind, I want to check out this book store across from me." Eden shouts at us.

At his remark Day blushes. He shows him a thumbs up, and we keep on walking.

"So... can you introduce me to our past?" Day asks me. "I mean if we had a past. We had one right? I know this is strange to ask of, I'm sorry if I'm bothering you in any way, shape, or form." He starts rambling. He's so cute when he rambles. He tenses up a little, and I notice that he stopped talking and I was just staring at him.

"Well Day, Daniel!" I quickly cover that up. "We did have a past together, but that was a decade ago if not more." I knew it wasn't more than ten years years, in fact today marks the tenth year. I also knew that if I don't shut up soon, I would burst into tears.

"I like it when you call me Day. I don't let many people call me that." "But you are special," He pauses for a few seconds thinking of what to say. "I think." He gives me a charming smile.

We were both caught up in present, maybe past, staring at each other. Just as I was about to speak Day holds out his had for me, and I take it gladly. Pretty soon we were talking, one on top of another. I tell him about my life for the past ten years and vice versa.

I know in the past, I hurt him more than words can explain. I have this clawing feeling in the back of my mind, that I should just let him be. Stay out of his life. But my heart won't let me. 

Too soon for my liking we reach Tess's building. She lives on the highest floor, the
eighteenth. Day and I glance at each other. For a second, time freezes. I'm gazing into his beautiful crystal blue eyes, and I see the tiny ripple of imperfection in his left and I can't help but fall in love all other again. I just want to be held in this arms. I want to be able to feel the warmth radiating off of his skin. I want to feel his chest rising with every breath.

I want so many things. Too many. I try to calm myself. You would think ten years is more than enough for me to lose all of whatever feelings I had left for Day. I thought so too.

But seeing Day. In live, flesh and skin, proves me so damn wrong.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Day asks.

With a slight nod I lean in for a kiss. But Day's already scaling the building. As it turns out we weren't thinking the same thing.

A quick sigh of disappointment escapes from me. But I have no time to waste so I start climbing too, catching up to him.

About halfway through he stops, and starts gasping for air.

"I have," Day says breathing heavily, with every breath my panic just increases. "asthma." He barely finishes his sentence before I start acting. I quickly shove him onto the floor that we were on and sit him up against a wall.

"Ok, take deep breaths. In and out in and out." I place my hand on his chest, in an effort to help him, but I realize that I'm doing it because of how much I've been craving to touch him.

We sit in a comfortable silence for exactly eight minutes and forty-three seconds, until Days breath stabilizes again.

"It would've been nice to know that, BEFORE we started climbing." I say sarcastically, breaking the silence.

He gives out a small laugh.
"I'm just so crippled, I forget the simpler problems with my problematic body." He says this as a joke but the sadness flashes in his eyes.

It makes me remember what happened before he left. He was dying from his infected hippocampus. Every day he became weaker and weaker. His prognosis being only a two months. And then the whole war happened, and Day was left with two bullets in him. Laying on the ground, near death, I cried and cried over him. That was the last time he saw and remembered me. But then he was taken into an emergency surgery, whether he would survive or not, was unclear. Miraculously, after 5 months of a coma he woke up. But he didn't remember me. And I made the most painful choice of my life.