54; the unanticipated

206 13 11
                                    

—fiftyfour—

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fiftyfour

the unanticipated


ARTHUR FELT A tap on his shoulder, and when he looked to his side, one of his workmates distractedly said, "Gear up, dude. We gotta get to the main grounds."

"Aight. Be right there," he replied, pulling out his helmet from his locker before closing it. He then placed it down his head and followed suit, falling into a step with the other mascots.

They'd been told right before their break that there was going to be a celebration or of some sort later tonight. That was all there was to it, really. So basically, they were just going to gather up in the background to get the crowd going, he presumed.

As they were nearing the quad, he scanned the surrounding and found that the area was already flocked with people. None was happening so far but one staff from the events team approached them, parceling out some instructions on which team should take this or that post. He was included in the first group and they were assigned to take the front sides of the quad, just near the art museum, while the others soon stood by the opposite end of the main grounds.

Beneath his mask, he fleetingly pulled his eyebrows together when several guys from different media teams had caught his attention, their cameras already set up fronting the Victorian building. He looked back at the crowd and sensed that they were waiting for something. It wasn't like he cared, honestly. It was just part of his job to stand and be a decorative being straight out of a fairy tale movie.

His workmate, who was wearing a gnome costume, suddenly nudged his elbow so that he would look up at the patio at the second floor of the art museum. Two spotlights were criss-crossing up above the night skies, and one was directed straight to the middle of the building where the patio was.

And then someone announced the names of Paige Cadwyn and Owen Callaghan as they soon emerged, making his stomach slightly churn. The two had elated smiles across their faces; Paige's hands were clasped around Owen's elbow, while the latter had his one hand perched atop Paige's as they were nearing to the balustrade.

Everyone's attention was on them, the spotlight hitting them from the waist up. Arthur felt like getting the hell out of this shell he was in, go up to Paige, and snatch her so they could run off together and never come home.

But fairytales were fairytales for a reason. They were our means of escape because reality disappoint humans so often. And all he could do was stop and stare, the fact that she was so out of his reach now becoming a lot more overwhelming that it just broke his heart. Because God knows how much he loved her.

"...let's give a round of applause for the soon-to-be Mr and Mrs Callaghan!"

He stopped dead.

That was the strangest thing about hearing something so dumbfounding. You were inclined to react right away, but sometimes, you never did. Because all of a sudden, nothing made sense. Your mind would crumble you into nothingness as the world was keeping entirely still. And when the words did register, he was catapulted back into the right time but way off his rightful place. His lungs felt corrupted as though heaven and earth collapsed right into him.

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