(Song attached, hell of a night by schoolboy Q, warning this song has swear words in it for those who don't like that)
Alice comes by in the evening and saves me from my parents, she tells me that we'll actually have to meet up sometime soon, which actually sounds quite nice. I arrive at the museum a few minutes after sundown and wonder what Ahkmenrah will have to say about yesterday night. I wave at Larry and Teddy as I walk in and head straight up the stairs, the first thing I see is Ahkmenrah talking to a young couple, so decide to wait until he's done.
It feels like the whole night has gone by when the couple finally leave, I watched Ahkmenrah desperately trying to get away from them, but every time it seemed like he might escape they asked him yet another question "sorry" he says as he hugs me, I know it would be unprofessional to kiss me right now.
"It's fine, who were they?"
"Historians, both of them" geez, that's why it took so long "anyway Celeste I wanted to apologise for last night..."
I put two fingers to his lips to stop him from talking "don't you dare apologise, I understand how hard it must have been for you"
He sighs like he doesn't believe me and takes my fingers into his hand, stroking the tips softly with his thumb "but the way I behaved..."
"Was out of fear. Look, I'd be pretty scared to get in that thing every night too, and that's without the fifty seven years of history in it" and that's a long bloody time.
"Technically it's seventy one years" and that's an even longer bloody time! Why the hell wouldn't they let him out?! The look of shock must be clear on my face as he starts to explain "my tomb was discovered in nineteen thirty eight, I was on display in the Egyptology department of Oxford before I arrived here in nineteen fifty two, everyone thinks it's been fifty seven years, but they're wrong" I can see that he's on the verge of tears so I grab him and pull him into a hug, unable to care about who might be watching.
He buries his head in my hair and we stand like this for a few minutes before an elderly woman at the end of the room clears her throat suggestively, I ignore her as I hold his face and rest my forehead against his "why have you never told me?"
There's a sad smile on his face now, one that I see too often "I didn't want anyone's pity" I'd hate to be a king, or in my case a queen, because you couldn't be vulnerable in front of anyone.
"Oh, my love" I whisper "you've suffered too long" and now because of the tablets reigns on him, he'll always suffer in one way or another.
Slowly he pulls away from my forehead and looks me in the eyes, a happy look on his face for once "my love?" Did I say that out loud? Is it too soon for I love you's? It been 5 days, 5... wonderful days. And though they've been short, I know in my heart that what I feel is love, and that I'll never feel it this deeply for anyone else... perhaps it is too soon, but why wait when I know?
"That's what I said" I bite my lip and start to blush, I can't believe this is happening, this is first time I've ever told a boy that I love him.
His eyes light up and widen "you love me?"
I smile wider than I thought possible and look at my shoes, until he takes my chin and pulls my head up softly to look at him, his eyes fix on mine as if they may never let go, and pull me into our most passionate kiss yet. I can feel everybody staring, but I haven't a care in the world, this moment is ours, they have the honour of sharing it with us. When he eventually pulls away he keeps his eye contact and grins "I love you too"
I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him again, this time he picks me up and spins us around the floor. I giggle into his mouth and wait to pull away until he puts me down, which he doesn't do for a while. When he does I grab his hand and drag him out of the exhibit. We spend the rest of the evening dancing around the empty planetarium, which is under reconstruction. I had intended to stay with him until sunrise, to make sure he went down okay, but a phone call from mum made sure I went home early, she said she didn't want me to stay out too late, and I couldn't really argue.
~
Today is a new day, mum frowns when Alice (who she still thinks is Rebecca) comes to get me and surmises that we must be going out clubbing, I try to tell her otherwise but she's convinced that that's where I go every night, so in the end I just tell her that it's true and surprisingly she still lets me leave. As usual Alice and I part ways outside of the hotel as I head for the museum, only to never make it inside. To my complete surprise as I'm about to walk in, someone calls my name in a familiar voice, it takes me a second to recognise him but one look at his eyes and I know it's him "Ahk?"
With a wide smile he walks over to me and pulls me into a hug, the surprising thing is that he's wearing normal clothes and not his usual Egyptian threads "Larry and I did some online shopping, Larry mostly" I can't imagine Ahkmenrah trying to use a computer.
"You did?" I say with a grin as I eye him up and down, fighting every urge that I have right now to drag him into the museum and do unspeakable things to him "well you look... hot, you look hot" he smiles and takes my hand, walking us down the steps towards the crossing "wait, where are we going?"
He shrugs and looks around "I thought you might have been sick of the museum, so it's your choice" there are so many places that I want to show him and take him to, but we only have a short amount of time, and I can't take him too far away from the museum, but thanks to mum I already have an idea. He's spent most of his life in a box, afraid of the dark and unable to step into the sunlight, well I know a type of activity that is dark but with lots of lights, I've been in Ahkmenrah's world, now it's time for him to be in mine. I'm also hoping that I might be able to help with his claustrophobia.
I call Alice on my phone as I know what she's doing tonight, mum was right about one of us earlier "hey, that club you're going to tonight, is it close to the Museum of Natural History?" She tells me how far away from the museum the club is, I do some math and decide that by car we could be there and back in time "great, see you there" when I put the phone down Ahkmenrah gives me an uncertain look, but I just assure him that he'll have fun tonight, I hail a taxi and give the driver the directions, and it's not long until we arrive.
"What is this place?" He asks as we get out of the taxi, we can see many different colours in the windows and loud music is just pouring out right across to the other side of the street.
I grab his hand and walk us towards the unmissable building "where people come to have fun, dance and make bad decisions" I grin at him but he doesn't look sure, his first trip outside of the museum was always going to be strange for him. Thinking about it I probably should have just taken him to Central Park or something...
As we walk in I see him squirm at the volume of the music, but when we come to the dance floor he's completely entranced by all the lights, I see him look around at the ceiling with wonder-filled eyes... until he looks at the dance floor itself, I can see sweat start to trickle down his forehead and drag him into the women's bathroom, there's no one in here anyway. The music from outside is vibrating through the floor but we can hear each other better in here "I can't" he breathes out.
"Hey, it's okay, come on talk to me"
"I can't Celeste, there's too many people..." I can see the panic mercilessly taking over him, his eyes are manic and his hands are trembling.
Perhaps this was a mistake, I hold his face and look at him so that he knows everything is okay "I know, I know it looks scary, but I think this is the key to helping you" his eyes refuse to look at me so I start to stroke his cheek and look at him intently "hey, hey look at me, look at me" slowly he does as I ask "trust me, okay? Just, come out there with me, and if you don't like it then we'll go somewhere else" my theory is that once he starts dancing he'll forget about the people, when we kiss the whole world falls away, and that's because it's just us sharing one moment, and if he focuses on me out there, and concentrates on the lights, and the music, the world will just fall away as we share that moment. But, that's just a theory.
It takes him a second to slowly nod, but he doesn't look happy or convinced. Hand in hand we walk back out onto the dance floor, as we pass through sweaty bodies I can see his discomfort, I'm taking a big risk here, if he panics and leaves then he could just end up traumatised, and then he might never speak to me again. Okay, this was a really dumb idea. But, we're here now, so we might as well try. Once I've found a spot for us to dance in I grab his other hand and put them both on either side of my waist, moving my own hands up to his shoulders.
The panic is evident on his face so I put my hands on the back of his neck and gently push his head down so that our foreheads are touching, now he can only look at me "just focus on me!" I shout over the pounding music. Once I see that he's at least a little focused I start to move, and cautiously he starts to mirror me, until we're just swaying from side to side. This is a good start. After a while his focus starts to deteriorate and I have to think of something else "count your breaths!" I start to mouth numbers and watch as he slowly joins in, we start to sway a little faster and I start to smile a little, I think this might actually be working "focus on the lights! The steps!" I take his hand and lay his palm flat on my chest "close your eyes" I say just loud enough for him to hear me, when he does I say "feel my heart beating"
His body starts to loosen up as the next song starts to play, we move faster together and after a while I think he's guiding me. A smile slowly graces his lips as he opens his eyes, looking up at the lights like he's bathing in their warmth. Sweat is dripping down our bodies, we're pressed up against each other and the music is pulsing through us. The more the night goes on the more he loosens up, his smile never disappears and his eyes only focus on me and the lights, the other people are just fading away. My back is flat up against him as I run my fingers though his hair, and then move them down his arms as I move towards the floor, swaying my hips.
When I come back up he pulls me flush against him, holding my leg up to his hip as he moves against me, I have to say I'm starting to regret bringing him here less and less every minute. After a while both us are gasping for breath, so I take his hand and lead him to the bar, since I don't really want to get him drunk on our first night out, I order him a club soda and a water for myself. While I pat the areas of my body that my dress doesn't cover up with a napkin, I notice a familiar face walking towards us, I had completely forgotten Alice is here too "so when you said he was hot I had no idea you meant Greek God" she says loud enough only for me to hear.
"Egyptian" I correct her.
"What?"
I laugh and shake my head "never mind!" I shout and direct Ahkmenrah's attention to Alice "Alice this is... Ahkmen" sounds normal right? "Ahkmen this is Alice"
He reaches out across me for her hand and shakes it "nice to meet you"
"And you!" She shouts over the music while I check my watch, we have time "so hey, I was watching you guys on the dance floor and I have to say, I'm jealous" she smirks as she waves at the bartender, he doesn't ask what she wants but just goes and gets something from under the bar, which probably means that she's here often.
"You were watching us?!" The music has somehow gotten louder and I'm having to shout again.
"Everyone was!" My cheeks flush red as I look at Ahkmenrah, but he just grins and finishes his drink "it was hot!" She adds last minute. Ahkmenrah taps me on the shoulder and tells me that he's heading off to the bathroom, so I tell him that when he gets back we'll have to leave, he nods and heads away towards the men's room, while he's gone Alice receives her drink and for a moment looks thoughtful "you know, I swear I've seen him before!"
I could tell her that he works at the museum, but then that might connect a few dots in her head "people say that a lot! I think he just has that type of face!" She seems to accept that and starts to drink her very alcoholic drink.
Eventually I say bye to Alice and make my way over to the men's room to wait outside for Ahkmenrah, when he does come out he shows me a little plastic baggie with a small pill inside "some guy passed this to me under the stall, called me Richard"
I bite my lip and take the baggie from him, slapping it into the hand of the nearest person and then push Ahk towards the door, once we're outside I decide to give him some advice as we put on our jackets "little tip, don't accept anything that's passed under a bathroom stall, unless it's loo roll" he nods as he takes my hand while I get out my phone and call a taxi. When I end the call a call from my mum comes through "wait here" I say to him as I walk back into the club and answer the phone.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah!" I shout over the music, I thought if she could hear it in the background then that might convince her of my story, I can barely hear whatever she says next so interrupt her "sorry! I can't hear you! Oh, my drink has arrived! Gotta go bye!" I hang up and roll my eyes while I head back outside.
Ahkmenrah looks at me as the taxi arrives "everything okay?"
"Yeah, it was just my mum" he nods as we get into the taxi and just sit in silence with my head on his shoulder, and his head resting on mine, we're both too tired to make the effort of having a conversation. When we arrive back at the museum we still have about half an hour until sunrise, so we rush in and relax once we're through the doors, which I feel is a good time to ask how he feels about tonight "so, did you have fun?"
A grin that I don't see too often appears on his mouth, which makes me feel warm inside because I didn't make him have a melt down tonight "it was probably the most fun I've had in a long time" he says in an uplifting tone, he pulls me into a spontaneous kiss, only pulling away to say "thank you, you gave me something back tonight that I thought I lost a long time ago"
Before I can ask what, a text comes through to my phone from Alice <(thought you might like these xx) when I open it theres a picture attached "look" I show him the photo, it's one of us on the dance floor, my back up against him with his arms wrapped around me. I can't help but smile as another one comes through, this one has his hands on my waist, and my hands on the back of his neck as he kisses me. The two of us are unable to stop smiling as she sends a few more through, but the first two are definitely my favourites.
I send her a selfie of Ahk and I both grinning at the camera, with a text attached <(Ahk and I are so happy to have our own stalker, thanks!!😘) my only wish now is that I could set them as my backgrounds, but unfortunately my parents might see, ugh, this whole disapproving parents thing is getting really old.
Larry walks up to us and smirks a little when he gets a good look, we both still look pretty gross from all the sweating we did on the dance floor, but he doesn't comment on it "hey, hope you guys had fun, Ahk, you'd better change we don't have long" Ahkmenrah nods and kisses me on the forehead wishing me a good night before walking up the stairs towards his exhibit. Larry asks where I took him and when I tell him he looks a little shocked at first, but then I add that I think I might have helped with his claustrophobia, and only then does he stop looking at me like I just announced that I'm an alien who's come to steal all the spoons from the earth.
I ask for his email and jot it down in my phone so I can email those pictures to him, then maybe he could print a few off for Ahk. When he leaves to make sure everyone is getting into place I just walk around and think about my parents, how can they be so closed minded? "Everything alright down there young lady?" I look up to see Teddy on his horse Theo.
"I was just thinking"
"What's on your mind?" I hear that this guy is really insightful, it couldn't hurt to ask for his advice.
"My parents don't really like Ahkmenrah, so I sort of lie to them about where I go at night. I want to tell them, because I want to share these precious moments with them, and ask for their advice, but if I tell them then they'd ground me for life, and if I don't tell them and they find out, then they'll ban me from human contact altogether" I look up at Teddy as I realise that I just babbled all of my problems onto this unsuspecting dead president, who probably thought I was worried about something else.
Teddy just smiles as he takes his sword, preparing himself for when the sun rises "well my dear, sounds like you're trapped between a rock and a hard place" a really really hard place "in my experience, honesty is rewarded more often than dishonesty. Perhaps first you could try and make them understand what it is you see in him, why he makes you feel the way he does. For many years I lied to myself" really? Him? "I told myself that I'd talk to that woman behind the glass eventually, but I was too afraid that she wouldn't return my feelings. So, you must conquer your own fear, before you can conquer theirs"
I smile gratefully as he raises his sword in the air "thank..." and as the sun pours in he becomes still "...you" I nod my head and bite my lip as I walk away, maybe he's right, if I don't confess to my parents soon then the guilt might eat me alive, I wasn't sure if I was okay with just having the night to spend with Ahk, but now I'm sure that I could learn to love the night life, so maybe my parents could learn to like Ahk... or they could rush me home and never let me see him again.