"Damian, can I ask you something?" Elena blurted as they walked down a pathway. She had no idea where it lead, but she didn't care, as long as she was with him.
"Sure thing, shoot," he said.
"Do you love me?" she asked, looking up at him.
"Babe, I've always loved you, I wasn't sure if you felt the same way," he admitted, pulling her into his chest and kissing the top of her head. He tilted her chin so she was facing him and leaned in, so close Elena could feel sparks without his lips remotely close to hers.
Elena shot up out of bed for the third time over the past couple of days. She had had the same dream every time but never ended up kissing him. She was torn, half of her wanted to finish the dream, but as much as she wanted to, she knew it was wrong. It was rebelling against the entire country to commit such a crime, and she wasn't sure if she could bring herself to doing that.
She glanced over at Damian, who had been so deep in thought, he didn't notice her sudden movement.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked, snapping him out of his train of thought. He blushed, making it evident. She had noticed him spacing out more and more, and after hearing him mutter her name inadvertently, she had come to the conclusion that he was thinking about her.
"Nothing much," he muttered and yawned, "Hungry?"
"Meh," she replied, moving her hands in a 'Comme ci comme ça' gesture. (A/N: For any of you that don't speak French I'd suggest you go look it up)
"I'm going to go get breakfast started before the rest of the boys are up, care to join me?" he asked.
She nodded and got up out of the bus seat to follow him. By tomorrow morning, they would be at the Palace, so it was important that they were well fed.
The night before, she and Damian had cleared a space so they could get into an old abandoned restaurant and make pancakes with the flour Max had given them in exchange for a house once they got back to the village. It wasn't much, but it sure beat having Levi in his place, so Elena made the decision for Damian.
They walked through the entrance of the restaurant and into the large kitchen. Elena got out the supplies they needed and they each whipped up a triple batch, enough to feed everyone. They got the pancakes fried and stuck them in the oven to warm before grabbing two mugs of peppermint tea and going upstairs to the balcony to watch the sunrise.
She sat down next to him on the worn loveseat and he wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders. She had been gazing at the sun for a while when she felt someone watching her. She turned around and Damian looked away, trying to make it seem like he wasn't staring, but he wasn't quick enough.
"Sorry," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck.
She placed her hand on top of his without warning. She didn't know what came over her, she just had to.
"Damian, I think I'm in love with you," she blurted, the words coming out of her mouth completely out of her control, "And I don't care what the Palace has to say."
He tilted her chin upwards towards his face, just like in her dream. She pinched herself just to make sure, but nothing changed.
"You're sure?" he asked, knowing how cautious she had been over the subject of love. She nodded, never having been more sure in her life. He pressed his lips against hers and butterflies erupted in both of their stomachs, sparks flying. Elena was certain that this was what she wanted, there was no taking her away from Damian. She trusted him more than she had ever trusted anyone before, even after only knowing him a week. Her teachers were wrong, Damian was far from being a monster.
He pulled away, lips lingering for a second, before pulling her close to him.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too," she replied.
---
By the afternoon, everyone had figured out Elena and Damian were an item, whether it was the way they looked at each other or the way they were never further than a metre apart, it was obvious.
The final stretch of their journey was by far the longest. Instead of it only being a few hours, it was ten. Tyson and another boy named Will took turns driving so the other could sleep, as the trip would be partially overnight since they only ended up leaving at six. A few hours had already passed, and most of the other boys had fallen asleep. Elena laid with her head in Damian's lap, playing with his hair.
"Damian, babe, what happens if the government does find out about us. The teachers told us that a death sentence was in order for any of this genre of crime," she said, a slight quiver in her voice.
"El, I will do everything in my power to stop it from happening, whatever it takes. If we do end up dying, at least I can die happy beside the one that I love," he said.
She nodded understandingly, eyelids slowly drooping shut as he ran his fingers through her smooth dark hair.
Hey guys, hope you liked it!
I had to make them a couple, it was bound to happen sometime. If you don't agree, tough.
Total word count for the #JustWriteIt competition is 6243!
