Elements of Madness

Dare

That seemed fair,"What?"

She sat up tall, the serenity shifting back into energy again,"No, no questions. You can say yes or no, but that is all."

The sudden shift took a moment to grapple with. He watched those blue eyes, now bright and holding a challenge for him. Was this still about truth, or was it dare? Time for trust. "Yes." he committed.

Chloe stood, dabbing her lips with her napkin, then circled to his side of the table. She gestured him up, taking one of his hands in both of hers,"You're all mine now." Levity in her voice, but also, nervousness. She pulled him after her, through the room and up the steps into her bedroom.

"Chloe this isn't-"

She stopped and turned back to him. She gave his hand a sharp tug,"No questions. You said yes." she challenged with a painfully false bravado.

Chloe let him go and circled her room,"Face the windows." she instructed as she pulled the sashes allowing the curtains between bedroom and foyer to fall into place. Luka turned as instructed, following her with his eyes. What exactly was this? He could think of too many options. She touched a pad next to one of the windows and all of them tinted almost to opaque; plunging the room into a warm twilight.

Luka opened his mouth to protest, then closed it again. What was the point? He could walk out. The curtains were no barrier to anything but light, or he could stay. He clasped his hands behind himself like some antebellum gentleman caller and waited.

Chloe passed him on the way back, touching his shoulder gently,"Do you think about me ever?"

He followed her just until he lost her in his peripherals. There was a game here, and with no control over the rules, he resolved to at least play it well," Entirely too much lately, at least as far as paying attention in school is concerned."

Running water, Luka's mind played tricks on him with that. From a distance,"What do you think about?"

"Is this what you wanted from me?" Luka pushed back slightly to cover his own embarrassment.

The water masked footsteps. So it was a surprise when her voice was so close behind him,"No, this is fun. What I want comes soon." Her hands touched his shoulders, slender fingers kneaded slowly, working their way down his back. Luka wobbled slightly when her hands left him, he'd leaned into it without thinking.

She pressed a cloth into his hands. Luka brought it around in front of him. Black stripes on a white shirt,"Chloe, we will have to get back to school." So quickly the balance shifted. Now he was the one on the run again.

From far away,"I'm your ride, we leave when I am done with you."

Madness, but Luka was swept up in it. "I think about when we met. I think about the bonfire. I think about your visit. Right now, you're adding one more daydream to the mix."

A giggle,"Good memories?"

"Mostly. Wherever they aren't, it's my own fault."

"Oh?" Such a short answer, and cut off, distracted?

Luka decided he could play too, though plumbing Chloe's shame might just be a fruitless endeavor,"In my daydreams I make different choices sometimes, to fix mistakes."

"Ha. You run screaming I bet; dump a drowned rat overboard or pitch a banshee into the fire." Her voice was soft, laden with memory. Did he hear the rustle of fabric? Silk against silk.

Luka smiled to himself,"Quite the opposite. Daydream Luka isn't much of a gentleman."

Silence, the water stopped. "I'll have to meet him sometime."

How? How was he here? Months ago girls were things he wrote songs about. Weeks ago his heart belonged to one sweet enough for any mother to love. Now he felt on the precipice of damnation, and he wasn't sure if he was going to fall, or jump. The shirt in his hands dragged his thoughts towards jump. He had to regain some control.

"Taking a bath? Turnabout from the boat?"

She laughed, she was close. There was a huskiness to it,"No, just a little noise for cover. Didn't want you to run."

Another brief silence, a rustle, soft music drifted into the air from hidden speakers, then in a near whisper,"You can turn around now."

No hesitation. Luka turned and braced himself for what he believed was anything.

Almost anything.

She stood only a few steps away, small in the gloomy expanse of her stone and velvet gilded cage. Her eyes held his, capturing all of his attention. All bravado in her voice had been a lie. There was only asking in that gaze, a single question and fear.

His gaze expanded slowly. Realization set in, understanding. Luka swallowed, feeling a fool and entirely unequal to the moment. How could he hope to be? It struck him like a bolt, his only chance.

Luka fled, a surprised gasp in his wake. He took the steps in a single jump, yanking sweatshirt and T over his head in a single motion. His hands were shaking. He fumbled with buttons. Seconds, this should take seconds. He was as incompetent as a toddler in his hurry. There. Done! Luka took the steps again in a single jump, the curtains billowing in his wake.

She hadn't moved, her hands still clenched in nervous anguish at her waist. She had been crying. Luka cursed himself for taking too long. But when her eyes turned to him the tears turned into a choking laugh. A smile spread across her face but she still did not move. Luka crossed to her. How had she done this to him? Trembling and incompetent he reached out and took her hand,"Sorry I took so long." He murmured.

She stepped up to him, her opposite hand coming up to brush his chest,"My own silly fault for playing games." She stepped in and snuggled into him, her cheek against the crisp blue of the blazer.

Luka let her hand go and slipped his arms around her. The golden silk of her ball gown was cool, but warm where it clung to her. "I like this game." He whispered against her ear as they began to sway slowly to the music.

One song ended and another began. Neither spoke. They circled slowly in their own world. Her arms moved up, encircling his neck. Her fingers toyed ever so gently in his hair. He brought a hand up from Chloe's waist, intending the same. Her gown was backless and his fingers never completed the journey, instead brushing along the subtle curve of her; her skin hot under his touch.

Another song, as their slow spiral renewed Luka admitted,"I've never been to a ball before."

She lifted her head from his chest, but didn't meet his eyes. She toyed with the button just below the collar of his newly gifted shirt,"I've been to so many. This is the first one I've been happy at."

Luka found the base of Chloe's neck with one hand and returned her gentle massage from earlier. There was no plan, only instinct, she murmurred something and her head fell against him. She was filling his world again, but this time nothing fell away, instead the moment expanded to encompass them both, the room, Paris itself, and the sun as it's rays struggled in through the windows.

Another song. Luka dared the silence,"You had me completely wrecked." He laid his cheek against her head,"I should have pegged you for a tease."

A soft giggle. She laid both hands in the small of his back and snuggled in closer as they circled,"It's only teasing if you don't follow through."

He stopped in his tracks, her hip bumped his and she laughed again, a warm sound,"You'll just have to find out some time, but not today."

Luka resumed the dance. He bumped his chin against the top of her head and accused,"Tease."

Chloe squeezed him back with another little laugh,"Maybe."

Another dance, and still another. Neither made any move to break apart. They barely made it back to school in time for dismissal.