Light of the Midnight: We Are Celestial [BOOK 3]

Twenty Six: Back On Track

"Ace is just this guy at my school. People think we're dating. He kind of thinks we are too. But we're not-"

"Why would the thought even come to his mind?"Jaime interrupts. They sit at a park in El Paso, close to the Zeta tubes.

"Because..." Daphne begins quietly, "they don't know I have a boyfriend."

"Why not!?" He jumps to his feet, arms in the air, frowning down at her. The outburst clearly frightens her. He let's his arms down.

"I-I... Because..." Daphne struggles and stutters over her words. She had no idea how to put it in a sentence.

"Are you ashamed of me?" He asks angrily.

"Of course not! I-I love you, you know that! I'd show you to the world proudly... If I didn't feel so-... Jaime I don't know how to explain it."

The brunette's voice dies out at the end of her sentence. Jaime folds his arms and looks away, disappointed.

"Do you know what I tell my friends? I tell them how beautiful you are. How perfect. Do you know how annoyed the Scarab gets when I can't stop thinking about you? The way you react to the things you read; this little look of determination you get when you're doing your homework; even the way you shrug when you smile! And now I know you don't tell any of your friends that!?"

"I do! Misty, Lily, Hana, Cassie, Barbra- even Hazel!" Noticing she was beginning to yell, Daphne quietens, folding her hands in her lap as Jaime sighs and sits back on the bench.

"We both know that's not the same," he murmurs, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"That's just it though," Daphne whispers. Jaime looks at her.

"Why? Because they know I'm a guy with an alien stuck to his spine already?"

"Yes- No- I don't know! It's just different! It's better with them!"

"'Cause they know I'm a freak and your real Gotham friends don't!?"

"What makes you think the Gotham brats are my real friends!? And you're not a freak! When have I ever said that Jaime?"

Any vindictive reply turned to ash in Jaime's mouth when he sees tears in Daphne's eyes. He had only seen her cry once; When Wally had passed away.

"Please tell me this isn't the end," she whispers, sitting back down on the edge of the seat. Jaime, still standing, shoves his hands in his pockets.

"No... Well I... I just need a few days to think, okay? Y-You should go home. Practise for your concert or something."

With that, Jaime walked out of the park towards his house, leaving Daphne there to regret her mistake.