A Lumen Ripple | An Elemental Story

Chapter 18 - Dating (and) the Bizarre, Part 2

They walked out of the amusement park - the place doing exactly what it was designed to do; filling the two with amusement. They began to stroll along the Pier as slowly as they wanted. Clearly, rock candy wasn't enough food for the night. They now strolled along, arms linked - Wade with bubblegum ice cream, and Ember a piping hot coffee.

As they walked along, they looked up at the Pier lights coated along the walkways. A warm breeze gently whizzed past them, causing them to stop in their spots and take it in. They further did so by closing their eyes, comfortable, warm smiles upon each of their faces.

The wind passed, causing the two to slowly open their eyes. Ember took a quick swig of her coffee as Wade stood by her side. As to be expected, not a drop of coffee landed in her mouth before evaporating into the warm wind. Unfazed, she let out a shrug with a smile.

"Worth a shot," she said.

Wade let out a heaping laugh at her, holding his stomach as it jiggled about. Ember threw her cup away in a bin in passing. As she did, Wade looked her way, before his eyes fixated on a bench with an ocean view just past her. He tapped her on the shoulder, directing her attention over to it.

They promptly shifted direction, going up and taking a seat. At this point, moonlight had completely taken over, illuminating the seas in black and white instead of purple and orange. Ember slowly looked over to Wade to see him exhibiting a nice smile. She allowed herself to get lost in it, watching as the water inside his face naturally sloshed about. He slowly looked over at her in a similar fashion.

"I think I did pretty good with tonight." Wade raised.

Ember let out a smirk, nodding silently, unwanting to speak a word instead of living in the moment. She remained that way, shuffling close and resting her head on his shoulder. He let out a grateful smirk, closing his eyes and leaning over on her in tandem. She opened her eyes, staring directly ahead. What could be seen in front of her and Wade was nothing short of breathtaking. The moon stood directly in front, laying out a rippled path to it.

"I could stare out there for hours." she admired.

Wade opened his eyes, gently looking over at her admiring it.

"The way the light of the moon reflects on the water... it's almost like they're stepping stones to get there," she observed.

Wade gently looked out at the comforting pitch-black abyss, only juxtaposed by wonderful moonlight. He let out a smirk, taking in her words.

"Sounds like something I'd say," he remarked.

Ember let out a playful scoff, putting an arm on his chest. She straightened that arm to get up off of him, straightening herself out. The two looked over into each other's eyes. Ember smiled, tilting her head unknowingly.

"Still... nothing compares to your smile." she complimented.

Wade let out an Ember-signature playful scoff, looking down and smiling.

"Now you're just trying to make me smile some more." he quipped.

Ember let out a chuckle. The two quickly leaned toward each other again before long. Wade slung his arm over her, leaning inward.

"Did you wanna talk about this morning?" he raised.

Ember's eyes quickly opened up, looking over at him.

"This morning?" she reacted.

"Yeah!" he agreed.

He gently took both of her hands.

"You were telling me that you were going for an exam this Friday!" he recalled.

Ember let out a nervous chuckle, looking over to her right at the ocean.