Wicked Games Academy

CHAPTER 19

Right after the ball Clive and I hurried outside with all the other boys still in the beautiful auditorium of flowers and girls in their bright dresses. Clive clutched my hand once we were sure no one else was following. We left the dark halls and then he opened the door to a sky of stars.

We saw several night skies together, but never had we seen it without the guilt of killing people or failing a mission.

We saw them without our horses, without the Headmaster.

It was such a gentle night sky with its winter wind and our hair flying around our heads.

We both tilted our heads up, hand squeezing one another's, and I thought of how unbearable my whole life would be without him. I wouldn't have known how addicting love was, how sweet lips were, nor had anything but my pathetic knighthood before me.

Now I had began thinking of different things—of being a lesser knight such as Daniel instead of Jonathan, who went to wars. I wished for Clive and I to stay together, as adults, and also—I wished for a world people didn't have things such as knights, revolutions, and murder.

I knew I was becoming soft, but my eyes teared up although I would never let Clive see. So we continued staring at the skies.

"It's a full moon tonight!" Clive exclaimed, and I knew a grin was on his face.

"It's not, it's actually a waning gibbous moon," I said. "It was recently full, most likely last night."

"I see that sliver that is gone."

"Clive?" I breathed out my warm breath and felt my chest tighten. "You're the person who completes my moon."

Clive laughed loudly.

"Since when did you say such romantic lines, Nathan? This isn't like you," he said.

"But I need you to know. I wanted to say this for a long time, but here goes," I whispered.

The hall inside of us had light out the windows but we were alone, away from auditorium windows, and I felt as though we were completely alone, that it was just us.

"I love you."

I finally said it. I had been putting it off for too long, and I pulled at Clive with my heart racing more than when I talked to Heloise. Clive held a special place no one could replace, I knew.

Clive stared at me, mouth ajar and hair strewn to one side. I reached out and parted it, feeling my fingers grow numb in the cold.

"Say something," I added after the silence was too awkward.

Clive held my hand on his head and we were holding both of each others hands. He smiled with his teeth, eyes shining, a starry sky in of itself.

"I love you too, Nathan."

I closed my eyes and held him tightly.

For that moment we were together and I finally said I loved him the universe felt like it paused. All the troubles were gone, and past not future mattered. Only that moment when I kissed his forehead then mouth did my burdens all disappear.

"I love you," I repeated, finding it surprisingly easy to say, considering I had never said that to my family. No one, too, had ever loved me.

Clive laughed, and kissed me.

"You're so adorable," he said.

That night we hurried back to our dorm after eating dinner together—the boys were talking about girls and everyone was raving over this girl or that.