Ascension: A PL&DE Novel (SVTFOE Fan Fic)

Heart vs Head

From where we were, the garden was nothing more but a spec, though we still weren't that far from the dock. The night was quiet, peaceful. All I could hear was the trickle and small waves that rocked the canoe. Star and I each were rowing, both our oars rowing on different sides of the canoe, though I felt like we weren't really moving, just drifting.

I finally stopped to realize we were just going around in a circle. "You think we're doing this right?" I asked her, studying the way the small wooden canoe would spin around in the lake.

"What makes you say that?" Star answered my question with another question.

"Star, we're going in circles." I finally said. To this, she stopped her own rowing of her own oar.

"Yeah," she chortled. "I should've mentioned this earlier but I really don't know how to row a boat."

Her remark made us both laugh and for a while, we remained drifting while stargazing, not worrying about where the lake's subtle current took us. It grew so silent and still, that I actually became lost in thought, thinking about nothing yet everything at the same time.

I had hardly noticed when Star had scooted just a bit closer to make herself comfortable while laying her gentle head on my shoulder. Next came her hand, intertwining itself with my own hand until our fingers were laced together. I could actually feel the fever reach my face and I dropped my head with a smirk.

I felt my stomach twist and churn, almost a mix of nervousness and joy. It was almost like that same feeling I had when I had first saw her in the Underworld. A wave of heat had come over me and my nerves became shook. My heart roared and sang and thumped inside me, each heartbeat rising something up. I couldn't tell if it was going to be a full-hearted howl or the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I had earlier.

"I missed you." She then mumbled.

"I-I missed you too." I found my own voice come out in a whisper.

The silence between us stretched on once more for a few minutes. Then Star sprung up, almost like something had caught her attention. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" I asked, following the direction of where she was looking, ahead of us.

A few seconds passed by and she spoke again, this time, gasping and pointing. "Right there! See?"

The canoe began to rock back and forth from her sudden movements. She was leaning on the side of the canoe now, tipping it slightly to the left. "Look, it's blinking!" She said excitedly.

"Starrr," I cautioned her, gripping onto the canoe's right side, hoping to even out the weight. "The boat! It's gonna tip!"

She must have been focusing hard to catch what she had missed and was now pointing to her right. "It's over there now! Look!"

A subtle and quick flash of a firefly had went off in the distance, just barely above the water. I had seen it where her finger was pointing. Just then, she had leaned forward more and the boat began leaning more towards the left, unable for me to stop it.

Just as I had predicted, we both tipped to the left, falling headfirst into the lake, the canoe tipping completely over. I was drenched immediately and flailed my arms in a frenzied panic. I started clawing at the water and trying to swim upwards.

When I found my head above water, I clutched onto the boat as a flotation device, afraid I might drown.

"See? What did I-" I scanned the water, though it was strangely and unsettlingly quiet. "Star?"

I called out her name but my only answer was the swishing and swaying of the water. Thinking the worst had happened, I inhaled deeply, held it, and dove. I only made it a few feet down before fearing my own worst-happening and scrambled back up, to the safety of the upside down canoe. Then I went again. Twice. Three times with no use as I had to spit up water from my last attempt.