Darko

xxix - Moments

The busiest day of the year was upon the equestrians.

What seemed like ages for most, seemed like moments for Darken. His summer was coming to an end and all he wanted to do was make the best out of these twenty-four hours.

The day certainly had the potential to be nothing less then beautiful. Despite the humidity, there were no clouds in the sky, a breeze that would come in on occasion, and Darken wasn't as anxious as he thought he would be.

Maybe it was the fact that he had spent time with his horse Vega, this morning? Maybe it was Elizabeth coming to him with words of encouragement? Or perhaps, it was Anne Von Blyssen that kissed him on his cheek the night before.

Though this wasn't the first time Anne had done this, something about it felt different this time. It was longer, softer, not rushed in any way, and not to mention she had closed her eyes.

He sighed happily, putting his fingers up to the side of his cheek.

However, his daydream didn't linger on too long before Alex came hurtling onto Justin from the back, causing the greasy haired boy to let out a shriek.

"ALEX!" The poor boy almost fell over, trying to regain his balance with the girl on his back.

She quickly hoped off, giving him multiple kisses on his cheek.

He chuckled, looking at Alex with a flustered yet puzzled look. "What was that f-mmph!" She gave him a peck on the lips, separating much too soon for his liking.

The two of them both stared at each other for a moment in complete silence. Justin's eyes blinked rapidly. "What has gotten into you, Alex?"

Alex's smile quickly faded. "Don't tell me you forgot about your own birthday?"

Darken snorted.

He looked at her with a confused glance. "But, my birthday isn't till the thirtieth."

And with that comment, Alex's smile returned almost as fast as it had left. "You're turning eighteen!" She proudly shouted so that all of Jorvik could hear.  "You have a right to celebrate early."

Justin nervously scratched the back of his neck, looking around to see if his girlfriend had made any heads turn.

Darken studied Alex for a few moments. It looked like there was something on her mind, something she wanted to tell Justin but just couldn't find herself to muster out the words.

"You aren't normally this affectionate." Justin studied her. "Is there something going on?"

She looked away from him, afraid to explain the real reason she wanted to celebrate today. "The truth is.." Her breath hitched. "Since summer is coming to an end.." She made some strange gestures with her fingers. "And you'll be at Moorland training the new students.."

He took both hold of both her hands which caused Alex to stop talking, looking up at his soft glance. "Hey, I'll still be here."

"I know, but here, here." She said, giving her lip a light nibble. "I'll be here in Valedale and you'll be in Moorland."

He gently took a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. "Don't worry about that, I'll still be coming to Valedale for a lot of my work." He pulled out his phone from his right pocket. "And I'll call you every night, visit you every chance I get, keep you upd-"

She giggled. "Okay, I feel a bit better now."

He sighed in relief, looking at her for a moment before snapping back into the reality they had got themselves in. "I'm ready to get this show out of the way."