My Psychiatrist III

Part 9

We arrive at Niagara around 4 AM. I would've expected myself to be tired, but the adrenaline is there and keeps me more energetic than usual.
'This is it,' Ashton says as he points at the massive bridge in front of us. It's brown and silver, made out of iron. It looks fairly old. 'The security and border is on the other side.'
I just nod before looking over the edge. A wide, strong, unruly river flows underneath us. All I can see is pitch-black water and white foam.
'Wanna walk?' I ask, looking up at Ashton. He seems a little stressed but not extremely much. My dad made him look more scared back in his apartment.
'Yeah, let's do this,' he says as he shoots me a quick smile. It doesn't quite make it to his eyes, but it was a sweet attempt. I smile back.

There are almost no cars on the bridge, and definitely no pedestrians except for Ash and me. Everywhere we go, he's holding my hand. Sometimes a little too tight, but I reckon it's just stressing for him too. Except for the tingly feeling I get when I realise what we're doing; we're crossing the border and going to find Luke somewhere in the US; I feel fairly calm. This place doesn't give me shivers or anything.
We're halfway across the bridge. I stop and Ashton immediately shoots me a worried look. 'Are you okay Tess?'
I smile and let go of his hand, grabbing the fence of the bridge and looking over the edge.
'So.... Apparently I was somewhere in between these waves and rocks a couple of months ago? On my way to America as well?'
I look back at Ashton, who narrows his eyes. 'Isn't that fucking awesome? Like, pretty ridiculous?' I laugh.
Ashton smiles back as he wraps his arms around me from behind and hugs me softly.
'It's quite a crazy thought yeah. You probably had some magic in you.'
I turn around and make an attempt of giving him an offended face.
'What, am I a witch to you too now?' I ask whilst bursting out in laughter. 'I look like a witch to you? I know my hair isn't nicely braided, but it ain't that bad!'
'No it's not,' he smiles. 'It's worse.'
'Ahah!' I smile as I drop my job and raise my eyebrows. 'Excuse me sir?'
'Witches are badass. And cool. And powerful. And sometimes they're beautiful, just like you.'
I close my mouth and I fall silent for a couple of seconds.
'Thank you?' I then say in an asking tone.
Ashton just gives me a quick kiss on my cheek before grabbing my hand and pulling me to continue walking. 'I'm not a witch though!' I yell at his back. He just continues walking. 'Ashton, I'm not a witch.'
'I know.'
'You know?' I laugh.
He just continues pulling me and takes big steps. His back still facing me.
'I know.'
'Then why am I a witch to you?'
Ashton abruptly stops which makes me bump into his back.
He turns around slowly, causing me to take a step back and narrow my eyebrows.
His eyes have a strange spark in them, and a little smile is appearing on his lips.
'Because Tess....' he says as he strokes his thumb over my cheek, 'because you definitely have some magic in you.' He ends his sentence with a wink before grabbing my hand again as he continues walking.
I shrug my shoulders and look up at the sky. Millions of starts are to be seen in the pitch black night sky.
'I can live with that...' I mumble before seeing a familiar star sign. 'Oh look! It's the Gemini!'
Ashton stops again and I'm just on time to stop walking before bumping into him again. He looks up as he faces me. It's silent for a minute before he looks down at me again. 'Are you hungry?' I ask him.
'Tess....' he smiles. 'We were trying to cross the border, remember?'
'Oh, yeah, sorry.'
'Just kidding babe. But come on, let's go.'

The border office is much bigger than I though. Most of the building is made for cyclists and drivers, but a small section is made for pedestrians. The TL- lighting gives the office a harsh vibe. The floor is dark grey - looking a little depressed to me - and the black, plastic waiting room chairs don't make it look any better. The room is decorated with a massive picture of president Trump, American flags and some maps.
'Next please.' The man behind the counter calls after ten minutes of waiting. Ashton and I stand up at the same time and walk in the direction of the counter.
'Hello Madam, hello sir, what can I do for you?' The man behind the counter asks. He's somewhere in his 50's, with a proper booze belly and a grey moustache. He's slightly balding and his blue polo shirt has a coffee stain on its right side. I look into his eyes who look directly back at me. He seems like a strict man; but not unfriendly.
'Good evening sir,' Ashton says whilst scratching the back of his neck. 'We'd like to cross the border.'
'Ah I see. Both of you, hm?'
I nod in response as Ashton looks at me.
'Do you have your passports?'
I kneel down to get my passport from my backpack as Ashton already puts his on the counter.
'We have a couple of forms you both need to fill in separately. If you plan on staying for longer than 28 days, you need to apply for a visa. You can do that on the American Embassy website,' I hear the man behind the counter say. I find my passport and stand up again, handing it to him.
'Ah I thought so....' the man says as he puts both passports down and folds his arms. He leans back into his chair and looks up at us. 'Tess Black and Mister Irwin.'
'Yes sir,' Ashton replies. I can see he shifts his weight between his two feet and that his fingers fold together. He seems a little nervous all of a sudden. 'What makes you two famous souls want to enter America all of a sudden, huh?'
'We uh...' I say before Ashton can say anything. 'We're visiting a friend of mine in Buffalo. And Mister Irwin was so kind to help me get there.'
'A real gentleman I see.'
'Yes sir,' I reply. I feel Ashton's eyes burn in my neck but don't bother. I'm only staying the truth.
'Do your parents know?'
'She's over 18 sir,' Ashton states.
'Do your parents know?' The man replies again.
'They do sir. No worries about that.'
'Then why aren't you travelling during daytime?'
This time, I don't have an answer. Oh god Ash, please don't let me down now.
'That's because of the distance and costs sir.' I look at Ashton as he smiles politely to the guy behind the counter whilst continuing his sentence. 'We left at 10PM last night. The bus and train to Niagara take about 5 hours to get us here.'
'Then why aren't you here at 2 PM?'
'Because we went for a midnight snack and we went to get my stuff at my house too,' I add. 'We had some Mexican Taco's at Toronto Central.'
'Yeah that was delicious,' Ashton says as he takes a step back from the counter and looks at me, eyebrows raised, smiling, as if to show how amazing the food we just came up with was tasting.
'I see.' The man behind the counter eventually says.
'I'll take some copies of your passports whilst you can fill in these forms.'

Half an hour later, all the copies have been made and all the forms have been filled- and handed in.
'Alright, have a great trip the two of you. Stay safe.'
'Thank you so much sir,' Ashton and I say at the same time as we grab our passports and backpacks and walk further into the building, towards security. Security is done within 5 minutes without any problems.
When we step outside in the fresh air, the sky is already colouring lighter blue than when we entered the building an hour ago.
'Tess....' Ashton whispers as he takes my hand, making me stop walking.
I look up at him. 'Tess, we fucking made it into the USA!' He shouts as he jumps up and down.
I feel the energy coming back immediately and start jumping with him.
'I know I know I know!!!'