Cracks in the Mask

I Can Do This

Notes:

Hiya Descendants,

As promised, Friday's update.

After that chat we got to have with you tonight, I'm sure many of you are really going to enjoy this chapter.

We've got a little Geez protection going on, and a little Harry trying to get through to T.

Enjoy, and don't forget to leave us a comments/review. And make sure you ask your questions so we can answer them next Friday on our Facebook live :D

Lots of Love

-Dark-

(See the end of the chapter for questions.)

"I'm sorry I put you on the spot like that." Deez frowns as she walks down the stairs beside Gil. It worried her that his usual carefree expression had been replaced with a more somber one. It made her think of all the times she walked Carlos home after school.

"Nah, it's okay." Gil folds his arms tightly over his chest, "We're workin' on helpin' you with your fear, an' I promised you I'd work on mine if you let me help you with yours. I'd be a complete coward to back down now."

Deez frowns, "That's not true. You're so far from a coward. You're," She blushes, stopping herself just before she says something that would probably only be embarrassing, like the fact he was kind of maybe like her hero, "I just- You waited for me to be ready, so you deserve the same. That's all I meant."

"Were you ready though?" His eyes slowly sweep over her. "I know you built the pool, but the first time we got in it was an accident."

"Well, ok. Yeah." She purses her lips. He had her there. "Sure, I didn't mean for it to happen like that, but I was going to ask for your help once the pool filled. So, no, not exactly the way I wanted it to happen, but, we did what I wanted." She awkwardly pushes her hair out of her face, "You just held me and talked to me- made it feel like everything was okay."

Gil's steps falter as they get further down the stairs, his eyes darting around the narrow hallway in front of them. "I-Well yeah, I did do that but- um. Are you breathing okay?"

Deez blinks in confusion as she takes a test breath. Breathing okay?

Her eyes soften when she looks up and sees the panic in his eyes. "I feel great. Still plenty of air from the stairs." She smiles encouragingly.

Gil clears his throat. "Good, good, good. That's good." He nods, as he looks up the stairs behind them longingly.

"Let me just-" Deez walks over to a hook in the wall. She frowns before she stretches on her tiptoes and jumps to hang the lantern from its handle. "Is it the hallway?" She asks as she walks back to him, holding out both of her hands.

Gil bites his lip as he looks between her and up the stairs before landing on her again. After a moment he finally loosens his arms to take her hands in his.

Her heart thuds painfully in her chest when he rips his hands away again.

"It's not helping," Gil admits. "How does T spend so much time down here? Is it getting hot? I swear it's getting hot." He sits on the bottom step as he wipes the sweat off his forehead.

Deez frowns as she looks down at her empty hands before she drops them to her side. He was shaking. And he clearly didn't want her to know, "Is it better for me to stay close or give you more space?" She wanted to jump in his arms and keep him talking, but she was worried it would make things worse for him. And that was the last thing she wanted, to make this harder.