Hold me closer

The strike

Quinn gently took Nia's hand and lead her to the middle of the ball room. She had expected classical music for an event like this one, but instead on the stage were a band doing calm covers of modern songs. The singer had a beautiful voice which set the mood along with the light from the live candles on every wall. Right now, all Quinn cared about in the world was Nia. They put their hands on each other's hips and started swaying to the music.

Nia's warm touch sent shivers down Quinn's spine. It was like their connection was electric. They were two magnets that even all of the off looks from the people around them couldn't separate. Quinn looked into Nia's dreamy, deep eyes with joy in her own. The song changed to an even slower beat, and Nia put her head on Quinn's shoulder. Their bodies were close enough for them both to feel their cosmic connection at its fullest. And Quinn was about to go over the edge.

She couldn't hold it in anymore. She wanted to be close to Nia, even closer, and she wanted them to stay that way forever. And most of all, she wanted it to start right then. That's why she lifted her head from Nia's shoulder, leaving a slightly confused look on her beautiful face. "I can't resist you." Quinn looked into Nia's eyes but couldn't read her. Was she scared? Or was she just as desperate as Quinn? Either way, nothing seemed to matter any more.

The crowds around them faded away as well as the sounds, leaving them floating in an endless void. And right then in that moment, with the two of them alone in the world, Quinn finally sealed their lips. Nia relaxed in Quinn's arms as they held each other up whilst experiencing the most magical kiss. Quinn's heart was beating so fast with happiness that she couldn't believe that moment was real.

But Nia was real, and she was everything Quinn could ever imagine and more. Their kiss grew deeper, tender but passionate, they clinged onto one another like their lives depended on it. Because now that Quinn had the love of this beautiful woman, she couldn't imagine a life without her.

They let go for a second only to catch their breaths, and suddenly all the people around them were back. Sending ugly or judgemental looks, some with big eyes and some in disbelief. As if the feelings between Quinn and Nia was anything other than pure. Quinn saw Nia being thrown back into reality when she looked at her parents, both with expressions of shock.

And that's when everything changed. Quinn felt her body being hit by a powerful blast, she was thrown backwards and hit her head. And then everything went black.

Quinn woke up to a blurry vision and loud ringing in her ears. It wasn't the first time she had experienced those things together. All around her was smoke, sparks of fire and ashes flying in the air. It was a bomb. Feeling shaken but desperate, Quinn managed to get herself standing up. She looked around her yelling with fear in her voice, "Nia! Nia!" She started stumbling around, scanning people's faces in the chaos whilst coughing. People were dead, the stairway had collapsed and Quinn was crying, until she heard her name called out.

"Quinn?!" She ran towards the voice with every ounce of power she had left, vision still a little blurry. Her heart jumped when she finally saw Nia, lying next to a pile of fallen tables looking distraught. Quinn sat next to her and held her tightly in her arms, relieved beyond belief. "Oh thank God! Are you okay?" She scanned her eyes over Nia, luckily not finding any visible injuries. She helped her up and started looking around the room again when Nia let out a horrified gasp.

Quinn looked at where she was pointing and saw a sharp metal piece sticking out of her own arm. She hadn't even noticed. "Do... do you have something to tie around it?" Nia, still shocked, started rummaging in her tiny crossbody bag until she pulled out a scarf made out of solid fabric. "That's perfect." Quinn, very painstakingly, pulled the metal out and quickly tied the scarf around the wound, tightly. She turned to Nia again, only to see her running across the room. Quinn ran up to her and used all of her strength to hold her still.

"My parents! Let go!" The explosion seemed to have been multiple small ones, centered around the edges of the ball room. Exactly where the Nazari's were stood. "They're going to be fine, Nia! They have their own body guards!" Nia protested wildly, crying whilst trying to form words. "We have to help them!" Quinn turned Nia around to face her. "Listen! Hey, listen! There may be another bomb, okay? It's not safe here. We're vurnorable if we stay!"

Nia finally stopped looking over her shoulder and let herself fall into Quinn's arms. "They will be okay. We need to focus on keeping you safe, understand?" Nia nodded sadly and Quinn let go of her. She pulled up the flowy fabric of her own dress and grabbed the gun attatched to a suspender on her thigh, holding it loaded and drawn. Nia had mostly stopped crying, and Quinn took her hand to get them both out of there. "Are you ready?"