"Ladies first," Markus said.
Elian took a step back when he spoke. His eyebrows furrowed, and he glanced at her hands, tightly clasped by her sides.
"Scared of heights?" He said.
Elian gulped, nodding and looking at the pole. Markus reached behind and got two pairs of gloves from a drawer compartment.
Gently, he took her hands from her sides. Sliding the gloves on her hands, his warm hands clasped around her cold ones. She felt tingly from where their skin had contact.
Outside, there was still a lot of noise. Glasses breaking, people shouting. But in the quiet room, it was just the two of them, hearts beating in sync.
"Hey, look at me." He said.
Elian glanced up, and instantly Markus' beauty distracted her.
His long lashes blinked and in the lamplight his eyes almost seemed to glow. His tall stature over her smaller frame wasn't intimidating at the moment, more like grounding. He brushed his fingers over the top of her hands.
"I'll go first, and I'll wait for you at the bottom. It's not a long way, and I'll be there to catch you if you fall,"
Elian blinked, gathering her thoughts and then she chuckled.
"That sounds like lyrics. Catch you if you fall," she said.
"Maybe I quoted," Markus said.
"Maybe," Elian bit her lip, her gaze going back to the pole.
Out of the blue, Markus asked, "Do you believe in fate?"
"Huh?" Elian asked.
"Like, there are some moments that were meant to be. I think this is one of them," Markus grinned.
Elian was thrown off by Markus' words, and for once she did not know what to say or do in the moment. She followed her train of thought and she opened her mouth.
"Hm, not really. I think things come and go, and there's no way of knowing whether it was fate," she said.
"So you don't believe in one true love?" Markus asked.
Elian looked off in the distance. Thinking of her recent disastrous relationship, she shook her head.
"Love is true. But I don't know if there's one true love for anyone." she mused.
Markus surprised her by sliding the window open, and placing his hands on the pole.
"I guess I'll just have to prove you wrong." Markus looked at her, a child-like playful expression on his face. He smiled again, the kind of smile that made Elian gooey on the inside.
"Bombs away!" Markus shouted, and he jumped onto the pole and out of view.
Elian stepped hesitantly closer to the window to check if he was okay.
Already standing, he waved at her from the ground. Elian's heart lurched as she looked at the distance from the top of the pole to the ground.
Stepping back again, she tried to calm her pounding heart. She took in a few breaths, trying to become courageous and hoping for a miracle.
Just as she mustered up her resolve and walked towards the window once more, a huge bang resounded from behind her.
Elian looked to the door, and she saw the door broken down.
Marsha stood there triumphantly with some other friends, grabbing two scrawny guys by their collars.
"I got your back," Marsha rushed over to Elian, hugging her.
"You're sober?" Elian questioned.
"Eh, threw up a time or two more," Marsha shrugged.
As they turned to leave together, Elian's friends slung their arms around each other's shoulders.
"Where did the gloves come from?" Marsha asked, noticing her gloved hands.
Elian looked over to the window one last time, and then she murmured, "my one love."
"What did you say?" Marsha shouted over the loud music as they exited.
"I said, I got them from Fred!" Elian responded.
Marsha nodded, not asking any more and the entourage left from the house a few minutes later. As they left the house, Elian tried to look for any signs of Markus, but she couldn't see him anywhere. She and her friends piled into their cars and with one last search of her eyes, Elian gave up.
Elian would be flying away from town two days later to start university, studying Creative Writing in a different country.
A feeling bubbled up in Elian. Half hopeful, half disappointed.
She wondered if this was the end or if she would ever see Markus Moon again.
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