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lyricsofravensong · 3 years

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⭐ Jake x MC ⭐ romance, a bit of angst ⭐ ~ 1 550 words

MC and Jake enjoy one night of freedom while being chased by the government.

A/N - I have withheld this story for far too long. I wrote it ready in summer but kept thinking about it every day, convincing myself that I would edit it again and again until it's perfect.

But now it’s autumn and I’m still stuck in summer with this story. 👽 I have to move forward, so I’m going to let go and post this without a lot of editing. I never take any of my stories lightly, but I think it's time for me to learn that everything doesn't have to be perfect.

🎶Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey inspired me a lot. It has the mood I was trying to go for.

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The heat of the fallen sun lingered over the city. The air was soft like a goodbye kiss of summer, but the night held a slight tension of upcoming autumn. The moon was glowing with pale light, barely visible through the artificial shine of the city which had already outshined the delicate glimmer of stars.

I felt a sudden sense of sadness by the lonely moon and squeezed Jake’s arm tighter. We were walking slowly, enjoying the momentary peace of the nightly city.

“Do you think the stars even exist above big cities like this?” I wondered out loud.

Jake gave a little laugh and lifted his gaze up towards the bare black sky. “The lights are too bright. We just can’t see them.”

“It makes me feel hopeless somehow,” I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder.

“But they are there,” Jake said softly, “You can’t always see the stars, but they do exist. Without fail.”

A hint of sorrow breezed over Jake’s voice like a chilly blow of wind. I raised my head to examine his face. There was something sad in the way he looked at the sky, like the absence of stars reminded him of something.

The street was quiet and lit by the bleak blaze of the street lamps; our late dinner had stretched past midnight. Glowing neon signs above bars and restaurants threw colorful shades into the air, giving some life to the dim image. I surveyed how the pink light of the karaoke sign shined upon Jake, making his face and hair glow in the same shocking color.

Jake noticed my stare and smiled. “For me, stars give a nice feeling of certainty. And that pretty much means hope.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I laid my head on his shoulder again, forcing us to walk even slower.

Empty crosswalks, dark alleyways, and the motionless cars parked on both sides of the street all created a calming sense of drowsiness. But cities like this never slept. We could hear the distant roaring of never-ending traffic, we could smell the delicious scent of fried noodles coming from a Chinese restaurant, and feel the eyes watching us from high balconies where the sleepless were savoring a late-night cigarette.

We had been in hiding for several months, running from one city to another, always only one step ahead of our pursuers. But now we had finally managed to get some lead. It was somewhat safe for us to let our guard down for a while. This night was a rare chance to get a glimpse of freedom from the restricted life of a runaway.

That possibility made me almost overwhelmed. I started feeling light-hearted and slightly tipsy. I let my alertness drop dangerously and it felt good - absurd even.

Suddenly a burst of aimless laughter escaped from my throat.

“What?” Jake turned to me with a smile that hadn’t faded away.

“Nothing,” I lifted my head again. “And everything. I mean, look at us, walking down the street after dinner like a normal couple on a normal date. Like we were free.”

“We are free,” Jake said quickly.

I laughed. “We’re running from the government, Jake! Where’s the freedom in that?”

“Well, we haven’t been caught. Someone would call that freedom.”

“Then that someone clearly hasn’t been on the run before...” I mumbled as my eyes wandered down from the sky to the hanging power lines and then lower to the empty paper cup thrown beside the trash can.

A sudden screech of car brakes cut the air. It came surprisingly near. We both flinched and Jake tightened his grip on my hand immediately; he was always on alert. The car however was so far behind some corner that we didn’t even see it.

I recovered from the shock quickly, but Jake couldn't relax anymore. He kept glancing in every direction and flinched again when a breeze of wind moved the paper cup. The corner of my lips twitched bitterly.

I was tired of being alert; I was tired of being scared. I didn’t want fear to ruin this illusion of freedom. I wanted to keep believing in the lies about hope and be the stars of the night with Jake.

“I’m not scared tonight,” I said to Jake, almost challenging. “That counts as freedom, right?”

Sadness shadowed Jake’s smile again as he nodded.

As if wanting to prove my courage, I felt a burning desire to break the limits and do something reckless. I had to seize the danger and feel the risk to mock them.

I let go of Jake and leaped off the sidewalk to the middle of the empty street. I stood still and took in the electric atmosphere around me. It was melancholic on the surface but playfully sizzling on the inside, like the city was urging me to dare. I raised my arms on my sides like wings and started to spin around. I let the neon lights color me and absorb to my skin like a tattoo. Life flowed to my veins in a form of nurtured danger and taken risk.

Jake’s worried voice asked something, but I didn't listen. I started running along the road as fast as I could. I sprinted through the scenery of stone, across the crosswalks, and past the traffic lights. My steps echoed between the buildings, followed by the sound of Jake’s as he came after me, repeating questions I couldn’t answer.

For a couple of minutes, I was completely free.

I ran until I had become numb to my legs and my fear. My lungs were burning and my head was dizzy, but I hadn’t felt that good in a longer while than I had realized. I lay down on the street, in the middle of a crosswalk and gasped for air as blood rushed in my ears.

Soon Jake’s head appeared next to the pale moon above me. His face reflected the uncertainty of whether he should be worried or amused.

“What the hell?” he breathed. “Was the wine too much for you?”

I giggled. Still, this had nothing to do with wine; it was the possibility of freedom that raised into my head stronger than any alcohol ever could.

Jake shook his head and offered his hand to me. “A car might come,” he said when I didn’t take it.

“And I’m not used to taking risks, huh?” I said and winked to the moon.

Then I took Jake’s hand and he pulled me up with such a rapid movement that I almost knocked him over. He took the chance and closed me in his arms. Right away my restlessness calmed down a whole lot.

“You know I wanted to give you freedom,” Jake said quietly, “A normal life with normal dates. And normal, starry skies.” He took a breath and I heard him swallow before he continued, “I wouldn’t blame you for running away...”

I silenced him by pressing my finger on his lips.

“Shh,” I said. “And you know this is the normal I chose. With you. But let me enjoy this one night of not caring. I’m so tired of always having to care.”

Jake took my hand from his lips and gave a kiss on the back of it. “Sometimes you’re so bright that you outshine everything I should care about. It almost scares me.”

“Nothing can scare us anymore, Jake.”

Jake carried me on piggyback to the end of the street where we came to a bridge crossing a narrow bay of the lake that spread towards the center of the city. I dropped myself down from Jake’s back and leaned on the railing. We had a spectacular view to the silhouette of the central city. Millions of lights were forming a starry horizon that mirrored from the water.

Jake came to my side and I turned to him. I found the missing stars from his eyes as the lights of the manmade universe reflected in them.

“Please tell me I’m even half as beautiful as your eyes,” I whispered, feeling almost drunk as I continued stargazing in his eyes.

Jake answered with a deep kiss. His tongue traced the line of my lower lip, exposing that he had also given in to the sweetness of this dangerous night.

“I wouldn’t blame you for running away -" Jake whispered to my ear, continuing what he was saying earlier, “ - but I would chase you to the end of the universe. Call me selfish, but I can’t watch you go anymore.”

When Jake leaned in for another kiss, his eyes were suddenly captured by something behind me. He froze. I followed closely how the deepness of his eyes turned stone cold, dimming the stars away. For the third time this night, I saw how the sorrow cast an undying shadow over his face. I was able to fade it for times, but I knew that in the end, my shine was as powerless as the deserted moon’s.

I didn’t have to turn around and see, I knew what Jake’s expression meant.

“Two embodiments of law and discipline coming with speed,” Jake verified my presumption.

Still, neither of us moved a muscle.

“How did they find us so fast?” I asked with a calm voice. “We didn’t catch a trace of them here.”

Jake moved his eyes back to me and smiled bitterly. “I guess they’re like stars. You can’t always see them, but they’re certainly there.”

“Should we run?”

“Yes, we should.”

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Thank you if you survived until the end, I seriously tried to write something light and easy to read but seems like I lack the ability to limit my words. 👻

#my writing #duskwood fanfiction #jake x mc #duskwood jake #duskwood mc #first person #not-so-edited writing #slow paced #duskwood #duskwood everbyte

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