8 Eight

Celeste was glad it was a bright night. The moon was out illuminating everything in its glow. The stars twinkled much unlike the previous night. The shadows were vast and grotesque but they didn't bother her much. Not anymore.

She had cooled off a little since storming off but she was still furious. She stomped straight aheaed. towards the outlines of Boshtown. Celeste wasn't a complete idiot, she wasn't going to walk inside the city but she desperately craved to see some civilization, some shrewd sense of normality. She kicked a pebble and continued murmuring more insults directed towards Will. It was kind of hard to stop the word vomit.

"Arrogant, Unkind, Obnoxious bastard"

Celeste didn't know whether this game of making up new insults was helping her calm down or making her angrier. She had always had a bad temper, to begin with. Now it felt like her sanity was hanging by a mere thread.

She stopped for a moment and wrapped her arms around herself as if they could fend off the chill, and thought about the tragedy that was her life. She gritted her teeth so hard she was sure they would crumble. But at least she was feeling something other than grief. She didn't want to admit it but anger was a good distraction.

Celeste felt a hand tap her on her shoulder. Almost instinctively, she shot backward and threw a punch at the figure behind her.

Two shrieks broke the silence of the night.

"What in the ever-loving hell!" Will groaned, clutching his nose.

"Will?" Celeste said in disbelief. fighting the urge to cradle her aching fist.

"No its Valentines! Of course, it's Will you-"

Celeste overcame her shock quickly and curled her lip at Will.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She snapped. Will returned her glare.

"Following you obviously," He said simply.

"Following me?" Celeste said indignantly."You have the nerve to follow me after what you just said?"

Will raised his hands in surrender.

"Well as soon as you left Yogi, Tommy and Karen turned on my ass. And Karen is scary when she's mad okay? So I came to get you " Will said in exasperation.

"So you're here only because they told you to?" Celeste said feeling the least bit disappointed.

"No! I mean- Hey, why'd you hit me?" He said drastically changing the subject.

Celeste rolled her eyes.

"I

'll hit anyone who sneaks up on me!" She cried starting to walk. Will rushed after her.

"Fair point" He noted.

"And you deserved it," Celeste said walking faster.

"Yeah, I am an arrogant, unkind, and obnoxious bastard after all," He said dryly.

"Stop complimenting me so much, princess. People will think you have a crush on me"

Heat rushed to her cheeks as her tongue fumbled in her mouth to come up with a retort.

"Leave me alone" Celeste cried furiously.

"Where are the hell are you even going? You know you can't go into town !"

"Of course I know" Celeste hissed.

"I'm not an idiot. And have I not proved that I can take care of myself?"

Will laughed.

"That punch barely hurt," He said smirking at her.

Celeste stared at him.

"You can run back to your little home. You don't need to follow because you're scared of Karen"

"I'm sorry okay? " Will said abruptly, sounding exactly like he wasn't used to apologizing.

"For what?" Celeste said coolly.

"For hurting your feelings"

"For hurti- Ugh you're impossible !" Celeste cried in exasperation.

"Obviously. Such a handsome and intelligent specimen shouldn't exist. But here I am, a miracle!" Will grinned.

"You're infuriating! One moment you're cruel and rude and evil! And then not an hour later you're being civil and apologizing!" Celeste spat. "Sort out your priorities!"

Will looked at her bemusedly.

"I have been told I change moods fairly quick" Then he noticed the look Celeste was giving him and said

"Okay fine! I shouldn't have said any of that. I was angry at something else entirely and I took that out on you. And that wasn't nice of me. I didn't mean what I said and I couldn't judge you because I don't know you." Will said every word slowly.

"And you punched me so truce?"

No, Celeste wanted to spit. Then she wanted to punch him again. But most of all, she wanted him to leave her alone.

"Fine" Celeste sighed finally.

Will sighed in relief.

"Finally! Now let's go back"

"I don't want to go back!" Celeste said firmly.

"I came here for a walk. And I'm going to have a walk. You can leave if you want" She said before walking ahead of Will.

He soon caught up to her but he wasn't pleased

"I'm only here because I'll be killed if I go back and leave you alone" He admitted.

"I know," Celeste said without looking at him. They walked in silence for a moment.

"I don't know how long you're staying. But I don't fancy doing this every night. Hey, maybe we're not that different after all" He said thoughtfully.

Celeste almost smiled at that.

"Wait, I take that back. We probably have nothing in common " He added.

Her smile fell and she quirked a brow.

"How can you say that? You don't even know me after all"

"Oh come off of it! You're a princess who grew up in a fancy castle who probably has tea parties every week" He said and Celeste couldn't tell if he was joking.

"Tea parties don't interest me. But some things that do are riding" She paused for a moment thinking hard.

"Sword fighting and before you make some comment yes! I do know how to hold a sword"

"You know me so well already princess" Will chuckled.

"Climbing trees, I like reading too. Books and stuff but I'm fond of poetry-"

"Poetry?" Will said in disbelief.

"What's wrong with poetry?" Celeste said defensively.

"What's not wrong with poetry ?" Will began. "It is pointless and sappy and a total waste of time ."

"Of course you would say that" Celeste commented.

"You're one of those rough and tough kinds of guy who pretend they don't have emotions and poetry, it is all about emotions," Celeste said in a single breath.

"Nice observation princess," Will said scowling at her.

"I doubt you've ever even tried it" Celeste admitted. Will smirked at her,

"It matters not how strait the gate

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul"

Will smirked at her dumbfounded expression.

"Invictus," She said impressed.

"It is not a very famous one either. For a boy who claims to hate poetry-" She stopped mid-sentence when she heard it.

Screaming.

It was so familiar, just like in her nightmares. Celeste felt the air leave her body. For a moment, she could swear she was back home. That she hadn't escaped. It felt as if the world had stopped spinning.

Will stopped dead in his tracks. They had been so engrossed in their conversation they hadn't noticed the smoke in the sky, that the outlines of Boshtown which were clearer to them as they were very close to it, were on fire.

Celeste let out a shuddering breath. Her entire body shook with terror. Her lungs burned so painfully.

Not again.

Not again.

Please not again.

She could see the men on the horses now.

"Celeste" Will breathed her name. His face was pale with barely concealed terror.

"Run"