"How do i look,"he asked Valentino, fixing the collar of his over shirt. Damon looked in the mirror and saw a reflection of the man who had never been more nervous in his life. There was something about this day that Damon couldn't get rid of. The atmosphere around him seemed to reflect his emotions as well; dismal, dark clouds dispersed haphazardly throughout the sky, with humidity at its peak. Nyx was correct, he thought as a faint smile came on his lips, the weather did change.
"Damon, my boy, you look absolutely stunning!" Now go grab the girl, tiger, Valentino said as he patted Damo on the back. He chuckled and watched Valentino walk towards the window.
"don't let her go." Damon overheard him add, "She's a keeper," as he faced the window.
Damon noticed a sense of anxiety pooling around Valentino as he idly stared at the clouds as he walked around him.
"Yeah, man, I won't," Damon assured him, he discreetly exited the room, his back to Val, leaving him at the window. Damon paused in his steps as he got an odd vibe from Valentino, as if he was hiding something from him or wanted to tell him something but couldn't.
Damon felt compelled to turn around and confront Valentino. "Is there something you're not telling me, Val?" he said.
"What? No way, dude. There's nothing No-nothing," he muttered, turning to face Damon.
Damon observed a glint in Valentino's eyes just before he cleared his eyelids.
He was sobbing? Why? "Val?" Damon questioned. "You're sobbing? What's the matter, mate?" Damon inquired as he rapidly approached him, wrapping his warm arms around his best friend.
"No, dude, I wasn't crying," Valentino chuckled, trying to hide the obvious pain in his tone.
"No way, mate. I'm not sobbing. I'm just overjoyed for you. extremely, extremely pleased." He comforted Damon while smiling through his now-invisible tears.
Damon had no idea that his best buddy, who had accompanied him on this voyage to find his princess and ride her on his white horse, had secretly begun to admire her. Damon had no idea that Valentino, stupidly and blindly, had begun to fall in love with her. And little did Damon realise that Valentino despised himself for it. He went to bed every night, chastising himself for even contemplating such a thing; she was Damon's princess. His only. He could never have imagined losing her. He despised himself for ever considering it.
And there was no way he'd ever get between them.
"Are you sure there's nothing," Damon said, confirming "Yes, Damon. Of course not. There's nothing, mate," Valentino said simply as he ushered Damon out of the room and the house.
In a metaphor, Damon leaving the house was akin to Damon walking towards the woman Valentino (embarrassingly) referred to as his first love with the sole intent of stealing her away.
Damon just drove down to the cafe and waited for Nyx. He checked his watch every two minutes, and he was twenty minutes early. The excitement had gotten the best of him, and he couldn't be happier to meet someone as he was now.
The clock ticked slowly. Seconds turned became minutes, and minutes turned into hours. She still hadn't arrived after 30 minutes. He was getting nervous now, but he decided to wait another five minutes.
Four glasses of water, which he had gulped without realising, were neatly positioned in a queue on the table while he prayed God that no photographers had caught a glimpse of him. Sure, a few fans knew him and he snapped a few photos, but that was it. That was what he liked best about this small town: its peace and quiet.
The sun broke through the gloomy clouds as he checked the time again: 10:17 a.m.
She was running late. He planned to call her, but the moment he took his phone from his pocket, it rang, flashing Nyx's name.
"Hey Angel" she called out.
"Hey, where are you, babe? I've been waiting?"
"I'm almost there, but I forgot to give you my address! Sorry for the inconvenience, but here it is. It's-" As she realised what she was saying, she froze.
Damon muttered an expletive beneath his breath.
"Wait a minute, how did you figure out where to wait?" She inquired, perplexed.
He told another fib, saying, "y-you told me once."
"Oh? I must have overlooked something. S-sorry," she fell for it, "well, I'm here."
He peeked out the window and saw her standing across the street, waiting for cars to pass so she could cross, her phone clutched in her hand. He walked out of the cafe, mindlessly, with an optimistic smile on his face.
That was the end of it. Soon, the burden of guilt that sat so heavily on his chest would be lifted. He'd soon be able to answer all of her queries. He was about to meet her as Angel for the first time. Soon, all the lovely falsehoods he'd told her would come to an end. And he couldn't take it any longer.
She shifted her gaze from side to side, waiting for cars to pass. Damon hid behind a poll because he didn't want her to see him.
Her gaze was drawn to him, but he hurriedly disappeared behind the massive poll.
"Damon..." On the phone, he heard a whisper.
"Huh? "What do you mean, babe?"
"0h um nothing," she says. "I thought I saw somebody."
He sighed quietly and said, "oh."
She started crossing the street, and he couldn't help but think that each step she took brought him closer to her. Excitement blended with admiration in his eyes as he watched her walk. Time seemed to have slowed drastically, and Niall could almost hear a violin playing a sweet melody. Damon could almost hear a violin playing a beautiful song in the background as time seemed to slow considerably. Oh, how dramatic it felt. He smacked himself on the back of the head, chuckling at his folly.
He couldn't help but think that his life was a scene from a movie as she continued to cross the street. He could see a smile on her face as he said over the phone, "hurry."
As she lowered her gaze, her smile widened.
A loud horn pierced the street, accompanied by the sound of tyres screeching against the rough concrete.
A high-pitched voice resonated through the street before abruptly ceasing.
Damon paused in his stride as he rushed out of the hiding place, hearing Nyx's scream. Time stood still as he stared in disbelief, his jaw wide open. "NYX!" He yelled as he stood motionless. His phone shattered into tiny pieces as it hit the ground. Damon couldn't move as droplets of water began to fall softly from the drab cloud barrier. It seemed as though every bone in his body had been battered to the point where even thinking about it was painful.
In the middle of the roadway, people rushed and circled. A hard push against his shoulder jolted him back to awareness, just as his slow breathing threatened to stop completely. He stormed forward, pushing beyond the mob, gaining a sense of urgency. As he sank to his knees, he could no longer hear anything around him.
Her skin was painted red, and her eyes blinked constantly.
'NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" Damon finally yelled as he cupped her face in his lap.
He sat there, moving from side to side, breathing unevenly.
"LOOK AT ME NYX!" He sobbed. When he received a punishment for sitting still with his legs crossed in second grade, he felt as if life had grabbed him from the present and forced him into the past. But this punishment was severe; it cost him his love's life. His brain had failed to register what had occurred.
"angel." she said quietly, her eyes closed. Her innocent spirit yearned to meet him now more than ever, but she had no idea who he was or where he was. Her brow furrowed as she fought off the agony in her brain.
"Nyx Keep your eyes open, sweetie! "PLEASE CALL AN AMBULANCE!" He screamed, but his voice cracked as his attempts to remain strong failed. Had he ever considered confessing his love in this way? The mob surged by like a swarm of ants buzzing over a grain of sugar.
"I called an ambulance. They'll be there shortly. But she's been repeating that name or word over and again," a terrified woman in her late 30s remarked. Damon had lost all feeling of emotion by this point, staring at nyx lifelessly, whispering her name over and over, tenderly wiping her blood.
Her breathing became as quiet as the hushed sound of a baby engrossed in a dream world, unconscious of the cruelty of the real world. She finally let out a deep breath but didn't take anything in.
And that's when everything blurred.