Hey, yeah, eh-eh
Hey, yeah, eh-eh
It is a beautiful night
We're looking for something dumb to do
Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you!
Is it the look in your eyes?
Or is this dancing juice?
Who cares, baby?
I just wanna marry you!
Landon's song resonated at a distance.
Carden dipped a nacho in sriracha and was about to take a bite when Soleia walked up to him and proposed marriage. It was safe to say that Carden Walker was never a man of haste because he did not jump into immediate splutters demanding explanations or providing answers, instead, he bit the chip and let the crunch resonate between them; loud and crisp. He chewed, slowly, his eyes never leaving her face as she stared back with an equal intensity.
He wouldn't expect any less.
"Well, hello to you too," he greeted and Soleia could not help but give him an awkward smile, "There is always too much sriracha, isn't there? I prefer the nacho as it is," he said, providing no context.
"I'll make sure to inform the host of your preferences," Soleia replied with a curt nod, eyes still searching his face for an answer. But, in usual manner of all-things-Carden, his face was perfectly devoid of any expressions which could betray feelings.
"I like blue carpets; chameleons have blue blood and snakes are not always venomous."
"I'm sorry…I don't understand?" Soleia dragged out, eyebrows frowning with uncertainty.
"Oh, and here I thought we were talking about things that made.no.sense," he ended with gritted teeth and a subtle hiss in his tone. His hazel eyes were narrowed at her, forehead welding a small frown of confusion. "And whatever happened to long time no see?" His question was proposed in exasperation.
Soleia gulped. They were on the staircase leading up to the library which was often isolated on school days and absolutely ignored during events. No one would want to climb four staircases up a tower wearing party shoes, not unless one had something peculiar to find or reminisce about.
"Heh," she involuntarily raised a hand to scratch her head, "Long time indeed."
They were standing on the third landing and Soleia couldn't help but close the distance between them. She took three steps forward, frowned, then matched her hand with her forehead and his collarbone. "Long time indeed," she repeated and craned her neck to look up at him, "You've grown plenty. You used to be so scrawny and small." She clicked her heel against the floor and took two steps back.
In the process, Soleia missed the tiniest of smiles cracked by Carden owing to her antics.
"Please, look who's talking. I was good enough for my age, pretty fit. You were the tall and lanky one," Carden reminded with a drawl. He held out his plate of nachos for her to share but Soleia declined it with a scowl.
"I don't eat spicy stuff anymore," the brunette grimaced, much to Carden's surprise.
He took a few steps back and leaned against the banister, observing her flashy dress and odd yet beautifully tied hair. He couldn't help the scoff which escaped his lips as his memory reeled back to the first time he had seen Soleia wear a dress to greet his grandfather. They'd come a long way.
"Are you still looking for easy money?" He asked, genuinely curious still.
Soleia scrunched her eyes in an attempt to visibly cringe. "I'd rather you flat out reject me," she grimaced, crossing her hands against her chest.
Carden chuckled.
"Okay, fine, why do you want to marry me. Surely you weren't a ladlorn lover over the seven years we spent apart?"
"It's a favour," Soleia bit her lower lip, "Will you do me this favour? No one needs to know, except the court, of course. I just need someone I can trust, maybe for a year, absolutely not more than that! I promise, you can leave me— oh, I never asked! Do you have a girlfriend? Are you married? It'd be super weird if you're married. I don't see a ring on your finger. But oh my, I absolutely forgot about the girlfriend part. You just didn't seem the type to care about girlfriends and stuff...ugh, I am sorry!"
Soleia Manchester just could never walk without burdens. Even though they were out of school, she was still riddled with social norms or self induced troubles.
"How do you never have free time to look at the stars?" Carden asked and turned around to lean over the banister. The night was dark and cloudy, there was no star in sight. He rolled his eyes at nature's conspiration against him.
"Stars? What stars? Carden, I really don't have time for the stars because if I don't get married by this Friday, I might as well blow up into smithereens."
Carden turned to face Soleia's exasperated look and couldn't help but chuckle.
"I'll marry you. Grandpa is pretty incessant about it recently and he would love to have you around. He misses you," Carden informed much to Soleia's surprise.
"Wah," Soleia gasped, "This is the quickest marriage proposal in the history of weddings, I'm sure. I cannot believe you said yes without even knowing anything. Even though we're meeting after seven years— wah, I'm sure Raizen will like you as well. Yes, he must, it's you after all!"
"Raizen?" Carden asked, brows raised in curiosity.
"Oh, my son, of course," Soleia chirped.
Suddenly, Carden lost his balance on thr banister and almost tripped to his death.