This story was inspired by Ricardo Arjona's song "Usted" and is based around JackxCarly. Enjoy!
You
"Only love will guide you home..." -What You Want, Evanescence
-X-
In the beginning, his defenses had been foolproof.
Whatever that girl had intended to do with him once she'd rescued him, he could manage without her, thank you very much. A few minor injuries were nothing he couldn't handle on his own. Convinced that he was right, and with the usual aloofness that tended to push people away, he managed to evade attachment for the better part of one day.
In retrospect, he hadn't given her journalistic determination—or even her altruistic personality—enough credit. By the time he was up and walking, he couldn't begin to distinguish where her motives began and ended, or if she had any motives at all. This confusion tangled everything that he used to know and believe in, until he was at odds with himself.
She'd dragged him out of the world he knew and invited him into her own world—a place that suddenly gained an extra dimension and seemed more tangible than anything he'd ever thought possible. Cautiously and with much reluctance, he treaded carefully to the edge of his old world, looking down into that place of vibrant color and blazing emotions. And looking upon her bespectacled face and carefree grin as she tried to change his perspective made him realize that he was caught up in her before he'd even noticed he'd fallen in.
Just like he'd fallen from his throne, she'd been there to catch him and build him up once again.
And the more he stayed by her side and "healed"—that's what he was doing, he was almost sure, nothing else—the more tangled he became.
But Jack had never dealt with emotions very well, so he didn't try to accept them and sort it all out. Instead, he swam back up and hauled himself back to reality—where it felt like he was drowning instead of breathing, where the colors were dull, and where catastrophe teetered on the edge of the horizon.
He'd cut himself free of her ties all at once, each severed link hurting more vividly than he remembered pain ever being before. Intent on seeing out his choice till the end, he turned his back on her, carrying the only knowledge he'd allowed himself to keep.
That one day he could become real.
He could pay for his past mistakes and become what no one else believed he could be, except her.
For all his intentions to rid himself of the newness she had invoked in him, he hadn't been able to completely break her hold.
As the light was swallowed up by the darkest shadows, he knew he wouldn't succumb to it, like his old world had.
Because he had her.
And I belong only to you.
-X-
"You." He'd say in the form of a greeting.
She'd answer with a nervous, high-pitched, "Me?"
It was after this usual exchange that he'd allow himself to relax, if only a little bit. It would still be daylight, and any number of people could see them together. Anyone could realize that he never was all there in his mind, but drifting inside hers.
So they'd wait in a deliberate silence until the skies darkened just around the corner of their eyes-until it was dark enough that she'd have to scoot closer to him to fend off the knowledge that scared her as much as the darkness itself. It was a fear he'd taken part in creating, and the subsequent guilt ended his desire to meet her at night.
He liked the light better, too, not just because he stood for it, but because he could see her better. He could take in the curve of her hips, the biting of her fingernail, and the flitting of emotions across her face.
More often than not, though, he spent his time with her waiting. Waiting for the right moment to stop dancing around shadows. Waiting for the right moment to tell her why he did it. It seemed like that time would never arrive. She didn't seem to care either way, as long as he was around.
But he couldn't risk broad daylight with her. Not yet, and maybe not ever.
He was a limelight figure, too well-known to ever really be left alone by prying eyes. She was part of those prying eyes, even with all her hard luck and clumsy inexperience. She—or at least, the institution she stood for—was the problem, and he wasn't inclined to share the newfound emotions he'd barely started to unravel with anyone who wasn't her.
So whenever anyone was around, he settled for, "You," even if he wasn't sure it made any difference at all.
It was his attempt at being discreet, a force almost unknown to him.
Almost.
At the end of the night, it didn't matter that he'd only said her name once or twice or that she'd clung to him fiercely once the sun set. All that mattered was that everything felt right, if only for a few hours...
And that I belong only to you.
-X-
For you.
The phrase had sounded foreign to his ears the one time he spoke it aloud to himself. He'd always known he was selfish—in a roundabout, subconscious sort of way—but even admitting that he acted for someone other than himself surprised him. Despite this, he often heard the words dancing around in his head when she was near.
For better or for worse, he was changing. Or maybe he already had changed and this was just one of the many side effects.
He'd slowed down, the need to be the Master of Faster diminishing slightly when he was alone and completely when he was with her. His temper cooled. His heart warmed. It was like he was becoming more human with every passing day.
And it didn't bother him in the least.
He used to think himself a god, some sort of deity that ruled over subjects with a frosty detachedness, who could never be defeated by merely the will of a man.
But the divine side of him didn't fight the transformation anymore—because it was what he needed more than any victory as the King.
It seemed clandestine, the romance he held with someone that he'd once thought was beneath him. Clandestine, but impermeable.
And for now, all the reckless thoughts she drove into his head, whispered to her ear when no one was around, sounded better as secrets.
-X-
"What's the other side of the story?" she asked him once when he'd related his anger at Yusei for one thing or another.
The question had stumped him because, to him, there was no other side of the story. He was right, no questions asked. Still, his answer didn't sate her curiosity. The only subject that managed to evade question was her past link with the darkness.
She didn't want to know anymore than the basics. Knowing what she'd done—the people she'd purposely hurt, the pain she'd caused him—would make it real, would make every decision she took a struggle. Even now, he saw the war she carried on with herself. She seemed to believe that the one day she least expected it she'd turn back to a heartless undead woman.
He'd noticed her hesitation to forget something she never really knew to begin with.
Every time she glanced at him, he read the question in her eyes. Am I still me?
And every time he'd answer yes, never quite convincing her—because as much as he hated her self-doubt, he loved that she'd chosen him for her revenge more.
From that day on, I belonged only to you.
-X-
"Carly."
She glanced about herself, confusion evident in the quirk of her lips. "Me?" she mouthed back, frantically attempting to remember if she'd done something wrong, if it was her fault things were changing. It's still light out, it's not dark yet, he could hear her repeating in her mind.
For all her bewilderment, she spoke no more, sensing the end of their tradition. Not knowing if it was for better or for worse, she let the silence bind her until the darkness set in one more time.
"I love you," she whispered to him as the moon rose.
He took her hand and held it to his heart.
And no matter who said it, it always sounded best coming from you.
Thoughts and concrit are always helpful. Thanks for reading!
Cocoacharm15