"Where are we going, Louis" Clem asked for the tenth time, holding her hands out in front of her in search for a frame of reference. So far she hadn't found anything.
"Not telling you, you need to see for yourself," he assured her while leading her up a rickety staircase.
"Are we going up?" she guessed when she heard the creaking of the floorboards.
"You could say that," was his only response.
The blindfold over her eyes was making her face itch, but she fought the urge to scratch her nose. She wanted to show Louis that she trusted him, even if it was just by keeping her eyes closed and her hands to herself. He led her through the school for a couple of minutes before halting and drawing a breath.
"You can take it off now," he instructed in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.
Clementine undid the knot on the back of her head and blinked a few times to adjust to the light. They were on the roof of the school, overlooking the courtyard. A roaring fire burned steadily from beside the couches, where Violet was chatting absently with Aasim and Mitch about something or other. She saw AJ sat beside Tenn, admiring the older boy's drawing.
Louis motioned for her to sit on the ledge with him, promising he wouldn't push her off. She did as he said, and sat beside him, dangling her legs over the edge. Louis leaned back on his elbows and looked up. Clementine imitated him, and opened her eyes wide in awe. Overhead, she saw the sky like she'd never seen it before.
Bright blinking lights flew over her head as she stared awestruck at the clear night sky. She could make out Orion's Belt, shining brightly close to the North Star. That was the extent of her astronomy knowledge, but the marveled at the beauty of the shapes the stars formed.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" she heard Louis whisper. He was also looking up, tilting his head contently.
"It really is," she agreed, looking back at the stars.
Louis leaned over and held up his arm, pointing at a cluster of stars. "See those?"
Clem followed his finger and squinted to make out the spot he was referring to. When she found it, she counted the stars that formed it. There were about seven of them, forming a very misshapen cross in the sky.
"That," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, "is called Lazarus's sword."
Clementine whirled her head around and stared at him in disbelief, "You're kidding, right?"
Louis chuckled and shook his head, "I'm really not. I used to love reading those astronomy books," he told her, "I was fascinated by space," he added, looking back up into the night sky.
"How interesting," she admitted, "I didn't know you had a deeper level than crude jokes," Clementine teased.
"You wound me, Your Majesty," he acted hurt, clutching the spot over his heart and making Clem laugh.
They stared at the sky for a few minutes, silently basking in the vastness of the cosmos. They drank in the beauty and feasted on its breathtaking sights. The couple said nothing lest they ruin such a perfect moment. After several minutes of star gazing, Louis sighed, almost as if he'd been holding his breath this whole time.
"Alright, see right there?" he said when he couldn't take the silence any longer, pointing at yet another, much bigger cluster of stars, forming an odd shape that Clementine couldn't quite place. She nodded silently and beckoned for him to continue.
"That one's called 'Icarus Spiral'," he commented, glancing sideways to watch her reaction. This time, she didn't question him but smiled at the sky. How beautiful, she thought. Little did she know he was thinking the same thing, though looking at something else entirely.
Louis admired the way her face lit up as she stared peacefully at the stars. He studied her features in detail, basking in her beauty: the subtle blush that crept up her cheeks when she was relaxed, the small dimples that formed beside her lips when she smiled, the shine that her golden eyes held when she let herself enjoy the moment rather than dread it.
He could go on about the anthology of Clementine, but he feared he would be there all night if he tried. Somehow, she hadn't noticed his staring, and he was thankful for that. Although they were officially dating, she could sometimes get weird about the fact that he actually found her beautiful. He'd say it constantly, enjoying the way it made her cheeks fluster and her eyes sparkle.
"Now," Louis said finally, getting her attention back. He took a second to appreciate her smile before clearing his throat, "Look at the moon," he instructed.
Clem raised an eyebrow at the request, but indulged him nonetheless. She was already in this deep; she might as well enjoy the night. She looked up at the moon, which was now full. It was breathtaking. She wondered how she had never admired its beauty, but figured she'd mostly been on the run; never able to appreciate the little things.
She studied its form, and the dark spots that decorated it. Clem noticed the faint glow that was emanating from its edge, and marveled at the way it seemed to shine as fiercely as the sun would. She felt as though it was close enough to touch, and she even tried to, which made Louis chuckle.
"It's a little far for you," he teased, taking her outstretched hand in his and intertwining their fingers. Clem blushed and looked back at Louis.
"You know, when I was little I always wanted to go to the moon," she confessed, looking up at it.
"You did?" he asked, intrigued. It wasn't often he got an insight into Clementine's past.
"Yeah, I would ask my dad to take me there all the time," she told him, running her forefinger over his right hand. "And he'd tell me he was getting the rocket ready for us to go together. I always asked when it would be ready."
"Hm?" Louis hummed, content with listening to hear talk more.
"And he would say 'Soon, little one'," she said with a sad tone, suddenly trying to rack her brain for a certain memory.
"What is it?" Louis asked, noticing her change in demeanor.
Clem turned to him, and Louis frowned. A single tear was leaking from her left eye, "I can't even remember his voice," she whispered, looking into his eyes with sorrow.
"Oh, Clem," he said, extending his arms to embrace her as she sniffed. "I'm sorry about that," was all he could think of saying.
"I know it's stupid," she admitted, "I just get sad when I try to think about something he said, when I can't even remember his voice. I just know it was deep, and sweet."
"It's definitely not stupid, Clem," he assured her, "I'm sure he must have been a great man," Louis told her, holding her tight.
"You're just saying that," said Clem dismissively, looking down at their joined hands.
"No, I really mean it," he assured her, tilting her chin up to look at him. "If they raised you, they must have been the best parents ever," he told her.
Clem smiled despite herself, wiping the small stream of tears with the back of her hand. "Thank you, Louis," she whispered, kissing his hand softly.
"You're welcome, Your Majesty," he whispered back, planting a kiss on the top of her head.
"You're such a dork," she teased, looking up at him with a grin.
"I might be, but you were the one that wanted to go to the moon, so who's the dork here," he shot back, making her laugh a genuine laugh.
She stared at him in awe, unable to form words. At that moment, she did the only thing she could think of doing. She planted a gentle kiss on his lips, which he returned gladly.
"It's both of us," she whispered as they broke apart and looked back at the moon, looming over them in all its glory.