Chapter eight
Nights led Enya down the maze like hallways of the crystal Castile excitedly.
"Where are we going?" Enya laughed.
"You'll see," Nights answered excitedly, "it's the only place I remember how to get to."
Nights stopped in front of a door that was slightly larger then any of the others. Nights opened it with a flourish, "Ta da!"
It was a library.
"Wow," Enya looked around at the large brightly lit room.
"You like it?" Nights asked expectantly.
"Like it?" Enya smiled, "I love it!" she went over to one of the clear glass book shelves. Nights noticed that she was, in fact, skipping. He laughed and shook his head.
"Does the ladder slide down the bookshelf?" Enya asked, standing on one of the ivory ladders.
"Yeah," Nights jogged over to the ladder and climbed up, "could you press against the ladder, there's a lock on the top."
Enya pressed against the ladder, she felt Nights' chest against her back as he strained to unfasten the lock. He loosened the lock, "there," he walked down the ladder to give Enya more room, when he caught a whiff of her hair. It reminded him of strawberries.
"What?"
Nights shook his head, "nothing, your hair, it smells nice," he blushed.
"Thanks," She blushed too, "l-lets be off then."
"Right," Nights pushed off the bookshelf and they went sliding down it.
Enya smiled as they flew down the shelf.
They stopped abruptly, Enya stumbled and almost fell off the ladder, but Nights grabbed her around the waist, "you okay?" he asked.
"I am now," She smiled, Nights smiled back. They stayed like that for a moment, smiling at each other, Nights' arm around Enya's waist.
"Hey," Enya broke the silence, to Nights' disappointment, "I have some books in my backpack that you may not have here."
"Well let's go check them out," Nights pushed the ladder back down the shelves. Enya got off the ladder and ran over to her book bag, she pulled out one of her mother's textbooks, "do you have this in your library?"
"Let me see," Nights looked at the title. The letters were backwards and upside-down, distorted into unreadable gibberish. This had happened to him many times, right before he'd lapse. No, he thought, not here, not now, not in front of her. He dropped the book, "I-I have to go," he ran from the room.
"Nights?" Enya ran after him, "Nights wait!"
Enya found Nights a few hallways away, on his knees head and fists against the wall.
"Nights," Enya crouched down next to Nights, "are you okay?"
"Yeah," he sat with his back against the wall, "I'm fine."
Enya could tell he was lying, he was shaking and pail and sweating and seemed to be slipping down the wall, to weak to support himself.
"I'll go get help," Enya stood.
"No!" Nights said franticly, "Don't leave me!"
Enya got down on her knees next to Nights, "what do I do?"
Nights reached out and pulled Enya into his arms, "just… stay with me."
With no other choice, Enya rested her head against Nights' chest. She listened to his labored breath, his rapid heart beat, "what if he stopped breathing? What if his heart stopped? What would she do then, "Nights," Enya asked softly, "what's happening?"
"Later," Nights gasped, "story- to long."
"Okay," Enya looked up at Nights' pail face, "you're going to be okay."
So many people had said that to Nights, Enya was the first one he believed. He sank the last few inches down the wall and rested his head against the cool crystal floor, and closed his eyes. His heart calmed, his breath even, he was asleep.
Enya knew the logical thing to do was go get help, but she didn't want to leave Nights, so she didn't, she rested her head against his chest, feeling it rise and fall, rise and fall, and soon, she was asleep as well.
