Disclaimer: I love you Al, you're my secret lover!

A/N: Do you guys have any clue of how hard it is to type with ½inch long acrylic nails? Lemme tell ya, it's not easy. I'm too good t'y'all.

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Petrified Tears
chapter 92



Midnight's ivory lay in moonlight, a black and indigo waterfall of silk. Golden tresses of darkness highlighted silver in the starlight, cascading over snowy cheeks blushing red in dreaming.

He lowered himself to one knee beside her bed, sitting back on his heel, crossing his arms along the edge of the bed, laying his cheek onto his wrist, watching her sleep.

Just watching her.

She was gorgeous; no one could deny it—it was more than obvious that even though she berated herself every chance she got, she knew she was pretty. She didn't believe it, but she knew. Pretty eyes that shone like diamonds, like sapphires; pale skin like a china doll's, but not so pale to make her look fragile; hair that Midnight herself had spun by the light of the stars; a smile that could warm your heart no matter your mood, an energy about her that made you jealous—that almost made it hard to approach her, but impossible to resist to.

Absolutely, undeniably, gorgeous.

But the thing that made her all the prettier, was the fact that she didn't know. That she didn't believe.

He smiled privately, sliding the backs of his fingers down her cheek, losing his fingertips in locks of darkness.

Quietly, he stood, pulling away his fingers before he woke her.

She'd wake soon enough…once the fighting started.

He moved towards the door, his fingers reaching out to the knob that had ached to follow her father from the room, only to be stopped at the jamb. The knob glittered in the moonlight, arching across the worn brass to lead his eyes back and behind to where she slept; a specter in blue and black, a fallen angel of the night.

He turned back, perching on the edge of her bed, shifting a little to lay his arm along the line of her back, leaning on his forearm, ear perched on his shoulder as he lifted his other hand, cupping her cheek gently, his thumb glissing across lips and skin.

A sigh.

It wasn't hers.

"I promise you," he whispered, looking down into her sleeping face, moving his hand to stroke her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "I'll tell you everything. When this is over…I don't care what you'll say or anyone else for that matter. I want tell you…I need to tell you…I can't keep this inside any longer. You need to know how I feel…why I'm acting like I am…such an asshole when no one else is around." He sighed again, lowering his head and closing his eyes. "Why I've done practically nothing but lie to you since you got home."

She didn't stir, though if she were to have opened her eyes, she would have seen nothing but his eyelids, flinching slightly as he fought with himself, purple locks spilling towards the ground, hiding most of his face from her view. But her eyes didn't open; they remained closed.

Blue eyes gazed down on her, half-hoping to see black-blue eyes flutter open and look up at him, half-wishing she'd wake up. But she didn't; she still slept, lost in the world of dreams.

I'm such a hypocrite, the little voice in his heart, the one that had told him earlier, told him to tell her, whispered. I tell her that dreams don't lie in darkness, and yet here I am…dreaming in the dark about an angel of Midnight.

Swallowing thickly, his pride a sticky lump in his throat—far worse than tears, far worse than fear—he forced himself to sit up, but he hesitated. Swallowing again, he shifted slightly, leaning down, cupping her chin with the sides of his fingers, his thumb gracing her cheek, and kissed her gently on the lips.

The young prince drew back slowly, sudden afraid he'd wakened her, but she slept peacefully, shifting and curling up on her side, drawing nearer to his warmth. He smiled, sad now, knowing that he had to leave.

Placing one last kiss on her forehead, he was gone.

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A/N: That's it for this update; hopefully more within a week or so. Oh, and for those of you who were wondering about the disclaimers, yesterday was senior picnic...I fell asleep in the sun on my stomach; thank Cheez that I'm only crispy on my back and shoulders...and not on my face and chest like the rest of my graduation class. *does happy dance and counts down till Thursday*

~Panabelle ;P
www.angelfire.com/dbz/storytellers