Chapter II: Fade to Black

AN: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews/follows/favorites. I appreciate every single one of them. Hope you enjoy the next installment.

"Wake up sleepyhead, we're here."

Before even opening her eyes, April felt Leo's hand softly tug at her arm, waking her from her slumber. She didn't know how it happened, but she managed to rest her head on his shoulder, her face just a few inches away from his neck. His right arm was wrapped around her in an embrace, almost in a protective kind of way, while the other was resting on one of their luggage. The warmth of his body instantly soothed her, wishing she never had to let go.

Mmm.

Their close proximity allowed her to catch a quick whiff of his perfume, which had a very distinctive fougere scent. It was strong, manly, bold, and confident—everything that represented who he was. Even after such a long and exhausting flight, he still managed to smell as though he was advertising for a perfume campaign. The intoxicating aroma was enough to drive any woman—including April—crazy.

Her eyelashes softly fluttered as she opened her eyes. Though it was bright outside, the first thing she took notice of was the inviting face of her cancer friend and now adventure buddy, Leo Hendrie.

"Where are we?"

"See for yourself."

Leo opened the car door and swung his feet out to the pavement as he stood. He then held out his hand as he helped April out of the car, when the bellhop came up to them.

"Bonjour, welcome to Hotel Plaza Athénée, monsieur et mademoiselle."

Oh. My. God.

Of course, April has heard about this place before. It's only the most luxurious hotel in Paris, or in all of France! Anyone who's worth mentioning has called this their home one time or another, and she's about to call it home too, for the next couple of days. It all felt so surreal; she needed someone to pinch her just to check that this wasn't all a dream. It still felt like she was in one though.

"W…we're staying here?"

"Yep," Leo said matter-of-factly. "I'm guessing you're going to need some time to soak this all in, so when you're done picking your jaw up from the floor, I'll be at the front desk."

The cemented exterior of the hotel soaked up the brightness of the burning sun in a stunning yellow hue, creating a perfectly blended contrast with the red flowers and shades sitting over every balcony and window. The black iron fence, complete with an intricate vintage design and full-on golden tips, also added another layer of drama and luxury feel to the hotel. Just when things couldn't get anymore lavish, a guest pulled up to the front of the hotel in his all-black, top-down, fully-customized Bugatti.

Who knew traveling around the world with Leo Hendrie could be so expensive?

"Bonjour! So nice to see you again, Mr. Leo," a short woman with a thick French accent said as Leo stood by the marbled countertop. As she arrived behind the counter, Leo couldn't help but stare at the growing stomach hiding behind the woman's dressy uniform. It was just another malicious way of the universe reminding him of what he can never have.

"Glad to be back here, Rosita."

"How's Mr. Bruce doing?"

"He, uh…he's doing fine. Just busy with campaign stuff. You know how much of a workaholic my old man is," he answered, sarcasm coating his every word.

Leo rotated his head and looked around to see if April managed to come inside the lobby yet. He didn't have to look hard as he quickly spotted her by the door, her eyes instantly attracted towards the million-dollar chandelier hanging on the ceiling.

"April," he said as he motioned his finger for her to come to him.

"Okay, here are your keys to the Eiffel Suite, Mr. Leo. Enjoy your stay."

The pregnant receptionist handed over the keys to Leo, just as April arrived to his side. He was about to make his way to the elevators when he felt April's hand clench around his wrist.

"Leo, I…I can't stay here."

"What, it's not nice enough for you?"

"I mean, it's lovely and everything, but this is just way out of my budget, so I'm just gonna—"

"It's okay, I got it."

"No! No, I can't let you do that."

"It's already finished, let's go," he said as he placed his wallet on the pocket of his jeans, followed by a quick step forward.

"Leo, you're not listening to me. Look, I don't know how to say this nicely but… I am not one of your charity cases."

"Of course you're not. I know you can take care of yourself, April. But why can't you ever let anyone do something nice to you for once?"

"That's not…"

"Then what is it?"

"It's not that I don't want to, I just can't afford something like…aah!"

Before she could get another word in, almost instantaneously, Leo slung her over his right shoulder and the ground was no longer beneath her. Everything in April's vision turned upside-down, before she even had time to realize that she was being carried. Her cheeks flushed red from embarrassment as everyone in the hotel lobby watched the drama that unfolded right before their eyes.

"Leo, what are you doing?! Put me down!"

Leo began to walk as he instructed the bellhop to follow him to the elevator. He ignored April who was now kicking and screaming, begging to be put down.

"Nothing to see here, folks. My girlfriend and I are just into role-playing."

"Just set them down there if you would, please."

As instructed, the bellhop unloaded both Leo and April's luggage from the cart and set them beside the granite table by the door. Leo pulled out his wallet with one hand as he handed the man a bill for helping them settle in their suite. A silent but humiliated April was still slung over his shoulder, her weight now starting to take a toll on his physical capacity.

"Merci, monsieur. Madamoiselle," the man said as he closed the door behind him, leaving April and Leo alone in their suite for the first time.

"Leo, please! Put me down now!"

Still not responding to any of April's remarks, Leo made his way around the living room and up the stairs, making a sharp left turn. He swung the door wide open as April unsuccessfully tried to get off his captivity by throwing punches on his back.

"Seriously, Leo!"

He moved closer to the bed where he then swung April around, repositioning his arms so that he was now cradling her body. Slowly but gently, like a mother laying down her child, he brought her down to the heart of the bed, where he immediately locked his arms next to hers, trapping her beneath him.

"Why did you do that for?"

"I got you to stay here, didn't I? Come on, it was all in good fun."

"You humiliated me in front of all those people! You are so going to pay for that."

"Oh I would love to pay the price, believe me."

His lips curved yet again at both ends, showing his larger-than-life grin. His eyes, blue as they may be, showed just enough hint of playfulness; he was already enjoying this trip more than he had anticipated. With him on top, his face practically inches away from hers, April could see every facial expression he had, the same way that he could with her. For a split second, she felt vulnerable. The thought of this scared her, so she put her arms up her chest, crossing them together.

"Relax, if I wanted to take advantage of you, I would've done so a long time ago. Lucky for you, I'm not that kinda guy."

He released April from his captivity as he stood up and looked at his watch. It was now half past two in the afternoon. The rays of the sun entered the room through the tall glass windows, brightening up the place. Since she was so busy trying to break away from Leo earlier, April never got the chance to marvel in the beauty of their suite, until now.

The bedroom was designed fit for a princess. The queen-sized bed was enveloped in white silk cotton sheets, with a sharp raspberry tint covering every corner. On the foot of the bed was a vintage récamier sofa, with red-stained color pillows sitting on top of it. To the right of the bed was an old Victorian vanity, and right across the room were two glass doors that led to the balcony.

"This place alone is bigger than my entire house. It feels like a dream."

"Really? I'm sorry, I can't relate. My house looks just like this in real life."

April shot Leo an I'm-going-to-kill-you-if-you-don't-stop look and made her way to the balcony. A moment later, a soft buzz coming from downstairs chimed in.

"So I'm going to let you do that while I check on the front door…" he said as he ran downstairs to check on the commotion.

The view surely did not disappoint. April could see the entire city under her, with the Eiffel Tower so close she could practically touch it. This is beautiful, she thought to herself as she heard soft mumbling coming from downstairs. She didn't pay too much attention to it; it was probably just more shop talk. She then closed her eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh scent of the flowers resting over where she stood. The cool wind breezed through her hair and she felt as though she was floating. It all felt good, so, so good. For once in her life, she was finally living. She didn't have any deadlines to meet, stories to catch, people to answer to, family to support…it was just her and the world, together as one.

Once the moment was over, she gathered her composure and set herself back to reality. Just as she was about to join Leo downstairs, she felt a gush of blood flow out of her nose. To double check, she swiped her middle finger over her top lip and looked at her fingertips, now covered in red. She knows it wasn't a nosebleed. No, it was the cancer calling back to her, reminding her of the God-awful predicament she and Leo were both in. Calm down, April. Just get yourself cleaned up, it'll be okay, she told herself over and over before panic struck her.

She closed the glass doors behind her and looked for the nearest bathroom. With the flow still going, she left droplets of blood on the wooden floor, which would leave a huge stain if left unattended. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. She looked around the room and found a box of tissue sitting on the nightstand. Quickly, she grabbed it, and as she turned around, which she may have done too quickly, she felt the room spinning around. She swayed from left to right, trying to keep her balance, but that didn't last too long. In just a matter of milliseconds, she fell to the floor, and her entire vision was covered in darkness.