The reunion of a thousand lost stars paled in comparison. There, on the Coral Isle sands, stood Wade and Ember, reunited for the first time since the ill-fated night of yesterday.
In awe-filled disbelief as to how he'd managed to find her, Ember stood mere feet away from Wade. The strain of yesterday was visible on both their faces.
Wade gently rose up from his kneeled position. As he stood straight, Ember broke at the seams, racing up and wrapping him in a tight hug.
A huge, bellowing invisible inferno erupted between the two. Hearts were afire like never before. Rivers flowed faster, and the fire burned higher. The two were together, at long last. Wade embraced every single second of the moment with both arms, embracing her along with it. Ember nestled her head into his chest, and a chilling silence followed...
But she was not one to forget.
The sombre moment came to a grinding halt as thoughts of yesterday barged in. Ember's eyes sharply opened in horror. She instantly shoved Wade away hard, causing him to lose his breath in shock.
He stared at her with hurt in his eyes, yet nothing compared to the hurt in hers. She hyperventilated exasperatingly, instantly turning and sprinting away along the beach.
"Ember- wait!" Wade exclaimed.
Having caught his breath, Wade pursued his jaded love with all his might.
Tides gently pulled back and forth as the two went on for quite a while, running, running, running.
After some time, the chase came to a sharp halt. Ember tripped over a small mound of sand, falling over face first. Like she wasn't even aware of the collision, she quickly turned, lying on her back as Wade quickly caught up.
He stopped as he arrived by her side, standing with visible shock over his face.
"Get away from me!" Ember exclaimed.
Like a crab, Ember shuffled backwards with her hands and feet. Wade followed her, extending a helping hand as he did.
"Ember- listen. There's too much I have to say." he pleaded.
Like a horrified child, she curled up into a ball, cowering and covering her ears.
"Stop talking!" she yelled.
Wade came to a grinding halt as he watched her implode, gradually lowering his helping hand and looking to the ground in defeat.
Wary and alert, Ember unfurled her head from her cradling, staring at him as he looked down. Wade looked up as she did, and the two locked gazes.
Already defeated, Wade watched as an inferno of frightened horror raged with her eyes. A tear of empathetic sorrow streaked down his face as he stared, unable to take his eyes off her.
Through her eyes, he stood excruciatingly tall over her. With an inferiority complex unlike ever before, she tore molten lava down her face in petrification.
Before long, a hooded figure slithered out from behind Wade's visage. It glowed a deep purple, its face only visible by the mouth.
She returned.
Ember bruxed her teeth in fear, scuttling backwards more in fear.
Wade watched with an eyebrow raised as she suddenly did so. Still, he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and persisting.
"I'm sorry, okay? I regret everything I did yesterday. You were right..." he pleaded.
His gaze lowered to the floor in regret. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to hold back a flurry of tears but failing.
Still shaken to the core, Ember hyperventilated as she looked back at him.
"He's right there. Now's your chance." a voice said beside her.
Ember sharply looked to her left, finding her doppelganger sitting next to her, legs crossed and fiddling with a shell.
She let out a scowl at her awful counterpart, quickly standing up to her feet over her. The doppelganger looked up to her naive self with a smirk.
She slowly rose to her feet as well, hands straight behind her back. She began to pace around Ember, who watched her every move with anger.
"Piteous how it hasn't even been a day and he's already begging for you." the doppelganger raised.
Ember's hostile stare at her doppelganger slacked, raising an eyebrow. The doppelganger returned her an unphased purse of the lips.
"Look- I understand you hate me with every ounce of your being..." she remarked.
The doppelganger suddenly escaped Ember's line of sight. Ember sharply looked around in horror. The doppelganger reappeared right beside her ear, her molten breath caressing it.
"...but that hatred is what makes you me." she pressed.
Ember stood frozen in conflicted fright, hyperventilating, staring blankly.
"Go on. Accept every excuse he has to say, make up and move on. I'm still gonna be here. Nothing will change." The doppelganger scowled.
She put an arm over Ember's shoulder, pulling her close in a manipulative manner. She faced her towards Wade once more - a look of frozen fright on his face.
"Look at him. Selfish- brat. All he's going to do is reel you in - again and again - until you snap. It's inevitable." The doppelganger seethed.
The doppelganger's words began to eat away at Ember's sanity ever so slightly, inadvertently pushing her down the road she wished.
Ember began to look at her dewdrop with an air of disdain about her. The doppelganger grinned and watched as she was getting to her. She put both hands on Ember's shoulders, caressing them.
"Don't you wish you could be seen as the true mecca you are? Or are you just going to continue being a pushover and tarnish the Lumen name further?" The doppelganger pressed.
Ember began to burn a brighter purple, hyperventilating angrily as she stared at Wade.
Wade's stance of fright persisted as she watched her become more and more hostile toward him. The courage with her grew, and so did the inferno within her. A sharp, stabbing stare adorned her face.
Wade watched as she grew angrier by the second, slowly beginning to back away.
Ember stood stiff and straight, arms the same by her sides. She stared at him with a fiery stare.
"You." she scowled.
Like a hypnotized foot soldier, she stamped along in march toward a frazzled Wade. The doppelganger let go of Ember's shoulders as she began her march toward him.
Wade's mouth slacked agape in worry, and he began to walk backwards hesitantly.
"Ember- you were right. Everything you said last night. I- I should've listened. I should've just told you." Wade reckoned mid-transit.
"You... selfish coward." Ember scowled.
She continued to hyperventilate with eyes afire as she marched toward him. The doppelganger kept right up beside her, a giddy smirk about her.
"Brilliant. I'm impressed." the doppelganger admired.
The hyperventilation worsened to the extent of Ember tensely moving her shoulders up and down.
"Now why don't you take it home for me?" the doppelganger ordered.
Ember's fists clenched shut as she marched on and on. An already scared Wade began to truly feel the threat emanating around her unlike ever before. But that was just it; she would never be as mad at him as she currently was.
After all this time having known her, he knew that. Not if she was herself...
Then it hit him. Perhaps she wasn't herself.
He saw her exactly how she saw him the night prior - in an uncharacteristic light, driven by unsolved emotions. He looked at her with the same scared look, but it slowly shifted, driven not in fear of his life, but understanding of the fear within her.
Though their outer shells juxtaposed each other, their inner ones began to intertwine once again. Wade stopped his frightened shuffle backwards, planting himself in his spot with a horrified look.
Ember stopped her march in reaction, though just as fiery as before. She ground her teeth with fists clenched, staring at him through two lenses - the outer one, of anger, and the inner, one of despair.
Wade's look soon turned into genuine sadness for his fallen angel, consumed by blind hatred. Though he could have, he let not a tear out as he empathized at a distance.
Ember watched as Wade's manner shifted, now driven by confidence and empathy. Wade gradually lifted an arm back up, beginning to approach her again. She stood stiff in her spot, breathing sharply out of anger. Seeing her getting defensive, Wade halted himself, standing warily with a confident look.
"Take another step... and watch what happens. I dare you." Ember scowled.
Like a brave statue, Wade held his position. He gently heaved himself closer a step toward her. She flashed purple in warning, causing him to plant himself once more. She stood, defences wearing and her mind hesitant.
"I- I'm warning you!" she barked defensively.
The two locked gazes once more - hers aggressive, and his, assertive.
Seeing that her guard began to waver, a thought entered Wade's head. It felt risky to him, but then again, he also felt that way about anything in that scenario.
Coming to a gruelling decision, Wade shut his eyes, letting out a calming exhale.
"Whew. Here goes nothing." Wade murmured to himself.
He sharply opened his eyes and resumed his heaving push into Ember's fortress of fire. Before she could react, he snatched her wrist and gripped it with all his might. He felt a slight tingle as he did, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Ember's face lit up in shock, beginning to tug at it. Like her, Wade did not want to quit.
"Wade... agh- let go!" she barked.
Wade grounded his footing, knees bent with a confident stare into her frantic eyes. She tugged at it violently, becoming unruly in the process.
"Seriously! Let go!" she yelled.
With her free arm, she shoved Wade as hard as she could. With his will stronger than what she threw at him, Wade stood firm in his place. Ember's frustration in the grip momentarily lapsed, giving Wade a glimpse into her inner defences. She looked at him with more fright than anger, causing him to change his facial tune in conjunction. His brooding, stern look slacked, replaced with a hopeful grin.
However, Ember took the grin a little too personally. She slipped straight back into her comforting anger. She slipped so far back in that she began to burn a bright purple.
Wade began to brux his teeth and shut his eyes as he held on, a very real pain now seeping in. She was hurting him, and they both knew that now. Alas, to him, the chase was far more important than any little burn. He let out a loud grimace, remaining confident in the hopes he could reach his Ember and pull her out.
"Why won't you give up?!" she yelled.
Unwilling to let her fall any lower into a vat of despair, Wade remained with locked eyes, silent, persistent. As he stared at her, reality began to pull him out of his confident trance, revealing the horror it brought. His expression turned to a worried look as he held on and stared.
She wore a ferocious look about her, burning an ugly, bright purple. Seeing her like this killed him - and he knew something had to give.
It was now on him to provide that give.
He readjusted his stance as he held on, his breath wavering. Hers did as well, eyes afire but a subtle hint of confliction about them.
"You've been wondering why I've been acting strange all week... right?" Wade pressed.
Ember began to hyperventilate in stress as his demeanour changed, struggling to grasp his advances. Wade took a breath, closing his eyes in preparation.
"It- it's time I tell you," he announced.
Rather skillfully, Wade quickly let his hand slip off her wrist, quickly taking her hand and lacing his fingers in it tightly. She grimaced uncomfortably, tugging about.
"I..." he began.
Wade shut his eyes tightly, to the point of tears. The vulnerable side of him shone on raw display, beginning to eat away at Ember's fortress. Her purple flames grew dimmer by the second, and she began to breathe a little closer to how she normally did.
Wade's eyes gradually opened, staring right into hers in hopes that she would too. Lucky for him, she was already staring into his, the conflict within hers only growing. A very tense wave of emotions blossomed between the two.
But, almost as if it were for nothing, Ember caught onto his tactics. She quickly lapsed back into a bright purple shade. She gripped his hand, yanking him while he wasn't expecting it. He instantly tripped and fell to the floor face-first. He sloggily turned onto his back, a look of deep betrayal about him. His breath became heavy as she now towered over him authoritatively.
"What you did... I- I will never forgive you." she scowled.
Unwilling to let her inner demons consume her, he quickly leaned forward and got himself into a beggar's position.
"Just listen." he pleaded.
"No- you listen!" she barked.
"I quit my job today!" Wade exclaimed.
Suddenly, like she was emotionally pulled back by both shoulders, Ember instantly shifted into a shocked expression - rightfully so. She stood eyes wide and mouth agape, her stance slacking.
"What?" she muttered.
Even her doppelganger - stood beside her - raised her eyebrows in genuine surprise.
"Huh?"she added.
With her stunned in shock, it gave Wade ample chance to take his time in getting back on his feet.
"I- I quit just after I finished my shift today," he admitted.
With conflict growing in her even more than before, Ember stared at him in shock. Wade watched as she did, beginning to approach her gently.
"I heard about what happened, a- and I came as soon as I could!" he exclaimed.
With an air of doubt swirling around her, Ember began to back away in silence with a stern look.
"Why?" she murmured.
Wade stopped his approach for but a moment, letting out a heaping exhale.
"I saw how last night affected you. I wasn't thinking straight - a- and I wasn't because..." he began.
He slowly looked up at Ember, only to see a healing look on her face. He smiled at it warmly, slowly resuming his approach toward her.
"I have never been happier than when we decided to move here. Never," he said.
With a look of confusion about her, she turned away from him, looking at the ground sternly in thought. Wade began to crescendo his admission, raising an arm toward her visage.
"But I've flown between jobs to and fro, searching for meaning just like you. I just... I want direction. I saw you striving for your dreams, and I - I got jealous. I- I thought that if I started to focus on myself more than I have... I'd find what I'm looking for." he admitted.
She began to walk away from him with conflict written all over her, prompting him to follow rather sternly.
"Do you have any idea how it feels to risk everything in hopes that it'll all be better, only for things to get worse than they were?" he exclaimed.
Taking the sentiment as a bit of an offence, she stopped, flashing purple and turning toward him angrily.
"What?!" she barked.
"Yes. You do. You of all elementals would know. B- but I don't have glass making! I- I don't have a dream that I can realise by a drop of my hand!" he asserted.
Ember stared at him angrily as he tried his best to convince her - and diffuse the situation.
"I came here to start a new life... with you... not get one I already had." he pressed.
His persisting pressing hit Ember like wooden spikes, growing her inner flame with more confliction.
"Working this week has been awful, and I'm so glad that I got out before I could get stuck there. Drop- I don't even like being an inspector! Constantly looking about and shutting places down. I- I can't handle the guilt that brings!" he admitted.
Though still thoroughly mad, Ember let out a gentle gasp. Wade went to speak once more, but before he could, he stopped himself. With mouth agape, he lapsed into a sigh, bowing his head.
"I wanted last night to myself- just this one time! I thought... ugh... When we went on our date, you asked me about work. Even from that moment, I could tell that bringing the stress of my work home was starting to affect you." he admitted.
Ember gasped in reaction, eyes widening not in anger but in further surprise. She could see days ago how much work was getting to him, but for him to say it was on a whole other level of surprise.
"I thought- I thought that if I gave myself a night alone, I could mull it over... a-and solve it. I-ugh. I was wrong." he admitted.
The final sentiment hit Ember especially hard. Hearing the words "I was wrong" from his mouth felt oddly rewarding for her, causing her to let out a small, miniscule grin.
Unsurprisingly, her doppelganger didn't take it well at all, rolling her eyes with arms folded.
"Oh- spare that sappy talk, dewdrop." the doppelganger scoffed.
With her speaking in her ear in the background, Ember stared at him with dimmed anger, breathing heavily.
"Wade... Wade, is that true?" she asked.
Suddenly, the doppelganger sharply looked at her, disbelief and frustration written all over her face.
"What- what are you doing?" the doppelganger frantically stammered.
Vulnerable and borderline defeated, Wade nodded, his eyes shut in the process.
"Yes," he said.
A bit more in the mood to listen, Ember looked at him in query. As she was still hesitant, she slowly backed up a hair.
"How can I trust you?" she asked sternly.
In the background, the doppelganger let out a childish groan, hunching over with arms hung in the air.
"My flame- you're seriously gonna listen to this guy?!" she barked.
Clearly, Wade's words of admission had gained him entry into her fortress of fire. She willingly ignored her pesky doppelganger, staring at Wade with her full attention.
Wade let out a long exhale, looking down in embarrassment. He reached into his satchel, pulled out his phone and unlocked it. He opened the messaging app, taking another breath and opening his chat with her.
He gently began to approach her, causing her to back away sharply. Like taming a wild animal, Wade held his hand up in a gesture.
"Don't worry. I'm just handing it to you," he said.
He gently leaned forward in his spot, handing it over to her at a distance. As hesitant as he, she crept her way toward him, reaching out a grabbing hand.
She quickly snatched it, looking at it with eyes in a locked manner. Her stern stare persisted as she read the messages through, slacking as she realised something.
He really did keep in contact with her the whole time.
She fell into an expression of realization, sharply looking over to him in astoundment.
"Wade... Wade, these were never sent through," she said.
A chilling silence followed as she spoke, with Wade persisting to look at the ground out of embarrassment. He took a big, long, deep breath, prompting her eyes to widen even further.
"Look, it's time I told you about last night- what really happened." Wade began.