Revamped!

[A lot of people request for Kaider to be written and to be honest, they're my least favourite pairing to write ONLY BECAUSE I feel as if I still don't have their personalities on lock. Do you all think I do? But lucky for you, this arc dips into Kaider.] [2020: Wow, I called myself out … but I was also dumb because there's a lot of Kaider later.]

Beyond the Crescent Moon: Part Two

Her thighs burn as her steaming bowl of popcorn sits on her crossed bare legs. The steam hits her face but all she acknowledges is the buttery scent that makes her tongue water. It makes her eyes water as well, unlike the romance movies and shows Cress is currently browsing through. After finishing her homework and studying, Cress decides that it's best to take a breather from video games and watch some movies on television. The only problem is the options for her are only romance flicks for some odd reason which only reminds her that she doesn't have a love life. She clicks the remote and settles for what she chose without knowing it.

"That's what I wanna find. True love. The kind that you fight for, that you always put first. That makes you wanna do good and better."

"I wish, buddy, I wish," Cress murmurs.

She changes the channel.

"I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that there will come a day when all our labour has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you."

Cress is left speechless at the sound of that, mostly because of the high vocabulary level. If only Thorne professed his love for her like that. Or better yet, if only Thorne had a love for her like she does for him or this character in the movie.

New program.

"Maybe you're just too scared that someone might actually want to be with you."

"And why would that scare me?"

"Because then you wouldn't be able to hide behind your books or your freaking telescope or your faith. You know the reason why you're scared? It's 'cause you wanna be with me too."

"This is now bothering me," Cress says bitterly to herself.

She changes the channel again. This time, it's a sci-fi show which she's happy for because those aren't romantic, right?

"It's hard to leave when you haven't said goodbye."

"Then tell me because I don't know … how do I say it?"

"There's only one way I'd accept. If you ever loved me, say it like you're going to come back…"

Never mind. Romance may be inevitable although it always has a way to avoid Cress.

With every channel came hugging, crying, kissing, kissing and crying, inappropriate scenes showing too much, and a constant loop of it all which annoyed Cress to the point where she was becoming irritated. Maybe it was the fact that she didn't have a boyfriend and seeing all that fluff in the media makes her feel lonely.

She turns off the television and decides to call it a night.

-o-

"I think I've run out of saying goodbyes."

"Why do you keep on saying goodbye?"

"Bye!" Scarlet exclaims, turning off the television.

Wolf laughs to himself as Scarlet throws the remote onto the coffee table. She leans back into Wolf's comfy couch where he puts his arm around her. Now that the room is silent, all that can be heard is their breathing.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Scarlet asks him.

"I could think of something…" Wolf mutters.

He leans in to kiss her before getting interrupted by a knock on the door. Wolf huffs, getting up to go answer it. If only he could just ignore that but there's a chance the knocking will continue. He opens the door and keeps it open just enough for him to stick his upper body out. Wolf tried to formulate a sentence but his jaw has hit the welcome mat.

Seeing other members from other gangs makes him glad that he didn't keep them knocking. The thing about gangs is that although there are many, most of them are actually one big group. Wolf's pack was just a fraction of an even bigger herd. Wolf is on his toes since he didn't expect to see them for several reasons and now they're at his front door with Scarlet inside. Stars, if only he could bring this outside. One of their dogs starts barking at Wolf who just stares at it. He's not intimidated by that mutt but he knows it drew Scarlet's attention.

"Easy!" Someone yells at the dog who immediately quiets.

Wolf straightens. "Hi."

"We know why you stayed with us and why you left," the one with the dog says. Wolf assumes that he's their leader. It's always changing so he never keeps track. "Wolves take care of their alphas. And we'll always have your back because we'll always be there."

One of Wolf's hands hovers over his lower back. He has a small tattoo of a wolf howling up at the moon which signified their unity. He smiles as he shakes the chief's hand. Scarlet stands behind him although he hasn't noticed yet, suddenly feeling uneasy about this. To her, Wolf left or is in the middle of leaving his gang life. She knows that it would be hard because he said so but why does it feel like he'll never truly be free from it?

Once Wolf closes the door, he locks it and takes a breath. He turns around and sees Scarlet's face. It's stern yet concerned and demanding for an explanation.

-o-

"Cress!"

Her eyes shoot open at the sound of someone outside calling her name from outside. She looks over at her nightstand's clock and sees the time of 2:24 AM flashing in her face. Maybe it was a dream so she just decides to go back to sleep.

"Cress!"

Nope, not a dream. Definitely not a dream. Cress sits up in bed cautiously as her name is being called repeatedly in a hushed scream. Her first instinct is that it's a murderer but if it really was a killer, they could've climbed and killed her in her sleep. That would've been easier for them both. Cress slowly goes over to her window and peeks through the curtains to see who it is. She stares at the person, taking in their face and her jaw hits the floor.

It's Carswell Thorne.

Cress's eyes open extremely wide as she pinches herself to make sure she isn't dreaming. There is no way this is happening. Maybe it's all the sappy romance films she watched affecting her dreams?

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," Thorne greets charmingly.

Cress has hearts in her eyes and can feel her cheeks getting redder by the second as she opens the window.

"What are you doing here?" Cress asks him, controlling the volume of her voice.

"I never thanked you for keeping me safe during the whole Wolf thing," Thorne replies.

Cress can feel her heart racing. "You're welcome. You know, you could've just texted me or told me during the day."

"You saved my life and now I want to do something for yours. That's my ideology. Besides, I owed you. Come out, we're going on an adventure."

Those last words echo in her head. Is this a date? Does an adventure count as a date? Is she really escaping the night with Carswell Thorne? Cress's heart clings onto him but her mind says not to go since it's the middle of the night and she'll get in trouble. She looks down at Thorne and he already knows her dilemma.

"I'll have you back in time," Thorne says.

"Fine," Cress replies, sounding unamused although she's so excited. She's scared but more excited.

Cress's only option to get out of the house without getting caught is to climb out the window. She climbs on her windowsill and gets onto the drainpipe. She hears Thorne takes a few steps closer where she's climbing down.

"Use your hair as a rope since it's so long," Thorne suggests. He may have been serious since Cress's hair goes down to her waist.

Cress laughs a little.

"If you jump, I'll catch you," Thorne says.

At that point, Cress wants to leap into his arms and be in his embrace, but she safely shimmies down. Her nerves cause her to shake since she still doubts this is happening. She's going somewhere in the middle of the night with Carswell Thorne. Then, they make it to his car and get inside. Even sitting next to him feels like a dream. She's subtly pinching herself although she wouldn't want to wake up.

"So, what's your plan for this adventure?" Cress asks him.

Thorne shrugs. "Tell me something that you haven't done in life and we'll do it."

"That's a long list since I've really done nothing," Cress replies.

"I doubt that. Here, I'll list a few things - have you ever been to the beach?"

"Nope."

"Road trip?"

"Nope."

"Stargazing?"

"Nope."

"Pulled an all-nighter?"

"Nope."

"Not even with all the video games you play?"

Cress tries not to blush at the fact that Thorne remembers her love for video games. "I pass out at some point."

"Huh … well, that sucks. You've had a boring life."

"It's because my dad's always busy and I don't see myself clicking with anyone."

"Where's your mom?"

"Just not around."

Thorne shifts awkwardly in his seat which is unlike him. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Cress shrugs. That killed the mood in the car and they haven't even left her house yet. Way to go, Cress, way to go.

Thorne turns on the engine and starts driving. "Let's brighten up the mood with an adventure."

[Anyone get any Riverdale vibes from this chapter? With the whole Wolf gang showing up and Thorne calling Cress "Sleeping Beauty"? (Yes, I know that Jughead called Betty "Juliet" but Sleeping Beauty made more sense in that context and I genuinely hated Romeo and Juliet.)

I'll be honest, I have never watched the classic romance movies like Titanic so that's why it's omitted. However, the media I did use for the beginning was Endless Love, The Fault in Our Stars, A Walk to Remember, Doctor Who, and one of the High School Musical movies.] [2020: I could only remember the TFIOS, A Walk to Remember and the Doctor Who quotes.]