Revamped!

[OH MY GOD THIS CHAPTER IS LONG!

I'll put it out there on how I'm building (or have built) each of the pairings in case you were wondering (which you probably weren't). I'm trying to take about the same amount of time that the series took for them to become canon. Hear me out on this:

Kai and Cinder - they needed the whole series to happen.
Wolf and Scarlet - they were together by the end of Scarlet.
Cress and Thorne - the chemistry was there by the end of the first book.
Winter and Jacin - I will eventually write how they got together in terms of this story. (*cough* Cinder's arc *cough*)]

Beyond the Crescent Moon: Part Three

The roads are nearly empty at this hour as Thorne drives through them at top speed. He's going over the limit but not so fast that he'd get pulled over. It's also silent, even for the two of them in the car. Cress keeps her gaze out the window as Thorne looks up ahead, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Quit pinching your wrist," Thorne tells her with a small smile.

Cress's heart skips a beat as she hears that. During the car ride, Cress has been pinching her inner wrist because she still can't believe that Carswell Thorne showed up to her house in the middle of the night and is now taking her on an adventure. All this still seems surreal to her no matter how many times Thorne told her that this is happening. Despite all the pinching, she's still expecting to wake up.

"Here, let's listen to some music," Thorne says.

He turns on the radio and the loud music explodes since the volume was already at its max. Cress jumps in her seat as Thorne spins the dial to lower it to a more reasonable volume (which Cress still found to be loud since her rib cage is vibrating in her chest). Thorne starts bopping to the music and Cress turns to watch him, smiling a little.

"I love this song!" Thorne exclaims as he increases the volume. "Do you know this?"

Cress shakes her head.

"Don't lie, Cress, everyone knows this!"

"I don't!" Cress yells back although she doubts that Thorne heard her since her yelling isn't all that loud.

"We're gonna party like it's 3012 tonight," Thorne sings along to the music. "I wanna show you all the finer things in life so just forget about the world, we're young tonight. I'm coming for ya, I'm coming for ya."

Thorne nudges the side of Cress's vibrating chest to sing along but she only shakes her head rapidly, still claiming not to know this song at all. Thorne shrugs playfully.

"Cause all I need is a beauty and a beat who can make my life complete," Thorne continues singing, holding that last note as he turns onto the freeway's exit. "It's all about you, when the music makes you move. Baby, do it like you do."

Thorne nudges her again, encouraging her to sing the next part since he knows that she knows this song. Cress sighs, throwing in the towel since she knows this part of the song.

"In time, ink lines," Cress raps, "ladies couldn't get on my incline. World tours, it's mine, eleven little letters, on a big sign. Carswell Thorne, you know Imma hit 'em with the ether. Buns out, wiener, but I gotta keep an eye out for Fallow."

Thorne is chanting, clapping for Cress and her sudden talent in rapping. He didn't see that coming and, to be honest, it's very attractive.

"Beauty, beauty and the beast," Cress continues rapping, "beauty from the east, beautiful confessions of the priest. Beast, beauty from the streets, we don't get deceased. Every time a beauty on the beats."

The song continues but nobody's singing anymore. Thorne's too impressed by Cress's rapping and Cress is out of breath from it. In the spur of the moment, she didn't know the song but the moment she opened her mouth was when all the lyrics poured out of her. She probably heard it once before.

"I'm liking 3 AM Cress," Thorne compliments.

"Really?" Cress questions anxiously. "She kinda scares me."

They both laugh as the song ends and another dance-worthy song starts playing. They start shimmying their shoulders and mouthing the words only to build up to its chorus.

"I-I-I wanna go-oh-oh all the way-ay-ay," Cress sings mechanically and intentionally. "Taking out my freak tonight. I-I-I wanna show-oh-oh all the dirt-irt-irt I got runnin' through my mind, whoa."

"I-I-I wanna go-oh-oh all the way-ay-ay," Thorne sings the same way she did. "Taking out my freak tonight. I-I-I wanna show-oh-oh all the dirt-irt-irt I got runnin' through my mind, whoa."

They continue jamming to whatever song the radio played next. Thorne makes a mental note that whenever he's bored and alone at home, he'll pick up Cress and take her for karaoke since she seems to be the best partner possible for it.

-o-

Thorne parks the car in an empty parking lot. He and Cress get out of the car and she nervously follows Thorne to the building they parked in front of. Her arms are crossed and she shivers, not only because of the night chill but because she still has no idea what she'll be doing here with Thorne. She feels naïve for coming here with a guy she doesn't know but is madly in love with. This could be her last waking moments on Earth because she wanted to go out with him.

Then, she hears something and turns around.

"Thorne," Cress whispers to get his attention.

When Thorne doesn't respond, she taps his shoulder. Thorne turns around and Cress runs to hide behind him, peeking over his taller build. They look at the approaching security guard doing his normal rounds.

"Hey, man!" Thorne exclaims, going over to the security guard who couldn't be more than a few years older than them.

Cress is dumbfounded at first as she watches Thorne and this security guard exchange a friendly handshake. For a moment, she thought that she and Thorne would be going to jail but now it looks as if they could all go to a bar together. Not that she would want to. She continues watching the two of them chit-chat as the guard freely opens the door to let them inside the building. Thorne thanks him as he escorts Cress inside. She stays quiet until they get in the elevator and start heading up.

"How do you know him?" Cress asks.

"Friend of a family friend," Thorne replies.

Cress doesn't comment on how sketchy that sounds but as long as they don't end the adventure in jail or the morgue, then she has no complaints.

They exit the elevator and Thorne leads them onto the roof. They're over a hundred stories above the ground and can see most if not all of Commonwealth which looks so much different than it does during the day and at this altitude.

Cress is breathless as she runs over to the edge of the roof, stopping herself at the ledge. She wanted to look at the night sky and examine each and every star but at the same time, she wanted to look straight ahead at the other buildings and see the array of windows with their lights either on or off in some odd pattern, or just look down and not feel small for once in her life.

Meanwhile, Thorne is hesitant on whether to hold her waist. He didn't want to look like he took her up here only to make some romantic moves on her or coerce her in any way, but he doesn't want her to fall over the edge to her death. Instead, he grabs her arm gently and pulls her a few steps back. Luckily, she obliges.

"This is beautiful," Cress comments.

"It is?" Thorne questions.

"The sky is so pale and luminous at this hour. Then behind this gentleness and peaceful night is this big orb of brightness called the moon." She points up to the sky. "That big crescent moon."

"Huh," Thorne says, looking up at the crescent moon. "Never thought of it all that way. I only thought of cool views and breaking curfew."

"There is so much beyond the stars and beyond the crescent moon."

"Well, there's this thing called outer space."

"I was named Crescent because of the moon."

Thorne laughs a little. "Think of this - Crescent Moon Darnel."

He looks at Cress, expecting her to laugh at his joke but her face is straight and non-responsive. That's when he realizes that he shouldn't have laughed.

"Wait, so your real name is Crescent Moon Darnel?"

Cress nods.

He smiles, amused. "That sounds like a fairytale."

She scoffs. "My name isn't a fairytale."

"Excuse me, but a Carswell is a stream."

Cress laughs which makes Thorne laugh as well. Little did they know that a carswell is where the watercress grows. That would've made Cress squeal, thinking that they're meant to be. Thinking that she'll grow into someone more because of him.

"But hey," Thorne says, "it's nice to have a name like Crescent Moon. Like you said, there is so much more beyond the crescent moon. For instance, I didn't know that you could rap."

Cress can feel herself heat up, meaning she's blushing. She hopes it's too dark for Thorne to notice. Lucky for her, she can see that Thorne's eyes are flecked with gold catching the small light around them. It's beautiful and she's staring.

"It's a one-time thing," she jokes.

"Well, if you don't mind me then I'll continue to explore far beyond the crescent moon."

-o-

The rest of the night consisted of Thorne and Cress dancing and jamming out to whatever songs Thorne could blast on his phone with the occasional selfies once every song chorus. It was a small rooftop pajama party consisting of only the two of them and it was the most fun they both have had in a while. She just noticed Thorne was in his pajamas and she didn't think that could make the adventure so much better. That is until their party had to end abruptly due to the time.

"It's 4:30 AM!" Cress exclaims.

"It's 4:30 AM!" Thorne chants, continuing to jump around.

"No, Thorne, our parents will get mad at us. We have to get home!"

Thorne stops jumping for a moment as he processes what Cress just said. If their parents wake up and see that they're not there, they will both be in extreme trouble when their parents see them again (that is, if they don't file a missing child's report before then). Thorne isn't worried about himself per se since he can handle his parents (wouldn't be the first time this has happened), he's worried for Cress' sake since her dad could be pretty intimidating when and if he wants to be.

They get back in the building and take the elevator back down to the main floor. Then, they both run outside and get in Thorne's car. Thorne drives at top speed back to Cress's house, grateful for the empty streets.

"We have a problem," Cress says to him.

"What is it?" Thorne asks. "I'm sure I can take care of it."

"I can't climb back into my window since I have no upper body strength."

"Can't you use your hair as a rope and climb back up?"

"My hair isn't that long and I just said I have no upper body strength."

Thorne hesitates, slightly cursing to himself. This is all his fault. He pulled Cress out of her room in the middle of the night and took her out here only to get them both in trouble. He's fine with getting himself in trouble since that's the norm for him, but he can't stand getting her in the doghouse.

"Call Cinder," Thorne says, pulling his phone out with one hand and passing it to Cress.

Thorne re-examines the side of her house and the window, thinking of alternative ways to get her up there. Cress browses through Thorne's contacts and eventually finds Cinder's number under the contact name "Crewmate Cinder". As the call rings, Cress puts it on speaker and holds it close to Thorne. She's surprised Cinder even picked up.

Crewmate Cinder: What the hell do you want at 4 AM?

"Hi, Cinder!" Thorne exclaims, annoying Cinder even more with his loud voice (as though the call wasn't bad enough). "I need a quick favour."

Crewmate Cinder: No.

"Hear me out: I took Cress out in the middle of the night and I need to get her back into her house through her bedroom window."

Crewmate Cinder: What am I supposed to do about that?

"Wanna meet us at Cress's bedroom window with a ladder?"

Cinder hangs up.

Thorne is silent for a bit. "Some friend she is. Don't worry, I have a plan B."

For a moment, Cress thinks that Thorne has this completely under control. That is until he takes an exit too early from her house and starts heading a different way.

[Cinder is me as a friend.

And I'm sorry-not-sorry for that Bieber/Minaj song (Beauty and a Beat) in the beginning because it's a fun song that I love. Same goes for the second one (I Wanna Go). Britney is a queen.]