Don't be afraid... [Reserved- Chase and Mia]

Mia's cozy Inn room was near completely dark- Curtains drawn, lights off...
The air was cold, and orange sun barely seeped through the rolling grey clouds overhead, the world flashing blue every now and again as lightning stabbed it's way to the ground, thunder following shortly afterwards.
Storms weren't uncommon for Spring, and in the afternoon they were particularly pretty. To some people, anyway.

Mia hated storms. Secretly, they terrified her.
She shivered as the rain pelted down on the roof of the Inn, almost forgetting to breathe entirely as another blue sheen filled the sky, wrapped up in a blanket where she sat on the lounge.

Chase frowned from the window in his small hotel room. It was storming, and hard. Mia wouldn't be running outside today, that was for sure. In a moment of panic, he wondered if she actually would, for some kind of thrill; she lived for the surprise of the moment. But he sincerely doubted that even she would brave this storm. It was much more likely that she was huddled in her hotel room, just down the hallway from his own.

He decided to pay her a visit, scooping up the barest essentials - glasses, his room key - and shoving them in his pocket as he exited his own room, pulling the door shut behind him. He started off down the hallway, counting room numbers until he came to Mia's.

He knocked, rocking back on his heels as he awaited an answer. "Mia, open up," he called softly, not wanting to disturb her neighbors. A thunderbolt cracked.

Mia cringed as a loud clap of thunder shot through.
She was certainly glad to hear a familiar voice through her door, though. Quickly, she shed the blanket and walked over to the door, clicking the lock and pulling it open.

"Chase," She smiled, trying to ignore the rain pounding against the roof, "I'm glad your here..."
Quickly giving him a kiss, she took his hand and brought him inside.

Chase smiled and walked inside, scanning the room as he did so. There was a fair amount of disorder, but nothing extremely concerning. It was like Mia. He looked for a place to sit down on the bed and pulled her with him. "Are you scared of the storm?" he asked, looking out the window, since the curtains were pulled back. The rainfall intensified, slamming against the panes and shaking them. He said, "I kind of like them." But she looked frightened.

Hoping to get her mind off of the turmoil outside, he stretched casually and said, "So, what have you been up to? What do you want to do?" Spotting the TV, he said, "Want to watch a movie?"

Mia nodded wordlessly, burying her head against Chase's shoulder.
She didn't like being so frightened by storms, but they were... Well, they were storms.

Briefly, she opened her mouth to say something, but was quickly silenced as another bright flash of blue covered the sky, carrying with it a booming clap of thunder. She couldn't help but nervously tighten her hug on Chase, pulling herself a little closer.

Chase chuckled. "It's okay," he said, feeling her dig her face into his chest. In a way, it perplexed him - he had never seen Mia disconcerted by anything. He never would've guessed she was so terrified of storms. He wrapped an arm a little tighter around her and repeated, "It's okay."

He stood up only to cross the room, doing so quickly. He slid a DVD into the drive and the screen flickered to life. He flopped back on the bed as the opening credits, watching the familiar Disney logo pop up on the screen. "Beauty and the Beast, huh?" It had been lying closest to the TV, and he didn't particularly want to root through her things. Lightning crackled outside just as the music started to play.

Mia huddled close to Chase as the movie began, the classic old Disney drawings dancing about in chorus on the screen, a blue flash of lightning occasionally making way.

They'd only reached about half way, when, with a mighty loud clap of thunder and a bright blue light flashing pretty before their eyes, the TV along with all small lights or technology that were left on in Mia's Inn room went dark.
"Blackout?" Mia asked quietly, seeking refuge back on Chase's chest again.

Chase looked around, trying to see past the thick cover of black. There was no source of light at all, not even from the open window, seeing as the sun had its own shroud of darkness to deal with, as well. "Huh," he muttered, standing up and trying to flick a light on. Obviously, nothing happened, and it was then he started to feel around for a candle or a flashlight.

He found a lighter somewhere and a small tea light, and illuminated the room with that tiny candle. It was a faint light, but it outlined the curve of Mia's face well enough, enough to hopefully keep her unafraid. He put the candle on the dresser and sat back down on the bed, pulling her back in his lap.

"What now?" he asked.

Mia tried her best to keep from simply clinging onto Chase like a kitten to it's mother. But when Chase was so warm, sweet and kind, and all else was cold and dark, it was a hard feat to achieve.

"Let's play a game..." She suggested, biting her lip as another bright flash of blue illuminated the world for a moment. "How about Truth?"
Truth was a fun game- all the better to get closer to Chase, too.

Chase frowned. "Truth?" He thought back to the time he had gone to his first boy-girl party, at Laura Denning's house in seventh grade. She had insisted that the entire crowd play Truth or Dare, and when it was his turn, he had a choice between telling everyone which girl he liked or doing twenty jumping jacks while singing "Polly Wolly Doodle All the Day." In the end, everyone chose Dare. It was easier to show than tell.

"How do you play?" It was worth finding out.

Mia smiled a little.
"Basically, you ask the other person something, like their middle name." She explained, "It's basically just questions and answers..."

Sure, it wasn't the most exciting game in the world, but when all else was quite literally in the dark, it wasn't too bad.

Chase considered this for a moment. "OK," he finally agreed, folding his legs Indian-style on the bed and propping his face up with his hands. "I'll start." He paused, and then asked, "Might as well start off with something easy. What is your middle name?" He imagined something girly and flowery to accompany a name like Mia. Maybe Grace, or Rose.

Mia rolled her eyes, grinning.
"Candice." She answered, with an exasperated sigh, "Mia Candice Ethans."
Her middle name was none too fitting, one many levels. Too bad.

"What's your middle name?" She asked, mimicking Chase and sitting cross-legged on the bed, trying her best to ignore the rumble of thunder that rolled about.

"Candice?" Chase grinned. "That's cute. Mia Candice. It suits you, in a weird way." He slid a little closer to her on the bed, pressing his kneecaps against hers and pressing his palms against her shins. "My middle name is Michael. Chase Michael Hawthorne." He shrugged, wondering if she could see the gesture in the dark. "Michael is my great-uncle's name."

He thought about what question he would ask next, and finally came up with one. "Who was your childhood hero?"

"Chase Michael Hawthorne." Mia said, feeling his name roll off her tongue. "I like it."

She had to grin at the next question, though.
"My Childhood Hero, ugh." She began, lowering her head shamefully as she remembered.
"Believe it or not, I loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." She laughed, burying her head in her hands. "Michael was actually my favourite."

Brushing off the nostalgic memories, she shook her head.
"Who was yours?"

Chase laughed out loud. "Really? The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?" He grinned. "I liked Donatello the best." He remembered watching those cartoons religiously on Saturday mornings, eating pancakes and sitting on the tiled floor.

"Um...my childhood hero was..." He had to think about this one. He hadn't so much as given most of the cartoons from his youth a second thought until now. "Probably comic book heroes. Superman was my favorite. Superman works." He smiled.

"OK, your turn. Um. Let's see. OK, how about, what's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you?"

Mia nodded; Superman seemed to fit. After all, there weren't many other words to describe Chase himself.

"About a few weeks ago, falling off a building." She said, truthfully, smiling crookedly.
She didn't remember much about that fall, but what she could remember was the ground rushing up to meet her at an alarming pace.

She had to think for a moment. She knew so much about Chase already, his favourite place, his favourite flavour, his favourite book...
"If you could have one wish, what would it be?" She asked, tilting her head curiously.

He frowned, remembering that day all too well. He reached for her hand and covered them with his own. "Um," he said, trying to search in his mind for the answer to his question, but finding himself distracted. "I'd wish..." His voice trailed off, and he closed his eyes. "I would wish for a family, I guess. I had a pretty good childhood, and my house was pretty stable. I want that for any kids I might have someday." He shrugged, somewhat sheepish.

Hoping to move on, he had a question already in mind for Mia. He wasn't really sure if he wanted to hear the answer, because if it wasn't what he wanted, it would bother him to no end. But he needed to know. "What's the longest relationship you've ever been in?"

Mia was quite touched by Chase's wish- it was beautiful.
It simply made her heart quiver in her chest.

"Well, I've never, uh, been in a relationship before..." She confessed, shrugging against the darkness. "Never found the right person."
She paused.
"Until you came along..." She added tenderly.

It took a moment for her to find her voice again.
"How many other girls have there been?" She asked softly, biting her tongue as she waited for an answer.

Chase raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Mia was certainly pretty, certainly attractive, certainly lovable. He couldn't imagine why he was so lucky that no one had snapped her up yet. But he was glad.

Her next question surprised him. He should've seen it coming; it was a perfectly natural thing to want to know. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, and replied slowly, "Well, one. Only if you count a kiss behind the jungle gym in sixth grade 'another girl.'" He smiled quickly, and said, "She had been dared by her friends." That was a particularly painful day in his life, but it was funny in retrospect. "You're the only real one."

He thought for a minute, and asked, "What's your favorite thing about yourself?"

Mia was actually quite shocked by Chase's answer- she knew plenty of girls who would give their all to get a hold of Chase. She knew how lucky she was that they hadn't.

It was amazing, how two people so different came together with such magnetic pull.
But, at least she knew straight off how to answer the next question.
"Freerunning." She answered conclusively, grinning.

"What was the best day of your life?" She asked, curious.

Chase had to think about this for a minute. He laid back on the bed, stretching out and sighing. "I'm not really sure," he admitted. "There's a lot. I like being with you. But...the best day of my life was probably..." He trailed off. "This is going to sound ridiculous, but remember the day we made that snowman in the meadow? That one was the best." He remembered it clearly. It was his first white winter, and he couldn't think of a better way to spend it than with Mia, playing around in the slush.

He shook his head, thinking of the next question. "Hmm...OK, got one." He took a breath, and, still splayed on the bed, asked, "What do you like best about me?"

Mia grinned.
"That's easy," She began, "I've got a list."
She took a deep breath.
"Let's see, the way you think, the way you talk, the way you read me like a book,"
She paused, "In short, I love you."

For a moment, there was silence as Mia smiled. There was something in the air, something buzzing about.
Silence.
The rain was much weaker now, only but a quiet pattering.
"Hey, the storm's stopping." She whispered softly.

It took Chase a moment to look up and out of the window. She was right. The storm was quieting, finally relenting to the sun, which peeked in through the window. The sunlight was unnecessary; the lights in the hotel hummed back to life. The TV flickered back on, and for some reason, he was almost disappointed.

"One more question," he pleaded, sitting up and pulling her to him. "Will you still love me tomorrow?"

Mia smiled as she willingly nuzzled in closer to Chase.
Gently, she reached up gave him a kiss.
"I'll love you," She promised, "For as long as I live."

And that was the truth.