-+- dinner & dance -+-

Falling into despair,

We were both lost in our own beasts.

We were helpless, thinking

How could anyone ever love

Broken souls like ours?

Facing a fear seemed like facing your death. But worse than that was the woman who stood in front me.

"Belle, I picked this one and this one. Which one is it going to be?" My mother, who was intent on making my date night perfect, stood like Queen Nerferiti, a few inches taller than me and full of attitude.

It was the night I agreed to go out with Adam to a dinner and dance he had planned. As soon as I got home and set my notepad on the table, my mother couldn't help but pry through my conversation with Adam. From "It's because I believe in you Adam" to "I'd call it a date," she went ballistic and dragged me to my room. It wasn't long before it became a mess. It was as if a hurricane had swept through it and things were everywhere. Simply put, that was my mother when she was on her feet.

That one.

My mother glared at me. "How am I supposed to know which one you chose?"

Because you know which one I'd wear.

"Fine." Pulling a dress off of a hanger, she laid the dress out onto the bed. It was a pale yellow dress that was of aesthetic quality and a daring creation. Deep pleats pinned up to one side of my hip while the rest of the gown evenly fell right to my knees. With a simply woven set of wedges, I was all set and ready for the night.

I walked down the stairs and sat in a couch. Gazing over our family pictures, the clock ticked by. Every second felt like a minute and I impatiently tapped my foot. A recursion of thoughts ran through my mind like on a treadmill. What if he forgot? What if this was a game he was playing? What if, above all, something had happened to him?

I was never prepared to fall in love with Adam and seeing him stand at the doorway as my mother had opened the door. My heart stopped and time froze. I stumbled to stand on my own two feet, but he was standing right next to me. We communicated with emotions and a language spoken with our eyes.

His appearance was no match to mine. A dark navy blue blazer contrasted with his white button up shirt that was fit to his build. His brown shoes moved around as he stood uncomfortably, almost shy. A sly smile crept onto my face realizing the effect I had on him. I took his elbow and waved at my mother.

"Have fun, but not so much that you get yourself in trouble!" She screamed out of the house, as I swept the both of us away from my house and to his car.

Covering my giggles, I shook my head. Adam looked at me in shock. The realization had sunk in and my eyes widened. I had broken my guard. My voice was still there. His shock morphed into one of gratitude. And yes, I was forever grateful for this moment.

-+-

We were seated in a magnificent restaurant that resonated the mood of every magical story I've read. There were flowers everywhere and tables set for two or more. The waiters and waitresses stumbled in and out of the kitchen with meals piled up their arms and the chaos was all simmered down with candles lit everywhere. The lights of the restaurant were dimmed and a few yards away was an arch. It opened up to a spectacular ballroom where a large diamond chandelier glimmered and hung from the ceiling.

How were you able to afford all this?

He smirked and wrote, Anything for a princess like you.

Ah, he knew how to hook a girl's heart. I sighed at the amazing sights around me and sunk into my chair comfortably.

So, what else could I learn about you? I can't fall for a guy that I don't much about.

About me... my favorite color is brown and the girl I really like is sitting in front of me.

Blushing furiously, I patted my cheeks to try and cover my flushness. My heart pounded in my ears and my nerves spiked with a nervous tension.

He kept writing, Thing is, I feel like I don't have the luxury to love you but also I can't leave someone as special as you. I'm a mess and you don't deserve a drop of my confusion.

Why is it always me to guide you? Laughing out loud for the first time, I heard my voice. It's been a long year of silence and I was flabbergasted to hear it.

"Adam Thomas Beaulieu, I never thought I'd be the one to speak, but here goes nothing. I am so in love with you. You've wrapped me in the confusion of your world, shut me out, and opened up. Every word spoken, every touch is a story untold. Mess plus mess equal more mess and I'm ready for that. Kids that face cancer have faced just as much as we have and thank you for teaching me that. I don't know what I'm still doing here, but I realized that this world wanted me here to save you. And here I am. Every moment of my life, I dreamed of living my fairytale. A fairytale where a drop dead gorgeous prince would sweep me off my feet to a rich palace. But I didn't get that till now. Our obstacles make us the people we are now."

I fiddled with my fingers, taking the moment to let everything sink in for him. He ran his hand through his brown hair which looked amazing as always. I stood up from my seat and took his arm. "You've been my beast all along. The guy that I ran away from, but learned to love. The souls of the broken seem to be the ones that we fall for because we care about them the most."

Everything had happened so quickly.

Fifteen seconds.

My world should have collapsed. I should have died a year ago. If Zach had died, I should have too; it was to be a suicide attempt. But, I didn't. Here I was, a little over a year later, with Adam in front of me. Right in front of me. His lips landed on mine and our worlds collided.

Fifteen seconds.

Every fairytale I read flew across my mind. There was always light at the end of a dark, endless tunnel and here he stood, all mighty and tall.

Fifteen seconds.

Every story that I heard from innocent children hit my heart. They suffer, I suffered, it's the epitome of this world.

Fifteen seconds.

Time never stopped, I stopped. I stopped talking, letting people in, and I crumpled into the mess I was.

It became a whole minute where I reflected on the beast that held me safe in his arms now. Fears are thought to be something to be scared of, but a whole minute was a whole year of my battle against my fear. A fear of falling in love with someone.

Before I could react, we were both in the ballroom, dancing away in our embrace, falling in love with our broken souls. I was helpless, but all in all satisfied. I rested my head on his shoulder as we swayed back forth across the floor.

"We're together now and everything is going to be alright. I love you Adam." And that was that. I had embraced my fear and taught someone else how to face it too.

I had defeated my beast and embraced it.

But I found another.

A beast-ly prince to my fairytale.

"I love you Belle Aisse Villeneuve."

A tale as old as time.

unexpectedly,

falling in love

here are two broken souls,

A story for the books.