AUTHOR'S POV
"Come on, we have to hurry! They might be gone.", Scott swooped Diana up from the stairs, lifting her above ground and sprinted his way to the dock by the lake. Diana gasped at his hastiness, as she intuitively wrap her arms around his neck. 'This man is up to no good', she thought.
Scott placed her down the timber jetty, where a white wooden rowboat awaits. Diana watched him prepare the rowboat, wondering what Scott is up to. "Isn't your party here?", she asked, crossing her arms.
"It's too noisy here", he smirked, securing the rowboat in place, offering Diana a hand. "Come on".
Diana paused, staring at Scott's hand filling her head with second thoughts. She blinked her eyes several times, dampened her chapped lips and fitfully shifted her gaze back to the strobing bash. The closer she gets to Scott, more of her walls tear down brick by brick. And, it scared her.
'There she goes again', Scott gets mortified as Diana takes her time to take his hand. That very same look of hesitation that he thought he would never see again. Thus, he never faltered. With darted eyes, he pleaded the moon goddess for miracles. He waited a little bit longer, until she held his hand with that deep sigh. "Where are we going? ", Diana asked.
Scott took a hard load off his mind with a soft grin. Guiding Diana to come down the rowboat, he carefully let her sit on the other side of the slide seat of the rowboat. "To the stars", he said, covering her legs with a red checkered blanket that he took from the storage thwart.
She sighed with interjection for not gratifying her curiosity. Yet, Scott still kept mum, not spilling the beans and spoiling the night. He lit the lamp and hang it up on its holder, before he sat on the opposite slide seat. Removing the mooring line from the dock cleat, he pushed the boat away gently as he started rowing.
The waning moon shone extra beautiful tonight, mirroring itself over the lake. An explicit beauty perfect for a very special night. The placid waters rippled with every row, as they trail the surface of the midnight lake, creating a shimmering moon glade of rippling lights. Scott rowed towards the silhouette of pines, giving them a serene atmosphere, cradling them both to their inner calms.
Diana closed her eyes as she feel the warm breeze playfully blowing her hair. The moonlight beaming on her made her glisten more in Scott's eyes. Like the moon, she shines even if a part of her is hidden. With a childlike urge, Diana dipped her fingertips on the glassy surface and splashed tiny water crystals at Scott. Her giggles were like music to his ears. Scott liked this version of her. That side of her when she is more candid, and unguarded. More carefree and free spirited. Happier and lighter.
"It's too dark.. I can't see a thing! Do you want me to hold the lamp further?.", she worriedly asked, peering through the dark. Scott only replied with harder rows and a soft chuckle, leaving Diana bemused by his banter.
Flummoxed by his ribbing, Diana figured something unexplainable, yet possible. "You can see in the dark. Can you?", she asked, with narrowed eyes of bewilderment.
"I do, very clearly", he admitted with a slight nod.
"So.. back in the island, you can see even if I don't use the flashlight?", Diana looking astonished with Scott's night vision.
"I'm afraid to say yes", Scott refrained himself from smiling, as Diana starts to ask more about him instead of Sebastian. Somehow, his tipsy lurch evanesces.
"Amazing..", she audibly whispered. "I hope I could do that too. I can't truly see a thing", she said, with eyes like a child praying for superpowers.
"I hope one day you would, Luna", Scott agreed, along with the strong imprint that Diana should've had for him, he thought. Nearing a small dock, Scott stopped rowing and let the rowboat glide on its own. He exhaled sharply from rowing strenuously, stretching his arms across hist chest.
"Are you okay?", Diana asked, after all those hard pulling of the oars.
"It was a piece of cake", he said, trying to impress her even more, which she replied with rolling of her eyes.
Diana gasped when the boat bumped softly on the dock. She held tightly on the sides of the rowboat like a cute bunny. Quickly, Scott held on the post and balanced the boat to stop it from moving too much as he hurriedly tie the rope on the cleat. He stood up first with one foot in the boat and one foot up on the dock. Guiding Diana so she won't fall out of the water, he held onto her waist giving her a little push up the dock... and in a bit, Scott followed.
Scott and Diana trailed the well lit walkway side by side. With the balmy breeze in flurry, the weather matched Scott's growing heat from rowing through the lake. He then removed his white coat to cool down, hoping it would help. Looking to his side, he noticed how Diana shivered with her arms crossed. Offering his coat, Scott held her hand and secured it in his arm until they reached a paver walkway lit with drilled in lights leading to a path through the forest.
"What's in here?", Diana clutched on his arm, as they trudge their way through the pine trees. "You are not going to murder me here, aren't you?", she made a side eye glance, nudging Scott with her elbow.
Scott chortled, with his hand brushing his hair back. "I wouldn't dare!", he laughed a little, wincing at her cute aggression. As they head on closer far into the forest where the paver walkway almost ends, Scott figured that Diana's footwear isn't favorable where they are actually headed. "Let's hurry, they may have left", Diana gasped when Scott suddenly carried her in his arms again.
"I'm heavy! Please put me down", she yelled, as she wriggle her body.
"I don't mind", Scott said calmly, holding her closer in his rigid arms as she become passive and stiff. "Your shoes aren't made like boots, it'll slow us down".
'He's right', Diana gave in as she calm herself. Technically, she dressed to the nines for a what she understood was a date and yet here she is, in the middle of nowhere in a nice dress, and stilettos. Throwing so much daggers in her stares at Scott, she eventually surrendered and softened up since she could no longer do anything with her current situation. "I might fall…", she said softly.
"I won't let you, or you can hold me tight too ", Scott casually said, without batting an eye. Somehow, those words tickled Diana's chest. She stopped arguing, and eventually found herself wrapping her arms around his neck. In silence, Scott's heart screamed in triumph, while Diana couldn't fathom the butterflies in her stomach.
They have been walking for too long that Diana started to grill Scott again. "So..you have visitors here?", she shifted her gaze away when he looked at her.
"Yes", he smiled, as if she sounded bothered like there will be others joining them. A bit more farther, Scott could already see the open field with lush carpet of spongy grass, and a few moonflowers worshipping the moonbeams. This is the right spot, he rejoiced.
"Luna..", Scott whispered, nodding towards the open field as he look ahead. "We're here".
Diana followed Scott's gaze, and was taken aback with what's ahead. "Wow! I've never seen so much fireflies before", she exclaimed in excitement seeing millions of lightning bugs, pulsing and flashing in the open air.
"Amazing, right? It's mating season, so I suppose they'll be here tonight", ever since he became part of the Devlin family, he has been coming here to watch the fireflies. Not too far ahead, Scott spotted the all-white shabby picnic setup surrounded by solar light candle lanterns that he had prepared early on. He took Diana there, while she is completely engrossed by the great wonder of the scenery.
Diana suddenly held onto herself when Scott placed her down on the white silk chiffon laid on the grass. "You did all these?", she asked with her eyes widened, thinking Scott isn't really the crafty type to put all those details together. There were white square pillows all over, a small glass table full of white lilies in ivory vases over a silky cloth, a pair of wine glasses and a bottle of wine resting inside a crystal ice bucket where the ice inside have already melted, and a couple of wicker picnic baskets. There were also tiny trinkets of random things - small candles in gold geometric candle holders, and silverwares and floral plates.
"I can be anything, you know", Scott sat beside her, liberated her tired feet from her stilettos and massage her soles gently. Diana flushed at the warm touch of Scott's hands, that she choked out of words. "My visitors aren't that noisy, huh?", he asked, as he knead her feet gently up to her bare legs.
"Your guests are fabulous, they can light up the whole place", she grabbed Scott's hand, and pulled him closer to watch nature's light show. "They might not stay for too long, watch with me", she said.
It was a magical night for Diana. The serene silence of the forest. How softly the winds blew. The long stretch of stars blanketing the night sky. And the pretty glowing insects dancing in the air. Diana had this quiet surrender as she lower down her guard in the breath-taking view of nature. As she watch such fortuitous event, she hoped that it would come with a good fortune of wonderful things going her way. The voices in her head sounded with more clarity, chasing away her self-limiting superego.
As she was about to let it all go, the heaviness in her chest grew back, and the tears welling up in her eyes were hindered. She clasped her hands together, fiddling each finger as she hone in again in the rustling of the leaves and swaying of the pines. However, the voices behind her head haunted her, dragging her deep in the sorrows of her sheltered soul.
"What are you doing?", she was startled when Scott grabbed her with a sudden embrace. Diana stiffened, almost pulling away.
"Shhhh...", Scott placed his palm on her head, as he soothe her back with the other. "I have been wanting to do this since you arrived at the mansion earlier.. You can cry all you want, Diana. There's no one here to judge you", he hushed her... holding her close in a firm warm embrace, squeezing her just right as she melt in his arms. "You can cry on me, Luna".