Rhyming

Blaise bent his body in the pale sheets, tilting his head to take in the neat and comfortable figure beside him. Her light blonde hair that usually fell to her elbows was now bunched up on her pillow, tangles of color and twists of light. He smiled; knowing full well just how beautiful she was.

Sighing, he looked down at himself, shirtless and naked, trying to remember just how it had all happened. The two of them had vowed not to engage in sex until their marriage but obviously that didn’t work out on both of their ends. Luna stirred under his arm, in the early stages of waking and for the first time that morning he noticed a strong beam of light penetrating through the massive window of their room, highlighting Luna’s hair and showering sunlight on the two of them.

Morning was calling.

Luna pulled her head off of her pillow, squirmed in the sheets, and eventually stared Blaise directly in his deep brown eyes. The two just sat there, engaging in silly mind games until Blaise reached a gentle hand across the short distance between them and tenderly stroked her cheek.

Without expecting to, they made love all over again.

After catching a glimpse of lengthy flaxen hair, Blaise’s pace quickened, trying to keep up with the girl who walked so quickly that she was practically traveling on wheels. He had first noticed her presence the day before and knew that he wasn’t wrong when he recognized her as a girl from his high school days. Luna, he thought back, trying to remember if any conversations between them had arose at school.

It shook his heart to realize that there had been none. But seeing her again now, in her element and natural beauty, made him feel bolder nonetheless.

Luna continued to walk ahead and eventually fell into an opening in the crowd. With Blaise’s tall stance he was able to witness her abnormal attire. Luna was dressed in a pale blue skirt that hugged her knees, worn sneakers that were, most likely, once a bright white, a bracelet of herbs around her right wrist, a checkered red and green tank top, and a string of radishes around her neck. Her hair was down, as always, he reminisced.

His smile grew wider as a chuckle escaped from his lips. She certainly knew how to make an impression on the people around her.

Blaise’s walk turned into a jog as he worked to zigzag through the crowds of rushing businessmen and women and to the one individual who he had never really got the chance to meet. He reached her side after one lucky dodge and accidentally elbowed her in the shoulder.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized, gulping in her full profile as she turned to face him with wide blue eyes and a complexion the mirrored perfection.

“It’s alright,” Luna replied, poking his arm with her pointer finger. “In the process you probably knocked a few Berlies off of the both of us.”

Blaise continued to travel further but instead held an expression of great confusion. “What are Berlies?”

The two young adults reached a park where Luna continued to ramble on and on about Berlies and the way that they could invisibly mess with your five senses. “So one minute you could be smelling blueberry tarts, wondering where on Earth they came from and the next minute the scent could be gone.” Blaise watched, not knowing why exactly he desired to stay by her side as much as he did.

***

“So all you have to do is spear a radish through the middle and string it onto one of these cords,” Luna instructed as she used a sharp, rounded blade to make a hole in the center of the radish in her hand. Blaise picked up a rather large version of the vegetable and attempted to poke his own knife through the center, doing so but cracking it in half during the process.

Luna laughed at this, something that he heard her do often now that they were acquaintances. “It takes some practice, of course.”

He sat back on the row of stairs outside of Luna’s house and watched animatedly as Luna poked radish after radish and professionally hung them together on a string of thin rope. It was strange, sitting outside with her, while her father loomed just beyond the doors knowing full well that his only child and daughter was alone with a grown man. What did he think was going on between the two of them?

Blaise picked up a second radish, deciding that it would be best if he tried once more to offer a busy Luna at least a little bit of help. He stabbed the middle with force, hoping that the massive amount of vigor at one time would be enough to keep the radish in one piece. Surprisingly, it was.

“Fabulous! Now just thread that one through here and this necklace will be done.” Blaise did as he was told and carefully aligned the cord with the hole that the vegetable now adorned. He tied both ends together and offered it to Luna, tossing it genuinely across her neck.

“No,” she countered, pulling the necklace up and over her head. “I made this one for you.” Blaise allowed her to lay it over his own neck, twitching awkwardly as the radishes fell into place below his head. A newborn breath hitched in the back of his throat as he noticed the distance between Luna and him. Her body was still slightly bent over him, undoubtedly searching for something in his hair.

He tried hard to ignore the fluttering in his stomach but it failed to cease.

***

Blaise awaited Luna’s arrival at his house outside of London, quickly pacing the left and right in the foyer, attempting to come up with a reason for Luna’s letter. The two had become close friends over the last few weeks and it worried him that her letter seemed a bit less mellow than all of her previous ones. She was stressed out about something and the thought of what it could be was the only thought Blaise held in his mind until he heard her knock on his door.

“Hey,” he greeted, holding the door open for her and then closing it tightly behind him. Luna’s choice of clothing was the usual--unique--but the bright aura that she always emitted was not present.

“Thank you,” Luna responded. The comment took Blaise off guard originally but slowly he came to a realization as to why she spoke those words. She was thanking him for being there when no one else was. Except her father, of course. Unless…

“What’s wrong?” Blaise questioned, leading Luna into his kitchen. She plopped down on one of his kitchen stools and propped her head up with both of her bony elbows. Blaise turned to his stove and quickly reheated some recently boiled water. Pulling two tea bags out of a nearby jar, he set one cup in front of Luna and walked around the counter to take a seat on the stool next to her. Within the few minutes that it took for him to do this, Luna hadn’t spoken a word.

She was definitely not herself.

He was about to pry the answer out of her by asking a second time but her soft voice cut him off.

“Late last night our house caught fire. I was staying back at work to try and help with some of the research that needed to be taken care of so I wasn’t home. My father was though, and you know how old he’s getting…” Blaise sat there, horrorstruck with an expression of puzzlement plastered on his face. Fire? You don’t hear of those too happening too often, especially with someone stuck inside. “He died of smoke inhalation while trying to get out.

Blaise’s heart sunk as the worst of his speculations had been confirmed. He pulled a watery Luna close to his chest and held her there for as long as he could before he felt her work to pull away. He loosened his hold and let her sink back into her seat, for the second time in her life not knowing what to do. No wonder her aura was gone. She had lost both of her parents, having lost her mother in her youth, and was not even twenty years old.

Luna turned back toward Blaise and smiled, offering another round of gratitude. Watching her face change from one emotion to the next, Blaise knew that somehow through all of their voiced rhymes and denials she was the one that he was meant to spend the rest of his life with.

***

Dancing through the halls of Blaise's mother's house, Luna couldn’t help stare in amazement at the immense monetary worth of décor that layered every surface on the first level of the home. Blaise’s mother had insisted that their engagement party should be held at her place and here they were, dancing and chatting with everyone around them. It seemed so odd to Luna that she was getting married so soon in her life but when she passed a glance at Blaise she could only begin to count the reasons why she fell in love with him so easily.

“Luna dear,” Blaise’s mother called, quickly walking toward her through the enormous crowd of people. “How do you like the party so far?”

Luna smiled. “Breathtaking. I have never seen anything like this before.”

“Hey,” Blaise swooped in next to Luna, nudging her arm.

“Oh son, I was just asking Luna whether or not she was enjoying the party. What are your thoughts?” Blaise sighed before responding. “Amazing, mother. How long do you suppose it will go on?

“Until the two of you leave, I am sure.”

Blaise and Luna exchanged glances before Blaise pulled Luna away from the larger crowd. Luna toyed with the diamond on her left hand. As much as she adored it, she still found herself searching for its reassuring presence, whether consciously or not.

“I’m sorry I have been sort of scattered tonight; you know I don’t do all that well with crowds of people, especially at gatherings for myself.”

“I understand. We don’t have to be by each other every second of every day, you know,” Luna addressed, reaching for a slice of pie and one fork.

“I know, but if I had my choice in everything I wouldn’t spend one day without you by my side.” Blaise kissed Luna’s rosy cheek and brought the two of them to a deserted table, still away from the larger end of the crowd.

“Pie?” Luna asked after taking a bite of the desert.

Blaise nodded and Luna fed him the next forkful, grinning.

“I never thought in a million years that I would be here- at my own engagement party- celebrating an engagement to you of all people but I can’t see my life any other way.”

“Even the best fall down now and again,” Luna whispered, as she ate another section of the pie. “You, Blaise Zarbini, are one of the best men that I have ever known and you fell for some odd, out of the ordinary little girl. How?”

He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips before responding: “I’ll let you know when I figure it out myself.”

***

Pulling an old T-shirt over her nude body, Luna crossed and uncrossed her ankles, noting that this was one of the very few times in her life where she had no idea what to say.

Blaise seemed to be having the same sort of problem, keeping his gaze on his love as he absentmindedly played with his fingers. “Y-You’re beautiful,” he finally expressed, closing the distance between them. Luna wrapped her arms around his chest and beamed against it. Blaise reacted by linking his own arms around her waist.

In silence they stood, forever questioning why exactly they were brought together, but never once complaining about what life gave them.