"Heart is beating loud and she doesn't want it to stop. . ."

―Night Changes, One Direction

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Silver earrings sparkled in her ears like stars, against skin as beautiful as moonlight, rivalling eyes glittering like a emerald sky. She twirled in front of her stained mirror, inspecting herself, and ignoring her mom swearing downstairs. She picked up her purse, pressed a hand to her heart, and closed her eyes. This was it. After today, she wouldn't let anyone control her. After today, she would be free, to spread her wings, soar into the sky, ready to face dangers, if it meant leaving behind her sorry excuse of a life.

"Have you looked at yourself?" Her foster mother yelled at her as she wears her heels. "Mother" looked furious, her blond hair disheveled, eyes unfocused, expression aghast. "That dress doesn't cover shit! Parading 'bout and 'round with that little ne'er-do-well fucker!" Lily looked up, gaze cool, and raised her middle finger ever so slightly, and walked out to the sound of a car approaching.

He offered his arm to her, head tilted ever so slightly, a smirk at his lips, or maybe it was a trick of the moonlight, or perhaps because James Potter permanently had a smirk painted on his lips. That made her smile.

The wind swept back her hair, biting at her flushed cheeks, as moonlight peeked through the canopy of her hair, falling on the dark red roses in her lap. A soft, yet deep voice danced through the car, wafting from the stereo. His hand traced her exposed arm, tracing constellations, composing odes, the smile still in place.

"Have I mentioned how beautiful you look?" James murmured softly as he stopped the car near a restaurant. He turned his head to look at Lily, eyes glittering, a mixture of caramel, green and golden. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"You don't look too bad either," Lily quipped, and he laughed. A sound that made butterflies erupt in her stomach, which tugged her lips upward, which made her want to tug on his collar and kiss him into oblivion, fuck this date.

"A proper vixen, Evans, aren't you?" James said, arm around her waist as he led her inside.

She probably should've kept her flirty statements under control, since all through dinner, James's smile didn't leave his face, though his jokes were getting increasingly dirty. She lost it when he told her a super mean joke about Hades and Hebe, the Greek deities of the Underworld and Youth respectively. (They were the ultimate Percy Jackson-obsessed couple that way.)

In a way, she felt like she was spreading her wings at last. Hesitantly, cautiously, but still, she was spreading them, testing the wind, crouching ever so slightly for a leap. In front of her was everything and nothing all at once, plains and wooded valleys, calm seas and poisonous lakes, or simply a void, but anything is better than a cage.

Standing a dark alley, lit only by a flickering street light, and moonlight, she felt his hands on her for the first time―actually herself, not just her face or hands, but everywhere, overwhelming her senses, like a drug working its effect, it was poison and antinode, and she couldn't get enough of his awed gaze and wonder-bound expression. It was everything, and she could give anything to remain here in this moment, to be with him―

Then, she froze. Her wings drooped, and she realised the danger ahead. She was exposing herself in a way she hadn't to anyone. It was not just her body, but her fears, dreams, secrets, everything.

James stepped back, breathing heavily, pupils blown wide, and stumbled. He shook his head, as if getting his senses straight and fumbled in his jeans pocket, taking out a cigarette and lighter. He lit it up, took a long drag, gaze on the ground as Lily stood there, feeling quite foolish.

"I don't wanna make you feel uncomfortable," he said quietly. "Maybe it's too early, yeah? We could wait. Or just think about it, Lil. I'm right here."

She stood, leaning against his shoulder, doubts running around her head as he smoked, though she had a feeling that he was actually hiding behind the smoke, like a mask. Her heart beat an unsteady rhythm, like water striking marble. She didn't want to stop. Not really.

"Can we find a better place?" Lily murmured softly, almost to herself, but James's eyes landed on hers, sharp and dark and bright all at once, and the barest of smiles flickered on his faces, his expression alternating between doubtful, wanting, adoration.

"For you, I'd build a palace with my very own hands," he said, and she laughed, but in her heart, she knew he wasn't exaggerating in the slightest. Their fingers entwined, they got into his car, and if the liquor wasn't enough to get Lily drunk, then the LA night air, James's scent and the adrenaline of what was coming had certainly messed her head.

Silken rays of moonlight on ivory sheets, on his golden skin, gleaming off her flaming hair, these were a few moments she'd never forget as long as she lived. His quick smile, teasing laugh. The feeling of leaping into the sky out of a self-built cage. His words as he kissed her fingertips.

"If all the other men have been illusions, I won't be. The night changes and so do those with unfaithful hearts, full of false vows and ill-considered promises, but as long as I live, I'll be the star twinkling forever in the sky. Be it day or night, I'll be the moon to your earth, destined to be with you for evermore. So long shall our love last, even fairytales can't compare."

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Hunting through her closet, Lily came upon her prized Red Dress. Pressing it to her chest, she looked in the mirror, at the ring gleaming on her hand. Diamond, shaped like a moon, set on a band of the lightest shade of blue, as if carved out of ice. The girl in the mirror was Lily and not Lily at the same time, but, as she stood up, already unzipping the dress, she supposed she liked this person in the mirror.

I'll be the moon to your earth, destined to be with you for evermore.

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A/N: this is legit one of my best pieces of writing, argue with the wall. Yet, opinions?

Take care and stay safe, ily all,
aurora xx