Previously: Danielle Slade, great grand-daughter of Adam Slade, has settled in Lucky Palms and made several new friends but has discovered some unsettling stories about one of them, Clark...
In this chapter Danielle tells Clark what she has heard ...
One thing Danielle was going to have to get used to was the dramatic changes in weather Lucky Palms experienced – within what seemed only days the town had gone from balmy summer days to hard frosty winter. At least the rains seemed to be confined to the summer months so there was none of that dismal chilling drizzle that was common during winter in Riverview and Sunset Valley. And, it had to be said, the white capped mountains did look amazing!
On one such frosty day Danielle had arranged to meet Clark at a new bar in the centre of town, Club DeVille. A simple and unpretentious joint that was becoming famous as the place to chill and hang-out with friends – an ideal place for Danielle to get to spend more time with Clark.
Although unsettled by what she had heard from Zahra and Romon, Danielle just wanted to spend time with Clark, simply having fun. A few drinks.
Some inconsequential conversation about this and that; the latest band to appear at the Venue, the Grisby twins falling flat on their arses trying to show off on the ice rink, or the fact that plumbing in Lucky Palms never seemed to be designed to handle the sub-zero temperatures of the winter nights.
Both of them loved to dance and the DeVille sound system often played a banging selection of tunes. And when the faster numbers finished, they stayed on the floor for the slower song.
They had fun together; that much was obvious. Their friendship was such a natural thing but as they moved slowly within the confines the DeVille bar, close and synchronized, Danielle felt something more. Looking, for the first time, deep into Clark's eyes … those beautiful blue eyes, warm and inviting; they seemed to dissolve not only her cares and worries but her very self, to become one with Clark, one perfect soul.
"Hey, Dani?" she heard a distant voice calling out, "Earth to Dani ..."
She blinked a couple of times to release herself from her reverie to see Clark smiling broadly, "oh, sorry, umm, drifted away there ... this song, y'know."
"Well, y'must have 'drifted' to a good place, judging by that sappy grin on your face!"
"Pah!" she laughed back at him. Danielle looked around the increasingly busy bar, "I reckon it's going to get real cold out soon, so what do you say we 'drift' off back to my place?"
"For sure, sounds good ..."
Danielle did have another reason for going home; for some privacy, she needed to talk with Clark, about the things she had recently learnt, about the nature of his 'condition' and how it affected their relationship.
-- * --
She was, however, rather taken by surprise when it was Clark who made the first move.
Within moments of getting inside and hanging up their coats, he pulled Danielle close, hugging her tightly.
"Thank you so much, not just for today but for all the time we've spent together. When I first came to Lucky Palms I didn't know if I would ever fit in, but meeting you ... I'm so glad I decided to move out here."
He paused, releasing his hold on her, his eyes darting briefly to the floor before locking with Danielle's, "uhh, you know how we always have fun when we're out, and how, y'know, I really like you, well, uhh, well, I think I more than like you, I ..."
He looked away again, his hands nervously twisting together, "I don't know ..."
Danielle interrupted him, her face lit with the warmth of her smile, "I do know, I do too," and she quickly leant in and kissed Clark gently on the cheek.
"That's kinda why I invited you over, look, let's sit I have something I need to ask you." She took his hand and led him in to the lounge.
"You know, I think I liked you from the moment we met," Danielle started, "and each time we've been out I've liked you more and more, I don't think I've ever felt like this about anyone else... I've never met anyone quite like you before. And that's what I need to talk about ..."
"OK ..." Clark sounded relaxed but she could see his body stiffen ever so slightly. This probably wasn't going to be easy for him, but it had to be brought into the open if they were ever going to be more than friends.
"Y'know I was talking with Zahra and Romon the other night and telling them about that crabby old woman at the Three Palms ..."
"I told you it was nothing. Really, there's no need for you to worry about it."
"No Clark, we're friends and that means I care about you and, whatever you say, I know she upset you. So I mentioned it to them and they told me about these old prejudices about certain types of people ..." As she spoke Danielle tried to maintain eye contact with Clark and she could tell that he was feeling nervous, his face had tightened and fixed his smile in place, but this had to be done.
"Romon said that there were some old superstitions about people with your condition ..." she had got this far, but Danielle hesitated, could she use that word? That word that Clark had never used, the word that linked directly to his troubled past? No, she had to, if she was going to help him, if there was going to be some sort of future for them, she had to "... about vampires."
Clark shifted on the sofa, uncomfortable, "I don't know what ... why would you ... I thought you were my friend and you've been talking about me behind my back! These people don't know anything about me!"
Danielle tried to calm and reassure him, "I had to speak to someone Clark – I was concerned and I ... well, I have strong feelings for you and didn't want to get hurt ... if people are saying bad things about you, I couldn't believe that it was something you had done but I wanted to know why ..."
"The bottom line, Clark, is I really like you, you know that, and I can't stand by if you're getting hurt. I know there's nothing wrong with you, you are what you are, and I wouldn't want you to change. But if we are going to take this further, we need to be totally honest with each other."
Clark lowered his gaze, staring at some part of the floor as different emotions swirled within him. He knew it would be such a release to be open with Danielle, but there was the fear that once he acknowledged his secret, his past, it would be out there forever, eventually everyone would know and he wasn't sure he could cope with that.
Danielle reached out to hold his forearm, to squeeze it gently, but Clark's gaze remained lowered.
"I understand that you're nervous, afraid, but I love you and will do anything I can to help, I'm on your side Clark."
Still not looking up, Clark spoke slowly, haltingly, "I know Dani, and I think I love you too. I thought coming here it would be easier for me ... you know ... with the others. But they are all so confident and 'sorted', like there was nothing in the world to trouble them. And I ... and where I had come from it was so different ... I didn’t see how I could fit in."
"And, for all I know it was a front, I don't know who I can trust, underneath they might be just like they were back in ... back in Moonlight ..."
With his free hand brushing the moisture from his eyes, he finally turned to look at Danielle, "... and I can't go back, I just can't."
Danielle moved closer, softly rubbing his back with one hand and grasping his hand with the other.
"You're not going anywhere you don't want to, I don't care what other people think, I don't care what other people might want for you. For as long as we have each other we are stronger than all of them, we are what matters - not anyone else."
"I haven't told you everything about my own family, and there are plenty of things in my past that are ... uncomfortable. I'm not saying that it's anything like what you went through, but our pasts have brought us here, brought us together and we can deal with it and anything in the future if we believe and trust in each other. I believe in you Clark Bellamore, I want you to be happy, and to do that you can't let your past stop you being who you really are."
"Look, we don’t have to deal with all this now, if you don't want to. But I wanted to tell you that I know. That what some people might think about you only upsets me when it upsets you. I'm here for you but I do want us to be honest with each other if we are going to ... to ... to be a couple."
Clark looked directly into Danielle’s eyes, "OK, I know, and I'm sorry for not being open with you from the start and I promise I will tell you everything ... in time." He paused for a couple of seconds before a broad smile lit up his face, "A couple?" he laughed, "is that what we are - a 'couple'?"
Danielle playfully slapped his shoulder. "Yes. And don't you forget it!"
Clark settled back against Danielle, his mind still bubbling with different emotions. He was still afraid of what other people would think of him, what they might expect of him; but now he had Danielle on his side and that was an overwhelming sense of release; that he had someone he could trust and, hopefully, be truly himself with.
He turned to Danielle, "Thank you. You know, I was right, I do love you, Danielle Slade."
--* --
As another hard, frosty, winter night set in, and with Clark living on the other side of town, Danielle suggested that he stay over.
With only one bedroom, Clark said that the sofa would be good but Danielle insisted that he share her bed. "We're a couple, and that's what couples do. I'll not take no for an answer!"
After the emotional turmoil Clark had been through that evening, Danielle felt that being so physically close would finally reassure him that he was not alone any more, she was there for him. And, of course, that she was ready and willing to take their relationship further.
It had been a long day and she felt drained but Danielle tried to stay awake for as long as she could, watching Clark slowly relax and succumb to sleep.
It would be alright, he'll be alright, they'll be alright she thought as she also drifted off to sleep.
It had been a long time since Clark had last shared a bed; he had almost forgotten the comforting warmth, that sense of well-being, from having someone else so close. As he snuggled up to Danielle, at least unconsciously, Clark was at last starting to feel at peace with the world around him.
Chapter 37: Meetings Around Town
