The Fateful Heart

James was pretty sure Evaline was breaking her own rules by not saying - but he knew she had to answer eventually. He still had two questions and he wasn't going to waste them on this.

"Dancing. Unless you can prove that right now."

The smirk didn't leave her face. "I do know how to dance," she said. "But it sounds like you don't believe me."

James narrowed his eyes at her, smirking back, and leaning forward so his elbows rested on his knees.

"Prove it."

"Are you sure?" Evaline pressed on, trying to repress a big smile. "You really want me to prove it?"

"Yes. I would like to see it," James said, closing his eyes for a moment and cupping his chin in his hands.

"Okay, if you insist," Evaline said in a false defeated voice, getting up on her feet and dusting herself off.

She turned to James, the smug smile returning. "But you'll have to get up too. I only know how to partner dance."

James returned her smug smile with one of his own, though his eyebrows did raise a little in surprise, at this point, he was too far in to not rise to the challenge.

He rose to his feet and stood tall, extending a hand out towards her. "Alright. I'll follow your lead. Just... nothing too fast." He flashed her a hollow smile and gestured down to his bad leg.

Evaline nodded and took his hand, leading him to a cleared area away from the fire, but still be close enough that they can see each other. "Lucky for you, I know how to lead," she said as she placed his right hand on her left shoulder, and she placed her left hand on on the right side of his waist.

She reached out to take his remaining hand before turning to face his barely illuminated self. This was the first time she'd been this close to James before, and she just realized she was just a smiiiidge taller than him. Still, they were just about at perfect eye level.

She paused, deciding not to start right away since it literally takes two to tango. "Have you ever danced before?" she asked.

"I guess you can take this as a free fact," he said. "But yes."

"Oh?" Evaline said, not hiding the surprise in her voice. "So I suppose you would know what these leads signal?" she asked, pushing on his hand and lightly pushing him on his waist.

In response, James pushed back, establishing a connection. He also seemed to understand to step to the side when she pushed his waist.

Evaline smiled, taking the answer to her question as a 'yes', but didn't wait to hear it. She commenced the dance, being careful to not be too fast, but just be showy enough that he as the follower would look good.

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There was no music, and Evaline found herself saying comments like, "Good," or, "Nice job," or, "Just follow my lead," or, "A turn is coming up, ready?" Otherwise, she maintained concentration, and was surprised by how well he was keeping up. She was always told that it's the lead's job to make the follower look good, but she was only doing this to prove she knew how to dance. And right now, with every turn he spun and push to the other side of her body, James looked more flashy than she did.

After a few minutes, Evaline ran out of moves to go through. She stopped moving and ended the light push of the hand connection, thereby ending the dance. She didn't quite let go of him, though.

"So, is this enough proof?" she said through a happy smile.

James hadn't danced in over a year, and he felt rusty. Normally, he was the one who led, so it was strange being on the other end - but Evaline was confident and clear, and easy to follow. It was kind of funny, being the one taking the cues, and not giving them, but he didn't mind it. He was still just a little surprised that Evaline could dance. But she indeed hadn't been lying.

They spun and swayed a few feet away from the campfire in a small clearing, with the waterfall rushing in the background. The sun finished setting, tucking away under the horizon just as they finished, leaving the sky a deep, dark orange that quickly faded to black. The stars were already shining brightly in the sky.

And as they stopped right where they started, James realized that all of this, as odd and strange as it was, was actually... romantic. It was like something out of a book.

He felt his cheeks start to burn as he met Evaline's eyes and tried to match her smile. He tried to break eye contact in a natural way, by closing his eyes and smiling a little wider before looking to the ground.

"Plenty," he said, standing up a little straighter than before, even though everything ached. "How did you learn how to dance?"

Evaline slowly pulled away from James, her fingertips meeting his before she let go and took a small step back to return the space between them. She could see the fire behind him, but he was facing away from it. Although she couldn't really see his dimly lit expression to gauge his reaction, she assumed he'd want some space.

She glanced around her surroundings and noted that the stars peeked out. The crescent moon hung in the sky, trying to drown the neighboring stars with its brightness, but failing.

"My parents are part of the town council," she answered, still admiring the moon. "Sometimes there'd be gatherings that involve neighboring towns, or even international visitors. I went to every single one. There was always dancing."

She looked down and lightly kicked a pebble away. "I learned to lead since I get kind of bored with following sometimes. The boys didn't really like it when I asked them to follow, though." She looked back at him and offered a small smile.

James smiled with his eyes and looked back to the fire, and Elliot, who had been grazing around.

“Well, I thought it was kind of fun, actually,” he said quietly. He started walking back to the fire. “What was it like having parents in a town council?”

Evaline followed him back to the fire, sitting down at her spot and feeling her skin absorb the radiating heat. James asked an open-ended question, and she had to think over a proper response.

"Well, I didn't see them too often. They were always busy," she said, pausing to select her next words carefully. "I think I would have preferred not having parents involved in the town council, but I can't imagine what that would be like. Their experiences shaped who I am."

She shifted her position and turned to face him, a boastful expression washing into her face. "Anyways, that's two questions. It's your turn now."

James sighed as he sat down - as a way to disguise what would've been a grunt of discomfort, but he stifled it - and looked back at Eve. He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at her expression but put on a grin. He couldn't let Eve gloat and think he was upset to have the game flip back on him. That was how it worked.

He just had to trip her up so she wouldn't guess correctly. That shouldn't be too hard.

"Okay," he said, folding his legs over each other and setting his hands in his lap. He leaned forward, just a little bit towards her, and met her eyes. He spoke evenly, and kept his face a steady neutral, with a hint of a smile to his eyes.

"I'm left-handed. I can play the harmonica. I've eaten a cricket alive."