Chapter Text
“Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Shooting Star Circus.”
The limo doors opened, and the children were greeted by a totally engaging and fun atmosphere. It had been a whole 40-minute ride, but the wait had been worth it. In front of them, there was a world totally different from Eden, one where studies were put aside and all that was there was laughter and great experiences. They were in front of one of the most famous circuses in Westalis, the Shooting Star Circus.
It was a circus renowned for the special light attractions for children and the skills of each of the members. It had been years, but they had finally returned to tour around Europe. And among the countries to visit was Ostania. The cold war had prevented them from setting foot in that country for a while, but when they saw the waters of this one lowering, they decided to do their performance in the eastern country. As soon as the announcements arrived in the city, Damian immediately knew he needed to go there.
The boy had always wanted to go to that circus for several years because the pictures in the newspapers looked amazing, but he was looking for his father or mother to go with him. However, to say that they had time for him was telling a big lie. Still, he wanted to have fun, to have some joyful time with someone close to him, and that's when he thought of his closest buddies in Eden. Knowing they would be the only ones to accompany him, he called them on their telephones, and they accepted his invitation.
Now the small group of students were there. Damian with Emile and Ewen, and Anya being accompanied by Becky. Behind them, there were some bodyguards to keep anything from happening to them, knowing that even in a place as fun as a circus, there could be spies or terrorists hiding.
“What do you guys think? It's a great place, isn't it?” asked Damian.
“It's wonderful Lord Damian.” Ewen replied excitedly.
Almost immediately, Anya broke away from the group and went to a food stand to order some popcorn, worrying the bodyguards watching her. They were lucky that they found her quickly and told her to be careful about going through the circus alone. Even in those moments, she could be careless or didn't realize she could easily get lost.
“Boss, one question, why did you invite Anya and Becky?” asked Emile quietly.
The boy's voice interrupted Damian's thoughts, and he turned his gaze to the boy. He was asking him a good question even though it didn't seem difficult to answer. Actually, Damian had only planned to invite Anya to spend some time with him at the circus without interruption from anyone. He wanted to get to know her better to see if she wasn't as dumb as he expected. But he knew she was going to totally refuse if the two of them went alone, or it was just going to cause a lot of questions at school if anyone saw them together.
Still, some extra company wasn't going to be a bad thing. In the end, Anya was going to be in the group.
“I had extra tickets. I wasn't going to waste them.” That was all he said.
With that lie, they put the subject aside and walked into the circus tent. Just in time for the main performance. Everyone took their seats, and Damian took advantage of the situation and the crowds to sit next to Anya. He excused himself by saying that the seats were already predetermined on the ticket, and unbelievably Anya believed him. With that, Damian already had a clear path to be next to her. And at the same time, he was going to enjoy the circus he had been longing to see for years.
The show began with a spotlight focused on a ringmaster introducing himself with enormous excitement. Cloaked in glitter and performing small acrobatics, he managed to capture the attention of all the children inside the tent, who watched as the man introduced each member of the circus with exaltation and greatly emphasized the skills of each one. The stage began to light up with blue and white lights a few at a time, making the ceiling look like a night sky full of shooting stars.
Damian tried to tell Anya some fun facts about the circus. Telling her that it was a place where only a lucky few could enter and that it was known for lighting effects that could leave anyone's eyes captivated. He wanted her to know that she was in an exclusive place, and to be grateful to him for bringing her there.
But the girl was mesmerized by the scenery in front of her. She paid no attention to him.
Then, they played a performance of a group of trapeze artists. Each pair began to swing, changing from side to side in synchronization and flying like kites in the sky. The sparkles that spread from the sky put on an incredible show for all the spectators. The trapeze artists were spinning in the air continuously, while some were shocked by the precision of everyone's movements.
The boy wanted to take advantage in grabbing Anya's hand, excusing himself that maybe she was afraid of the dark. He tried to approach her to see if he would succeed, but he was very unlucky that Anya would suddenly stand up and raise her hands in the sky, imagining she was a trapeze artist. After failing to grab her hand, Damian stopped trying.
Thus, multiple performances went by, until finally, the presentation ended with a farewell between the animals and all the circus participants. They danced in pairs, and performed synchronized acrobatics, mesmerizing everyone present. They were perfect duos, duos who knew how to coordinate and who moved like stars in outer space.
Damian wanted to take advantage of the situation to try again to get closer to Anya. It was the perfect opportunity and the perfect moment.
“You know, sometimes hugging someone can make someone feel like they're in outer space. Just like them.” He said to Anya as he pointed to the actors. She turned after hearing him.
“You can hug Emile, he's right next to you.” She replied.
The boy was shocked by Anya's response. She hadn't even taken his hint.
When the performance was over, the five kids exited the big top. Damian's friends ended up impressed by the live show they had just witnessed. Damian had taken them to a fantastic place, there was no doubt about it. They mentioned how funny the clowns were, how amazing the trapeze artists were, and how many animals the circus had in its big top. They felt like they were in a different world, a world full of fun without any stress.
Everyone was happy, except Damian. So far, he had not managed to talk to Anya, and had been ignored by her during the whole presentation. But he didn't lose faith that he could have a moment with her, because there was still the last attraction the ringmaster mentioned.
The awards tent.
The kids walked around for quite a while until they saw a small tent with a clown at the entrance, who greeted the children who approached.
“Oh my, a bunch of playful little ones! You must have come from the last show. Tell me, what did you think of the performance?”
“It was cute!” Anya squealed with excitement. “But the clown in the tent told us to go get our prizes here for being there.”
“Well, you've come to the right place!” said the clown as he opened the entrance to the tent. “Come on kids, come on in so you can make your prizes and unleash your creativity!”
Everyone excitedly entered, and in there they were directed by the clown at the entrance. The dynamic for receiving the prizes was very curious. The prizes were not predetermined, but they had to make them themselves with the material they received. They could make a wide variety of gifts, bracelets, balloons in the shape of animals, letters, snacks. But the trick was that this gift was given to someone in their group without their knowledge. Everyone received a card with a name, and to this person they had to give the gift.
The circus used this dynamic for groups of children to teach a message. The stars could shine alone, but if many shone at the same time, they made a beautiful sky. The same with smiles. One was pretty to look at, but many made the circus a more enjoyable place to watch.
Damian prayed for some luck in the lottery. If Anya's name came up, it was enough to make her an excellent craft, something worthy of the Desmonds. Everyone grabbed their cards, until finally it was his turn. He held out his hand, and once he stood in the corner to make the prize, he looked at the name.
The paper mentioned Emile's name.
The boy's look changed to one of disappointment, sighing to release the annoyance he had. Even at that moment he hadn't been lucky. If he had gotten Anya's name, he would have written something small to her, or he could even do something small to her with the material the clown handed him.
However, that didn't mean he wasn't going to do anything to the young man. Emile was his best friend, and he appreciated that he always had time for him. His unconditional support was something he loved about him, and like Ewen, he was someone very loyal and very trustworthy. He wrote him a letter decorated with sparkles and made a candy dessert with ingredients the circus gave, covering it in dark paper and with a note that read, "For the best friend in the world."
Once finished, Damian handed the gift to him. Emile was pleased with Damian's gift. But even though Damian was happy with his friend's reaction, he wanted to have done something to Anya. He wanted to have done something with her in that wonderful place.
It still bothered him that with Anya's rise to fame after the bus hijacking, she was paying more attention to other students instead of him. He missed their little fights a little, and he didn't like the idea that she was pulling away from him. The circus had been an idea he'd had not only for him to have fun, but also to regain some closeness with Anya, to no avail sadly.
He was begging for it all to be over so he could go home already. His plan had failed.
“Sy-on boy! Here!”
Damian turned his gaze towards Anya who was approaching with certain things in her hands.
“What's this?” asked Damian.
“It's your prize, Sy-on boy. You're the person Anya had on her card.”
That's when he realized that she was the one in charge of his surprise prize. She approached Damian, handing over two items with her small hands. A drawing of him in Anya's style, all misaligned and with an annoyed face; and an inflated balloon. According to her, it was a snake, although the truth was that she didn't know how to make a balloon in the shape of an animal, so she inflated it directly and deemed it a snake.
Damian received these gifts without showing any emotion on his face. However, deep down he was too surprised. It wasn't the best drawing or the best craft in the world, but it was an exclusive gift from Anya Forger, the girl of his dreams. He wanted to keep a straight face to avoid showing his true feelings in front of her, but Anya knew he was happy just by reading his thoughts of joy after receiving those awards.
She was confused by the young man's mixed reaction, but at least she was relieved that he liked her award. Though in truth, she was happier with the fact that he had invited her to the circus. It had been a very nice action on his part.
“Thank you Sy-on boy for inviting Anya to the circus.” She said with a smile.
The young man's cheeks turned tomato red, as his personal filter made that look on the girl's face much cuter, and her words more charming than usual.
"Y-you're welcome." Damian turned his gaze away and covered his face to keep Anya from seeing his reaction.
Once everyone was done with their awards and handed them in, it was time to head home. Damian saw to it that his friends arrived home safe and sound, with each of his bodyguards making sure each child was greeted by the arms of their parents. First Emile came out, then Becky, then Ewen, until finally Anya and Damian were left in the car. They spoke briefly, but this time it was very different. She felt more comfortable talking to him, even agreeing with many things he said about the circus. It was a few brief minutes where they talked and laughed, but Damian was happy to have that moment with her. In the end, it hadn't all gone wrong.
They finally arrived at Anya's apartment, and after a brief goodbye, he dropped her off at her place. With that, Damian returned home, exhausted after a day of full motion at the circus. The massive doors of his home opened, being greeted by Jeeves who was waiting for him at the entrance.
“Welcome back Lord Damian.” Jeeves received his coat, so the young man didn't have to carry it all over the house. “How was the show? Did you have fun?”
“Hello Jeeves. Yes, it was entertaining. Just...” Damian paused, thinking hard about what he wanted to say. “You know what? There was nothing wrong, I enjoyed this day.”
Jeeves smiled as he saw that his master had had a good time with his friends. In fact, he could be sure that, even though his parents hadn't gone with him, this one had a fun day with his classmates without some negative experience.
He left his awards on a small table at home, while he washed his face in the bathroom at home. He thought about all he had been through, all the good times he had had in those hours. Not only had he witnessed a great show that he had so dreamed of seeing, but he had that little moment of laughter with Anya. But it wasn't enough for him. He wanted to have her undivided attention. And that wasn't going to be the only time he was going to invite her to a wonderful place like that.
Damian came out of the bathroom and went back to pick up his prizes from the table. This one stood, smiling after looking at Anya's drawing again. It wasn't the best, but he appreciated the pink-haired girl's effort.
“Jeeves.” The boy began to speak.
“Tell me Lord Damian.” Replied the butler.
“I would like you to frame this drawing for me in a silver border.” said Damian smiling. “And get me some helium for this balloon.”