A Flight's Desire

Chapter 30: The Escape

Once they were out of the diner, Ben had a crazy idea in mind. The thought had been running in his mind for a while now, ever since his eyes fell on it, but now that Robin had agreed to the farmhouse, he had to suggest that idea. There was no way he could go back to the city without getting there first. And with opening up to Robin a few hours ago, they would need the outing. "Hey, Robin?" She looked up at him from across the car. She was about to open the door to the shotgun seat. He folded his hands on top of the car as he considered how well his mind had worked. "Would you like to go out? With me?"

Robin's heart stopped beating. What was he thinking? "I am out with you, Ben." She teased.

He smirked at that. "How about we escape for an hour or so? Will that be okay or do you need to get back soon?"

Robin narrowed her eyes at him, suspicious about his intentions. But she trusted him. She looked at the time and thought about how long it would take. "I have time."

"Great!" He got inside the driver's seat without any explanation and left her confused.

"What are you planning?" She asked, getting inside as he started the vehicle.

He had a huge smile on his face and it was clearly a scheming face. "You'll see."

Ben drove down the lonely street while Robin sent Karen and Paige a message saying that they might get late to come back. "I'll tell them to leave the doors unlocked?" She asked and received an affirmation from Ben. He was still smiling and that made Robin scared as well as excited. She couldn't read him because whenever she saw him, she saw his characters sitting next to her. She could see the traits that Ben would have put into them and she was just grateful to know him.

Robin saw his plan before he could tell her. "You didn't...."

"I most certainly did." Ben parked the car once he reached the parking lot. He had been driving towards a local carnival that he had heard about from Karen. He had wanted to go there but he knew that the trip would be better with Robin. The advertisements for the carnival kept popping up wherever he looked, and it felt right to go there with Robin.

Thousands of lights passed Robin's eyes as the sight of eternal bliss filled her with the childishness that she always looked for. Ben was happy to see her mesmerised. He wasn't going to take refusal for an answer and was extremely glad when she agreed. "Why are you doing this?" The words left her mouth before she realised it. Why was Ben being the sweetest person ever?

"It's like I said, Robin." She met his eyes and saw a spark there that she had never seen before. "We need an escape from reality." He put his hand forward; half of the infinity symbol. "So. Shall we?" He beckoned outside.

She gave him her hand and completed their handshake while bowing her head in a royal way. "We shall."

Robin and Ben walked into the carnival with extreme hope. They forgot about their responsibilities and work tension. They were going to enjoy the night with each other's company. A long-time bond of friendship filled them up as they went around playing games and winning tickets.

Ben lost in a game of shooting and Robin did not lose that opportunity to make fun of him. She made a dramatic gasp before talking. "Did the Great Highness just lose to a mere author?"

He broke out laughing when she pointed out the irony of his royalty character being the best sharpshooter of the country in one of the movies that he was a part of. "I guess he did."

They went on the carousel and Ben leaned out, scaring Robin to her very core but both of them were enjoying themselves very much. They did not worry about the new financial year or the upcoming projects that they had to work on. They played until they could no longer hold the number of tickets that they had. They walked towards the gift shop and placed the bundle on the glass counter. "I hope you had a great time!" The clerk said.

"We did, thank you!" Ben replied.

"So what would you like with this?" The clerk asked. "You can choose any stuffed animal that you want."

Robin and Ben glanced through their options before she pointed to a stuffed panda bear in the corner of the shelf. "Great choice!" Ben said.

"It's for you." She hit his elbow playfully.

"The Great Highness is honoured." He bowed down chivalrously and took the bear. "I'm going to name her Mrs. Pawfur."

Robin snorted. "Mrs. Pawfur?" She couldn't help but laugh.

"What? It's a great name!"

She composed herself but couldn't hold back her smile. "I'm sure it is."

"I'm never letting her get away from me," he said. "Someone special won her for me." He hit Robin's arm with his elbow to brighten the mood.

They walked around for a while as they talked about various things that would take a long time to type out. They came across an ice-cream parlour and Robin insisted on getting ice-cream even though Ben was trying to convince her otherwise. "But I want ice-cream!" She exclaimed while sounding like a four-year old.

He looked sternly at her. "It's getting late. You'll catch a cold."

Robin tried to look offended but went with the more mature option to stick her tongue out at him. "I'm getting one." She walked towards the parlour and Ben followed her without an argument.

Both of them got soft vanilla cones. The lights were getting dimmer and dimmer and they knew that the time to leave would come soon. They walked around the perimeter before they saw down on a park bench. They faced the lake in front of them and saw the carousel lights glisten against the surface.

Life could be calm if the person living it was too.

Both of them had many thoughts filling their heads. What were they doing and what were they getting themselves into? Every time Ben looked at Robin, he was filled with a sense of purpose. He knew that he didn't know her for very long but she had given him a reason to continue living, because after meeting her, he saw life in a different way. That was the night that he realised that what he was feeling towards Robin wasn't friendship, though a lot of denial went into it first.

Robin was scared indeed, but it was a good fear. It was a fear that kept her fighting for her own life. She had been mistaken in the past and that gave her a sense of responsibility to never mingle or do the things that she wanted. But being with Ben changed that. She could be who she was without having to worry about anyone leaving. She always thought that people that she loved would leave her. But Ben was different, and that was terrifying.

She had something to tell him but didn't know how to break the ice. It was a bit of a shock to herself when she found out, but she had to do it. She was needed somewhere else and she had to tell him somehow. Ben looked at her keenly. "What?" She asked when she caught him.

He leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek. "Thank you."

She hoped that she wasn't blushing, or at least that he couldn't make it out. "Thank you." She took his arm in hers and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for changing my life." She couldn't have him look at her like that. A part of her would always be a fangirl but was that really what she was feeling?

He rested his face on her head and sighed. "You're stealing my lines, Miss Hale."

She smirked and hit his arm playfully. "You're talking to a writer, Mr. Summers."