Sometimes, dancing can take the blues away.

The world can be cruel to the innocent, and the innocent take it not because they want to but because they feel they deserve to.

Milo starts driving. The weather is cold, but it is peaceful. They drive, and as they do, Nora looks out the window. The world she lived in was so big, yet felt so small sometimes, like she was in a bubble, and the more she tried to get out of it, the smaller that bubble got. But when she was with Milo, it was different. It was like that small bubble because it was bigger.

It seems like they drive for hours before Milo Parks the car and gets out to open her door. When Nora got out, she saw a massive building in front of her. She didn't know what to think. She had been to a mall before, but it was a lot smaller than this one. She looks at Milo, who has his hands in his pockets.

“How far away from home are we, Milo? “She signed, questioning how far they drove to this mall. He takes his hands out of his pocket.

“I would say about an hour or so. Why is that an issue?” he signed back with worry on his face. Nora smiles and jumps up and down like a child. Milo didn’t know how to react, for he had never seen her so excited over something so small. It was the mall, yet Nora was jumping up and down like a child who just got good news. She grins.

“Let's go, Nora,” he signs, taking her hand. She noticed that his hands were a little sweaty, and worry started to kick in; she knew they had left the house immediately, but she didn’t remember if Milo had eaten before they left. Nora didn’t want to say anything. She didn’t want him to get upset with her, so she just let it go.

Once inside, Nora was overwhelmed with all the lights and noise, but she was excited; there were so many stores, from clothing to jewelry to even video games, and of course, food courts; she smiled. “Hey, before we start, can we grab a bite to eat? I'm hungry,” she signed, asking. She knew that what she was asking was a lie. She was too excited to be hungry, but she knew that Milo was about to crash if she was correct.

“Sure can,” he signed and grabbed her hand again to lead her to an opening where there were a lot of different foods, from Chinese to American, from pizza to burgers. Nora points to a burger joint, and Milo walks to order with her. She tells him what she wants, and he orders for both of them. Two cheeseburgers, two small fries, a milkshake for Nora, and water for Milo. They find a table to sit at and enjoy their food; as they eat, Nora can't believe how beautiful and loud the mall is. She looked around, saw a bookstore, and smiled. She looked at Milo, who had ketchup all over his face. She holds in a laugh.

“Milo, can we go to the bookstore next?” she signed, questioning. She knew that Milo had thousands of books in his room. His mom said that in another part of the house, there was a room covered from wall to wall with nothing but books. Milo loved to read, and that wasn’t just manga or comics. He read literature as well. He was educated and knew more than he let on, but he also had ALS books. His mother said he always kept up with it even though he had known it his whole life. He never wanted to forget or get rusty. Nora admired Milo for that.

They finished lunch, and then Milo went to throw it away. When he returned, he grabbed Nora’s hand and led her to the bookstore. Once there, they looked through so many books and even got some. Nora got a book on diabetes, but she got it when Milo was still looking. She didn’t want him to know that she wanted to educate herself on the topic to help him better. She also got books on coping and a couple of Poetry books. Milo got some ALS books, manga, and books on the holocaust. He pays then they head to the next store before they knew it, it was three in the afternoon. They sit down and relax when they see a small area of the mall; a small place is roped off. These people were dancing and enjoying themselves a lot. Milo takes Nora’s hand and leads her over there as a country song comes on, and everyone starts to line dance.

Nora had no idea what to do, but she followed Milo’ and got into the groove; she didn’t realize how much fun it was till the song changed, and Milo grabbed her by the waist and put his left hand out. Nora lost her breath but took his hand in hers as they spun and danced with the other couple; she lay on his chest as they continued to dance. It seemed like the song would never end; she realized as they danced that his hands were no longer sweaty, and the color she saw in his face was back. She was happy about this.

The song ends, and she looks up at Milo, who smiles and bends down, kissing her on the nose. He lets go of her hand and waist.

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“Thank you for the dance, Nora,” he signed, and she grinned, closing her eyes.

“You are welcome.” She signed back.

“Where do you want to go next?” he signed, but Nora didn’t know how to answer him. She loved that they were spending time together and didn’t want it to end, but all things must come to an end. That was life. Nora felt Milo’s hand on her face, wiping a fallen tear. She hadn’t realized that she was crying; she had gotten into her head again where all the evil thoughts were and hadn’t realized that till now.

“Sorry, Milo,” she signed, looking embarrassed from the tears. He walks her over to a seat, and they sit down.

“Nora, you know you can tell me anything, right?” he signed, questioning her tears. Nora starts to fidget with her phone again.

“I know Milo, and I appreciate that a lot. You have no idea; I am fine, I promise,” Nora signed. She wanted to tell him how she knew he had Diabetes she wanted to ask him how long he has had it, did anyone else in his family have it and what type did he have, how severe. Was it, and could he die if he didn’t take care of it? If he died, she would be alone again. She couldn’t lose Milo. She couldn’t. Nora couldn’t stop the horrible thoughts and seeing Milo’s lifeless body in them. She closed her eyes, trying to get ahold of herself; she felt Milo but didn’t know what he was saying. It was all jumbled together. She just wanted to disappear. She didn’t want to be here. She didn’t want to feel the tightness in her chest. She didn’t want to feel like she couldn’t get air into her lungs. She didn’t want this. She wanted to be numb again like before when her mother died when she was locked in a closet by her father because he hated her face, for she reminded him of the wife he lost. Her world was being engulfed in darkness, and she could do nothing to stop it.

Sometimes, you have to do something out of the park to get the person you care for out of their thoughts and back to reality.

Nora felt something wet and cold on her. It shocked her but seemed to calm her down; it numbed her left leg, but the cold, damp feeling was soothing her to the bone, getting her mind off all the evil thoughts. She now opens her eyes, and Milo is bent down with a concerned look, but he still has a calm demeanor.

“Do you feel better? Is your panic attack gone?” he signed, questioning how she was feeling; Nora gave him a small smile but didn’t reply. He sat down next to her.

“Wanna talk about it? He signed, asking her because he was concerned about her. Nora knew this, but he would never say or sign it. It was almost laughable how Milo was.

“It was just a silly thought, and I got worked up over it for no reason. Forget about it?” she signed, reassuring him. She now goes to get up, but Milo grabs her hand, and she sits back down.

“How long have you known?” he signed, asking her a question, but she didn’t understand the question.” Nora looks at him, confused.

“What are you talking about, Milo?” she signed back, trying to understand his question. He now looks frustrated, like she was trying to avoid an important question.

“Nora, I know last night you heard us talking. I know because I heard the door open and saw your shadow, so please answer my question: how long have you known? Was it the first day of class or last night you found out about me?” he signed, demanding an answer. Nora looked at Milo and held back the tears. He was angry. She knew he was.

“ last night, I heard you and your mother talking; I saw you lift your shorts and saw the device you told her you didn’t want anyone to know,” Nora signed; looking up at Milo, she saw he was in deep thought he gets up turning his back to her, but before he could move Nora hugged him from behind letting the tears fall onto his already dirty shirt. She could not control them anymore. She wanted to tell him it was okay. She wanted to let him know she didn’t see him any differently. She wanted to say to him that she didn’t care if he had diabetes. All she cared about was him and their friendship.

Milo is tense. He is angry but not with Nora, with himself, for not being more careful. He didn’t want her to pity him. He didn’t want her to baby him. Why did she have to find out? He hated that she was crying. He didn’t deserve her tears. This was his fight, nobody else. Milo Grabbed Nora's hands and intertwined their fingers; he wanted to stay like this forever. He didn’t want to let her go; he didn’t care that she knew he didn’t care that she saw, and he didn’t want her to be scared of the device; it was what helped keep his diabetes in check. Milo now turned around and hugged Nora for the first time as she cried, getting his shirt wet with tears; all he could do was hug her to let her know that her sorrow and fears didn’t go unnoticed. He felt her small body shake, and as it did, he hugged her tighter to assure her that regardless of what she knew, he wasn’t upset; he was relieved for only his family knew about it, and he tried to keep it that way for he didn’t want to be treated differently he wanted to live a normal life and live for the moment not caged for something life threw his way.

Milo lets Nora go, lifting her head to look at him through watery tears.

“I am not angry with you, Nora. It's okay. I'm glad you know. Please stop crying. Everything is fine. We are fine. It's okay, I promise you.” He signed. She tried to dry her tears, but they just kept coming. Milo grabs her, and for the first time in a while, he feels the world stop; he stands there holding her until he knows she is done, until he knows all the sorrow she felt had dried up, not gone away, no sorrow would never truly be gone for good, but it would subside for a while. So, as Nora continued to cry in his arms, he hugged her, not knowing if it was helping but hoping it was.

Authors note.

This is edited to the best of my abilities. Please don't leave negative comments; if you don't like my story, move along. If you have advice, you are always welcome to advise.