Love Is Only an Illusion

“Oh, my God!” Merritt exclaimed. “I did not see that coming. That’s impossible!”

“No way,” Jack muttered, at a loss for any other words.

“That was actually, uh, pretty good,” Danny admitted as Sutton gripped Danny’s hand tighter in amazement.

“Thank you,” FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes smiled.

“When I said, “Always be the smartest guy in the room-“”

“We were in agreement,” Dylan nodded toward the illusionist. “Henley. Sutton.”

The girls gawked at the revelation before them. “I’ve never seen them speechless,” Danny smirked, pointing to the girls.

Dylan smiled. “I take that as a huge compliment.” His eyes traveled down to Danny and Sutton’s hands. “I see you finally took Agent Dray’s advice, Atlas.”

“Um, y-yeah,” Danny blushed. “We know it wasn’t part of the plan bu-“

Dylan laughed as he waved his hand out in front of him. “Love is never part of the plan. Don’t apologize for your feelings.” Sutton and Danny smiled at each other, their lips interlocking in a short kiss.

“Hey, man, I-I-I am so sorry for kicking your ass. Really,” Jack stuttered, his nerves showing.

“Um, me, too,” Sutton shyly smiled as she held onto Danny’s arm, hiding her face behind him slightly. Dylan chuckled.

“Hey, listen, for the record, I-I have always been a 100% believer,” Merritt lied with a smile as the other Horsemen snickered. “And the amount of energy I have expended to keep these infidels on point-“ he laughed as Henley hit him.

“Merritt, you’re in,” Dylan smiled.

“God bless.”

“Come,” Dylan instructed as he walked up the stairs of the carousel. “The real magic is taking five strong acts and making them all work together. And that’s exactly what you did. So, welcome.” The five magicians stared at him. “Welcome to The Eye.” With that, Dylan hopped onto the carousel.

Without hesitation, the magicians rounded and hopped the fence. They took quick glances at one another, smiles emerging before Sutton and Danny squeezed each other’s hands one more time. Henley, Jack, and Merritt were first on the carousel. Just as Danny made his move, Sutton placed her other hand on his forearm, pulling him back to her. Danny looked at her, concerned.

“Danny, what if, when we cross this line, everything changes?” Sutton asked him, a look of worry evident. She bit her lip to suppress her nerves.

A chuckle erupted from Danny’s throat. Sutton narrowed her eyebrows. “Of course everything will change, Sutton.”

Sutton let out a frustrated sigh. “Danny, this isn’t a joke.”

Danny smiled, placing a hand on her cheek. “I’m not joking, Sut. Did you ever look up the meaning of your card?”

“Yeah.” Danny raised an eyebrow, encouraging her to explain. “The tower symbolizes danger, crisis, destruction, sudden change…”

“Exactly,” Danny said as he kissed her forehead. “Sudden change. It also means that the thing you thought to be true is suddenly false.”

“I don’t understand,” Sutton admitted with defeat, shaking her head.

“You told me that you believed love to not exist, to be an illusion.” Sutton bit her lip as Danny talked. “Do you still believe that? Are we just “blinded by love,” trapped in its powers?”

Sutton let out a laugh. “No.”

Danny smiled, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Sutton mimicked his actions. “Sutton, what you once believed to be true is now false, based on your own feelings. And, yes, everything will change, because as soon as we step onto that carousel, we will become part of something much bigger than us. And, maybe I’ll finally get the courage to ask you to be my girlfriend. In front of everyone.”

Sutton’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Then what are we waiting for, Lover?” she winked as she pulled away from Danny, holding his hands in hers.

With one last laugh and a smile, they turned to the moving horses and jumped, their hold never breaking from one another.

~~

“Explain this to me again,” Merritt begged Dylan as the six team members stood in a building with a large open area in New York City.

Sutton sighed. “Really? How can you not follow that?” Danny snickered, loving her annoyance with Merritt. Merritt raised an eyebrow at her, a smirk playing on his lips. “Maybe you’ll understand better without the details. Dylan helped guide us through this Robin Hood adventure in order to give Thaddeus and Tressler what they deserved.”

“And so we wouldn’t get caught by the FBI?”

“Duh!” Henley joined in.

Merritt held a hand to his chest, a shocked expression plastered across his face. “No need to be so rude, Reeves Girls.” The girls grinned at one another.

“There is, however, one complication,” Dylan interjected. The Horsemen turned to him, their smiles disappearing. “Now, I don’t want to do this but I have orders from The Eye that-“

“We’ll do it!” Danny blurted. “Anything. Whatever it is. We worked too hard to end this thing now.” The others looked at one another, nodding their heads in agreement.

“As dumb as this sounds, you’ll be separated into two apartments.”

“What?” the Horsemen exclaimed, a roar of fits erupting.

“Hey, guys! Guys!” Sutton yelled, trying to calm them all down. Sucking in a breath, Sutton gave a high-pitched whistle. The Horsemen covered their ears.

“Thank you, Sutton,” Dylan smiled at her. Sutton returned it half-heartedly. “The Eye has decided to do this the traditional way. Sutton and Henley, you’ll stay together. Danny, Jack, and Merritt, you’ll-“

“Don’t even say it,” Danny said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Sutton grabbed his arm, squeezing it gently.

“Sweet!” Jack yelled. “We can totally make bunk beds!”

“I’m going to end up dead, you know?” Danny whispered to Sutton who chuckled lightly.

“There’s a few more catches,” Dylan said as he paced the floor in front of them, rubbing his jaw. “First, you can’t go out in broad daylight. You’ll be easily recognized. If you want to go anywhere, make sure your head is covered and your face not easily recognizable. Second, don’t do anything to draw attention to yourself. Fans will be looking for you. All of you.”

“What about us?” Jack asked, pointing between him and Sutton.

“You’re supposed to be dead,” Dylan reminded them. “If you two get caught, we’re in some serious trouble.” Jack and Sutton slumped their shoulders, feeling the weight of defeat take over them. “But, I’m not saying you can’t travel like the others at night.” The duo lit up, thankful for that small detail.

“Is that it?” Henley sighed, crossing her arms.

Dylan nodded. “Oh, and don’t pick up any routines. This applies for all of you. If you get in the habit of traveling at the same time on the same day, people will get suspicious.” The five friends nodded. “Are there any questions?” The Horsemen shook their heads, trying to process all the information.

“I have one.” Danny turned toward Sutton, a smile plastered across his face as he held her hands. “Sutton Sawyer Reeves, will you be my official girlfriend, and not just a one-night stand?”

Sutton giggled, wrapping her arms around Danny’s neck. “I’d love to be unlucky number 13.” She kissed him, a roar of cheers erupting from their fellow Horsemen.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Dylan calmed the crowd. “You already slept together?” Sutton and Danny exchanged a quick look, and smiled sideways at Dylan. Dylan shook his head. “What have you gotten us into?”