He was the boy her friends and family warned her about. Withdrawn. Calculated. Dangerous, even. But that was why Ella must have liked him so much. Solas was unlike any other she'd ever met, and in school, his odd behavior only made him more peculiar and alien, which ultimately, only made him all the more desirable.

Ella's heart had exploded when Solas had invited her to an afternoon of extra-curricular activities that she was positive she could not put onto her college transcript. But, she'd been far too intrigued by his guile and the wicked glint in his pale eyes as he'd stood before her in the hall of swarming teenagers before asking her to spend time with him in a voice so quiet that the sound of his speaking was almost swallowed whole by the chaotic hum-drum of the school day.

Now, his hand was cool and soft in hers, and Ella's heart remained a war-drum signifying the end of her sanity as they crept down the building's linoleum floors, each worn tile reflecting the sickly glow of the fluorescent lighting above. Despite the setting, Solas had a mystical way of illuminating whatever space he was in, as if he himself carried light within his body—a light Ella could not resist no matter how hard she tried.

And in that moment, she did not find herself trying all that hard.

With the bulk of the student body dismissed, Solas dragged Ella to the entrance of the school's theater, which was strange, considering it was routinely locked after last period. Ella frowned, her silver-like hair cascading in tangled curls all around her face.

"What are you doing?" she whispered to Solas, who had somehow produced two silver instruments from his pocket. He inserted the picks into the door's lock, bending down towards the ground until he was kneeling, and yet all Ella could focus on was the bird-like angle of his shoulders… the slender collar bones that poked through his beige, V-neck sweater.

"Have you been struck blind? I am opening this door," Solas replied, his voice light with a small chuckle. Ella stifled a shiver at the mischievous sound of his voice and continued to let him work.

"We'll get in trouble!"

"Ah. Only if we are caught, my darling."

My darling.

It was as if electricity had been punched down her throat. Ella's whole body tensed, and suddenly, the decrepit door was wide open, like magic of the oddest sort, and Solas was rushing, pulling them through the musty threshold before shutting the space closed.

The room was eerily dark, and the cackling lovers raced down the tilted aisles of the theater, only to curve at the slightest of staircases—one that Ella knew lead to the lighting controls. She made no protest as Solas yanked her alongside him, for although she had no idea what he had planned for them—besides the fact that he had no business with her in general—there was an unspoken joy and excitement that she could feel rolling off his body in waves that sparked against her own skin.

They dashed up the stairs, barely managing not to trip, and finally, upon reaching the controls, they gazed below at their kingdom: a realm of void and silence that they pervaded with their rushing breaths.

"What do we do now?" Ella whispered, unable to completely break the stillness of their darkened palace.

Solas's reply was a low and husky murmur. "Now, love, you come closer."

And because it was dark, Ella could only sense Solas move, shifting from her side so that he was pressing her body completely into the control panel. Knobs and equipment prodded into her back, but Ella was busy, for Solas had swooped in and kissed her with such a ferocity that all she could do was return in kind. They kissed hungrily, desperate for one another, and Ella inhaled a soft moan that escaped from the back of Solas's throat so that it sank down into her chest and set her on fire.

What was she doing? What would her parents say if they found her like this?

God, why was she thinking of her parents right now?

"Solas," she gasped against his mouth. "Are you sure?"

Solas's breaths were embarrassingly loud, and he scooped Ella up in her arms before settling her down onto the control desk, so that their hips were locked firmly in place and deliciously writhing together with every heartbeat.

"Am I sure about what?" he nearly choked out. Solas moved his lips to her neck, biting her skin gently, then not-so-gently, as if he was unsure just how desperate for her he truly was. "This? You? Gods, yes. Now, please darling, just kiss me back or I feel like I will die."

And die, they would not.