That's when Luke meets Aria.
Aria is Asian, Luke is Italian. When they first meet each other, there's already a sort of static aura about them, like when they look at each other it's only them two in the entire world. The problem is, neither of them is willing to say anything about it, even though it's all so clear as day.
Aria's a writer with her headphones on 24/7-and she's also an amazing dancer. She doesn't wear any makeup, except for the Dr. Pepper lipgloss she's addicted to. Her laugh is contaigous and loud, filling a room with warmth. On the outside, she's perfect; happy, talented, fun to be around, a bit shy.
But on the inside is a monster.
Luke is literally the skater boy, the shaggy hair, the modelesque face, the deep, smoldering gaze.
He's absolutely gorgeous.
And he's also the perfect boyfriend with the sweet, charming gilrfriend.
A closet musician that plays guitar, no one knows that the skater boy has secrets that can make everything shatter in a heartbeat.
Klariza is Luke's girlfriend; Italian, fair skin and large, sweet brown eyes.
She's a dancer with the perfect appearance and a high strung personality; a born leader.
And she has the perfect life, the perfect boyrfriend, the perfect job, the perfect everything and she's only eighteen.
Things couldn't get any better.\
Kaya is the narrator of sorts, she sees, just like Effy, what should and what shouldn't be.
In a way, she's the matchmaker, the storyteller; the one that has the power to create or destroy.
*****
'Yo Scodelario'
Kaya snapped around, throwing her head back in laughter as she stood up.
'V for Vendetta much?' She called back before running over to the figure and throwing her arms around it.
They all looked up to watch the scene, some confused, some amused, others uninterested.
But their jaws dropped when Kaya came over to them, skipping, looking like the alcoholic that had just gotten wasted on Fat Tuesday.
'Since when does Kaya Socodelario know how to skip?' Klariza muttered under her breath, the faintest trace of a smirk on her glossed cherry lips.
Luke sat next to her, playing with a lock of her long, reddish hair as a song blared on the pink earphones he had jacked from her. He glanced up, smiling as Kaya walked over, a smile on her face, her blue violet eyes shining. Arm gently thrown across Klariza's shoulders, he glanced over Kaya's shoulder and felt the world disappear.
The girl behind Kaya was like nothing he had ever before seen. Her brown sugar skin looked soft and glowed faintly in the stark whiteness of the room. Her raven hair flew out behind her in stressed, tangled curls, falling just below her shoulder blades. Her face was soft, her features both pronounced and subtle at the same time. THe curve of her cheekbones accented her dark, black eyes, her hair flying into her train of vision. Her lips were turned up into a small smile, a faded sort of crimson color and soft and silky. She had an eternal pout that could be both adorable and menacing when the mood took her.
'THis is Alix.'
The words broke through his haze as he looked up at Kaya first, then the beautiful girl named Alix.
'And that's Klariza and Luke.'
He stood up slowly, a faint smile on his lips, easing his arm from around Klariza's shoulders.
'Hello.' Alix smiled up at him from under her long lashes as she spoke in a soft voice, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.
There was a flyaway look to her, a sense of peace and independence as though she were walking above them, above the troubles of this world.
'Hi.' He whispered back, the smile on his lips growing faintly. The faint scent of rain and sharp, pina colada and dry, summers washed over him as he found himself standing less than a foot away from her. She was on the shortish side, her chin coming to the same height as his shoulder. He looked into her eyes and found himself unable to look away. Her gaze was dark and never ending; fiery and scorching-but soft and twinkling like little stars of fire. Again, her tangled, curled hair fell into her eyes and, as she fixed him in her burning gaze, gave a huff that escaped from her lips, impatiently pushing the obscuring locks from her eyes.
Kaya watched the exchange silently, the Effy smile that was her own working its way onto her lips.
The silence in the air is tangible, the aura surrounding Luke and Alix thick with...with....with something that can be felt,
that can be absorbed, but never expressed in words.
****
They were filiming outside, down by the water well into dusk.
What was left of the crew were shuffling about, murmuring to each other as though they were shadows, there but not really,
alive but not living.
It was where she found him, sitting on the edge of the pier, knees to his chest, a thick blanket about his shoulders. His dark hair was wet and fell into his face and as she drew closer, she saw his shoulders shaking.
she stopped behind him, arms wrapped around herself, just looking out to the dark water that reflected the world in a serene sort of perfection-the way the world ought to be.
he felt her prescense as she sat down next to him, legs curled to her chest, arms wrapped around herself. glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, he saw her head tilted back, her eyes paritally closed, the look on her face one of bliss.
'cause when it's the darkest night
this whole world takes on a new light
the imperfections have a reason
and people leave with the changing season...'
she sang in her soft, lilting voice that would forever be tinged with sadness. dressed in a pair of blace lace stockings and a white knee length cotton tee shirt, her thick eyeliner was smudged, her fine lashes now thick with mascara. she'd been crying; from real life or acting, he wasn't sure.
'she's got the rain in her hair, the heaven in her eyes
and when she smiles the whole world shines.
i can see all i want to be
with just one look, she's set me free.'
the words slipped off his tongue as he stared out at the dark water, tasting the words on his lips, feeling her close to him.
there was something about her that he loved...most said charisma, some said beauty; of course those aspects were undeniable,
but to him it was beyond that. it was just her....just alix being alix that made him love her all the more. the way she sang to him, speaking through music as everyone else did through words.
'sometimes you shatter before you fall
you cry before you're hurt cos you just...'
she trailed off, face scrunching up in frustration.
'cos you just feel it all.'
he deadpanned in a hoarse voice, closing his eyes in exahustion.
it was their way of communicating, making up little drabbles and singing them to each other when words just didn't suffice.
the silence was warm, the air was cold; the voices yards away growing faint as the night was black and starless.
*******
they walked along the banks of the Thames, arms brushing against each others as the unusually sunny weather seemed to set the city aglow.
Aria walked by his side, her hair flying out behind her, a smile on her face as she looked around at her setting.
Luke watched her carefully, partly out of wonder and partly out of amusement.
She'd never been to London before and today the city seemed to welcome her with its bright, shining sun and clear as day blue skies.
They were passing through the vendors stalls across from CLS, brihglty colored saris and wraps set beside old records and handmade jewelry. Heavy spices and rich sugars penetrated the air.
'I must look like an absolute crackhead, walking around with a smile on my face and pointing at the most random things'
Aria smirked at him, running a hand through her shinign raven hair.
'Actually, you look like you're high. If someone asks, I've no relation to you whatsoever.' He laughed at her indignant mock pout, thinking how sweet she looked right now.
They walked along slowly, an easy, light silence settling upon them.
'A faint beatles medlody greeted them as Aria took hold of his wrist and pulled him along, stopping in front of a booth that held an old record player and hundreds upon hundreds of vinyl records in faded cases.
She ran her black polished fingertip along the spinning record, making a scratching sound before she turned back to him.
'So are you going to explain to me why you took me here?' She gestured to the walkway, the Thames, the opposite bank, the Millenium bridge not far off.
'What are you talking about? You took me here.' He answered her vaguely, flipping through records and pausing as he studied the cover of a Radiohead jacket.
Aria stared at him for a moment, leaning against the edge of the table as she took in the smoldering dark eyes, sharp curve of the jaw, and the lips that were curved into the faintest inkling of a smile. She reached out, taking his chin within her gentle, light touch. He felt her turn his face towards her and was suddenly hit by the full impact of her startling gaze that blazed as the morning light shone down.
Her eyes, which he had previously marked as black, were, in fact, brown. An endless brown flecked with slivers of gold and topaz and amber that were fine, jagged slivers near her pupils, blossoming into stokes of rich butterscotch and honey. he was drowning in the hypnotic gaze of gold and chocolate, entranced by the fire that burned in her eyes from her soul.
it was a long moment before she snapped out of it, abruptly dropping her hand as though touching him had burned her. and in a way, it had. shivers ran along her arm, all through her body, as her fingers had not so much as brushed his warm skin. she looked down at her fingertips, rubbing them against her palm to get rid of the burning sensation. then she looked up at him,
meeting his dark
***
'i've seen love die too many times when it should be alive.' kaya said, staring up at him out of the corner of her darkly rimmed eye in true effy fashion.
he looked down at her with a glare, the only one who could rival her icy stare. he was irritable, annoyed, frustrated, and overall, depressed. he didn't want to talk about it right now. 'and just what,' he spat 'is that supposed to fucking mean?'
'you love her.' she stated simply, staring ahead with a loftly expression on her face.
'no i don't.' he said through gritted teeth.
'fine then. you loved aria. the moment you met her you fell in love with her. and you let her walk away and you're making yourself miserable and denying that you still love her because you think that if you deny it then it will be like she never existed.' kaya turned sharply on her heel and walked away defiantly, daring him to deny it. 'because love doesn't walk away...people do. and if you love someone, you never truly give up on them.'
******
Aria wandered around, shivering as the crew set up their equipment to shoot the next scene.
It was a serene night on the outskirts of BRistol, the hills soft and rolling as the city lights winked in the distance.
The river that they were shooting near was in a secluded place, near the old house where they had shot the rave in the second skins series.
Kaya and the rest of them were back at the house, still dancing to the music and eating the Kraft food services. She'd quietly slipped away, out the door and into the woods, intent on seeing the river with her own eyes. Dressed in black lace stockings and a long, black cotton tee shirt that had been tastefully slitted at the shoulders to show some skin and had a shredded back, her feet were bare as she stumbled through the woods, wincing at she stepped upon a branch. Around her neck were long, gold chains that had been layered. Her eyeliner was smudged and her mascara ran down her face as the wind stung her eyes, making tears run down her face. Her nails were painted a deep, bloody red, cut short and slightly chipped from when she'd fallen. Her hair was a mess, the curls that had once been pretty and wild were now tangled and straightening out.
All in all, she looked and felt like shit.
There was light as she neared the river, breathing a sigh of relief as the trees thinned and the ground evened out. She could spy the wooden pier that jutted out into the headwaters of the river, a round, secluded lake where willows and underbrush dotted the muddy bank, moonstone colored flowers looking eerily beautiful in the starlight.
And that's when she saw him, sitting at the end of the pier, legs dangling off the edge, hood up, hand skimming the water's surface.
She debated going back to the house, but recoiled at the thought. Going through those woods once was enough of an experience for her.
Instead, she padded silently down the wooden pier, eyes locked on his shrouded figure.
He felt her before he saw her, the sharp scent of pina colada and fresh cucumbers and rain sharpening his senses.
She stood beside him for a moment, arms crossed, staring out down the river as it took a turn and disappeared around the bend.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her face, pale in the moonlight, makeup smudged as though she'd been crying,
lips smeared with the remnants of her lipgloss. Her hair fell around her face, a tangle of shining onyx that made her dark,
gold/black eyes stand out against her pale face.
She sat down with a soft sigh, closing her eyes as she passed a hand over her face, weariness in her every move. Her feet dangled over the edge, siting just on the water's mirror surface as thoguh she intended to stand up and walk on water. ARia leaned back on her forearms, chin tucked down, head tilted towards him as she locked him in her gold, fiery black gaze. She seemed to be studying him, her eyes drinking in the smoldering, honeyed gaze, the sharp curve of the jaw, the faintest whisper of a laugh that was hidden at the corner of his mouth. His rich, gold skin was a milky opal in the moonlight as he peered up at her from the fringe of touseled hair that fell into his eyes.
****************************
sorry, these are just drabbles for now. they're part of a story, but i'm no sure if i should post the entire thing here.
reviews? feedback?
