Chapter 1
As I dozed on my bed, playing my Sleeping with Sirens CD, I enjoyed the breeze that danced upon my face from the open window. I let the voices and noises swim around me, from both my flat and the outside world - the symphony of daily life. I could hear cars cruising by, marked by the soft purr of engines; shouts from the market not far away; tapping footsteps against the pavement, rustles of shopping bags and pushchairs; squeals of children from their prams escalating to full-blown tantrums;
the preacher on the corner shouting and screeching inane phrases like "GET YOUR CURE FOR DEATH!"; and above all, the chatter - parent to child,sibling to sibling, friend to friend, all generations and accents twirling in an ineloquent and unharmonious ballet that was soothing all the same.
Although softened by the distance, the noises that came from inside were softer still than those from outside- the slow, rhythmic shh of the water swirling around in the dishwasher and washing machine,
the fluttering curatins brushing against each other, the fizzing of the glass of coke in my bedside table.
Everysingle sound painted a picture of the world for me behind my closed eyelids.
Being twenty, and it being a Saturday, I should have been doing something - shopping, going to the cinema,studying or at least drinking our remaining alcohol. But I had no money, having gone food shopping yesterday, I had no inclination to study and I had drunk the last of the wine last night - which was why this morning I had to untangle myself from DVD cases, corks, bottles and my two flat mates, Sophie and Cam. After that I had NO energy.
I lay there for God knows how long, curled up in my hangover blue hoodie and denim shorts, sometimes conscious and sometimes not. I could hear a car clattering from miles off, clearly on its last legs, when an almighty BANG made me jump. I crawled to the window and hoisted myself up to lean out of it.
A small blue car had broken down, bonnet steaming, directly beneath my window on the first floor. I could taste it the unpleasant smoke. The driver, whose silhouette I could just about make out through the massive cloud pouring from their car, was standing at the hood and trying to pop it open.
"OI!" I shouted, my voice croaky. Yep, definitely been asleep. "You want some help with that, mate?"
"Er, yes please!" replied a guy's voice.
"Two seconds and I'll be down!"
"Alright, love!"
I rolled my eyes and pulled my rat's nest/hair into a ponytail. I slipped on my shoes and ran down the stairs and out the building. I caught the door as my neighbour came through, with a quick "Hi, Bob!". I swung through the entrance to see the smoke had cleared a bit (probably as whatever had caught fire had gone out). I skipped down the steps. All the running was waking me up a bit.
"What's up with it?" I asked the driver.
"I have no clue," he admitted as he turned to face me, and I saw his face properly for the first time.
The first thing I noticed was his eyes - the warmth that came from them was incredible, and they were a beautiful pale green. His floppy hair, though partially obscured by a dark green beanie hat,
was a dark brown. He had unusual facial proportions - his nose and chin were rather large, but he was somehow still (rather unconventionally) attractive. His eyes had dark circles under them, and his jeans and T-shirt were a little rumpled. I smiled.
"Driving all night?"
"Yeah, something like that," he smiled back and sighed. "And I'm a whole hour late to catch my train because there was a bloody traffic jam all up Henly Road."
"Aw, poor you," I sympathised. "Tell you what, I'll help you push your car to the side of the road and we'll have a cuppa tea, and by then my flat mate should have brought my car back. Then we can sort you out another train?"
His face lit up at the mention of tea. "Good plan. Excellent in fact. You go steer and I'll push at the back?" he said, slamming the bonnet on the still-hissing engine.
I nodded and took my place. "Alright!" he bellowed. "ONE, TWO - THREE!"
Shuffling and grunting, we rolled the car from the middle of the road to the side. I beckoned him forward with a breathless "c'mon,". As I walked up the steps, he slightly surprised me.
He took my hand.
A/N: Massive thank yous to the people who are following and reading this. It's my first story, so to have anyone read it is massive for me :). And to the two people who are following, ChoirCat16 and notwritten, cyber hugs coming your way! Extra love for notwritten too coz you were my first reviewer as well 3
Love you guys,
FishFingeresAndCustard11 :)
