Fates' Caresses

Friday, September 30

Arturia's alarm went off, ringing loudly throughout the apartment. She looked towards the clock, where it read eight o'clock. The woman sighed and hit the object, making the sound stop. She really didn't want to go get groceries. Pushing off her covers, she got up out of bed and walked towards her closet to get dressed.

After picking out a casual yet presentable outfit, she brushed her teeth and made her way out of the apartment. She closed the door behind her, locking it so no one could get in without a key. Arturia then walked towards the elevator and pressed the button to go to the bottom floor once she went inside.

She found herself taking the same path she had taken the day before when her and her best friend went to the mall. The streets were busy as usual, and many conversations flew past her. She descended the stairs and walked into the subway. Hopefully, she wouldn't embarrass herself, as she did the day before.

The subway started, starting to go to the next stop. Arturia yawned, for she was getting even more tired. Why did Fridays have to be so boring? She was off work, and it seemed that she would have to search for things to do. The door opened and in came the passengers who were waiting for the subway to arrive and out went the people who had to get off at that stop.

Arturia ignored the people or at least she did until a voice erupted from beside her. "Ah, hello again, Arturia", a low voice spoke out to greet the blonde woman. Greens eyes shot towards the source in which the sound had come from, only to see an arm extending to grab the same pole she was grabbing instead. The face of Diarmuid finally made its way into her vision, and she gave a small smile.

"Diarmuid, I would have never guessed that I would see you again. Let alone the day right after we had first met. I guess fate really wanted us to see each other once again", Arturia replied, a little relieved that her ride on the subway would not be as boring as she thought.

"Haha, yeah, maybe fate ships us", the man joked, causing the woman to laugh. "So, where are you heading today?"

"Grocery shopping, unfortunately", Arturia answered with a bit of a sigh.

"Oh, really? Could it really be as bad as you make it sound?" Diarmuid asked. Arturia nodded in response.

"I personally hate it. I only like it when I'm not the one doing it", she said. Diarmuid gave a small chuckle. "What? It's true. Haven't you ever been grocery shopping before?" The handsome male gave her a small smirk, his eyes looking into her's. The mole that she had noticed yesterday seemed to be taunting her for some odd reason.

"I have, but I haven't done it in years. It's been about five years since I've been out of high school, and the last time I remember going with my mom was when I was in probably fourth grade. So, it's probably been about thirteen years, since I've been in a grocery store", Diarmuid explained.

"There's no way! How do you get your groceries?"

"My brother gets them. He's not as busy as I am, so he always gets the food and stuff that we need. I just make a list of what we all need", he told her.

"You are the luckiest person alive", commented the emerald-eyed woman.

"I wouldn't say that."

"What? Why not? I mean, you're good-looking; your brother goes out and gets all the food for you so you don't have to, and from my standpoint you seem to be doing real well overall. And I'm also sure that you have one of those perfect, model-bodied girlfriends that only famous people have", protested Arturia.

"Haha, well thank you, but I actually don't-", Diarmuid started but suddenly stopped, for he had noticed the doors had opened at his stop. "Ah, maybe if we see each other tomorrow, we can continue our conversation. I have to get to work", he said, disappoint seemed to linger in his handsome voice.

"Mm, if the fates ship us enough", Arturia replied humorously, causing a laugh to come from Diarmuid.

"Good day then", he stated with a smile before walking out of the subway. Arturia watched him, as he left the subway. She looked at him, interest in her eyes. The man was perfect. How could one be as perfect as him? I wonder what he was going to say, the blonde thought to herself.

Suddenly, the man gave two quick glances to his right and left, as if he was making sure that no one was watching. He gave a small look back at Arturia, who was watching him a small smirk on her face. Diarmuid gave her a calm smile with a little wave before he started to walking the direction of his workplace.

The doors closed once more, and the subway was in movement once again. Arturia found herself continuing to smile and start to daydream, as if she was going into a different world. She could see Diarmuid smiling down at her only alone at a beach at sunset instead of a subway full of people.

She was soon knocked out of her daze, as someone passing by accidentally bumped into her as they were getting off at the exact same stop that Arturia needed to get off of. The young woman shook her head like a dog trying to get water out of its hair and proceeded on walking out of the subway and towards the grocery store.

All the way there, she could not get the dark-haired man out of her thoughts. She felt herself longing to get to know him better, to have a normal conversation that wouldn't be stopped due to reaching one of their destinations. But for some odd reason, she felt as if she wanted him to be something more than an acquaintance, something more than a friend. Was she...wanting to date a man that she barely even knew?

Arturia cursed herself. What made him so special from all of the other good-looking males out in the world? Was there something special about him? Like all the others, she had no chance with them, so normally she just decided to say that they were handsome and move on with her life. But Diarmuid, Diarmuid was turning out to be different than all of those other males – and the fact that Arturia couldn't place her finger on what made the man different was killing her.

Jeanne walked through the streets of the city, getting the her share of errands done. The route that she had taken that day was completely empty – or at least near it. The only other person walking the same path was a tall, toned man with a black leather jacket with a gray jacket underneath that had its hood pulled up, which Jeanne thought was rather odd since there was no rain or any form of precipitation.

She glanced down at the piece of paper she was carrying, the list she wrote out to remind her of all the jobs she needed to get done, to see what the next thing she had to do was. Hmm, I guess the next thing to do is-

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted, as she collided with the same man who had his hood up and fell down just as her best friend almost did the day before. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry", the man apologized, regret and embarrassment in his voice. He reached out his hand to help the Frenchwoman up. Jeanne politely accepted the kind gesture and swept the dirt off of her clothes.

"It's fine. I should have been paying attention", she replied.

"Nah, I shouldn't have my hood up anyways", the man reassured Jeanne. She gave him a warm smile.

"I guess it's both of our faults then. And speaking of you wearing your hood up, um...why are you wearing it up anyway, if it gives you a blind spot."

"I would rather have a blind spot than be dragged into something I don't want to be dragged into. And don't ask about that, it's a rather long story", the tall male responded. Jeanne nodded. As she looked at the man in front of her, she noticed a long strand, or ponytail even, of blue hair. She had seen something like it before from her favorite artist, but she decided that the similarity must have been a coincidence. But what made it even odder, the man's voice sounded exactly like her "celebrity crush".

She suddenly realized that she had no idea where she was going. This was the first time she had taken the path that she was on. She decided on asking the man. He seemed to know where he was going. "Oh um, do you happen to know how to get to the pharmacy on Maine Street from here? I've never walked this path before", Jeanne said.

"Ah yes, just keep on heading the way you were going and at the first turn you see, take a right. You should be able to see the shopping district from there. And, I assume you know where to go from there", the man explained.

"Yes, I do. Thank you very much", Jeanne thanked. His voice bugged her. It was too familiar to the singer. "I'm guessing you take this path a lot."

"Yep, I take it everyday. It's very peaceful and beautiful", he stated.

"It is", she agreed. The man was definitely correct about what he said. The peacefulness of the area added to the beauty of the buildings. Even better was the fact that there was a lake with crystal blue waters that made the sun reflect off of its surface.

The man nodded in response, allowing Jeanne to catch a glimpse of his eyes. Wait a second, is this man actually...? She had witnessed red eyes looking at her, a warmth in them that she had never seen before. But yet, she knew those eyes. It was only a glimpse, but even a glimpse could answer many questions. Jeanne mentally shook her head, getting her out of her moment's daze and looked at the male.

"Well, I think I must be going. I have to get to the pharmacy", she told him.

"Of course, it was lovely meeting you." His voice was familiar.

"It was wonderful meeting you as well."

"Have a good day then", he said, as he walked away while giving a small wave. His voice was too familiar.

"You too", Jeanne responded politely, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice. After he was out of hearing distance, she spoke to herself. "Was that who I thought it was?"

A/N: Well, I hope all of you enjoyed the rather short chapter (short for me anyway). Thank you to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited this story. It means the world to me! :) As always, have a WONDERFUL Day! ;)