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my-sweet-valentine · 6 years ago

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Stranger

„Babe? If you could describe the first time we met in one sentence, what would that be?“ he asks her making her look up from the book she was reading. His eyebrows hovered over his peaceful blue eyes.

“Um, where is this coming from Luke?” she simply wondered. It wasn’t like him to bring up the things of the past out of the blue like this. Especially since it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for them.

“Well, I am writing this song, and I kind of need the other person’s point of view. So, can you help?” his smile alone, that was wider than it normally is, could make her do anything he asked her to. Well, maybe anything except this.

“You know I am not really comfortable sharing my thoughts like that, Luke.” her face clearly had please don’t make me written all over it. “Besides, you have been more than capable to write your songs without my input in the past. I think you’ll manage.” she said getting up to peck his forehead quickly.

“Oh, come on. Can you just tell me what it felt like when we first met and when you fell in love with me?”

“Sorry to burst your bubble baby, but when I met you I did not fall in love with you. Did you think I did?”

It hadn’t occurred to her that that’s what he thought their first meeting meant to her. She studied his face, while his once peaceful eyes were now not so peaceful. “I mean, I know you didn’t fall in love with me from day one, but you must have felt some attraction. Didn’t you?”

“Well, I mean, I felt a connection, yes. But I can’t really say I felt an attraction.” she said heading for the fridge to get anything really if it meant she could avoid Luke’s interrogation.

“Oh. A connection. Just that? Just a connection? You didn’t feel attracted to me? Not even a little? Babe, I’m pretty hot.”

“Okay, yeah. I think this discussion is over right about now.” Even though she couldn’t help the smile from appearing on her face, she tried to keep a stern look.

She wasn’t in her happy place right now. Sitting on a hotel bed with a noodle cup half empty by her side, and her laptop in front of her ready to finally start writing was definitely not her happy place. The problem was, her brain was full of ideas but no matter how hard she tried to put them into words, she couldn’t. Being in L.A. for a writing conference was supposed to fire things up, but so far there were zero major changes on anything except her credit card. Debating on whether she should keep trying or go downstairs to the lobby for a quick walk, she decided to just take a small break and go downstairs after all.

She grabbed her phone, and room key and took one last look at herself in the mirror. She was wearing the most regular pair of jeans she probably owned and her favourite T-shirt tucked into the jeans, but she didn’t really care. All she wanted anyway was to get some fresh air and maybe a bottle of water. Thinking that perhaps inspiration would strike in a somewhat different environment, she also brought her laptop.

As glad as she felt that she was able just at 24 to support herself financially and to be able to get a room at a hotel like this, all on her own, she couldn’t help but be angry at herself for getting lost. How hard could it be to just find the elevator? Walking around for what felt like 10-15 minutes she finally managed to get to the lobby.

Looking for the perfect writing spot next to the window, she wished she was back to where she normally wrote everything. Back home, she had a special spot, next to her bedroom window. Something about watching people go on with their everyday lives. How some were rushing through the endless crowds, while others were taking their time simply just strolling through. It all made sense. And it all triggered a different idea, a different story. So maybe sitting next to the window again would help.

Writing always came easily to her. It wasn’t as if she was the best of course, but ever since she was a little girl, all she ever wanted to do was to become a writer. A few months ago when she was flying home from L.A. she had this amazing idea for a story. She had almost five hours to write everything that was on her mind. When the plane landed she didn’t even realize how fast the time had passed. And she was also quite pleased with the result. She pitched the draft to her writing counsellor the next day and he was very impressed.

So maybe there was something about Los Angeles that created the perfect flow when it came to her writing. Especially empty lobbies at 2 am, where it was quiet enough for her to pour her thoughts out. Searching for the perfect writing spot, she noticed a rather small couch by the window with a small table in front of it and an armchair next to it. Maybe the cute setting would help get things moving. So, cute setting it is.

After getting comfortable on the couch and looking out the window for a solid 20 minutes, she decided it was time to just start typing away. And she did. This turned out to be a good, but slightly boring idea after all. But she had made progress. Looking at the clock she realized that she been down here for almost an hour. And of course, writer’s block strikes once again. Well, maybe it was time to get to bed, she thought. It was enough writing for today.

Packing up her things to go upstairs to her room she didn’t notice the person walking behind her and she tripped over them and next thing she knew she was sort of lying on the floor.

“I am so sorry. Shit, are you okay?” she heard the person ask. It was a guy standing in front of her offering his hand to her, to help her get up. She took his hand not really paying any attention to his apology. She couldn’t help but feel angry at him for knocking her down. “I really am sorry. I was looking at my phone, and I’m really tired, to be honest. Which is not an excuse, at all, but I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” she simply answered, giving him the best compassionate look she could pull off right now. To be fair, he did knock her down.

“Still I’m so sorry.”

“I wasn’t paying attention too. It’s okay.” she offered him a smile this time, feeling kind of bad that she got angry over something so stupid. Perhaps it was the fact that her brain was drained and it was 3 am. “Don’t worry about it. Really.”

He nodded this time finally feeling a little better for what happened. This certainly wasn’t a great time for him. Walking around completely oblivious to his surroundings and knocking people over is just not who he is. And he felt really embarrassed about it. In fact, he wasn’t even hiding it. Life was just too much at that point. He was so tired to the point he couldn’t sleep. Lately, he thought that he probably developed some sort of insomnia since he was walking around the hotel at 3 am.

“Oh, it’s Luke by the way. My name I mean.” his words came out faster and slightly weirder than he was planning as he extended his hand to her. She looked pretty, was what came to his mind. Tired, but pretty. She didn’t have that hard look in her eyes anymore. Which was a good thing?

“I’m Skye.” her handshake was so graceful he thought. She was giving just that right amount of squeeze and it just felt like it was the right handshake. Also a weird thing to think of, he mentally said to himself. “Nice to meet you.” she said then.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too. Not so nice that I knocked you down, but you know…” he trailed off.

She gave him a smile this time. “Please, stop apologizing. It’s no big deal. It’s not like I got hurt.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Okay, I won’t say it again.” he said smiling back at her. “So, you’re a night owl too, huh?” gesturing towards her laptop he questioned.

“Not usually. But, since I couldn’t get anything done in the morning hours I thought that maybe the night would be my friend and turns out it was. I guess the quiet helps me write better.”

“Oh, you’re a writer?” he said taking a slightly uncomfortable seat at the arm of the couch.

“Barely.” she replied while sitting properly on the couch. Close -but not too close- to him. “I came to L.A. for this writing conference, which might have been a waste of time actually.”

“Why is that?” he asked her. “If I may ask.” he added realizing he was coming off a bit too strong.

“I’m not really sure I’ve figured out what my groove is if I’m being completely honest. But I’ve got some determination in me left, so let’s hope this doesn’t turn into a flop.” she said laughing at herself basically.

“Oh come on. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Finding your groove, your rhythm, your genre or whatever you want to call it isn’t always easy. And I think that if we didn’t have such a hard time finding it, it wouldn’t be worth it to call it ours. Don’t you agree?” he told her, even though he knew that this was an advice he was also struggling to follow.

“Um, I do actually. That was such an amazing way to put it. You seem to speak from experience? Or am I wrong?”

And that’s when he realized that she didn’t know who he was. It was so weird talking to someone who didn’t know that he was Luke Hemmings, lead singer of a worldwide known band. She was just some girl, in a hotel lobby, who he knocked down of course, but she was talking to him so freely. And that felt really different from how conversations with people usually went. So he decided to just keep it that way.

“Oh no, I wouldn’t know. I’m not really familiar with composing anything on my own. Which is weird, since I’m giving you advice on that exact same topic. I just thought that it was the right thing to say.”

“Well Luke, even so, your advice was probably the best advice I was given in a long time, so thank you.” she said giving him another smile.

“You’re welcome. It’s the least I can do. So, are you writing anything at the moment?” he proceeded to ask feeling as if he didn’t want the conversation to drop.

“Ugh, it’s probably too bad to even think of. It’s not worth writing further on it, but my studying coach gave this assignment with the purpose of leaving my comfort zone, so yeah…” she stopped for a minute looking at her screen. “It’s shit actually, I might have to start all over again tomorrow.”

“I could help you with that.” he offered, leaving her confused as to how he could be of help to her.

“How?” she asked him.

“Well, I could read it and tell you what I think. What kind of story is it?”

“Um, it’s a romantic short story, but I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“Why not? I’m a complete stranger, who you’re never going to see again, so even if your story is that shitty it’s not like you’ll see me again tomorrow to remind you of how shitty it was.” he answered her, trying to persuade her realizing his comment wasn’t coming off as funny as he ought to. That’s it, he thought. First I knock her down, then I’m rude to her, she’s gonna start screaming, at best.

But instead, he heard her laugh. She got the joke, apparently. “Well, you do have a point. Plus, you made me have a not so wonderful collision with the floor so my shitty writing could be a way of punishment for you.”

“There’s also that. Okay, let’s get some reading done. Come on.”

He noticed she was being a little hesitant for a moment. “You don’t have to do this, it’s okay. I could just delete it and start over tomorrow.”

“I think it would be a very bad idea to erase something you’ve created without sharing it with someone first. What you don’t like might turn out to be someone’s favourite.”

“Alright, fine. Here you go. Feel free to vomit. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

And with that, she handed him the laptop. He took a better seat closer to her, sitting properly on the couch next to her. Without saying anything further he dived into the reading and spent the next 40 minutes doing just that.

Skye definitely thought that a stranger was so eager to read something she wrote. She also found it a little weird, and it was, but for some reason, she was also expecting him to finish and listen to what he had to say. He was right, it wasn’t as if she was going to see him again tomorrow, so why not? Constructive criticism wasn’t something she was afraid of, anyway. Taking a moment to really look at him, she realized his eyes were blue and even though she looked at him while they were talking before, she didn’t really look at him. He also had his semi-long blonde locks falling over his forehead. Luke was a handsome man, no argument there. He looked like he was around her age. He had a unique sense of style, nothing like the guys she usually pays attention to.

At that point, Skye realized that she didn’t ask Luke anything about himself. Where is he from, what does he do for a living? He knew she was a struggling writer, but she didn’t know anything about him. He really was just a stranger.

“Alright. I think I’ve finished it. Is that where it ends?” he asked her pulling her out of her thought while also pointing at a specific spot on the screen.

“Yeah, that wasn’t clear, huh?”. Strike number one, she thought.

“Well, no. Overall, it was really good. I would definitely like to see how it would continue. But the ending was a little unclear.”

“It won’t continue. That’s the point of it being a short story. And for the ending, yeah I get what you’re saying. I just couldn’t think of something better.”

“Hold on, you mean there won’t be a next chapter? Come on that’s a little torture don’t you think?”

She laughed at how bold he turned out to be. “So, how would you continue this story then? If it was to turn into an actual book?” she asked him.

And maybe she shouldn’t have, because they spent the next couple of hours writing a continuation. What once was her short story, turned out to be the smaller part of an actual book. Poorly written of course, since it was just a bunch of ideas thrown into a white canvas. Skye let Luke take the lead because it looked like he was having fun writing it and sharing his ideas with her.

And after nearly two hours of bombarding her with his extremely creative and unrealistic ideas, and with his funny and smart remarks, they were finally content with the masterpiece that they’ve created. Which was yet to be named, but that didn’t matter.

“I think we’ve written a masterpiece. In fact, if we wait a couple hours more we might just be able to be there when the publisher’s office opens up.”

“Oh yeah, this baby is definitely going to the time’s best sellers.” she joked. “I think we’re gonna make a fortune.” Skye said earning a chuckle from Luke.

“Um, Nicholas Sparks who?” he answered making her laugh this time.

“On the downside, I think we have officially ruined the short story that I was supposed to submit to my writing counsellor.”

“This can count as a short story. A short part of a book isn’t a short story?”

“I’m afraid not, Luke. But that’s okay. I’m going to figure something out.”

“Well I am certain that you will.” he replied to her. It kind of busted up her confidence.

She couldn’t help but smile at his comment.

Skye definitely had a great time with Luke writing this “masterpiece”, but looking at the clock and realizing it was almost 6 am she knew it was time to call it a night.

“Wow it’s 6 am, and I’ve got a flight to catch in five hours. I totally lost track of time.” she informed Luke, even though he knew that this was going to come to an end at some point. But seeing her rush to gather her stuff and leave made him feel worse than he thought he would.

“You and me both. You’re going back home?” he asked hoping not to sound too eager, although he failed.

“Yeah, back to New York. What about you?” she asked still not sending a glance his way, while she continued to gather her things.

“Well, I’m not going back to New York, if that’s what you’re asking.” he simply said. Intending to sound a little bit rude. To be fair, Skye hadn’t asked him a single thing about him. And she noticed.

“I’m so sorry. This entire time has been about myself I didn’t ask you anything about you. Luke, I’m so sorry. I’m not normally like this.” Skye did her best trying to apologize.

“Well, that’s okay. There’s one thing you can do to make it up to me.” Luke told her.

“Of course. What is it?” she asked him.

“You can promise me that you are going to continue this story that we wrote together. You can extract the cheesy and really cringy parts that were mostly my ideas. But the original story was good and I would like to know how you would write the continuation. Even if you don’t pitch this idea to you writing counsellor.” he replied leaving her quite stunned. She didn’t expect that he would care so much for her story.

“Okay, so if I do continue this story, how are you gonna know?”

“Oh, right. Well, I guess there are two things. You..” he trailed off while pulling out his phone. “Are going to give your number.” he continued while handing her his phone. He noticed that Skye looked a little hesitant. No matter how much fun they had creating this short story, didn’t change the fact that they were simply just strangers. “All for the sake of the story of course.” he added which made her laugh.

“Of course. Smooth.” Skye replied, smirking at him.

She took the phone from his hand and saved her number on his contacts.

“Well, there you go.” she told him handing the phone back to him. “Although, I am sure this is going to be such a huge disappointment for you. I don’t think I am going to be so good at continuing this story without you.”

“I am sure you are going to be just fine.” he honestly replied.

She nodded and suddenly realized that this was getting a little confusing for her, and of course she had a flight to catch in five hours and she also had zero hours of sleep last night. Although, sitting here, and looking at him made her feel weird but at the same time at ease, like she hadn’t felt in a very long time, she had to rush upstairs.

“I really have to go.” she told him.

“I know.” Luke answered.

“I guess, look forward to hearing from me when I have the next part ready?” she asked, mostly to herself. Was she really going to do that?

“You bet.”

“Great. Well, it was amazing. And I had fun, but I’m gonna go now. Have a great day, whatever it is that you are doing today. Since I don’t know what that is.”

“Oh, for starters I am going to get some sleep.” he simply said.

“Okay. Great. Till next time we talk?” Skye asked.

“Absolutely.” Luke replied.

She took a last good look at him since she didn’t know when and if she was ever going to see him again. And then just left. She made sure not to turn around as she was walking away. She didn’t need to embarrass herself more than she already had. But she felt his eyes on her back as she was leaving.

Skye hurried upstairs to her room, packed her bags and left the hotel in two hours. Since she was one of those people who wanted to be at the airport a million years before her flight was departing, after she checked-in, she sat at this little lounge and opened her laptop. And for as long as she was waiting, she couldn’t stop staring at the story that she and Luke, a stranger really, wrote. The almost five-hour flight helped her compose the second part to this awesome, fun but at the same time cheesy and extremely unrealistic story. She suddenly felt the urge to finish the next chapter as fast as possible, if that was the only thing that would allow her to speak to him again. Even just via text.

Luke, on the other hand, feeling some sort of warmness in his chest from this experience that gave him more than people would think, couldn’t stop thinking about the girl that he was so happy he knocked down. After he watched her walk away and disappear into the elevator, he checked his phone to see her contact. He wasn’t worried about her giving him a false number. Not at all. Actually, Luke couldn’t help but feel the smile spread further than just his face when he saw that she had put her number under the name Stranger.

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