back to you | paul atreides

twenty eight

the video above is an edit i found on youtube and i loved it so i just wanted to share it with you guys :) happy reading!

***

"That little girl is very annoying." Yuma said with a face, staring off at the group of teenagers huddled in a corner.

We were sitting in the common space at the centre of their living quarters. I faced Yuma

"She's not too bad," I shrugged as I watched Zeina speak amongst her small group of friends. I didn't want to call her little because she couldn't have been more than just a few years my junior.

"Say that again when she begins to follow you everywhere." She scoffed. "She's going to get attached, just you watch."

I threw my head back and laughed at her words. I knew Yuma was being a bit harsh, but I could also sense it was in good fun. Her attitude was meant to amuse me. She knew everything was a lot of change for me to handle and was attempting to lighten the load wherever she could.

Something caught my eye from the corner of my vision. I turned my head to see a group of Fremen speaking with Shipo. Their Stillsuits were discoloured from the dry sand, it looked like they had just arrived.

My eyes quickly scanned the group in curiosity. Many of them were men, but a few women stood out from the group. I realized not all of them had the bright blue eyes I had gotten used to seeing. One of the boys met my gaze with his green and white eyes. He had sullen cheeks and tanned skin. His eyes went wide as he stared in my direction. I pressed my brows together, wondering why his face was so familiar.

My heart stopped.

"Lia?"

I stared at the boy. He looked at me funny, as if he were analyzing me as I was him. Was it him? Could it really be him? He didn't look the same. His skin was darker, his hair was longer. As he stood beside his mother I noticed he was even taller than I last remembered. I asked myself if it was possible I was hallucinating. Could I be projecting this image onto someone I didn't know? But I knew I couldn't be, because I'd recognize his voice anywhere.

I had unknowingly stepped forward in his direction. Before I knew what I was doing, I found myself running at the boy I so desperately missed.

I nearly jumped into his arms, hooking my arms around his neck and wrapping my legs over his torso. Paul accepted me willingly as he pulled me tight against him, not wanting to let me know.

"Oh my god, Lia." I could hear him through the muffled sound of his face against my Stillsuit. He had his head buried in crook of my neck. I inhaled his familiar scent, a homely musk mixed with a touch of sulphur from the sand but I didn't care. His scent let me know he was real. He was here.

"You're okay," I whimpered as my hands clutched the seems of his body suit. "I can't believe you're okay."

"I'm okay, I'm here." He affirmed and pulled back to look at me. "I can't believe you're here, not just on Arrakis but among the Fremen? In the middle of the desert?"