⌁ Thunder ⌁ Lana Del Rey Fanfiction

chapter eleven: desire

"Start the next episode!" Zella took the freshly popped popcorn out of the microwave. It was late, and we were at my house alone. We had spent the whole afternoon together after leaving the university and not to return to class until after Thanksgiving break. I sat at the living room between fluffy blankets and more snacks.

"Ugh, can we watch something else?" I complained. Zella had begged to watch a true crime series, but I wasn't finding it interesting at all. I'm not exactly squeamish, but knowing that the show was based on real events freaked me out.

Zella looked out at me and noticed I was getting uncomfortable. She sighed and dumped the popcorn into a bowl. "Fine."

I'd never reached for the remote so quickly in my life. Soon I had found an interesting enough movie in hopes it would keep the both of us engaged.

Zella jumped over to the couch and I hit play. Both of us were instantly hooked, our assortment of snacks remaining untouched because of how concentrated we were on the television.

My phone began to buzz with notifications. The first time, I didn't pay much attention to it. The second time was when I took it into account. By the third time, I was already pulling my phone out of my pocket.

Lana
- Attachment: video
- Attachment: photo
- Look at these views I had earlier today :)

The first thing I saw was a short video of a group of boats sailing down a river. The wind ruffled the
masts as they sailed smoothly. I heard Lana's muffled giggle as she zoomed into the bright blue sky with her phone.

The second was a selfie of her. She was standing at a dock, with the autumn trees in the far distance contrasting her skin perfectly. Her hair was loosely down and messy, probably from the wind. She had her thumb on her chin, the tip of it going up to her bottom lip with a smirk on her lips, those of which were in a signature matte color. Her long eyelashes were accentuated by a winged eyeliner, and the reflection of the sun twinkled in her eyes. I couldn't help but smile as I studied her face carefully.

I was so out of it, losing myself as I swiped back and forth between the photo and video, that Zella's nudge startled me. I looked up to find her staring me down with the movie up on the screen on pause.

"Shit-" I shut my phone off. "Sorry."

"She looks good, wow..." Zella looked at me with surprise and I rolled my eyes. She must've been looking through everything Lana sent, with me.

"I know." I muttered. I reached for the remote, but Zella moved it out of my reach.

"Look at you," She teased. "She's got you under her spell, huh?" Zella began to laugh and I was getting annoyed. I reached for the remote again. This time I managed to get it. Before hitting play, Zella was able to take it from me again. "You're not inviting her over for Thanksgiving?"

I felt the simmering anxiety from having that very thought days earlier. My father had decided to throw a big dinner with some of his friends for Thanksgiving. They all love football and thought it would be a good day to get together. This would mean i'd be spending the day with tons of people i'm generally unfamiliar with, and watch everyone else have fun. Thanksgiving was just 3 days away.

"Why don't you come?" I asked, deflecting.

"Can't. Going out of state to see some family." She shoveled some popcorn into her mouth as I worried about what to do. I didn't want to spend it alone, but Lana would probably be spending it with her own family herself.

"You think it's a good idea to invite her?" I looked to get an opinion from Zella.

"Maybe. Only if you're sure she'd be down." She said between chewing.