ARABELLA • Alex Turner

THREE

~

     Alex couldn't tear his eyes from Arabella the entire night.

He was well aware that it was probably considered rude to stare for so long without saying anything, and Miles had kicked him under the table multiple times no doubt for that very reason, but his selfish brain didn't care. She was mesmerising.

He almost hadn't recognised her as the same woman he'd met a few months back, but he supposed it made sense given how brief their encounter was. Plus, she had changed a lot since then.

Besides the obvious lack of mascara smudged around her eyes, she looked a lot healthier. A lot less troubled. He hadn't really seen her smile before, and for good reason, but watching her laugh at Miles' shitty jokes was a sight to behold.

When he proposed stepping outside for a smoke, Alex wasn't sure whether Arabella would agree to join him. They had barely said two words to each other since they sat down for the evening, letting their mutual friends do most of the talking.

Yet now, winding his way through the bar with her trailing close behind, there was nothing more he wanted than to get to know her.

He had only met her twice, but he already felt as if he had enough creative source material to last a lifetime. In fact, he was willing to bet that he could fill a whole lyric book with words about her based on tonight alone.

   There was something about her that inspired him. Something so unique that it was hard to pinpoint. Maybe it was her Byron-esque beauty, or her magnetism, or even just the way her hair seemed to frame her face perfectly, but she was unlike anyone he'd ever met before.

She looked radiant clad in all-black, dark eyes shining as if Theia herself had descended from the heavens in human form.

Alex didn't miss the way her attention was drawn to the sparkling mirrorball above their heads as they passed, a detail he found endearing for no conceivable reason at all.

Holding the door open for her, Alex watched in amusement as she entered the smoking area and immediately lay down in the grass, gasping at the vast blanket of stars twinkling overhead.

"The sky is so pretty tonight. You can see so many stars." She sounded awestruck.

Alex sat down beside her on the ground and lit a cigarette, prompting her to do the same with one of her own.

He thought about making a joke about her having her own lighter this time, but decided against it when he realised that she probably wouldn't want to be reminded of that night. So instead, he breathed in a lungful of burning smoke and followed her gaze skywards.

"Those two are really bright." He pointed towards two large specks of light amid dozens of other smaller specks.

Arabella hummed, glossy lips wrapping around her own cigarette. She seemed absolutely fascinated, and it was hard not to be sucked in by her obvious enthusiasm.

"The one on the left is Jupiter, and the other one is Venus."

Alex's lips parted, pleasantly surprised by her knowledge, and he tore his vision away from the stars to examine her face in the pale moonlight.

She looked so serene, so celestial, staring up at the endless blue above them, that he suddenly wished to be able to freeze time and capture the moment forever.

"Did you know, they only converge like that once a year? I bought a crappy little telescope once just so that I could see it closer." She rambled with a smile, before seeming to catch herself. The spark in her eyes disappeared, replaced by embarrassment.