Late at night, Seo was reading a book in bed. In the end, he never slept early, like always.
He was an overthinker, so he always tried to drown himself in the words of literature. It was 11:42 pm, the light dining his bedroom in an orangey type of yellow which made his eyes blink more than it should be.
Soon, he heard a knock on his window, so he slowly got off his bed, taking the metal lantern on his bedside table. As he walked towards the window, he saw a female shadow figure through the curtains.
It knocked again, but slightly more silent than the first.
"...Starboy." She said,
Seo perked up after hearing Arabella's voice as he opened the windowsill, only to see her on his balcony, her coat shining bright under the moonlight.
"Arabella? What are you doing here?" Seo asked, looking at her concerned. "But anyway, come in for a while, it's late."
He added as he motioned to her to get in his room. Arabella nods to his permission and slowly gets inside, thereafter, Seo closes the windowsill.
"I need your help." She suddenly announced, looking at him seriously.
"Uhm, what for?" He queried, sounding a bit nervous. After all, the questions she often asked were quite a bit... surprising at times.
"I want you to teach me how to dance."
Seo looked surprised, and also the fact that she came to him in the middle of night just for this reason, but he was by no means upset.
Instead, he regained his composure and nodded, accepting her request since he had a problem sleeping anyway and that he could use some of the spare time to do something useful.
"Sure," He answered as he gave her a gentle smile. Arabella hid her sigh in relief by looking elsewhere.
"Sooo, what is the reason you're asking me to help you?"
"I don't want to embarrass myself." She replied bluntly, bruising the dirt off her coat.
Seo tilted his head in confusion
"I thought you wouldn't come to the ballroom event though?" Seo asked, sitting on the side of his bed, bouncing slightly, while Arabella sat beside him, interlacing her fingers.
"My older brother forced me," She replied, looking at the side. " He says I need to get a life."
Seo laughs heartily, of course, he did quite relate to her since he had an older brother too, who told him to chill out a times. Arabella just rolled her eyes in disbelief.
"Let loose Seo! You really need to chill out at times!" He recalled.
Seo would've also agreed to Arabella's older brother though, she didn't have hobbies, nor spare time, and she's always busy. In agreement, she really needed to get a life.
"Anyway, back to the topic. How and where are we gonna practice? I mean your room is massive and all but we are gonna trip over things."
Seo pondered for a while, and immediately had an idea in his head. Then, a big smile was shown on his face.
"C'mon," He stood up, taking her hand. "I know a place."
Arabella was unsure and was intrigued by his sudden excitement. Even so, she still nodded to his invitation, she was often known for not trusting anyone easily, but still, she took the lantern, and followed along, even if he didn't mention where.
And they were off, they slowly walked down the dark halls of his house, only guided by the small, tiny light of the lantern.
They tried their best to keep their footsteps quiet, but every so often a small creak of the wooden floors or any random noise often sent chills down their spine.
Soon, they arrived at this small trap door near a giant portrait, Seo stopped short as he glanced, a beautiful woman painted through colors of brown and warm colors, a replica of his mother. He must've zoned out because when Arabella softly touched his shoulder, she looked concerned.
"You okay? You zoned out for quite a while." She whispered, clinging to the pin of her cloak.
When the realization struck him, he abruptly shook his head, waving the reason off.
"I'm fine," He responded.
There was a little tiny opening at the left side of the portrait, only for that opening small enough to fit a hand. Seo did quite a struggle trying to open it but it did not take long, however.
Soon, there was a flight of stairs, making its way downward. Although, it was not quite bright enough to see where it led. Arabella glanced at him for this reason, but he seemed sure of what he was doing so she just kept quiet. Seo went inside first, then went down a few steps when Arabella handed him the light.
"Careful," He warned as he stretched out his other hand to help her. "It's dark, so you might miss a step."
"Okay," Arabella mumbled.
After she went inside, Seo handed her the lantern and slowly closed the trapdoor, making the tunnel even darker.
"Let's go," He smiled.
Arabella was holding his hand since she didn't know the way in, and the vibe it gave was quite mysterious. The stairs were made in a curve, like a tower, and this made Arabella wonder how deep they were, and at the same time forgetting to consider that Seo's room was on the third floor and they only went down the other stairs once.
They soon arrived at what made a slightly deeper part, maybe it was the floor. Seo went down first, leaving a few steps for Arabella to go down behind.
"We're here, just be careful." He said.
Arabella nodded and as she came closer, Seo gestured his hand towards her as she went down, finally reaching the end.
"Woah.." she whispered under her breath.
An art studio, it seemed old yet new at the same time, like a painting that never seemed to get any ancient. It was like a dream, blue hues, easels, and canvases all over the place, even a set of paintbrushes kept in an organizer, and last, of all it was spacious.
As if an artist could have all the time and space in the world to paint whatever crossed their mind. Some paintings were covered though, adding a mysterious aura to the atmosphere.
"This is my mother's old art room, well, not anymore since it was given to my older brother then." Seo explained a weary smile on his face, trying to not contemplate his mother's passing.
"But he moved to another studio, nearer to his university. So it was passed on to me by my aunt since she didn't want all of this to just be abandoned."
"My brother told me I could use this if I ever wanted to take up art, but knowing myself I took an interest in a different kind of art."
Seo knows pretty well that he is the black sheep in his family, and that he was nothing similar. Unlike them, he took up dancing, which none of his ancestors took up. After all, he was adopted anyway. So, there was no way he was like any of them.
If it wasn't for Arabella, he wouldn't be so bewitched right now.
"Anyway," He grins, facing her as he offered a free hand. "Let's dance, shall we?"
YOU ARE READING
Little White Riding Hood
Ficção AdolescenteArabella is bad person. She kills people to live and that typically doesn't make her good, doesn't it? She tries her best, to play protagonist as much as she can, but can her job leave her some space for it? After all, trust was hard to display for...
