never let me go

faye

rain splattered against the window, creating streaks of rain across the glass as she stared outside, coffee in her hands with her ballet shoes still on. her hair was loose on her shoulders, free of the tight bun and she wore a baggy, knitted jumper over a leotard dress. Beside her was a canvas rucksack, books, sketchbooks, spare ballet shoes and a camera spilling out across the ripped leather booth. her headphones were worn over her neck, and she gently stirred the coffee with the metal spoon, spilling the brown liquid across the wooden table. 

if you looked closely enough, you could see she found it difficult to breath. faint streaks of mascara ran down the sides of her face, and her eyes looked puffy and red. swallowing hard, she traced a finger over the rim of the cup before drawing it near her chapped lips. sipping it tentively, she placed it back down and sighed. ripples appeared at the cup of her coffee, and she watched in fascination before the door opened. 

the fragrance of the rain wafted inside the coffee shop, and she looked up. inside came a shy, slouched guy. wearing a knitted jumper, dirty white converse with books inside his messenger bag and thin spectacles-he looked different from the usual boys she meet. their eyes locked breifly, and she noted the slight heave of his chest as if he was running. his cheeks held a faint pink to them, and she broke the gaze by looking away. 

music was slowly blaring from her headphones, raising the high note before fading away. drumming her fingers against the table, she fought the urge to rip her hair out and sob in the palms of her hands. class had been shit for her. shouted at and being called useless, pathetic and ungraceful by her ballet instructor broke her apart-and after a good three years of putting up with her teacher's fucking bullshit, she had finally stood up for herself and screamed at her. 

of course, guilt washed through her veins but mostly relief grabbed the heavy weight of her heart. her principle statues of a dancer were stripped, and she stormed outside of the building with her chin raised up and students staring at her in bewilderement. but the minute she stepped outside, she collapsed on the floor as a mess and stumbled towards the coffee shop she had spent so many hours after class. 

her thoughts broke instantly like shattered glass when the guy shyly approached her, looking hesitant and she did her best not to look hostile. he stared at her for a second, at her mishappen appearance before slowly taking out a thick, dusty book. 

she noted the title of the book, and a faint smile crept to her face. when her teacher gave them breaks, she would always read. running out of the ballet academy and towards the library where she would curl up in the seats and read until her break was over. but those were old days. the smile vanished from her face. 

"are you okay?" his voice broke the train of thoughts swirling around her mind, and she tilted her head upwards. her mouth opened, and a stream of lies were about to flow out fluently when she decided against it. 

"no, actually. i think i might be broken" she whispered in a croaked voice. he stared at her for a moment, his eyes holding a faraway look as he chuckled softly. an understanding smile crept to his face, and she was glad that it didn't show sympathy. she hated being pitied at, it made her feel weak. and when she was weak, she was useless.

"i'm Forrest" he said simply. she smiled, noting that the name did suit him. his eyes were the shade of moss, clear and transculent. 

"i'm Faye" she whispered. and she hoped he was thinking that her name suited her as well.