Odd Shoes [GirlxGirl]

Running in Odd Shoes

         I was wearing odd shoes. I was wearing odd shoes and I  was running- two things that were very out of character for me. The  wind was bitter, nipping at the bare skin of my ankles where my trousers  rode up as I ran. The cold was harsh against my lungs as I breathed  rapidly. I tried to remember what it felt like to be able to  breathe without feeling as if I were on the brink of death. Did physical exercise make me melodramatic or was I always like that? I couldn't recall, because running was rendering me completely unable to think. I  was never doing it again.

I cursed under my breath as I skidded around a corner, almost tripping over a loose paving slab as I went. The building was in  sight. A sigh of relief shuddered its way through my body, escaping my  mouth in a curling cloud of white. My way was lit only by the struggling  lampposts scattered up and down the street. The stars were almost invisible in the city's sky, pinpricks of scintillating light against a blanket of inky darkness. Sometimes I missed seeing them shining  properly- brightly. I shook my head of the unwanted sentimentality and continued running.

The doors were wide open, light spilling out  like a golden carpet inviting me in. Silhouettes of visitors, old and young, stretched across the curtained windows. It looked busy. I took the steps two at a time when I reached them, almost tripping at the last step. I checked to make sure nobody had been around to see me. They hadn't. I readjusted my shirt and patted down my  hair, hoping I wasn't a completely irredeemable mess.

The steady murmur of chit-chat reached my  ears. I took a deep breath, swallowing down the sudden anxiety that was bubbling up in my stomach.  Usually, I would've turned away. I would've gone back to my flat and made myself comfortable in there instead. But I was doing this for my best friend. I surged in with faux confidence before I could change my mind, ignoring the few stares that followed. There were always stares, anyway. I was used to it by now.

The hall was bigger than I expected. It was  well lit, with a tall ceiling and hanging lights. A table full of food and expensive wines lined the  wall off to the left. People gathered around it, conversing politely and clinking glasses. The wall opposite was decorated with eye-catching, colourful works of art.

I found myself drawn towards them, taking step after step towards the one in the middle of the wall, one I already knew the story behind. Two figures sitting side by side on a  tree branch, legs dangling over the edge, hands grasped tightly. One  figure was a young boy with messy brown hair. The other was a young girl with tangled brown curls, loose ribbon almost flying free from her hair in the wind. Both children were wearing odd shoes, with red laces. The lace from the girl's right shoe was tied to the lace from the boy's left shoe. Soulmates. That was what the painting was called. I knew without even checking the label. Soulmates.

"Elle."

A familiar voice came from my right. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of dark hair shimmering beneath the artificial lights. His eyes, even darker than his hair, met mine before I could look away. I turned to face him.

"Hey, Luis," I sighed, smiling gently.

"Hey," he replied, bringing me in for a quick hug.

"You're looking very dapper tonight." I tugged at the collar of his shirt after pulling away from him. He shrugged, pink dusting his cheeks as he attempted to act nonchalant. "You've even done your hair!"

"I hate all this dressing up stuff," he huffed, brushing my hand away. He dropped his hands to his sides before shoving them deep in his pockets, a posture that seemed to make him feel more comfortable. "Wouldn't do it if it weren't for Matthew."

I laughed. "He can be pretty persuasive."

Luis hummed in agreement. I linked my arm with his and sidestepped so we were facing the next painting. A boy, with brown curls and shocking blue eyes, stood in the centre, reaching his arms out at each side. Gripping one hand was a girl with brown curls and intricate blue veins dancing beneath the pale skin of her left cheek. The other hand was held by a boy with dark hair and darker eyes. Now, the boy with blue eyes had two red laces- one attached to each person. Love isn't finite. That's what the painting was called.