where the light is. // l.h. au

. t h r e e .

"You get what you focus on, so focus on what you want."-Unknown

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"That'll be $18.23."

The beaming man on the other side of the counter handed me a wad of money and I flashed him a friendly smile. As I counted the bills I glanced up at him, my heart warming at the sight of him grinning at the thick bouquet of red roses in his arms. I entered the amount he gave me and the register beeped as it calculated the change. The drawer slid open and I put the money in its correct containers, the coins jingling in my hands before they did so in his. The man turned and walked quickly towards the exit, throwing a happy "thank you!" over his shoulder before the door closed behind him.

This is why I loved this flower shop. People came here to bring joy to their lovers, their families, their friends. It was an amazing feeling, watching admiration and excitement shine in their eyes as I introduced them to the beautiful bouquets that were organized in the shelves across the small store. Sometimes they would tell me who the gift was for, sometimes they wouldn't. Either way it was just as cute.

I had gotten here about an hour ago straight from dance, as always. I checked the analog clock that was hung above the register and it read half 11. I sighed, and as I did, my stomach grumbled a low growl. "Jeez." I spoke to myself, one hand flying to my stomach as it seemed to vibrate through its groans. I seemed to always be hungry. The stereotypes on the endless twitter accounts were true: a life of an athlete was definitely a hungry one.

I waited about 15 more minutes to catch any customers that wandered in before I was gonna go for my lunch break. None showed up, but just as I turned around to put my name tag back on the bulletin board, the door clicked open and a series of chimes jingled with it.

"We're closed, could you come back in about an hour?" I asked in a polite tone, still not turning around to face the customer.

I heard their footsteps approach the counter, and from the shadow being cast on the wall, they were tall.

"Um, I'm kinda desperate." The customer said. It was a boy, his voice deep but in a teen-ish way. An accent traced his words.

I sighed quietly and quickly, turning on my heel to face the stranger.

I was greeted by high cheekbones and a blonde quiff.

His eyes, which I had just now noticed were a bright and pure blue, grew big and he coughed shyly, obviously recognizing me.

My lips moved but my voice failed to exit my mouth momentarily until I managed a "Hi." And a small giggle.

"Hey." He breathed out, shooting me a straight teeth smile, and I noticed a small, shiny loop poking out of the side of his lip. A lip ring. I tore my stare away from it hoping he didn't notice. "Can I help you with something?" I asked, the same friendly way I do with everyone. It was the only way I knew how to treat people in this shop.

One long arm reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "It's my mum's birthday, I need to send her flowers. Do you guys ship bouquets or...?"

"Yes. Worldwide, fortunately." I flashed a small smile.

"Perfect. Can I just get a bouquet of yellow roses shipped to 5900 Floral Avenue, Sydney Australia, please?" He dug in his back pocket and pulled out a black leather wallet. Everything this kid owned was black.

I turned to the computer, typing in the order and the address into the usual form. The cursor moved to the name spot and it blinked a couple times as I stopped momentarily, realizing I didn't know his name. I turned to him again, his blue eyes cool and crisp. "What's your name?"

"Luke. Luke Hemmings."

I liked it. It suited him.

"Okay, Luke. That'll be $26 even."

He tossed a single hundred bill on the counter and shoved the wallet back into his pocket. Shoulda known he was rich, his dad's a world-renowned choreographer. And producer.

I picked the bill up between my thumb and forefinger, my other hand moving across the number keys before the machine beeped and the drawer slid open. I pulled out different bills, trying to get him the change the easiest way possible.

"Why yellow?" I asked, my eyes still focused on the drawer below me.

"What?"

"Why yellow roses? If you don't mind me asking." I looked up at him once I was done with the change. I shoved my arm out, the stack of bills warm between my fingers.

Our fingers touched momentarily as he took the money from me. He was looking behind me, seeming to think about his answer.

"Well, firstly, they're her favorite flower. She had a whole bush of 'em right outside her bedroom window in the house we first lived in. Man, she loved those things. She trimmed them, weeded them, watered them, fertilized them, whatever that plant needed she catered to it." He smiled, and a faraway look remained in his eyes. "I think she loved them because they were unusual. Everyone thinks of red roses, no one thinks about the yellow ones. We're alike in that way, I guess; we both like unusual things."

His gaze returned to me and the smile stayed on his lips.

"I like that story." My words were simple, but I think I chose them wisely.

He looked at the ground and chuckled slightly. "Me too."

"Have a nice day." I spoke, also chuckling a little. Why was I so smiley today?

His back was now facing me as he was walking towards the exit. "You too." But then he turned on his heel and his eyes met mine again. "Wait, I didn't catch your name....?"

"It's Wren." I bit back another toothy grin.

He flashed me one last white smile before he walked through the door. "See ya 'round, Wren."

The door clicked shut and the chimes jingled quietly.

~

The stone stairs were hard under my feet as they always were. I walked through the corridors of floor two and found that the boxes and bags were no longer there. I guess the new person has moved in now, officially. Yay, I guess?

I continued my way up the stairs, feeling too lazy to go talk to Emma right now. I dropped a glass vase full of dirty flower water at the shop and it took me a half hour to clean up, and then I had to wait for the subway to come on it's next scheduled time, which was way later than I needed it to be.

And plus, I was late to care for my orchids.

I walked quickly and quietly across my dark apartment and put everything away. I changed into comfy clothes quicker than normal and stepped swiftly out to my balcony. I did my normal care routine for the delicate flower and sighed, happy to be home for the day.

I hopped into bed and under my sheets. I grabbed my phone off my nightstand and my fingers moved across the screen, checking meaningless social media notifications and answering some texts from my mom.

I pressed the small create text icon and typed in Emma's name at the top.

"Hey. Your neighbor is official now. The bags and stuff are gone out of the hallway." I typed quickly and hit send.

"Ooooo. I haven't seen them. STILL HOPE ITS A GUY. ;-)"

I giggled to myself and set my phone back on the bedside table, rolling over and burying my face into a pillow. I was truly exhausted.

It was weird; usually all my days were exactly the same but today...today was different.

I think I liked different.

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a/n: hey so yeah this is chapter three, and luke and wren meet in this chapter :) hope you guys enjoyed, thank you for reading, it means a lot.

xox