Up in Flames (Flames #1)

Two

The mechanical beeping of my alarm pulls me quickly out of a fitful sleep, and I sit straight up in bed immediately my eyes searching the darkness. My heart feels like it's about to beat out of my chest as I check every surface with my eyes, the beeping fading into the background with my inspection at the forefront of my mind.

"Can you turn that bloody thing off?" 

A loud bang on the door next to me makes me jump, and I reach over to turn off my alarm as I shake in the relative silence. Cars zoom gleefully through the mostly empty streets, slurring voices screaming a mix of expletives and compliments without a care for the tenants sleeping inside the building. A grumble comes through the wall on my left where the banging was moments before. A snore soon echoes throughout my room, telling of a fast retreat to unconsciousness for my neighbour.

I take a deep breath, turning to my bedside clock to see the time blinking back at me - 5.30. Heaving out a huge sigh, I stand up and stretch, my shoulder and neck clicking as I make my way to my dresser. I avoid looking at my face as much as possible as I begin with primer, focusing mostly on the space above my shoulder rather than looking at the skin spread thinly across my face and neck. Apply, rinse, repeat. I reach for the brushes and spend the next two hours getting lost in the artwork I'm to become.

It feels like almost no time has passed before the alarm on my phone is  telling me it's 7.30 and I should leave home now if I'm to meet Tali at 8. Tali. A grin spreads across my face without my conscious control as I think that I finally have someone to meet - someone to see each day, to laugh with, to send funny photos to. I may have found a person - someone just for me, not tainted by my past or family. Someone to look at me with fresh eyes.

I grab the bag I had packed last night and head out of my door, carefully locking the door before skipping down the stairs and out the front door of the building. Thankfully the street is quiet today, and I make my way across the park and towards campus without any horrid smells or unwanted attention. I lift my head up as I walk, enjoying the feel of the sun on my skin and the sound of grass squelching under my sneakers. 

The half hour walk flies by and soon enough I'm on campus, waiting by a little café for Tali to appear. I see the back of her head before I see her face; the wispy strands glowing golden in the morning sunlight as she turns her head rapidly, her hair flying everywhere as she tries to work out where she's going. I'm just about to call out her name and draw her attention towards me when another voice beats me to it.

"Really, Tali, I can't believe you actually got stuck with Mum's sense of direction. I always figured you'd grow out of it."

The dark haired boy from yesterday - her brother - steps fully out from inside a car parked on the street behind the café. Tali turns around, her hands on her hips, and begins speaking to him rapidly but her words are a lost cause to me. My attention is hyper focused on this boy, this ray of sunshine personified who has fallen straight into my lap.

He rolls his eyes good naturedly as Tali keeps speaking to him, his eyes seeming to glimmer with mischief even from as far away as I am. He shuts the door with one hand, keeping his body turned towards Tali as she steps towards him. He casually leans on the top of the car, his right bicep flexes as he leans his weight on it on top of the car, and my eyes are immediately drawn to the muscle. I've never looked at an upper arm so intently before, but it's like my eyes are completely transfixed beyond any neurological control I may be able to exert.

"Lyla! Come over here, girl!" Tali's exuberant voice draws me out of my trance, and I quickly make my way over to her. At this point she's smiling at me widely, and I feel like if I smile any larger myself then I may just strain a muscle permanently. I haven't smiled this big in recent memory, perhaps ever. As I walk towards her my gait feels easy and fluent, as if my feet barely need to touch the ground to get me to where I want to go. It's such a different feeling than the heavy, weighted steps I'm used to that I take a moment to ravel in it.