Not A Happenstance » Alex Turner [On HOLD]

2013: Call It Fate, Call It Karma.

A colorful poster on the other side of the street easily caught my attention, and I watched it glowing at me with his colors reminding me of autumn, in a heart warming way in between the gloominess of a European winter. To be a bit more specific, a British winter. Growing up here was quite enough to state  that this season of the year was the most nostalgic, oppressive, dull time. It was the holiday season on the other hand; but not for me. The only reason I came back was another bunch of concerts awaiting for us, and today was the day in between them. So, I came out to say hello to London and hopefully dashing interviewer of mine, who had to wait for me just after the corner. 

A warmth and a mix of smells were telling me about being close to the meeting place. My fingers wrapped around the handle, pulling the door at me and I walked in, almost hitting into the couple which was leaving the place. I was too out of the real world or just as always too awkward to babble out "I'm sorry." I just shook my head to clear my mind out and kept on looking around. I wasn't sure what was I looking around for, but in a seconds I recognized her, waving at me.

"Hello." She told me when I sat down in front of a kind of shortish table she got for us. "Amber Dean, NME"

"Alex Turner, Arctic Monkeys, love." It needed a second for that stupid miserable smile of mine to fade away until I realized I already slipped on my own word. "I meant, Amber, yeah."

Talking about Amber Dean, the first thing that would definitely attract your eye was her sweater, which fitted her no better than a sack, reminding me of bees by its' yellow and black stripes. Or, I was supposed to say, that the only one thing that you would definitely remember about her was Amber's orange-brown hair, and perhaps..

"Alex?" Her voice brought me back to reality.

"Repeat the question, please." My politeness was kind of sickening in that second.

"Your band grew this year, insanely fast. What exactly lead you to this kind of success?" She lightens up with a smile after the last word.

"Ah." I sighed out of ideas for an answer. "Call it fate, call it karma."

She looked at me over her glasses, flashing that strange little smile again, with her fingers holding up the pen tightly as she wrote down something.

"Can I hear it?" Now was my turn to award her with a grin.

"Kicked out of his daydreams, perhaps, about his non-existing fantasy of a young lady that drew most of us wish we were her, Arabella, Alex's eyes hiding some kind of charm behind, gave me a captivating glare followed by a simple answer "Call it fate, call it karma". He said, addressing us to the legendary band; The Strokes. In this way surrounding himself under cover of darkness he gets us back to that tempting picture of a mysterious lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys, without revealing a tiny bit of his spectacular mind."  She hunched her shoulders with an ending word, a bit shy, I might say.

"Your style is well capturing, missis Dean. " I laughed lighthearted.

"Just a bit of that and that, nothing too individual." She fixed her hair, pulling it behind her ear, taking her glasses off.

I followed her, putting my sunglasses from my pocket to the table, next to her hand with a pack of Marlboro.

"Just between us, I'm more of Taken for A Fool than Under Cover Of Darkness." 

She pushed her notebook away, like saying that the interview can wait. "Taken in this way, I'm just a What Ever Happened."

I pulled out one cigarette, rolling it between my fingers, catching myself looking through the window again. I stood up, and her face fell into that strange look what has every person which felt left out or confused and maybe a bit disappointed.

"This could easily make us Partners In Crime, don't you think this way, love?" I didn't shut myself again from saying the L word, stupid, stupid me. 

I stretched my hand at her, inviting her to go out to the evening London for a smoke, and when her fingers almost got into my palm, she grabbed her bag, her coat and leaving the rest turned to the exit. I felt my eyebrows furrowing, and before following her I just took her and my glasses, walking out to the smoky air of my motherland.

She would step in front of me, always. I wasn't one of the fast boys, I was a guy that would be rather a drunk uncle at your wedding than a sports guy. She didn't write more into her notebook, but she kept asking. It was remarkable, thinking of what a great memory she had to have compared to mine. She just listened to me, saving my answer somewhere inside her red haired head, when I needed a bit more than ten sticky notes and a few random reminders just to remember to meet her.

"That's it?" I asked her when she suddenly went silent after my last answer. 

"You wanna know how I will end up the article?" She looked down, her finger pushed  the frame of her glasses up her nose. 

I said nothing, just nodded.

"He might say he's just Taken For A Fool, but don't fool yourself. Undoubtedly, Alex Turner is Barely Legal." 

"Well, aren't you the girl of references, Amber?" 

"Just like you are the guy to write books about, Alex." She stuttered, her cheeks painted in a soft red, turning her face away from me. "Well, this is my hotel, so, goodbye, Turner."

She walked away, leaving me here all out the real world again. I wasn't the guy to react to social situations right, but I knew one thing for sure - a cup of coffee with her sounded more than seductive and it made me take huge steps towards her, without reminding myself of a risk.

Then my hand landed on her shoulder, and my mind flashed backwards, four years ago. To the spot, where my life happened to be hanging on a thread, threatening to end. To the spot where I couldn't be the same since I opened up my eyes.

And now, when she looked at me with a question mark all over her face, I knew; she was her. Amber Dean was her. I had to run away.

"I just wanted to say, that I can't wait until magazine will reach my hands." She smiled at me again, and carried on her way. 

I desired to feel relieved that, this is the ending of nothing, the ending of I only knew what could happen. I should've been eased by the thought, that I let the love of my life go, but I couldn't.

[A/N Some clarity will come up in the future chapters, so please don't think that I just made Alex into some insane guy that gets obsessed over the person he sees for the first time!]