for baltimore. /lh

0.1

on a particularly cloudy friday morning , a particularly gangly set of legs bounded their way up a creaky set of steps, passing them by two at a time. the owner of the pair of legs sported a passionate look of concentration, trying very hard not to trip and fall flat on the steep incline of the stairs. the figure came to an abrupt halt when a large, silvery door came into view, fumbling with the equally-silvery handle and eventually managing to miraculously get it to turn.

they were now sprinting down a carpeted hallway, searching for yet another particular door. when that door was located, another skidding stop was executed. however, seeing that the floor was carpeted, the stop was not executed very well, and limbs crumpled on top of each other. the door opened cautiously, a small girl peering out from the gap.

"luke?" the girl flung the door open, revealing a loose blue t-shirt and very ripped jeans. her bare feet softly nudged the crumpled mass of bones, checking for injuries. she heard a soft moan of pain float through the air. flicking a stray piece of dirty blonde hair out of her eyes, the girl reached down to help the gangly boy off the floor. he smiled sheepishly and accepted her outstretched hand. she grasped his wrist with both her hands, yanking him up off the floor in one giant tug. he was much larger than her, and his weight began to propel her backwards, until they both ended up on the floor. their noses would have touched if one of them made any slight movement of the head.

"hey soph," luke blushed furiously and flashed another sheepish grin, carefully lifting his broad frame off the body being crushed beneath him. he got to his knees, hopping up to his feet. scooping his petite friend from the ground, he dusted his black jeans off. sophie scowled up at him, readjusting her navy top.

"can't you ever just knock on my door? you always come crashing in. my entry rug does not appreciate it, and neither does my butt." she motioned to the crumpled piece of fabric just in front of the open door, while simultaneously rubbing her tailbone. luke blushed for the second time, mumbling an apology.

" well, i was trying to get here as fast as possible, because i happen to have extremely important news. like shit-your-pants important."

"LUKE!" the petite girl exclaimed, "profanity!" he rolled his eyes, ignoring her and flopping down on her navy blue couch. sophie had a very hard problem not buying anything she encountered that was navy blue. she adored the color, and thus had once even succumbed to buying a year's worth of toilet paper in the beloved shade. she was not proud of the moment, and anyone who brought up was given a swift glare.

"right, right," luke breathed in mild annoyance, "do you want to hear my news or not?" he folded his arms over his chest, giving her a questioning look. she sighed and nodded her head, padding over to the couch and flopping down next to him. "so," luke began, "i was talking to that cute redhead, you know her?" sophie scrunched up her nose, trying to remember the girl he was describing.

"sam?" she guessed, still unsure of who he was talking about."no, soph, oh god. we stopped talking ages ago."

in reality, sophie recalled that less than three weeks ago luke had sat on the exact same couch, endlessly (and a bit graphically) describing how hot he thought sam was. luke interrupted her thoughts.

"this girl's name is lea. remember? i introduced you two at that party the other day."

"oh, yeah. i remember her." lea had been all long legs and glittery green eyes, hanging off of luke's arm in an effortlessly cute ensemble. sophie had immediately liked her. "she was cute," she noted. luke nodded in agreement, eager to continue his important tale.

"so," he stated. " i was talking to lea, and you'll never guess what she told me." he paused, prompting his female companion to guess what he had been told.