arizona // hemmings

CH. I

My mother always told me that one day I would meet a beautiful girl who would make my heart pound, my stomach flutter, and my head spin. Someone who I would love, and would love me. I once thought that I had met her, but I guess I was wrong. She was a beautiful girl, yes, and she did way more than make my heart pound. But the thing is, she had no preference of love.

APRIL 26, 2014

"C'mon, Luke, you can find loads of hot chicks at the library." Calum whined, pulling on my arm.

"That sounds like a bullshit excuse just to go to the library. Face it, Cal, you're a fucking nerd." I laughed. After hearing that, he hit me in the arm. I groaned and rubbed the area that hurt.

"Fuck, man, I think it's beginning to bruise." Calum laughed, and grabbed his keys.

"Whether you like it or not, we're going. I seriously need to turn in this book, it's way overdue."

"Fine."

//

I walked in behind Calum, and we changed paths once he walked up to the counter to hit on some girl. I went through the tall shelves of books, stopping in my tracks. A little book caught my eye: The Portrait of a Lady. Calum has told me about this book before. I took it from the shelf, analyzing the front cover, and turning it to the back. I opened a random page, and began reading a highlighted passage.

“I am very tired. You said just now that pain is not the deepest thing. No—no. But it is very deep. If I could stay—”
“For me you will always be here,” she softly interrupted. It was easy to interrupt him.
But he went on, after a moment—
“It passes, after all; it’s passing now. But love remains. I don’t know why we should suffer so much. Perhaps I shall find out. There are many things in life; you are very young.”

I closed the book and placed it back on its original place. I looked around for Calum, and found that he was still hitting on the girl at the counter. I figured that I could wait for him outside, and walked out the door.

Rain was pouring, and I cursed under my breath. I pulled my jacket closer around me, hoping that it would keep me warmer. I glanced to my left, finding a girl stood under the roof. She shivered, struggling to light her cigarette. I examined her, her face, her body. She was fairly little, being probably 20 cm shorter than me. I looked at her face, and damn.

Calling her beautiful is an understatement.

When she caught me staring, she took the cigarette out of her mouth and said, "Want a cigarette?" Cigarettes seem harmless but then again so did you.

"No, no thanks. I don't smoke," I chuckled. She raised a brow and extended her arm.

"Here." She said, handing her cigarette to me. The last time I smoked was year 9. I've nearly forgotten how to smoke, anyway.

I took it from her, and took a drag, blowing out a puff of smoke. I handed it back to her, smiling lightly.

"You read?" She asked.

"No, not really. I'm here waiting for a friend. He's just flirting with the girl at the front desk."

"Ah, him. He does that every time he comes here." She blew out one last cloud of smoke and dropped her cigarette to the ground, stepping on it.

She inhaled sharply. "So what's your name?"

"Luke."

"Luke what?"

"Luke Hemmings."

She smiled, putting her hand out. "Arizona Banks."

I shook her hand, smiling back.

—

a/n -

i hope you guys understand the story..

so basically the bold is the present, and the non bold is like when the story happened

so yeah, thanks for reading :))))