Chapter 1
She walked around the busy city, hiding from the brisk December air in her layers of clothing. Her long brown hair flowed behind her, thrown aimlessly around by the frigid wind whipping around her. Only her brown eyes peeked out from between her knit scarf and hat. Her fingertips were nearly purple due to the cold, as they hastily typed on her device, before putting it back into her bag. She had her skateboard with her, but she had been using it all day, and in the city, most of the streets were already iced over. As she continued to walk down the street, she turned the corner into her favorite bookstore, only to find that it was closed. Sighing, she turned on her heel and headed to the nearest building that could offer her any warmth. After walking for what seemed like hours, she stumbled into Starbucks, shaking from the winter weather, and exhausted from her day. Wiggling off her jacket, she sat down at a table, and pulled a book out of her bag. Flipping through the pages, she found her spot and began reading. Her dark eyes concentrated on the words, taking in every detail, every piece of ink of the page. Across the room, he concentrated on her as if he was the novel between her hands, taking her away from the outside world. As if he was the book between her hands, inked with all of her wildest dreams. As if he was the words on the page, intriguing her every thought. When he finally sat down across from her, she didn’t take notice. It wasn’t until he spoke up, that she was dragged out of her own world, and back to reality. “What are you reading?” he asked. She slowly closed the book, and placed it on the table. “Pride and Prejudice, who are you?” she shot back, putting her book back in her bag, and reaching for her skateboard. “I’m Harold, but you can call me Harry”. She offered a quick and polite smile, and stood from her seat. “Wait, what’s your name, and why are you leaving?” he asked. “ My name is Louise, but you can call me Lou, and i’m leaving, just because I know your name doesn’t mean I know you” “Ok? Would you like a ride home? I know we don’t know each other, but it’s getting colder” he said. “No, i’m perfectly capable of getting myself home, thank you.” she shot with a glare. He ran his fingers through his hair and stared briefly at the floor. “ I didn't mean...” he started before he looked up and saw she had already gone. For some reason he was so flustered over her reaction. She was beautiful, no, stunning, but that isn’t why he wanted to know her. He couldn’t deny her beauty, it was hard to ignore, but he just needed to know her, not romantically, but he needed to know who she was. From the moment he saw her, he sensed some sort of force in her, pulling him towards her.
He stood near the door, processing what had just happened. He sat back down at the table she had been at, and pushed back his messy brown hair again, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he was surprised her standing in front of him again. He blinked his emerald eyes, rubbing them to make sure he wasn’t going crazy. “ I forgot my drink.” She said. “I...I, I was just trying to have a conversation.. before, i mean” he said, the words tumbling out. Standing in front of him, was the most astonishing girl he had laid eyes on, and just being in her presence made him nervous. It reminded him of a book he had read once, maybe as a tween. “Because you are beautiful. I enjoy looking at beautiful people, and I decided a while ago not to deny myself the simpler pleasures of existence” It was a John Green book he remembered, The Fault In Our Stars. Before he could stop himself, he was quoting the words that were running through his mind. “I, I didn’t mean to do that I..” but she stopped him when she started laughing. He sat, uncomfortable, but taking in the beautiful sound. “What?” he asked. “ Nothing, that’s just the corniest book you could have chosen to quote. I mean really? John Green? We all know he kills them, either way, so what’s the point? And really I can’t believe you said that, it’s nice and all, but who do I think I am, some kind of model?” she chuckled, motioning to her skateboard. “Well, I mean..” he began. “Come on.” She cut him off and kicked the chair he was sitting on. “You can take me home”.
