("lol consecutive double update riiight ashley" yeah i know i suck but i don't really have an excuse for it so let's just get right down to it)
For a moment, she actually considered telling him. It was a good, long moment, too; in the time that it took for the Full House theme song to play, she thought about it. The benefits, the drawbacks, of just letting it all out for what would be barely the second time in her life. The only other person she'd ever told about her questionable upbringing and her strange origins was Kimmy, and that was because she was Kimmy. She was one of those friends that she knew would stand by her forever, without a hint of hesitation. Even then, it took Kimmy a long time to coax it out of her.
But the moment passed, and Aria settled back into the couch again, shaking her head slightly, "Nah. That's a story for another day. You need to earn it. Rose is my real name though. I just... don't like it as much? That's why I use Aria instead; it's my middle name," she then looked at her phone, and saw that she had several more notifications from her various social accounts; instagram, twitter, tumblr, and a few others. "Anyways--"
"Can I call you Rose?" Luke asked, and Aria stiffened a little, though she loved the way her real first name sounded, coming from his lips. Conflicted, she thought over it for a moment, but her mind soon drifted back to why she hated her name.
Once a few minutes had passed, and she realized that he was waiting for a response, she cleared her throat, "Why would you want to?"
Luke bit his lip, something that she found incredibly distracting, as both her thoughts and her eyes were drawn to his pale pink lips. "It just... I don't know. It suits you. At least, I think it does," he shrugged, and she could tell that his cheeks were heating up again, "But it's whatever. If you don't want me to call you Rose, that's fine too."
Aria stopped herself and thought again. I don't see any harm in it, she thought, I don't really see how something so harmless can backfire, either.
Maybe this would help her get used to it; her mother was never going to abide by her wish for her to be called literally anything but Rose. If she was desensitized to the sting that was accompanied by her real name, it wouldn't bother her anymore.
When she came back to reality, Luke was looking at her expectantly, and she nodded, "You can call me Rose," she ascertained, "But if you're going to call me Rose, don't call me Aria, ever. It's one or the other."
A smile sweeter than anything that she'd ever witnessed before spread across Luke's face, and her lips followed suit, seeming to curve upwards without her meaning to. His smile was contagious, that was for sure, "Rose," he spoke in an undertone, as if saying the name too loud would make her change her mind. Her heart fluttered in her chest, though she didn't know why. First her lips had gone against her will, now her heart. This kid was going to be trouble.
Once Luke had gotten settled in, and Aria-- now Rose, to him-- had brought over a few blankets from the hallway closet, they bid each other goodnight, and Aria went to her room.
The walls were black. Her sheets were a plain white, still disheveled and thrown about on the bed from the previous morning's awakening, and her pillow cases matched. This room was the only place she felt certain that she could be alone, but it was the plainest one in the house. Even the door was black, as if once you entered the room, you were entering a void. She liked it that way, though. It wasn't as if she'd had an overwhelming amount of people in her room, but she liked the effect it had on people. It made them think, something that many people didn't do often, these days.
Sometimes it freaked them out, which was pretty satisfying, as well.
After changing into her Sailor Moon PJs, which she still wore in childish abandon, she walked out into the hallway so that she could go to the kitchen again. The excuse she had was that she was going to get a bottle of water to keep by her bed, but she still secretly felt guilty about leaving Luke to sleep on the couch. If they'd been closer as friends, she probably would've offered up her bed, no problem. But that wasn't the case.
Convinced that she was being discreet, she felt her way into the kitchen-- this apartment got ridiculously dark during the night-- and opened the refrigerator. Groping around in the dark for the light switch, she flicked it on after a few seconds, and she glanced over her shoulder at Luke when she did.
Though his eyes were closed, and his breathing was slowed, she could tell that he was still awake. Aria couldn't help but smile a little at him; it was a ridiculous thought, but it was unavoidable. He could pass for an angel, looking the way he did. His black skinny jeans were draped over the side of the couch, leaving him only in his boxers and a loose-fitting white t-shirt. The way his pale lashes fluttered when they opened up to give her a look was enchanting, even though she wanted to die because oh god she'd just gotten caught staring at Luke while he was 'sleeping'.
She shook herself out of her daze, her cheeks burning pink, "I-I just came out to get a bottle of water," she lied, "If you need anything don't bother to ask. I mean unless I'm like, ridiculously unconscious. In which case, you can try, but I have no guarantees about waking up." There she went; babbling again.
Luke nodded and gave her a thumbs up, "Don't worry, I'm a professional little brother. I have ways of making people wake up," he stated wryly, winking at her and she rolled her eyes.
"Goodnight, Luke. Or morning. Or whatever."
•
"Rose. Rosie. Rosy-posy," she could get used to being called by her real name. Once he'd started calling her name in an attempt to wake her up, she'd woken up immediately. But she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction; she groaned and turned over in bed. "Hah, that rhymed a little. Rose, wake up."
"I can't believe how ridiculously unconscious I am," she stated, covering her face with a pillow.
Luke gave a sigh, "I'm sorry to do this, Rose. But you leave me no choice."
She was apprehensive, and felt a twinge in her stomach; what was he going to do? Cold water was out of the question, it seemed like the warm water never ran out in this apartment. That could only mean one thing...
"Oh god."
The words escaped her mouth too late, as his hands had already set to work on tickling her, on of his arms reaching around so that she couldn't get away. "Aw, come on Rosy. Give this up so that we can get our day started."
Their day? She liked the sound of that, but she sighed, trying to endure the tickling for a few moments longer. But to no avail, "I give, I give."
But he didn't stop, "You can't just say it. You've got to tap out. Like in wrestling. Tap out or I won't stop..."
The brunette groaned in between fits of laughter and desperate gasps for air, and then tapped on the mattress three times. Only then did the tickles stop.
Aria sat up slowly, brushing her hair out of her face with her hands, "'Our day', huh?" Luke nodded, and she smiled, despite her rude awakening, "What did you have in mind? Y'know, besides getting an inflatable mattress for you."
"Well," Luke began, his eyes that more resembled jewels than actual, human eyes glanced over at her, "First, we get dressed. Next, shopping. Then, we go sight-seeing. And by sight-seeing, I mean take me to the Eiffel Tower because I want to compare it to the real one someday."
"You assume I have money to take you there--" Aria started, and Luke put a finger to her lips.
"No. But I have money to take you there. Also, I have reservations."
"You what."
He simply chuckled, "Get dressed, Rose, we've got a long day ahead of us."
