A/N: This is just a short story that's been flying around my head. Vote of you like, guys! I won't bite. The beautiful cover is made by skeletons_ ! It's amazing, isn't it?
Copyright © Arielle Gentica Calañas
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“It is not safe to look into the future with eyes of fear.”
- Edward Harriman
United States of America
The day began like any other. Nothing was out of the ordinary. A young girl was sitting by herself in the lobby, inside one of the most prestigious buildings in New York City, waiting for her father. Her name was Lucy Grey. Mr. Grey had been working for a while now, and his teenage daughter hadn’t much to do but watch the adults work and walk by as she sat alone, tapping away on her phone, texting seven of her friends all at the same time.
She was extremely bored. A 17-year old wouldn’t really enjoy at the place but her dad had told her to wait, and Lucy was an obedient child. But still, she needed some fun. Impatient child that she was, she checked her watch for the umpteenth time. Eight in the morning.
“Great,” she muttered under her breath. What the hell am I supposed to do? she thought.
She didn’t receive the answer to her query until ten minutes later. A brooding boy of nineteen was making his way to the bench next to her. Lucy immediately became conscious of herself and sat much straighter, although she didn’t really think that the boy was intentionally seeking out her company. The bench next to her was the only empty seat, after all.
She pretended to be busy with texting as the guy sat to her right, bringing out his poison-green headphones. He didn’t say anything at all, didn’t even glance at her with his electric-blue eyes to meet her chocolate browns or said good morning. Lucy brushed her waist-long brown hair with disappointment. She came to the conclusion that she was wasting her time with him and paid him no attention of her own. She just found him cute and it’s a shame he didn't have much of people skills.
In the middle of texting her best friend a reply, her ears pricked up as she heard the lyrics of her favorite song. She would sing it everywhere – their home, at school with her friends, even to her parents. Discreet as much as possible, she leaned slightly to her right to know if that was the boy was listening to.
It was. Her favorite song. With renewed interest, she looked at him; he wasn’t looking at her and he was scowling slightly. The contrast between his alabaster white skin and dark hair was admirable but Lucy wondered more about his music taste.
She suddenly said, “I like them, too.”
He turned to her, surprised, and put his headphones down. “What?” he asked. He obviously didn’t hear her the first time. Lucy smiled, almost laughed and said, “I like Maroon 5, too.”
Surprise – warm, delighted surprise – instantly came upon the boy’s face. He smiled at her and said, “Oh, right,” then he continued saying with a flush of embarrassment, “I’m sorry I didn’t hear you. I’m Eric.” He offered his hand.
“Lucy.” she replied, and they shook hands.
Lucy and Eric talked and talked nonstop. They smiled, laughed and told each other completely different things. Needless to say, they had a lot of chemistry together, even if they were unaware of it themselves. Lucy couldn’t believe her luck and Eric Harrison thought she was an angel. They were a perfect fit, by all counts. Their conversation came to the point where he said, “So, err, you know I was thinking. Maybe we could…go out sometime?” He bit his lip, worried about her giving a negative answer, but Lucy chuckled and said, “Sure, I’d love that.”
But they would never do that. They wouldn’t be given a single chance. All the things they would’ve had shared together would turn to ashes. Lucy would’t even see her father forever and that was the first and last time she and Eric would meet. By 8:46 am, reality would be shattered.
It was September 11, 2001.
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A/N: Okay, if you don't get my story, I will really rawr at you. Seriously, who doesn't know that date? And this is just a one-shot! Feel free to comment, okay? Negative or positive, I don't care! (: (Well, actually I do, but I'm desperate for feedback.)
|February 11, 2014:| P.S. Hey, so I reread this and found the most embarrasing tense inconsistency all over the short story hahaha (well. I was 13, in my defense) and I'd just like you to know that I already fixed it :) Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! :) - A
