Leon awoke the next morning feeling homesick. He much preferred the sounds of a busy city to the crashing of distant waves on the shore. He climbed out of his sleeping bag, rolling it up. As Leon began to brush his teeth, he walked over to the fridge. Putting his hand on the door, he paused before opening it up. He stared blankly not really sure of what to think of the now empty space between his fridge and kitchen counter. Finally, it sunk in. Leon’s arms dropped to his side. Someone had stolen his stove.
After a quick bowl of cereal, Leon used what he had left of his money to buy himself something essential to any training athlete: a brand new stereo to work out to. After a quick workout, it was soon time for his first day of work. Unfortunately, the hours at work crawled by slowly; making everything Leon did seem completely pointless. He knew he had to work harder to get a promotion.
Soon enough, the clock struck 9, and Leon was released with barely any money to show off his hard work. Rubbing his neck, Leon looked over Sunset Valley from the front of the stadium. He needed fun- and he needed it now. He hailed a taxi and climbed into the backseat.
“Where to?” the driver asked. Leon sighed and scratched his head.
“How about . . . a gym?” Leon said finally. The driver nodded and the car slowly began to inch forward. If Leon was going to have any fun in this new town he first was going to need to get some friends.
As the taxi slowed to a halt in front of a foreign building Leon gave his money to the driver. He climbed out of the taxi and began walking towards what he assumed to be the front doors, looking the building up and down. Leon stopped in front of the doors, looking through the glass at the ugly teal walls. Leon smiled optimistically.
“And now to socialize,” he stopped, taking a deep breath. The door of the gym swung open, and a slim figure strolled past him angrily.
Time stopped, and so did Leon’s thoughts. Leaving the gym was a girl unlike anyone Leon had ever seen before. Her bobbed, shoulder-length, auburn hair glistened in the glow of the moonlight. Her breathtaking dark mahogany eyes shimmered with spunk. There was something about her that Leon found breath taking, and when he turned around to talk to her she was nowhere to be found. He knew he had to find her somehow, no matter how long it took. And when he did he had to have her. She looked as though she as everything he had dreamed of- the being of his imagination- and he had no idea why. Leon sighed and turned back toward the gym. No use in trying to find her when it was already close to 11 o’clock at night.
He opened the door to the gym and waltzed in. Looking around, he spotted one person: an angry-looking man with messy spiked brown hair who was wearing a lab coat. Leon shrugged and walked over to the man.
“Excuse me,” Leon said, “I’m new here and I wondered if you could help me out?”
The man raised his eyebrow at Leon and rolled his eyes. “Well it’s probably just like any other gym, I’d assume.” He muttered sarcastically.
Leon forced a laugh to try and hide the scowl that immediately came to his face. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Leon looked at the man and extended his hand with a smile practically attached to it. “Leon.”
“Lain.” The man said skeptically. “Lain Blair.” Lain reached out and shook Leon’s stiff hand.
“Where are you from?” Leon asked, trying even more to break the ice.
“I was born and raised here, Sunset.” Lain began. “Actually, all of my family resided after my great-great grandfather moved out here to be an inventor. You might see him around sometime if he comes to visit- he’s about my age. He’s a vampire, you see. All of my family, including my Vamp Grandpa, moved to Appaloosa about a month ago, though.” Leon smiled and nodded, wondering why such a simple question was answered with an anecdote of the Blair Family History. “What about you?” Lain asked.
“I’m from Bridgeport.” Leon replied. Lain nodded, smiling a bit.
“That’s cool.” The room became silent, and the silence soon became awkward. Lain just stood there staring at Leon with a half smile, waiting for him to ask another question.
Leon’s anger was really starting to get to him. “I moved here to become a professional athlete, actually.” Leon forced a smiled. “What about you? Tell me about yourself Lain.” Lain smiled as if he thought Leon would’ve never asked. The two began talking into the night, Lain especially. Before Leon knew it, it was close to 2:00 a.m. and he hadn’t even touched the exercise equipment. After a while, Leon dismissed himself from the conversation and finally got around to working out, pocketing a single new friend.
The next morning, Leon awoke home feeling as if he hadn’t rested at all. After a long night, he was exhausted. But he dragged himself into work barely on time only to leave later that night with no more than a few extra dollars in his wallet. Feeling adventurous, Leon decided to take a cab into town to explore during the night.
First stop: City Park. Leon really wanted to see if there were any good places to really lie down and watch the late night stars without distractions.
As Leon took his first steps into the park, he couldn’t help but notice someone who still managed to take his breath away. Leon made a beeline to the girl he had seen at the gym, walking as slow as he could before his excitement had completely filled his body. “Hey,” Leon said as he took his final steps, “I’m sorry but I have to know your name. You’re just way to beautiful.”
The girl laughed and then looked at Leon, slightly smirking. “Cool story, bro.” she said with a seductively mocking grin.
“Aw, c’mon,” Leon said taking a step in to get closer to her. The girl took a step back, raising an eyebrow at him.
“If you must know, it’s Bella.” She said.
“Well, Bella, I’m Leon.” Leon smiled at her.
Bella laughed again. “Sorry.” She said, holding up her right hand. “I’m married.” She smirked at Leon, lighting a fire of rage inside of him. He bit his tongue.
“To who, might I ask?” Leon bit his lip.
Bella turned away from him and looked back, “Lain Blair. Maybe you know him?” She turned her head, walking over to a nearby picnic table and sitting down. Leon followed, sitting down next to her. Suddenly she stood up, looking at Leon with her eyebrows raised in annoyance. “I’ve got to go.” She said, running off without another word. Leon stood up, wondering where she had gone. He bit his tongue and hailed a taxi home.
Great chapter! I can't believe his stove got stolen, poor guy. Although it cracked me up. lol I mean seriously, how do you steal a stove? And I'm so glad there's some type of conflict in this story with Bella being married to Lain. I thought it was going to be the typical boy-meets-girl-they-fall-in-love-get-married-live-happily-ever-after but I was pleasantly surprised.
I'm looking forward to how this will unfold! You're a great writer by the way :-)
Tommiegirl! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far- especially Bella's marriage! I have a record for writing stories and roleplays that are extremely melodramatic, and I really didn't want this story to be that way. So I wanted to start off this one as innocent as possible and then add gradually add in the drama. That being said, I hope you'll like the different stuff I have in mind for the upcoming chapter. :) And what fun would it be if they just met and got married right of the bat? haha
Also thanks! It's great to know that I'm good at something I enjoy! :)