Leia

I

Another sleepless night led Alex zooming through the empty streets on his motorcycle. At least he wasn't staring blankly up at his ceiling.

He revved the engine, going even faster, wanting to pass the junction before the lights turned red. The wind rushed past him as he sped down the street.

He was about to make it when a car suddenly turned into his lane. No blinkers, no lights.

The person driving obviously didn't know what they were doing. He jammed the brakes and tried to swerve to avoid a collision. His bike skidded and he rushed to jump off before his legs scraped the floor together with it.

He landed by the curb, his bike skidded to a stop a few meters from him. He was lucky to get away with just a few scrapes here and there.

The car had stopped a short distance away and the driver's door opened. Alex was expecting some drunk old man to step out, or something of the sort, not her.

A girl still in her pyjamas rushed over to him, frantic and close to tears. She looked like she was the one that got hit.

His anger vanished as she scrambled over, squatting beside him to check his wounds.

"A-are you o-okay?" She managed to get out, looking up at him with beady eyes. "Are y-you hurt?"

He let out a sigh, this girl doesn't look like she should be anywhere near a steering wheel. "Are you?" He asked.

His eyes scanned her over, making sure there were no scrapes or bruises. At least she was okay.

She sniffled and shook her head. Her eyes scanned down, still concerned about him. The tears she was trying to keep in started to flow down her cheeks at the sight of blood dripping down his arm.

Alex blinked at her, surprised by her sudden tears. He couldn't help but comfort her, reaching over to wipe her tears away. "What's wrong princess?" He asked, not recognising the softness in his own voice.

"Y-you're hurt."

He glanced down at his arm which didn't really hurt that bad. "I'm okay, it's not as bad as it looks." He told her, moving to brush her hair out of her teary face.

She shook her head, her hair getting even messier. "N-no! It's bleeding, we need to clean it."

He let out a sigh, "why don't you get home princess, it's getting late. I can clean it up myself, no big deal."

She shook her head again and jumped up, seemingly suddenly remembered something. "There's a first aid kit in the car, I can clean it for you." She said, offering her hand to help him stand.

He stared up at her for a second before reaching up to place his hand in hers. He pushed himself off the floor, making sure not to pull on her hand.

Once he was up, she tugged him along to the car. Alex watched the back of her head, her black curls slightly bouncing on her shoulders as she walked. She was small, barely reaching his shoulders, and her hands were tiny compared to his, pulling him along.

What was she doing out here in the middle of the night?

She let go of his hand to open the boot of the car, glancing back at him before patting the empty spot for him to sit.

He did as he was told as she pulled out the first aid kit. She got busy pulling out the alcohol swabs and bandages and he watched her work.

"Sweetheart, why are you out here in the middle of the night?"

Her eyes found his before quickly glancing away. She mumbled something he couldn't hear.

He leaned down, placing his face in front of hers to meet her eyes, raising his eyebrow for her to repeat herself. "I was running away." She meekly admitted.

His brows furrowed together. Was she in danger ?

Seeing the his reaction, she rushed to explain herself. "My parents said I wouldn't be able to survive a day alone and I got upset so I took the car and just left."

He let out a sigh and straightened up, leaning back on his hands. "You could have gotten really hurt you know?"

She let out a sniffle and nodded a little before choking out an apology. His heart clenched at how she was acting, head drooped and close to tears. "Hey, don't cry princess, it's okay." The unfamiliar softness was back as he tried to comfort her.

He reached over once again to wipe the tears from her eyes which kept flowing. Alex hopped down from the boot and before he knew it, he was pulling her into him.

"Nothing bad happened right? Everything's okay." He continued to smooth her as his arms wrapped around her tiny frame. Her face was pressed into his chest and her arms were slowly making their way around his waist.

His hand reached up to the back of her head, his thumb rubbing soothing circles behind her ear. He could his shirt getting wetter from her tears but he didn't mind.

After a while her breathing stabilised and the tears stopped. His arms around her were comforting, it made her feel like that night wasn't such a disaster. She's never really been by herself, let alone driving off in the middle of the night and managing to crash into someone.

She wiggled a little in his arms, moving her head to look up at him. Her parents always said that strangers were dangerous, but he doesn't seem dangerous. He's helped her even when she hit him and he's comforting her when she cried.

Alex flashed a small smile at her as she peeked up at him before letting her out of his arms. "Feeling better?" He asked as her arms reluctantly unwrapped from him.

She nodded, staring at him for a second longer before quickly going back to the alcohol swabs. He angled his arm for her to reach the wound better as she turned back to him. "This might hurt a little." She warned.

He nodded, "I'll be okay." Then she got to work, gently dabbing the swab around his wound, cleaning up the dried blood and dirt.

He watched her concentrating, trying her best to make it as painless as possible. Before long she taped some bandages over it and was done.

She beamed at him proudly and he couldn't help but chuckle. "Thank you princess, you did a great job." Her cheeks turned pink as she looked away, busying herself with packing up.

After everything that's happened, she was beyond exhausted. She let out a yawn and rubbed her tired eyes.

"Let's get you home now, okay?" Alex asked as he watched her. Her eyes widened and she shook her head vigorously. "No! I can't go home." She exclaimed, earning raised eyebrows from him.

"Your parents are going to be worried when they find out you're gone." He tried to explain to her. She shook her head again, saying she left them a note which said she'd be back in the morning.

He sighed, "where were you planning to spend the night?"

She shrugged. She had no plan, doesn't look like she has any money on her and her pyjamas were just screaming for creepy old men to attack her.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home sweetheart? You'll be back even before your parents realise you left, you won't get in any trouble." He tried to convince her one more time and again she shook her head.

"No, I want to show them that I can do things alone."

He sighed, it doesn't look like she was going to change her mind. "Okay then, let's go. No more driving for you." He ushered her to the passenger side and opened the door for her to get in.

"Go where?"

He moved to buckle her in before answering, "I'm taking you to my house." He shut the door and walked to the driver seat mumbling to himself, "it's better than leaving you out here on the streets."