New Romantics

Chapter 1

I could be out there doing things and meeting people. Instead, I'm stuck inside totally not prepared for this exam on Monday.

"Aria, I will tutor you every single day for the rest of the semester," Amit promised. "I'm not letting you give up."

"Thank you." I smiled at my friend through the camera, thanking my lucky stars for being in the same freshman introductory biology lab two years ago. Upstairs, another round of boisterous cheers shook the ceiling, followed by,

"Go! Go! Go!" 

I rolled my eyes. At least someone was having fun tonight. Unceremoniously shutting my textbook, I raised my arms over my head in a stretch as a fresh wave of exhaustion consumed me. I couldn't shove any more chemistry in my brain if I tried. Besides, there was a new chapter of Betting the Billionaire Vampire waiting for me on my iPad.

"Listen, Amit. I think it's time we call it a night."

Shouts from somewhere outside echoed through my window, followed by heavy footsteps from upstairs. "Are you sure?" Amit asked.

Another violent rattle, this time much louder and closer.

Running my hands through my hair, I said, "Yeah, I—oh my god!"

It happened so fast, I thought I was hallucinating. One moment, I leaned over my desk as I spoke to Amit, ready to close the drapes and snuggle into bed with my story, and the next, a very big, very human-looking mass dropped from the sky like a shooting star and crashed onto the small four by four balcony right in front of me with a deafening crunch.

What the fuck was that?!

"What was that sound?" Amit shouted.

Jumping out of my seat, I couldn't believe my eyes. The stranger lay face down and motionless on the carpeted concrete, a backward baseball cap halfway off of his blonde head, arms, and legs starfished out around him, a broken beer bottle right next to him. Exhaustion evaporated from my body, and panic ensued. Oh, shit. He looked dead. Like very, very, very dead.

"I–I'm going to have to call you back!"

I slammed my laptop shut without a goodbye, and dove at the window, not before grabbing a stray hanger from the floor. "Hello?" I shouted, pushing the screen up and leaning out onto the balcony. "Hello?" A prod of the hanger. Nothing. Fuck. Another prod. "Please be alive..."

"Oh, I'm alive," the body said in a sing-song voice.

The scream that tore from my throat didn't sound human.

The not-dead body lifted his head, eyes narrowed with a mixture of confusion and irritation. "Why are you screaming?"

Clamping a hand over my mouth, I forced myself to breathe. Okay! He's alive! That's great! I think I'm having a heart attack! "Because you—where did you come from?" I wheezed, my heart pounding in my chest. As the second round of shock settled into my brain, I realized I knew exactly where he came from.

Leo Aldridge came from upstairs. He was my neighbor. And he was drunk. And he was—oh, no, he was bleeding.

Bright red blood stained the corner of his mouth, and he blinked once, then twice, and asked, "Do I know you?" He didn't wait for me to answer and looked up at the open window feet above us. "What are you doing here?"

I shook my head. I couldn't believe this was really happening. "What am I doing here? You're on my balcony."

Leo tilted his chin. "This is my balcony."

"This is definitely not your balcony." I pointed to the open window and the music that blasted out of it, not one concerned spectator in sight. "You don't have one. That's your window up there."

Leo dissolved into a fit of drunken laughter. "Damn! I did not get as far as I wanted to go."

Horrified, I asked. "Wait. You jumped out of the window?"

Propping onto his elbows, Leo looked at me with bleary eyes and an expression that said, are you even listening to what I said? Readjusting his hat, he absently wiped at the blood on his mouth with the collar of his shirt. "I was aiming for the porch."

"Why?"

"Why not? Daniel said I couldn't do it. I bet him two-hundred bucks."

My mouth dropped open. This was all so bizarre. But at least he wasn't hurt. "Looks like you owe Daniel two-hundred bucks."

Leo's eyes widened and he rolled onto his back, cursing. "You can't tell him I missed." He quickly flipped around, eyes pleading as he asked, "You're not going to tell, right?"

Raising my hands in surrender, I said, "I wouldn't even know what to say if I did."

He nodded, satisfied with my answer, and suddenly, gone was the puppy-dog-like drunken innocence, and something akin to a smolder appeared on his face. "So, how are you?"

An exasperated laugh. "I don't know how to answer that."

"What's your name?"

You know my name. I've dropped off your mail three times now. "Aria."

"Aria," he said. "Nice. Well, Aria, I hope you have a good night."

"Are you going to get down?" I asked slowly, looking over my shoulder for help, but none obviously there. Where was Sasha? Closing his eyes, Leo rolled onto his back again and I cringed when he settled too close to the broken beer bottle to his left, a satisfied sigh escaping his lips.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you're on my balcony!" I took a deep breath and leveled my tone. Drunk people were like wild animals. You needed to be careful; anything could set them off, and that would mean a world of hurt for both parties. "You need to go back to your apartment."

He cracked an eye open and looked at me. "If you didn't notice, I'm drunk."

"Oh, I noticed!"

"Well, Aria, that means it's dangerous for me to climb off your balcony and into the courtyard. I could get hurt."

But you just tried to jump! I wanted to scream. Instead, I smoothed my bangs and threw the hanger back behind me, anticipation making me twitch. I'd only have one shot of doing this right. "You can climb in through my window and go back upstairs."

Leo grinned. "Do you always let strangers in through your window, Aria?"

Amusement flickered through me. "Only the cute ones."

He raised his eyebrows. "You think I'm cute?"

Laughing, I crossed my arms over my chest and peered up at the empty window of his apartment. The partygoers below us didn't seem to care, either. "Yes. Now, come on. Let's get you back to your apartment before your friends start missing you. Okay?"

He looked at me with starlight blue eyes and grinned. "Aye-aye, Captain."

There were many things a person could do on a Saturday night at Oracle University.

Standing at my window, I was happy that out of everything a person could do at OU, Leo Aldridge decided to hang out on my balcony.

♡ ♡ ♡

What would you do if a handsome stranger quite literally fell into your life? Let me know! Don't forget to vote if you enjoyed the first chapter! :)