Grey Skies, White Lies - Larina | [COMPLETE]

Chapter 1 | Smoky Bacon.

3rd September, 2009. That's when I first saw her.

Her (not so) innocent brown eyes and a smile built on naivety and grace, the way she spoke of the chapters in her life she'd written off and the new beginnings she longed for and the journeys she wished she so deeply craved to forget. The complexity of her 24 year old mind left me with no end of curiosity. I wanted to know her.

"Looking for something?" She said, her pupils gleaming directly at me.

I turned to face her, she was around 5ft 6, a few inches shorter than me, 3 to be specific.

"Uhhh - chips?" I asked her, the heat of the moment and my overwhelming confusion clearly biting my tongue.

She giggled slightly, perhaps uneasily at the sound of my West-American coast accent and clearly, my dialect. "You mean frozen potatoes, or crisps?" She asked.

I shook my head and laughed slightly too. "Crisps." I said, mimicking her British accent.

I've been living in London for 3 months by now, yet the British accent never quite swooned me the way her's did.

Walking up the aisle, she didn't even beckon me to follow, I just did.

"Here we have the best and British flavours you can find in all of Trafalgar Square!" She giggled, flaring her arms out as if to present them to me.

"Thanks." I smiled, proceeding to analyse the flavours of "crisps" in front of me.

"New here?" She suggested, softly leaning her head side-ways against the wall and carefully watching my choices.

"3 months." I replied, running my fingers across the Smoky Bacon selection in front of me, my nerves not allowing me to break to even look at her.

"How do you find it here?" She pressed, clearly trying to keep the conversation running.

I picked up my decided packet of Smoky Bacon and turned to look at her and her beaming smile. "I like it." I assured her.

She nodded, as if I'd just confirmed something for her, though I didn't know what. She followed me as I walked towards the front of the store to pay for my "crisps", along with two bottles of Dr Pepper and some skittles I managed to acquire on my journey.

"I'm guessing you're here for the university?" She asked, moving to stand behind a shabby-looking till setup.

"A record deal, actually." I corrected her as I pulled my purse out to find the £3 I needed to pay.

Her eyes widened as I told her, curiosity taking over her. "A record deal?" She repeated, astonished.

"Yeah." I laughed, finally giving her the long-awaited eye contact she seemingly craved. "I sing sometimes." I added, trying to come across as casual.

"What's your name?" She asked, intriguingly staring at me.

"I'm Lizzy." I reply, not giving my stage name a second thought.

"Cool, I'm Marina." She replied, smiling warmly as if she'd just broken down a barrier she'd been desperate to destruct.

"What brings you to London, of all the places you could be?" I asked, deciding it wasn't too pressuring - although it may seem so.

"I'm searching for luck, too." She said, quietly yet desperately, she didn't want to offend anyone but she wanted me to know she was serious.

"Luck?" I asked, beckoning her to continue.

"Luck in the music industry." She finalised.

My eyes instantly widened, the way her's had done earlier when I proposed my reasoning behind being in London.

"How so?" I pressed, again.

"...A record deal." She said, looking down at her nails, as if she'd disappointed me.

She seemed like a passionate girl, full of excitement and hope, but for some reason she didn't want to show it.

"That's cool, looks like we're in it together." I laughed, half-serious, half-humorous.

"I guess so." She assured me, almost disregarding the humorous tone I proposed.

I looked at my watch and saw it was almost half past 5pm, nearly time for my market-research boardroom meeting.

"Shit, I've got to go." I snap-whispered, suddenly realising I actually have places to be this time, I can't stand around all day talking to strangers, I'm pretty sure my parents wouldn't approve.

Marina's previously glistening chocolate brown eyes turned to face me again, somewhat more shallow this time. "Somewhere to be?" She giggled as she bagged my goods and handed them to me.

"A meeting." I groaned as I took the bag from her hand. "I'll see you around?" I asked as I backed towards the door.

"See you." She smiled, reassuringly.

I left the store and ran at least half a mile to the boardroom, there was no way I was missing this. It could be the first step in my path to success, I promised myself nothing or nobody could take this from me. It was mine for the taking, and the taking would be mine.