1.1 • 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 // lana del rey

𝐟 𝐨 𝐮 𝐫 : 𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑜 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠

"Hey, Gabs! This is a surprise!"

I blinked on the doorstep of Uncle Tony's house. I just seemed to catch Lana out of the corner of my eye, clutching something to her chest while she hid. I frowned, but didn't want to draw attention to her. I wondered if she was okay.

"Yeah, well, I don't really have much to do, so I thought I'd come see you guys. Is...Is Lana here?"

"Lana?" Tony scratched his head for a moment before breaking into one of his usual smiles. "Yeah, she's here. We were just playing a video game. Do you wanna join?"

I smiled, and tried to catch Lana's eye over Tony's shoulder, but she was gone. "Yeah. Sure."

I followed Tony inside, kicked off my shoes and sat down on the couch opposite the TV, where some retro video game's title screen was playing. Lana was curled up in the chair in the corner of the room, wearing a breathtaking white summer dress.

"Ok, do you two want this game, or --"

"Yeah," I answered, maybe a little too quickly. I turned to Lana, who smiled, although a little half-heartedly, and sat down beside me, picking up a controller.

"I love this game," I offered quietly, but Lana didn't seem to hear. Once Tony was out of the room, I turned to her and whispered, "Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Lana, a little irritably. "I'm fine. I just --" now she seemed flustered. "Look, I'm really sorry, Gabby. I'm just not feeling --"

"Is it Tony?" I persisted.

Lana turned pale for a moment, then turned away. I sighed as Tony came back with drinks and Lana stood on tiptoe to greet him with a kiss.

"Well, what are you two waiting for?" Asked Tony, gesturing to the blinking screen.

"I - uh - maybe we should do something else," I said quickly, looking up at Lana and thinking guiltily of Tyler and Josh's bet. What if she found out and wanted nothing to do with me?

"Yeah," said Lana slowly. She gave me a shy smile and stood up. "Come on, let's go in the backyard."

I nodded and followed her out. Tony called after us, but Lana slipped gracefully through the French doors and stopped at the pool. She turned around hastily and grabbed my wrist.

"Okay, Gabby, listen," she murmured. "Next week on Friday, Tony's having a pool party. Do you wanna come? He's inviting all the girls from my modelling class and I hate all of them."

"Uh - are Tyler and Josh coming?" I asked uneasily. I'd love to come to the party but if the two guys were there, talking in my ear the whole time about marrying Lana, I was doomed.

But Lana smiled. "Wow, I'd forgotten about them. I'll ask them, too." My face fell but I tried to disguise it. "Will you come? Please?"

I hesitated, then said, "Of course I will."

She smiled and hugged me unexpectedly. Lana was so warm and - well, huggable.

"Come on," she said hurriedly, "let's go back inside, or Tony might think --"

"Lana!" Bellowed Tony from the living room. "Can you refill drinks, please?"

Lana called back, "Coming!", then whispered bravely into my ear, "that's nicer than normal, anyway."

I froze as she headed inside, apparently unaffected by her comment. I just stared at her, feeling as though she'd just confirmed all my growing suspicions about my uncle.

*****

As I was just leaving Tony's house, I spotted a small purple notepad on the table in the hallway with a note pasted on the front. In Lana's handwriting it read, incredibly neatly,

"Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass".

"Lana?" I called out, fascinated by the little book that suddenly seemed so remarkable. 

She was by my side in an instant and smiled at my quizzical look. "It's my poetry book," she smiled. "I've been working on it for a while. Someday I'll publish it."

Lana paused for a moment, then picked up the book and pressed it into my hands. "Here. You can keep it until the pool party. Just - take good care of it, ok?"

I nodded eagerly and slipped the little book inti my bag before Tony came around the corner to see me off.

I smiled. I didn't care if Tyler and Josh were going to be at the party - as long as I saw Lana, that was all that mattered.