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𝔄rabella Carter was not a fan of phone calls. They signified bad things for her, like her parents showing up for a visit, or her sister wanting something, or one of her friends reminding her that she had an anatomy essay due in for the next day (that had not been a fun evening).
This one, however, was from her cousin, who was nagging about something that Arabella had stopped paying attention to about five minutes earlier. The words came to a stop, as Arabella sighed.
"I'm nineteen, Iris." Arabella rolled her eyes, shifting her shopping bags into one hand as she tried to fish her keys from the depths of her pockets. Some would say that it would be far simpler to put the shopping bags onto the floor, but that took too much efforts. "I am perfectly fine. You guys don't need to check up on me."
"Your mom called again?"
"Yeah, she calls everyday," Arabella didn't feel the need to tell Iris that the most recent call from her mother had practically reduced her to tears. "She's already done all the checking up on me."
"I didn't know, sorry." Iris muttered sheepishly. Arabella hummed, unlocking her door. "How are you?"
"You know, just tired. College is ramping up, and there's more assignments and practicals," Arabella finally managed to unlock her door, pushing it open triumphantly. "You know, you ask the same questions as my mother."
"Should I take that as an insult?"
"No, it's just a statement." Iris sighed down the phone, as Arabella pulled her groceries inside and slammed the door closed behind her. "Look, I'm sorry, it's just been a long day and I just have a lot of things on."
"It's alright, okay?"
Arabella put her cousin on speaker as she put things away into the fridge and cupboards.
"I was over at your parents house the other day to drop some things off for my mom." Iris spoke softly, knowing that Arabella's parents weren't the girls favourite subject. The older woman had finally calmed down, having been in a rage for the earlier part of the call. Arabella would admit, she probably deserved the rage, because after two sleepless nights of studying, she had almost stepped in front of a car by accident. It had nearly resulted in a trip to the emergency room. "Your mom is wondering when you're going to go and visit?"
"I can't at the moment." Arabella felt her heart clench, but she leant on the countertop beside her phone. "I've got a lot on. Got work and all that."
"Oh. You told her?"
"No, not yet." Arabella set a large pizza down on the countertop. "I'll go when I go."
"You said the exact same thing last time I asked," Iris reminded, causing Arabella to hum. "I know you don't like that they argue, but they're still your parents."
"We're not having this conversation now," The girl reminded her cousin, rubbing her forehead. "I've had too little sleep to go into the family drama at this current moment."
"Okay, but this isn't over."
"Sound ominous."
"What have you got for dinner tonight?" Iris changed the subject, as Arabella turned the oven on.
"Pizza."
"Make sure to have some vegetables with that," Iris reminded, as Arabella reluctantly pulled lettuce and cucumber out of the fridge. There was a pause, before the sound of a baby crying started up. "I've got to go. Call me whenever you're next free? Love you."
She didn't wait for a reply, hanging up to go and deal with her daughter as Arabella sighed and picked her phone back up. Ever since Iris had her kid, the woman had been adamant that Arabella should go and reconcile with her parents. That was not something on the top of her list of things to do.
The longer she was out of that house, the less she wanted to go back.
It was peaceful for a few moments, as Arabella began to chop cucumber up for her salad. Though that peace didn't last for long.
Something hard hit the ground outside, and Arabella rolled her eyes. Her night kept getting better and better. They were back again.
Looking out of the window, Arabella's eyebrows furrowed. It wasn't what she was expecting. She was thinking it was going to be something horrible, that would give her nightmares for the next few nights, but it wasn't. It was a boy. An exhausted boy at that. He was slumped against the wall, a sword resting near his hand, covered in golden dust and not moving.
Licking her lips, she looked up and down the alley, searching for the monsters that always appeared in the dead of night. She could see something emerging from the dark and that cemented her decision. She didn't want to look back out in the alley and see a dead body. Not if she could help it.
She'd seen far too many dead bodies in her short life time.
Arabella took the stairs two at a time, running out of the lobby and towards the back alley where she could see something standing over the boy's exhausted form. The monster flickered, changing like a mirage between a nightmare inducing creature and someone wielding a knife. Licking her lips, she gave herself little time to hesitate, and regret her decision, before charging forwards.
"Hey, there you are!" She grinned down at the blond boy, who's face changed into one of confusion. Turning back towards the monster, she tried not to flinch as it stared down at her with gleaming eyes and a row of very sharp fangs. "Thanks for finding him, sir. He got lost on the way to my apartment, which is typical."
Turning back around, she reached down to try and haul the boy up, struggling under his weight.
"Come on, help me out a little here." The boy glanced up at her with angry eyes, glittering blue in the streetlight above them. He smiled tensely, before allowing Arabella to help him to his feet and lead him out of the alleyway and away from the monster. As soon as they were out of sight, the boy ripped his arm out of Arabella's hand. "Woah!"
"I had it under control. I didn't need your help." Arabella sneered at his tone, raising an eyebrow.
"Ungrateful much." The boy scowled, a large scar on his face distorting, making him look more annoyed. "A 'thank you' would have sufficed."
She rolled her eyes again, before wandering back off towards her home and leaving the annoyed boy alone. Apparently men these days didn't know the meaning of common curtesy, but that didn't truly surprise her. At least she didn't have to see a dead body in her alleyway.
Arabella heard him sigh behind her, then a hand grabbed her arm to spin her back around.
"Thank you. There, are you happy?" Arabella grinned sarcastically.
"Completely," He nodded, before walking off again, picking a sword up from the ground. Arabella's eyes furrowed. Most of the swords and weapons, that she had seen, would glow bronze in the dark. But not this one. This one was two toned. "What type of sword is that? I haven't seen one like it before."
The boy froze.
∘☽༓☾∘
Hiya,
So, first proper chapter and we get an introduction to Arabella and her cousin, Iris, as well as Luke being whiny. Classic Luke.
