Alex left the Domino Records building with a look of annoyance in his face and a forceful walk, pushing the entrance door in a violent way. He felt a lot more peaceful with his mind and self once he left that building. The sun was invading his whole body with it's burning presence; he felt much better now, but he couldn't avoid what had happened in that office a few minutes ago. Whether he liked it or not, Laurence was right. The words that he had pronounced seemed to be stuck in Alex's head, repeating themselves over and over again in his empty mind: "Don't fuck with her head". What was that supposed to mean?
He quickly lighted up a cigarette to hide his irritation, and while inhaling it he looked to his left; there was Arabella, sitting on the edge of the street, facing the concrete road and watching how the cars passed one another, while smoking one of her organic cigarettes. She seemed lost, as if her eyes were actually setting on a particular point that didn't really exist. Alex walked gently towards her, unsure if he was making the right decision, but this was the first time that both of them were completely alone since that night, and it seemed as a good moment to talk to her.
He sat next to her, waiting for a response or a movement from her; but she didn't, she didn't even looked at him, as if she was completely unware of her surroundings. Maybe she wasn't aware of Alex's presence at all; she really seemed to be in a world of her own, avoiding the bounds of her reality.
"Are you okay?" said Alex, interrupting Arabella's hypnosis; with a shocked expression she looked straight to the floor, as if she had just woke up from a nightmare. She then slowly looked at Alex who was lighting another cigarette and couldn't really bare to look at her.
"Yes, I'm just..... I don't know why I've stayed here. I just really needed some fresh air and a smoke" she said almost with a shacking voice.
"We all do, darling" said Alex now looking at her.
She was so close to him that he could really observer her now from a very short distance. He didn't really know why but having her like this by his side, made everything seemed a little bit more real, including her; she seemed more human.
Both of them stayed quiet for a while, none of them said a word. They just sit there and smoked, enjoying each other's silent company. It was the sort of silence that invades your thoughts in a peaceful way; a silence that you truly enjoy.
"That was a beautiful song" said Arabella finally, breaking with the silence and exhaling the smoke of her organic cigarette.
Alex didn't answer her back instantly; he waited for a couple of seconds to embrace the sound of the words she had just pronounced. Once he digested and processed those beautiful words, he said finally a very simple but sincere "Thank you". Arabella looked at Alex and couldn't help but smile. It was a very gentle and fragile smile, almost as if she wasn't really grinning at all, but it was purely and completely honest.
"Well, I have to go now, it's getting late", although she was saying goodbye her body wasn't physically moving; she had to leave, but this massive and powerful force was practically demanding her to stay. Why did she always felt like that when she was near him? As if he was composed of a magnetic force that constantly attracted Arabella towards him.
"Yeah, you're right, guess I should also go". He lied; he wanted nothing more than to stay a couple of minutes with her, in that eternal silence that they share, that made him feel so very complete.
Arabella stood up rapidly and waved at him while looking at the floor. He couldn't stand looking at him and feeling so... vulnerable. Those sad and dark eyes that seemed to comfort her also seemed to doom her. It was such an inexplicable feeling that she felt when she was near Alex; it just made her feel completely different from her usual self.
Alex watched her walk straight towards a black motorcycle she had and he stood there with his eyes wide opened and an expression of surprise in his face.
"You have to be fucking kidding me, is that yours?" he said touching the back of the motorcycle.
"Yeah, why? Haven't you seen a Harley Davidson before?" said Arabella while putting her red helmet on.
"Just haven't really seen a woman on one before" he said still amazed by the beauty of the motorcycle.
"Really? Well, may I ask where your superb and masculine vehicle is?" she said mocking Alex.
"I really don't have one" said Alex while touching the back of his head.
"You don't have a car?" she said while Alex denied with his head, "Not even a motorcycle? A fucking bike? Nothing?" she said in a tone of shock and with a frowning expression.
"Not really" he said smiling.
"So if you don't have a car or an actual vehicle of transport, how did you arrived here?"
"Matt brought me" said Alex while lighting another cigarette.
"So how do you plan to go back to your house?" said Arabella.
"I suppose walking or maybe I don't know just wait for-"
"You can't just simply go walking!" she said to Alex as she raised her voice to him.
"Well why not? It's not even that far, actually" Alex said frowning.
"Are you even aware of the fact that you're Alex Turner? You're a fucking celebrity you can't just go walking around the streets of L.A. as if you were a normal person" said Arabella while searching for something inside the passenger's seat.
"I think you're exaggerating a little bit, darling. Don't you think?" he said.
"I really don't think so" said Arabella while giving a black helmet to Alex, "now seat there, before I even regret it".
"Are you sure about this? I really don't want to cause you any trouble, love"
"You're already trouble, Alex. Im just easing things for the both of us" she said while turning on the motorcycle and putting on her black sunglasses.
Alex watched her from just a meter of distance. She looked like the dream of any guy. From her black cowboy boots to her red leather jacket, she was an absolute daydream. Alex smiled at her, although she wasn't even looking at him. He sat behind her and the immediate smell of her vanilla perfume invaded Alex's mind, practically getting high from the peculiar sweetness that her hair radiated. He was now feeling her whole essence, the unique fragrance that emanated from her whole body.
"How can you assure me that you're a good driver and that I will be alive after getting off this motorcycle? Maybe I should be driving, just in case. We're both really young, and I don't know you but I really appreciate my life" said Alex while putting on the black helmet.
"There's no fucking way that im letting a complete stranger drive my own motorcycle, not in a million years" she said.
"Am I a stranger to you?" said Alex.
Arabella looked back at him, showing only her perfect profile; the corner of her eye looked straightly towards Alex's eyes and with a mysterious tone she said: "We're all strangers in this world. Don't you agree with that, Alex?" and without even letting him the chance to response, Arabella speed up and both of them were soon submerged in the populated traffic.
Alex was now captivated by Arabella's black and long hair, which was delicately dancing in the uncontrollable wind with the catastrophic melody that the city's road was composed of. The dawn was corrupting the tranquility of the day, slowly introducing the night with his warm and violent colors. Alex was embracing the gracefulness of this epic instant; this was the type of moments which you don't actually experience at all, but only dreamed of. He had never felt so happy in his entire life until that point.
He wished that this journey would have lasted forever, but it didn't. As he opened his eyes, he could saw his house at the distant and he knew that this journey to the end of the night had actually stopped when he found the glowing lights of his home.
Arabella parked at Alex's house entrance and waited for him to get off the motorcycle; but he didn't. He just sat there, observing with misery his dull house. He was already contemplating the idea of staying outside for the whole night.
"So... are you planning to get off the motorcycle or..." said Arabella as she turned around to face him.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that" replied Alex while getting off the motorcycle and handing the black helmet to Arabella. "Thank you for the ride; I really appreciate that, love"
"That's okay" she said as she took off her black sunglasses. Both of them looked at the floor for a couple of seconds, unsure of what to say. Neither of them wanted to leave or say goodbye, so they just waited and embraced themselves in that eternal quietness of them; the one that they constantly created every time they were together.
"Well, my job here is done. Guess this is my cue to leave. Goodbye then, see you around" and Arabella turned on her motorcycle, prepared to leave.
"Wait" Alex said suddenly and unexpectedly. He then regretted saying those words after processing the complete moment of desperation he showed towards her. But those were his true feelings; he wanted her to stay.
"I was thinking that maybe... Maybe you would like to.... come in, or something? If you want to, obviously" he said almost ashamed of himself for being so vulnerable. "It's getting late and it was a long trip so maybe... you know...." And he unsurely smiled at her with a weird sort of grin, as if he was expecting for an approval or an actual response so that he could actually stop talking.
"What the fuck is wrong with me, why do I act as a complete idiot every time she's near me? Fucking hell, I feel so out of control when I speak to her. She might think I'm a total dickhead or something like that. For fuck's safe Alex, just play it cool" he thought to himself.
Arabella looked at him in a surprise kind of way, but not even one single faction of her face actually changed; he just looked at him with that weird gaze or her, that revealed so much and at the same time nothing at all. Which made Alex felt more idiotic and confused than before.
She slightly turned off the motorcycle and looked at him for a couple of seconds before actually answering. She slowly looked at Alex's house and then at him.
"I think we both know the answer to that question..." she said in a melancholic tone.
"Yeah, thought you were gonna' say that" said Alex while smiling towards the floor, trying to hide his actual sadness.
He then looked at her and gave her a vague smile as he waved his hand and said goodbye. She did the same thing, with a sort of bitter look in her pale blue eyes.
Arabella looked at Alex, who was now almost opening the door that lead to his house, and before even letting him touch the door's handle, she stood up from the motorcycle as fast as she possibly could, almost as an instinct, and walked fastly towards Alex.
"Alex wait, I –" but she was soon interrupted by an opening door, that blinded both Arabella and Alex with the lights that were coming from the inside of the house.
A tall and thin woman stood in the entry of the house and looked perplexed at Alex and then at Arabella. Her gaze analyzed every part of Arabella's body, from head to toe. This woman had a deep ginger long hair and a very strange pair of green eyes that had a little mix of honey in them. What impressed Arabella were the cheekbones of her face, which gave her a very sophisticated and seductive look. She thought how beautiful this woman was; she didn't knew why but Arabella felt a little bit uncomfortable by her presence; it made her feel sort of eclipsed by her unique beauty.
"Al, I was getting worried about you. It was getting late and you weren't arriving, I even called you" she finally said with a preoccupied tone, revealing a very beautiful American accent.
"Yeah, sorry about that it's just that I left Laurence office later than what I expected, and so Arabella gave me a lift" said Alex while scratching the back of his head and looking at Arabella, who was still petrified by the woman's beauty. An awkward silence was created in the middle of Alex's entry and so he decided that the best would be to present them to each other, but he soon regret it.
"So, this is Arabella Jones, she's the lead singer from The Golden Jaggers, a band that will be touring with us in the future. And this is Arielle Vandenberg, she's... uhm – " Alex didn't really knew how to categorize his relationship with Arielle. They had casual sex since the day they met, but as time went by their relationship was getting more serious; still, she wasn't Alex's girlfriend, and he didn't expect her to become that in the future, although he had thought about that with seriousness. ".... She's a really good friend of mine" he finally said.
"Oh! Hello, I'm Arielle!" she said while grabbing Arabella in a soft embrace. Although she was smiling at her, Arabella could feel the annoyance and sadness in her face due to the fact of what Alex had just said. She then understood the sort of relationship that both of them shared, and felt a little bit sorry for Arielle. "Thanks for bringing him! I still can't believe he doesn't have a car, or at least a personal driver. It's just insane, am I right?" she said while laughing at him and then looking at Arabella with a warming expression in her face.
"No problem seriously, it's okay" said Arabella while giving her an uncomfortable and insecure smile.
"What was your name again?"
"Arabella"
"Wow, that's such a beautiful name! And so strange and unusual, but in a good way!" she said while smiling at her. It made Arabella feel a little bit strange, she wasn't really used to receiving this sort of warm affection, especially from other women. "Where is it from? Doesn't really sound English to me"
"No, you're right, it's from Italy actually. My mum, she was Italian but my dad, he's English" she said with a sort of weird tone, she wasn't used to giving so much information about herself either.
"Oh! That's amazing really; I always wanted to go to Italy! They say it's so incredibly beautiful!" Arielle said with this really bright spark in her eyes. "And, are you also from Sheffield or...?" she said while pointing to both of them.
"I'm from Bristol, actually" said Arabella.
"Oh, right" said Arielle, while her smile gently transfigured in a complete expression of seriousness. She was now looking at Alex with sad eyes, while he was looking at the floor, completely aware of the mistake he had made. Arabella saw this as his moment of retreat and decided to take advantage of it.
"So, guess I should be going. It's late already..." she said while looking at the dark night. "It was nice meeting you, Arielle"
"Yes! Same here! I hope I'll see you soon again! Maybe we should hang out or something like that" said Arielle while gently hugging her and giving Arabella a big smile.
"Yeah... definitely..." she said a little bit confused with the whole situation. "Well, goodbye then!"
Both Arielle and Alex waved at her and watched Arabella drive away in his black motorcycle, disappearing in the darkness of the mysterious night. They both entered the house without saying a word. A couple of minutes passed away, and both of them were still standing in the middle of the corridor, looking indifferently at the floor. Finally, Arielle was the one who decided to talk.
"So, Arabella.... She's a really beautiful girl... Don't you think?" she said while looking gently at Alex, who was still looking at the floor.
"Yeah, she's alright I guess, for a young girl" he said while trying to avoid eye contact with Arielle. He slowly walked towards the kitchen wishing that to be invisible. But he wasn't. Arielle looked at him as he walked past her.
"Didn't knew we were really good friends" she said, raising his voice.
"Arielle, I really don't think that we have to discuss this right now – "
"What am I to you, Alex?" she said with practically tears in her eye and a shaking voice. "A good fuck? A sort of sexual toy? We've been fucking for months but this doesn't really seem to go anywhere else. It seems complete pointless. It makes me feel completely useless."
Alex didn't say a word. He let her continue in complete silence. And although he knew that she was already crying, he didn't bare to look at her, or even hold her in his arms while comforting her. He didn't really wanted to lie to her, not anymore. But he couldn't speak the truth to her, either.
"You know Alex, when you decide what the fuck you want from me – no, not only me. When you decide what you really want from everything that life has given to you, then come and talk to me and we'll sort things out, the way they need to be sorted. But I just can't do this; I can't keep fucking you if that's how you see me at all. I simply can't. I'm more than that" Arielle said, now with tears coming from her eyes.
She approached Alex, who was leaning against the kitchen wall, listening to her without saying anything at all. Arielle looked at him deeply in the eyes and grabbed him from his cheeks. She made him look at her, she forced him to. And although Alex didn't wanted to, he did. As he looked into those melancholic eyes, he thought of what a little piece of shit he actually was, and how this wasn't really anything of Arielle's fault, but his.
"I know you want me, Alex" said Arielle almost in a whisper, sobbing desperately. "So be brave, and want me back" she said crying in front of him, exposing herself, showing her vulnerability.
She slowly turned away, and while silently sobbing she walked straight towards the door, leaving the house without saying goodbye. All that Alex heard was the echo that the front door made. And he now embraced the silence that reined his house. He didn't really wanted to be alone in this empty place that he was forced to call home, but he had to. He had gained that, his loneliness.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of course that I included a quote from Skins, duh.