Woooohoooo!!
I'm actually uploading this story :D
Oh well, here you go.. Chapter 10 of A girl, a Guy and a Web of Lies
After the tour, Anika thanked her mother and ran to her room. She fell on her bed in exhaustion. Sleep came to her quickly, her last thought being, “he sleeps next door to me.”
In his room, Luca laid down on his bed looking up at the ceiling. It was a long day. What was worse was that he was worried. That paper he found on the plane was definitely not Anika’s and he didn’t think that he wanted to find out who it belonged to. He yawned, unable to keep his eyes open any longer and fell into a fitful sleep.
Luca woke up two hours later and stared at the ceiling. He didn't know how much his mother or Anika’s mother knew about the whole Juarez situation or his involvement in it. It would make it very hard if he had to keep it a secret from them especially since he lived with them.
Sighing, he rolled out of bed and walked over to his suitcases. He clicked one open and started to unpack it. All his t-shirts and jackets got wrinkled so he left them aside to see if he'd find a way to get them ironed. He moved on to the next suitcase which contained most of his jeans, shorts and boxers. They weren't in bad shape so he packed them away. The worst part would probably be unpacking the boxes that were lying in the corner. His mother must have gone and picked them up when he was asleep then asked someone to carry them up for him. He didn't have many knick knacks to unpacked but he had CDs and sneakers that would need to be sorted.
Sorting out everything took him three whole hours. By then, it was dark outside and he figured that it was about time to take a shower. He pulled a clean pair of boxers from the dresser and picked up a wrinkled t-shirt from the pile he set aside to be ironed. He walked down the hall and stopped outside the door that his mother said was the bathroom. Without knocking, he opened the door. A t-shirt hit his face.
"Luca?! What the hell! I'm in here," Anika shrieked. Luca pulled the t-shirt off his face and looked at her. She was wrapped up securely in a dark blue towel and held a lethal looking brush in her hand.
He smiled sheepishly. "I never really had to share a bathroom with someone. My bad. If it's any consolation, I like your towel," he said as he ducked out of the bathroom only to hear the brush hit door as it clicked shut.
He laughed as he walked back to his room only to be waylaid by his mother who had just finished climbing the stairs.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I'm not used to sharing bathrooms so I didn't knock."
"And?"
Luca grinned down at his mother. "And she was wrapped up in a towel, Ma," he said kissing her cheek before sauntering off to his room.
"Luca, it's not funny. Please tell him it's not funny," Anika said from behind him.
Anika stared after him, waiting for him to turn and apologize so nothing prepared her for the gales of laughter that erupted from Luca. She looked at his mother, the question apparent in her eyes.
"I wonder about him too, child," she said.
Anika shrugged and secured her towel around her. "That boy," she muttered as she walked to her room.
She pulled on a pair of red and blue plaid sleeping shorts and an old t-shirt. She looked at the rest of her bags, all of which were half unpacked. She never understood why she packed things as outfits and not as individual articles of clothing.
After twenty minutes of trying, she lost her patience and decided to go annoy Luca. She stomped her way to his room and hit the door with a loud thud. After getting no answer, she opened the door and walked in. She found his room empty and since she was in a curious mood, she decided to explore his room for a bit. Everything was unpacked, including his CDs, laptop and guitar. "I wonder when you got time to unpack this all," she wondered out loud.
"I think it was while you were sleeping or in the shower, considering how much warm water you left for me," said Luca with his voice drenched in amusement.
Anika whirled around and looked at him in shock. He looked like he just got out of the shower with his black hair sticking to his neck.
"What? Disappointed that you couldn't get me in a compromising position like I found you earlier?" he asked.
Anika scowled at him and walked past him out of the room. He couldn't help but calling out after her. "Anika, I normally get dressed in the bathroom."
He shook his head, chuckling and walked over to sit on his bed. He picked his guitar case off the floor and strummed.
Out of boredom and because he was in such a good mood, he started playing I'm Yours by Jason Mraz. He played the song over four times before Anika trudged back into his room.
"What? No knock?" he asked.
She looked at him with a scowl. "Don't start with me, Luca!"
"All right. Now tell me what has you so cranky," he said, patting the space next to him.
She took his offer and flopped onto the bed and turned onto her stomach. "I'm bored, " she groaned.
"What do you want to do?" he asked.
She looked up at him and shrugged. "I don't know. Entertain me!" she said as if he should have known what he was supposed to do.
Luca rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said looking around. She was plucking on the strings of his guitar and an idea popped into his mind. "I know what to do."
"Yeah? What is it?" she asked.
"I'll tell you if you stop plucking the strings on my guitar," he said jokingly.
She stopped and looked at him expectantly. "So what was your amazing idea, Sherlock?"
"Well, since we both play guitar, we'll each play a piece of a song and the other has to guess. What do you say?"
Anika nodded. "Sure, just let me go get my guitar," she said as she rolled off the bed and strode out the room. Luca strummed the intro of his favorite My Chemical Romance song, Disenchanted.
Anika stood at the door with her guitar in hand and smiled at his playing. "Disenchanted by the one and only My Chemical Romance!"
Luca looked up at her from his guitar and rolled his eyes. "What about the poor guy who played the awesome piece of tributary music?”
“You were okay,” she said jokingly.
“Fine, why don’t you play something,” he said in mock anger.
“I will. Don’t worry about that,” she said cockily as she sat down on the edge of his bed, cross legged. She strummed, thinking of a song that he wouldn’t know. Suddenly, Masterpiece by Meg and Dia came to mind and she started playing it.
Luca knew that he heard the song somewhere and very recently because he could even put a voice with the sound. He tried to remember all the new artists he loaded onto his iPod from Anika’s computer. There was Escape the Fate, Mayday Parade, the Follow Through, some other bands and this girl group. Peg and Mia? Then it hit him. “Meg and Dia. I think it’s called Masterpiece?”
Anika’s triumphantly smiling face became smug. “Yeah. Your turn,” she grumbled.
“Are you sure you want to continue playing? I mean, we both know the same songs and everything. How about we just play randomly?” he asked, noticing her crestfallen expression perking up at the mention of quitting the game. “I take it by your face expression that you’re more than thrilled that you aren’t going to love against me?” he asked.
“Luca, just shut up and start,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Luca began to play a slow song which she immediately recognized as Your Guardian Angel by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. She grinned at him and began to play alongsife him. "Gee, Luca. You have awesome taste in music."
Luca shrugged. "I try," he said. "Anika, do you mind singing along?"
"Will you join in too?"
He nodded. "Yeah, sure. Why not? Now start," he said when the singing part started.
Anika sang the lyrics to a song that held poignant memories for her. Luca couldn't have known about how the song made her feel. Her voice trembled a little and Luca stopped playing to look up at her with a concerned look in his eyes. "Everything all right, Anika?"
"My throat feels kinda scratchy," she said, making her voice sound hoarse.
"Do you want to continue?" he asked.
Anika nodded. "Don't stop because of me. Besides, I like your voice," she said with a small smile.
Luca patted the spot next to him. "Since you're not feeling well, you can stay next to me and lie down."
She moved to the spot next to him and sneezed at the sudden rush of wind. Luca pulled a navy blue throw that sat at the end of his bed and put it over her. "You okay now?"
She nodded as she snuggled closer to him. Since he was using his pillow to cushion his back, which was against the wall, she used his thigh as a pillow. It may have been a bit harder than a feather pillow but it was definitely warmer.
"Can I start?" he asked teasingly.
"Yeah."
Luca started playing the song again and Anika sighed as his voice filled the silence. For a voice that was normally used in annoying her, it was soothing. She looked up at him from under her eyelashes and saw him looking down at her. She smiled at him and felt the heartwarming smile he gave her to the tip of her toes.
Anika's eyes grew heavier with second. The warmth that Luca seemed to be radiating and his soothing voice seemed to relax her and lull her to sleep even though she spent her entire afternoon sleeping.
After playing two other songs, Luca thought of another song to start playing when he finished only to be interrupted by a soft snore from Anika. He looked down to see her fast asleep with her arm draped around his leg. He chuckled, thinking that it was the second time in two days that she did so. He leaned back and looked at the ceiling. He was also tired, having barely gotten any sleep in the last two days.
"She went out like a light, didn't she?" he heard her mother ask from the doorway.
He looked at her to see her wearing a dark blue pajama set. She looked just like Anika- just older and more worldly. "Yeah, it was a long day for her."
"You're telling me. She always slept a lot, even as a baby. You used to get annoyed when she didn't wake up to play with you," she said, laughing at the memory.
"That sounds like something I'd do," he said looking down at Anika's sleeping face.
"Are you going to take her to her room? It might get uncomfortable sleeping with another person in a single bed," she said looking worried.
"Don't worry. I'll move her in a while. Just let her settle down a bit," he said.
Adriana nodded. "Well, good night, Luca," she said before turning to leave.
"Good night," he said to her retreating form. Luca looked down at Anika again and decided that he should take her back to her room so he could try sleeping too. He got off his bed and put the guitar gently against the wall before walking around the bed to pick up the sleeping girl. She snuggled into his chest when she felt the bed move from underneath her. Luca walked out of his room , and opened the door next to it and carried her in. He put her down on the bed carefully and pulled a blanket similar to his over her.
"Good night, Anika," he said moving a lock of hair out of her face.
He strode out of her room and went back to his, only to kick a bedpost and fall face first onto the bed. "Crap," he muttered, sitting up to look at the toe. There was no swelling yet and that was a good sign so he decided to ignore the pain and try to sleep. He shut his eyes and sleep came almost instantly.
Somewhere in that phase when she wasn't in deep sleep nor was she awake, Anika felt as if there was something in the room with her. She opened an eye cautiously to see if the coast was clear. Her eyes shot open as she saw a shadow move around her room. She stifled a scream, or better, had her scream stifled by unbridled fear. Whoever it was knew what he was looking for as he searched through her bags, being careful to leave it how he found it. As if he sensed her eyes on him, he turned and started walking towards the bed.
His features were covered by a mask but she could see his eyes. They were golden but they glowed to the point of looking demonic. He was close to her bed and her eyes searched his silhouette for signs of a weapon. When she found none, she reached from under her blanket and threw the ceramic lamp on the bedside to the ground, causing it to shatter and hopefully wake someone up. The intruder turned on his heel and went out the window as quick as lightning.
She heard heavy footsteps and a moment later, Luca burst into her room. "Anika, what's wrong?"
With his reassuring presence in the room, she was able to find her voice. Unfortunately, it came out with sobs. "There was a man in the room," she blubbered incomprehensibly.
Luca stiffened. "What, Anika? Do you want me to sit with you?"
She nodded, reaching for him. Luca sat on the bed and put his arms around her, letting her wet his shirt with her tears. "Did you have a nightmare, sweetheart?"he asked, hoping the endearment would soothe her.
After a while, Anika's sobbed lessened and became hiccups. "It's 2 AM. You need to sleep. Do you want me to stay here with you?"
Anika shook her head. "Okay, I'll see you in the morning," he said getting off the bed.
"Luca, stop," she croaked.
"Yes?"
"I want to stay with you but not in my room," she said.
"You want to come to mine?" he asked. When she nodded, he walked back to the bed and held his hand out. She took it and he pulled her out of bed, keeping his hand at her waist to hold her steady. She leaned down to pick up her teddy bear and handed it to Luca before continuing out of the room.
Anika's mother stood at the door of her room and looked worriedly at her daughter. She looked up at Luca with the question clear in her eyes. "Nightmare," he mouthed.
She nodded, turning to go back to bed and shut the door. Luca pushed Anika into his room and led her to his bed, making sure that she didn't kick anything. She shook her head at him. "Close your window," she said.
Luca closed the window then turned to her. "Now get into bed," he said, gesturing at the bed.
She laid down on it and reached for his hand. "Get in bed, Luca," she said, looking up at him with the forlorn expression of a puppy.
Luca looked at her incredulously but got in bed like she asked. He pulled the blanket over them and put his arm under her head so she could use the hollow of his shoulder as a pillow and he could keep an eye on her.
She sighed and snuggled up against him, throwing her arm over his chest. Soon after that, she was fast asleep. Luca looked down at her tear stained cheeks and smiled. "Anika, be it a nightmare, an army of ants or a even a stalker, I'll always be your guardian angel," he promised as he kissed her forehead.
So I have no clue of how many pages this'll be here on Wattpad and I recently changed my font size so I'm not exactly sure. Maybe 3 or 4?
But still enjoy..
A special shout-out to the fan that keeps me going with this story: Midnight Poison !!!
Song of the moment - Welcome to the Black Parade - MCR (Just because I'm listening to it right now ... and because it's awesome )
and
Your Guardian Angel - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (Because it was in the story and Luca sang it. =3 )