Moons, Stars & Fragile Hearts

Scorpios are very intuitive, but not as in a psychic sense, more as intuitive into the human mind, they have a great understanding of the mystery and the power of the human mind.

I wanted to kill Oliver.

That fucking sod knew Leyla was watching, she was sitting right next to me! Those huge deep drown eyes were just staring at me, watching me try and keep my face blank as Oliver gave me that look. 'You got the weed, mate?' Of course I do! You don't need to go around letting everyone know about it! Especially her...if she could see right through me so easily when I was trying to watch her talk to Tom, she knew that something was up. I was surprised she didn't ask me about it then, when she pressed me up against the counter with her one finger and sent shock waves through my body with that one tiny kiss on my cheek. I was stunned into paralysis for a second there, just letting my thoughts take over, wondering what it would be like to really hold her in my arms and kiss her like I wanted to, like I meant it. Like she meant it. She teased me, left me wanting more, and now all I could think about was getting her to kiss me again.

I watched her walk away with her glass of wine, my body still pressed into the counter. My chest still felt a tingling sensation from where her finger pressed into me, as if she left a physical indent on my body, not just in my mind. Luckily, I was right next to the alcohol, which was convenient. As soon as I snapped out of the stupor she left me in, I turned around to face the alcohol, grabbing myself another bottle of beer. It was beer number 3; I was keeping pace with Leyla. If she was going to get a buzz, so was I. I told myself I wouldn't get too pissed though; I needed to heed my own advice and not make an ass of myself.

I got my beer, I got my mind back. With a large sip of beer, my hand brushed my hair out of my eyes, even if my hair just fell back into the same place all over again. I needed to see Leyla again, ask her what she meant. I followed her trail out of the kitchen, my eyes on the lookout for her long brown hair, the patterned dress she was wearing, her black sandals. Finally, there she was, right where I expected her to be. She had her back to me, in an animated conversation with Tom and Matt Kean, Tom's expression happy and amused. Maybe she had just told a great joke, one that would have made me burst into laughter. Seeing Tom, who was normally just as reserved as I am laugh around her like that made the confidence erupt inside me. I took another sip of beer, and proceeded to walk right into their circle, until all of a sudden, I was nudged on the shoulder again, stopped in my tracks.

"Oi, Curtis." Of course, it would be Oliver. He was one of my best mates, but the kid had shit timing. "Where's the weed?"

I sighed, turning to him. He was smiling, completely unaware of my burst of confidence he just ruined. He raised his eyebrows, waiting for me to answer.

"Here." I reached into my back pocket, pulling out the baggie. It was filled about halfway with the green plant; I had used some last night to go to sleep. "I 'ave more in the car, too."

Oliver nodded, pulling me into one of his weird 'man hugs' as he took the baggie. "Thanks." I took another sip of my beer, letting my eyes wander onto Leyla again. Tom wasn't laughing anymore, but he still had a smile on his face. That joke must now be over.

"Yeh still set on tha' bird?" Oliver asked, following my eyes.

"Yeah, what's it teh yeh?" I asked, looking over at him. He was faintly smiling at her as well, watching her entertain his little brother. "Where's Heather, anyways?"

Oliver looked at me again, his smile even bigger at the mention of his whore date's name. "Waitin' for me. She's probably on her fifth, sixth beer by now. Bird can throw them back like a bloke." He laughed, taking a sip of the half empty beer in his hands.

"She's probably had a lot of practice." I smiled at him, wondering if he took the double meaning of my statement. Knowing Oliver, and knowing the amount of alcohol he's consumed, he probably thought I was just talking about alcohol.

"Nothin' wrong with a lass who likes to party." He shrugged. "Thanks for the weed though, mate. I owe you."

I nodded, rolling my eyes subtly, so he wouldn't notice. For all the times I've hooked up Oliver, he owed me more than just a few pounds.

He nodded again, turning on his heel and walking down the hall and into a downstairs bedroom. He finished the beer before he got to the door, and set it on some shelf. I rolled my eyes again, and turned back to Leyla. Nothing could distract me now.

______________________________________

"I knew you'd find me." She gave me that million dollar smile again; the one that left me in my tracks for a few seconds.

"Well, I wasn' jus' goin' teh let yeh leave me hangin' like tha'." That confidence rush had come back from out of nowhere; I even smiled back at her, brushing my long hair out of my face as my one allowed nervous habit.

"Leave you hanging like how?"

She was teasing, yet again. Her delicate fingers gripped her wine glass, the familiar lipstick smudges along the rim.

"Yeh got me righ' where yeh want me, Leyla." I reminded her, taking another sip of my beer. "And here I am, yet again."

She just smiled, taking another sip of her wine, her eyes locked on mine. I couldn't get over how deep they were; it was like they were never ending. I probably could have kept my gaze on hers for hours, but I could feel my cheeks get warm. I quickly averted my gaze, staring down at my shoes. I let a small laugh out as well, under my breath. Inside though, I was anything but laughing.

I somehow managed to force myself to look back at her, but she was also averting her eyes, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Her fingers were still wrapped around the stem of the wine glass, the deep red liquid swirling slowly in the glass. Her eyelashes were thick, splaying out like fans above her eyes. Finally, she looked back up at me, that smile still on her lips.

"So, Curtis," She mused, looking at the wine in her glass and then up at me. "When are you going to ask me on a date?"

"A date?" That word always bothered me. I wasn't the type to knock on some girl's doorstep, face the awkward, menacing glares of her father and then go to dinner and some lame movie. It was just awkward and forced, and I was definitely not one to be the 'social butterfly' in such situations. I'd much rather just be casual about it. Leyla clearly wasn't about casual though. She had me acting all weird ever since we met.

"Yes, a date. Since it's obvious you like me. And I think you're cute." The words just gracefully fell from her lips, as if the statement didn't send my heart into a frenzy.

"Uh...I'm not really one for dates." I choked out, taking a safety sip of beer to avoid saying anything dumb.

Leyla took another sip of her wine too, her cheeks tinging a slight pink color. "Don't tell me you're like manwhore Oliver."

I laughed, shaking my head, my hair falling into my eyes once again. "No, not at all. Why don' yeh..." My voice hitched over my shallow breath, my mind pausing in an attempt to build up some more confidence. "Why don' yeh give me yeh number? I'll take yeh out, but we won' call it a 'date'." I smiled as the words finally made it out, past my lips. I brushed my hair out of my face again, my eyes trying to gage her reaction.

She didn't give me a verbal response, but a response all the same. She reached over, and took my hand in hers. Her fingers were warm this time, unlike at the party. She smiled, and led me out of the living room, down the hall. I just followed her like a little kid, her hand in mine keeping me close to her.

"Hold on." She commanded as she handed me her wine glass, dropping my hand and opening the closet door. "Fucking Tom..." She muttered as she pushed past some poofy winter coats and other various off season clothing. "He had to like, hide my purse."

I just laughed, smiling as she pushed her way further and further into the closet, her small frame almost becoming lost among all of the heavy coats. "Need some help?" I asked, but she ignored me. So I just stood there, watching her some more, until finally, she popped out of the closet, her purse in hand.

"Who the hell puts a purse in a closet?" She spat, glaring at Tom across the hall, who was talking to some other girl. She stuck her hand down into the bag, pulling out a pen. "Alright, where was I?" She asked, her eyes focusing back on me and her smile returning.

"I asked for yeh number, Leyla." I reminded, taking a sip of my beer, her wine still in my other hand.

"Oh! Right!" She blushed, her cheeks turning that rosy pink color that I loved. She then took my arm, the one holding her wine glass. She took the glass out of my hand, and brought it to her lips. With a smile, she tilted her head and the glass back, and let all of the contents of the glass slip down her throat, all of the wine disappearing. I couldn't help but watch her; I had never seen a girl down wine like that before. It almost made me feel bad for my comment about Heather to Oli earlier....almost. Once she was finished, she set the glass down on the floor, and focused on my outstretched arm once again. Her hand left hand was holding my hand straight, my forearm exposed.

"I don't have paper, and I doubt you do either." She explained, dragging the pen across the skin on my forearm, my pale skin contrasting with her black pen. "This way, you wont lose it either." She finished the last remaining digits before spelling her name out under it. "There."

I brought my arm back to me, forearm up, examining her number. I read it back in my head a few times before making eye contact with her smiling eyes again. "Mint." I said, matching her smile. "I'll call yeh, take yeh out to another party."

"Is that all you boys do? Drink?"

I laughed, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. "Sort of. We're tourin' a lot, so it's always nice to just 'ave fun when we get home."

"Oh well," She laughed, picking her empty wine glass off the floor again. "I'll be your arm candy."

"Well don' call it tha'." I blushed, taking a nervous sip of beer. I almost needed a new one. "I'm not usin' yeh, yeh know."

'Right." She smiled up at me. "We'll have a great time together. I'm sure of it, Curtis." She giggled, linking one of her soft arms in mine. "Now, will you escort a lady to get a refill?" She glanced at her empty wine glass, and my empty beer."

"Certainly." I smiled back, clanging the glass of my beer bottle against her wine glass.

"To dates that aren't really dates." She announced as my bottle touched her glass. "Cheers."

"Cheers, Leyla."

______________________________________

"Are yeh ever goin' teh call her?" Lee sighed, sitting next to me on the couch, telly remote in one hand, freshly opened beer in the other. "You've been staring at her number in your phone for days. The party will get here and you won't have time to invite her properly."

"Eh, I don' think I want teh take her to tha' anymore." I sighed, still staring at my phone, the name 'Leyla' in my phone book staring right back at me. "She didn' seem to fancy the idea. I think I should actually take her somewhere."

"Then do it." He replied curtly, clearly not too interested in what I did. He turned on the telly and leaned back, bringing the beer to his lips.

I took this as my opportunity to leave, heading to the kitchen, where no one was. If I was going to ask her to go somewhere with me, the last thing I wanted was Matt N or Lee eavesdropping the entire time.

"Hello? Curtis?" Leyla's delicate voice met my ears after the phone rang 3 times. I was surprised she greeted me with my name, since she didn't have my phone number before.

"Leyla." I stated, leaning back against a counter. The images of her pressing her finger into my chest and her lips on my cheek came rushing into my mind.

"Did you call to invite me somewhere?" She asked, taking a breath. "If you did, the answer is yes. Just tell me when to be ready. I'll give you my address."

"Actually, I didn' want teh take yeh to a party."

"Oh really? Are you changing your non dating ways then Curtis? Just for me?" I could imagine her smirking as she held the phone up to her ear.

"Not quite. But I do want teh take yeh to coffee. Sunday, 4:30."