Look to the Skies

"Nathan! Nathan! Nathan! Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

My bed started shaking, and I groaned. My eyelids cracked opened slightly, expecting to be hit with the pain of sunny daylight coming in through the gaps in the blinds, but there was nothing. My body jolted up in bed, the sheet falling to my waist, baring my chest to the slightly chilled air.

"Shit, what time is it?"

Tom climbed off the bed, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Eight. In the morning."

A genuine smile slid across my features and I climbed out from under the covers. When I pulled on the string on the blinds, the smile grew even wider. It was raining out, and the sky was darkened by gray storm clouds. I turned back to Tom, who was chuckling.

"I'm gonna go out, " I told him.

"That's what we figured. Did you want us to come with you?"

I looked up from the dresser drawers I had been digging in and shook my head.

"Nah. If it's all the same to you, I think I'll go by myself. I'm probably just gonna walk around, anyways." I pulled out a pair of jeans and tugged them on over my legs. "That cool?"

"Oh, it's fine. Just don't be gone too long. And make sure to cover up. Don't want any crazy fans spotting you."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful."

He went to the door and opened it, just to have Jay and Max fall into the room.

"Oh, hey, Nath. What's up?" Max said from the floor, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Not much guys," I laughed. "How's the floor?"

He patted the carpet and shrugged. "Suprisingly comfortable."

Jay sighed and stood up, pulling Max with him. He grabbed Tom who had been watching the whole exchange and shoved them both out of the room. He looked over at me and rolled his eyes.

"We'll see you later," he said.

I finished getting dressed, pulling on a t-shirt, a hoodie, and a scuffed-up pair of black boots. I shoved a beanie onto my head, grabbed my phone, wallet, a pair of aviators and went to close the door. I glanced back at the barren room, a few pieces of furtniture the only things there. With all of the album signings, events, and concerts we had been doing, nobody had had any time to decorate their rooms, or the rest of the apartment for that matter.

When I bypassed the living room, all four guys were sitting around the TV eating pancakes, all dressed in different states of disarray. Stay Alive was playing, and it was just getting to the part when "The Prayer of Elizabeth" was first shown and the characters were reading it out loud.

"I'll be back guys," I called. They just grunted back and I shook my head. I left the apartment, the heavy, wooden door closing with a 'thunk' behind me.

It was so cold out when I left the building I pulled up the hood of my sweatshirt. And even though the sun wasn't out, I pushed the sunglasses onto my nose. With a look down each side of the street, I choose right and started walking. It felt so good to be outside that a bubble of happiness formed in my chest, and a small smile graced my lips.

People were hurriedly walking down the street, at least all of them carrying umbrellas. Rain would hit me when I stepped away from the awnings of different shops, but I didn't care. It wasn't until the rain started soaking through my clothes that I actually stopped and looked around at my surroundings.

I jogged across the street to a promising look record store, a few cars honking at me in the process. I froze in front of the windows and grimaced. I looked like a right bum, with my slightly baggy clothes, scuffed boots, and a small amount of stubble on my jaw. I rubbed my chin and frowned. I had to start remembering to shave more.

Someone opened the door and I stumbled backwards to get out of their way. I mumbled a 'sorry' and slid into the warm store before the door closed. A light tinkling of chimes came from the bells hanging on it, signaling a new customer. A scary looking guy covered in tattoos and piercings at the front counter looked up at me, mumbled a 'hey', and went back to the guitar in his lap. The store was nearly completely empty, the only other people, two teenagers in the Pop section.

"Oh, my god," the blonde one giggled. "Harry Styles is so cute."

"No way. I like Liam way better," the brunette said. She clutched the CD case to her chest and sighed. "One Direction is so amazing."

I had to stop myself from going over there and ripping the offensive album from her hands and chucking it into the street. Instead I took a deep breath and walked to a different section of the store. I pulled out a random album from some stacks, and the whole tower came tumbling down.

"Dammit," I mumbled and bent down to start picking them up. I noticed they were all the same, Lady Gaga's Fame Monster.

"Shit, shit, shit. What happened?"

I glanced up, and whatever I had left for a heart stuttered in my chest and I sucked in a breath. It was the same girl from last night. Her bright, strawberry blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun, a few curls escaping and falling around her pixie face. A green plaid shirt was tied around her hips, and the edge of her black t-shirt was riding up, revealing a strip of creamy, white skin right above the jeans resting low on her body.

My eyes went to that small spanse of skin and I swallowed. I forced my gaze back up to where Taking Back Sunday was branded across her chest in neon letters. A queer feeling settled in my stomach the longer I stared, and I went back to picking up the albums. I didn't have to look up to know that she had bent down to help.

"I'm really sorry," I said and then grimaced. My voice was like a croak.

"No, it's fine," she sighed. The sound of her voice crawled up my spine and under my skin. I thought it was going to be light, like her hair and her skin but it was rough, husky and went all the way down to my bones.

She looked up, her brow wrinkling in confusion at my sunglasses and scruffy appearance. I reached up and pulled them off my face, along with my hood. I knew the exact moment she recognized me, her violet eyes widening comically.

"Y-You-" she stuttered.

"Yes?" Despite myself, I noticed a slight hint of humor in my voice.

"I saw you at the club last night, right?" The crease in her forehead deepened, one side of her mouth tilting downward.

I stood up, two stacks of CD cases in my hands. I put them back on the shelf, and turned to her. From this angle, she looked to so vunerable and breakable. And tiny.

"Yup," I shoved my hands into my pockets, now feeling extremely awkward. "I'm Nathan."

"Marin," she scrambled up to her feet, and she was only about two inches shorter than my 5'9" height. I glanced down and that's when I noticed the sandals wrapped around her feet, all straps. They looked like some sort of bondage tool, the only visible part, her pink toenails. She chewed on her lip for a second, looking really uncomfortable, before gesturing around the store. "Was there anything I could help you find?"

"Oh, no. I was just kind of, um, looking for a place to get out of the rain." I mentally smacked myself. I had come in here to poke around the shop, not hide from a litte bit of water.

She turned back around to look out the window, and her face seemed to fall. Or maybe I was imaginging it.

"Well, it's stopped for now. Better get going before it starts to downpour again."

I nodded, pulling my hood back up over my head.

"Yeah, I'll see you around," I mumbled, then side-stepped around her. Her clean scent hit my nostrils, a mixture of the rain outside and fresh laundry. My hands fisted in my pockets, and I ran outside the shop.

It took every ounce of willpower and control I had to not go back in there and pull her against me and have all that pale skin under my hands. To bury my nose in her sunrise colored hair and breathe her in. I gritted my teeth against the urge and started to walk.

A few minutes later, it started to rain again.