Storm Warning

Just like always, she's up with the sun.

The weather is already looking much more promising today so she decides a little exploring of the new city is in order. She drags her still exhausted body out of the plush blankets and into the bathroom to take a long shower. The hot water burns at first but she stays under the steady spray anyway, hoping it will work to loosen up her stiff muscles. Once she's washed away the long hours in the car from the day before, she wraps the thin white hotel towel around her body and does the best she can to her hair with the tiny hair dryer attached to the wall at the vanity.

When she finally decides it looks presentable enough, she shuffles over to the green bag in the corner chair and digs through it for the long sleeve tee shirt carelessly tossed into the bottom. She pulls out a pair of jeans to wear with it but before she has a chance to change into them, there's a knock on her door. She goes to answer it, assuming it must be housekeeping or something, but when she pulls the door open, she's met with a familiar blonde instead.

"Oh, good, I wasn't sure you'd be up! Want to grab some breakfast downstairs?"

Her brows furrow in confusion as she stares at the wide, hopeful eyes of the girl in front of her. She isn't sure why this person would want to have breakfast with a virtual stranger, but she also can't deny that it would be nice to have a conversation with someone besides hotel staff. "Uhh, sure. I just have to get dressed first."

"No problem! Meet you down there."

The blonde is grinning as she walks away in the direction of the elevators and it occurs to Lyla as she closes the door and goes to change that she doesn't even know the girl's name. Once she's dressed and has her shoes on, she pushes a hand through her unruly waves and grabs her room key and phone, stuffing them into her old leather purse as she leaves the room, letting the door shut behind her.

She's caught off guard when she walks into the dining room downstairs and finds, not one, but two people at the table. The blonde spots her immediately and throws her hand up in an excited wave, causing the the second girl to look up from her plate. Lyla waves back and goes over to make herself some food because it won't be much longer before they stop serving their complimentary breakfast.

"Hey!" the blonde greets, smiling widely as Lyla takes the open chair directly across from her. "So I just realized we don't even know each other's names. I'm Erica. This is Jillian, my little sister."

"Lyla," she replies, returning the smile. "So what brings you guys to Raleigh?"

"The whole family's down visiting our brother for a few days. Gonna hang out, spend some time together, go to a game or two. He plays hockey here." Lyla tries to keep her face neutral, but it obviously doesn't work because Jillian and Erica both laugh. "What is it?"

"Nothing, I just-....My, um-....Someone I used to know....played."

"Oh? Ex boyfriend or something?"

She swallows the lump in her throat and nods. "Something like that."

"So anyway," Jillian starts, changing the subject. "What about you? What brings you here?"

"Moving to the area. I just got here yesterday so I haven't found a place or anything yet."

"Oh, nice! Where ya moving from?"

"Chicago." Just saying the word makes her cringe, thinking about the way she left things there but, if either of the girls notices, they don't mention it.

"That's not where you're from originally though, is it?" Jillian asks and when she sees the look on Lyla's face, she lets out a giggle. "I just mean you can tell that's not where you're from. You have a little bit of an accent."

"Oh," Lyla chuckles. "I've heard that a lot. But no one can ever tell me what kind of accent it is and I can't really notice it."

"It almost sounds, like.....French a little bit?"

She nods thoughtfully. "Makes sense. That's the last place I was before I learned English."

"How long ago was that?" Erica asks.

"Almost two years ago. When I came to the States."

The sisters exchange a look before they both scrunch up their faces, confused. "Wait, so where are you from then? Like, originally?"

"Nowhere, really. I've never lived anywhere long enough to consider myself from there."

"Where were you born?"

"Japan."

"Well what about your parents? They obviously aren't Japanese," Erica chuckles, motioning across the table to her.

Lyla tenses at the mention and she wants to change the subject but both sisters are staring at her, obviously intrigued. She's always been comfortable meeting new people and talking to strangers but never when it involves her personal self. Especially not within five minutes of conversation. "They were Americans," she finally says. "But they were constantly traveling and when I was born, it didn't stop them."

"That sounds amazing! So you've probably been all over the world!"

"Some of it," she shrugs casually, changing the subject. "So where are you guys from?"

"Oh! We're from Canada. Ontario, actually. Well, Jill actually lives in Pennsylvania for school right now but she had a break the rest of this week so we decided to come down and see Jeffy for a couple of days since we all could be here. It's not too often we can get all eight of us in one place."

"Such a huge family! I bet Christmas was fun growing up."

Just like that the subject is firmly shifted away from her and Lyla sits back in her chair, relieved, as she listens to the two girls' stories and eats her eggs. They sit there talking long after breakfast stops being served and when they finally get up to leave, they're exchanging numbers and making plans to hang out later. The three girls part ways, the sisters going off to find their siblings and Lyla heading out to do some exploring.

+

There's no one down at the pool area but, then again, it's February and the temperatures outside are below freezing. The jacuzzi is tucked away in the corner by the wall and she hurries across the cold concrete, peeling her dress off as she goes, dropping it and her towel into an empty chair as she kicks off her flip flops. She sets her phone on top of her clothes and walks over to the edge, dipping one foot in first and then the second. The water is so hot it stings at first and she sighs as she sinks down into it, leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes as her tense muscles immediately begin to relax.

Jeff steps into the elevator after leaving his brother's room on the fifth floor and heads straight down to the lobby. The night clerk at the front desk eyes him suspiciously as he turns left down the hall instead of right to leave but she doesn't stop him and only a few moments later, he's pushing open the door to the pool area. It's empty just like he expected so he walks over in the direction of the jacuzzi but when he rounds the corner, he freezes mid-step.

It's the girl from the night before. The one that had made his heart jump into his throat when she had looked at his family's table and smiled as she waved at his sister. He had immediately demanded to know who she was but Erica only shrugged and said she knew nothing except that she was staying on the same floor. When Erica had told him at the game earlier that she'd had breakfast with the mystery girl, he wanted to know everything she'd said.

And now she's sitting in front of him, head tilted back and eyes closed, and he wants to talk to her but he also feels like he's so nervous he could throw up. After a few moments of standing there like an idiot debating with himself, he gives up and turns around to leave, but stops in his tracks when she calls out to him.

"You don't have to go."

He curses himself for getting caught as he slowly turns back to face her and now she's sitting up straight, looking at him with the most beautiful steel blue eyes he's ever seen. "I-I didn't wanna disturb you."

She can't help but smile at his stutter. "Oh, please. You're not disturbing me," she tells him, motioning for him to take the empty space across from her.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," she chuckles.

He nods awkwardly and turns to kick off his shoes by the chair where her stuff already sits and he drops his towel next to hers before peeling off his dark green tee shirt. She can't help but watch as he does so, admiring the way the muscles in his back move as he pulls his shirt over his head and she remembers then that Erica had said he plays hockey. He can feel her eyes on him as he walks over to the edge and it makes him even more nervous as he steps down into the water.

"So you're Erica and Jillian's brother."

"Yeah, uh," he pauses, unsure as to whether he should properly introduce himself but his body works faster than his mind and before he can stop himself, he's throwing his hand out between them. "I'm Jeff."

"I know," she laughs, leaning up to take his hand. "I'm Lyla."

He feels like an idiot. Why did he have to do that? People his age don't shake hands when they meet, especially not when they meet somewhere as informal as a hotel jacuzzi at eleven at night. "So, Lyla, you know my sisters?" Saying her name sends a chill through his body even though the water is almost unbearably hot and he likes it. He never wants to stop saying her name ever again.

"Somewhat. I met Erica in the hall yesterday after Jillian stole her bag and I inadvertently helped her get revenge so I guess she likes me."

"I can see why."

"What?"

Shit, had he said that out loud? His eyes widen in horror and he swallows hard as he stares at her in surprise. "Nothing. Sorry, I-...."

Lucky for him, Lyla just smiles and shakes her head, breezing right on over it. "Anyway, I had breakfast with them this morning so I guess you could say we're friends now? I mean, we've got a BFF date scheduled and everything."

Jeff already knows all this thanks to his youngest older sister but pretends he doesn't because he'd rather hear Lyla say it anyway. "I hope they don't scare you off. They're kind of intense sometimes."

"No way," she snorts, and she's not even embarrassed by it. "They're actually great."

"Spend a little more time around them and then get back to me," he jokes, and much to his surprise, she seems to think it's funny.

"Okay, now I'm a little scared."

"You should be."

She sighs and shakes her head, a lopsided smile gracing her perfect features, but then she tilts her head slightly and narrows her eyes as she scrutinizes him. He's immediately nervous under her gaze; he can't look directly at her when she's got her steel blue eyes focused on him so intently.

"You live here, right? In Raleigh?"

"Yeah, I do."

"So what exactly are you doing here?"

"O-oh," he starts, immediately stumbling over words. He doesn't want to tell her why he's really there because he doesn't want to sound like a total diva but he also doesn't want to lie, not when she's looking at him like she can see straight through him. She'd know anyway. "Usually I'd be at the rink for-....We're kinda on a losing streak and-....I don't know, I just didn't wanna have to put up with anyone, ya know? Just wanted some peace and quiet, I guess."

Lyla would be severely confused if she didn't already know he played hockey. He isn't really making sense but she feels like she understands anyway. His team's lost their past few games and he doesn't feel like dealing with various reporters, coaches, trainers, etc. who always hound the players. Suddenly, she realizes that maybe she's an unwelcome interruption in his night of decompression and sulking after a loss.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude on you. Do you want me to go?"

"What? No!" he answers a little too quickly and a blush floods his cheeks as he looks down from her eyes, embarrassed. "You, uh-....you can stay. I want you to stay."

She grins, thoroughly amused. "Okay, I'll stay."

He glances up only to catch her gaze and immediately looks down again with a bashful smile. "Good."

Things are quiet for a few moments, nothing between them but the hum of the jets stirring the water. Lyla tilts her head back once again and looks up at the sky, pitch black with millions of tiny flecks of light scattered across. "It's pretty here," she says softly. "You don't get starry skies like this in Chicago."

"You're from Chicago?"

Of course Jeff already knows the answer. The things Erica told him from her breakfast are fresh in his mind but he has to keep Lyla engaged if he doesn't want her to leave. He can't let another awkward silence pass between them and, besides, he enjoys watching her talk. The way she twirls the loose strand of dark hair that's fallen out of her perfectly messy bun, the way her long lashes fan out over her cheeks when she blinks, the way she licks her lips before she speaks....

"I came here from Chicago but it's not where I'm from."

"Where are you from?"

She shrugs and the small smile that slips its way onto her face looks a little devious. "I'm not from anywhere."

"Come on," he chuckles. "You have to be from somewhere."

"But I'm not," she insists.

"That's impossible."

She shakes her head ever so slightly. "No, it isn't. I've never lived anywhere long enough to call it home."

"Well," he starts nervously, hoping that what he says doesn't come out ridiculously cheesy. "Maybe Raleigh can be that place."

"Maybe," she finally relents after a few beats, and they both smile, Jeff in relief and Lyla in her signature poker face. She's never settled down in her twenty-three years and Raleigh won't be any different than all the other places she's lived. She knows she's not meant to stay in one place. There's wanderlust in her blood and flight in her soul. She was born to leave and she's known it all her life.

The phone perched atop her pile of clothes goes off and the smile is wiped off her face right before his eyes. She hesitates, biting down on her lip, but then she jumps up and climbs out of the jacuzzi to go over to it. She quickly dries her hands before hitting the ignore button on the screen, knowing it's him calling even though she deleted his name from her contacts last night. She stares at the missed call, now just a set of numbers instead of a name, and lets out a heavy sigh. The clock says it's just after midnight, which makes it eleven where he is. He's probably just finished his many Thursday night duties and is heading home.

"Everything okay?" Jeff asks because the expression on her face makes him very nervous. His eyes keep drifting down and he wonders how someone can be wearing such a modest bathing suit and still manage to look that incredible. If he weren't such a coward, he might do something about it.

Her head snaps up to look at him, finding him watching her carefully, and she quickly plasters a fake smile on her face. "Yeah, fine. I just didn't realize it was already midnight. I should go."

He tries not to let the disappointment invade his features as she wraps her towel around her body and grabs her dress, sliding her wet feet into her flip flops before looking back at him. "It was really nice to meet you, Jeff," she says, giving him a soft smile before she turns to leave.

She's already turned the corner before he can say anything in return.