[ Bangalore’s view ]
There is one thing I hate more than men. Noise. I had been in Gridiron’s library from dawn to dusk trying to study, but some girl had been going from shelf to shelf, obnoxiously stacking books and smashing them on the general table. She popped some type of coconut treat in her mouth too, leaving the wrapper on MY table, out of all the tables. Whatever happened to that silent in the library rule.
I looked up from behind my book to see the woman heading towards my direction, with an armful of books about... Earth’s geographic? That’s a strange thing to be causing an obscene amount of noise for.
I secretly glared at the girl as her manicured hand glided across my table, her eyes too preoccupied with whatever bookshelf behind me to notice me seething in irritation. I rolled my eyes as the smell of her vanilla scent wavered in front of my table. At least she has one redeeming quality. I struggled to find where I left off in my book as the slamming of books continued behind me, followed by her frustrated sighs and tiny outcries.
We had to be the only two in the library, because by now someone would have said something. I looked around to see if I could find where a librarian was, but the side of the building was pretty much empty. Great, I was going to have to address this pain in the ass.
I attempted to ignore the loud smacking of books being slammed shut and shoved back into their designated shelves. I looked behind me, shooting her a look, only to realize she was around my section where all the books I needed for research resided.
Ugh. I had better things to do then tell some pretty girl to fuck off, but I had my test in the Frontier War test coming up, so having the princess rough up the books in my section was a no go. I pulled my chair out, packed my things in my backpack and stuck my pencil behind my ear before approaching the girl. After I told her off, I was going home to my grandma’s so I could cool down. No way I was going to be able to focus in a tense environment.
As I approached, my shadow reached her before I did, causing her to look up in a wide-eyed curiosity. I frowned, trying to ignore how finding out she was gorgeous up close put out some of the rage I had flaming in my chest. I wanted to walk away in shame now, but I was already in the motion, and her complete attention was on me.
“Hey, I don’t know if you’re new around here, but here in Gridiron, but being noisy in a library is usually frowned upon!” After the words left my mouth, she tilted her head slightly, looking me up and down. I felt silly, standing tall with my fist at my side and books stacked in my arm. I definitely looked like a nerd. A sly smile spread across her face, as she stood up.
“Hm... Perfect! I could use your help!”
“Hey, What? I don’t work here-“ Before I could object, she grabbed me by my free hand and took me to the other side of the building, labeled “Pre-War History.”
“Judging by the IMC Leather jacket, you either had family in the army, which would be embarrassing, or you’re an aspiring soldier,” She gauged my reaction, before speaking again.
“Which would be.... even more embarrassing... but you grunts know your war history more than anyone,” she pulled out a book from the shelf, as I sat there trying not to appear offended at her careless jabs.
“What’s your deal against the IMC?” I asked, failing miserably at keeping the hurt out my voice. She laughed, putting the book back and allowing her fingers to graze over the book spines.
“You must not know who I am,” She laughed, pulling another book out where her finger previously rested.
“Don’t know and kinda don’t care,” I said, crossing my arms in irritation at this girl. Who was she to walk in her with her stupid long, flowing curls and her stupid cropped hoodie, with her stupid heels along with her stupid expensive shades and insult me while simultaneously asking for my help. The strange woman laughed, poking my biceps with the book in her hands
“Awe, don’t be upset your precious army is on the wrong side of history,” She opened the book, flipping through the pages and landing on a page with a strange image on the bottom.
“What the heck am I looking at?” I asked, still partially annoyed from her jabs. She threw her hands up and let a big smile play across her face.
“A beach!” She announced, smiling like she just solved the answer to all of the Universe’s problems. I frowned at her like she had officially lost it.
“What the hell is a beach?” I asked.
“I don’t know! I’ve scoured every library throughout the planets in my free time, yet to find out the true purpose of it!”
“Okay... what does that have to do with me?” I asked, unsure if I even had the time to entertain the fantasies of some stranger.
“Don’t you wonder about the world before our many others? How the people lived in Pre-war times?” Her eyes gleamed in excitement. Wow this must be her favorite subject. I’d be an asshole to look down on a face like that and leave her to search all alone.
“I’m leaving,” I stated, adjusting the strap on my backpack and turned around, only to be stopped by the girl as she practically jumped in front of me, almost causing me to stumble on top of her.
“Hey-“
“Look, I didn’t mean anything on the comments about the IMC,” Once she finished saying the words in one breath, she took a dramatic inhale, letting out a sigh. There was a pause, as she reflected on her statement before speaking again.
“Actually, there was alot of meaning behind that, the IMC is shitty, but I didn’t mean to personally offend you.” I stared at her, amazed at the audacity, before giving in to her adorable pout, silently pleading for me to help her. It’s not like I had anything better to do.
“Look... I’m not a big fan of the IMC...” The girl looked at my jacket with look of confusion and amusement. I rolled my eyes, trying not to get annoyed again.
“I’m not a big fan anymore. It’s just all I have left of my brother whose been M.I.A for a while,” I confessed. I avoided looking up, afraid to meet a pair of eyes full of pity and forced sympathy, but instead I felt a warm hand on my shoulder, to see the woman hold a fierce stare with me, as she nodded in certainty.
“He’s still out there,” She said matter of factly. I felt an odd sense of comradery as she continued to browse the books, no doubt looking for more pictures of this mysterious place. I checked the watch on my wrist to see I had a couple more hours before tomorrow’s test. I looked up to see the girl had vanished down the aisle of books. I jogged where I thought she had disappeared to, finding myself wanting to know more of her story.
“Hey.. um, shades? I didn’t catch your name!” I called out. I wandered down another aisle, following the sweet smell of her perfume.
“Shades?” I called out, slowly my walk to a stalk.
“Shaaaades,” I hollered out in a singsong voice. Huh. I guess she left. I turned around towards the exit to find the woman an inch away from my nose. Before a yelp could leave my mouth, she covered it. My breaths hit her hand as she slowly put one finger up to her mouth.
“Don’t you know being noisy in a library is usually frowned upon?” She taunted. I rolled my eyes, taking her hand off of my mouth.
“Oh, haha, very funny,” I fought off a smile that began to creep on my face. I crossed my arms, putting on a fake show of irritation as she led me by shirt to another section of the library.
“So what’s your story?” I asked, “you’re obviously not from around here.” The woman shook her head, shushing me with her finger.
“Can I at least get your name?” I asked, but I was shushed again, as our out-of-sync walk slowed more to a steady creep.
“Why are we sneaking around? The Library’s about to close we gotta-“ The woman’s golden eyes turned to mine, blazing in a foreign look of fear and excitement.
“Why leave when we’d miss the best part,” she said in a hushed voice.
“What? There’s no way I’m breaking the rules to stay in some dusty library full of cobwebs and books,” I hissed. The woman covered my mouth again, crouching low behind the librarian’s desk as the lock of the front doors echoed throughout the building. The lights above us flickered off one by one, before we were left in a thrilling silence. Great, I’m trapped in here with some stranger who hopped planets to find more information about a made-up place. I shot a condescending smile at her as she smirked, fiddling through the main desk of the library.
“Hey, what are you-“ I stood behind her, unsure of what do as everything in me told me to stop her or take the keys she obtained out her hand.
“What’s wrooong, Sergeant, learn to live a little,” she dangled the keys in front of me, taking me by the shirt towards an unknown corridor of the library. I had no clue where we were going, why I wasn’t on my way home, or what prompted me to break the rules with her, and it all felt so wrong. But so right. And although I had no clue where we where going, my curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to put my suspicions on hold. She stopped in front of a bookshelf, silently counting the books in the third row.
“Earth...” She muttered the book’s title, pulling it out of it’s slot. The bookshelf slightly rumbled, cracking open to reveal a secret passage. Oh hell no, I’m not going in some dark hallways that leads to seemingly nowhere.
“Help me move this-“
“Count me out,” I whispered, looking at the woman like she had lost her mind.
“What! We made it this far and you’re bailing!” She whisper-shouted, her eyes widening as I shook my head.
“Lady, I don’t even know your damn name!” I huffed out, “And now you’re revealing bookshelves that lead to secret passages? This ain’t a movie! I’m not some member of the mystery gang! I’m outta here!” Before I could move, her hand shot out, grabbing my arm to keep me here.
“Okay! Okay,” she sighed, “wait. I’ll tell you why I’m really here.” I frowned, deciding it wouldn’t hurt to hear her out.
“Im listening.”
The woman fidgeted with her ring, her golden eyes visibly stressed over the fact she had to share a part of herself to a stranger and a half.
“Look... My name is Loba Andrade,” She held her hands up, as a look of disbelief and shock came over me. The! Loba! Andrade! This woman was infamous for running circles around the Universe’s peacekeepers, and has the stickiest fingers known the men, women and thieves. Only reason she wasn’t locked up is because they never caught her. And here she was. A stone-toss away from me.
“Why didn’t you wait until I left!” I hissed, “You couldn’t have waited ‘till I got home to start your little heist!”
“Well you weren’t moving your stiff ass out of that seat!” She hissed back.
“I was going to leave anyways, you were being so damn noisy!”
“Well that was the plan and it was working smoothly until you had to approach me like some big, bad mob boss! With your stupid big muscles!” She argued.
“Well-“ There was a loud creak heard on the other-side of the library.
“Hello? Whose there?” A voice called. Fuck! No way I was getting a month at Gridiron’s bootcamp. I pushed past Loba and cracked the bookshelf enough for us to fit past and snatched her in, dragging the bookshelf back into place once I was on the other side. I held my breath in the complete darkness as the footsteps came closer.
I looked nervously in the direction we came as the footsteps stopped right in front of the other side of the bookshelf.
“Hm... guess that kid forgot to put a book back.” The security guard pushed the book back into its slot, and walked away from our location. Fuck that was close. I let out a breath of relief, only to be faced with another dumb situation. I was trapped in a narrow, dark hallway with a notorious thief.
“Well... wasn’t that impressive,” she whispered, “only took one angry woman to move that massive bookshelf.” I smacked my teeth, knowing she had that cocky smirk stretched over her annoyingly pretty face.
“Don’t talk to me liar,” I hissed, “All that talk of a beach, that’s not even a real word!” There was a silence before I realized Loba was quietly giggling. The nerve of this thief. I could be halfway home, getting rest before my test that DETERMINED if I graduated my class or not. Great. I huffed, dismissing the thought that this was the most fun I had in months.
“What’s the big plan now, Seargant?” I‘m guessing she was unaware of how close she was to me, as I could pick up the faint smell of coconut on her breaths hitting my nose. I tried not to fidget around too much either, becase I could almost feel her body warmth too. A step closer and we’d be up against each other. I struggled to get the words out my mouth, alarmed at our proximity to each other.
“Uh... You jingle that mysterious key in the door so I have room to breathe,” I whispered, trying my best to keep from accidentally rubbing against her.
“Yes sir!” She whispered, turning around, causing her bottom to rub against me anyways. I felt my face heat up as she jingled the lock, opening the door to what looked like an observatory. Loba tugged me into the room by my shirt, looking up in awe at the digital holographs of never-seen-before images.
“What... what is this?” I asked, my mouth going ajar from the slide show that showed a montage of moments that seemed to be from the world before ours. The people before ours. Unknown words popped up randomly after each image, along with a string of unintelligible sentences by a narrator. I looked to my right to see Loba taking it all in with me. Her face flashed with different colors as the images reflected in her eyes. I noticed something in her hands that emitted a soft-blue light.
“So... What exactly are you trying to steal... and how are you going to get out of here with it” I asked. Loba continued to stare in awe at the ceilings, her mouth opened as if she was going to say something but nothing came out.
The initial feeling of shock was replaced with uneasiness as I took note of all the priceless artifacts stored in Gridiron’s library. Something told me that this would land me more than just time at bootcamp.
“There it is,” Loba said, touching a floating screen which seemed to control the images. I slowly walked up besides Loba, fighting back the sudden urge to cry. The rays of a yellow star shone over the clear, blue water of the ocean. Tiny, black-winged creatures could be seen flying over the water, as the waves danced towards the shore. What looked like millions and millions of pastel, colored grains littered the shore as varying types of people laughed and smiled with each other. It seemed as if the rays of the sun didn’t even bother them. If I closed my eyes to the sound of the wind blowing and the children laughing, it was almost as if I was there. Feeling the warmth of the sun without hurting.
“Loba.... what is this,” I whispered, resisting the urge to reach out and touch the holographic images that played in front of us. Loba paused the show, as a word popped up along with the narrator’s jumble of sentences.
“A beach. with water. and... sand?” She uttered slowly, the last word sounding completely foreign to my ears.
“Oh... so this is what a beach is...”
“She’s beautiful isn’t she,” Loba muttered.
“She is...” My eyes began to linger on Loba’s lips for too long. I don’t know why I was so drawn towards her, especially when every bone in my body told me she was trouble. But it felt as if I had known her in the life before mine. I never had a tolerance for these types, but with her it just came natural. Agh. What am I talking about. Just an hour ago my head was about to blow off my shoulders because of her. Yet... something prompted me to stay. To stick around. Unaware that I had been staring, I averted my eyes just as she turned to look at me.
“Could you imagine being here? Carefree and unaware of what the future brings?” She asked, her voice so soft and low, the sounds of the past almost drowned her out.
“It would be nice to see a star sink into the ocean,” I said, trying my best to ignore the flurry of butterflies in my stomach. Loba voice sounded much closer this time, almost as if she spoke right into my ear. She let out a low chuckle, playfully tapping the side of my head.
“No silly... it’s the Sun and the Ocean kissing each other goodbye.”
“But... why would they ever leave each other?” My breathe hitched, as Loba put a finger under my chin, turning me to face her. There was confusing mix of endearment and solemn on her face, as she simply stared into my eyes, leaving me to look back into her gaze. There was a silence as my heart begged me to just go for it.
It felt as years of my longing and yearning for someone had be resolved once her soft hands slid behind my neck. As if it was instinct, I put both of my hands behind her back, pulling her closer to me as we shared breaths, unsure of what we were doing, but silently agreeing to just go with it.
There was pause, as her lips barely grazed mine. She waited seconds for me to push back, pressing our lips together in exhilaration once I did so. I could still still taste the coconut treat on her tongue, only fueling my desire to please her. I practically ripped the jacket off my back, taking pride in Loba’s look of shock at the sight of my arms. She let a satisfied sigh escape her mouth, as I hoisted her up against the wall which the images projected on. Colors and lights danced along our bodies as I passionately kissed her, pressing myself against her body with her legs wrapped around my waist. The sound of her shades could be heard breaking against the floor, as they fell off her head. My hands slowly made themselves down her back and along her inner thigh, in a circular motion as her legs slowly opened in an uncontrollable lust.
“Wait-“ She huffed out, “I never got your name either.” I paused, kissing along her neck before whispering ‘Anita’.
“Anita-“ A gasp of pleasure escaped her mouth, as I slowly dragged my tongue along her ear. I sealed it with a kiss, before going back to her neck, making sure to take things slower this time. The belt she had snatched off of my waist landed on top of projector, causing it to flicker on and off while I continued to tease the woman. Loba breaths grew uneven as I began to go lower, a look of a euphoric daze coming over her face. I picked my backpack of the ground, grabbing something that made the princess chuckle.
“Finally,” she whispered, laying her head down on the table as I adjusted the toy on my waist. The sounds of the beach played around us, with the lapping of the waters crashing against the shores matching the rhythm of out entangled bodies. Feeling her nails claw into my back along with the constant fear of being caught gave me an unmatched thrill as we made love beside many priceless artifacts. Loba began to stiffen up, holding me close to her body, as her hot breaths hit my ear.
“Anita...” She whimpered, rolling her head back and closing her eyes to embrace her incoming climax.
“Mhmm?” I hummed, taking in the sight of the out of breath beauty. She closed her eyes tight, opening her mouth as she began to say something.
“I-“ She cut herself off, moaning in bliss as she rode out her peak on my thigh. In both fright and delight, I leaned down, catching her tongue in my mouth before her sounds could be heard outside the secret room. I felt her grip in my hair tighten as she came down, pulling me into her frenzied kiss with no shame. For a few seconds the room went silent, as the projection of the beach cut off. In complete darkness, with nothing but the sound of our synced breathing, I couldn’t help but miss the moment as it passed. Loba flipped on top of me, laying her head against my chest with no comment on the rapid beating of my heart.
For the first time in years, I was worried about nothing. Not the test tomorrow. Not getting caught. Not even... wait. The woman had fallen asleep on top of my chest, and although I knew things like this never last, something in me broke when I realized I could never see her again. This was an anomaly in our lives. She was a thief and I was studying on the world’s most military influenced planet. I knew she couldn’t stay. Even if she wanted to. And I couldn’t just up and leave everything I grew to know. I looked down at the woman again, taking in the image of her slightly smeared lipstick. Her previously long, untouched curls sat disheveled on-top of her head. Her hand rested on my side, holding me tight like her personal pillow. I held my breath as she shuffled around, resting her head closer to my neck once she repositioned herself.
Sigh. I know that once this night was over, it‘s over but as the holographic projections flickered back on, I closed my eyes and pretended. I pretended we were laying down, on a beach. With sand. Sand so annoying it filled the soles of your shoes or bits got in your mouth every time the wind blew. Patting the sand out of her hair. Making castles and cars out of it. The smells of sweet candies along with the sounds of the strange, black creatures flapping their wings. The feeling of a star’s warmth. Falling asleep under this harmless star. The feeling of Loba’s soft breaths hitting my neck.
“Does the sun ever see the ocean again?” I whispered, asking no one but the darkness that surrounded us.