Lulu & Lestat(Part One)
Take a deep breath and exhale. Better, right? Now is he still looking?....He is...fuck.
My pencil was nervously tapping against the rough paper of my sketchpad as I kept my eyes glued to the page. I couldn't afford to glance up again, and was certain that my face was beet red. I had stopped at the small cafe after my shift at work to relax for a moment and eat what little food I could afford. I had my sketchpad spread across the tiny table that wobbled slightly whenever I let my elbow weigh it down. A half finished sandwich and drink was pushed away to the other side to be left alone. I was sitting towards the back of the restaurant to put distance between myself and the other diners. Even this late in the evening I could still hear the clinks of silverware against the plates through the ear buds blaring music into my ears. But right now, there was only one person that knew I was here. And he caught me staring at him.
The open page shown my half constructed sketch of the man sitting a few tables away from me. His blond hair flowing down to his shoulders in lush waves, his demanding eyes scanning the room thoughtfully, his strong jaw and his lips almost pouting. The popped collar of his black leather jacket accenting his slender neck and pale complexion. The only thing on the table next to him was a still steaming cup of coffee or tea, his hands cupped around the warmth, though I've yet to see him take a sip. My pencil had been sketching the light blue material underneath the jacket and the silver that hung from his neck when I noticed the steel blue of his eyes locked onto my own. I froze like a deer in headlights and my eyes shot down to my pad. I began to retrace lines I had already made, both frightened and desperately wanting to look back at him. He was just so damn handsome! I don't know how to interact with beautiful people...or well...people in general. But I rarely see someone that I'm instantly drawn to, I can count the occurrences on one hand. But here was Adonis in the flesh, mere tables away from me, and his eyes were on me.
I nervously let my eyes slide back up to put him in my sight once more. His eyes were almost glowing and he gave me a sly grin and his lips parted as though he were going to say something before another man came to his table. I nearly sighed in relief when he looked away and at the visitor. This man was very tall with long straight black hair. He wore a simple gray sweater that looked softer than my fleece blankets at home. He was even paler than Mr. Adonis and his face was very somber.
Before I could take in the miracle of two handsome men standing in one small room and conversing, I felt an eyelash fall into my left eye and blind me momentarily. I rubbed at my eye like a sleepy child and inwardly cursed at myself when I pulled my hand away to see smudged black eyeliner across my fingers. I rose to head to the bathroom which wasn't far from the table I was stationed at and felt it was safe to leave a few of my things there. I only wanted to wash my hands and see what damaged I caused across my face.
The bathroom was very tiny and I could hear the buzzing of the fluorescent lighting above me as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My brown hair was a little frizzy and stray strands shot up in many directions, my straight bangs were divided in a few places along my forehead. Around my large hazel eyes my black eyeliner was smeared and faded around the sides from the long day. The liner around my left eye was particularly smeared around almost giving me a black eye. My cheeks were splattered with a red hue and I still felt embarrassment writhing around in my chest. The cold water that I splashed around my face felt like a baptism to wash away my embarrassment. I attempted to make myself look at least a little presentable before walking out of the room since surely the man would look at me once more as I went back to my table. My hands nervously eased out creases of my black dress and my boots squeaked a little with my steps that led out of the bathroom.
When I went back to my table I noticed my sketchpad was gone. I looked on the floor underneath or on the chair next to the one I had been sitting in but I felt my heart nearly leap out of my chest when I saw that the blond haired man was thumbing through my sketchpad at his table, paying no mind to me at all. The other man with the jet black hair sat next to him and shot me an apologetic face as I approached nervously. I had to gather up the nerve to say something.
"E-Excuse me sir, but...that belongs to me and I'd like it back", I said as firmly as I could, my hand outstretched.
The blond man's eyes glinted up at me and a wide grin slowly formed across his face. His fingers turned to another page in my sketchpad and his eyes returned to the heavily sketched pages. He flipped page after page, as though he were searching for a particular page. His fingers halted when he found a certain page and folded back the page and turned it to my direction so that I could see it.
"You know, I rather like this one, who is this fetching fellow?", the blond man's voice was like pure velvet. Each word was like a wave that washed over me and I was instantly addicted. The drawing he was presenting was an old one, at least done over a year ago. I went to reach for the sketchpad but he drew back his hands, his eyes on me and his wide Cheshire grin still plastered on his face.
"That's Vampire Hunter D, he's a Japanese character from a novel", I sighed.
The blond man began chuckling at my answer and returning to flipping through the pages. The paler dark haired man that sat beside him nudged his arm.
"Lestat, stop playing games and give it back to her", he said calmly.
"Ahh but Louis, I haven't shown her my favorite yet!", the blond man said excitedly as he flipped to the back of the pad, closer to where my more recent sketches live. The man with dark hair, Louis, rolled his eyes and leaned back into his chair. Lestat turned the sketchpad back to my direction and the page was returned to my sketch of him I started earlier when he caught me staring.
"Absolutely gorgeous, cherie. I'm honored, really. I'd love to see what you could do if you'd actually come closer.", he said, finally holding out my sketchpad within my reach. When my hand grasped it however, he held it tight.
"Ah ah ah. I'll only give it back if you'll tell me your name", he teased.
"Lulu", I stated plainly and I bit my lip hoping he wouldn't prod me further. But the glint in his eyes told me he was only getting started.
"I have to say, I was expected much more of a grand name for such an intricate and mesmerizing young lady. Surely that's only a nickname?", he questioned. "Ah, but please, where are my manners?". He then rose and walked around the table next to where I stood and pulled out one of the wooden chairs "Please, take a seat", he said softly, his hand directing me to the chair. I didn't want to be rude, and I honestly didn't want to leave their presence. Something about the man with blond hair, Lestat, made me want to follow his every command. I took a deep breath after I sat down and pulled myself up to the table to calm my nerves as Lestat claimed his seat across from me.
"Okay, well, my real name is Liueatrice Bellefleur, but I go by Lulu", I said meekly, too nervous to make eye contact this close, so my focus was on my black painted nails that twitched and scratched at cuticles. I felt my face light on fire as I saw a slender pale hand reach across the table to grab hold of my hand.
"And I am Lestat de Lioncourt", his hand pulled mine further until he placed a soft kiss upon my knuckles, his bright blue gaze penetrating. He released my hand and motioned to the man that sat beside him, that seemed to be staring off into his own world. "This is my dear friend, Louis".
Louis turned to face me and it was then that I noticed his beautiful emerald eyes that held such a soft gaze. He offered only a soft smile before turning to Lestat. "It's wonderful to meet you, but I'm afraid we should be leaving", he said a little coldly.
"But we've only just began talking! How can we possibly leave. I'm sure it would break the young lady's heart, wouldn't it dove?", he said as his lips pouted. With one hand I pulled my sketchpad closer to my chest and with my other I slid my fingers through my hair to tuck part of it behind my ear nervously. "It's fine, really. I should be heading home. I've had a long day", I said.
"Then we will escort you home, you live close by, I assume", Lestat said.
"That's all you, Lestat. Farewell, Lulu. Have a pleasant evening", Louis said, rising to his feet. He turned to leave, but not before placing a hand on Lestat's shoulder and whispering something to him in a voice so low
I couldn't hear. It must have been a joke of some sort, because Lestat laughed heartily before removing Louis' hand from his shoulder for him to also rise. He approached my chair and offered his hand to me. I stared at him for a moment, not moving an inch.
"It's quite alright, I won't bite too hard", he laughed softly.
Autumn leaves were scattered along the ground as me and Lestat walked together. With Lestat striding nearly in front of me, it felt like he was leading me to my own apartment. I had to walk slightly faster than normal to keep up with his damn long legs. My heavy boots were crunching along the leaves on the sidewalk under the pale moonlight while Lestat had the silent footsteps of a ghost or a ninja. He slowed his pace and moved his arm close to me, as though he were going to hold the small of my back as we walked, but I recoiled away from him and stepped off the sidewalk onto the pavement of the empty road. I looked up to see him arch a brow at me and he let his arm fall back to his side.
"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to having someone walk with me. You probably think I'm just some kind of weirdo", I said quickly, my eyes on the dark road ahead of me.
"You are delightfully strange, and that is what I love to see. It's been years since I've seen your kind", Lestat commented, smiling warmly at me.
"My kind?", I questioned.
"The kind of people that clad themselves in midnight. The ones that shroud their bodies with the allure of the autumn season. The ones that love nothing more than the dark heavy rhythm hidden within music with hypnotically poetic words that engrave within your soul"
"Yeah, there were allot more of us in high school", I said casually. I pondered him in my mind. He talked to me like I was a kid, but we had to be the same age. Maybe he was in his mid twenties, but he couldn't be that much older than me....could he? And I wasn't a kid, I could legally drink...but then again I did just bring up high school.
"Consider yourself a beautiful relic of a forgotten tribe, one that I cherish".
His words were making the red color rise in my cheeks again as we drew closer to my apartment complex. We approached the stairwell to reach my apartment and he moved to the side to allow me to lead the way up the stairs. As I walked up the stairs I began to fumble to find my keys and I felt my foot slide from a step and caused me to trip and fall onto the steps. I felt Lestat's hand on my back and slip around my side to help me up.
"I would've caught you, cherie, but I've never seen anyone manage to fall up stairs", he chuckled.
"Trust me, if there's a way, I'll find it', I muttered as I ran my hand along my shin where the rough stone steps grazed the skin.
Once we reached the top of the stairs I heard Lestat tell me to sit down on the top step. I turned nervously, but his warm smile made my hesitation fade slightly and I plopped down, scooting over, expecting him to sit beside me. However, he knelt down on a lower step in front of me and leaned forward to place a soft kiss along my knee and shin.
"Better?", he whispered and looked up at my blushing face. All I could do was nod quickly and let out a small squeak that was supposed to be a word. He rose a bit and reached towards my face and I quickly flinched and pulled away from him, standing and moving backwards. But he was moving towards me almost like a large cat about to pounce.
"Don't be afraid of me, mon chere. Never of me", he said softly, his steps coming towards me, even as my back hit the door behind me, effectively trapping me as he came to stand directly in front of me. My breathing hitched as I felt his hand on my face and my eyes quickly closed, old habits and fears getting the best of me. His hand felt cool and was softly sliding across my hot cheek.
"Shh, no pain, Lulu. I'm not here to hurt you. Trust in me", he whispered as he leaned closer. I opened my eyes to see him towering over me. His brow was furrowed and his eyes were staring into mine. I felt like I couldn't look away from his gaze, like it was the right thing to do. I was falling into those deep blue pools and I wasn't sure if I could break out of the water. I slowly became aware that words were leaving my lips but I didn't know what I was saying. Whatever I was saying seemed to be what he wanted to hear, because he tapped my cheek lightly and smiled.
"Good girl, just trust in me", Lestat said softly and placed a kiss on my forehead before pulling away. I was able to breathe comfortably again and Lestat once again took my hand to place a gentle kiss on my knuckles.
"Shall I meet you here tomorrow night?", he asked of me.
"Yes...please!" I said suddenly, maybe a little too excited. He gave me another wide Cheshire grin before making his way back down the steps of my apartment, leaving me with a pounding heart and a racing pulse.