I run to you. Lucah.

[Alyssa James]

Alyssa needed time to cool down. Somewhere she could get away and be herself for a while. She had been hiding behind closed doors and avoiding personal questions. She was angry, so very angry. Boys couldn’t turn into men overnight and she berated herself for even thinking that. She wanted a guy, someone who shared the same interests as her. Not just sex or any kind of physical touching. She continued her way on the icy sidewalk, unaware of where she was going. She just wanted to get out and sing. It had been a while since she had done it and it was a hunger inside of her.

She found herself in the empty auditorium. There were usually chairs set up in neat rows, but it was empty. The stage, the floor, it was all empty. There was great acoustics and she vaguely wondered how it would feel like if she was in a choir or something, but since her mother died, she had called off singing in public. Those who knew her family had said she sounded like her mother. She gave a little ‘ooo’ and it echoed back to her. It made her want to squeal, which was something she didn’t do often.

She looked behind her, checking the curtains and all the little crooks and nannies for anyone who would be there. Alyssa sat on the edge of the stage, so she could see the door and anyone who walked through. She tugged at her dress. She had felt like dressing up and this was hanging in the back of her closet forgotten. She started humming and practices to warm up her voice. When she was done, she started to sing “I Run to You” by Lady Antebellum in a clear alto.

“I run my life
Or is it running me
Run from my past
I run too fast
Or too slow it seems
When lies become the truth
That's when I run to you”

[Lucah Ivaskov]

Lucah hadn't really been very social for a while. Between his sister being ripped away from him and dumping his first love, things weren't really going all that well. He'd hung out with Tessa, his best friend, but that was merely a coincidence. And he'd been a little tipsy which had an affect on his social skills. It improved them. Things just hadn't been all that great for him lately, and he knew his father was just loving every moment of it.

It had been a few months since Lucah had really sang at all. He was always practicing his guitar and his fingers ached for a piano, so he'd travel down to the music room every once in a while to play. Since Jezebel had left, he hadn't sang at all. Music was what brought the two siblings even closer and every time he sang, he was reminded of when she was young and he'd sang her to sleep so many times. It was almost painful to think about.

He'd slowly made his way around the school, hoping to find a place to practice his guitar. Usually he'd be outside in this sort of weather, but he wasn't really in the mood. He walked around the school a bit and as he was passing the auditorium, he heard music. It wasn't instrumental though, it was definitely a girl's voice. He recognized the song pretty instantly and he plucked at the strings of his guitar to pick up the tune.

Luc peeked inside, unsure of what to expect. He saw a girl, a few years younger than him sitting on the edge of the stage. And the voice had belonged to her. He smiled lightly and played a little louder and before he realized what he was doing, he began singing.

This world keeps spinning faster
To a new disaster
So I run to you
I run to you baby
And when it all starts coming undone
Baby you're the only one I run to
I run to you

[Alyssa James]

Lyssa heard another voice singing the next verse and she clapped her hands over her mouth. It had been years since she sang with someone else. He walked through door and she could see a guitar in his hands, he was plucking chords of the song. There was a smile playing on his lips and before she knew it, she returned that smile to him. He was a cute guy. Well cute and guy didn’t do well to describe him. He looked like he had stepped out of some kind of fairy tale. He was extremely tall, Lyssa probably only came up to the mid-way point of his arm. She always hated being classified as short, but this guy hit a home run. Man, he looked older than fifteen, probably around his twenties if she had any eye for age. Which she didn’t.

His black hair was so silky; it seemed to give off a light of its own. He had a lean figure, which really attracted her eyes. But as he was standing in front of her, he stood up straight, as if, internally, he knew he was better than her. But she was really looking at was his eyes. They were the lightest, brightest blue she had ever seen. It wasn’t like to her drool over some random guy, man, but she wasn’t usually presented with a man like him.

She stood up and brushed off her dress and the way the light hit his face, she could see scars. Some on his face, looking more painful than others. Her eyes widened a bit, but that was the only sign that she had seen them. She stood in the middle of the stage, her back towards him as she sang the last verse as her mother had taught her. Open your throat let the music flow out like water and stand up straight. Use your sternum, not your stomach. Her back was to him so he wouldn’t see the tears that marred her face as she sang the last verse. She had never willingly sung with someone else, it had been three years almost going on four. Perhaps this was different, but she didn’t know what to expect from this guy. With his obvious wealth (or at least as it seemed to her) and his posture that he was better than anyone in the room, which was her, she almost expected him to sneer at her forgotten dress and ratty boots. Not to mention, her purple hair, this was a mess because she could never get it to calm down.


We run on fumes
Your life and mine
Like the sands of time
Slippin' right on through
And our love's the only truth
That's why I run to you

Her voice echoed on the last part and she hastily wiped away the tears and the pain, and turned back to him. Her eyes narrowed at him and she leaped down from the stage and landed on her feet smoothly. She stopped a few feet from him, only to notice a wondrous smell that was coming from him. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as if she was sighing and then opened them. “Hello,” she said simply. Her voice was devoid of anger, pain or even happiness. It was a barren land waiting to be filled of whatever happened next.

[Lucah Ivaskov]

Lucah wasn't the type to just burst out into song. Usually. If he heard music, a song that he knew, he'd mumble the words to himself. In this case, well she was a great singer and he couldn't help himself. Once he walked through the door, guitar in hand, he looked up to see...a midget? No, not a midget, just a shorter girl. He knew he was tall which made everyone else seem extremely short. Then again, his father always said a man should be taller than every woman. It was ridiculous, but coming from Dimitri, a man who was nearly seven foot, it was expected.

The girl on the stage was short, but he didn't peg her as young. Maybe younger than him, but not by much. He was good at determining age and he put her around fifteen to sixteen years old. She had purple hair, something that would have been strange to Lucah before he came to the US, but now he knew girls dyed their hair way too much. It was a big turn-off in Lucah's eyes, but he had to admit, the girl did look beautiful either way. Her figure was, well short for one, but she had nice curves. She didn't look anorexic which was good. Lucah hated girls who didn't take pride in a little curves.

As Lucah appraised her, it brought him back to thinking of Romanian women. She may not have had the height, but she had the build. Curves were a must in Romania and women were usually very curvy. They had long dark hair that flowed down their back and captivating eyes. As he got closer, he noticed her eyes. Captivating was an understatement. She had the greenest eyes he'd ever seen. And he'd seen plenty of green eyes.

She sang the last verse and he watched her. She wasn't the type of girl that tried to be overly flashy. Girls like that were simply too easy in Lucah's eyes. She seemed reserved, as if she didn't want anyone to come close to her. Lucah realized that he'd sort of invaded on her privacy and was feeling a little bad, but he wouldn't admit just how bad he felt. He hadn't even spoke to her, but he was good at reading people. This girl singing in front of him, center stage, was nearly as screwed up as he was.

When she spoke, he recognized the emotionless tone, one he used often. He swung his guitar across his back and stood up straight, presenting himself well was always something he did, even if it did come off as arrogant. He'd admit to having arrogance, but not as much as people would expect coming from a nobleman's son. His lips curved into half a smile and he locked eyes with her. "You have a beautiful voice. I apologize for invading, music just happens to speak to me I suppose. I'm Lucah for the record in case you want to get even and prank me. I'm sure a few people in this school would gladly help." Lucah's Romanian accent was fainter than when he'd first come to Hammel, but it was still very much there. He was trying to seem polite and charming, two things that were a little difficult for him to swing without coming off as cocky.

[Alyssa James]

Lyssa could spot anyone who was screwed up. She really could. The scars meant something, maybe an accident or the happening of abuse, whatever it was, the way he carried himself. She had noticed him noticing her. It made little butterflies in her stomach and she smoothed out her dress while wiping sweat from her hands. Completely disgusting! She was suddenly worried about what this young man had to think about her appearance. She started to think of her good traits.

One of them was her eyes; they were a bright green that would get a little twinkle if she was up to mischief. She liked to think them as lily pools. Or really pretty algae, there is some! Her hair, when it was long and brown, it would catch the light, but now it was a dull purple that didn’t even shine in the light. The dress she had on was supposed to be for her formal dance before her mother died, but when she did, it was too painful to pull it out and go. She sat on her bed and cried for hours, no one coming to offer her any type of comfort. That brought tears to her eyes and she wiped them away. If there was anything she hated most, it was crying in front of people.

“My name is Alyssa. And I’m not going to prank you, if I wanted to get you back, I would do it to your face,” she said, “and thank you for the compliment.” At least she thought it was a compliment. It was hard to read him; he had stood up taller, if that was possible, and it made her seem a little bit smaller.

“I’m sorry if I seem a little shy or withdrawn, it’s been years since anyone has heard my voice.”

[Lucah Ivaskov]

Nerves were something Lucah picked up on quickly. His father had taught him how to figure out if he was making someone nervous. There were signs. Nervous habits. Smoothing her dress was a good sign, but he didn't think much of it at the time. She probably just didn't like looking bad in front of people. He knew what that was like, presentation was a big thing to consider for a first impression. And she had presented herself very well considering the fact that she wasn't expecting anyone.

Lucah wasn't exactly dressed poorly, but he didn't look like he usually did. Jeans were a new thing for him. People had told him plenty of times that he needed to lose the formal wear. And he was actually listening for once. Still, he couldn't get away from wearing all black as if he was attending a funeral. It emphasized a few of his physical traits. The light coloring of his skin, his bright blue eyes, his dark hair, all looked better when he wore dark colors. Not that Lucah couldn't pull of just about any color (besides yellow) he just preferred dark.

He watched her closely, looking for any good sign. A sign that showed he wasn't being completely cold and distant like he usually was. She hadn't dismissed him yet, which was always a good thing.

Lucah smiled a little wider, flashing his perfect pearly white smile. Another trait that helped to have. "That's a lovely name, if you don't mind me saying. And I'm glad you're so straight forward, sneaks are a bit cowardly in my opinion." He cringed internally as that jerk side of him made a small appearance. "Not that I haven't done any sneaky pranking myself, I just don't prefer it." He bit down hard on his tongue before speaking again. "And you're quite welcome, I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. As for being shy, I can easily relate. I don't sing much in front of people either. Not anymore at least."

Lucah looked down after his last comment and sighed. He hadn't sang in front of anyone other than Jezebel since his mother had passed. His father didn't appreciate his voice like Jessamine had. Jezebel had always enjoyed his voice though, especially when she was going to sleep. She had always asked for him to sing her to sleep and he had every time she asked. The thought of both Jezebel and Jessamine sent a shot of pain through his heart and he frowned slightly.

[Alyssa James]

Lyssa flushed slightly. A pretty name? What is he? A charmer? He was dressed nicely, in dark clothing. She had to admit, sadly, that it made him looked older. She was a little intimidated by him; he had such a reputation of being an ass around the school. That made her want to put her walls up, but something held them down. She listened to his voice, it was very pleasant to her ears and so was his singing.

She watched him smile a little bit wider. And then he turned into a slight jerk. Her eyes narrowed and she huffed quietly, but didn’t acknowledge it other than that. She was becoming to like him. She wondered what made his face so scarred and what made him so damn mysterious. It couldn’t help that he had come from Romania. And he was an ass, she had a thing for those types of guys, and that he was tall and handsome and like some kind of prince.

She watched him frown slightly, and wondered what was bothering him. She wanted to know what made him stop and felt like telling him what made her stop. “When I was younger, I used to practice with my mom. And when she passed away, I was 13, I stopped. I’ve only sung in secret to keep up my talent, but it’s been years because people have told me that my voice sounds like my mother’s and it was too painful to keep going.” She had finally told someone, after these last two years, it felt like a stone weighing down her soul. But this stone was moved and that made him seem more like a friend. She smiled at him and turned around to sit on the stage. Even though she was short, she had an easy time jumping onto the stage and sitting there, swinging her boots.

[Lucah Ivaskov]

Lucah could have smacked himself for the comments that bubbled to his lips due to his father's influence on him. She didn't seem to irritated by it though, thank goodness for that. His reputation had taken a few hits, but not enough for people to realize he has moments of being a nice guy. What did everyone expect him to be like when he was always dealing with his dumbass roommate, Romeo, so damn much? They wondered why he was so grumpy. Romeo happened to be that reason usually.

He looked up at her when she spoke and listened politely. The mentioning of her mother made him cringe internally at his own loss and a deeper frown appeared on his face. It wasn't one of those ridiculously degrading frowns that were supposed to be sympathetic. He'd gotten plenty of those looks after anyone found out about his mother's passing. No, this was a frown that said exactly what he felt. He knew what it was like losing someone so close, and yet, he'd been younger when Jessamine died so their relationship had not been as developed as Alyssa's might have been. But he knew how hard it was and how sacrificial it was sometimes.

"Huh, seems like you and I have another thing in common," Luc looked down and rubbed the back of his neck. "I started singing when I was pretty young. My mother put me into vocal lessons when I was three along with piano lessons. She was always helping me get better, she was the singer in our family originally. She died when I was five after giving birth to my sister Jezebel. As Jez grew up I sang her to sleep every night, but that was all I sang." He paused and had to push back the anger before bringing up the next subject, "My father wasn't a big fan of singing. He pushed me into instruments instead." When he finished he glanced up at the girl and waited for her response to his dramatic childhood, though he hadn't even scratched the surface of the horrible relationship he had with his father.

[Alyssa James]

Alyssa swung her legs faster as she listened to him. There was a deeper frown creasing her pretty face. It did seem like they had more than one thing in common. Their mothers had passed away and their relationship with their fathers was spotty, although her father didn’t get along with her because she rebelled and did everything in her power to overcome the blanket her parents seemed to lay on her. She wasn’t interested in following the rules, which left much for the imagination of her brother and father. She could still see her brother’s relief that she was a virgin and felt a pang of guilt. He seemed to be waiting for pity or crying, but all she felt was empathy. She noted the slight change in his voice as he talked about his father.

It probably was only the tip of the ice burg, there was something he wasn’t telling her and because they had just met, she wasn’t sure if she should press the matter or leave it be. It left plenty to her imagination. She didn’t want to seem like prying, so she bit the inside of her lip, trying to think of a way to share her feelings on it without becoming a sad case. Without the tears that usually ensured and the pitying look she still sometimes got from people.

“Well, I’m extremely sad to hear that your mother passed away before she could meet your younger sister, and I’m sorry that your father is such a dick,” she said, her voice hardening slightly. It wasn’t her being a bitch, it just…she hated seeing people mistreated by their parents, even though her father wasn’t exactly father of the year. There was a lot more he wasn’t telling her, but she decided to take the high road and wait to see if he said anything about it. To her, it seemed like he reveled in the dangerous past (or what she assumed to be) and the drama that it brought. She wasn’t sure herself if this was good. A drama king was never good.

She watched him more closely, taking in his personality (the least he’s shown) and the way he responded to her actions and his body language. So far, it was coming off as arrogant, in waves, but beneath that, assine and cocky exterior, there was extreme sadness and perhaps a little boy. Someone crying out for help much like her. Lyssa jumped back down, filled with sudden energy, wanting to help him more than ever, or more likely, open up to him. She wanted to blurt out the secrets she had locked away in her chest. She wanted to scream to the heavens of what was going on in her life. The dating boys and drinking coffee she hated and smoking. She even dared to think that this boy could save her from herself.

“I truly am, I’m not like those people who say that and give you the pity look.”

[Lucah Ivaskov]

Lucah smiled slightly when she offered an apology. Then his small smile turned into a full smile teeth and all and he actually laughed, "I'm glad you could gather that much from what little I said about him. And I appreciate it a lot actually." He was really glad she hadn't gotten that ridiculous look on her face, it wouldn't do any good. The fact that she had understood just how much him and his father didn't get along from one statement was pretty amazing.

Luc was used to people giving him the 'your dad is a good guy' speech. It was total bull shit because usually the people giving him that speech hadn't met his father. Did people really think Lucah was so arrogant and cold because of his mother? No, he'd definitely gotten that from Dimitri. Luckily, he wasn't nearly as bad as the other man. Talk about cold-shoulder on a new level. Nobody understood really what Lucah went through as a child growing up with a father like his until they met his father. One look at the man and people seemed to freeze.

His posture relaxed a little and he shoved his hands in his pockets. Something about her was making him want to act a little less uptight. Romeo had pointed out to Lucah many times that Belle wasn't interested anymore because Luc acted more like a princess than an actual man. It wasn't that he tried to act that way, he was just so used to people treating him different in Romania. He'd grown up with it and he was still working on shaping his personality. A personality that wasn't so much like his father's.

When Alyssa jumped off of the stage his eyes snapped up to hers. Her voice caught his attention, but instead of raising his head, giving her the look that warned people of getting close to him, he kept his chin down and only held her eyes. He smiled again and nodded, "Don't you just love that look?" Lucah laughed once, but there held little humor in it.

[Alyssa James]

Alyssa watched him closely as she stepped closer. She was only a feet few away. His laugh held very little humor in it and she didn’t find it funny frankly. She really hated those people who gave her the pity look, if she wanted pity, she would go see a fucking therapist. It seemed like a long time since her father had sent her there and she had scared off the poor woman. Big deal. She stretched her arms above her head, tilting it backwards trying to pop her back. She suddenly felt like singing, something slow and soft that wouldn’t ruin the mood they had created together.

“How about another song? We seem comfortable singing around each other. Let’s see…” Lyssa tapped her finger on her chin and turned, walking away from him. She had never been a fan of Lady Antebellum, but some of her songs held meanings, the first one was random lyrics in her mind. She spun in a cirle, suddenly feeling free and happy. She spun to look at him, and bowed at the hip, her hands clasped behind her back and she stood on her heels. “So, I think we all know this song.

Lyin’ here with you so close to me
It’s hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe
Caught up in this moment
Caught up in your smile,” she sang, her voice wavering a little on the last word. She ran a hand through her hair vaguely wondering what color to dye it next.

[Lucah Ivaskov]

Lucah smiled and nodded, "Sure, I do have a guitar and we're both here." He shrugged and leaned against one of the auditorium seats, pulling his guitar back around to the front. As she debated what song to sing, he watched her again. The way she'd suddenly gotten the urge to sing was pretty strange, but muse was weird like that. It sparked at random times. He wondered what she would pick, if she would choose another one from the artist before or a different one.

It still made Lucah feel vulnerable when he sang in front of people. Not Jezebel of course, but people that still had yet to make a judgment on him. Usually girls. He wasn't as confident in his voice as he was his instrumentality. He could play guitar very well and piano even better. He wrote piano music of his own and was working on composing songs with guitar parts. That he could do with ease, but singing in front of a girl who he was developing an attraction to just met still scared him.

And yet, when she started, he soon followed with the guitar and his voice.

I've never opened up to anyone
So hard to hold back
When I'm holding you in my arms
We don't need to rush this
Let's just take it slow

He closed his eyes as the music continued and tried to get past his nerves, though the song was sort of perfect. Especially the first set of lyrics he'd sang.

[Alyssa James]

Lyssa felt a shiver deep in her stomach. Her heart fluttered when she heard him sing and she watched his hands strum across the guitar. She didn’t know what she felt and it distracted her. He was playing the chords and his voice…they filled her and the empty room. She wanted…no damnit. How was she feeling attraction to this man? To him of all people? She brushed her purple hair back. She knew her roots were showing. She brushed her dress again.

She didn’t know why, she always hated singing in front of people. She didn’t think her voice was good enough to be heard. She rubbed her arm as she listened to him closely. His singing sounded sad. Could he feel the same way? Vulnerable to sing in front of her? Did anyone feel that way? So many freakin questions ran through her head. When it came to her turn to sing, she closed her eyes and sang clearly,

“Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight
Just a touch of the fire burning so bright
No I don't want to mess this thing up
I don't want to push too far
Just a shot in the dark that you just might
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life
So baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight.”

She didn’t know if it was right, she didn’t care if it wasn’t. She sighed and kept her eyes closed. This song was too perfect.