Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you? Who: Alanna and Lucas What: A phone call to start, shifting and just hanging out When: Tuesday, around noon Where: Phonelines to start, Lucas’s Home Warnings: Brief shifty nakedness
Lucas had wanted to call her as soon as he got home, but he didn’t want to seem too anxious. The last thing he needed was for Alanna to think he was overly eager to hang out with her or talk to her. Super eager guys tended to get the boot fairly quickly and getting the boot wasn’t something he wanted to achieve. So he’d waited til the next morning and almost texted her about fifteen times at least, always deleting the message before he could send it. Finally, around noon, he decided that it had been long enough since their last meeting for him to be in the clear for calling her, so he punched her number in his cell and listened as the phone began to ring.
Alanna had been up very late the night before. Yes, she had been wondering if he was going to call, but she had also filled almost an entire notebook of poems about the were barn owl. She was completely fascinated with him and their brief meeting had inspired her. She knew once she got to know him better, he would have volumes of poems about him.
As she hadn’t gone to bed till the wee hours of the morning, Alanna had just gotten out of the shower. She was wrapped in a towel, brushing her hair at her vanity when her phone rang, light classical coming from the device. She picked it up, noting the unfamiliar number and her heart leapt at the thought of it being Lucas. She quickly answered it before it went to voicemail. “Hello?” There was an eager note in her voice.
“Alanna? Hi... It’s um... Lucas. We met at school the other day. I was going to call you sooner, but I didn’t want to seem like I was a stalkery sort or anything. I was going to call you earlier this morning actually but then I figured you might be sleeping... not that I think your a princess that sleeps all day or anything but I um... yeah... lemme start over. Hi, it’s Lucas. How are you?” he asked, lifting his hand to slap himself in the forehead. Stupid, stupid, stupid. he thought to himself.
Alanna listened to Lucas ramble on after answering the phone and her smile grew wider with every awkward attempt. Finally, she let out a light laugh. “I’m doing fine, Lucas. And I’m glad you called.” she said, her voice warm. “And no worries, you’re not stalkery.”
He let out a relieved little sigh at her assurances. “Cool.” he said, letting himself calm down now that she seemed to not be bothered by his awkwardness. “So, what are you up to?” he questioned. “Probably something more fun than just lazing about like me, huh?”
She abandoned her vanity and instead went to her bed, flopping down on the plush California king, her wet hair fanning out over the comforter. “I actually just got out of the shower.” she said. “Was just trying to decide what stupid expensive outfit my mother got me to wear to also do nothing in.” Alanna felt comfortable making jokes with Lucas. She didn’t know what it was, but he just made her feel like she could be herself.
Lucas did his best not to think about Alanna in the shower, but it became difficult and he was thankful that she was across the phone line and not right in front of him. “Guess you’re just as bored as me then.” he said with a little chuckle. “We could hang out if you wanted.” he offered, biting his bottom lip as he waited for a response.
She perked up at the suggestion. With no friends, she had spent all summer alone. Her parents hadn’t even tried to pretend with a vacation this year. They went to Europe and Alanna had stayed home alone. “I’d love to!” she said, quickly getting off her bed and going to her closet. Usually she didn’t care less what she wore, but suddenly it mattered. “Can I come to your place? If you don’t mind, I’d really like to see your photographs.”
The way she said she’d love to had his face getting all hot, but definitely in a good way. Of course then she asked if she could come to his place and he looked around his messy room and thought about this rich girl seeing his crappy little two bedroom house on the wrong side of town. “I um... yeah, you can come here if you want. I’ll warn you it’s probably nothing like your house. I’m on a scholarship, remember?” he said, laughing nervously as he got up and began picking up the clothes on his floor to at least make his room look somewhat neat.
“One thing you’re gonna learn about me Lucas is I’m not the prissy little rich girl you probably think I am.” she said good naturedly as she began to dress. She decided on a pair of soft grey slacks, a pretty black blouse trimmed with lace and a pair of black flats with little bows on them. Her hair was still wet and not one to fuss, she put it in a messy side braid. “Where abouts do you live? My gps should find it...”
Lucas gave her his address as he continued to tidy up his room. He couldn’t help but be nervous at the thought of her coming over. “Probably won’t take you too long to get here.” he told her. “We could order a pizza or something for lunch.” he offered as he tossed his dirty clothes in his hamper and hid it in his closet.
Alanna slipped on her shoes, peeking at herself once more in the mirror before grabbing a light sweater and heading downstairs. “Pizza sounds great.” As she went to grab her keys she heard shouting coming from down the hall. “Hold on a second...” she murmured to Lucas before sneaking down the hall. It sounded like her parents were fighting....but her parents never fought.
With the phone to her ear, she pressed herself against the wall and listened. The shouting was audible over the phone to a were with good hearing. “You’re fucking your secretary!” screamed Alanna’s mother to which her father responded with how his wife was too busy for him and it just went back and forth like that. Alanna’s eyes were wide, her mouth hanging open as she listened to the hateful words her parents spat at one another. Finally she couldn’t take it and made her way down the hall, grabbing the keys to her Mini Cooper and rushing out. “Um, I’ll be there in a few.” she said as she got into her car. She rarely used the car her parents had gotten for her for her 16th birthday, but she didn’t want the driver to take her to Lucas’. Somehow driving a pretty much brand new Mini Cooper to the ‘bad’ side of town seemed less ostentatious than showing up in a town car with a chauffuer.
Lucas blinked a little at the conversation Alanna’s parents were having. He knew he shouldn’t be listening, but it wasn’t exactly as if he were trying to. Good hearing came naturally to him and her parents were yelling. When she came back on the line, she sounded a little hurt and confused and when she said she’d be there in a few, he nodded a little despite the fact that she couldn’t see him. “Alright. Sounds great.” he said. “I’m gonna just tidy up a little then and I’ll see you when you get here.” he told her, a little smile on his lips that he hoped rang through in her voice. Hanging up the phone, he did the fastest clean up he’d done in his life, tossing away trash and spritzing the air with air freshener just in case his room smelled like gym socks. Thankfully it smelled decently clean and he couldn’t have been happier that his mother was a semi-neat freak when it came to the house. By the time she knocked on his front door, he was finished cleaning and he moved to let her in. “Hey.” he said with a little smile. “Come in. Excuse the mess... which is mostly my room actually so maybe not so much of a mess as a teenage guy who doesn’t get company a lot.” he laughed.
By the time Alanna made it to Lucas’, she was bit more calm about the argument she had overheard. Married couples fought. She shouldn’t fret too much about it. When she parked in front of his house and got out of her car, she noted the stares. A lot of them. It seemed she was more out of place than she thought. Scholarship student indeed. Of course, she didn’t care, she was more concerned about Lucas getting into some kind of problem because of her.
She went up to his door and knocked, glancing back behind her as some of the local boys eyed her car. She wasn’t worried. Her father had of course installed the best security in her car available. Alanna smiled brightly as Lucas opened the door, stepping inside, her blue eyes taking in everything. “It’s lovely.” she said with warm honesty. This was a home. Her house was like an empty museum but this...this was Sunday night dinners and laughter.
He smiled at her, glad she was either being nice or being honest. She didn’t seem to be too put off by his home so he figured it was the latter. Closing the door behind her, he led her over to the sofa and let her sit. “Make yourself at home.” he smiled. “Lemme go and get my portfolio. I was hoping you’d look at it before the rest of the newspaper team. Give me an idea of whether or not I’m really cut out for the team.”
Alanna settled on the couch, crossing her ankles and putting her hands on her lap. It was a habit from the years her mother forced her into pagents. Luckily Alanna had gotten herself out of that. She smiled and nodded to Lucas. “I’d love to see your pictures.” she said, looking up at him with a soft smile.
Again a smile crossed his lips as he excused himself and went to grab his portfolio. Returning, he offered it to the girl and sat down beside her. “Be brutally honest.” he told her. “I can take it. I’d rather hear it from one person than the whole newspaper.” he admitted.
Alanna’s face got a bit serious as she took his portfolio and began to look through it. Her delicate fingers handled his pictures, her eyes flicking over each one. Slowly she began to smile as she saw more of them and she gently closed his portfolio. “Wow....Lucas these are amazing.” She turned to face him, smiling brightly. “You’re very talented.”
He was fairly certain that he held his breath the entire time she was looking over his pictures. Her opinion seemed to matter pretty greatly to the boy. When she said they were amazing, he let out a long, relieved sigh. “Thanks.” he said, smiling at her and trying his best not to flush at her words. “I appreciate the compliment. Guess that means you think I’m good enough for the paper then?”
She chuckled and reached over to pat his knee. “I think the paper would be privileged to have you.” she said, her blue eyes dancing. “Really, Lucas, they’re amazing. Some of them....well, let’s just say I’m inspired in my own craft because of these pictures.” It was true. So many words had floated through her head as she looked through the images.
“Well I’m glad I can be inspiring.” he smiled, eyes flicking to her hand and back to her face. “Thanks. I really appreciate it when someone likes my work. Lets me know that I’m doing something right.”
Alanna smiled and handed him back his portfolio. “You are. You have a real future in photography if that’s what you decide to do.” She had immersed herself in the arts at a young age and had an eye for it. She meant what she said and knew what she was talking about.
He hoped that he would have a career in photography. He looked forward to doing something to get himself and his mother out of the tiny little house they lived in. She’d taken care of him his whole life and he hoped that he’d be able to return the favor. That was why he put up with working so hard at school so he could get a decent education and make her proud. “Thanks.” he told her as he sat the portfolio aside. “I hope so.” he admitted. “So um... can I get you something to drink?”
Alanna liked his little house. When she saw herself in the future, it was in a nice little house with kids running around, a big stupid dog, and a husband she loved more than anything. She didn’t want to be a trophy wife like her mother intended. “Um, sure. Water, please.” she said, nervously tugging a bit on her braid.
“Water it is.” he told her as he went to the kitchen to get her a glass. Returning a few moments later, he handed her the water and settled down beside her again. “Thanks for coming over.” he told her. “It’s nice to get to hang out with someone instead of sitting around by myself for once.”
She nodded in agreement as she sipped her water. “Yea, me too. It’s nice to have someone to talk to that isn’t hired help and only says yes miss or no miss.” It drove Alanna a little crazy to be honest. She hated being talked to like that. She just wanted to be treated like a regular person.
“Well I won’t call you miss.” he told her with a smile. “I think I like Alanna better. It’s prettier.” he smiled. He tended to like pretty things after all. He was a photographer and he gravitated towards pretty things. “So... think I could get you to let me take some pictures of you sometime?” he asked her. “Guess you kinda inspire me too.”
Alanna blushed at his compliment of her name. He seemed to be full of compliments for her which she wasn’t used to. “You want to take pictures of me?” Thinking about it, the only pictures of Alanna that existed were the uncomfortable family photos and her school pictures. “Um, yea, sure, whenever you like. So long as you don’t mind me writing poetry about you.”
“Yeah. I mean... photographers like pretty things.” he explained. “And you’re pretty so why not?” he smiled. When she agreed that she’d pose for him and then commented about writing poetry about him, he flushed. “You’d write about me?” he asked.
If he kept calling her pretty all the time, her cheeks were going to end up permanently red. “Um yes well...I sort of already have really and ah, well, like I said, inspiring.” She looked down at her lap, tucking a stray curl behind her ear before sipping her water again, trying to regain a bit of composure.
“You’ve already written about me?” he asked her, arching a brow at the girl as his eyes moved over her face. “What about me?” He couldn’t help but be curious.
Alanna bit her lip as she looked up at him through her long lashes. She didn’t know how to explain so instead she just said what popped into her head. “Encased wings waiting to unfurl, take to the sky lit by the moon, waiting, watching, knowing.” she whispered before her eyes went back to her lap.
He was surprised when she quoted some poetry, but more surprised that it was his were form that intrigued her. He smiled at the girl and brushed his hair behind his ear. “Just wait til you see my were form.” he grinned. “You’ll really be writing some poetry then.”
She looked back up at him and smiled, her nervousness melting away. He seemed ok with her writing about him. “I look forward to see it and I’ll be sure to bring a notebook.” Alanna had dome some research on barn owls the night before and had been fascinated. She couldn’t wait to see his beautiful bird form.
“Wanna see it now?” he asked her, tilting his head almost as if he were already in his bird form. “I could go in my room to change because no matter how fascinating you might find me, I doubt you wanna see me naked.” he laughed.
Now he was going on about being naked. There were those red cheeks again but Alanna nodded. “Um, sure, yes.” she said, going into her bag and pulling out a small notebook and a pen with a sheepish grin.
“Alright.” he told her, heading out through the hall to his room. He left the door open and stripped down before shifting into his owl form and flying into the living room. He landed on the back of the sofa and looked at the girl, his eyes different but with that same longing sort of gaze to them.
Alanna tired really hard not to peek, but she ended up with a glance of his bare behind before she looked away. But then she heard the flap of wings and watched with wide eyes as he came back into the living room and landed on the back of the couch. Her breath caught in her throat at how beautiful he was. “Oh Lucas...” she breathed, reaching out and gently touching his feathers as she looked into his eyes, a longing in her own.
He would have smiled at her if he could have. Instead he leaned into her touch before spreading his wings out for her to see. He wanted to preen at the way she was looking at him. That look on her face was just beautiful and he wanted to capture it so badly he could taste it.
Abandoning her notebook on the couch, she leaned closer to him, her delicate fingers very carefully examining the feathers in his wings. “Lucas....you’re so beautiful...” she murmured softly, a look of wonderment on her face.
He couldn’t respond verbally so instead he opened his beak to make a soft little noise to let her know he appreciated her words. It was nice to have his ‘secret’ out there in the open with someone who didn’t seem to be frightened or startled or confused by it all. If anything she seemed pretty amazed by him. He liked that.
His feathers were so soft on the skin of her hands she was almost tempted to brush her cheek against them. His noise was sweet and it made her giggle. She was completely amazed by him. Alanna was already a little bit in love with him just from how beautiful he was inside and out. “I wish I had such a gift...”
He nuzzled his head against her hand and made a soft little noise again before moving from the back of the couch with a swift flap of feathers to settle beside her on the cushion. He wanted to be close to her. She had a sort of gravitational pull that he couldn’t quite get away from.
Alanna giggled as one of his feather landed on her lap when he moved down to the cushion beside her. “May I?” She picked up the feather and put it in her braid. “Your feathers are beautiful...well, you’re beautiful...” She reached over to gently brush her knuckles on the front of his chest, feeling the soft feathers there.
He nodded a little when she asked for the feather. He was thankful he was still in his owl form or he’d be blushing down to his knees he was sure. He puffed up his chest a little at her touch, aching for more of that soft feel of her fingers against him. If all it took to get a pretty girl interested was turning into an owl, he would have tried it out long ago.
It might not have worked on all girls, but Alanna was a different breed of female. She let out a little giggle as he puffed out his chest. She continued to stroke him, her eyes inspecting every inch of him. “I wish I could fly...It must be so liberating to take to the skies...let all your troubles fall away and it’s just you and the clouds...” she murmured, her poetic turn of phrase spilling out.
He would have smiled, but alas his form didn’t have that capability. Fluffing himself up a bit, he took off once more and headed back to his room to shift back. Pulling on his boxers and his pair of jeans, he came out of the room again, zipping his pants and buttoning them down the hallway. “It is liberating.” he told her with a nod. “But being an owl is a pain in the ass when you want to talk.” he smiled. “I appreciate the petting though.” he said with a small laugh.
Alanna beamed as she watched him fly off down the hall to his room. She envied him in so many ways but at the same time she felt lucky to have found such a friend. Of course when he came down the hall with no shirt on and buttoning up his pants, a whole new set of emotions hit her. Her heart raced and her breath caught in her throat. His owl form wasn’t the only beautiful form he had, that was certain. “Oh um, petting yes, I’m sorry, I don’t know if that was ok but really, I couldn’t help it.” she managed to stammer out, blushing deeply.
He shook his head. “No, it’s cool.” he told her. “I don’t mind.” he assured the girl as he moved to sit down beside her again. “It actually feels pretty good honestly. I mean not like pervy good or anything... I’m just gonna shut up now.” he said, flushing a little himself as he shook his head again.
She laughed lightly, her eyes dancing. “It’s ok, I understand. I’m sure if say, someone pet my hair, it would feel good not in a pervy way.” Alanna had been pretty well starved for affection her entire life. She had never had someone stroke her hair before, but she bet it felt good.
Lifting his hand, he gently brushed his fingers over her hair. “Guess I should get to return the favor, huh?” he asked her. He half wondered if she’d freak out, but hey, she petted him, it was only fair.
Her cheeks reddened once more and she bit her lower lip, looking up at him as his fingers brushed over her hair. It made her shiver in a good way and she leaned into his touch the littlest bit. It was comforting in a way she had never felt before.
The way that she leaned into his touch only made him want to touch her more, so he stroked his fingers gently through her hair with a soft little smile. “You’ve got soft hair...” he commented as his eyes flicked to catch hers.
Alanna had never felt something so lovely as someone stroking their fingers through her hair. She looked up at him, their eyes locking. “Thank you...” she murmured, never wanting him to stop.
“Mhm.” he murmured, nodding a little as he gently tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m glad you came over. I like you. You’re nice to me.” Which was strange. “People usually stay away from me for being weird or different or too smart or too poor or a were... you don’t... thank you.”
A small blush came to her cheeks as she smiled softly. “Lucas...you’re the first person I’ve really talked to in a long time...years actually. No one likes me so...thank you.” she said softly, tentatively taking his hand in hers.
He gave her fingers a little squeeze despite the disbelieving look on his face. “Why not?” he asked her, obviously unsure what was so bad about this girl that no one wanted to talk to her. “You’re the first normal person I’d met and I ran into a lot of people at school yesterday.” he told her. “You’re the only one that even responded back to a hello.”
“That’s kind of what makes me not normal, no offense or anything.” she tried to explain, though probably badly. She did keep her hand in his though. “I don’t fit in. Never have. The money and all that isn’t important to me so to them I’m weird. I mean, that’s not all that makes me weird I guess, but for them, that’s enough.”
“Then they’re not worth your time. Or mine for that matter. Money might make things easier, but I think I’d like you the same if you didn’t have a dollar in your pocket.” he admitted. “And obviously you don’t care about the change in mine.” he smiled, glancing around his house. “I was actually sort of worried at first, about you coming here. Not really embarrassed because I mean my mom works hard for this place, but I didn’t know what you’d think of me. I guess I just wanted you to like me.”
“Lucas...This house feels more at home to me than my own does.” she admitted as well, squeezing his hand gently as he had hers. “And I do like you. You’re kind and sweet and beautiful...How could I not?”
He smiled, a lopsided sort of curling of his lips. “You think I’m beautiful?” he asked her. “Now is that just my owl form because I could stay an owl around you if you’d rather.” he teased.
She giggled and shook her head. “Not just your owl form...You’re beautiful inside and out and that’s the rarest thing of all.” she said softly, sincerity in her face.
“Well thanks... you already know I think that you’re gorgeous.” he murmured, biting his lower lip briefly before smiling at her again. “I kinda figured you’d have like a line of boyfriends.” he admitted.
Alanna laughed and shook her head. “No, no line. In fact, I’ve never dated anyone ever so yea...” That made her blush and look down at her lap. He had probably had tons of girlfriends, as wonderful as he was.
He blinked at her in surprise. “Really?” he asked. “Not one?” Sure, he’d had a girlfriend or two, but usually they got bored with him pretty fast. “I’ve dated... once or twice, but nothing serious. Course the whole were thing freaks people out most of the time.”
“Not a one.” she admitted. “And any girl would be lucky to have you. Being a were is amazing, not something to be freaked out about. You would think in this day and age people would be more accepting.”
“Well, I think it’s more the fact that I... well...” he sighed and brushed his hair back over his shoulder with a shrug. “Barn owls sort of mate for life. So I mean... it could get complicated. Even accidentally. Most girls don’t want all that possible mate for life bullshit so once it comes out, they tend to leave.”
Alanna’s head tilted to the side a bit, curiosity alight in her eyes. “Mating for life? What does that mean exactly? Well, I mean, it sounds pretty self explanatory, but could you explain it, please?” It didn’t look like she was about to run out the door, more than she wanted to know more about him. Alanna really wanted to know everything about him.
“Well I mean most of it is self explanatory, but there’s more to it than just what it sounds like. See... if I feel like I found my mate, I can mate with that person and I won’t want anyone else... ever. Until I die or my mate dies.” he explained. “But it doesn’t always have to be a choice. The way it happens is that I’d have to be... well... doing it with someone and bite them hard enough to draw blood. Then I’d be mated with them. Course you could get carried up in the moment and accidentally mate and I mean the other person wouldn’t be mated to me, humans don’t mate like that so it all gets a little complicated.” he shrugged. He hoped that his words wouldn’t scare her off, but he really couldn’t blame her if they did. “I guess I can’t really fault them for leaving after hearing all of that.” he shrugged.
She listened closely to his explanation and instead of fear or repulsion on her face, there was sympathy. She reached out with the hand not holding his and gently stroked his cheek. “That must be so difficult for you...I’m sorry they weren’t more understanding.” she said softly. It was obvious Alanna was nothing like most girls.
Lucas was fairly certain he was dreaming. Dreaming or high. One or the other. Or perhaps he’d gotten hit with a pellet gun while flying and fell from the sky as a human and died a horrible, horrible death. Blinking at her, his surprise was clear. “It doesn’t freak you out?” he asked her, tilting his head a little, questioningly.
She shook her head and smiled softly. “No, of course not...it’s just another aspect of you.” she said, squeezing his hand reassuringly. “You’re not human, of course there’s going to be some differences. It’s something to be embraced, not be afraid of.”
“Okay I’m just going to have to marry you, that’s it.” he told her, teasingly. Mostly anyways. Letting out a soft chuckle he then smiled at the girl. “I’ve never met anyone like you.” he told her. “I’m kinda starting to be glad I worked my butt off for that scholarship.”
Yet another blush graced her cheeks and she looked down at her lap with a tiny smile. No one had ever said they wanted to marry her before, even jokingly. Alanna looked back up at him and smiled fully. “I’m glad you did too...” she said softly. Maybe this year would be different.
Lifting a hand, he caught her chin and nudged her face up just a little bit so he could see those pretty blues eyes of hers. “I make you blush a lot.” he told her. “Hopefully that’s a good thing.” he murmured.
Alanna’s cheeks stayed red as he tilted her chin up though she smiled softly. “I think it might be a good thing maybe.” she said with a bit of a nervous giggle. She had never felt this way before, these butterflies in her stomach about a boy.
He smiled at her. “Good. I’m glad. So how about that pizza?” he asked her. “I did promise it to you.” he murmured. Today was definitely shaping up to be better than anything he could have experienced alone.