As soon as he'd dropped his bags off at Abernathy Hall, Kellen made his way to the most secluded place he could find. Having acquainted himself with the school layout the year prior, this wasn't a difficult feat. There were still some places he hadn't quite explored yet, but he knew enough. One of the spots he liked to frequent was the rooftop of the Music and Theatre building.
Sometimes, Kellen liked to go up here to have a smoke with Dakota. Other times, he and the boys would use the rooftop to get themselves on the other side of the fence. And still other times, he went up here to be alone.
The boy started towards the edge, but he wasn't the only one who sought refuge on the rooftop. There was another person. A girl leaned against the left wall of the vestibule, headphones settled over her ears to listen to a cassette playing David Bowie. She seemed to be off in her own little world, as if her head were fogged and clouded, while she sang to the Labyrinth soundtrack with a hauntingly clear and clean voice—siren-like in the open air.
Slipping her headphones off with the music still faintly emanating from them, the girl glanced over her shoulder to look at the new arrival. Lips pursed and eyes narrowed, her posture instantly straightened as she smoothed out her skirt and turned slowly to face him. It was only perhaps a good few seconds until the boy realized—or rather, heard—that he was not alone. He looked behind him for the first time since he had escaped to the roof.
He stared at her, and she stared back.
The girl—like Kellen—dressed out of uniform attire. But unlike Kellen, who preferred jackets and air jordans, she wore an off-shoulder shirt with puffed sleeves capped at the wrist, black cincher grasping her waist into a shapely figure, as well as a matching skirt and string choker. Her make-up was soft—all pink eyeshadow, lips, blush—with an artistic touch of a white crescent moon on her forehead; her style likely inspired by the whimsical and enticing melodies of the artist she now listened to.
Breaking eye contact for a moment, Kellen searched his pocket for a lighter and a packet of smokes. Before long, he held a cigarette between his lips. Smoke curled around him as he slowly walked towards her, his eyes never straying away from her face. When he finally reached her, he leaned with one shoulder against the wall and nodded towards her headphones. Briefly, he held the cigarette between his fingers to speak.
"Bowie, huh?"
"Yeah, one of the greats," the girl commented with little care for formalities.
"What's your name?"
"Isn't it polite to introduce yourself first, princeling?"
The boy shrugged.
"Kellen," he said simply.
"Calista," she replied. A nicely shaped brow cocked as her head settled to the side. "Those smell rancid, Kellen."
Calista gestured to the cigarette, her tone curt and blunt.
If Kellen noticed how cold the girl was being towards him, he didn't show any indication of it. Instead, he remained where he was, letting the cigarette linger between his fingers for five long seconds out of sheer defiance. Among the list of things he didn't like, it was being told what to do. But also among the list of things he did like, girls were one of them.
His gaze held an unwavering intensity as he roughly stubbed the cigarette out on the wall, before letting it drop to the ground. Calista watched the embers of the cigarette bite and fade, leaving only a mark on the bricks—the last signs of life from the small death-bringer.
"There," the boy said, shifting slightly so that he was now leaning with his back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. Though no hint of flirtatiousness could be discerned from his face, his eyes lingered on her mouth, her neck, her shapely figure… "So, what's a pretty girl like you doing up here, anyway?"
The girl leaned back as well, mirroring him.
"I heard it was a full moon tonight, so I was leaving my crystals out somewhere to take the direct light of the moon," she mused, picking at her nails for a moment. Her tone was no longer harsh. Perhaps it was more lazy than the rehearsed and accommodating tone she'd been using all day. "That, and getting away from fake arses.
"What about you, princeling? If you've come here to pick up a girl, wouldn't a tower be more fitting? I've heard there's a really appealing blonde with long hair around here. Maybe you could pull it," Calista smirked, offering a vulgar jest as she thought about the girl she'd seen earlier, and how she'd looked like something out of a story book by the way she dressed.
"Who says I haven't already?" Kellen replied, a cheeky lopsided grin gracing his features for the first time since their meeting. "Besides," he cocked his head towards her, fingers lightly grazing her hair until he reached the tips, at which point he gave it a light tug. "I think I prefer girls with blue hair."
The tug caught the girl by surprise, causing her lips to part slightly at the pressure.
"Ow," she mocked, lacking sincerity. Peroxide burns hurt more. "I hope you can pull harder than that."
Biting her bottom lip, Calista's eyes swept over his figure with a lack of shame. Of course, she had noticed him doing just that a little while ago. So, fair's fair, darling.
"Must be a lonely life, Not many girls with blue hair out there, from what I've seen," she continued, her eyes now meeting Kellen's gaze as she clicked her tongue at the thought.
"Maybe you can make it a little less lonely then," the boy returned, his voice dropping to a whisper as he spoke into her ear.
Calista smirked, feeling the warmth of his breath against her earlobe.
"Or your hand could." She licked her lips, trying to relieve the chapped feeling.
There was a momentary pause in their conversation as Kellen's gaze dropped to her lips. It didn't escape his notice how she licked them. He saw it as an invitation, even if the girl probably didn't mean anything by it. Whatever the case, he could tell that she was into him, if her smiling and flirting back were any indication. And Kellen did not like to wait.
So he leaned down to kiss her.
She didn't pull away. Instead, she submitted to the kiss, if only for a moment. Kellen brought a hand to the back of her head as they made out, bringing her closer to him. Then, out of nowhere, she nipped at his bottom lip. The boy, taken by surprise, drew back and rubbed a thumb against the place she had bitten. Calista offered the most mischievous glint to her eyes.
"Tastes like cigarettes," she remarked, hands bunching up his shirt collar.
She pulled him in for more.