don't follow - layne staley

chapter 2

She made his coffee with love. She paid attention to every detail, even sifting the coffee to make sure it was fine. She thought about the way he said 'please', wondering if he was a gentleman. She thought about the way his hair looked more neat and brushed than yesterday. She thought about the word 'again', euphoric that he remembered yesterday.

"Here's your coffee, enjoy your day," She said, putting up her worker front.

Before Ivy knew it, they were both belonging in the same spot, smoking the same brand of cigarettes. Chatter arose between them, if you were listening from the outside- it was two people fighting to get to know each other.

"You have a cat?" She gasped tilting her head, turning towards him. 

"Yeah, her name is Sadie. Is this a bad thing?" He asked, teasing her.

"No- I just wouldn't imagine you to have a cat, they're very feminine, delicate creatures," She responded, finding it impossible to imagine him with a cat on his lap. The one way to Ivy's heart was owning a cat, it was a weakness of hers.

"And you're implying?" His head faces her, his eyebrow raised.

She laughs, "I mean, you're very masculine so," her shyness made her break their eye contact and she hid herself in her fringe.

"True, she has to share a crappy apartment with two stinky guys,"

"You have a roommate?"

"Yeah, he's moving out soon though. Just needed a place to stay for a while," Layne told her, a puff of smoke escaped from his mouth, tangled itself in its tail. The more words he spoke, the more Ivy found herself internally wanting. She assimilated every piece of information he gave her, hoping she could remember and store it away to think about later.

"I'm still stuck in my shitty uni apartment," She sighed, drawing patterns into the gravel with her foot. To work so long and slave through her education to gain the perfect grades but then still have to pay to get into university was very unmotivating.

"Hey that's not all bad. What are you studying?"

"English language. I like to write but I'm in major debt now," She admitted, feeling a little pathetic.

"I'm sure you'll pay it off with the amazing job you'll get with your degree," He responded, seeing her highly.

"Maybe, I wasn't born in such a lavished family," She muttered, her eyes pulled to the ground as she reminds herself of her place in the class system.

"Doesn't determine your future. Don't let that hold you back, you're just as intelligent as some of those rich asses," He said, his glowing cigarette destroying itself as it crumbled to his fingers. "My family isn't either. Didn't exactly set me up for the most ideal life at 20,"

"Yeah, it's difficult without support at home. My mum lives in the UK, so I can't rely on her most of the time."

"What is your mum doing in the UK?"

"She moved there after her divorce with my dad," 

"Welcome to the divorced parents club,"

"Pft, yeah. What an absolute joy to share some trauma.I'm going to move to the UK after I'm done with uni here," She told him, a small smile crept upon her as she thought about living in England. The sophisticated manner and the books written by authors who live there meant so much to her. She desired the inspiration that inspired many to write her soon-to-be bestselling book.

"You're pretty set on your future then?" He voiced, a little shock tied to his voice- taken aback a girl his age so set on her future.

"I think so. Unless I decide to kill you here and go to prison. Or maybe I'll get away with it," She said mischievously, trying to break the serious conversation into a lighter one.

Layne laughed, enjoying her humorous cheek.

"What about you? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" She inquired, wondering if his future meant anything significant to him.

"Probably somewhere in finance," He said uninflected and flatly.

She snickered and shook her head at him.

"You're lying. Tell me the truth," She demanded, leaning closer towards him. Maybe being closer physically would give her the ability to open his mind up, spilling his thoughts onto the floor so Ivy could carefully read and analyse each thought.

"You caught me. Music. Nothing beats music. But fuck knows where I'll be in there," He admitted, his tresses bouncing as he adds strength to each sentence. Glancing back at her for approval, he didn't want to come across as someone who couldn't match her level of intelligence.

"I love music. What bands do you listen to?" She questioned, shuffling forward so her shoulder was in contact with his arm. She could be a geek and spiel every gem of knowledge she knew about music but she decided to save it for another day. She can't scare him off yet.

"Pft, I'd be surprised if you knew these bands. The Stooges? Anthrax?" 

"I love them both. How dare you undermine my taste. The Stooges though, they're old. That's funny you like them-"

"The longer I speak to you the longer I realise I think we were meant to meet. I'm surprised I haven't met you before," He told her like he was holding back this statement the whole time.

Crimson fluttered to her cheeks, her stomach entwined with the butterflies that were driving her crazy. Ivy opened her mouth but no words came out.

"I suppose you stuck to your studies," He fills in her speechless speech. His eyes are drawn to her face, they flicker to her rosy lips before they dart back at her dark eyes.

"You hardly know me at all," She said, letting the truth be heard. She wasn't wrong. He didn't know her. He doesn't know she's in a band. He doesn't know she's been a straight A student for years. He doesn't know that she had a little brother who won his school's music competition. "I hardly know you," This was also true. She knew nothing.

"You don't know how badly I do want to know you," He spoke with such assurance in himself, an innocent longing for her. His face had a child-like appearance to it, everything he said felt so genuine. 

"I won't stop you," She replied, giving him a small smile.