Her Desires

Chapter 2: Soul strangers

In the dimly lit terminal of Charles de Gaulle Airport, Claudia stumbled through the crowd, parting her way through bewildered tourists and joyful families. Her eyes were glazed over, and her steps were unstable. The airport bustled around her, but she moved in a detached haze, as if she were a shadow.

Amid the sea of faces, her eyes spotted a tall guy with striking features watching her shuffle around. His concerned gaze suddenly lit up as his eyes fixed on Claudia's face, recognizing her as the new student he was supposed to guide on the journey to Ivy Hearst. After a second of hesitation, he approached her slowly, unsure if she was okay. Her wet hair stuck to her grazed face, her knit jumper was filthy, and her soaked denim jeans were leaving a trail of water behind her. He fought the urge to frown at the sight; that would be rude.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked, "...Claudia, is it?" his kind voice gently echoing in her head.

Claudia nodded weakly and looked up at him with a vacant stare, her mind partially lost in a fog. The boy frowned and tucked her hair behind her ears. He then pulled out a handkerchief and dried her face, wiping away the black streaks of mascara from under her icy blue eyes. She was beautiful, he thought; under all the mess, she must have been the prettiest girl he had ever laid eyes on.

"Come on, Claudia, let's get you to the waiting area," he urged, snapping out of his thoughts as he slipped a surprisingly muscular arm around her for support.

As they navigated through the airport, Claudia mumbled incoherently; her soft voice overpowered by the orchestra of airport sounds. The boy, though worried by her odd behavior, kept a comforting presence, guiding her around with stability.

"Calm down, we're almost there," he attempted to reassure her, concern etched across his handsome face.

Finally arriving at the waiting area, he gently guided her to a seat. Claudia slumped into it, her body aching of exhaution. He crouched in front of her watching her avert her eyes uncomfortably.

"Are you okay?" he asked cautiously, hoping for some sort of coherent response.

Claudia's eyes flickered briefly, attempting to focus on him. "I'm fine, it's nothing..." she said loudly, pulling him up from his position and into the seat beside her.

He sat defeated, as if finally realizing the futility of pressing further. He wondered why he cared. She was just a stranger after all; he had no obligation to her other than getting her safely from point A to B.

After a couple of minutes of silent thought, he decided to engage her in some light conversation, a distraction from the uncomfortable questions. Their chattering ranged from school subjects to favorite books to gossip, and as Claudia's fatigue intensified, she leaned against his broad shoulder, becoming engulfed by the pleasant warmth of his presence. Her guide, seeing how tired she was, hesitated for a moment before gently placing her head in his lap.

Just as she was falling asleep to his large hands stroking her now-dried hair, her eyes suddenly opened.

"I forgot to ask..." she started, looking into his light brown eyes, "what is your name?"

After a brief pause, he answered, "Damien... my name is Damien." Their eyes lingered on each other for a moment, forming a bond between their souls.

Claudia turned her head, breaking their eye contact, and whispered, "I like that name... Damien."

And as the noises of the airport became a hum, Claudia gave in to her exhaustion. Her head nestled in Damien's lap, appreciating the comfort of a stranger.

As she drifted off to sleep, she couldn't help but think about the day. From her parents callously leaving her by herself to her own crazy behavior. She had always known that she had a problem, but it had never entirely dawned on her how serious it was.

No matter how much it hurt her to admit to herself, the truth was... she was an addict. Addicted to shooting herself up with heroin, addicted to the mind-numbing high, addicted to the freedom of all-night partying. Her parents had confiscated her supply just two days before shipping her away to England. The withdrawal symptoms were just now starting to show themselves.

She felt bad for not admitting it to Damien but decided that it was for the best. If he found out, it would only cause problems, she told herself...

Time passed, and eventually, Claudia's mind finally stopped racing and allowed her to rest, her soft breaths grazing Damien's knuckles as he kept a watchful eye on her. He was now more a guardian than a stranger.

Damien couldn't help but find himself captivated by Claudia; he couldn't help but feel an inexplicable connection to her.

Disrupting his thoughts, the announcement for boarding echoed throughout the terminal. He gently nudged Claudia awake as she groaned frustratedly at the disturbance.

"Give me five more minutes; I'm gonna wake up soon. Just give me a bit!" she pleaded half-heartedly with him, keeping her eyes closed.

"No, Claudia, we have to go," he smiled at her immaturity, "we have to board the plane now."

Without bothering to respond, she turned away from him.

"If you don't get up in the next three seconds, I'm gonna have to take matters into my own hands."

Still, she didn't get up. Suddenly, he stood up and lifted her small body into his arms bridal style. This woke her up. She felt his toned chest pressing against her side. Her heart started beating ferociously, and heat rose to her ears. It didn't help that he smelled heavenly of Dior Sauvage.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" she exclaimed, quickly snapping out of her tiredness.

"I warned you!" he laughed so sweetly that Claudia almost forgot what she was mad about.

"Fine, just put me down; I'll go myself," she said, rolling her eyes at him, a pinkish blush forming on her otherwise porcelain cheeks. She couldn't tell if it was from the embarrassment of being picked up like a misbehaving child or from... something else.

Instead of putting her down, Damien continued to carry her all the way onto the plane blissfully ignoring her complaints. As they stepped into the plane, she buried her face into his shoulder in an attempt to avoid being seen by the other passengers.

"I hate you so much right now," Claudia whispered into his ear just as they reached their seats.

"I would have put you down, but you seemed to be enjoying it," he smirked wickedly, a complete shift from his previous manner.

Claudia wanted to argue with him but was too flustered at his forwardness to come up with anything, so she just shot him a death stare and punched his arm, the weakness of which just ended up making him laugh instead of being hurt.

Claudia settled into her seat, stealing a glance at Damien, whose laughter still lingered around him. She rolled her eyes at him for the second time that day, though a small smile snuck its way onto her face.

She glanced over at Damien, his dark blonde hair tousseled carefully as to not cover any of his perfect features. Regardless of how embarrassed she felt by his actions, she couldn't deny that he had made her feel better. She had almost forgotten about her parents abandoning her, and the drug-hungry twitching had now stopped. All that was left was the feeling of her rapid-beating heart.

Claudia couldn't ignore the undeniable connection that had formed between them in the midst of all chaos of the day.

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