Let's Get Lost

Chapter 1

"Where are we going?" I asked, my eyes flickering from the idea of going on an adventure with him. I was intrigued. David wasn't that kind of spontaneous, reckless teenager, and neither was I. He had always been the mysterious laid back, nice guy who always had earphones on, and seemed to live in his own world. A world I was determined to explore. I was sure he loved adventure as much as I did. During the few months we'd been together, I had succeeded to bring his adventurous spirit back to life.

"No destination. Just the two of us."

"I'm in." A grin reached up his face when I nodded. He took my right hand and we left our friends in the serene beach of Valencia, in Spain, where we had spent the entire day together. We ran away. I don't know exactly from what, but in that moment, I felt the burn in my muscles and my heart bouncing faster against my rib cage and the adventure hadn't even started yet.

"Are they coming back?" I was able to hear Sara, my closest friend, ask. I also heard Nick, our smart friend, burst in laughter. Tom must have said something funny. 

We crossed the street, leaving behind us the sand and the palm trees, shaded by the darkness. He convinced me to get on his motorbike.

"Hold me tight", he said, with his smoky voice. I laced my arms around his waist and he accelerated. The speed rising, I felt the adrenaline rushing. We both did. We were reckless teenagers, who would do anything to feel the world flash around us, to feel the wind blow our worries away. At one a.m., the city wasn't asleep, and neither were us. The purple neon lights coming from the night shops and the street lamps lead us the way. However, besides the sound of the crickets and the bike, the city was drowned in a mystical silence. We were night owls. David preferred the night over the day, and I understood why. While some teenagers were sleeping, dancing in nightclubs, or coughing from smoking their first cigarettes, I found myself lost in a late-night drive, gazing at the shiny, magical celestial bodies. I used to ignore the little things, but I realized in that moment how fascinating they could be. They can bring out the best of us. How ironic is it that they can also cause the chaos?

The road seemed infinite and so did that moment. I closed my eyes, and lifted my hands up to the sky, enjoying the cold breeze of the summer night. Slowly, he decreased the speed, pressed the brake lever and we stopped.

"How was it?" He asked, looking brightly at me with his dark, electric brown eyes and a smirk beautifying his features. 

"Not bad at all." I smiled.

"Look!" I exclaimed, pointing out at the Ferris wheel a few meters away from us. Vivid colors and the sweet smell of popcorn reminded me of the fun fairs I used to go to when I was a kid. He parked his motorbike, lifted me gently from it, and landed me on the passenger street. 

I thanked him for the ride. He said "The night has just begun."

Soon after, we went on a swing ride. I sat in the chair in front of him. As we were rising up to the sky, suspended by the rotating top of the carrousel, I looked back and stretched my left arm, trying to reach him. He did too, with a soft laugh escaping from his lips. For a few seconds our fingers intertwined. We were just young, carefree, teenagers in love. In love with the moment, in love with the adrenaline, in love with the night city, in love with each other. Maybe even more in love with the feeling. All that I know is that in that instant, we were invincible.

One hour later, we were sitting on a bench, with a breathtaking view of the sleeping city. It was darker, and the shiny stars were no longer visible, hiding behind a few clouds. The only lightning was coming from the gloomy yellow street lamps. With my head rested on his chest and the tranquility of the night, we stood there, talking about us, our youth, chasing visions of our future. With earphones on, we sang to a couple of songs, and we laughed of each others silliness.

Until the distant cries of a girl caught David's attention.
"Elena" He touched my shoulder, where strings of my straight brown hair remained. "She looks familiar, doesn't she?" He asked me, taking his earphone off. She surely did. The night was still full of surprises.