All Because Of A Car

Chapter One: Mercedes

The boy looks like a prince.

He also walks straight into the glass door.

Cinder laughs aloud, still always amused when people do that. It's also a small source of entertainment after a long day working.

The boy rubs his nose with an air of indignation before pushing the door open and blinking at the strange orange lights.

"Can I help you?" Cinder asks.

But her mind is elsewhere.

Because the stranger looks so handsome in his royal purple blazer and his crisp, cream coloured shirt. The trousers that match his blazer should be absolutely ridiculous but he makes it look as if he's made of the night sky itself.

His eyes, a metallic copper brown, are bright and happy, framed by his dark eyelashes and somewhat covered by the locks of his hair. The inky black hair that looks smoother than marble but softer than velvet, grown past his ears in almost a shaggy way but still somehow appearing neat and elegant.

His prominent cheekbones make him look like the emperor of beauty and his perfect cupid's bow only adds to his angelic aura. The cute lopsided grin he gives her almost melts her heart, the tiny dimples and wrinkles at his eyes sending her mental thoughts haywire.

Cinder could tolerate all of her sisters' nonsense if it meant seeing more guys like him.

"Hello, sorry, have you been sent a black Mercedes lately?"

Cinder's whole brain melts at the sound of his voice, the deep but gentle tone and the way he makes himself talk slow as if he has a habit of talking too fast.

"Um, I can check for you?" Cinder manages to say, fidgeting with her gloves.

"Thank you." The boy smiles.

Cinder wonders if he's older than he looks because he doesn't look as if he's old enough to drive a Mercedes – or afford it, for that matter.

"It's my Dad's but I left my school bag in it..." The boy explains, as if reading her mind.

"Do you know the license plate number?"

It's just now that she notices he's carrying a book in his hands. A book all about the moon and stars.

Cinder grins to herself, finding him even cuter. She always finds herself getting excited when someone's learning about the moon; she loves the moon. It's a constant source of comfort, always visible from her bedroom window when she needs someone to release her anger to. Or her sadness. Or any emotion really.

"Um... Sorry, I..." he trials off, coughing awkwardly.

Cinder smiles at him, "Any letters at all?"

"A seven?" He frowns, going rosy, "That's not a letter, I apologise."

"I can work with that." Cinder nods to herself, searching the information.

She prays his car is here.

And grins when it is, sighing with relief.

"Do you have it?" The boy asks hopefully.

"Yeah and, wow, it's badly damaged..." she whistles, not wanting to ask what happened in case he was involved but really wanting to know what caused so much damage to such a tough car.

He shifts uncomfortably, "Yeah..."

"Actually, I'm the one who's fixing it."

He looks so excited, she might jump for joy. She internally applauds herself for skirting the car topic, then chides herself for being so weird; he's only a boy. Cinder knows she'll probably never see him again after his car is fixed.

Still, she can't help but hope.

"Really?" He asks.

No, but she'll make sure she is.

"Yes. Do you like the moon?" She asks.

He looks suddenly shy, hiding the book behind his back, "Um, why?"

Her heart clenches at the thought of someone having done something that makes this boy want to hide his interests.

"I just love the moon too and I don't meet many people who do," she says quickly.

She doesn't meet any people at all.

The boy's eyes light up, "Well, now you've met me!"

Cinder smiles again, "Come on, let's find your bag."

She leads the way, letting him talk about the stars for the entire time. The cadence of his voice doesn't waver for even a split second and she can't help grinning at the enthusiasm he shows.

It's obvious that he's not memorised this but rather, he's learnt it and understood it.

Just as she thinks this, he stumbles over the step and falls to his knees, groaning as he pushes himself back up. The first time he tries, his ankle twists and he falls back again, shutting his eyes for a fleeting second. He manages to pull himself upright the second time, smiling in apology at Cinder.

Cinder winces for him but internally smiles, concluding to herself that he's a true nerd.

"Are you okay?" Cinder asks, steadying him as he wobbles.

He runs a hand through his hair and nods, "I'm good."

She smiles and opens the door, unlocking the second one to get in the garage. She sighs to herself as she enters, the smell of oil, paint and petrol making her feel as if she's at home again.

Almost without thinking, she rolls her sleeves up and pulls her gloves on tighter, tightening the bobble in her hair so the straight brown locks don't fall onto her face and annoy her.

It reminds her of when she used to own the garage with her father, back when it was just the two of them. She doesn't remember her mother but her earliest memories all include her father and the two of them working together on something. Of course, that was all before he re-married and promptly vanished.

And before her mother tried her best to get into mechanics with her, baking her cakes with screwdrivers made out of icing on top. Cinder smiles at the memory but falters as she remembers. She remembers her aunt visiting; she remembers her mother holding back tears and whispering that she loved her; she remembers her mother going missing with no explanation...

She shakes her head, snapping herself out of the counter-intuitive nostalgic thought.

Yeah, it's borderline cliché, i'm aware. Thoughts?