Fallen Angels (UNEDITED)

XIV

I want to be lost among your thoughts the way you listen to New York City when you fall asleep
~ Leonard Cohen

The band had decided while I was in the shower that we needed to experience New York as they didn't know what the future held for them. The thought process was that the next time they came to New York they would be recognizable. That fans would be swarming them, asking for autographs.

Maybe that's how we ended up on the ferry heading to the statue of liberty at nine in the morning. There's a chilly wind that's whipping my hair into my face considering the time of year. All of us are bundled up in coats and scarves as we stand on the deck of the ferry, drinking hot chocolate.

"Have any of you been to the statue of liberty before?" I ask as I fix my beanie, which isn't doing much to help keep my hair out of my face. I had thought about putting my extensions in.

The five of them shake their heads no as the six of us stare at New York from the ferry.

This will be my fifth time here to see the statue.

I take a seat on one of the benches on the deck, the cool metal easily felt through my jeans. Maybe going out on a day where it looked like it was going to downpour wasn't the smartest.

"Erik has been awfully quiet since you got back this morning." Lucas takes the seat beside me, and we both turn our focus to the man in front of me. His black jacket that covers the blue flannel that matches his eyes, the ripped jeans that expose his skin to cold New York win and the black Doc Martens worn from years of use.

"I'm not sure why." I can feel Lucas's eyes on me, but I don't look at him when I speak to him, instead, my eyes stay on Erik. They seem to be glued to that man more often than I thought they would be.

"He can be... difficult sometimes as he doesn't tend to open up and when he thinks his feelings are getting the best of him, he shuts down. I've seen him do it a few times and that's when he writes some of the best material. After he learned about his mother's death he wrote Mother Dear." Lucas squeezes my knee as he stands up and joins his band members. He looks back at me and nudges his head toward Erik, as if he's saying, "go talk to him."

I shake my head no, but that doesn't stop him from reaching around Kyle and punching Erik in the shoulder. I watch as Erik looks ready to punch Lucas back, but Lucas says something I can't hear as the wind carries their words in the opposite direction.

I watch them bicker a few more seconds before Lucas lifts his arm like he is going to punch Erik again. Erik flips him off before shoving his hands in his leather bomber jacket. He takes the seat beside me and throws his arm around my shoulder.

"What are you doing?" I analyze his face and the way his jaw is set, tense is the only way to describe how his body is. I wonder if he would rather be swimming with the fish than be by me.

"Sitting here with you, Ray, Lucas said you were cold." I glare at the brown haired boy who gives me a wink over his shoulder.

"Well, that's a lie," Erik smirks at me as another giant gush of cold wind comes and I shiver. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close. I can feel the heat radiating from him as if he is a furnace. I sigh in contentment as my cheek presses against the smooth leather of his jacket.

I look up at him and study the tattoos on his neck, the designs that tell the story of who Erik is. A story I want to know more about. "I think I made a mistake."

I wait for him to respond, but he just seems to stare off at the city in the distance, "with what?"

"Sleeping with... what's his name, that doesn't matter." Erik chuckles, causing my head to move with the force of his laugh. Even with him laughing at me I find beauty in his laugh.