BABYLON //a.f.i//

• T E C H N I C O L O R •

________________________________

I don't know how I got here.

The music was loud, pulsating throughout the room; I could feel the vibrations in my blood. The lights flashed and shone, blinding me one minute and glittering the next. A kaleidoscope of colors flashed across my skin, a dizzying landscape of chaos. Beautiful chaos.

That's an interesting phrase, isn't it? Beautiful chaos. Seems almost paradoxical, but that ultimately relies on your outlook of the word chaos. Most people are afraid of chaos, the evil unknown that shrouds it. Those are the sensible ones. Unfortunately, I've never been one for sensibility. So chaos followed me as if it were my own shadow, just waiting for the perfect moment to enclose me in it forever, swallowing me into its depths of the unknown.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

The words surprised had surprised me, resurrecting me from my own mind. That's how I knew they weren't my own.

The music and lights were disorientating, but sitting in front of me was a man. Immediately I was struck by his attractiveness. With his amber eyes and dark hair, he radiated mystery.

"I'm afraid those are worth slightly more than a penny." I was still coming down from my high, so the world spun around me as my blood buzzed, but somehow his image remained clear.

The man smiled, raising a drink to his lips, "How much then?"

I blinked several times, still trying to take in the situation. He was young, and he wore a tight black t-shirt, a pendant of some sort hanging from his neck. His fingers were graced with a random assortment of rings, and his forearms showcased a multitude of tattoos. My vision blurred for a money as I tried to make them out.

I must've become too transfixed in his tattoos as he reached across the table and put a hand over mine, immediately I was pulled back into his gaze.

"Can you hear me, love?" He tilted his head slightly, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

His hand was warm, and his gaze strong. I felt as if I couldn't look away. Words suddenly felt heavy on my tongue, refusing to go past lips, so I simply nodded.

"Do you have a name?" He stared at me in such a way that made feel like he was looking into me. As if he were scouring my soul for all its dark secrets. I didn't like it.

"We all have names, it's just a matter of who to trust with information." My blood was still humming from the high, and my eyes drifted back to the tattoos son his forearms. "Names are very powerful information, you know?" I reached out my fingertips to graze the tattoos on his skin ever so slightly.

I drifted my eyes back up the mans face, and he watched me with an interested smile. "You're as high as a kite aren't you, love?"

"Why stop at kite?" I grinned at him mischievously. "I'm as high as spaceship. I'm as high as the stars, the moon, the never ending galaxies." I crawled on top of the table, leaning across so that I could place a hand on either side of his face and leaning so close, I could see the technicolor reflections of the chaos surrounding us in his eyes. "Im so high, the heavens envy my altitude." I whispered, my nose almost touching his.

"I'd be careful, love." He whispered back, his eyes never breaking from mine. "You know what they said about Icarus flying too close to the sun." I felt his hands make their way to my hips.

"Icarus was a fucking fool." As if it were possible, I leaned in even closer. Our lips lingered dangerously close to each other. "He stopped at the sun."

And suddenly I was in his arms as he lifted me off the table. Avoiding all the clashing bodies dancing in a flashing and colorful conundrum, he stood me up against the closest wall, trapping me against it as he put an arm on either side of my shoulders. "Go ahead, build your Babylon tower, love." He gently moved one of his hands so that it rested at the base of where my neck met my chin, his thumb dancing playfully over my lips. "But don't be surprised when it comes crashing down around you. Challenge the sky, and I promise it'll give you an answer."

Giving him a sly smile, I wrapped my lips around his thumb, sucking it for a moment before letting it fall back to my lips. And so I met his dark eyes again. "I don't hear anything yet."

He used his other hand to grasp me by the lower back, pushing me as close to him as two being could be. I could feel my skin glisten with sweat and tingle with anticipation. I didn't know what I was doing or why, but that's the fun part of LSD isn't it?

"You're dangerous." Were his final words to me before our lips finally met in a lust driven kiss. I immediately wrapped one hand deep into his dark hair, the other one clutching at his back as I desperately tried to keep him as close to me as possible. The heat and music swirled around us, but we didn't care. If anything it fueled our moment driven by pure ecstasy.

He pulled away, breathing hard into my cheek. "Come with me." He spoke breathlessly, but his words still held that edge, that power that kept my interest piqued.

And so I let him drag me through the pulsating club. Again, I was blinded by the lights and the never ending flashes of color, but I held his hand tight as we wound our way through the crowd. And for the first time in quite awhile, I felt my heart beat with excitement. Pure excitement.

Finally, we found our way to the doors, and immediately we were thrust into the icy night air. I welcomed the feeling though, and I let the chill seep into my veins. The frosty air burned my lungs and throat as I took deep breaths, but again I welcomed the feeling. It just seemed to fuel the spontaneity I felt bursting from my chest.

Again, we grasped and pulled ourselves close to eachother. The neon signs lit up the streets and created technicolor sparks in the man's eyes. It was after this money that time seems to fly. Everything around me went into warp speed. My blood was hot, my vision was blurry, and my brain was on fire

But damn it felt so fucking good.

It felt like I blinked and all of a sudden we were in a room, lit only aquamarine neon lights. I again found myself kissing the man with a lust I could barely contain before he pulled away.

"Ashton." He breathed heavily.

But before I could respond, the heat became too much and the lights became too bright. My ears rang and my vision blurred. And then finally, all the color

faded

to

black.

______________________________

Yes that is the first completed chapter of BIWB! Thank you to those who made it this far. I'll try not to leave an extended authors note at the end of every chapter, but since this is the first one, I just want to say a few things. I KNOW that this story may seem plotless or a little strange. As I stated in the description and the chapter before this, this story does revolve around a neo-noir like plot. I realize this chapter was very description heavy and didn't include much dialogue, and I promise it won't always be like this. The character development will come in the next chapter, I promise. I know it seems like there are so many unanswered questions, but I have it all ready to reveal itself in the coming chapters. Again, please feel free to tell me what you think, as I love feedback! Thank you all so much!