Scintilla (n.)

a tiny, brilliant flash or spark; a small thing; a barely visible trace

CHAPTER 3-Lillian's P.O.V

AT THE BEACH

I kicked the sand with my feet, holding the straps of my brown sandals between my fingers.

The sky cast red, orange and purple light over the soft waves. The beach was scattered with thousands of foot prints soon to be washed away and replaced with new ones in the morning.

"Now that you've calmed down, will you tell me what the hell happened back there?" Niall picked up a small shell as he spoke calmly. He rubbed it between his fingers; dusting off any sand to occupy the silence.

"Daya happened." I mumbled, embarrassed of my childish actions.

"And who is Daya?" He threw the shell into the water to get lost amongst the salt and seaweed. I wish that was me right now.

Who is Daya? She is a b*tch. She is cruel. She is cold-hearted.

"She is my ex."

"Your ex? As in ex-girlfriend?" Niall clarified, attempting to hide his surprise. It was a mild reaction, considering others I had received when people discovered I was Bisexual. It was definitely better than Daya's reaction.

"Correct," I saw Niall's eyes drift off in wonder and I immediately knew what he was thinking about, "I'm Bisexual."

"Sorry, I'm not trying to be rude; I just didn't expect that answer. I'm assuming the relationship didn't end well then?"

"Correct again."

"Do you want to talk about it? You seem to really hate the girl."

"Girl? Oh no, she is no girl. She is the reincarnation of the devil. LITERALLY LUCIFER." I screamed the last part; a feeble attempt at letting out my frustrations. I kicked at the sand again, this time with more force. I groaned and clenched my fists. She made me so mad.

My footsteps grew heavier and angrier as we walked. I just needed to punch something.

Niall screamed suddenly and I looked up at him in surprise.

"Come on. Let your anger out." He screamed into the sky again and kicked at the sand like I had earlier.

I copied him, reluctantly. But soon it was just the two of us, standing in an array of footsteps, screaming into the night air.

"Better?" He breathed, sitting on a small sand hill.

"Better." Throwing myself backwards onto the sand, I looked up at the faintly blue sky.

"Now tell me about Daya."

"We met at a club in town, out on the dance floor. It was my birthday and I had gotten seriously wasted. We ended up dancing with each other and the rest of the night just sort of happened."

I waited for his comment, for his judgement. But I received silence and a compelling urge to continue.

"Well we ended up dating but she never considered herself a lesbian before so she kept our relationship a secret from her friends. Which I was fine with, I wasn't going to force her to come out or put a label on herself. I'm pretty sure I loved her."

The sounds of the waves growing closer soothed me and allowed me to open my mind into memories I had closed off long ago. Niall's company also made me feel... safe and, although I had just met him, I trusted him. I was in my own little Disney movie.

"Well, one day she decided she was ready and introduced me to her friends. We sat down to a nice lunch and suddenly everyone pulled out their phones."

Anger bubbled inside me.

"Daya turns to me and says Finn, I just want to introduce you to my boyfriend. She pointed to the guy beside her and proceeded to make out with him as I sat there; dumbfounded. Her friends then pulled out their wallets and threw money her way. This was all a bet, baby. As if someone like me would ever go for someone like you. Let alone another girl. She fake gagged and walked away."

"The night at the club she'd just gotten drunk and made a mistake. But when she told her friends about it, they decided to make it into a fun little game to see if I would fall in love with her. That homophobic little f**ker made $200 off my humiliation."

I ended my speech with a sigh. I had never told anyone but Charlotte and Manny that story. Even Charlotte had only heard a small summary of it, but I'm sure Manny had filled her in over the years.

I listened to the sounds o Niall's breathing and worried he had fallen asleep at my boring tale.

"That is so horrible. I would have done more than punch her."

"I planned to but you pulled me away too soon," I joked, "Nice mid-air catch too by the way."

"Thanks, she was barely off the ground really. Now I wish I had thrown her to the ground as hard as I could." He laughed his bubbly laugh and it diminished any distress that remained in my heart.

If I could freeze time at this moment, I would live in it forever.

"Tell me more about yourself." He propped his hands behind his head and relaxed into the sand. His request was simple yet I found it difficult to answer.

What did he want to know? I was about to move in with this guy, how much of my life should I divulge?

"I currently live with my friend Manny and his dog Mustard who, by the way, you must meet. He is just adorable."

"Manny or Mustard?"

"Both actually." His joke made me laugh, "I used to live with my dad on his catamaran but once I hit my twenties I figured I should move out."

"A catamaran? That's so cool, do you sail often?"

"No not really. My dad and I never really have time anymore so it just lives in the marina."

"What does your dad do?"

"He's a journalist for a local newspaper."

"Wow, with a catamaran. That's impressive, he must have saved for years."

"Well actually, he used to be a travel writer. A pretty famous one actually but he gave that all up when I was born."

"Wait, your last name is Finn right?"

"Indeed."

"Your dad isn't Gilligan Finn by any chance is he?"

"You know him?"

"Yes! My parents read his work all the time. Hell, everyone in my neighbourhood did! I grew up reading his articles!"

"So did I!" I joked.

"I used to have an article of his taped above the head of my bed! Until I was, like 16!"

"Which article?" I propped myself up on my elbows. I knew he was famous but i'd ever met someone who was that  in love with his work.

"It was one he wrote after hiking up a mountain in Nepal. He talked to each person he met from the airport to the top of the mountain. He discovered their individual stories about their lives but, in the article, only provided one sentence for each person. It was so beautiful and carefully constructed that it sent my young mind reeling."

"Summit of Humanity."

"Pardon?"

"The name of the article was Summit of Humanity." I smiled at the Irish boy that laid beside me. His hair sprawled out on the sand and his shirt slightly askew to reveal his right hip; he was so gracefully dishevelled.

My insides tingled at the sight of him and i felt... sparks. I attempted to block the odd sensation from my mind.

"Why did you leave?" He turned his head slowly to look at me, a confused and expectant look on his face, "Leave Ireland, I mean. Why come here?"

"I don't know, it was hard though. Definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. I had to leave my brother Greg and my nephew and my mum." His words were heavy with emotion and I could tell he meant each one.

"Do you keep in touch with them?"

He was silent as he turned his head back to look up at the now grey sky dotted with a few stars.

"No." He whispered, keeping his gaze on the galaxies above. I sensed his pain grow and decided to move on to a different subject, something to take his mind off what i could only imagine to be heartbreaking thoughts.

"I've worked at that café since I was 14, you know?" He rolled onto his side, locking eyes with me, "I spent my birthday handing out resumes all over the place. I still give my dad 40% of my earnings." I smiled fondly at the memory. I had been so excited to start helping dad pay for some stuff but he refused to let me. So I slid 40% of my payment into his wallet each week when he wasn't around.

"It sounds like a lot but I don't earn much. Manny is letting me live at his house for the low price of a small packet of watermelon sour patch." I laughed at the fond story of my friend. However I then worried if I had divulged too much to Niall. I had gotten carried away and I feared he may pity me. He's practically a stranger after all.

"We haven't discussed the rent yet, you know?" He rolled his head to the side to look at me but I continue to stare ahead.

"Oh yes. How much a month is it?"

"I actually have a deal to propose."

"Shoot."

Well, considering you're so experienced in this area, I was wondering if you could find me a job. A good, sustainable, well-paying job."

"What's the other half?"

"I pay your rent."

I sat up abruptly.

"Niall, no. I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking, I'm asking."

"No way. Not gonna happen."

"But it's a fair deal!"

"I can pay for myself."

"I know you can, but I'm offering to do it instead. I need a favour and so I'm asking for help."

"Niall..."

"Lillian. You don't need to feel guilty and certainly don't think I am taking pity on you. I just need you to help me with this so I found a way that you can benefit from this too."

I stayed silent. I never take or borrow money from others; I didn't need it. I could self-provide and I just felt wrong taking what others had earned.

But he did have a point. He benefits, I benefit. I'm not even sure how much this apartment costs and I'd hate to have to turn it down after forming this new friendship.

"I'm taking your silence as a yes. Come on, let's go." He grabbed me by the hands and pulled me to my feet.

Looks like we had a deal.

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