Robin hated heights, but she liked climbing trees. Whenever she sat up in a tree it was like she could take herself away from everything else on the ground, so she had been silently thrilled when she spotted the great chestnut tree at the end of her Uncle's garden. It was small enough to not look too out of place in the rest of the garden which was just grass and weeds, but the branches were large and study enough to climb and sit in, the leaves providing Robin with all the privacy she could want from prying eyes, or so she thought. Some of the branches even grew over the fence, making their way into the neighbour's garden, but Robin decided to avoid those ones, not wanting to bother whoever was living next door.

So there she sat, a cigarette between her lips, her eyes closed, listening to the breeze and the sounds of the neighbourhood. It was peaceful, and if it wasn't for the odd scouse accent from those walking past, she almost forgot she was in Liverpool. Part of her wished she'd brought her sketchbook out, one of her smaller ones, so she could try drawing out some of the leaves, but she knew there'd be other opportunities. For now, she could just relax, and try and get her head around the move.

Despite loving Yorkshire, Robin had always wanted to move. She wanted to go and study art in London before going out to see the world. She didn't want to die in the same place she was born, and though travelling would've been a struggle given how poor her parents were, she wanted to at least try and experience things that life would not serve her if she stayed in Sheffield forever. She wanted to get out, but she didn't think getting out would mean moving hours away from everything she knew to have to settle into a new way of life. She thought getting out would be her choice, but she wasn't old enough to go out into the world on her own, so she was stuck following her mother as she rebuilt her life, but the life her mother wanted to rebuild for herself couldn't have been any further from what Robin wanted.

Truthfully, Robin wasn't sure what she wanted, but she knew that what she wanted didn't include losing her father and having to start again in a new city under the roof of her Uncle, who'd apparently made his fortune in the restaurant business. He'd offered to take in his brother's widow and child after Robin's father's death, and she was grateful, except she wished that they weren't in that situation at all. She wished she could be back home in her flat instead of up a tree in the Woolton estate of Liverpool. She wished everything would go back to normal.

Sat up in the tree, Robin thought the multitude of bright green leaves would have hidden her from the world, but that wasn't the case. In fact she was the first thing John noticed as he headed out into his garden with his guitar. He'd been out all day practicing with his band, but his aunt had made sure to tell him as soon as he'd gotten in that two women had just moved into next door. The way she'd said it had given off infinite disapproval at them, but upon seeing the mystery girl up in the tree, his feelings couldn't be any further from Mimi's, and he was for once glad to be wearing his glasses, able to see the girl in all her glory.

She wasn't blonde. That was a surprise to John because he never usually paid much attention to dark haired girls. He liked blondes, like Brigitte Bardot, so he didn't understand just why he thought the dark haired beauty was the most impressive thing he'd ever seen. Maybe it was because of how serene she looked, expelling a cloud of smoke with her eyes closed. He didn't really like women who smoked either, but the cigarette along with her leather jacket and tight dark jeans seemed to offer this aura of mystery and power that was unusual. He'd never seen another bird like her, not around Woolton anyway. He didn't even know her name, or who she was apart from being the new girl next door, but John was instantly and intensely attracted to her.

John thought he'd just be coming out to the garden to play guitar, banned from playing the instrument in the house due to Mimi's hatred of his desire for a music career, but his focus had shifted. He wanted to talk to her, to at least know her name, but as he watched her stub out her cigarette and flick it onto the grass below her, he realised he also wanted a smoke too.

"Oi, you got a cig I could bum?" he called out to her, holding back a smirk as he noticed her flinch out of surprise at his voice, leaning on the fence to get a better look at her.

"Fucking get your own, Buddy Holly," she snapped back, shooting him a glance that seemed more like a scowl.

The tree wasn't as private as she thought, and part of Robin wanted her to storm off into the house where she could at least shut herself off in her bedroom, but as soon as she glanced down at the lad in the garden next door, she decided against it. His hair was styled up in a quiff, like this lad was trying to be James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause. Robin wished he was wearing a red  jacket too like James Dean to complete the look, but it didn't really matter, because his own black leather jacket with light blue shirt and black drainpipe trousers seemed original, unique, and heightened just how handsome he was. Behind his thick-rimmed glasses that were so obviously a homage to rock and roll, he had kind eyes the colour of dark caramel that seemed to be staring at her intently. If anyone else was staring at her like that, Robin would have walked away, avoided them to whatever extent necessary, but there was something different about this boy, something that peaked her interest.

"Oh, come on, don't be tight," he tried again, raising his eyebrow at her. "I'm John,"

"Robin," she introduced herself, and despite every sense in her head screaming at her not to, she adjusted her position on the branch, her legs now dangling down from the tree as she faced John straight on, giving herself a better view of the handsome lad.

"Robin in a tree?" he snorted a laugh before he could stop himself. "What are you, a fucking bird?"

"And what are you, a fucking James Dean tribute act playing Buddy Holly on the side?" she sniped back, noticing the guitar in his hand.

"Well aren't you charming," he laughed, pulling a teasing expression that both infuriated and interested Robin. "Where've you moved from? Cause you certainly don't sound like a scouser,"

"Thank God," she rolled her eyes, finding the few snippets of the scouse accent she'd heard to be rather annoying. "I'm from Sheffield, y'know, steel city,"

"What's a steel city lass like you doing in Albert Knight's tree then?" he asked feeling slight triumph in the fact she was still talking to him, even if she did sound dismissive and irritated.

"Not that it's any of any of your bloody business, but Al's my Uncle, me and me Mum's just moved in with him cause he feel's sorry for us," she told him bluntly with a small shrug, deciding against going any further into her explanation, not wanting to tell a stranger about her bereavement, as handsome of a stranger he was.

John mused for a moment over what she had said. He could tell that as she was speaking she was hiding something, and as well as she was trying to hide it he spotted the pained look him her eye. If he was anyone else, he probably wouldn't have noticed it, but he did, only because he was so used to feeling that same exact pain within himself. The pain had just become a part of him ever since his mother died, and he was so used to burying it down or ignoring it that it was almost jarring to see it reflected in the girl before him. He also knew how awful it felt when someone brought up his grief, and so decided to drop the subject entirely, not realising how much of a relief that was to Robin.

"Are all birds from the steel city as mean and pretty as you?" he asked teasingly, shooting her a funny expression to make her laugh, and he was glad when he heard her snort out a quiet chuckle.

"You're shit at flirting, did you know that?" she told him bluntly, making him scowl before he could stop himself.

"Who said I was bloody flirting?" he snapped back quickly, feeling almost vulnerable as if all of his emotions were on show.

"You did, when you called me pretty," she told him, a smirk of victory playing across her face for the briefest of seconds.

It was the first time John had seen a flicker of a smile on her face, and it just seemed to make her prettier. He saw her smile and instantly wanted to smile with her, just because it brought him such pleasure knowing he had been the cause of it. The smile faded though, and he found himself willing her to do it again, but he didn't have the chance to try, not as she jumped off the branch, elegantly landing and brushing her jeans off with one hand whilst the other clutched her leather satchel.

Now on the ground, she avoided eye contact with him before she glanced up. Robin let out the smallest sigh as she opened up her satchel and fished out her packet of woodbines, stepping closer to the fence as she held one out to John. He quickly set his guitar down, reaching out to take the cigarette from her, his fingers brushing against hers for a second.

"You got a light?" he asked, rolling the cigarette in his fingers, shooting her a teasing grin as she sighed again.

"Come 'ere, then," she rolled her eyes again, pulling her lighter out and scowling as he leant over the fence, the cigarette between his lips already.

She'd meant for him to just hold the cigarette out to her in his hand for her to light, but instead he stayed exactly where he was, cocking his eyebrows up daringly, the cigarette between his teeth. There was something quite attractive about John in that moment, and Robin felt her questioning everything. Anyone but him, she'd have told to get stuffed and left them with the unlit cigarette, but not John. Not this stranger that she'd just met, because there was something about him that made her want to not be as reserved or stubborn. Something about this stranger made her want to at least give him a chance without doing what was usual to her, which was to leave him far behind in the desire for solitude.

So she edged closer to the fence, clicking her lighter at the end of his cigarette, and as soon as it was lit she backed away, throwing her lighter back into her bag and folding her arms across her chest stubbornly, as if she was trying to hide herself from his view now she was no longer hidden in the tree. It was no use though, as John's ploy to get her closer had worked and he'd had chance to look at her properly, confirming his suspicions that she was actually quite beautiful.

What had surprised him was her bright blue eyes as he'd expected them to be dark, in keeping with the rest of her dark mystery, but as she'd lit his cigarette up he'd been met with a pair of ocean eyes that seemed to pierce into him. Up in the tree he'd thought she was quite short too, but was instead greeted with a curvy figure so tall with legs that seemed to go on for miles. He also noticed her full chest, and had to hold back a grin as he considered just how perfect he thought she was in her appearance, as well as just how much he lusted after her.

Little did he know Robin had done the exact same to him, using the opportunity of leaning over the fence to study him closer the way she hadn't done to anyone before. She was unused to feeling attraction to someone, never before coming close to even having a crush, but John was good looking. She wasn't an expert, but she knew John was as attractive as he was individual. She'd never met anyone with a nose like his, and the way the setting sun caught his eyes made them shine almost golden. Up close his charisma was especially evident, and for some strange reason Robin felt as if she was stood before Elvis himself, a kinglike figure that deserved both admiration and respect. She wasn't used to feeling such strong emotions, not for another person.

"Well, nice to meet you, John," she said dismissively with a shrug, quickly sticking her defensive walls back up before he could notice she was thinking of his beauty.

"Nice to meet you, Robin from steel city," John called with a smirk, letting out a blow of smoke as he grinned. "Cheers for the ciggie, see ya round,"

With that, Robin headed inside, desperately telling herself not to look back even though she badly wanted to spare one last look at John. She didn't, which was good news to John because it meant she didn't see him staring after her with a pleased smirk. Instead she went inside, up to her new bedroom to study her timetable for the next day, desperately trying to focus her mind onto the prospect of college rather than her new neighbour.

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Word count: 2308

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