✔ DRUNK words, SOBER thoughts ✖ hemmings au

11. Saturday Morning Sunrises

LUKE.

I hated hiking. Burning calf muscles and sweat weren't exactly my cup of tea but as the early morning hours of darkness slowly ended, I convinced Ari to hike up one of the trails at the Griffith Observatory to catch the sunrise from the top of the hill. We sat on top of the wooden fence near the edge of the cliff, our feet resting on the bottom railing. We talked and insulted each other, as we looked at the twinkling lights of the city below us.

We were the only ones up on the hill and I had never felt more comfortable than in that moment. Ari must be some kind of evil wizard with black magic running through her veins because how she's able to make me feel like myself is something no one has been able to do in a long time.

"Look!" Ari pointed out into the distance, "the sky is starting to get lighter. The sun is coming out!"

"Calm down Quiroz, you act like you've never seen a sunrise before," I teased.

She playfully smacked me on the arm, "not with all of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills in the background."

"Well then just wait till the sun rises fully, you'll love it," I promised with a smile.

My mind reverted back to the very beginning of this adventure. How unhappy and awkward I felt at first, then out of nowhere I was able to turn a complete 180 degrees. I sang my heart out in front of a bunch of drunk strangers who sang with me, then I decided to drive 40 minutes out to LA to introduce Milk to Ari. In between the great conversations we had, we found ourselves galavanting around Hollywood and Vine, taking photos with the walk of fame stars - we even ran into the lads of the band Boys Like Girls.

Ari fangirled way too hard.

We then got our toes wet on the Santa Monica shore and had a sand fight before police officers kicked us out. That's when I decided to take Ari to the Griffith Observatory. I didn't mention that we'd be hiking, but after about an hour on the dark trails and the LA skyline came into view, Ari stopped complaining.

"I'm so glad we did this," Ari looked over at me with a soft smile. "Who knew you could be a fun guy?"

"And who knew you could be anything other than a bitch," I joked.

"That joke's getting old Hemmings," she laughed. "You know, I might consider you a friend."

"Oh really?" I raised a brow, "because I was going to consider you as a friend too. You can sit with us."

"Did you just--"

"Reference Mean Girls? Yea," I proudly declared. I turned my attention back to the city, though in the corner of my eye I could see Ari grinning at me. I let out a small smile, slowly moving my eyes in her direction before the both of us bursted into laughter.

The sun rose above the horizon and the sky turned to mixtures of blue, oranges and pinks, and we greeted all of Los Angeles with a smile.

"Damn, it's so pretty," Ari sighed, completely taken aback by the view before us.

I stared at her, noticing the way the early morning sunrise hit her face. I'd be lying if I didn't think she looked beautiful, I just never really took the time to pay attention before. The slight breeze blew her stray hairs around and without thinking of what I was doing, I reached out and tucked them behind her ear.

Ari turned to look at me with a smile, yet I could see the confusion in her eyes.

"Sorry," I quickly said, looking down at my feet.

"You're a dork," she giggled, playing off my awkwardness with ease before looking back out to the sunrise. Ari rested her head on my shoulder, linking her arm with mine.