The warm glaze of summer coated the air of the bedroom forging a path from the ajar window at the front of the house, as the break of dawn crept in and gave life to it.
From beneath the sheets of the double bed that had been countlessly moved to embrace a more Feng Shui approach to its habitat, a tall, slender figure poked his head up and out; his hair a bright white, untamed from the constant night-time twists and turns. Rosy cheeks gave him an air of colour amidst his slightly pale complexion, and he rubbed them drowsily as he attempted to open his eyes, only to find as he did that a slow, thick stream of light had crept its way up along the length of the bed.
He released a low and unholy groan, once again cursing the window, the bed - everything that he believed in that single repetitious moment to be wholly connected to his morning misery. As his head fell back gently into the pillow, his search for peace became once again corrupted as his phone's alarm began to ring out, releasing a loud heavy metal song that brought him immediately to his senses. He shot upright on the bed, the duvet collapsing off of his torso as he flung his arm out, desperately grabbing the phone and tapping and swiping away, doing anything just to make it shut up.
Suddenly, peace. The young man sighed as he rubbed his weary eyes with his thumb and forefinger, placing his phone back onto the bedside table as it rested atop his work's ID, which read "ARCHIE DAMOS" in bold font beneath his picture.
Archie rose to his feet and stretched his back, arms and neck - for a 24 year old, he was a considerably handsome, albeit eccentric, man of reasonable build that had earned him many a favourable look from those around him. He ruffled his hair as he progressed, naked, from his side of the bed and around, straight into the bathroom. As he transferred rooms, he heard the faint sound of music playing downstairs. This, however, was a popular occurrence for him in the summertime, as the girl he lived with - indeed, the girl he shared his bed with - would find it difficult to sleep in for as long as Archie could, and so as the mornings became warmer she would find herself awake and alert much earlier.
The strange primate sulking at the bathroom sink began to pour water into his hands, leaning in to splash it easily across his face without making a mess; he stared at himself in the mirror, noting the fatigue in the bags beneath his unusual yellow eyes, and in a moment of vanity he dampened his fingers against the tap's stream and carefully toyed his snowy soul patch into a thin point. He chuckled to himself, before running the shower and cleansing himself of the previous day.
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The beat was slow, but resounding, as it played out from the television - one of the radio channels had been put on and Archie recognised the tune to be Icky Thump by The White Stripes. He made his way downstairs, taking each step down along with the drumbeat, fingers tapping along the length of the bannister as he reached the ground floor.
The summertime promoted the supposed necessity to wear very little in the Damos-Noble household - for want of an excuse; for Archie, because he 'said so', and for Michaela - Archie's love interest - because of her work.
Archie continued on and into the kitchen, shivering slightly to the soft cool air which would persist each morning regardless of the weather outside. He hovered his hand over the side of the kettle - it was still producing enough warmth for a sufficient breakfast beverage, and he took a cup from the cupboard above and sorted himself out a black coffee with one sugar. He took a sip, sighed contently and followed his trail back and into the living room.
There stood Michaela in front of him, dressed in one of Archie's black pairs of boxers and a black cotton bra, stretching out her arms and legs one after the other as she faced a built-in metal pole that had been fixed in the middle of the room. She glanced back with a quick, pleasant smile. "Morning Snowy." Her hair was an array of wild pinks and purples, streaking her hair all the way down to the tips just below her shoulder blades. Her baby blue eyes seemed to smile at him as well, which gave Archie a warm feeling as he smiled back, leaning in to peck her lips gently on approach. "Morning Bunny," he replied as he playfully patted her ass with the palm of his hand. He grinned as she released a soft squeak, but obediently sat down as he felt one of her hands teasingly shove him away. He parked himself upon a mossy green sofa near the window, protected from the early morning light by maroon curtains; sipping upon his coffee, he watched her continue. "Couldn't sleep again?"
She shook her head, but her eyes worked the upper half of the pole as she addressed him. "The heat drives me crazy." One leg wrapped itself in a 75-degree angle around the pole, her hands grabbing hold of two separate areas of the upper half as she started off with some simple turns, repeating them slowly. "I don't know how you do it." "Eh, I'm just lazy." Archie consciously and carefully brushed through the front of his hair with his fingertips - sat in only his boxers, his routine would normally consist of showering, being lazy and then fixing himself up ready for the day. This day, however, proved to be a little different from the others.
As the music soon came to a halt, the sound from the television became that of a man's voice, commenting quickly on the history of the song. Archie stretched across for the television remote that sat on the arm of the two-seater, tapping on the volume button to turn the sound up. Michaela focused as best she could on her turns as she alternated direction.
