#i already have to dump images onto my laptop to have the space for app updates

[fractoluminescence]

Um. I'm sorry, WHAT

Did Facebook just download itself in my phone on its own?? Like, I know I have WhatsApp already, but WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

[kirsten-is-writing]

Story Of Us - chapter two

Enjoy! 

Heart pounding in her throat, Khloe watches as the elevator doors open in front of her and reveal the pristine lobby from an hour earlier. As she takes a shaky breath, she steps out and tries to dart to the exit doors in her heels and almost trips over her feet in the process. 

The cool air greets her, the wind picking up as she stops in her tracks and takes in a breath. Her hand releases from gripping the bag’s strap, aching from the unintentional clench. Taking in a few more breaths, her hand falls to her side. I’m okay. I am...okay. 

Letting out an exasperated sigh, she presses a hand to her temple for a moment as she tries to clear her mind of the interview. It’s just an interview, it’s just a one-time thing. 

She clears her throat as her hand drops to her side, thumping of her heart in her throat subsiding as Khloe heads to the nearby train station with her ticket in hand. As she gets onto the next train within minutes, Khloe finds herself replaying the interview in her head. What is it about his demeanor that sets me off? Is it his overconfidence? Arrogance? His closed-off persona? 

Well, then again, she can’t judge a man who just wanted and wants to be successful. Can’t blame an attractive man for that, now can I? 

Forget it, Khloe. You have other and better things to do than dwell on...whatever this is. 

Pulling out the spare earbuds that she brought with her, Khloe plugs them in. As the music app opens up, she hits a random playlist before turning her phone back off as she waits for her stop. 

Within the hour-and-fifteen minute train ride, the train stops, and Khloe walks off of it as she adjusts the straps of her bag. The city’s name, Drøbak, is spray-painted across one of the walls she passes as she climbs the stairs up to one of the streets connecting to the major street. Khloe pulls out her phone, putting her newly-leased-already-paid-for apartment’s address into her maps app. Something of a smile pops up across her face as FIVE MINUTE WALK flashes across the screen. 

Her apartment complex pops up shortly and Khloe strings her earbuds out, rolling the cord up around her hand before shoving it into her bag. She slides the apartment key out as she walks up the steps, letting out a sigh as she unlocks the door. 

The bareness of the entire apartment as Khloe kicks her shoes off at the door and sets down her backpack. Pressing a hand to the wall as she opens the bag up to get her tablet, charger, and phone, she bites her lower lip before making her way to the couch, plopping down. 

She stares up at the ceiling for a moment, inhaling sharply before rolling her head back forward at the mounted TV sitting on the wall across from her. Her tablet, cold in her hands, turns on as Khloe punches in the passcode. 

The interview document from earlier makes her freeze for a split second, and Khloe looks up, sitting there for a moment before placing the tablet and her phone on the cushion next to her. The woman stands and heads into the bedroom--her bedroom--across from the kitchen that’s back behind and blocked off from the living-and-dining room area. 

Grabbing her charging laptop from the surface of her bed, Khloe opens it up as she makes her way back into the main living space. 

“Time to get to work, I guess,” she mumbles as she sits back down on the couch. 

As Khloe begins to sort out the information from the interview into a new document on her computer, flashes of the actual interview creep into her mind. Don’t you think about him, don’t you even THINK about him. 

The image of the CEO makes the woman stop in the middle of her organization, and frowns. Why in hell am I so fascinated with him? For hell’s sake, I barely even know the man! 

Shaking her head, Khloe returns her attention to her computer and tablet in front of her. That’s a matter for a different day. 

Her phone lights up, buzzing against the couch’s surface as she peers at it out of the corner of her eye. 

Marie Aliyev - Text Message

“Well, crap,” she mumbles under her breath, picking the phone up and unlocking her phone to read whatever her supervisor sent. 

Are you planning to come down to the office tomorrow? - Marie 

Hesitating, Khloe looks back at her laptop before quickly typing out a response. 

Don’t now yet with the commute to Oslo and back - Khloe 

She leans back into the couch, waiting for a reply. 

I know how far Drøbak is, especially on the train. Don’t stress about coming in, but if you want to, I’ll send the address - Marie 

That would be great--the address. I need to get out of my apartment anyway -- Khloe 

Just come when you can. I’ll introduce the team once you’re here - Marie

Thank you - Khloe 

Her phone clicks as she turns it off, setting it down next to her as the exhaustion from her overnight flight a couple of days ago begins to kick in. Why did I take this assignment? Oh, wait, for the damn money. 

Rubbing her eye, she stares at the document full of errors and she sighs. I need to fucking finish this and submit it to the editor soon, don’t I? 

Inhaling sharply, Khloe leans forward and continues writing down the rest of the questions and answers before formatting them to the correct layout for the online journalist edition. She downloads the PDF version to her laptop, e-mailing it to the editor, Jens Larsson. Closing her laptop, she leans back into the couch as she begins to disassociate from exhaustion and jet lag. 

Khloe snaps back to reality within a few moments, blinking several times as she straightens her back and looks around. Her shoulders fall as she stands, collecting the devices laying around her and heads into her room to charge them all for tomorrow’s hour-and-fifteen minute trek to Oslo. 

After plugging them into their respective cords, she looks over at the lonely, digital clock sitting comfortably on the wall. Four-thirty-seven. Sigh. 

Sitting on her bed, she reopens her charging laptop and leans back into the pillows behind her. As Khloe pulls up Netflix, she sinks back into the bed. She pulls up the most recent show she was binging on her thirteen-hour flight from Dallas, hesitating before hitting play as she plugs her earbuds in. 

Within minutes, Khloe nods off as the show’s music and character chatter become ambient, background noise. 

⇋

Khloe finds herself back on the train to Oslo again the next morning, disassociating a little as her bag sits idly next to her. The train slows into the station, jerking the woman away from the disassociation. Her eyes widen as the train’s destination moves across the tiny screen to her left, the robotic woman’s voice announcing the destination’s spot in Norwegian. 

Shit runs through her mind as she grabs and swings her bag over her shoulder before scurrying out as the morning rush hour crowd crawls into the train car she was just on. Looking back momentarily, Khloe lets out a sigh of exhausted relief as she attempts to jog up the stairs in her heels, but to no avail. Where’s the nearest coffee shop? 

Her grip on her backpack’s solo strap on her shoulder lessens as she spots one a few meters away, her exhaustion easing it’s bearing on her as Khloe’s pace quickens. As she enters the store, she grabs the wallet she carries in her bag as she approaches the short line. 

With her limited knowledge of the Norwegian language, she carefully picks the drinks they offer apart from the sign and grimaces as she notes the cheapest and easiest one she knows. Pulling out a ten kroner coin and a few of the singular kroner coins from her wallet, Khloe sucks in a breath as the line gets shorter. 

Looking down at the currency in her hand, Khloe bites her lip as she finally gets to the cashier and orders her drink, handing the young man the money a minute later after he places the order. As he grabs her changes, Khloe looks around at the small shop and lets out her breath she was holding moments prior. A few people were standing around, looking down at their phones, with one or two sitting at the tables spread out with tablets or laptops open as they work. 

The cashier hands her the change and Khloe moves out of the line to wait for her drink, dumping the singular kroner back into her wallet. Looking down at her hands after shoving her wallet into her bag’s side pocket, her hands curl tightly into fists for a split second before dropping them to her side. 

Her coffee’s made shortly, and Khloe’s off to find her new office that she’ll be in and out of for the next six months while she’s on assignment in Norway. A breeze picks up, and for the first time since she’s gotten there, Khloe relaxes her shoulders a bit in confidence as she makes her way down the street. 

The woman soon finds the office, a thin building in between two other buildings, presumably apartments. As she makes her way up the short flight of stairs, she enters the building and closes the door behind her. 

The short hallway that greeted her leads into sectioned off areas. To her left, a panel of glass peers into the break room with more of an open floor plan of sectioned off desks to her right. A flight of stairs leads up to the rest of the building, presumably more desks. 

“Khloe Reynolds?” A thickly-sweet voice asks her, a tinge of exhaustion coming through as a woman comes down the flight of stairs with a stack of papers in her hands. Her monolid eyes smile as she approaches Khloe, holding her hand out. “Marie Aliyev, nice to meet you finally in person.” 

Khloe returns the smile, taking the handshake, “You, too.” 

“Was finding this place hard?”

Khloe chuckles after Marie drops her free hand, “No, it’s just getting here was a pain in the ass since I don’t have a car...yet.” 

“I’m sorry,” Marie offers, her face contouring in sympathy. “But was taking the train was alright, I assume?” 

“If you count almost falling asleep on it, then sure.” 

The two women share a laugh in the quiet office space. 

“Anyways,” Marie continues, her smile lingering on her face. “I’m glad you could make it in today, even if the train ride were was as boring as you say it is. Have you met any of your co-workers yet?” 

Khloe shakes her head, nothing to say. 

Marie shrugs, her smile turning into more of an ‘oh well, okay’ as she hugs the thin stack of papers against her chest. 

“Well, a few people are out on business,” she tells Khloe. “So the office’s gonna be a lil’ less crowded the next few days if you don’t mind. Oh, and by the way, before I forget, these two floors are our office. The rest belong to an artist so if you see someone coming up and down the stairs with canvases and brushes, that’s why.” 

“I’m...fine with that.” 

“Anyways,” Marie exhales as she breaks away from the spot where the two women were just standing, beckoning Khloe to come with her up the stairs to the second floor. Silence fills itself in between the two women, the two reaching the second floor before Marie walks over to a desk and slides the stack of papers onto it. 

Opposite of Khloe lies the printer leaning up against the wall, bins of paper and other scraps of things pushed against the actual table the printer’s laying on and around it. A few desks clutter the rest of the space, people sitting at them with laptops, files, and other decor litter the rest of the tablespace. 

“You probably already know Jens,” Marie continues, nodding towards the guy on Khloe’s left and the blond man who appears to be in his late twenties looks up. His grey eyes widen, shifting between the two women as he shoves his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Our editor. To your...right, is Erika. Helps with any and everything in between. Liv and Eric aren’t here right now due to some personal things, but they’re both journalists respectively. We do have a few  other people, but as mentioned, they’re out on business right now.” 

Khloe’s hand curls around her bag’s strap was a bit tighter as she looks at the office space around her and at her new co-workers she’ll be working alongside the next several months. 

“There’s a desk reserved for you downstairs if you’d like to claim it today,” Marie offers, wringing her hands as she stares Khloe up and down. 

“That…that would be great,” Khloe smiles. 

Her supervisor returns the smile as she beckons Khloe again, but this time downstairs. Marie clears off one of the desks near the door, grabbing the random pieces of paper and shoving them into a nearby trash can. She then proceeds to wipe down the surface. 

Khloe sets down her bag as soon as Marie steps out of her way, saying, “Thank you.” 

“You’re a part of the team,” the supervisor comments as she tosses the wipe in the trash can, leaning up against a desk across from Khloe’s. “That one hasn’t been in use since Bjorn left a month ago.” 

“Bummer,” Khloe quietly states, sitting at the desk and readjusting her bag. 

Marie lets out a breath as Khloe gets situated before asking, “By the way, how was your first assignment?” 

“Oh, the interview?” Khloe looks up as she places her laptop on the desk’s surface. The blood drains from her face for a split second as a flashback of him staring out his office window engrains itself into her memory. “Yeah, yeah, it was okay. Great, not something I’ve done since graduating from university.” 

“Define great for me?” 

Khloe leans forward, her hands clamping as she hesitates to answer for a moment as she stares at the wall behind her supervisor. 

“Khloe?” 

“The interview was exceptional, but not my greatest,” she responds as she looks right back up at Marie, who gives her a small smile as she crosses her arms. “I just guess jetlag and nerves got to me, but...but it went smooth.” 

“Exceptional and smooth with nerves and jetlag?” 

“Yes. I’m sorry if I...if it didn’t make sense.” 

Marie chuckles as she uncrosses her arms and pushes herself from the desk, stating, “It’s fine Khloe. You’ve only been here a few days, so don’t stress yourself out too much over the next month, okay?” 

“I can’t promise that,” Khloe laughs. “Wasn’t raised to slog behind.” 

“I understand, I get that. I’m just trying to look out for you.” 

“That, I understand.” 

Her supervisor crosses her arms again as she looks down at Khloe, saying, “Well, you got your first assignment turned into Jens, and I’m surprised you got it to him yesterday only considering that you just had the interview.” 

“It wasn’t hard. Minus almost dropping from exhaustion.” 

That makes Marie chuckle again, “‘It wasn’t hard.’ Most people won’t say that about the assignment, considering the fact that most of them do something similar months later.” 

Khloe bites her lower lip, looking down at her clasped hands that are settled on top of her closed laptop. She says, “I mean, I’ve done things like this before back in the States, minus the fact that most of the CEOs weren’t on their high horses like Aleksander Nygaard.” 

“Speaking of which,” Marie responds after a moment of thinking as she steps out of the space between the two desks. “He sent me an e-mail last night around ten-thirty about the interview. Seems like you’ve impressed him.” 

“What’s so impressive about...about the interview I had with him?” 

“He just told me that he was impressed. Might’ve included a few details about how your...style was different and how much he had you.” 

“Is that all?” Khloe raises a brow as she straightens her back. 

Marie hesitates for a split second before answering her, “He also mentioned that if we need a second interview, he’d like to have you back.” 

“That’s shocking. Thought he didn’t like me or just that I was an inconvenience.” 

Her supervisor just lets out a sigh as she gives Khloe a disappointed look, “Most people portray themselves as something or someone else, and regarding the e-mail he sent me, he wasn’t disappointed in you, Khloe. He may have just woken up on the wrong side of the bed.” 

In the few moments of silence, Khloe sits there with a lump pushing its way up her throat. 

“Moving on from that, I do have another assignment for you,” Marie tells her. “You up for that?” 

“Yeah,” she replies, attention reshifting to her supervisor. 

“It’s easy, I promise.” 

With that, Khloe finds herself in isolation during the rest of the day and the rest of the week for that matter with the occasional checkup by Marie. Her new assignment almost done by the time she leaves the office Friday afternoon and gets home an hour and a half later from a delayed train trip, Khloe finds herself calling home and her mother picking up. 

“How are you?” Her mother asks her, her German accent picking up through the speaker. Khloe hesitates to answer as she places her phone on the dining table, momentarily forgetting about the bag on her shoulder. “Is everything alright?” 

“Mom, I’m fine.” 

“Khloe, I can tell that you’re not. Tell me the truth.” 

“Mom, Mom...I swear I’m fine,” Khloe tells her mother and she finally dumps her bag onto the chair next to her as she sits, grabbing her laptop out of it. “You’ll be the first to know if anything’s fine.” 

Her mother pauses, answering, “You worry me something, you know that?” 

“You don’t have to remind me, and I’m fine. Just getting adjusted to work and all, so don’t stress out me. By the way, how’s Dad? Is he, y’know, doing alright?” 

The distraction from the man on her mind works, and the two end up in a spiral of talking for the next hour or so before her mother hangs up to entertain Khloe’s nieces that were staying at her mother’s house over the weekend. Khloe lets out a breath, closing her laptop shortly afterward and takes that and her bag to her room before grabbing a thing of unboiled noodles from the pantry and tossing it into a pot of boiling water. As she waits for the timer to go off, the woman walks over and settles onto her couch, turning the TV on and scrolls through Netflix. 

The next couple of hours blur together, spent between grabbing a small portion of noddles and saving the rest for office lunches and watching a show that’s not available back in the States. The episode she’s on ends, and Khloe takes her bowl to the sink, scrubbing it clean and setting it out to dry. She glances over at the time on the oven, it reading almost nine o’clock. 

Great. 

With that, her body begins to ache with exhaustion and Khloe heads off to bed shortly after switching the TV and lights off. Saturday morning rolls by and Khloe finds herself rolling out of bed and heading off back to work. 

As she walks into the coffee shop she’s been heading to before work, her blood runs cold as she gets into the short line. 

“What a surprise to see you here, Ms. Reynolds,” Aleksander Nygaard states as he stops in front of her, a cup of freshly brewed coffee in his free hand. What the hell, what the hell-- 

She takes a step back in surprise and takes the scene of him in for a moment. His button-down shirt is tucked into his slacks, tie loose, and hair has fallen into his eyes. He pushes his pair of glasses up the bridge of his nose as he studies her. 

“I could say the same thing, Mr. Nygaard,” she manages, attempting a weak laugh as she adjusts her bag on her shoulder. Something of a small smile crosses his face as he raises a brow. 

“I was just in the area,” he explains. “They have some of the best coffee here.” 

“They...they do.” She shakes her head, looking down at her hands before back up at him. The sight of him standing in front of her looking like a normal man before going off to work throws her off. No wonder my memories didn’t do him justice. Go figure, Khloe. “And please, call me Khloe. I...actually prefer it.” 

His smile widens as he reshoulders his backpack, “Then call me Aleksander. Just because I’m the CEO of a company doesn’t mean you have to treat me as such.” 

Since when did he become more human? 

“That sounds doable,” she responds as she returns the smile. “You take the train?” 

“It’s only a five-minute thing. Easy, simple,” he shrugs. “And I’m not the biggest fan of traffic anyway.” 

Khloe lets out a chuckle, “I hate traffic.” 

“The worst, isn’t it?” 

“Always.” 

Her shoulders relax as she finds herself at the beginning of the line, ordering her usual cup of coffee and handing the cashier the money. As soon as she’s handed the change, she steps out of the line and moves out of people’s way as she waits. 

“You don’t strick me as a coffee person,” Aleksander states. 

“Neither does the businessman standing right beside me,” she retorts, raising an eyebrow as she shoves her wallet inside of her bag’s side pocket. He frowns, contemplates it for a moment before taking a sip of his drink. 

Out of all the places, why did he come here? I know it’s because of the traffic, but…

Her heartbeat slowly jumping out of her throat, she inhales slowly. 

“I know it’s traffic and stuff, but why in the world would you take a train to your own business?” She asks Aleksander, looking up at the man before grabbing her cup of coffee. 

“It’s cheaper,” he responds. “And as I said, it’s only five minutes.” 

“Says the rich man.” 

The two walk out together, Khloe leading. 

He snorts, “Now I’m being dictated to by an American woman?” 

“Something like that.” 

He exhales, letting out a laugh as he shakes his head, “I’ll never understand Americans, let alone an American woman working in my country.” 

“Thank you,” Khloe tells him, rolling her eyes. 

“Can I ask how long you’re going to be staying here?” 

She hesitates before telling him, “Six months. I’ll be gone before you ever think of me again.” 

That doesn’t stifle a laugh from him as she starts to make her way out of the train station. 

“Six months could also be a lifetime,” he tells her as he catches up with Khloe’s fast pace. 

“One second could also be forever,” Khloe says, glancing up at him for a brief moment. 

“So now we’re quoting Alice in Wonderland?” 

She purses her lips as she slows down her pace, “I’m just stating that--” 

“A second is fleeting, I know, but one second can also change your life. Confessing your love, ending it all…” 

Khloe stops in her tracks to stare at the man as he brushes his hair out of his face with his free hand. 

“I...I honestly don’t know how to respond to that,” she expresses. He manages a smile, shaking his head. 

“It’s fine,” he tells her. “By the way...how’s the article of yours coming?” 

Khloe freezes before responding with, “Oh, um, I...it’s finished. Been finished, I just sent it to the editor but...his editing software’s been awful so we can’t send the article out yet.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?” 

“No, no,” she blurts out. “You doing the interview was enough, and I’m thankful for that.” 

“If you’re sure. Also, if you need to contact me...” 

She sucks in a breath as her grip on her bag’s handle loosens as he scribbles something on a piece of paper and hands it to her. 

“Do...do you want mine?” 

“Just leave me a voicemail. Oh, and thank you for doing the interview,” he tells Khloe after pausing to leave. “Couldn’t have it at a better time.” 

As she watches him walk past her, Khloe stares breathless. There’s something about him that’s so intriguing, she admits to herself. Too bad it’s a lost cause, but I can still admire from afar, can I not? 

Biting her lower lip, Khloe heads off to her work.