Dreamers
Hello dear peoples! I'm back and busy! Yeah, I've actually three projects running right now. After finals I promise to add a second chapter to Dorsiflexion!
So, about this story. I was thinking back to my last trip to Rome, and it put me in full-Italy mode! Now, Bella is an English Lit major, currently teaching Creative Writing at UW. Alice has succeeded into becoming a high class designer, and has Rosalie as her own fitting model. Teehee, don't ask me where this stuff comes from.
Now, Edward is modeling for.... Giorgio Armani. Sorry, I was just drooling over those barechested men in tight suits and he just popped up mwuahaha! Jasper and Rosalie are cousins, having grown up in the industry. While Rose started a career in modeling, Jasper became well-known for his sound productions at runway shows. And lastly Emmett, couldnt leave frail Jazzy hauling all his equipment around, now could I? Actually, as a set dresser its his job to carry props and rearrange objects. They're all living in Portland, currently.
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.
Enjoy!
BPOV
-'I'm not really focused at the moment, it's all coming at me from different angles and that makes it hard to concentrate on anything else.', according to young Edward Masen. Over the past few months the famous model has declined a fair number of offers from high designers, and is effectively missing out on important events. When we asked if the ugly competition for his presence is affecting his career, we were awarded with a very confusing answer; 'I haven't found the muse to quit yet-' the hunky model runs a hand through his hair as he dazzles us with a brilliant smile, 'but when I find her, Armani is going to be one man short,' effectively ending the interview with a flirtatious wink.
"Pfah!" I snorted. Angela looked up from her book, tilting her head to the side. "What are you reading miss Swan?" I flashed her the Cosmo and hopped off my desk. "I told you Angela, call me Bella. Besides, I'm like, what, three years older than you?" Angela giggled. A few other students had started talking amongst themselves, so I decided to start my topic of discussion. I knew just the one.
"Alright guys, put the books down and light the eyes up. I was reading the latest Cosmo, courtesy of Alice of course-" a few girls in the back, one was named Jessica, I think, started shrieking. It was no surprise really, everyone knew who Alice Brandon was. She was my best friend, roommate, evil personal pixie from hell. Of course, to them she was the sweet, caring Alice who had the high reputation of owning the most esteemed fashion house in Seattle.
"-anyway, there was a six page spread about some guy model and I figured it would be interesting to-"
"Oh my God!"
The same girls started screaming and hyperventilating again, fanning their faces rather dramatically. I was getting tired of the interruptions regarding the magazine and was beginning to suspect little miss Brandon of handing out Cosmo's for lack of better reading material, as she'd once put it. I leaned back against my desk with my hands on the edge, when suddenly two small hands blocked my vision. I sighed.
"Must you always pop up out of nowhere and disrupt my class with your presence?"
The darkness was replaced by the face of a pouting Alice. "How did you know it was me?" I tapped my head and gave her a smirk. "Built-in radar Alice, I can spot pixies who can't wait until class ends within a ten mile radius." She glanced at the clock and grinned.
"Besides, your fans over there dropped a not so pretty low-key hint." Alice turned her face to the back row and winked, earning another set of shrieks.
"Alright you girls, cool it. Miss Brandon here was just leaving, weren't you?" I narrowed my eyes. Alice wasn't one for small talk, she meant business. Sadly, she made an effort to make that my business as well. If it meant disturbing my three days a week teaching job for a check up on my outfit, then so be it. Sure, the students never did mind; after all who could tell their friends they'd met the most prestigious designer in the whole West Coast area?
Alice brushed off my comment and made her way over to Angela. "Don't mind Bella, her physique is still coping with the sensation of wearing fabrics other than cotton." I rolled my eyes, my mind flashing back to the horror of getting, or rather being dressed this morning.
"Great Ang, just be sure to sent Rose home as soon as you're done shooting. Thanks!" Alice's chirpy voice pulled me out of my mulling. Again the witch succeeded into commandeering Angela's services for the afternoon. Angela nodded excitingly before Alice made her way back to me. Ang was an amazing photographer; and in her innocent hobbying around Alice saw great potential, thus luring her services away from Creating Writing to waste her time on models.
Besides Rose, I disliked all models. Male or female, they were as far as I was concerned a bunch of bubbly airheads with the personality of a tablecloth and the brain capacity of a kitchen tile. After having met like a gazillion of them, Alice kept assuring me not all of them were like that, and that even Rose had her 'Diva' moments.
"You done exploiting the school's student body?" I asked Alice, who was busy inspecting my state of dress.
"Hmmhmm," came the uninterested reply. Her tiny hands tugged on my shirt, and a small 'tsk' escaped her lips. "Really Bella, have I done something to offend you? You're completely discriminating my profession! Wearing sweats and torn jeans? Running shoes? I worked my magic this morning only to find you hiding in these awful clothes which I do not recall having tossed out. "
"I hide these in Angela's locker." I stuck out my tongue at Alice and dragged her toward the door. The class disrupted in laughter.
"Wait here." I glanced over my shoulder and mouthed an apologetic 'sorry' to Angela.
Alice rolled her eyes and glanced at the clock above the door. I followed her gaze and noticed it was almost time to end class. Alice had inexplicable timing. "Alright guys, let's wrap things up. Now, before I was so rudely interrupted," I peeked at Alice, who suddenly became interested in the craftwork of the wooden door, "I thought it would be interesting for you to get started on a new assignment, " a few hands were raised but I continued, " that will teach you to try empathize with someone who has acted or projected a certain prejudice."
"Can we write with certain essay style?" That distant girl, Lauren asked. I nodded.
"Do we have to use our own prejudices, or can we take a certain stereotype" Angela questioned shrewdly, aware of my obvious distaste for the modeling industry.
"That is fine. The assignment is due next Thursday. See you Monday guys!"
Alice was tapping frantically on the steering wheel. Her expression made no sense to me; she was smiling, but her eyes were dark and tense.
"You okay there Ali?"
"I'm fine. No, better than fine I'm GREAT!" Alice beamed at me. It was rather creepy.
"O-okay..if you're sure." She smiled at me again, but it was still distant and doubtful.
"I'm craving for some fine Chinese food, you in?"
"Sounds good. " It was only us tonight; Rosalie was busy shooting Alice's new line of swimwear, hopefully treating Angela to some sort of thank you dinner afterwards.
"Grab me a pair of chopsticks on your way here okay!" I yelled at Alice from our own little makeshift dinner table. The big table in the kitchen was never used for dinner, instead our round little coffee table served its purpose, it being in close proximity to the couch and TV and all.
"Why you refuse to eat with a fork, I will never know." Alice mumbled tossing me a pack before sitting down on the floor next to me, a plate of orange chicken in her hands. "I'm traditional. I like to keep it simple." I said, shoving a piece of rice in my mouth. I don't dwell on it often, but I considered myself the embodiment of simple. I was Vanilla, the most plain of flavors in the world. I was ordinary; a wallflower. No real surprise there. My mousy looks never got me further than a greeting from the cart guy at Wall-Mart, or a 'Good morning miss Swan' at UW.
"Where the hell is Rose!" Alice yelled, forcing the last bite of steaming fried rice in her mouth while she dug around in her purse. I choked on my chicken. Rose should be heading home now, I thought.
Alice started furiously dialing and brought the phone to her ear while I quickly hogged the last egg roll when her attention was occupied.
"Rose? Hey its Alice. Listen, I got some news and its pretty important, so haul your ass over here PRONTO!" I covered my ears and eyed Alice with great curiosity. I cleared my throat. "So, what's the big news?"
"YOU WHAT!" Alice jumped up on the couch, clearing her throat to start her speech. "He hem. As I was saying, I got a call from Felix this morning, and he said we've been invited to represent my label during the Fashion Week in.. MILAN!" A series of shrieks followed. Tears flowing freely now, Alice jumped off so we could both hug her.
"Oh my gosh Alice! This is so great, I'm so happy for you! You so deserved it!" I managed to choke out. Rose was clinging on Alice for dear life, crying madly as well. "ALICE BRANDON TELL ME I AM MODELLING! I will QUIT if you don't bring me with you!" Alice had managed to disentangle herself from our sobbing clutches, and bounced into her bedroom.
Rose and I stared at each other in wonder.
"Look at what I goooot!" Alice sang while she skipped back and flung herself back on the couch, wedging her tiny body between us.
"Alice what's this?" Rose and I both eyed the pink little envelopes suspiciously. Alice rolled her eyes.
"Just open them!"
"Alice, I.. I can't believe you did this. H-How.." I stammered, scanning the ticket once more. Sure enough, it said 'United Airlines – Portland to San Francisco to Milan' The flight was in two weeks.
"Oh My Gosh! Alice this is amazing! I can't believe we're going to Italy! This is going to be awesome!" Rosalie crushed Alice and taped herself to her petite frame. I was still gazing absently at the ticket. Is this for real? This is my chance to-
"You okay Bells? If you're worrying about class you know Zafrina would agree to substitute your class in a heartbeat right?"
"Well, she um, she kind of already did." The girls gasped, and Rose grabbed my shoulder, forcing me to look at her. I cringed. Rosalie could be pretty intimidating, and it made me want to cry and tell them it was all a dumb joke.
"What are you talking about Bella, are you quitting class?" Rose asked, showing nothing more than concern and longing for understanding. I nodded timidly.
"I love teaching creative writing, but it's not why I got my degree in English Lit, and it's definitely not where my heart lies. I long to publish my own book one day, and locking myself in a stuffy classroom full of other talented writers has gotten me nowhere than seeing their work published!"
I fell silent after being amazed by my own personal outburst, and scanned their faces for any reaction. A loud ding announced our Easy Macs were done. Triple Cheese flavor of course.
"Ooh I'm so proud of you Bells! You are a fantastic writer, and your dreams will come true, I have foreseen it!" Alice squealed. Rosalie returned from the kitchen, 3 cups of Easy Mac on a plate, and sat down cross-legged with her back against the couch.
"When is your last class then, Bells?" I tapped the cup against my plate, forcing the last remains to fall out. They both continued to stare at me, and it was making me uncomfortable.
"I'm not sure yet, my schedule is set for at least one more week. I guess I have to fill Zafrina in about the Italy thing though." We finished our radiated snacks and snuggled into the couch.
"So ladies, let's talk Milan!"
We spent the next 3 hours discussing what we should bring, and what kind of activities there'd be to do for us.
"I can't wait to go shopping! Prada, Versace, Dolce&Gabbana, watch it! Alice is coming to town!"
"Hmm think of all the gorgeous Italian guys there, they're so dreamy. Guys like Mario, or Francesco."
I snickered at Rose's comment, earning a pillow to the face.
"What about you Bella?"
"Umm let's see. I'd love to see the Milan Cathedral, or theBasilicaof Sant'Ambrogio. Maybe a trip to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, wow." My interest-of-the-month in architecture a few years ago was actually coming in handy right now.
"Booooring. " Alice whined.
"Do you even know what the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele is? It's the world's oldest shopping mall. It's supposed to be four stories high." I knew Alice couldn't stand my 'boring' activities, but if it remotely involved shopping, she was putty in your hands.
"Say no more, I'm moving in!"
The rest of the night became a blur of fashion, boys and margarita's. When the brochures were starting to magically appear from out of nowhere and threatened to bury us, I called it a night.
"Alright guys, my head is spinning from all this excitement, or the margarita's I don't know.. I'm gonna go take a shower and go to sleep. 'Night! "
"Alright Bella we're going to put these away and follow your lead, I for one am exhausted." Rose started piling the brochures and disappeared into her room, Alice following suit after flicking the lights off.
EPOV
Meeting the guys here was a bad idea. Maybe I should've been more specific with my intentions when I said 'meet me at the bar.' When I got off the phone with Jasper he sounded a little apprehensive, but agreed to tow Emmett with him at the last minute. I give Jazz directions and ordered a couple of beers. I glanced at the bright red Neon sign above the entrance that said 'Chopstix ' and smiled. I loved piano bars, especially one as diverse and-
"Dude! Where are all the chicks!" Trust it to Emmett to make an entrance. His burly appearance made you think twice about him, but underneath the brashness and muscular built he was completely innocent. Well, almost. Jasper trailed behind him, smiling apologetically.
"Hello Edward, nice bar man."
"Shut up, we're not staying here, I just need to be in a comfortable place right now." They both threw me a confusing look, grabbed a beer and eventually took their seats on the high stools at the counter to await my explanation. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"I'm going to end it."
".."
As Sam Levenson once said: It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it. I should've chosen my words more careful.
Jasper narrowed his eyes but stayed very still. Emmett on the other hand..
"Are you insane!? Don't go Edward, I love you as a brother! You can't leave me with Jasper he'll drive me fucking insane with all his sensitive crap! Who is going to help me get with his hot cousin?? Who is-" I pushed Emmett away before I fell off the stool from him shaking me so hard, or before Jasper would fling him across the counter himself for the cousin comment.
"Get off me Em, that is not what I meant." They both cooled down and sat back in their respective seats. Suddenly Jasper gasped and had a knowing look on his face, shifting uncomfortably on is stool. I nodded.
"You're leaving Armani."
It wasn't a question. The subject wasn't new to them either. Leaving my job meant I would probably never see my best friends ever again. Not when we're working on different continents anyway. Our professions were the glue that held our friendship together, in a strange way. Jasper was about to break the silence, when Emmett cut him off.
"Is that why you wanted to meet us here? Show us your new working space? Punching those keys and sing a little song every night to a bunch of strangers who only come here to stuff their faces??"
Emmett was yelling at me so loud the couple behind us started to shush us. I put my hand on his shoulder to calm him down,
"Easy there bro, don't go all caveman on me. Let me explain please."
I leaned back and pinched the bridge of my noise. "You both knew this was coming for a while, and trust me, I'm scared shitless. But I need to start doing what I really love, and parading around in expensive suits and glossy shoes is not something I want to be doing for the rest of my life. I'm young, and I want to start living. I want to excel my composing skills, and play my own piece in front of a crowd. I want to fall in love and see my birth town again, that sort of stuff."
"Ease up there mister Romantic. What about us?" Trust it to Emmett to pull my head out the clouds. I crossed my arms and smirked at both of them.
"Weeell," I said, dragging out the 'e', "my piano skills as the future world's most inventive composer might come in handy with Jazz's audio productions." Jasper beamed at that, while Emmett slumped against the counter. "Plus, wherever Jasper goes, you go. Set dressers are supposed carry and arrange props, or in your case haul Jazz's crap around. No runway studio is going to build itself, right?" I nodded at Emmett, who's sulky expression transformed into booming laughter.
"Man, that is awesome bro! "
"Good thinking Edward, for a minute there you almost made Emmett cry."
"Hey!!"
I chuckled and raised my beer, "Best friends,"
"and following dreams" Jasper added.
"and hot cou- Ouch! Back off Jazz! Fine and hot chicks!" I took care of the check when the guys were fighting and shrugged into my jacket.
"Alright guys, this is getting a little mushy for my taste. Let's go find us a real bar." I agreed with Jasper. Emmett had already left for the car, I could faintly hear him shouting 'let's rock this town!' probably scaring anyone passing by. I stifled a laugh; the guy had the smallest ounce of patience in the world. But the biggest heart.
"Alright guys, let's rock this town!"
"You have got to stop saying that Emmett, before I dump your ass on the street." Jasper was getting irritated, to put it mildly. Emmett's exaggerating enthusiasm and Jasper's stoic nature often clashed, causing the weirdest of arguments and brawls, especially when driving. I was just protecting my own hide by sitting in the back while the two of them went at it.
"Let's rock, rock, rock man rock, rock!"
"Start walking."
The biker bar, big thanks to Emmett, was fairly crowded; a few gruff looking biker guys were sitting at the high counter watching a game on the big screen, behind them a couple of college kids were obviously getting wasted. We slid into a vacant booth in the back, out of sight to avoid any recognition. I always got antsy whenever I went to a crowded place; it was something I would never get used to.
"Relax Eddie, no one's gonna recognize you here. I don't think Zuko and his rowdy ruff boys over there are subscribed to Cosmo or anything, right Jazz?" I cringed at the use of Emmett's ridiculous name-calling, but he was right.
"Here guys, on me" Jasper said while he slid me a coke and a beer for Emmett, deciding on water for himself.
"Such charity does not go unnoticed, Jazz. What's up?" I joked. I don't think Emmett expected Jasper's reaction any more than I did.
"I-I need to tell you guys something, and it's pretty big." Emmett fell into his shallow depression again, so Jasper quickly reassured him.
" No, Emmett I'm not quitting my job, though it's fairly related to it. Okay here goes. We are flying to Milan in two weeks, right and I couldn't be more psyched. Thing is, I'm thinking of starting my own business, you know like a recording studio," he took a sip of his water "after the Fashion Week, of course. It's a pretty big investment, but I already found a developer who is interested in-"
"Are you guys kidding me!?" Emmett slammed his fist down so hard I could've sworn he left a dent in the wood.
"First pretty boy over here is quitting to become the next Beethoven, now you are dumping this crap on me about spreading wings? I should take both your drinks and shove 'em so high up-"
"Emmett." I stopped him. He relaxed a little, but I could still see the fear in his eyes. Poor guy was freaking out. Jasper hesitated, but I nodded for him to continue. I was just as eager to hear about his plans as Emmett was.
"I just need a technician for maintenance, setting up equipment and do heavy lifting." He sighed very dramatically. I forced back a laugh; poor Emmett was having the worst night of his life. His eyes bulged out of its sockets, and his face shifted from anticipation to rage. You could almost hear the 'click' as his underused brain tried to digest Jasper's words.
Tears were streaming down my face now. Jasper was holding the table stop shaking with laughter.
"I hate both you guys."
"Awh come on Emmett, did you actually think Jazz and I were going to leave you behind in Italy?"
"Nah, you need me too much. Who else is going to protect your ass from all those stalking chicks," he pointed an accusing finger to me, "and you, I can't count the times I had to haul your crap around for days when you were busy drooling over that tiny designer chick!" Jasper squirmed in his seat, I quickly downed the rest of my coke to keep myself preoccupied. During a show in Paris Jasper caused quite a scene when the runway beat skipped a part, because he was busy staring at a girl he spotted sitting at the front row.
"That happened once, Emmett and I wasn't drooling. I was leering." Jasper smirked, and the three of us broke into laughter. We were okay. We would always be okay.
"Alright guys, let's talk Milan. " I ordered three cokes and nacho's and folded my arms to rest my head on.
"Yeah bring on the hot chicks!"
"Is that the only thing on your mind, Emmett?"
"Well, there is this one chick I really want to- HEY! What the hell Jasper!" A nacho had made its way to Emmet's nose, successfully blocking that particular flow of oxygen.
"Stop fantasizing about my cousin." Jasper gritted through his teeth. I'd never actually met the girl, but I knew she was also a model, and was working for a small fashion label, never having done big shows. I chuckled at their obvious rivalry. Designerchick vs. Hot cousin.
"What are you laughing at, Pretty Eddie? As I recall, a certain miss Denali was camping outside our hotel the last time we had a show. Waiting for you, I might add." I shuddered. Do not go there.
"Stop grossing me out, it's bad enough she's going to be in Milan, I don't need a replay of events when we get to the hotel." Tanya Denali, high fashion model working for Victoria's Secret. Poor girl kept deluding herself I was attracted to her, and started stalking me and spying my every move. If I could name the biggest turnoff in the book, it would be her disgusting level of self love and conceit.
By now it was getting pretty late; I had to drive myself home, so keeping the beers to a minimum was a set priority. Emmett however, was totally hammered and started slurring about Jasper's 'hot' cousin again, aggravating the blonde even more.
A few playful punches and dirty sex jokes later, we called it a night. Jasper agreed to take Emmett with him; there was no way the guy was going to function properly in the morning without some supportive help.
"Take it easy guys, I'll try to stop by sometime tomorrow to discuss our plans."
When I got home I didn't even bother to turn on the lights, instead I marched straight to my bedroom, stripped down to my boxers and flung myself on the bed. Soon, my life was going to change dramatically. Flashes of my career occupied my mind as my eyelids slowly drooped shut. Strangely enough I drifted off to sleep with the final image of nacho's being stuck in Emmett's nose.
Whoa! Surprised myself for a minute there. I never thought I could put this idea on paper so quick, but oh well. You have experienced the result of a non-existing social life. Hope you liked it! Oh, and the song Emmett's singing has been spiraling in my mind the enire day! Its 'Stray Cats - Let's Rock This Town'.
Well, I do believe reviews are better than stray cats.