The Cardboard-Cutout

Chapter 1

***

Do you believe in magic? I didn't… not really. Don't get me wrong, I did want to have the chance of finding Prince Charming and live happily ever after… but believe in magic…dragons, potions, spells, vampires, werewolves… no one really believes in all of that… not really. I mean you can read a book, watch a movie, fall in love with the possibility… but deep down you know better… that magic isn't really real. That's what I thought.

And really how can you blame me? Who exactly can blame me, when nothing in the world can gives us proof of the existence of magic…nothing but old stories, legends and myths. That's what I thought.

And just like that I found out that magic does exist, it's real…I mean how else you can explain what happened? How else you can possibly explain how my story finished?

I think everything started two years ago.

***

I really couldn't complain about my life, since it was pretty awesome. I lived with my boyfriend in his apartment in the Lower East Side. It had an amazing view, 2 bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, kitchen and the living room space was huge. I actually decorated the place myself and used one of the bedrooms as an office space where I could study and cramp out for exams while James, that was my boyfriend, worked and got prepped for his cases.

We met at NYU; he was a law student and I was just a freshman with a major in English Literature. Well, actually he didn't went to NYU; he went to Yale, but we did meet at NYU because he was looking for a professor and I kind of help him find him and I guess the rest its history.

We began dating, not really had the chance to see each other much during the first few months of our relationship, because he was finishing college in New Haven, but after that, he moved back to New York, where we feel in love. After six months we decided to move in together. We actually worked out a pretty good routine: we woke up at five thirty, had sex, got in the shower, had sex, had breakfast, got ready, he would go to the office while I would go to class, then we would get back home, usually I was the first one in, I would start studying and then get dinner ready, he would arrive, eat dinner, then we would have sex in the living room and once again around time to go to bed. I loved that routine!

But then again… I should have known better that things that seemed to look so good in the outside were rotten inside and were destined to end soon enough. And I really don't get it… I mean we lived together for two years and I actually met his family, Upper East Side-blue blood royalty. James's family was loaded to say the least, but they liked me… or so I thought. That's the shitty excused he used when he broke up with me… that his family expected him to marry a society girl… you know a bimbo who had a cotillion and who probably only cares about getting first row seats during Fashion Week in Bryant Park or who knew the newest gossip in Page Six… an idiot with a black credit card from daddy and a house in The Hamptons.

What pisses me the most is that I actually loved the stupid bastard with all of my heart. He made me laugh; he made me smile all the time with his stupid-non funny jokes. I loved how he would tease me about the books I liked to read over and over again, he would tease me with the fantasies that usually formed in my head after reading my romance novels… about finding true love. Ironic how I actually thought that he was the one… guess that I was just not the right one… for him or his family…and something makes me think that his family never pressured him about finding himself a good socialite wife… he was twenty five for God's sake!

Maybe that was it. Maybe he felt that I wanted to get married. Proof that he didn't know me at all since I never, never, never, never, emphasis in the word never, want to get married. Way too much commitment, way too many expectations, way too much problem with both my divorced parents who knew better that to get married so young…it didn't worked out.

I loved how he would always make me feel hot and wanted… I guess that was just bullshit.

The day he told me "Izzie, we need to talk", I knew what was coming. He never wanted to talk… like I said, we had a routine. Guess that should have tipped me off as well. When I guy only wants to have sex… and not have a relationship… or better yet not trouble himself with my problems, my expectations, it only means one thing: he only wants sex. And that's what I feel like just now… like a highly maintenance sex toy. He also made me hate Valentine's day… my ex-favorite holiday. He broke up with me that day.

So that's why I moved out from the apartment that I decorated and made it my own. I hope that his new-freaking girlfriend hates the whole thing and decide to spend as much money as possible to pay for some over-priced gay decorator to do an average job; since the place would never look better without my taste in it. I hope that he marries a blonde shell, stupid enough to not be capable of reading a calendar. I hope that the next slut he brings into my apartment is a gold-digging ho' who gets knocked-up and he hates her for it, and that his family force him into marry her and he has to live miserable for the rest of his life knowing that he could have been happy with me.

Yeah… I wish.

So I moved to my best friend's apartment that Valentine's day. God bless Liz! Well, Alicia is her name but I called her Liz; and I might have to take back all the things I said about fashion and Bryant Park, given that Liz loves all of that and wants to become a fashion designer one day. She actually is very talented, I really hope she gets that job she wants at Vogue… but I'm drifting… where was I? Oh yeah… moving out, moving in.

So yeah… I was living in Greenwich Village, great apartment by the way, with my bff Liz. We lived across from a guy named Michael who since the day I moved in, had a huge crush on me… it was kind of pathetic how he always offered to help me in everything… well it actually helped a lot when I had to bring in my furniture… poor guy.

My friends Angelica and Benny also lived in the same apartment building but like two stories down. My other friends Evan and Rose still lived at campus, which was kind of a surprise for me 'cause they spent an awful lot of time together, and most of the time needed to get a room. Jeremy, Liz's boyfriend, also spent a lot of time in our place; but they weren't sex driven maniacs like Evan or Rose…so I didn't mind him being around and beating me at chess every time he got.

From the day I moved into my new bachelorette pad I have to admit that I never regain myself back…that was definitely something lost in the moving from the Lower East side to Greenwich Village. You really could say I went into a coma… my hope, my happiness was gone…James had taken it with him and his magic words: "You are just not what I want"

Summer came and I went back to Seattle to visit my dad, where I met Jack, the youngest of one of my dad's oldest friends. He was definitely what I needed during summer… a fling so I could put my mind at ease. We actually had a blast! He taught me how to ride a bike; we went bungee jumping once…never going to do it again though. We spent a lot of time together… but summer ended and I went back to New York.

Life was actually pretty decent, living with Liz in our two bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, huge living room apartment. Liz got into Fashion School that fall, if there is such thing, and I started my last year in college. Michael the neighbor, helped me found a job in his family coffee shop, so I could help Liz with the rent, even though she told me it wasn't necessary, that her little atelier was giving her enough for the both of us and then some… but I insisted. I'm actually pretty sure she has never cash in the checks…for me it was just in the principle of things…I had to contribute somehow.

Sooner than I realized another Happy Valentine's pass and then I entered into some very stupid and reckless form of therapy. I could say that probably those weren't my finest four months…ever. I started dating loser after loser. There was Oliver, Liam, Kevin, Luke, Eric, Tyler, and a horrible date with neighbor guy Michael, where I found out how much of a creepy perv he actually is. After that, I spent every chance I had alone. Soaking and wallowing in my newest, most loyal companions: Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

By summer I found another hobby, much better than dating, that made me take my mind off my crappy love life: reading more romance novels. This time I went for a newer choice, teenager romance novels. So I put my Austen Collection down and hit the library and looked for something hip and new. The name caught my attention: Twilight. I have to admit; Stephanie Meyer knew exactly how to make the perfect guy. I fell in love with Edward Cullen. He was perfect, he always said enough to melt me away and I began to obsess over the books. I even began to feel like Bella at some points, I love it, every page of the amazingly long saga. I must have read them like 10 times already. And for my personal benefit the movies came out. Actually when the dvd of Twilight came out, Liz gave it to me for my birthday. That week, I watch it every single day. And then New Moon came out… I went the first weekend it debuted in the box office and after that at least once a week…when I found the time. This off course did not qualify like normal, healthy behavior for any of my friends, especially Liz.

So after I let pass my Twilight filled summer, since I graduated in last June, I immediately started to look for a job. That was actually incredibly tricky and frustrating…actually so far no good. Finishing college during a recession it's not something I recommend for anyone. First, I didn't know what exactly I wanted to do and second; where exactly would you say I could find a job when the only thing I'm good at its reading books? So I started to look for jobs at magazines, papers and publishing houses. Like I say, so far, no good at all.

I actually found a job as a personal assistant for Jenna Pillsbury, the novelist; but I'm definitely looking out for something else. One: the woman is crazy; and two: being an assistant isn't something I see myself doing for the rest of my life.

And then, before I even realized, Liz began decorating our apartment for Christmas. I mean…where did time go? Was I so soaked in Twilight that I couldn't see time pass? I really don't know… and it made me feel good and bad at the same time. Good because it meant that I didn't notice everything that I was missing and bad because it meant that I didn't notice everything that I was missing.

So here I was, Christmas Eve, being Liz's science project or best described as "Izzie Barbie".

"Stop moving" Liz said, threading me with an eyelash-curling thing. Liz is this really annoying thing, disguised as a fashion Nazi. I mean she was really scary when things didn't go her way… and right now she was convinced that I needed to join her, Jeremy, Evan, Rose, Ang and Benny to celebrate Christmas. That implied that I had to wear something she picked out for me from some fancy store at 5th and pretend with all of my acting skills, which weren't many, that I was having a good time and that my year hadn't really sucked that much. Let's face it, it was Christmas Eve and I still hadn't gotten over James and right now I was having a serious obsession with everything that had to do with the vampire saga, especially Edward Cullen.

"I'm trying not to" I said to her and sighed. This was my personal brand of hell. I hated to get all puffed up… I mean what for? It was not like I had a date.

"Come on… bear with me, will you?" Liz said.

"Liz, look, I really appreciate the effort to lift up my Holiday spirit but, I really rather just stay home and rest a little. Jenna has been having mayor freak-outs lately and I'm very tired"

"Isabella Spencer you are going to let me give you a make-over and after that you are going to look fabulous. You are going to go to the fabulous party that I planned and you are going to enjoy every freaking minute of it" Liz said to, threatenining me now with the lash mascara and I didn't say anything else, 'cause I feared for my eyes.

After what seemed like half a day…and I'm pretty sure was half the day, I was ready. I didn't want to look in the mirror, but I did catch a glimpse of what I looked like from the shinny elevator's door reflection. I had my hair in a high ponytail; the rest of it hanged in a multitude of flowy curls. I was wearing a little black dress, no cleavage, it actually had a high neck line; but what it lacked at cleavage it made up in back exposure. The little black dress hung a little above my knee and my legs were covered by black tights. I had to give it to Liz, she could make out of the mess that I was, a presentable and appropriate looking person.

Jeremy's parents lend him their town car and so we drove up town to the party. We were gathering at Rose's parents' park-view town house. Liz had volunteered to decorate the day before and when we arrived, we arrived to, what it seemed to me like the North Pole. A million paper snowflakes were hanging from the ceiling, the floor was carpeted with fake snow and the Christmas tree took most of the room, it was so big. It looked amazing with a little too much, just like Liz; she always had to go all the way.

We were welcomed by a waiter with Champagne glasses for us and by the looks of the crowd, we were the only ones left from arrival. I greeted everyone with as much cheer and Holiday spirit as I could and then I noticed that a stranger was also in the crowd.

"Izzie this Anthony, Anthony this is Izzie" Evan introduced us.

"Pleasure to meet you" I said to the guy who looked like he belonged in a Calvin Klein add.

"Pleasure is all mine" Anthony said, taking my hand and bringing it to his mouth to leave a kiss on it. I was basically speechless. I was seeing a Greek God, who obviously got lost in the way to Mount Olympus. He was perfect. Dark brown hair with a hint of amber in it or a weird hair color I couldn't really place, blue eyes, tall, I'm guessing 6'2'', messy hair, and a six o' clock shadow. He was perfect. My heart was pounding really hard the second I had a good look at him, like I might have said, he was perfect.

"Bella, I met Anthony in our advanced calculus class back in the day" Evan started to explain. Evan and Rose were both in Grad School right now. He wanted to be a Civil Engineer and Rose was studying to become a Mechanical Engineer. And the god-look-alike that Evan was introducing me to obviously has to be a genius if he had taken at some point advanced calculus, and that very fact was just proof enough of the cruelty of the situation. The guy was way too smart, was too gorgeous for me. I mean, if anyone had a chance to date this guy, it had to be like a clone of Nicole Kidman, who not only had the looks but also an IQ of 132, and I was just plain and mediocre. "and so now he is doing his residency in the Johns Hopkins Hospital in D.C.. I ran into him yesterday and invited him over" Evan finished saying just in time for me to reunite the conversation.

"Wow… that has to be amazing" I said…like an idiot, clearly cause the guy showed me his breathtaking smirk. "So… what are you specializing in?"

"Neurosurgery… I went to NYU and then got into Harvard Med School" he said and I stayed looking him…like an idiot. I was sure the guy thought I was mentally impaired. "So…what about you? Evan told me that he met you at college as well"

"Yeah… we met at college…ummm… I was, we were taking Ancient History. First day of class, I arrived late, it was an auditorium and I had a lot of trouble finding it… when I finally came in I dropped my books and everybody stared at me obviously, but Evan was the only one who started laughing. It was so embarrassing, because I dropped the books by his desk and when I stood up to go look for an empty sit everywhere else was taken…everywhere else except for a sit next to Evan. And when I finally took it, and he saw how red I was from the amount of embarrassment, he started laughing even harder" I said.

"Evan… always a gentlemen… how out of character of him" Anthony the God joked, I laughed but Evan didn't find it very funny. Instead he put one arm over my waist and lifted me easily over his hip.

"It's not my fault she is so funny" Evan said hanging to me, trying to squeeze me in the process.

"Evan, put me down!" I said with what I thought was a demanding voice, but came out as a cry for help.

"Not until you admit that you had the hot's for me and that's why you drooped your books that day to call for my attention" Evan said

"I'm not saying that!" I said in the same high-pitched voice.

"Then I'm not putting you down" Evan said determined to full fill his promise, and I knew he was very capable to last the entire evening like that, since I knew how much time he spent at the gym, taking care of his guns. I had no other alternative but to give in, since I didn't want to look much more of a loser than I already look like to that gorgeous guy standing in front of me.

"Fine!" I said "I've had the hot's for you since the day we met, I love you and want to be your slave. Are we done here?" I said very frustrated. Evan put me down, he seemed pleased with himself after I had just boosted his self steam, taking mine down in the process. He kissed me on my head, like a big brother would have done with his little sister and moved between the crowd to stand next to Rose. They looked so cute together, him the tall, blonde, blue eyed guff-ball and her the curvy, petite, beautiful brunette.

"Sorry about that…Evan can be" I started saying by got interrupted.

"A total ass sometimes?" Anthony offered.

"You took my words out of my mouth" I said and we both shared a laugh. While doing so, I saw Liz saying something to Evan. By the looks of this, the little pixie had planned with my big bear brother a blind date. Oh there was going to be pixie stew when we got home!

"So, where are you from?" I asked.

"I was born in Chicago"

"Really? Then why did you decide to come and study in New York?"

"Well… I don't want to bore you with my story" he said. Was he kidding me? Bore me, seriously? I wouldn't even been bored by watching him breathe.

"I'm a good listener" I said.

"Well" and he took a sip out of his glass. "I used to live in Chicago but my parents passed-away when I was seventeen. I moved in with my older brother and his wife who live in Tribecca. He is a stock analyst in Wall Street. The plan had always been Harvard but… my brother decided that until things were back to normal…maybe it was better for me to be near family"

"Oh my God, I'm really sorry about your parents"

"Don't be" he said shaking his head, looking a little sad by telling his life story, he clearly looked uncomfortable remembering painful memories, and who wouldn't? "But…well after finishing college I moved to Boston and went into med school and now I'm in the Johns Hopkins Program" he finished.

"Your parents must be very proud" I said.

"Thanks" he said and he showed me his smirk again, stealing away my breath. "So…what about you? Evan told me you aren't from around here"

"I am going to bore you…it's complicated"

"I'm sure I can keep up" he said making me laugh nervously.

"Well…ummmm… I was born in Seattle, Washington. My mom and my dad separated when I was very young and my mom took me to Florida. Then she remarried when I was fifteen and I went to live with dad"

"You didn't like the guy?"

"No…Bill is very nice…very young…but he is a ball player…and he travels a lot. I felt guilty making my mom stay with me when she wanted to go with him. So I went back to Seattle and I finished high school there. But I never really liked the rain…or the cold"

"New York is no Florida" he said

"Yeah…but isn't no Seattle either"

"True"

"So…I'm…pretty much looking for a job… I graduated last June and…it's been difficult"

"What are you doing right now?"

"Well…fetching Starbucks to a mental patient. I'm Jenna Pillsbury personal assistant"

"The novelist?"

"Same one"

"I heard she is particular"

"Particular it's not the word I would use to describe her…but yeah is very particular" I said. Jenna was very nice and all but there were some days were she would make me bring her paper samples from every library in town…and I mean every library in town.

We continued talking, it felt strangely natural to me. He made me forget that James ever existed. Soon, way too soon, midnight came and we exchanged presents. We sat in the living room. There were three couches propped near the lighted fireplace. Liz and Jeremy sat in one of them with Ang and Benny sitting in the floor by Ang's knees. Rose was launched in the other with Evan sitting in the end, massaging her feet. That left the last one to Anthony and me… I wasn't complaining. Since Evan was the most excited to open his presents we all let him open his first.

Evan got a new shirt from Liz, tickets to a Green-Day concert from Jeremy, a basket ball signed by one of the Nicks from Ang and Benny, a trip for two to Aspen from Rose and I gave him a box of homemade cookies of my Grandma's recipe that I knew he loved.

Rose got a coupon from Ang, Liz, Jeremy, Benny and me to the Elizabeth Arden day spa. Evan gave her a very beautiful necklace.

Jeremy got cd's from all of us and a brand new electric guitar from Liz that he had been eyeing for weeks, he wanted it for his new gig.

Ang got brand new camera equipment from Benny, Rose and Evan. Liz gave her a new scarf, Jeremy gave her tickets to go see Carrie Underwood and I gave her a digital frame.

Benny got a new wallet from Liz, the entire dvd collection of Evangelion from Rose, Evan and Jeremy. Ang gave him three miniature "Eva's" and I gave him the last one.

Then it got to the part where they gave me my presents…which I already told them that I didn't want.

"Izzie, we all coordinated" Rose told me as she got out of the room and went to the next. Anthony seemed anxious to see what they all planned to give me

Rose came back with a large wrapped present. I mean, it was taller than her, or larger or whatever. It seemed huge.

"Guys, what the hell?" I asked horrified by the looks of the present.

"Oh, spear us, Izzie. Just opened it" Liz ordered me.

"Here, I'll help you" Anthony said and he helped me unwrap the monstrosity. I knew it had to be something really embarrassing because otherwise Evan wouldn't have been so anxious about it.

Finally, after fighting with infinity of Christmas paper and yards of Scotch tape, I revealed the present from my friends.

I wanted to die.

"Well…what do you think?" Liz said, beginning to get nervous by my lack of reaction. "Izz, it's just a joke" Liz said and Evan and Jeremy couldn't contain the laughter any longer.

"Since you have had so much trouble finding a decent guy to go out with, we thought that he might do the trick" Evan said and everyone laughed at his remark.

"Izzie?" Liz asked again but I couldn't answer. I was looking at my present for an excuse to not collapse from humiliation.

"What's the joke?" Anthony asked—oh God! Now he was going to find out what a loser I really am and my chances were going to be finally over.

"Izzie really likes the Twilight books. Have you heard about them?" Rose asked Anthony.

"Not really"

"Well…it's this story about a girl that falls in love with a vampire and they actually made a couple of movies about it. And their marketing department must be having a blast because the books and the movies have been like a huge success and they made these cardboard-cutouts of the characters of the movies. That one is Izzie's favorite one" Rose finished and I could feel the word vomit coming out of my mouth as she spoke… I could see the darkness ahead… I was going to die.

"And since she has had such a rough patch with his dates lately we thought about giving her one that couldn't screw-up" added Evan. That was pretty much it… I couldn't breathe properly.

"Izzie say something" Liz said. "Evan… I think she is having a panic attack…maybe we should slap her"

"I'm fine Liz… I just didn't see it coming…that's all" I manage to say after a good couple of seconds.

"You like it?" Rose asked

"Sure… what's not to like? I have my own Robert Pattison" I said with my head down.

"That's the actor by the way" Rose said to Anthony, I heard him laugh a little. Good…I was in hell.

I moved the life size cardboard and put it behind the tree, and I intended to "forget it" on my way home. I sat in the couch with the rest of my beloved traitors. Evan and Jeremy still laughing and by the looks of it Anthony really wanted to join them in the laughter, but I'm guessing he was way too polite to seem rude.

"But wait, the present isn't over" announced Evan. God please kill me, kill me now. "Liz here found a website where they teach you spells"

"What?" Angelica asked. "Really, like magic? What kind of spells?"

"It was just some silly website where you learned like love potions and the cure for acne and that kind of stuff" Liz said taking out from her purse a piece of paper, all the while I was sinking in the couch. Anthony looked at me and gave me a reassuring smile, like wanting to say: "Boy do I pity this stupid girl whose friends obviously consider her an antisocial sociopath". Hell was horrible!

"Love potions?" Rose asked

"Yeah…like you need any" Jeremy teased her.

"Well…Liz go ahead do the spell" Evan encouraged Liz…yeah…like she needed any encouragement to humiliate me.

"What's it for?" Anthony asked and I stopped breathing so I could die sooner.

"We are going to ask Santa or whoever works miracles to send Izzie here a good guy" Liz said to Anthony, he turned to look at me, kind of excited…he must have been thinking: "God, you are such a loser!" I couldn't really hold my breath anymore, so I started to breathe in and out really unevenly. I mean it was bad enough that they made fun of my new found hobbies but was it really necessary to make fun of my lack of social life and social skills…in Christmas…in front of the first decent (understatement of the year) guy I met in four months? I mean… no fair!

"So here it goes" said Liz standing up from the couch so that we could all see and hear my torture clear enough. "Ok…I call for a wish, I call for a favor, I call for magic to make itself present in my friend's displeasures. I call for happiness and it's fairies to arrive, I want to see her glow from joy and her new sex life" I bend down and put my head between my knees…maybe if I suffocate myself with my knees? Everybody was crying from their refrain to laugh…I could hear it. But I was sure that they weren't laughing out loud cause they wanted to hear the rest of the stupid spell. "I call for a good guy, a good looking guy. I want him hot, I want him rich, I want him to want to make her scream… I think we can all assume why" Liz added. "I want for my friend's world to get upside down, I want magic and I want it now! Come on, Knight in shiny armor! Come on blue eyed prince, introduced yourself, get down in one knee and give my friend Izzie orgasms to go for…" but I never let her finish. I stood up from the couch to launch myself to her, looking to snap the damned piece of paper form her hands. That was the plan…up until I tripped with the coffee table that I ignored its existence up until I tripped on it, and fell to the floor.

I swear to God that people in China could hear Evan laughing.

"God damn it" I yelled when lifted my upper body with my elbows. Liz stopped talking and ran over to help as well. Anthony helped me stand up from the floor and he took me with Liz's help to the kitchen, we were guided by Rose. Anthony lifted me from the floor to the kitchen counter, where I sat. Rose moved and took out from the fridge a bunch of ice cubes and putted them in a towel and handed it to Anthony. I moved my head down and felt the cold been pressed to my head. Jesus! Could I possibly manage to make the evening far worse? I simply looked down. I didn't want to see his incredibly, almost impossibly beautiful face. I really wanted to cry right now.

"You think she is ok?" Rose asked Anthony.

"She seems fine… a bit upset maybe" Anthony informed her.

"Izz, can you hear us?" Liz asked

"Yes Liz… I hear you fine and I hope you hear me as well because I want you to be prepared to die…since I'm going to kill you as soon as we get home" I said moving my head up giving them an evil smile.

"Oh…she's fine" Liz said

"But you won't be" I assured her.

"Come on Liz, let the doctor make sure the patient is alright" Rose said with a smile dragging Liz out of the kitchen.

Anthony moved one of his hands and touched my forehead.

"Follow my finger"

"I'm really ok…you shouldn't bother" I tried to say

"Humor me" and so I followed his finger from left to right and up and down.

"You are right, you are fine"

"Like I said" and he smiled.

"Your friends have a very mean sense of humor… I kind of wish to have that kind of closeness with my colleagues. It's fun to play pranks on each other like that?"

"You think?" I asked skeptical

"Well… no… not really" he said and laughed at me…or with me cause I was laughing as well. His laughter sounded like a chorus of angels.

"They think they are funny… wait until I get them" I said

"Well… I better get myself a copy of those books you like so much…so we can have something to talk next time I'm in town" Anthony said, I immediately let my face fell.

"You are leaving soon?"

"I will be with my brother and my sister-in-law tomorrow but I will flight back home the next day" he said, and sounded kind of disappointed…I didn't knew why.

"I see" was all I could find myself to say. I wasn't expecting to feel so disappointed by the news of his departure, but maybe it was for the best. Having now a full reason why not get my hopes even higher. Just leaving with the possibility of knowing that this guy, this wonderful, perfect guy had talked to me. Maybe my Christmas hadn't sucked all that much. Anthony really had taken my mind off of everything, even Twilight. There was a long pause.

"Wow…looks like you friend decorated the entire place from heads to toe" Anthony said and I moved my head in the direction that he was facing. It was just above us… he showed me the mistletoe.

I froze…only hearing the sound of my heart pound like a galloping horse, ring in my ears. He moved really slowly and put his hands in each side of my face. At first he only let his lips brush mine, but then, the electricity or gravity that surrounded us, was too much.

He let the full power of his demanding kiss overpower my will to stop him and enjoy the previous moment. The kiss itself wasn't like anything I have ever experience in my life…it was like magic. We let our tongues dance and wrestle for a while…or maybe it was just for a second…I really didn't have a sense of time in that particular moment.

"Izzie" Liz called as soon she entered the kitchen, so the inevitable moment came and we separated from each other. I was looking as red as a tomato, I was pretty sure of that. I bit my lower lip and looked at the pixie who was buying all the lottery tickets to win herself a one-way trip to hell.

"What is it Liz?" I asked frustrated. Anthony lowered his hands and put them at each side of me in the kitchen counter. He pushed his body away from me so I could talk to Liz.

"Hmmm… Ang and Benny are leaving and they are going to give Anthony a ride" Liz said. "We are taking off as well" she added. Anthony looked at me and gave me one more time the smirk I was definitely beginning to fell in love with.

"I was really nice to meet you Isabella" he said to me. I couldn't find the strength to say good bye, so I simply lowered my head and waited for him to leave the kitchen.

I stepped down from the counter and went to find my coat. Unluckily for me Liz had a premonition of my intentions to leave Edward Cullen… behind and she brought it herself to the car.

The ride home was really quiet and sooner than I thought we were home. Jeremy was spending the night with Liz and so he helped her move Edward into our apartment. I went to the bathroom to clean myself from all the crap I had in my face and as soon as walked into my bedroom I realized that Edward was already there. That was seriously creepy. I really had to think some way or another to get rid of it. Next to Edward were a lot of Christmas presents. I was guessing that those were my "real" presents from my dear friends.

I fell into my bed and turned off my bedside light. Maybe I could sell Edward on e-bay…there was an idea.

Before I knew anything else had happened I woke up. I stretched a bit and found out that I had had a horrible night's sleep and that my neck was really stiff. Then I adjusted my eyes to the light in the room and realized that something was blocking it. I knew it was morning, my clock said it was…but where was the sun?

I moved my sight to my window and found someone looking at the window. I know I should have screamed there, but something about this person seemed familiar. It wasn't Liz, it wasn't Jeremy.

When I moved my head around my room to look for my Christmas present I realized that it was gone from where Jeremy left it the night before.

The stranger moved from the window and gave a couple of steps into my bed's direction.

I guess I was in shock…because I should have screamed at that point. The stranger smiled at me and let his beautiful, straight teeth flash at me. I really should have screamed, but I didn't.

"Your hair looks like a haystack, but I like it" the stranger said. I took a couple of uneven breaths as I realized why the stranger seemed so familiar and my mind linked the reason why I didn't found Edward where he was the night before.

I screamed.

Hi! It's my first attempt at a comedy...believe me I think I'm better at drama and hopeless tragedy, and I know this isn't your regular Twilight fic...but that's exactly why I wanted to write it. I'm really swimming in strange waters here...never done a Twilight fic...I'm a fan but you could say I'm sort of a virgin at writing them. I'm looking for a beta for this one... you know...to get another opinion at it and also to edit it (I'm guessing you have already notice about a hundred grammar and spelling errors my now...if you don't count the author's note)

My cousin actually read this chapter and loved it...so I'm going to dedicate it to her... and wish for a Jacob Cardboard-Cutout to reach her step. Thanks for reading and I will appreciate reviews and comments telling me what you like about the story or hate as well. thanks again and I really hope you'll like it (crossing fingers)

Uhhh... PM me or e-mail me if you would like to... you know... do so... to clear doubts or stuff

Well...mmm...I'll just keep crossing my fingers I guess. See ya!