Merry Christmas everyone!
First of all, I'd like to thank you guys: my lovely readers. Thanks for all the support you have given me, even though I know I've taken such a long break. Hopefully this will make it up to you. I still have plans to start the sequel to 'The Prince's Assistant' around February, so hang with me just a little longer. Have a merry christmas and a happy new year!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga.
One Late Night
People often ask me how I ended up where I am today. Do I ever answer them? No. How do I even begin to explain to them what was most likely the most significant event of my life? But I guess if you really want to know, like everything else, we should start from the beginning.
My name is Alice Brandon. I'm 25 years old. I'm short - yes, I admit it - I have black hair, and from the moment I entered high school, I loved my life. I thought it was great, that I had everything that I'd ever wanted and so much more than that. I thought that my life was sorted and that if I continued my life as how it was going, I'd be quite content.
I was wrong about that. But who can blame me? For the life I had previously had before high school had been terrible, to say the least.
Don't ask me where I'm from. I don't know. Don't ask me who my biological parents are. I don't know. Don't ask me who I was before I took up the name 'Alice Brandon'. I don't know.
I grew up in an orphanage. At the age of twelve when I was finally adopted by my wonderful foster parents, I already knew I was different, that because of my strangeness I had been abandoned. The carers at the orphanage I grew up in never held information back from the kids when they started to ask questions, and they hadn't held back on me. They told me that one stormy night, when I was no older than a few months, I had been left on the doorstep to the orphanage building with no note or explanation, and had lived there ever since.
But I love my foster parents, and even if I met my real parents, I don't think that I'd love them like I love my forster mum and dad. After all, they abandoned me when I was a baby.
My parents are truly amazing and wonderful people. It was they who encouraged me to follow my dream; me, a girl who knew nothing about herself aside from the face that my name, the name I was given by my biological parents, was Alice.
*
"You're cutting it fine, Alice," Rose said as I walked past her desk, back from my lunch break. "You're not usually so … unorganized. What's the matter with you today?"
"Nothing," I said quickly.
*
This was a year ago. This was the beginning. When I was still in my old job and when I could only dream about the job that I wanted. Sure, it was a dream and people tell you to never give up on your dream, but dreams such as the one I had rarely become reality, so I had to settle for something else in the meantime. I certainly never gave up on it, but that didn't mean that I could put it on hold for the moment.
*
"Ahh, nothing," Rose said sarcastically, noticing how my eyes had quickly darted to the opposite side of the room. "Of course. How could I forget. Tonight's the night, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is. So what?"
"You're nonchalant tone isn't fooling anyone, Alice," my other close friend, Bella, said, coming around to our desks. "You've been so excited about this for the past week."
"Speaking of the past week," I said, eager to change the topic, "what's been happening with you, Bella?"
She immediately blushed, and averted her eyes from mine and Rose's eager ones. Bella was the only person I knew who could blush like someone had flicked a switch on. The way her cheeks turned red instantly was adorable, and Rose and I loved making her blush. She was like your adorable little sister who you loved and loved to tease.
"Nothing," she said quickly, like I had earlier.
"Of course, don't tell your best friends any details about the hot guy you've been dating."
"Rose! It was only one date! And I haven't seen him since."
"But you're seeing him tonight, aren't you?" Rosalie asked, wriggling her eyebrows at him. "Come on, Bella, you haven't even told us his name but it's obvious to Alice and me that you're head over heels for this guy."
"Fine," she hissed. But I could tell that she was excited to let out all her feelings for this mysterious guy. I didn't know who he was, only that he was a friend of a friend of Emmett's, Rosalie's husband, and through some quirk of fate, they had managed to be set up.
"Okay," Bella said, taking a deep breath, "his name is Edward."
"Too slow! Hurry up," I said impatiently. Life was too short to take it slow and carefully. At least, that's what I thought.
"Alright, alright! So on Monday night he took me out to dinner at this really nice restaurant and he was so nice throughout the whole night. I mean, I wasn't expecting him to be like that - honestly, I didn't know what to expect - but he was a real gentleman and everything."
Bella's blush was bright crimson by this point, but Rose and I urged her to go on.
"After that we just walked around and talked–"
"What exactly does he do?" I interrupted. Hey, I needed to know if this guy was good for my best friend.
"He's a doctor. A paediatrician. And yeah, that's basically it."
"That's not 'basically it', Bella," Rosalie said, rolling her eyes. "You've been attached to your cell phone this past week."
"Well, we did exchanged numbers and we've been texting each other all week," she admitted. "And you're right, I'm seeing him again tonight."
"That's great!" Rose and I both said enthusiastically.
Bella gave us a smile, before averting her eyes to look at her watch.
"Damn, is that the time?" she almost shouted. I glanced at the clock on the wall of the office, noticing that we all only had a minute left. Rose was right, I had been so unorganized today, although I blamed it on my nerves.
"Rose, can I count on you to help me get ready for tonight?" Bella asked our friend, eyes imploring.
"You can count on me," she nodded. "I'll see you at your place at half past five tonight, okay?"
"Thanks," Bella said gratefully, gathering up her things. Before she walked out, she hugged me and whispered in my ear, "You said it yourself, Alice. You have a good feeling about tonight."
"Thanks," I whispered back. God, I was feeling so strange. I was Alice, I didn't ever get nervous. I was usually the one comforting people, not the other way around.
Rose and I grabbed our stuff as well and quickly left the room after Bella, since our rooms were quite close to each other.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Rose said, pausing outside her room. "In fact, call me tonight. As soon as you're done. I want to hear every last detail."
"You know I will," I smiled. "See you tomorrow, Rose."
I opened the door and walked into the room. It immediately fell quiet as I walked over to the desk and placed my books on it, before walking over to the corner where the piano was. I sat down on the bench, playing a chord.
"So class," I said, turning around to face my group of fifteen-year-olds, "what do you want to sing as a warm up?"
Various requests were shouted from all over the classroom, like every other time.
"Woah," I laughed, "one person at a time."
*
Yes, I was a teacher. And I had loved my job.
Remember how I said my parents always encouraged me to follow my dream? Well, from the time I was around ten, I always knew that I loved to sing, dance and act. I loved to – and still love to – perform. But it's not like you can go from total nobody in the entertainment industry to mega superstar all in one day. So I needed a job to take up my time while I still worked to achieve that goal.
I turned to teaching, following my mum, who is a primary school teacher. But I chose to work in a high school, teaching classroom music to the students, while also in charge of the music faculty which took care of concerts and the annual musical the school put on.
That's where I met Bella and Rose, who are still my best friends. Since that time, Bella has stayed in the same school, still teaching English. However, Rose decided to leave teaching and went to law school a little after I left. She's now one of the best lawyers in the city.
When did I leave my job? Well, about a year after that night, the night which I can honestly say changed my life.
*
By the end of the class, I had almost forgotten about my nerves. Music was able to do that to me, and the enjoyment I felt from singing with my class was comparable to none, although I admitted that some of them were barely able to sing on tune.
My day wasn't over, though. I had one more class and then I still had … tonight.
The corridors were packed as students moved from class to class. Being as short as some of the Year Nines, I had difficulty navigating my way through the swarm. As the door to my next class came into sight, I accidentally tripped on the last step.
I was able to make sure I didn't fall onto the ground, but my papers had scattered onto the ground.
"Damn," I muttered, bending down to pick them up.
"Do you need some help?" I heard a quiet voice ask.
I glanced up, my heart already going a little more than twice its normal speed. How many times I'd heard that voice in my dreams, I didn't know. But everyday at school, I always wished I would bump into him just so I could hear it.
"Yes please," I said, a little breathless.
He bent down as well, picking up papers and passing them to me. When we were done, we both stood up, and I couldn't keep my eyes off him.
"Thank you," I said.
"It's fine. Are we still going to go over it tonight after school?"
I nodded, biting my lip.
"I'll see you later then," he said, smiling at me slightly before walking away.
After standing there for a moment, frozen to the spot, I remembered I had a class and rushed into the classroom.
*
He messed me up so much that day. It wasn't enough that I dreamt about his voice each night, but I also had to turn into some stunned mullet whenever he smiled at me.
I had a crush on him from the moment I met him. It was hard not to; he was incredibly good looking with blonde hair and handsome face, and from our first conversation, he sounded so intelligent and well mannered. It sounds so silly, the word 'crush', normally reserved for when you're in high school, and back then, I knew it was more than that, but I couldn't bring myself to say that I'd fallen in love with him. 'Crush' was more reassuring.
He had started working at the school at the start of year, teaching drama. When I first met him, I didn't know why he was a drama teacher; I mean, he was so quiet and reserved and the people I know who are actors are so bright and vibrant. But then, about a month later, I was walking past the theatre and saw him giving a demonstration to a Year 12 class.
He was brilliant.
The way that he took on a new character that it was almost like he was an entirely new person was incredible. And I'd never seen anyone act in a way that it was able to make people laugh or cry almost instantly.
So then, I started to fall in love with him.
I'd never liked a guy so much before. Now, I don't know how I survived. I remember so clearly how I was completely infatuated with him from the moment we met. And how nervous and anxious I was on that day.
His name is Jasper Whitlock.
*
My mind wasn't really on my class in the last period. All I could think about was how freaking nervous I was. When the bell rang for the end of the day, I wasn't surprised to see two texts from my friends, saying that it'd be all okay.
Somehow, I made it to the staff room as the students rushed around me, eager to start the weekend and be free from school.
"Alice?" I heard him say from behind me. I was about to unlock the door to the staff room but I fumbled the keys upon hearing his voice.
"Here," he said, picking them up for me.
"Thanks," I replied. I could feel the heat on my face but at least I didn't blush as much as Bella.
"When do you want to leave?" he asked.
"Um, I have a few things I need to get done, so maybe in an hour?" I said. I felt so shy around him, like I was some 15 year old girl with her first crush. Though, in reality, he was my first crush.
Argh, where was the old Alice, the old me? I needed her back: the confident, self-assured woman who knew who she was and what she wanted. But the truth was, I didn't know who I was anymore; Jasper made me forget all about myself. And now, I only knew that all I wanted in life, was him.
"Okay then, I'll see you in the car park in an hour."
The hour couldn't go fast enough. I was able to finish my work, I had no idea how I managed to concentrate enough to do it, but in no time at all, I was walking across the car park where I saw Jasper leaning against his car.
"Ready to go?" he asked, smiling.
"I'm ready," I managed to smile back. I climbed into my Mini Cooper and turned it on, backing out of the car park and following Jasper's car to his place.
We'd arranged beforehand that we'd go to his apartment to work, seeing as I was currently doing renovations on my house. When I mentioned that I didn't want to leave my Mini in the school car park overnight – my car was my pride and joy, I loved it! – Jasper said that he would be able to reserve and extra spot in the underground parking lot for my car.
Seriously, how sweet was that?
I turned up the radio loud in my car, hoping to distract myself. I looked out of my window, seeing people walk around in the bright summer sunshine. It was a perfect day.
We arrived at Jasper's home about ten minutes later. I got out of my car and saw Jasper walking towards me. I grabbed my bag with all the important papers that we needed and together we walked to the elevator.
The ride up to the fourth floor was silent. My mind was still reeling from the fact that I was so close to him, that I couldn't really concentrate on searching around for something to say. He didn't seem to mind the conversation; I'd observed that Jasper didn't like unnecessary conversation.
So the question begs to be asked, why exactly was I in Jasper's apartment building?
Okay, so I've already mentioned the school did a musical every year, and that the music faculty was in charge of it jointly with the drama department. That's what we were doing tonight – finalizing everything for the musical. It was towards the end of the year, but there was so much to be organised beforehand.
My mind was almost completely blank when the elevator stopped, the metal doors opening onto a long corridor. Jasper led me to one of the doors further along the hallway and I stayed quiet while he opened the door.
"Make yourself comfortable," he said, giving me a small smile. I walked into his home, not really knowing what to expect.
The first thing I noticed was that directly opposite me were large floor to ceiling windows, overlooking the city. It was a beautiful sight – the room only illuminated by the twinkling lights of the cars driving underneath the streetlights. Jasper's place was neat, not something you'd expect from a guy. There had been plenty of mornings where I'd heard Rosalie complain about the state in which Emmett left their house. It was nice, but for some reason, it felt lonely.
"You have a nice place," I said as he guided me to the couches in front of the TV. I sat down, placing my bag on the low coffee table in front of me. My breathing slightly hitched when Jasper sat down on the same couch. It wasn't like we were close enough to touch or anything, but I was closer to him than I'd ever been at school. There is only so close you can get to someone with students and other teachers surrounding you all day.
"Thanks," he replied. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't, so I grabbed a piece of paper at random and started looking over it.
The next two hours or so were boring – just going through the script, songs, and discussing things like the set or costume. Sometimes Jasper wasn't happy with the script so we had to act it out with us as the two main characters, who, I might add, fell in love over the course of the story.
Those scenes were … intense, and it was hard for me not to just jump him. It didn't help that he was such a good actor as well.
Finally, Jasper and I agreed to pause for a moment before we went over the final song, much to my relief.
"Do you want something to drink?" he asked, standing up.
"Water will be fine, thanks," I smiled at him just as I felt my phone vibrate. He left the room and I took my phone out of my pocket, glancing at the screen and noticing I had a text from Rosalie.
Frowning, I opened her message, wondering what on earth she would want to text me about.
How's it going with the hot teacher? Have you made a move on him yet? If not, do so now! See you tomorrow. Love, Rose, the message read. Trust her to tell me to make a move on him, it was something that she would do if she were in my position.
No, I haven't made a move on him, and I'm not going to! I don't even know if he likes me! I texted back, feeling like a love-struck teenager.
Rose's reply came seconds later.
Oh he likes you, honey. Trust me.
I rolled my eyes, quickly shutting my phone as Jasper came into the room.
"Thanks," I murmured, accepting the glass from him.
"So Alice," he said, sitting down next to me, very close I might add, "tell me about yourself. I've worked beside you since the start of the year, but I feel like we've hardly talked."
"There's not much to talk about," I said quickly. "I'm not very interesting."
"Actually, I find you very interesting," he said quietly, looking into my eyes. I blinked, tearing myself away from his gaze. Too intense, always too intense. It was like he could feel my emotions, and was playing on them, teasing me. "Tell me how you became a teacher," he suggested.
"I never really wanted to be a teacher, it sort of just happened," I explained, relieved at the easy topic. "See, I wanted to be, and still want to be, a performer."
"Like an actor or a musician?"
"Yeah. But you know, it's really hard to make it in the industry so I decided to become a teacher in the meantime."
"Well, from what I've seen, you could be an excellent performer," he said.
"Thanks," I muttered again, embarrassed.
"No, seriously Alice." I felt Jasper's hand grasp my chin and turn my face towards him. His face was close to me and I could make out every single detail on his handsome face. "I've seen you with the kids; you're so kind, nurturing and smart, and you have an amazing voice to match. I don't see why you can't do whatever you want to."
I opened my mouth, about to say something, but as soon as I did, Jasper had leant in and pressed his lips to mine.
I closed my eyes, bombarded with a million and one sensations. I breathed in, smelling him, and I opened my mouth slightly, inhaling and tasting his very essence.
"You know, I've wanted to do that from the moment I met you," he whispered when we broke apart, leaning his forehead against mine.
"I know what you mean. It's the same for me," I whispered back. "I've never felt this way–"
"–about anyone else," he finished. "Yeah, it's the same for me too."
Could it really be this easy? I mean, all that worrying and agonizing over my feelings for him, all of which I thought he didn't return, had been for nothing. He liked me back. Jasper!
I think I started to get him now, I thought as I studied him. He held back his emotions, locked away inside, but it only took one turn of the key to unlock them and for them to come pouring out. I didn't know what set him off, but maybe with time, I'd figure him out completely. Just as I hoped he'd be able to figure me out.
We stayed quiet for a moment, our breathing in sync and the only sounds in the empty apartment.
"Alice?" he eventually asked. "I really meant it when I said that you're amazing. I … I know some people in the music industry, and I could set up a meeting for you with them."
"You'd really do that?" I asked, feeling tears well up in my eyes. He nodded.
"Thank you!" I squealed, hugging him tightly. For a moment he seemed taken aback, then he laughed softly and hugged me back. I'd keep this man by my side for the rest of my life.
*
I've kept my word. Jasper's still by my side, and I intend to keep him there for as long as I live.
I met up with Jasper's contacts a week later. I don't really need to go through the next year, it's boring stuff and all you really need to know is that I'm where I always wanted to be.
I quit my teaching job at the end of the year and devoted myself to my singing career. I've released a few singles, all of which were hit songs, and I have an album coming out soon. I've been on talk shows, am just about to go on tour across the country, and now I'm one of the most famous singers in the country.
All of which would have never happened without Jasper.
Think about it. If I'd never gone round to his place that night, we would have never admitted how we felt about each other and he would have never set up that meeting with my now manager.
"Mmm," I hear someone groan from beside me. "Alice, what are you doing up so late?"
"I couldn't go to sleep," I say honestly. I giggle as Jasper wraps and arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. "Jazz, do you remember that night?"
"How could I forget?" he mumbles in his sleep ridden state, instantly knowing which night I'm talking about. "It's what got us to where we are tonight."
"Yeah, it was," I whisper, running a hand through his hair. A moment later, his breathing becomes slower and deeper, and I know he's gone back to sleep.
I lightly kiss his forehead, admiring the ring on my finger, glittering in the moonlight. Of course he'd remember that tonight is exactly one year from that date. It was as important to him as it was to me. The night that changed my life.
AN: Hope you liked it! I've had this idea for a while now, so it was great to finally write it down and turn it into a one-shot. This story flits from the present to a recount of Alice's teaching days. I hope it wasn't too confusing.
I love Mini Coopers, they're one of my favourite cars! When I finally get my driving license (which will be a while, but I can still dream) and I'm able to get my own car, I'll want one of these. I'd love a convertible sports car as well, but they're kinda expensive. And it'd have to be in red – I love red cars.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and if you liked it, please leave a review!
~crystalbutterfly48