Hey, all, it's me, finally. But of course, I'm here with a new story... :\ Well, the Disney movie gave me a HUGE inspiration to write a love story between a beautiful girl and a mysterious boy who has strange rumors circling him claiming he's part-monster. It's got a few elements from the movie itself but other than that it's pretty much my own plot, I suppose. This first chapter is super boring but I will post the next one tomorrow. Read and review, perhaps? Thanks to anyone who does :) --Mandy
DISCLAIMER - I do not own "Beauty and the Beast", or any mentioned titles (allusions?) in the story.
There's a small town called Bluestone, located in western Wisconsin, where gossip travels faster than the wind. Here is where a young teenage girl and her older brother live in a medium-sized house at the center of the town on Silver Avenue. The house was tall, with white siding and dark blue shutters on the windows, neat green hedges bordering the boundaries of the yard. And from its door that day emerged the lovely Andromeda Ambrose.
With a finely-drawn face framed by the loose spirals of sunshine-blond curls that spilled across her shoulders, she was repeatedly ogled at by several male inhabitants every time she strolled through the town to visit the library. Her deep inquisitive sapphire eyes were almost always lost in a book; all too often, boys thought she spent too much time reading and not enough time doing other, as they said, "important things". These things they referred to were seeing movies, going on dates, or shopping. She never listened to them, though—she was her own woman.
On that warm summer evening, Andromeda stepped off her porch stairs, a thick book under one arm. As her walk to the library began, she adjusted her loose orange camisole over her faded cut-off jean shorts. She truly was a picture of grace.
Halfway past the bank, a boy with wispy hair the color of cocoa came trotting to her side. "Hey, Andy," he said, carrying his skateboard the same way she carried her book. "What story did you just finish?"
"Oliver Twist," she told him proudly. "It's about a cute little orphan who--" She paused when she noticed a purplish bruise on his left cheek. "Oh, Gabe, were you fighting again?"
He smiled sheepishly, "Nah, me and Carson were just messing around and he whacked me. No big deal."
"You're gonna find yourself in a hospital one of these days, Gabriel."
"Won't happen," he said rather confidently. In a short second, he frowned. "Carson still wants to date you."
Andromeda's pretty face contorted into a grimace, "That disgusting pig is still interested? I've turned him down almost a dozen times! What part of 'no' doesn't he understand?"
"The 'no' part," Gabriel pointed out.
He'd been her best friend since they were toddlers—their parents had been poker buddies—and growing up, they were nearly inseparable. But since he dropped out of high school and she remained, they didn't see much of each other except for summertime visits and occasional passes.
Gabriel fiddled with one of the gauges in his ear. "Well, I'm gonna go meet up with him now. Want to go with us to get a slushie?"
"I have to get a new book and then help my brother get ready for the art show. Maybe some other time."
"Okay, see you, Andy." He put down his skateboard and rolled away.
Andromeda continued down the sidewalk in the bright summer sunshine, which lit her sallow curls to a shiny gold. There was a light bounce to her step, almost a skip.
The library was a miniscule wooden building that was once a bar. The books were all fairly new because not many people went in there in Bluestone. Andromeda was its number-one customer.
The cool breeze of a fan washed over her upon entering the small building. Mrs. Linx, the owner, glanced up from her papers to see the blond girl walk in, at which the old woman smiled.
"Back for another book already?" she chortled as she stood up from her chair. She was a plump gray-haired woman whose dark chestnut eyes had already seen every book in that room.
"Yes, I am," Andromeda said, setting the book she'd been holding down on the desk and skimming along the shelves.
"Anything in particular you'd fancy?"
"Hmm… perhaps a romance novel… something exciting but sweet at the same time."
"Oh, I've just the thing," Mrs. Link chimed and scurried away to another shelf. "I think you'll really enjoy City of Bones, full of romance and adventure and killing demons."
Andromeda took the book to read the back cover. "That sounds interesting. I'll take it."
"Don't forget to bring it back in one week," the librarian reminded her. "But I'm sure you'll remember." She wrote the girl's name, asked her to sign it, and then Andromeda was on her way.
Just outside the library, she literally ran into a hard muscular body that nearly knocked her backwards. Maintaining her balance, she looked up at the electric-blond emerald-eyed face of Carson Taylor.
He smirked at her, "Hey there, sexy, Reading again?"
"I am." She leaned away from his hot, sweat-damp body. "Aren't you supposed to be with Gabe?"
"He's waiting for me at the ice cream store. Now why don't you come with me and we can go share a cone?"
"Very tempting, Carson, but I need to get home and help my brother prepare for the art show in Milwaukee, so I must be getting back home now."
"Can I help you with that?" he asked genuinely; she could sense the undercurrent behind his offer.
"Thank you, but no thank you." In a hurry she ran down the sidewalk, book tucked under her arm, on a homeward dash. Along the way she passed Justin, the automobile mechanic, who paused in his fixing a car to say hi; Norma Beth, cranky owner of Bluestone Shoes where her brother worked; Brittney and Amanda, her preppy schoolmates who spent all of their time shopping for cosmetics or salivating after Carson; and some random hobo who sat on the corner of Main Street and Rock Path Boulevard every day.
Her house was salvation. When she saw it amongst the deep green leaves against the bright sky, she started running faster until she was through the gate where she fell onto the grass, so happy to be back in her own yard and, especially, away from Carson.