Chapter 2 – "Low Rider"
A/N:
- These first two chapters are introductions to our main characters. My intent is to do each chapter in third person subjective from a different character's viewpoint, and to not repeat that character's POV. I'm also aiming at alternating Bella's storyline and Edward's—when they finally do meet I'd like to go into BPOV & EPOV.
- The time lines also follow one another; a chapter focusing on Bella then a chapter on Edward that occurs about the same time. If a chapter is dramatically shorter than another ... I'm not sure yet if I'll combine the chapters or not ... we'll see.
- This chapter is named after "Low Rider" (original version) by War ... it comes off sounding like a wild and crazy party song, but musically its tight and controlled ... and it makes you wanna shake yer ass, just like you wanna do when the really hot guy makes you feel sexy and oh so pretty ...
Disclaimer: I own and apparently farm several dust bunny herds but I do not own anything Twilight related, it is all S. Meyer's ... the non-Twilight aspects of the story are all mine however.
... Soar ... Soar ... Soar ... Soar ... Soar ... Soar ...
Felix knew he was a lucky bastard. It was a few weeks into the second semester of his freshman year of college and he was getting laid like a junior—seniors were too busy to chase tail. He had his roommate Edward Masen to thank for all of it. Or maybe it was the god of rooming assignments? Whoever, Ed was easier to think "Hey, thanks man!" at when they bumped knuckles each morning after another conquest.
Together Edward and Felix were known around campus as "the tall redheads." Edward was well over six foot tall and Felix not far behind. Both were naturally pale and nicely built; wide shoulders, not too slim, but there it stopped. Felix had a jovial and outgoing attitude, with carrot-red hair and blue eyes, and a tendency to turn bright pink outside without sunscreen. Edward had an often somber and sometimes moody personality, with dark auburn hair ("Oh my gawd, it's like ... bronze!" Felix recalled one drunken sorority girl call it) and hazel green eyes that seemed to change with his mood, or his clothes, or the light, or the whim of whatever girl was staring into them, and tanned up a treat in the summer. Bastard. Edward had also been letting his hair grow since graduating from prep-school and it still had light streaks from last summer's sun. Double bastard. Felix would almost give his left nut for sex hair that did the fishing for him. Almost, he did like using those nuts—often and with great vigor. He knew his looks didn't reel the girls in—hanging out with Ed did that—but he wanted them to walk away with a satisfied story to tell. Felix's great unspoken fear was that girls compare notes like he did at times, and some girl would reference him by paraphrasing Fargo, "So, you were havin' sex with the funny lookin' fellow, then."
Felix had the dorm room to himself for his escapades. Edward didn't give a shit if Felix had a sleepover, but no one was allowed in "Edward's inner sanctum" as Felix referred to Edward's corner of their room. Too often he had to tell a visiting girl "Don't go in there, he'll know and get pissed." Hell, even Felix just stood at the entrance of it to talk to him. Edward was usually calm, but Felix had a feeling that there was a deep anger behind the occasional moodiness and didn't care to ever face the brunt of it. The quickly made agreement from the first night they went out to party worked well; Edward never brought a girl back to the room preferring to camp out in his car ("Don't shit where you eat," was all he would say when asked why) and Felix would quickly scribble "Go away, fucking!" on their door's whiteboard. Though Edward rarely camped alone he made camping out pleasant for himself.
Edward drove a silver Volvo SUV he dubbed in a lighter moment "The Sex Machine." It always smelled of sandalwood incense, was well-stocked with condoms and wet-wipes, all but the front three windows were tinted so dark they were opaque from the outside, and it only sat two. The back seats stayed folded down and were covered by a pile of blankets, pillows, and a thick foam mattress ... which Edward would strip the sheets from right outside the dorm for each Sunday's laundry run. "Dude, no shame," Felix would exclaim every time. "No reason for it," Edward would always respond, sometimes while using a corner of the sheet to clean footprints off the back window. The soon familiar call and response became a mantra to their debauchery.
The first night in the dorms Edward and Felix rearranged their large corner room ("Maybe I should thank the god of rooming assignments?") so that they each had a private sleeping area framed off by wooden wardrobes and colorfully printed cotton cloths the size of sheets from Edward's summer trip to India. Edward's corner also contained his desk and guitars. They made "The Lounge" out of the remaining common area and decked it out like a mini man-cave. Felix supplied the game systems and porn collection, Edward supplied the Bose stereo with iPod dock and flat screen TV. Felix supplied the padded folding chairs to kick back in, Edward supplied an antique wood table carved with elephants, one of whom hid a secret felt-lined interior—perfect for discreetly hiding several bottles of good liquor, beer was impractical, especially in "dry" dorms. They both supplied the booze with help from Stefan the Mooch, a senior who would buy for anyone—if you paid for his booze too.
Felix soon became aware that he was Edward's only friend on campus. Edward did not go out of his way to make friends, seemingly satisfied with Felix's company and the few guys Felix brought by for game and shot nights. He was always amiable in social situations, willing to join pick-up games at the gym or drinking games at parties, but never buddy-buddy in his actions. Edward's demeanor just did not invite familiarity and he was closed off when it came to speaking of anything remotely personal. If it hadn't been for Edward booking out to a hotel an hour's drive away over Parents' weekend Felix would never have known to ask about the whereabouts of Edward's family. "They've been dead a few years. I was the only kid. Sometimes I stay with my mother's sister and her family," was all spit out at once in a tone that declared the subject would not be broached again. Brief impersonal stories from his years at prep-school that only came out when Felix asked how Edward knew how to do things like play piano and pick a lock, or why he carried a Zippo when he didn't smoke, were the only other things Felix knew about Edward other than what he observed. But Felix observed a lot.
Edward did a good job of presenting the lackadaisical ambivalent rich playboy façade to his peers. Felix knew better. Felix knew that if anything broke Ed turned into MacGyver with his ever-present Leatherman. While everyone else bitched and moaned Edward was already elbow deep and usually had whatever-it-was back up in minutes. Clever fucker. He knew that Edward got up by six o'clock each day to alternately swim or work out with weights and run for an hour and a half before breakfast—taking only Sundays off. Crazy fucker. He knew that Edward rewrote his notes each day after classes—always before dinner—to reinforce that day's lectures. And he knew that Edward started his homework the day it was assigned, not partying until he completed that day's goal, and got bigger assignments done and handed in long before their due dates. Tightly wound fucker. (Felix did find himself grudgingly following Edward's academic lead and was rewarded with his best grades yet.) And though Edward aced them all, Felix knew that Edward did not allow himself to stand out in any class; he would only answer questions if asked and never raised his hand. If he had a genuine question—like asking if he could do a group project by himself—he would visit the professor during their office hours. Some professors made it clear they would like to take him under wing as a protégé but Edward kept a polite distance. Arrogant fucker.
Felix knew that Edward preferred to be called "Edward" but would accept "Ed" from himself and their drinking buddies. He knew that Edward had no preference in girls; blond, brunette, femme, sporty, white, Black, Hispanic, Asian, curvy, skinny, bubbly, brainy, stylish, frumpy—all were good and Ed knew how to turn on the charm and dazzle them all into happy submission. Yeah, even the plainer ones seemed to glow with prettiness when flirting with Ed and became more desirable to anyone watching—Ed was like the campus' very own god of nookie. But if a girl called him "Eddie" she got shot down fast and cold. He knew that Edward had no wish to date and only fucked a girl again if she didn't prove clingy at the next chance meeting. If she did, she was gently brushed off—Edward never broke hearts. Felix could only assume that Ed was a cold bastard, albeit with impeccable manners. Felix would also lay good money down that Ed would make himself scarce over the upcoming Valentine's Day weekend. When Edward was told "Hey, I heard that blond—the one from last weekend, you know, in my American Lit class—tell her friend she'd like to see you again," over vodka shots and bong hits one night Edward only said "Nah, I'll leave the cupcaking to the guys that have the emotional space for it." Edward quickly and smoothly changed the subject. Not long after Edward announced pot was not for him and would stick with his old friends Jose, Captain and the Goose.
Felix knew that Edward was probably much wealthier than his own affluent family; he saw the mail come in for Edward with bank logos and lawyers' return addresses and knew they meant "trust funds." And he saw the black Amex card Edward used to buy his textbooks at the beginning of each semester. Somehow Edward got permission to screw down a small fire-proof safe to his dorm desk, in which he stored those letters and the credit card. The night they went stag to the winter semi-formal Felix saw Edward get out from the safe a set of gold heirloom cuff-links, a ring, and a tie stick pin—all with diamond-eyed lions—to wear with his black velvet blazer ("Shit like that only looks good on you, man. The rest of us would come off like stuffy old farts,"), though the only watch he owned was the practical one he wore day-to-day. Strangely, Edward was an Apple product snob. Frugal everywhere else Ed splurged on all the company's latest toys and technology; an iPod Classic for working out and running, an iPhone for, um, well phoning, an iMac with the biggest screen available for assignments and music compositions that no one heard, and an iPad right after they came out because Ed giggled (Felix still wouldn't have believed that possible if he hadn't been there) and said "Ooooh, shiny!" Edward didn't do clutter, so his book and CD collections were all on those toys too. The other place Ed wasn't cheap was accommodations; the skiing trip he took to Vermont over break was spent at the Trapp Family Lodge resort in Stowe—no Motel 6 for ol' Eddie boy.
Felix knew that Edward had been fending for himself for some time. Felix wanted a new shirt and tie for an important class presentation so Edward went with him to the mall and showed Felix how to avoid clothes that would fall apart after one wash. Designer labels meant shit apparently. And even though Felix knew Edward was wealthy he bought his underwear and toiletries at Wal-Mart and the rest of his clothes from Sierra Trading Post's online outlet (with e-mailed coupons) just like anyone on a budget would. Regarding Edward's personal style everyone noticed that he was never trendy; no tatts, piercings or man-scaped brows—even Ed's too-long hair was obviously more out of convenience than affected. He dressed classic without designer labels—in clothes that wouldn't be passé twenty years ago, or twenty years from now. Felix heard a blissed-out hippy chick at a recent party poetically describe Edward to a friend as "always dressed like an old soul."
And Felix also knew that Edward would fidget uncomfortably then leave the room—making up an excuse if he had to—if a happy family scene came up during a movie or TV show.
Felix knew he was a lucky bastard. He wasn't so sure that Edward was.
... Soar ... Soar ... Soar ... Soar ... Soar ... Soar ...
Edward and his clobber are here on Polyvore: www(dot)polyvore(dot)com/soar_ch_low_rider/set?id=22192482
Chapter end notes:
- Haven't yet decided which college Felix & Edward are attending, wasn't really important to the storyline yet.
- Time is pretty fluid; the story is set in present day(ish), but gadgets and styles won't be exact to the years.
- Edward isn't stupid; the incense scent in his car is from burning it in a box kept in the console between the front seats—he wouldn't risk a fire hazard in his mobile den. Yeah, there are plug-in scent diffusers for use in car lighter outlets, but those are sold at places like The Body Shop. Edward is too much of a guy to know such things exist, much less shop where they'd be sold.
