11. Bella
"Bella, wakey-wakey!"
Ugh. Alice. Evidently, living apart wasn't going to stop her intruding on my beauty sleep. I got up and went to let her in.
"Why so bloody early, Pix, it's Christmas Eve!"
"It's ten am! You sleep more than Mr Wibbles!"
"Do not!" I retorted, sounding more petulant than the teenagers to whom I taught Shakespeare. I really was not a morning person. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"B, you have to come round to mine, like, right now! I've got the guy from Number Five coming round in a few minutes! And he is fi-i-i-i-ine!"
"So why do you want me to hang around if you're going to make a move?" I asked, feeling just a bit jealous that it was so easy for her to pick up guys. "And what happened to Jazz, over whom you've been pining for six months?"
"Not for me, silly, for you! I am totally into Jazz, and it turns out that our new neighbour is his best friend!
"'Is Jazz actually his name?"
"Well, his name's Jasper, but nobody apart from his mum calls him that," she replied. "He's so hot, and intelligent, and creative. He designed all his own tattoos ..."
"Alice, I'm glad you're loved up and sexed up, but I really don't feel like meeting anyone today, especially a hot guy!"
"Just a few minutes! Come say hello, have a drink and meet him … please? Come on, please?"
I wasn't in the mood for Alice's full-on whine-fest, and I had to admit that the girl did have good taste when it came to men. She hated Mike on sight and turned out to be completely correct when he turned out to be a fuckwit. Ugh. One-Minute Mike, who could also be called Mini-Dick Mike, or My-Ego-is-Bigger-than-Me-in-Every-Way Mike, or I'm-a-Lying-Cheating-Shit Mike. I still can't believe I wasted four years of my life with him.
"Fine, let me just freshen up."
I put on leggings, and a University of York long-sleeved t-shirt, brushed my hair, tied it into a ponytail, brushed my teeth and put a dab of perfume on before following Alice out of my apartment and into hers.
"Why is the Wibbler in his carry-box?" I asked, as Alice got to grips with her fancy-ass coffee machine. She only let him in there if he, or she, were having a very bad day. He would spend all day and night asleep in it, if she allowed him to do so.
"Oh, he's had a bad morning; he gave me the scare of my life!" she exclaimed, putting her hand over her heart. "When I returned from Jazz's place, he wasn't at home! I searched everywhere and was starting to really freak out when our new neighbour knocked on the door with Mr Wibbles in his arms."
"Shit. What happened?"
"He decided to go out of the cat flap, but I didn't realise that it was magnetic, and he wasn't wearing the special collar so he couldn't get back in. He was pawing at the flap and meowing loudly and woke up Mr Hottie. He picked him up and took him in until he heard me come home with Jazz."
"That was sweet of him."
A knock on the door interrupted us.
"Alice?"
"Door's open Jazzy!"
The tattooed, blond beanpole, who I remembered from Carmen's all those months before, strode in and gathered her into his arms.
"Hello, my sexy fairy," he said after kissing her soundly in quite a spectacular PDA.
"Hello yourself," she replied when he finally put her down. "Where's Eddie?"
"Shit, don't call him that, he'll have a strop! He's just coming." He turned to me. "Hi, I'm Jazz."
"Hi Jazz. I'm Bella, Bella Swan." He raised an eyebrow when I said my name.
Weird.
"Nice to meet you. So, uh, what do you do?"
"I'm an English teacher at Volturi Academy." He shifted his weight from foot to foot before replying, and his eyes darted towards the door.
What's that all about?
"So, uh, how was your trip abroad?"
"Amazing. Cambodia is just such a beautiful, spiritual place, but the people have been through absolute hell on earth."
"Cool," I replied. He seemed nice, although I also found him a little intimidating.
"Hello? Alice?" A voice called from the entrance hall; it was a very familiar voice.
"Come through, Edward!" Alice called.
Edward?
Surely not?
The new neighbour couldn't be ... Edward Cullen.
Had my little Debussy-induced daydream been right after all?
I swear I heard ringing in my ears and tingling in my hands and lips in the few seconds it took for him to emerge. And emerge he did, all 6'2" of his gorgeousness, wearing a warm smile, a smile which faltered and stuttered when he caught sight of me.
"Bella?"
"Mr Cullen, I mean Edward! I mean ... err, hi!"
Shit.
He did not look pleased to see me.
"You live in Number Six?"
"Yeah ..."
"I thought you lived across town, near the university?" His tone was terse.
"We used to, but, uh, obviously, we moved. This is a great neighbourhood. Really quiet."
"I know. That's why I moved here," he muttered.
"Sorry, what am I missing?" Alice asked, glancing between the two of us.
"Alice, this is Edward Cullen, Head Teacher at Meyer High."
Alice spluttered on her drink. She had heard me talk about my hot former boss, but I'd never told her his name.
"You're the Head of Meyer High? But you're so ..." I narrowed my eyes at her. However she ended that sentence, it wouldn't be good.
"I get that a lot."
"He's a great head teacher," I said sincerely. It didn't make any difference to Edward's tense posture and the frown on his face.
"Yeah, so your apartment is great, Alice, thanks for inviting me round, but I should get back to ..." He stopped talking mid-sentence and walked out.
"Sorry, I need to go after him, baby," Jazz said to Alice. "I'll be back soon." He kissed her gently and ran after Edward.
"Bella, what the hell just happened?"
"I have no fucking idea! He was so lovely to me the last time he saw me!" I exclaimed. "He was sweet. He was full of praise for my work. He even gave me a present and said that he wished I could stay! I guess he didn't mean it." A tear rolled down my cheek.
Stupid Bella. Stupid girl for having such silly daydreams.
"Oh, don't cry!" She hugged me tightly. "He was a dick just then, really rude!"
"That's the thing. He's not a dick, not at all," I told her. "Alice, I'm gonna go back to my place. I need to be alone."
Alice knew better than to push me to stay.
-cc-
Eek ... don't flame me! Things will get resolved soon!
Same time tomorrow, and I'll also be publishing the second part of the Liberation outtake.