A/N If you haven't listened to any of the songs take a listen to this one, it's a great song and an integral part of this chapter. A lack of Colour by Death Cab for Cutie.
Disclaimer: We do not own Twilight. All publicly recognizable characters are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended. We are as previously stated simply domestic goddesses, who find sanity in taking certain liberties with SM's characters.
Collide
Chapter 11
A Lack of Colour (in my face)
BPOV
He places the guitar down and walks towards me.
"So since I enjoyed your interpretive dance to Sugar Magnolia, I figured you for a Dead Head. Jerry was the man, but I decided to take a chance on a little Guns N'Roses." He smirks at me and takes a seat at the bar. It's slightly out of character for him and it makes my knees weak. He could break a heart with that smirk.
"Oh, I know Guns N'Roses, big C daddy." I cut behind him quickly and pick up the abandoned guitar, and I smirk right back at him as I challenge him with my eyes.
I can't remember the last time I held a guitar in my hands. It feels like home, except for the fact that my hands are sweaty and sliding all over the place. I try to strum out an arpeggio, my slick fingers missing the strings. I take a deep breath and concentrate. I don't know why I decide to try and play. After seeing him up there, the song just pops into my head. There is so much more to him that I can see. I don't know why he hides, or what he's trying to put on. Maybe he is hurtiing too and this is his defense mechanism, but I choose another path. My confidence is back, and I start to sing.
"And when I see you..." I lift my eyes from the instrument and look him in the eye "...I really see you upside down."
I can't make out the expression on his face. He's starring at me, watching and listening. I sing the words to him, my observations. I want him to know I know better. It's just an act. Him, me... we're all just playing a part, trying to make our pieces fit into the puzzle known as the universe.
"But my brain knows better. It picks you up and turns you around." I continue to sing.
EPOV
I watch with rapt attention as I realize exactly what she is attempting to play. A chill runs through me. Even in my foggy haze, I'd recognize this anywhere. How would she know this? She is slightly off tempo as I find myself moving behind her to slow her feminine fingers. I am wholly unprepared for the warmth emanating from her tender soft skin as my hands hover slightly above hers, guiding her until she finds the tempo.
Her gentle voice blankets the bar, and I let it fill me as I listen. My body still hovers, my hands still gently ghosting over hers, mimicking every strum.
My mouth is slightly open as I watch her over her shoulder. She really is beautiful-uniquely beautiful and strangely captivating. She turns her head away from the guitar and looks up at me. I hold my breath, getting lost in her deep warm eyes.
"Please don't worry lover..." The way she looks at me when she says "lover" sends a surge through me.
"It's really bursting at the seams from absorbing everything, the spectrums from a to z." Is that what I have been missing? She is full of color and life and everything I have missed for so long.
She makes me feel things I never imagined and I find myself taking over the next few lines and sing back to her. She continues the steady rhythm as I confess to her.
"This is fact not fiction, for the first time in years. And all the girls in every girlie magazine
can't make me feel any less alone..." Except for you. I'm being real with her. My soul sings the truth.
The chorus comes up and our voices mingle and embrace in the smokey bar. Then she continues to play but I begin singing the last part on my own just over her shoulder, my breath caressing her cheek. Suddenly she joins back in and our voices once again combine to fill the small bar. Her gentle fingers slow and the last note hovers briefly before the whistles and catcalls draw my attention away from her and back to our surroundings that have now become suddenly more crowded.
"You have a beautiful voice, Bella…" I grasp the guitar, as she turns to face me.
"You've got some chords on you too. You don't look like an Indie rock kind of guy, though."
"I'm not forty. Although you might think I have a huge stick up my ass, you could have been rash in your judgment of me as well." I walk back to the bar and throw back another shot. What the hell just happened?
She joins me and takes a swig of her own over-sized shot as someone selects a song on the jukebox in the corner. We just sit and stare for a moment. I wish I could read her mind and know what she is thinking at this moment, but Bella is one tough read. I'm not sure anyone has ever been allowed inside that head of hers. That's when I realize someone selected some country crap, and Bella is once again singing along, squirming on her stool. She also seems to have some very eclectic musical taste, and I am horrified to discover that I too know the lyrics so I join in lowering my voice and adding a bit of a twang. As we sing and sip, I realize how fitting this song is as well.
"… She's my little whiskey girl…" we both belt out in harmony and inebriation apparently.
By the end of the song we are both grinning stupidly, and I can't seem to think straight. I am unable to recall the last time I have had this much to drink and whiskey…well it has definitely been a while. As a matter of fact I can't recall the last time I've had this much...dare I say...fun.
"So, big daddy C, where do we stand on the age thing exactly?"
"Pardon me? Look, I'm not old enough to be your daddy. I'm thirty-four and I have a name. It's Edward. Please use it." Yep. She still irritates the crap out of me but damn there is something about her.
"Okaaaay Edward. OHMIGOD I flove this jam, come on!" Suddenly she is several octaves higher and screaming as she yanks my hand and drags my body to the center of this dive bar to dance. Did she just say flove? What does that even mean? I shake my head. Now this is a song I have no clue about, but I couldn't care less as I stand stock-still, watching Bella move her hips to the beat running her hands down her slim curves and over her swaying hips. Holy shit.
"What's wrong, Eddie? Can't dance?"
My eyes tighten and all I can envision is proving her wrong as she screams my name. I have no idea what the hell is happening to me. It is like she has awakened some kind of monster inside of me. I grab her hips and before I know it, we are moving together to this club-like rap music. Actually, it seems strangely familiar from our long journey in the car today. She just continues to wiggle and squirm as she backs herself in to me. She has definitely stirred a response in me. My breath is staggered and all I can think about is this crazy girl, this complete and utter trainwreck and how badly I want to derail her right now. Fuck!
I don't have control of anything at the moment. I can't think straight, and I don't even really know where we are. How the hell can one insane broad make me lose all sense and allow my mind slip into oblivion? Fuck, she feels so soft and smooth, rubbing up against me. I can't do this. The song ends and I rush towards the men's room to clear my head and breathe.
E/N Okay time for a little heavy. We freaking love the response so far, for our little crazy-train. Thanks again to all who continue to read, review, and add us to alerts!
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