A/N:
Hello beautiful people!
I promise I'm here. School is crazy as always and writing hasn't been coming very easily. Thankfully, I pushed through for you all and wrote a 4k chapter for you! Don't you love me?
This chapter is a lead up to a night and I think you all will like it. We get to find out more about the reasons why Edward and Bella are entering their relationship carefully and why they are doubtful about someone being interested in them.
We also get to briefly meet Bella's six surfer best friends Leila, Dylan, Alec, Brody, Camille, and Alana.
This is going to be a fun night you guys.
I promise I'll start the new chapter soon so I can get it up in a week.
Ok? Ok.
PLEASE REVIEW! I get really sad when I only see two reviews on a chapter :( Make me happy!
VISUALS LINKED IN MY PROFILE, as always ;)
xx, S
"Fucking shit!" I jolt my head to the right and see Edward tapping away at his phone with a furious look on his face.
"Edward? What happened?" He better not have been dropped from a role or something.
Instead of answering my question, he responds with a "Move your fugly bitch ass out of the way."
"What the fuck, Edward?" I am out of my seat in seconds and right in front of him with my fists clenched.
Looking down, I see flashing lights coming from his phone and peer over at whatever is distracting him from explaining why he just called me a "fugly bitch ass".
On Edwards screen are little bobbing alien looking things that are shooting green balls at zombies.
"HELL YEAH!" Edward shoots up just when I see a "COMPLETE!" flash across his screen.
After his mini celebration, he sees the furious look at my face. About time.
"What's going on?"
"Well, thanks to your intense game of plants versus zombies, you almost had my fist connect with your nose when I thought you called me a, and I quote, fugly bitch ass."
"Oh, shit! I'm sorry. Alice got me to download this game and I haven't been able to quit since I got it a few days ago."
"You're getting off this time, Cullen, but the next I'm not going to give you time to explain yourself."
"Understood. Also, I meant to tell you that Sam only needed me for that one scene so I think we're good to go for the day."
Hell. Yes. It was a Friday and to be honest I've been so busy that I haven't even had time to comprehend what happened last night...
Last night.
I never really opened up about my past with my career, but with Edward I felt safe. Usually I feel uncomfortable and like I'm in danger all over again, but Edward kept me present and my mind didn't wander. He made me feel like I mattered.
Our talk over the city lights was one of the most meaningful ones that I can remember and he truly solidified the feelings that I have for him. Even if he and I never turn into anything, which realistically speaking someone like me would never deserve someone like him, I still have very strong feelings for him as a friend. Edward is such an amazing, kind soul who only deserves the best in life and therefore the best girl. The baggage and skeletons in my closet are too burdening for anybody like him. He has a perfect life and I don't; I would never drag him into mine. He's just too good.
The only way I could ever let him in would be if he initiated it and had full disclosure about my past. Pretty much every guy runs for the hills when I let them in about myself, so I don't see why Edward wouldn't; because of that, I am never the one to make the first move. If by some odd chance Edward ever does make a move, I doubt he will stick around with someone as damaged as myself.
When we got in the car last night, a mix of exhaustion and pure desire took over me as I laid my head on his shoulder. Yes, it was a ballsy move, but the feeling of being so close to him was entirely worth it. It was one of the moments where I couldn't think about what I was doing and just had to do it and try not to worry about the response. All of my fears about his response evaporated when I felt Edward's stubble against my head and I realized that his head was leaning on mine. We stayed like that until we got back to set, said goodbye, and drove our separate ways.
When I woke up this morning, though, I was in a panic over what happened. Was it going to affect our relationship? Did we fuck up? How awkward will it be?
With that being said, I was reluctant to knock on the door of his trailer this morning; I seriously considered making a run for it and calling sick. Thank god I didn't though because he was looking ever better than usual today. I didn't even know that was possible.
Luckily, this morning everything seemed normal and I didn't sense any tension or awkward space between us. I think we both came to the silent agreement that what happened happened and that it didn't need to be discussed. It was a moment and our "PDA" in the car isn't something that needs to be brought up at this point in our relationship. Maybe one day, but not today.
We both pack up our bags and start our walk across set toward the parking lot where we parted ways only hours before.
"NOOOOOOOOO" I jump as Edward yells this at his phone with a devastated look on his face.
"What? Did the zombies invade your precious garden?" The guy was twelve years old at heart and it's ridiculous.
'No, sassafrass, but one of my favorite bands of all time is coming to LA tonight and I went to buy tickets weeks ago, but I just realized they never went through and now the show is completely sold out. Maybe I can get my agency to get tickets but it's probably too last minute right now."
I stop in front of his grey Range Rover as he is scrambling through his contacts trying to find someone to help him.
"What's the band? Maybe I can help." With my job, just shooting one band is like shooting sixteen because of the contacts you develop through working at the show. You really never know what connections you'll make at concerts.
"I doubt it. The band's Alt-J and they're so big right now I bet their guest lists fill up months before the show is even announced."
That's where it's highly beneficial to know people, Mr. Cullen.
"Well, I don't know, maybe you know the band's photographer and long time friend who has unlimited space on the guest list."
"Hah. I wish."
"You don't know the language of sarcasm, do you?"
Dumbass.
"What are you talking about?" I stare at him for a good 30 seconds as I wait for him to figure it out. After about a minute I see him finally complete the puzzle.
"NO FUCKING WAY!" He looks at me with disbelief.
"I know it's hard to believe considering who you are, but you don't have to be a celebrity to have connections. How many tickets and passes do you want?" I say with a smug smile.
"Oh my god I have to tell everyone they all were so fucking mad," Edward says in a frazzled, jumbled mess, "How? What? Why? I mean, um, thank you a million times. Honestly."
"Text me the number of people and they're yours."
"Did I ever tell you you're amazing?" Edward says with a smile like a little boy who just won the biggest prize at the fair.
"You know it. I'll see you tonight. Text me when you're there and we'll set up a time to meet up."
"Awesome. I'll introduce you to my friends, and bring definitely bring Emmett and Rosalie since Jasper and Alice will be there too."
I flip my sunglasses down as I start to walk away toward the other lot where my car's parked as I shout over my shoulder, "It's a plan, Cullen." And turn the corner and out of sight.
EPOV
I jump in my Range Rover and immediately call Alice.
"I don't want to fucking talk about it," she starts as she picks up the phone, "how could you be such an idiot and forget to press confirm and make us all miss an opportunity to see Alt-fucking-J?"
"Is Jasper near you?" I say as I cut off Alice's meaningless rant
"Yes, and he's just as mad at you as I am."
"Put the phone on speaker. I'm adding in James and Mike to the call."
"Umm… Ok? But to be honest I'm not in the mood to have a 5-way call to talk about a concert that, thanks to you, we aren't attending."
"Just do it, Alice."
"Ugh. Whatever."
After a few seconds, I hear everyone connect.
"Yo." Jasper says
"Whaddup Mister I-don't-know-how-to-buy-concert-tickets" James jokes as he joins in
"What's this about? Lauren and I are in the middle of a COPS marathon so this better be good." Mike adds.
"Well, we are gathered here today to-"
"Cut the humor, Edward, a cop just arrested a man streaking on ecstacy singing "I'm A Believer" and stealing quarters from a little girl's lemonade stand so cut to the chase so I can get back to watching."
"Fine. We're going to Alt-J tonight."
"Good one, Edward, but in case you didn't realize the tickets have been sold out for months." Alice says with a huff
"Well, thanks to my wonderful photographer Bella who happens to be a good friend of the band and their photographer, we all have tickets and VIP passes."
"No way" Jasper yells
"Your hot photographer that you want to fuck the shit out of got us tickets? HELL YEAH!" James booms.
"Oh my god! I only have an hour to do my makeup then! Gottagobye" Alice is gone just like that.
"So what's the plan dude? We all hanging out before the show or what?" Mike asks
"Seriously, I need to meet this girl and make sure she's good enough for you." Mike's girlfriend, Jessica, adds in as she grabs the phone from him.
"I'm going to text her and see what's the plan and I'll let you all know."
"Sounds good."
"Make sure you relive some tension before tonight. Lord knows your honry ass will need it."
Hanging up the phone, I roll my eyes as I hear James and Mike laughing at Jasper's immature, but true, comment. I open my texts and search through until Bella's name appears.
Hey, thanks so much again. We're super excited for tonight. 6 passes would be awesome if that's ok.
Right after I hit send, I lift my eyes to see Riley walking through the door.
"Hello Eddie my love"
I flip him off as he plops down on the couch next to me. The fucker knows the name Eddie makes me gag.
"Speaking of Bella," he says nodding towards the text message still on my phone screen, "I have some good news."
"What?"
"Well, I just sat down with your social media manager, and since you've had Bella which hasn't been long at all, the likes, views, and shares have gone up by 40 percent already and you're gained thousands of more followers than usual."
"No shit? I knew Bella was amazing and she was going to help improve my social outlets, but I didn't expect the effects to take place for a couple more weeks."
"Same here. I guess she really does know what people want and don't want to see. How is your guys' relationship going?" He raises an eyebrow towards me.
"Great, we really vibe well together. I'm seeing her tonight, actually."
Riley's eyebrows shoot up as I say this. "You guys are already going out?"
"No, no, not like that. To make a long story short, I never got tickets to Alt-J's show tonight and they sold out but she's getting us passes. You want to join us?"
"Hell yeah. That sounds awesome." Riley says as he gets up.
"It's at the Club Nokia and I think we're all meeting at 7 for drinks before at The Goose. I haven't heard back from Bella yet, but I assume we'll just see her at the show."
"Sweet. I'm just dropping off some scripts at your desk for you to look at sometime, but I'll see you tonight."
"See ya." I laugh as I slap Riley's ass when he gets up and walks out the door.
buzz buzz
Hey you. I just finished shooting their soundcheck and it's going to be a hell of a show. Let me know if you need any other passes.
I feel like an idiot for being feeling giddy about her "hey you" introduction and getting butterflies about seeing her outside of work tonight. I think the last time I was nervous about seeing a girl was in the fourth grade so this is very foreign to me.
Awesome. We can't wait. Can you add one on for Riley? Also, my friends and I are having drinks at The Goose before the show and you're more than welcome to join if you need a break.
Not a problem. I wish I could take a break, but before the show is always the most hectic time. Can we meet up for post-show drinks? I'll have some friends with me.
Hell yeah. It's going to be great to get everyone together.
Totally. Despite my protest, I think the band's bringing me up to play a song. I'm going to shit myself, I think.
I don't know if I'm ready to see her sing again, I'm still recovering for the first time. She's like a walking sex goddess when she preforms, so I know my very straight, male friends will appreciate her performance greatly, to put it lightly; God knows I'll enjoy it.
"I'm now going to need a really extra-long shower before this." I grumble to myself.
Hell yeah! You'll do great. See you tonight.
Looking forward to it :)
Leaving my spot on the couch, I walk up to the front hall mirror and stare at myself in my reflection. I need a good shave and a shower if I'm going to be seeing her tonight. Will tonight be the night I make my move? I know I want to eventually, but would this be too soon? All our friends will be there, so I don't know if it's a good time, but who knows, maybe this will be the only time we hang out outside of work?
This is fucking frustrating. I feel like a total girl worrying about how I look in front of somebody else and freaking about an event that isn't even a date. I never am the one who panics about relationships because I've never felt like I've had to win anybody over. It's not an ego thing, but it's just a fact that girls have always been the ones to approach me first. But with Bella, I feel like I need to be the one to impress her. She's such a special soul that even she knows that she should be selective about who she spends her time with. With the guilt-ridden past of mine, it would be hard for me to ever enter a bright light like Bella into the darkness that lurks in the back wherever I go. My life before this was never easy and it still is not. There is a lot of debt I owe to many people and the choices I made in the past have split me in two. I could never involve Bella in any of this. It's the right thing to do… right? If by some off chance we get into a relationship, I owe it to her to fully disclose everything about myself, the good and the bad. All I can hope right now is that if that day comes, she won't run. But from my experience with relationships, she probably will. It's just how it goes.
BPOV
"AGHH" I let down an obnoxious groan as I slam my phone down on the table in front of me.
"What's wrong with you?" I feel the right side of the couch sink in and I look up to see Gus, the keyboardist, looking at me with a concerned look.
"Eh, nothing that you need to worry that pretty little head of yours about." I smile at him.
"I didn't know you had a new guy, Bella."
"What do you mean? I'm not with anyone."
"Bells, you know I have four sisters. That "what's wrong with you" was me giving you a chance to tell the truth, I knew that "AGHH" had something to do with a guy. It's been written all over your face this past week of rehearsals."
"You have a new guy?!" Joe, the lead singer and guitarist, Thom, the drummer, and Gwil, the guitarist and bassist, enter the room suddenly interested in my love life.
"Sorry." I hear Gus say under his breath
"No, I do not. Gus over here was just jumping to conclusions."
"Dude, she did the stressed out groan and threw her phone on the table. She definitely has a guy." Gus says to the band.
"What's his name?" Joe plops on the couch next to me
"He doesn't have one because he doesn't exist." I say rolling my eyes.
"Bullshit." Gwil adds.
buzz buzz
Oh no.
"Text message from EDWARD CULLEN?!" Joe grabs my phone bringing it closer to his face as if Thom's announcement about my text from Edward wasn't loud enough.
"No fucking way." Gwil's staring at me like I have three heads.
"It isn't anything, you guys are overreacting." I say as I grab my phone back.
"Then may I ask why you angrily threw your phone down when he texted you?"
"It wasn't from him. It was just his manager giving me more work."
"Hey guys, the venue needs you to soundcheck Taro. For some reason we forgot to do it." Their manager says as he pokes his head in on us.
They all stand up and go to join him. "Whatever you say, Bells." Jim calls over his shoulder right before shutting the door.
The truth was that Riley never texted me, and the text from before was actually from Edward. I was frustrated because I was so nervous about tonight. What do I do? I will be around my friends and his so how should we act around each other? I don't want it to be obvious that I like him but I don't want to be a stone-cold bitch.
All of these thoughts have been occupying my mind like annoying kindergardeners that don't know how to shut up. I put my headphones in and turn on my music at the loudest setting to try and silence my anxious thoughts.
It doesn't work.
EPOV
"ALICE!" I scream this down the stairs right when I hear the door slam.
I feel like half of my hair is about to fall out from the amount of times I've pulled on it trying to pick out my outfit tonight. How the hell do stylists do this shit?
"Edward Cullen, please step away from your closet and let me do my job." I hear her little feet run up the stairs coming to my rescue. My bedroom door flings open and Alice has a look that could kill as she b-lines to my closet. For the next five minutes, clothes are flung across the room until Alice reemerges with a stack of clothes.
"Undress."
"Yes master." I say as I take off my clothes and put on the ones she handed to me. I turn around to face Alice and she stares at me with a blank expression on her face.
"Well?" Why hasn't she said anything?
"I'd fuck you."
"Ew, Alice, filter please."
"I'm just saying! Bella's definitely going to be all over you tonight."
"I'm not looking to hook up with her. She isn't that kind of girl and I don't want to be that kind of guy. She deserves better." I lean against my bed and cross my arms.
Suddenly, Alice walks across the room to hug her tiny body around me squeezing me unbelievably hard.
"Um, Alice, you know I love you, but why are you hugging me?"
"I don't know, I just love seeing you this way. You seem different and in a very good way; you seem truly happy."
I wrap my arms around her and tuck her head under mine.
"I feel really happy, Alice. I love you."
"Love you too." She pecks me on the cheek and runs down the stairs.
"Don't worry about tonight, you'll be great! I'll see you in an hour." Alice shouts as she closes the door behind her and pulls out of my driveway.
BPOV
"T minus ten minutes, Bells."
"Thank you." I say over my shoulder as I organize my lenses and try to make sure they're ready to be switched at moments notice during the show.
Right as I get them set, I hear the rumble of footsteps going up the stairs to the green room get louder and louder.
The door swings open as my three best guy-friends from surfing, Dylan, Brody, and Alec, burst in as Dylan scoops me up in a huge bear hug which is followed up with kisses and hugs from Brody and Alec.
"Yo bitch!" I see Emmett walk in with Rose and Jake not too far behind him as they both hug me once Dylan puts me down.
My three best surfing girlfriends Alana, Camille, and Leila enter the room and immediately jump on me even though it's only been two days since I last saw them; but hey, two days is like two years for us.
Dylan, Brody, Alec, Camille, Alana, Leila, and I have all been surfing together for more years than we can count. They're all like siblings to me and the boys are like my American big brothers. Since my actual brother, Angus, is back in Australia, it is really nice to have Dylan, Brody, and Alec since I am often missing Angus immensely. Camille, Alana, and Leila are indescribable to me; they're truly sisters.
The whole green room erupts into greetings and laughter as we all group together. I was back with my family and it made me feel on top of the world.
"Who wants drinks?" Emmett yells from the bar in the corner in the room
Everybody rattles off their orders as I set up my cameras. I never drink while photographing, especially at night, because I see the drink after the shoot as a little prize for doing my job.
"So Bells." Alec comes up behind me and puts his arm around my shoulder as everybody in the room looks at me as if I'm about to drop huge news, except I don't know what the news is.
"What am I missing here?"
"*Cough* Edward Cullen *Cough*" Leila says in the corner of the room.
"Oh god." I say with a little smile as I pick up the camera and head towards to door to go side stage. Rose and Emmett can't keep a secret, especially when alcohol's in the mix, and they all have definitely been pregaming. I should've known they were going to spill.
A mashup of responses in come in response to the Edward comment as I'm walking out.
"Can't wait to meet him!"
"His bed or yours tonight?"
"I swear to fucking god, Bella, if he breaks your heart my surfboard is going through his neck!"
"Can I be an extra in his next film?"
"Don't forget to use condoms!"
"BYE, YOU GUYS." I say slamming the door behind me silently chuckling to myself as I run down the stairs and put my inears in.
"Alright everybody, get in your places, house music down, black out." A continuation of technical orders about the show comes through my inear until I get to my spot and double check everything's in order.
I feel so alive tonight knowing that I have my sister, brother in law, and the rest of my family in the back and Edward in the crowd. I just know that Alice, Jasper, and Edward will love all my friends considering how well that got along with Emmett and Rose. There's an odd sense of comfort knowing that Edward is in the same building as me, and to be honest, it is very weird to feel that. Is this what it's like to have feelings for someone?
The lights start going and the heavy sound of bass starts signaling the opening of the show. Poking around the curtain, I see an ocean of thousands of people all cheering for the boys. My phone buzzes in my back pocket, and I see a text from Edward.
Crush it out there for me. Text me when you're finished and we'll meet up. See you soon. –E
Smiling, I put my phone back in my pocket, run out into the ocean of concertgoers, and start firing, doing what I love the most.
Yours truly ;)
-S