A/N: I said I would update didn't I? Okay, well, I don't really have that much to say, so read on!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight
"Dreams are answers to questions we haven't yet figured out how to ask." X – Files
Chapter 3
"What are you doing here?" He asked, standing in front of her.
She stood up and looked around, the environment unfamiliar. "I have no idea," she admitted, burying her hands into her jean pockets.
He looked at her, studying her face. "Hmm. Okay, well if you just wait here, let me finish this game and I will show you around."
"Okay," she sat back down.
She heard a whistle blow and suddenly all the men on both sides were running around a small ball being tossed back and fourth between players.
The ball was tossed to the handsome man and he motored to the other team's goal. He chucked the ball as hard as he could into the opponent's goal.
Bella cheered, jumping up from the bleachers and pumping her fists in the air.
A whistle was blown and the teams shook hands.
Handsome was at the front of the line so when he was done, he said a few words to certain players and made his way over to Bella.
"So," he said, stripping off his pads, "would you like to take a walk?"
"Um, sure," she said, standing up, matching his steps with hers.
They walked from the field to the main street of the town.
Bella looked at the shops as they passed by, both staying silent.
He broke the silence after a few moments, "So, do you like it?"
"What?"
"The town," he smiled, his green eyes meeting hers.
"Yeah," she nodded, looking around, "It is small. The type of town I wish I would have grown up in."
"Oh yeah? Why?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.
"I've always wanted to walk down Main Street and know everyone. I just…I don't know, I just am that kind of person I guess."
"Hey kid," an older man said, passing them.
"Hello Mr. Carson," Handsome said.
Bella laughed, "See? You just proved my point."
He laughed with her, "Yeah, I guess so." He looked at his feet as they walked, "Do you want to go to…"
Bella's eyes flew open.
Aww, shoot! I wanted to finish that dream! She thought.
Rolling out of bed she rolled her eyes and shuffled into the bathroom.
She turned on the shower and followed her everyday morning routine.
Within forty minutes Bella was seated in her MDX and was driving to the high-rise.
Once in her office she saw Flying with the Eagles sitting on her desk, with a sticky note, written by her the night before, saying to contact the author.
"Good morning Bella Swan." Bella looked up and saw Alice standing in the doorway.
"Hey Alice," Bella said eying the Starbucks Alice was holding in her left hand.
Alice realized what Bella was looking at and said, "Oh, you want one of these? Kelsey, the intern? She brought these in for everyone this morning. Sweet girl."
Bella stood up and made her way to the break room, following her nose to the coffee cups steaming out of the lids.
"So?" Alice prompted, "Did you have another dream last night?"
"Actually, I did," Bella said, blowing into her lid.
"You want to know what is weird? I had a dream about Jasper last night and he said he had the same dream. It was almost like we were in each other's mind."
"Weird. Wouldn't that be weird if you could communicate with people through your dreams?"
"Like with people you don't know?"
"Yeah,"
"Kind of like you and this mystery hunk?"
Bella laughed, "Sure, I guess. But the thing is, I love Tyler. Why would I dream about someone I've never met when I am perfectly happy?"
"I don't know, maybe you aren't really supposed to be with Tyler, maybe you are supposed to be with this guy…"
"That is silly though. I can see me marrying Ty, and having kids. The works. I've just had dreams about this other guy. It isn't real."
"Yeah, I guess…anywho, what was your dream about last night?"
"Well, I drove to this strange town and I end up at a sports field, where a game of lacrosse is being played. I see the guy and he sees me. He asks me what I am doing there and I tell him the truth, I tell him I don't know. He then finishes the game with the winning score and we walk down the main street of the town just talking…then I 'poofed' out and woke up."
"What did you guys talk about?" Alice leaned against the counter in the break room, sipping her coffee.
"We talked about the town. I said I would have loved to grow up in a town like it where I could walk down the street and know everyone I passed. Then an older guy passed us and he said hello to Handsome; that is what I am going to call him from now on."
"Wait, so you don't know his name?"
Bella shook her head, "No, I don't."
"You should ask. Next time you and him 'hang out' you should ask what his name is."
Bella was quiet for a moment, "I wonder why I never thought of that before…"
"Because you are a dumbass?" both girls laughed, almost spilling their coffee.
"No," Bella said in between laughs, "because it seems like I already know him. Like I've known him for my whole life…"
"Excuse me, Bella?" Kelsey was standing in the door, her arms full of transcripts.
"Good morning Kelsey, what can I do for you?" Bella said, turning to face the overwhelmed intern.
"Did you give me the transcript for Flying with the Eagles? I thought I was supposed to send it back to the author today and I can't seem to find it…"
"Oh! Kelsey, I'm so sorry! Yes, it is in my office, let me scribble a quick note on it and I will give you it right away. I'm sorry," Bella said, speed walking out of the break room and into her office.
She sat in her chair and rolled to her desk, Flying with the Eagles in front of her.
Bella picked up a sticky note and a pen, on the bright blue note she wrote,
This has been the best beginning
chapters from any book I've ever edited.
I cannot wait until I get the remaining chapters.
Best of luck,
B. Swan
Bella put the sticky note on the cover page of the unfinished novel and slid the papers into it's manila envelope.
"Kelsey?" Bella called, walking into the open office space.
She saw Kelsey's head pop out from one of the cubicles.
"Here you go," Bella said, handing the envelope to Kelsey.
"Thank you,"
"Oh, and Kelsey?" Bella said, turning around to face the intern, "Thanks for the coffee. That was very considerate." The intern beamed.
"You're welcome Miss. I mean Bella."
Bella smiled and walked back to her office.
Alice intercepted her before she was able to enter the door, "Hey Bells?"
"Yeah?"
"So Jaspers best friend from high school is coming to town to visit and Jasper and I were wondering if you and Tyler would like to come with us to meet him. That way you and Tyler could get to know him."
"Sure, that would be fine. When?"
"Um, Edward is coming in two days, so Thursday evening."
"Okay, should I bring a welcome gift or something?" Bella said sarcastically.
"No, but he is writing about high school so maybe he will want you to edit what he has written so far." The girls erupted into laughter again.
"Okay Alice, I will ask Ty if he is available Thursday night."
"Thanks Bella, you being there will make me a lot more comfortable. This is the best friend meeting. If Edward doesn't like me…" she sighed worriedly.
"Oh shut up Alice. He will love you."
"I am hoping he loves you at least, that way if he likes you then I get a 'get out of jail free' card."
Bella shook her head grinning, "Okay, well, I've got novels to edit. Leave me be!"
Alice dramatically put her hand to her heart, "You've hurt me. Right here," she said, pointing to her chest, "oh how will I ever forgive you?"
"You'll get over it," Bella said smiling, walking back into her office.
"You're right," Alice said, strolling back to her office.
After a long day of editing, Bella packed up a transcript she wanted to finish when she got home. She left the high rise and drove to her apartment.
Bella parked in her reserved space and took the elevator to her floor.
She rummaged thorough her purse and pulled out her keys. She pushed open the red door and saw the TV on ESPN 1 with a baseball game on. She saw Tyler's keys on the dining table and head the shower going.
She set her purse on the table and hung her keys up on the wall near the front door.
Bella pulled out the transcripts she had brought home and sat on the couch, flipping through the channels, deciding on a rerun of Friends.
She walked into the kitchen and put a teapot on the stove, she pulled out her favorite mug that had been made by her niece, Clary, with smiley faces, flowers, and abstract people painted onto the side.
The steam whistled through the pot and Bella poured the hot water over her new choice of tea, Honey Vanilla Chamomile by Celestial Seasonings.
With tea in hand, she settled onto her couch, wrapped up in a blanket, Friends on mute, and red pen in her mouth, she began to mark up the remaining transcripts.
Tyler emerged from the bedroom, wearing only boxers, his hair still wet from the shower.
He wrapped his arms around Bella and kissed her ear, "hi," he whispered.
Bella got goosebumps from him whispering into her ear so she giggled and shoved him away, "Look!" she said, showing the hair on her arm standing on end, "now I am going to have to shave my legs sooner than I wanted to. Thanks," she said sarcastically.
Tyler jumped over the back of the couch and settled in next to Bella, "So, do you want to watch a movie?"
"Pay-per-view?" Bella said, handing the remote to Tyler.
"Yeah, that is what I was thinking," he said, scanning through the guide, "Okay, so our choices are: House Bunny, Eagle Eye, Nights in Rodanthe, Max Payne, Pineapple Express, Dark Knight, or Saw V. Any of those sound good?"
"Um," Bella looked at the list on the TV, "How about Nights in Rodanthe or Pineapple Express?"
"Not Dark Knight?" Tyler teased.
"Well, no matter how much I love that movie, we've already seen it three times this month. I want to watch something new. So, you want a comedy or a chick flick?"
"Let's watch Pineapple Express, you can watch Nights in Rodanthe with Alice." Tyler said, relieved they weren't going to watch the chick flick.
The movie started and Tyler slung his arm around Bella's shoulder.
When the movie finished, Tyler asked, "So? What did you think about it?"
"Meh," Bella said, "it was so-so. I didn't love it, didn't hate it."
"I thought it was pretty funny, my favorite part was when he kicked out the windshield and got his foot stuck for a few moments," they both laughed.
"Yeah, I will have to agree with you on that one," Bella said, yawning.
"Come here Beautiful," Tyler said, scooping Bella up into his arms, "you look tired, you need some sleep."
He carried her to the bed and laid her down in it, tucking her in.
"Thanks Ty," Bella said, pulling at his hand as he started to walk away.
She pulled him down to her and he gave her a kiss.
"Good night Bella," Tyler said, pulling back and climbing over her to his side.
"Hey Ty?" Bella said, tracing circles on his bare back.
"Hmm?" Tyler said into his pillow.
"Do you want to go with me to meet Jasper's friend from high school?"
"When?"
"Thursday night."
"Aw, damn, Bella I can't. I have a late meeting with the team Thursday night."
"Oh, okay, I will just tell Alice that you won't be able to go." Bella said, nodding off to sleep.
Bella was alone on a dark street. She couldn't see the street name, but she had a bad feeling about being here alone.
She turned to walk down an alley and suddenly felt more than one pair of eyes on her.
"H-hello?" She asked.
Nothing.
She kept walking, her hands stuffing into her pockets.
"Hello Gorgeous," a raspy voice said.
Bella stopped walking, looking around for the source of the voice.
A gangly man stepped out in front of her, a knife glinting in the moonlight.
"Leave me alone," She whispered.
"What?" He said closing the distance between them.
"I said leave. Me. Alone." Bella clenched her fists and looked around.
She was surrounded by three men. She couldn't see any of the men's faces, but they were all dressed the same: black pants, black leather jackets, long, ratty hair.
The man reached forward and rested his hand on Bella's cheek.
She could smell the stink of his breath, hot on her face.
He trailed his other hand up her waist and cupped her breast.
"So beautiful," he said, leaning in to smell her hair.
He pushed her against the alley wall, pushing the air out of her lungs.
He pressed his body against hers and she could feel his arousal through his jeans.
"I am going to fuck you," he whispered.
She punched his chest, he only laughed.
"Boys, looks like we've got a wild one," the two other men held her arms and legs as the first man unzipped his jeans, his arousal falling out.
The two men laughed, and released Bella, the first man reaching for Bella's pants.
She went limp.
"Good girl," he said, unzipping her pants.
She put her hands on his length and he shuddered, "Oh yeah," he said, coming in her hand.
She squeezed and twisted, the man yelping in pain, falling backwards.
The two other men bent down to see if he was okay, and Bella took off running.
"Get her fuckers!" The first man screamed, pointing after her.
The two men accelerated after her.
Bella's heart was pounding in her chest and her lungs were screaming.
Another man stepped out of a door and grabbed Bella by the arm and pulled her into a dark room.
She screamed.
"Shh," the man cooed, his voice familiar.
He wrapped his arms around Bella, slowly rocking her back and forth, smoothing her hair from her face.
"It's alright, you are going to be okay, it was a bad nightmare, but now you are with me, shh, it's okay, it's okay," he whispered.
Once Bella had calmed down and had stopped shaking, the man got up and turned on the lights of the room.
It was Handsome, and they had been sitting on the floor of a huge kitchen. The kind of kitchen that belonged in the back of a fancy restaurant with huge stainless steel stoves, ovens, and countertops.
Handsome disappeared and when he returned, he was carrying a steaming plate of pasta and a cup of hot chocolate with a whipped cream dollop on top.
"Thanks," Bella said when he handed her the plate and cup.
"You're welcome," he said, sitting next to her, resting his head against the wall.
A/N: Handsome has saved Bella from being raped! Yay Handsome! Can anyone guess who Handsome is?? ^_^