That's Why You're Beautiful

Chapter Two

I think we just stared at each other for a long time, as I tried to get an idea of what was happening. I couldn't quite understand why he was here... He was a nerd; nerds don't usually visit me; shouldn't he be busy playing chess or something?

Argh, this was going to be so embarrassing.

"H-hi, Edward," I smiled, sounding like I was talking to a five year old. "Why, uh, why don't you come in?"

He walked rigidly forwards and I closed the door behind him, resisting the urge to run out and escape while I still had the chance. Why the hell was today going so badly?

He was dithering around on the spot, clearly taking in his surroundings and probably disapproving of the lack of... geekiness. I felt a wave of annoyance towards him; he couldn't just come in here and judge me; who did he think he was?

I cleared my throat and walked resignedly towards the fridge. I was probably just over-reacting. "Do you want a drink, Edward?" It took a great deal of self control to stop myself calling him Ednerd.

He looked a little dazed. "Um, no... no, t-thank you. I don't d-drink."

Now why didn't that surprise me?

Oh well, I didn't really care.

I poured myself a large glass of wine and, after checking that he wasn't looking in my direction, took a long swig from the bottle. Well, I did need some moral support, even if it did come from alcohol.

He was still hovering around when I left the kitchen and I suppressed a heavy sigh.

"Why don't you take a seat?" I asked, gesturing towards the bed.

He did a double take, which would have been hilarious if I didn't feel so irritated, before reluctantly perching himself on the edge. He seemed so awkward that it really was painful to look at him. I joined his side, though, watching as he seemed to fiddle with his hands. I saw him take a quick peek at me before frowning and looking around the room.

The silence was deafening. Had I done something wrong in a past life to deserve this? Was I really such a bad person?

I took a slow sip of my wine before setting the glass on the floor. Might as well try and make some conversation... "So, Edward," I began, "I haven't seen you before."

I could see the worry immediately flicker in his eyes; he really looked like he didn't want to be here at all. Actually, he'd probably been dared by somebody, or perhaps this was a prank.

A flaming hilarious one.

"N-no," he finally answered in a quiet voice. "I... I saw the advertisement in a newsp-paper and, well..." He made a strange hand gesture. "Here I am."

I forced a laugh and smiled at him. "So, why are you here?"

He looked absolutely terrified now. "W-well, I'm... I'm sorry if this is wrong b-but I'm not actually here for..." He broke off, and made a weird kind-of thrust with his crotch. I had to bite my lip to stop myself guffawing.

"Oh, really?" I spluttered, passing it off as a cough. "Then... why are you here?"

To waste my time?

He hesitated. "Well, it... it probably sounds stupid-"

Yes, it's probably going to.

"But I... I just w-wanted to come here to... to t-talk really," he murmured, staring at his lap. "I'm... I'm... I just get l-lonely. Sometimes."

He looked so genuinely helpless for a moment that I placed my hand on his. He jerked back, alarmed by the contact and I quickly edged away. Blimey, what was his problem?

"I... I h-hope it's not too much trouble," he continued. "I just didn't k-know where else to go to."

To a shop, maybe? Perhaps then he could purchase a dictionary so that he can define the term 'prostitute.' I think he'd find that it doesn't say 'someone to pour your heart out to.'

Still, he was paying me and it was better than what I had been expecting. I shuddered slightly.

"Oh," I blinked. "Oh, okay then. Um-"

I trailed off helplessly, listening to the distant ticking of the clock. It seemed that the sound was slowing, making time purposely drag along for me.

Well, thanks a lot.

I sighed heavily before asking him the first thing I could think of. "So, did you... er... get up to much earlier today?"

He looked towards me with a slightly bewildered expression and I swallowed.

"Um, y'know, just... curious," I shrugged and he seemed to relax a little.

"I... I was-" He paused, deep in thought, and I wondered for a moment exactly what he was editing. It was clear that he was going to say something, but had changed his mind.

"I was just at... w-work," he eventually told me and I raised my eyebrows.

"Oh. Well, that's great. What do you do?"

This question startled him. Blimey, it really didn't take much to scare this guy. Surely he was a walking hazard? A walking hazard with oversized glasses and a ridiculous fashion sense.

"I teach. At a s-school."

I frowned. "But today's Saturday... surely you weren't working earlier?"

His eyes bulged behind his glasses. "Um, it, I, it was a training day. It was p-practise for teaching methods and whatnot."

I had the feeling he was lying to me, but ignored it. The truth was that I didn't really care.

"Okay," I replied. "So, what do you teach?" I couldn't ignore the feeling that this conversation sounded like a policeman interviewing a criminal suspect. Formal. Awkward. Forced.

He locked eye contact with me for the first time. "I teach Physics."

I nodded slowly. That didn't surprise me one bit. He was the typical nerd stereotype.

"I never really liked Physics at school," I told him. "It was too complicated. And unnecessary, in my opinion."

I shouldn't have added that last part, for he passionately protested at me. "No, Physics really is incredibly necessary. We need it to decipher the mysteries on our planet."

Oh God. Please stop.

"It really is quite interesting if you get into it," he continued. "I think that-"

I switched off, nodding and humming at the appropriate moments, but the truth was that he was boring me to death. Had he misheard me or something? Had I not said that I hated Physics?

"And... oh, er... hello? Excuse me?"

I blinked, alarmed to see that he was staring at me and waving a hand in front of my face. I must have been gazing into space. Well, could he really blame me?

"Sorry," I gushed. "Sorry. I was just thinking about what you said. It's all, uh, fascinating."

The hint of a smile edged onto his face. "Oh r-really? I told you so." He looked a little bit smug. "What do you think about the theory of relativity?"

The what?

"I... yeah," I nodded. "It sounds fantastic. Yeah, brilliant."

He narrowed his eyes before averting his gaze to the floor. I took this opportunity to glance at the clock; I still had forty five minutes left with him. Argh, I could seriously punch something.

"Perhaps... I..." he shrugged. "Maybe I could get you a book about it sometime?"

I squirmed. "Um... I..." Now who was the one stuttering?

"That... that sounds fantastic, thank you."

I know I should have been honest, but the expectant look on his face made it incredibly difficult to say no. He smiled a little.

But then the truth hit me.

To get me the book, that meant he'd have to visit me again...

No. Oh no... Quick! Think excuses. Think, think, think!

"But, I do already have a large collection of Physics textbooks." He eyed me speculatively and I added, "Well, my flatmate does. Clutters the place up a bit, to be honest. I... I'm sure she'll already have the book you're on about."

He looked deflated and murmured, "Right. Okay."

There was more silence for a while, before a badge on his coat caught my eye.

"Hey, is that the TARDIS? From Doctor Who?"

He followed my gaze to the badge and shrugged.

"Yeah, it is. I'm quite a fan," he smiled. "I've n-never missed an episode."

I narrowed my eyes and looked at the badge. It brought back fond memories of my time watching the show; ashamedly, it was my favourite too. Why did I have to have something in common with him?

"I love the show, too," I smiled. "Especially the newer episodes. David Tennant's my favourite, though." I stared off dreamily. "He looks fantastic in those glasses."

When there was no reply, I looked up to see him staring at me. Oh God, please don't tell me he thinks I secretly meant him... His glasses are just ridiculous...

He exhaled eventually. "I prefer the older episodes. Tom Baker's era."

I nodded. "Everyone has their favourite, I guess."

"Although it's all amazing."

I smiled, thinking of Alice. She'd have a field day if she realised what was going on. Doctor Who was my secret obsession; I never mentioned it to anyone. She'd taunted me after she found my secret stash of DVDs under my bed. I smiled a little at the memory.

But then, as I thought about David Tennant, a more painful memory suddenly forced its way into my head and I was forced to relive it.

David, my new husband, carried me into the room and placed me on the bed, laughing with me at the memory of the day before. He led beside me, grinning uncontrollably and holding my hand.

"Mrs Adams," he chanted, locking eye contact with me with his beautiful blue eyes. I stared at him, unbelievably happy with my life. Everything was so perfect.

"I love you, you know that don't you?" he grinned and I smiled timidly back at him.

"Not as much as I love you."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure."

He pulled me into a tight hug, pressing his lips against mine, and I became lost in the bliss. It was then that there was a strange thumping on the door and we both sat up alert, fear rushing through me.

"Who's that?" I asked David, watching as he approached the door. "No one's supposed to be here."

We were staying at a private holiday home in Spain, and nobody should have been able to get past the gates... not without a key...

"Stay there," he told me, silently approaching the door. He reached for the key and quickly opened the door, only to be confronted by a man dressed in black. He was wearing a mask to cover his face but I could still see the evil glint in his eyes. I could also see the long knife in his hand.

"David! Get away! He's got a knife! David!"

But he didn't listen to me, he just stood his ground, protecting me from this dangerous stranger.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, strangely calmly. "You have no right to be here!"

The man hissed something at him and my heart leapt into my throat. "David, please be careful! David!"

"You'd better get out now," he continued. "Before I call the police."

The man merely snorted and lunged for David. My breathing stopped.

"Nooo!" I screamed. "David, please! Be careful!"

But it was too late. There was a sickening gurgle from his mouth and the man suddenly ran away outside, rushing away from the scene. I stared over at David who was bent over, clutching his stomach.

As I knelt down beside him, I saw that his wedding suit was soaked with blood.

"No..." I breathed, holding him. This wasn't happening. "No, no... David?"

His eyes looked distant. "Bella..."

"I'm here, you're alright." Tears of fear were already streaming down my face. This couldn't be happening. Not after our wedding day. No.

"I'm... Bella..."

He stared up at me and muttered three final words. "Bella... love... you..."

And then he closed his eyes and was gone. I clutched him closely in disbelief at what had just happened, his blood steadily staining my wedding dress. A robber had came into our private space where we were supposed to start our life together...

And he had stolen everything.

I sobbed, unable to realise what was going on. It had all happened so quickly...

"Bella?"

A voice brought me back to the present and I tried my hardest to push the raw memory back into the depths of my mind, but the image was still fresh and my throat was tightening.

Sometimes, the memories made me realise that it had been foolish of me to start a new life and leave it all behind. If only I could tell Alice about everything, but from what she knew, David was just a drunken mistake. I wished he was, it would make everything so much easier. Less painful.

There was so, so much she didn't know.

After I managed to place myself back into a reasonably good mood, Edward eventually left and, as I closed the door behind him, I closed my eyes and sunk to the floor. What a day. It had seemed never-ending, and all I wanted to do right now was sleep. Then again, sleep silently scared me. The nightmares tended to creep in...

As if entertaining the usual clients wasn't tiring enough, for the past hour I had been forcing conversation with somebody who I really didn't want to be in company with. That had turned out to be more exhausting than anything.

Well, at least from today I'd learnt three things.

First, Edward was a nerd.

Second, there was a part of him, and I didn't know how dominant that part might be, that was destined to make me feel awkward.

And third, I was unconditionally pissed off with him.

I pulled myself upwards and reached for my things, before hastily heading out towards my real flat.

I had barely closed the door behind me when Alice suddenly popped up by my side, grinning happily. I eyed her carefully as she grabbed my hands.

"Guess what?"

I placed my keys on the table, telling myself not to let my frustration out on Alice. It wasn't her fault, after all. I managed to smile a little. "Oooh, I dunno... excuse me while I retune my psychic abilities-"

I paused, massaging my temples. "I'm guessing... it's something to do with this Jasper?"

She squealed. "Yeah! He came over earlier and-" She trailed off dreamily and I looked towards her with curiosity. "He kissed me!"

I smiled weakly for her as she pulled me into a hug.

"I'm really happy about all this, Bells! He might be the One!"

I winced, imagining another wedding, but nodded encouragingly. "I think this deserves a celebration!"

Her eyes sparkled. "Shall I get some wine and crisps?"

I rubbed my hands together. "Sounds fantastic, but I think we should push the boat out this time and get some dip as well."

She laughed. "Consider it done."

"So, what happened exactly?" I asked Alice, quickly sipping my wine. It pleased me to realise that what had happened earlier seemed a distant memory. The sudden dizziness I was feeling seemed to drown it out and make all my problems seem insignificant.

In simpler terms, I was a bit tipsy.

"Well," Alice leaned forward. "I was just watching the television..." (I couldn't be bothered to point out the fact that she'd promised to spend her day looking for job applications.) "And there was this sudden knock on the door and," she gestured with her hands, "There he was. In all his epic glory."

She grinned. "And he swept me in his arms and just kissed me, saying he couldn't wait any longer. And he called me darlin' which was just adorable."

We both sighed and I poured myself some more wine. "I'm really pleased for you, Alice." I was also pleased that my words were beginning to slur. I definitely needed to cloud my memory after today.

She grinned goofily. "And, he's invited us to a party tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow?" I repeated. "Us? You mean... me as well?"

She nodded, a little too eagerly because she nearly slumped forwards. "Yup. I talk about you all the time and he wants to meet you."

My eyes bulged, but Alice quickly added, "Don't worry, I didn't mention your job."

I sighed. "What's the party for?"

"It's someone's birthday apparently, but it should be fun!"

I frowned a little. "And what time is it?"

"Nine," she answered. "Why, you haven't got anything planned have you?"

I shook my head. "Don't think so." I suddenly perked up. "But yes, it sounds like a great idea. Bring it on."

Alice laughed happily and raised her glass. "Cheers."

"Cheers," I murmured, longing for a deeper escape. It was kind of depressing to think what my life was coming to.