Author's Note: You guys have no idea how happy it makes me to know that people like my story :D Well HERE WE GOOOOO (I'm starting at Alejandro's POV because I wrote WAY to much for Heather.. but maybe that's just me :P)
Alejandro:
Alejandro's eyelids slowly opened as he stared at the ceiling. Yawning he lazily tried to fall back asleep but no avail. Trying to live with Heather was proving to be a more difficult challenge than he had expected.
It has been two weeks since she's moved in, but she still hasn't been able to fix her sleep schedule. When Alejandro is about to fall asleep he can hear Heather walking up and down the hallway, clicking her flats at 3am in the mourning.
She usually wore her high heels but has been wearing flats more and more nowadays. He didn't mind though, wearing flats suited her better than any sort of high heel. She walked with as much grace as a dancer.
Thinking Alejandro suddenly remembered that Christmas was only a week away. Groaning Alejandro also remembered that his grandfather, Alano, was to be moving in. Alano wasn't here to visit his grandson oh no he was only coming because it has always been a custom in the Burromuerto family, that the grandfather was to meet the fiance before marriage to "approve".
Alejandro found this tradition completely ridiculous and unnecessary, can one not marry only for love? Why need approval? Although his grandfather wouldn't really care, for as long as Alejandro could remember, his grandfather never cared for anything except for a mysterious women named... Madeline. Once when Alejandro was about 12, he grew curious and finally asked who this Madeline was.
When he did, his grandfather looked him straight in the eyes and said "Mi vida". This answer just confused Alejandro and he never asked about it again.
As he was changing into his shirt and pants he could hear a faint knock at the door. As Alejandro walked down the stairs he could hear the knocks growing louder and more frantic. Before anyone could get it, Maddie, suddenly appeared and answered it.
Maddie has been the family maid for as long as Alejandro could remember. She had just came back from her 3 week vacation and was already back to working even though Alejandro insisted she rest before she had to work again.
She has always felt like a grandmother to Alejandro, she was practically family! Besides the fact that she was always there for the Burromuerto family, their real grandmother Adriana, had left Alano long ago.
The story of what happened as Alejandro remembered it was that Alano and Adriana were forced to marry each other in order to keep power and wealth in the Burromuerto family. Soon Adriana had grown tired of their marriage and just left, leaving Alano to raise Alejandro's father.
Alejandro had always felt sorry for his abuelo, he went and married the wrong women who ended up leaving him in the end. His thoughts were interrupted by his grandfather's grunting, struggling to carry the suitcase.
As Alejandro walked down the steps, he greeted his grandfather. "Hola abuelo, how was your stay at the hotel?" Alejandro said politely trying to shake his hand. Alano didn't notice though, he seemed distracted. Sighing Alano said blankly with almost no emotion "Alejandro please lets just get this over with... where is this fiance of yours?"
As if by cue, Heather walked down the stairs yawning and stretching her arms, looking as if she had just woken up. Alano's old face brightened up when he saw Heather. "Ah well if it isn't the girl who bumped me in the hotel lobby!" "Wha-?" Heather mumbled rubbing her eyes. Chuckling Alano walked over to Heather and patted her on the back.
Wait.. how do Heather and my abuelo know each other...? Alejandro thought curiously.
Alano continued by saying "So you're Alejandro's fiance?" smirking happily and asked "Were you two having..?" Alano hinted raising an eyebrow. Alejandro and Heather's faces showed looks of pure horror and embarrassment, realizing what Alano was asking and said with wide eyes shouted "NO!" at the same time. Heather adding in a almost squealing voice of embarrassment "I'm 16!".
As adorable as Heather looked and sounded flustered and embarrassed, Alejandro couldn't let this continue any longer for the exact same thing was happening to him.
Blushing Alejandro went "Abuelo, this is Heather the wedding planner" and to Heather he said "Heather this is my grandfather Alano.."
"Nice to meet you Alano.." Heather muttered blushing as well. Frowning Alano didn't seem totally convinced "Are you sure you're not marrying her?" Alano said pointing at Heather. "She makes you act so strangely Alejandro, and you two obviously know each other.." Alano continued.
Wanting to make this stop Alejandro said with a pleading tone "Abuelo! Please stop!". Chuckling Alano went "Alright alright, It's obvious that you two aren't getting married.. but still.. you two seem quite suited for each-" "STOP IT!" Heather and Alejandro screamed out loud growing frustrated.
Ay! My grandfather is embarrassing me! Alejandro thought. If it was Esmerelda that had come out, Alejandro couldn't care less. Esmerelda thought it was "cute" knowing embarrassing things about Alejandro but this is Heather.
Heather would not find it "cute" she would find it stupid and would never let Alejandro live it down.. ever. Besides he cannot look anything besides perfect to Heather, he wouldn't allow it!
Maddie suddenly walked into the awkward situation, she either didn't seem to know what was going on or she was trying to help. Either way Alejandro was very thankful that she managed to get Alano away from Heather and himself for a little while, ushering him into the kitchen.
As Maddie was leading Alano into the kitchen Alejandro could hear Esmerelda warmly start talking to Alano. He could tell from just the way Alano was speaking that Esmerelda was merely annoying him as she tried to suck up to him.
Heather suddenly said trying to lighten the awkward mood, "Your grandfather doesn't seem to like Esmerelda much.." Chuckling Alejandro said "Well he will have to or my family will never let him live it down. If he says "no" then he will be in a world of hurt..". A troubled and curious look spread across Heather's face.
Alejandro noticed this and growing worried asked "Heather? What's the matter?" Heather swallowed and nervously replied asking "Why are you marry her anyway?"
Alejandro, surprised and eyes gone wide stood there blankly going "Uhh.." The question caught Alejandro completely off guard no doubt but he would not let Heather figure that out.
Trying his best to stay calm he went "Is someone jealous?" using his cocky attitude to pull it off. "What?!" Heather exclaimed. "I am not jealous! Big deal I ask a simple question and you have to turn it against me.." she said as she gestured her hands. "Well.." Alejandro went "When dealing with a emotion like jealously one must question.. why?" he said grinning.
Heather rolled her eyes and scoffed "Right. Don't play so innocent with me Alejandro, I know you looked quite jealous when Ricardo and I were just talking outside" feeling confident as Alejandro's eye twitched. Alejandro's curiosity grew more and more impatient until he couldn't take any longer and gave in to ask.
"..What were you two talking about..?" Alejandro asked instantly regretting it as a evil smile spread across Heather's face. "Ha! Whose the jealous one now?" Heather said proudly. "That is completely irrelevant Heather, Ricardo is an employee, I wouldn't want him talking badly about me or Esmerelda" Alejandro said hoping he sounded convincing enough.
Rolling her eyes again Heather said "Well I'm an employee here too, shouldn't you be worried of me saying bad stuff about you or Esmerelda as well?".
Alejandro thought for a moment but to make it more interesting.. he slowly moved towards Heather closer and closer grabbing Heather's full attention. And whispered "I know you would never speak badly of me Heather... what is there to talk badly about?" smiling smugly.
Heather slowly backed away little by little stammering "T-There are plenty of bad things you do that I hate" looking visibly shaken up. "Really?" Alejandro questioned, "Name three". Heather clearly wasn't expecting this from Alejandro right now and went on rambling "Well you uh.. you.. you uh..." until she fell silent cringing slightly.
Snickering Alejandro went on saying "Well I can name a couple of good things that I love about you" loving as Heather started blushing again. Heather's back suddenly then met the wall trapping her in the corner with Alejandro.
"C-Could you move..?" Heather said weakly trying to push Alejandro away with one hand, not looking at him. She obviously didn't want to get caught. Alejandro, however, wouldn't move. His mind was pushing all thoughts of just what could happen if they did get caught...
He smirked as he took Heather's face in his hand. Alejandro just stood there for a minute staring into her beautiful gray eyes swirling with emotion all while his heart fluttered too quickly. Heather froze, she couldn't do anything but watch with wide eyes as Alejandro, in the heat of the moment, was slowly moving in to kiss her, his emerald and her steel gray eyes slowly starting closing as they got closer and closer.
Oh how he wanted to kiss her so badly at that moment. He wanted to kiss her and even though Heather wasn't moving he knew that Heather wanted that kiss as well. He hasn't had a proper kiss from her in so long his lips ached for hers.
They were mere centimeters away from each other. He could hear Heather's nervous breathing as the gap between them grew smaller and smaller..
But that was when Esmerelda's shouting stopped the moment. Alejandro could feel Heather gain control. She just stood there staring at Alejandro with a almost disappointed look upon her face before slipping underneath him towards the kitchen.
But Alejandro didn't move from that spot. He stood there staring straight at the spot that Heather was in just seconds ago, feeling numb all over at what almost happened. He could have won Heather back, maybe Esmerelda would see and the whole wedding be history. Maybe he could be finally happy that Heather was his..
But what really all Alejandro could think about at that moment was that Heather just left.. She didn't kiss him like he had hoped and prayed for. She just slipped from right under his fingers and left. Probably making up a story to Esmerelda why they both weren't in the kitchen earlier.
He then leaned his head against the wall and at that moment wanted to disappear. He wanted to go away. Never has a women been able to avoid a kiss from him. They either just waited until he kissed them or they would just plunge in for his kiss
Mi amor why must you torment me so..? Alejandro thought extremely disappointed and frustrated. He knew he could not stay in the corner forever no matter how badly he wished time has reversed itself and he had just plunged in for the kiss before Heather got away.
Swallowing up the emotions he had just felt, and with a heavy heart made his way slowly towards the kitchen.
Heather:
As Heather quickly turned the corner she gasped for air, her heart still beating fast. What had almost happened there? Was Alejandro really going to kiss her? Or was he just trying to mess with her again? Either way whether she liked it or not she felt all fuzzy and happy yet nervous at what just happened.
As Alejandro was moving in to kiss her, she felt her heart beating faster and faster. Did she want him to kiss her? Yes as much as that answer disgusted her. She really had hoped he would kiss her but she then realized that she couldn't hurt Esmerelda!
As annoying as she was, Esmerelda didn't deserve to get her heart broken by Alejandro. Not after TDWT, Heather would not let that happen again. She was so glad yet sad when Esmerelda stopped them and distracted Alejandro enough for Heather to escape.
As Heather walked away she could almost feel Alejandro not staring at her, but probably staring at the wall, not believing that Heather was able to resist him. Heather couldn't believe it either. She thought he was going to kiss her for sure but Esmerelda made Heather feel a little stronger and more able to resist Alejandro (although only by a small degree).
Heather knew she couldn't hide in the hallway forever so she took a deep breath and walked down the stairs into the kitchen. There was Esmerelda, Maddie, and Alano sitting at the dining table. So Heather made herself a bowl of cereal and sat next to Alano.
"Heather! Where were you? I called your and Alejandro's name like 15 times!" Esmerelda said exaggerating. Twitching slightly Heather said "Well we were just talking about what do to so all your family and friends know about the marriage" through her teeth slightly.
"Really? What did you guys come up with?" Esmerelda asked. Heather hesitated for a minute unsure of what to say. She opened her mouth to speak but Alejandro came in at the right moment saying nonchalantly "A Christmas ball". Esmerelda smiled happily and squealed saying "A ball? That sounds great!"
A Christmas ball?! Damn Alejandro.. and he knows I'm going to have to plan it too! Heather thought in dismay as Maddie and Alano liked the idea as well.
"Sounds like fun" Alano said. "Yes it would be a blast but that old ballroom we have hasn't been used in years!" Maddie went on knowing she would have to clean it.
This perked Heather's interest though, "You have a ballroom?" she asked. "Yes and a very nice one too" Alano replied. Heather growing curious and excited asked "Can I see it?" hoping they would oblige. Everyone looked at Heather with curious eyes. This was the first time any of them have seen Heather so happy.
"Alright then Heather, but be careful it's covered in layers of dust" Maddie warned as she grabbed a big black key from a hook and gestured Heather and the others to follow. Heather happily obeyed and excited, couldn't wait to see the ballroom with a genuine smile on her face.
Maddie noticed and pointed out "Why Heather that's the first time I've seen you so happy!" Out of the corner of her eye Heather could see Alejandro raise an eyebrow, clearly interested.
Trying to cover up Heather went "Well if the ballroom is a dusty as you guys say it is I've have to take a look, right?" hoping they fell for it. As they continued walking for what seemed like hours to Heather, Heather finally asked "How much longer Maddie?!"
"Oh calm down Heather we're almost there" Maddie answered. Heather noticed everything seemed to grow more older as they moved deeper and deeper into the east wing. The paintings showed many people, probably ancestors. The wallpaper become more intricate, showing more delicate detail. And the lights went from lamps to candle holders.
How long has it been since people even lived in the east wing anyway? Heather thought. It was a lot older than any other part of the house but it was also more interesting too.
But Heather's daydreaming of the east wing were abruptly stopped by Esmerelda starting to sneeze, loudly she might add. I guess Esmerelda is allergic to dust?
Maddie then stopped at two huge doors and told everyone they had finally made it. Yes! Heather excitedly thought, she couldn't wait to see the ballroom. It couldn't be as bad as Maddie said it was.
Boy was Heather wrong. The ballroom was huge no doubt, but it really was a dusty as Maddie said it was. There were also cob webs everywhere. "Here" Maddie said handing Heather and the others a cleaning mask. "Trust me you're gonna need it if you plan on walking into that room" Maddie said.
Heather then tightly tied the mask around her mouth and nose. She then took a deep breath and took one step into the ballroom.
The smell was overwhelming. Oh god Heather thought. She tried her best to stay calm and deal with it as she walked more slowly with each step until she was in the center of the room.
Trying to put the horrible smell out of her brain she thought to herself If this place really can be cleaned in one week or so this could be a great place for the ball crossing her arms.
When Heather had successfully made it out of the ballroom, she ripped the mask off and gasped for fresh air. Coughing Heather said between gasps "Maddie *gasp* was not kidding *gasp* about the dust *gasp* was she?". "I'm afraid not Heather" Alano said looking worried.
Heather's eyes were stinging from all the dust so she quickly dropped down to the ground trying to relax. Concerned Alejandro carefully lifted Heather up and told the others "I'm going to get Heather to her room, then we can figure out what to do with the ballroom". With that Alejandro started walking away with Heather in his arms.
Heather couldn't believe this was happening, or more accurately she couldn't believe she was letting this happen. Still in a coughing fit Heather asked Alejandro to put her down. Alejandro just ignored the request but said "All the dust made you weak and tired, you need to relax and drink some water"
Heather still feeling dazed from the smell, retorted back "Well I don't need any help from you, like I don't know that" When in truth she hadn't known that at all. She thought maybe just relaxing for a few minutes would help her feel better but now she just felt worse and worse.
Heather slowly felt worse and worse with every passing minute as Alejandro made his way to the west wing. When they finally reached Heather's room Alejandro carefully placed Heather on the bed. He then left the room to get her a cup of water.
Oh god that room is a health hazard Heather thought groggily. She slowly crawled under the blankets of her bed hoping to fall asleep. But before she could Alejandro returned into the room with aspirin and a glass of water.
Alejandro tried to hand her the aspirin saying "Heather I know you must want to go to sleep but you need to take this". Childly Heather asked under the covers "Do I have to?". Heather could hear Alejandro chuckling as he answered "Yes, you have to".
"Ugh fine then" Heather said as she lifted her head from underneath. She then grabbed the aspirin put it into her mouth then gulped down the water. Oh god ugh please let that make me feel better soon. As if Alejandro was reading Heather's mind he reassured her saying "Don't worry you'll be feeling fine in an hour or so".
Feeling grateful Heather muttered "Thanks" even though it was very unlike her to show gratitude, Heather was grateful. Though Heather instantly regretted it when Alejandro slightly surprised said "What's this? Heather is being nice to me?" smiling with his cocky grin.
"I am most honored to be thanked by you" placing a hand over his heart. Rolling her eyes Heather placed her head on her pillow again and closed her eyes showing Alejandro that she wanted him to leave.
Alejandro did not leave. He just sat there for a few more minutes. What is he doing? Isn't he going to leave? Eyes still closed Heather could hear Alejandro get up but instead of leaving right away, he slowly got closer to Heather's face.
Heather started blushing, and prayed that he couldn't tell. He then leaned in and kissed Heather on her forehead. This caught Heather off guard, and she just lay there eyes still closed as Alejandro pulled away and went on stroking her cheek before turning to leave.
When the door shut Heather just lay there, blushing way too much. That.. why did he do that? It was really sweet that he went and got her the medicine and the water. She could feel her head clearing up too but what about the kiss on her forehead? Why did she let him do that?!
Heather hated to admit it but she really liked it. It sent shivers down her spine, especially when he stroked her cheek.
Laying there Heather just kept thinking about what happened until she actually fell asleep.
When she did wake up her head felt heavy. Groaning she got up and walked to the bathroom mirror. When she looked at herself she saw that she was unintentionally still blushing. Really? How the hell is that even possible?
She yawned walking out and sitting at her chair. She then opened up her laptop to check how everyone has been doing. What she got was really not surprising at all.
Before Heather left, she had asked that Gwen watch her cat. "Really? All you want me to do is watch a cat?" Gwen asked clearly surprised for such an easy task. "Be careful, trust me, you may think it's easy but just wait and see" Heather warned. Laughing Gwen went "I think I can deal with a cat Heather, especially one like yours". "Fine fine, just do not tell me I didn't warn you" Heather said playfully.
Looking through her emails, she could see that Gwen had left at least 5 emails about Bart. But by far the funniest one was : Okay Heather what planet did your cat come from cuse it sure isn't Earth! For god sake's he's been meowing in the bathroom for 4 straight hours! How do I make it stop?!
Laughing to herself Heather wrote up a reply email saying : Did you leave the window open? Trust me he wouldn't dare step out the window but he loves the view it has. From now on just keep the window open and he should stop meowing.
Clicking the send icon, Heather snickered to herself. Poor Gwen! Gwen should have known that someone like Heather would naturally have a high maintenance cat!
Feeling better Heather stretched her arms and legs before she headed out the door. When she did the first thing she noticed was how.. quiet it was.. Usually Esmerelda would be talking, loudly, on the phone. Or she would be blasting a hairdryer. Either way the house is usually filled with some noise made by Esmerelda.
Walking down the steps, Heather could hear Maddie in the kitchen and since she seemed to be the only one here, Heather went up and asked her where everyone went.
Maddie replied with "Oh well Esmerelda wanted to show Alano Spain and made him and Alejandro come with her to some shopping mall" A shopping mall? How can that possibly represent a whole country? Honestly Esmerelda could be Lindsay's sister sometimes.
Sighing Heather said "Well if it's just us two I guess I'll just travel around Bracelona for a while". Running back into her room Heather fixed her hair, put on another sun dress, this one being yellow. When she was ready, she grabbed her bag and shouted before she left "If anyone asks where I went just tell them I'll be back be back soon, okay?" "Alright" Maddie shouted back.
Well what should I do? This could either be very boring or very interesting. Heather thought walking down the pebble road when she suddenly realized it would be a lot easier to go through the employee entrance.
Going around the back and turning left, Heather found the door and began to turn the handle when she spotted Ricardo pruning a bush. Ricardo is a local right? Maybe he can show me around!
Shouting Heather said "Hey Ricardo!", Ricardo heard Heather and turned his head to look at her, smiling. Ricardo then put down the pruning shear and ran up to Heather.
"Hey Heather! Going out?" Ricardo asked. "Yeah I was wondering if you would show me around? Everyone but Maddie is gone" Heather asked. Thinking Ricardo said "Sure why not? Come on I'll show you some great stuff you can find locally here, no tourist allowed"
Heather was relieved they wouldn't have to hang around some dumb tourist sight while a man is wearing a stupid flower shirt, and snapping a photo at everything he saw. Walking for 30 minutes, they made their way to a little bakery.
"Oh you'll love this Heather! Wait here!" Ricardo shouted as he ran inside. Today isn't as bad as I thought it would be.. Heather thought as Ricardo ran back with bread.
"Here you go" Ricardo said handing her the bread. "What is this?" Heather asked curiously. It looked strange, very soft yet firm, and smelled spicy and sweet. "It's a local bread my grandmother makes", pointing he said "That's her shop, the one I just ran into".
"Am I going to like it?" Heather asking growing skeptical just looking at it. Raising an eyebrow Ricardo said "Are you going to disrespect my grandmother's bread making? Come one just eat some" playfully grinning.
Rolling her eyes Heather said "Whatever I'll have some of your grandmother's weird bread ugh" as she took a bite. When she did she was really impressed, the bread was soft and chewy but the nuts made it crunchy. It wasn't only the smell but the tastes were slightly spicy with plenty of sweetness.
Heather didn't know why but she spoke a little Spanish saying "Dios mio". Yes the bread was that good. Ricardo nodded his head saying "Now you see why I was offended when you questioned my grandmother's baking skills?" "Okay okay I take it all back" Heather said taking another bite.
"Well I'm glad you like the bread so much but an hour is as long as I can have as a break, we better hurry back" Ricardo urged pulling Heather down the sidewalk. A few minutes passed until Ricardo looked at Heather. He looked very nervous about something. Playing with his necklace, Ricardo asked looking at Heather, "H-Heather can I ask you something?"
"Shoot" Heather said not really paying attention, she was still eating some of the amazing bread. "Look this is really important and I need your full attention when I ask you this.." Ricardo said seriously. Surprised Heather turned to look at Ricardo, he was acting strange and nervous.. I wonder what's wrong?
Author's Note: Oopsy daisy! I left all of you on a cliff hanger :D What will happen next?!