Chapter Six - You Can't Be Serious

“I have no trouble with my enemies. I can take care of my enemies in a fight. But my friends, my goddamned friends, they’re the ones who keep me walking the floor at night!” ~Warren G. Harding


Chapter Six: You Can’t Be Serious

EPOV

I couldn’t get that girl out of my head. This was very unusual for me. I had never in my life had so much of my attention focused on one single girl. It wasn’t even like she was the most beautiful or alluring female I had ever met. Not to mention the fact that I had barely spoken with her and the brief conversation we did have wasn’t anything to base a very informed impression of. If fact, if I were to go by first impressions alone, she wouldn’t be rated very well. She had stuttered, blushed, stammered, and fled.

But there was just something about her. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Then there was the introduction of the mystery girl that Jasper and Emmett kept yammering about all night. It made me uneasy to think that there was a very real possibility that the girl that drove that disgrace of a truck was the very same girl I couldn’t get off my mind. She was an enigma and a puzzle. If anything, I could say she had piqued my curiosity.

I had woken up this morning with a vague dissatisfaction of where my life was heading. I wasn’t looking forward to classes starting next week, and I wasn’t looking forward to being trapped. But if I were to be honest with myself, I had to admit that I had little choice in the matter. I decided that if I was going to try and make the best of it, the first thing I needed to do was find an outlet here on campus.

Jasper was sitting on the couch watching ESPN when I came out of the bedroom. He was already dressed for the day and I didn’t want to know how long he had already been up. It wasn’t that I didn’t care, I just wasn’t really a morning person. He looked over at me briefly and gave a nod to acknowledge me before turning back to the TV. I noticed coffee on the table and trudged my way over, silently thanking the Gods that Jasper was a morning person.

After I had finished about half my cup, I was alert enough to have a decent conversation with someone. I walked over and sat down next to him on the couch. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“No problem man. I know how you are in the morning, so I figured I might as well make it easier for you. Besides, it gave me a chance to roam for awhile this morning.”

I glanced over at the clock and realized that it was already nearly 9. He must have been up for a few hours already. “Oh yeah? Find anything you liked?”

“There’s a bakery not too far from here. That’s where I got the coffee.” He had a far off look in his eye, which was normal for Jasper, but the fact that he didn’t elaborate more wasn’t.

“Find anything else, other than the bakery?”

“Well, I noticed a couple girls leaving the bakery when I was heading in that direction…” a loud crash from the bedroom cut him off. It was followed by Emmett shouting and swearing. Jasper and I exchanged a look before we started laughing. Emmett came barging out of the room looking extremely grumpy and he had a red mark on the side of his face. Realizing that we must have been laughing at him, he shot us a glare.

“What the fuck are you girls laughing about?”

Jasper recovered first, “Well good morning to you too, Sunshine.”

“Fuck you.”

“Aww Emmy, what’s the matter?” Jasper was using a baby voice, which only made me laugh harder.

“Beds in this goddamn place are made for midgets, that’s what’s the matter!” Emmett roared at us. “Man my size needs a bigger bed. I could hardly sleep last night trying to get comfortable in that tiny thing. Then this morning, all I was trying to do was roll over and I fucking fell right out of the bed.” That explained the red mark on his face. And his sour mood. He wasn’t nearly as amused as we were. “Ooh, is that coffee?” He stomped off to the table to grab a cup for himself.

“So, what did you guys have in mind for today?” I asked after we had settled down some.

“I don’t know. But I’m hungry.” Emmett was whining, so he must not have damaged his head too much in the fall.

“You’re always hungry Emmett, tell us something we don’t know.”

“Just shut up and decide where we’re going to get food.” He took his coffee back in the bedroom to get ready.

“He’s such a baby.” Jasper nodded his agreement, but still didn’t say much. “So Jazz, you were about to tell me about some girls.”

“Oh, it was nothing really. Just saw a couple girls leaving the bakery, like I said.”

“And?”

“And what? They were heading in the opposite direction of me.”

“What did she look like?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I told you there were two of them.”

“Yeah, but if you’re still this caught up, one of them has your attention.”

“One of them was blonde. Tall and blonde. Statuesque, I guess you’d say. From a distance, she looked like a runway model.” I knew that wasn’t the one that he had noticed. Jasper liked smaller girls. He was tall himself, so he liked feeling like the protector.

“And the other?” I looked over in time to see him blush. I knew now that he was going to develop a thing for whoever the other girl was. Jasper only blushed when he felt too deeply. Being as charismatic as he was, he generally had excellent control over his emotions.

“There really wasn’t that much to her. I didn’t get a good look from as far away as I was.” He was avoiding now too… a dead giveaway. I couldn’t help but laugh at his discomfort.

“Come on man, I know what’s about to happen. You might as well tell me.”

“She was little, okay. Really little. Hard to tell from the distance, but probably no more that five feet. She had really short, inky black hair. And she had a spring in her step. Almost like she was bouncing around.” He trailed off and got that far off look in his eye again. He was a goner. And he didn’t even know her name.

“How are you going to find her?”

He groaned in frustration. “That’s just it. I don’t know. By the time I came out of my daze, they had turned the corner and were gone. What if I never find her Edward?” He started to panic. I chuckled and he sent me a glowering look.

“There are plenty of other girls Jasper. But who knows, you could get lucky and see her again really soon.”


We walked around the campus all day, just wanting to familiarize ourselves with our new home. At least for the next 9 months or so, before we had to go back to Chicago. I didn’t want to think about that though, so I pushed it as far out of my mind as I could. I still needed to find something here where I could relax and calm down.

I looked up and immediately noticed the Hopkins Center. I knew from my research of the campus that this was where the Music Department was located. I wondered vaguely if they had practice rooms and decided it would be worth checking out. It was on the opposite side of the campus from the Medical School, but still not too far from my dorm.

After making arrangements to meet back up with the guys later for dinner, I made my way into the building. I just had to know if there was a piano here I could use. I walked around the building for an hour, marveling at the beauty around me. This was where I belonged.

I wound my way around, still dazed by my discovery when my breath came up short. Right here, in front of me was my salvation. An information board with details on getting practice space.

What I found both renewed my spirits and dashed them at the same time. There were practice rooms available for use by the students. Eleven in total, and four of them with grand pianos. The only downside was that in order to use a grand piano, I either had to be a Music Major or a student taking piano lessons.

The cost of the lessons wasn’t what bothered me. What bothered me was the fact that I didn’t need lessons from anyone. While an upright piano would do in a bind, it wasn’t what my soul desired. The sound made by an upright was no comparison to a grand piano.

I debated for only a few moments before making up my mind. I would do whatever necessary to ensure I had a key to a practice room with a grand. Nothing else would do. It was what I needed, what I craved. It was the only thing that would help me make it through the torture I would have to endure here.

I got the information I needed from the Administrative Assistant in the front office and walked out with a much lighter step. I knew I had made the right choice for me. I would worry about the consequences later.


We decided to go to Murphy’s on the Green. It was a restaurant/pub that wasn’t too far from campus. In fact, it was just on the outskirts of campus, so it was a perfect spot. We sat in the bar area so we could watch football on the big screen. It was still pre-season, but it looked like the Bears might actually have a real chance this year.

We debated and talked about the team and what we felt would make them better. Lovie Smith was obviously still a good choice for Head Coach in my opinion. Although I wished we still had Mike Ditka, there wasn’t much that could be done about the man being fired all those years ago. We all agreed that those were the glory days, even if Ditka did seem to have some sort of meltdown.

We continued to talk about their chances, and what the Super Bowl loss in 2006 had done to us. It was a black day indeed, for all Chicago fans. On one hand, I wanted to cheer that Manning had finally won a Super Bowl. Even if he wasn’t a Bear, I still liked the guy as a player. I just couldn’t believe that he had taken the win from my beloved Bears.

As the night wore on, talk moved from football, to girls, to life. I told them about my find at the Hopkins Center and they were both wide-eyed at my plan. Both knew that I may have to face the wrath of Carlisle, and they tried to reason with me, telling me that if I pissed him off he might make a trip here in person. Nothing would sway me though. He might have control over what classes I was going to take, but he had no control over my free time.

My mind was made up and nothing anyone could say or do would change it. I was feeling pretty good, thinking fate had finally smiled on me. I would give Carlisle what he wanted, at least for the next couple years, and then I would go my own way. Even better, I wouldn’t have to give up my music completely. It really was a red letter day for me. To top things off, I thought about that girl again and the feelings she had invoked in me.

No one, in all my memory at least, had made me feel the warmth she had. While I was still wary about love and commitment, perhaps I had found someone that could understand me. There had to be something there. Even God wasn’t merciless enough to finally make me feel only to have that someone refuse me. Now all I had to do was find her and charm her. Surely there was no way that she could snub me. Society had yet to show me a girl who was resistant to me.

As I was sitting there thinking about her, I started to feel an odd tingling sensation down my spine. It felt like I had gotten to close to a live wire. It wasn’t painful, but more of an odd feeling. It felt a lot like when I had touched that girl’s hand. A jolt of knowledge. Of recognition. Certainly not recognition in the sense that I knew her, but that somehow my soul was attached to hers.

Suddenly Emmett started laughing again. “Well looky looky Jasper. If it isn’t the hottie herself, in the flesh. And she has some fine looking friends with her too.”

I knew who he was talking about immediately. This was the girl with that horrendous truck. As soon as I turned around, I would be able to brush off that sinking feeling that I was longing for some poverty ridden girl. Fate couldn’t be that cruel.

I turned slowly in my seat and gasped. “You can’t be serious. There is no fucking way.” I just kept shaking my head over and over, trying to rid myself of the awful notion. Fate was indeed a cruel and heartless bitch. There before me, in all her glory, was the girl from the stairwell. I could only sit there and gape.

“What the hell’s gotten into you?” Emmett was still laughing, but I could see he was also checking out the girls that were making their way to the door.

“Life can’t be that cruel, can it?”

“What are you blabbing on about Edward?”

“That girl. The one with the brown hair. Surely she’s not the one with the truck, right?”

“Yep. The one and only. I told you she was hot.”

Hot was an understatement. Had I really thought that she wasn’t that beautiful? Had I said she wasn’t all that alluring? Because I was wrong. Dead wrong. On both counts. She was a vision. An angel perhaps. She was splendor and magnificence all wrapped up in a pretty little package. And the package, oh dear Lord the package.

Her jeans hugged her curves to perfection, highlighting her long shapely legs. Her tiny feet were encased in little black slippers. But her shirt nearly made my tongue wag. It was a deep blue color that looked fantastic with her skin tone. It seemed to make her glow. It dipped down in the front and gave me a wonderful view of her pert little breasts. I was sure I would start drooling soon. Aphrodite had nothing on her.

She had a lost look on her face. Like she wasn’t very sure of herself or her surroundings. But she had a small smile gracing her pouty lips nonetheless. It was a wicked smile, but still oozed innocence. She had no idea the effect she was having on me. Hell, she didn’t even know I was here.

Just then, I noticed one of the other girls point over in our direction. The goddess glanced over and her eyes grew wide with trepidation. The lost look was gone, but in its place was a deer in the headlights look. I distinctly saw her mouth form the words, “Oh no. Please God not again,” before she turned and fled with the other two hot on her heels. I was barely aware enough to notice them pile into a bright yellow Porsche before it whisked away, and she was gone.

Emmett’s booming laugh was what brought me out of my trance. I was still shaking my head, which was clouded with lust and longing. I could see him saying something, but my mind wouldn’t wrap itself around the words. He reached over and thumped me on the back, hard enough to topple a grizzly. I’m not sure how I remained upright, but my head was finally clear.

“What the hell was that for asshole?” I snarled at him.

“You looked a little shell shocked man. Much like Jasper does right now. I’m gonna have to thump him too.” I moved away a little, hoping that Jasper didn’t fall out of his chair. But he too was able to keep himself composed.

“You two want to tell me why you look like you’ve been struck by lightning?” I wanted to smack the smirk off his face, but I was afraid he was right. Jasper spoke up first.

“It was her Edward.” Confusion set in. What was he talking about? Hadn’t we already established that the goddess was the one with the truck?

“Yes, I know Jasper. I’m smart enough to realize that she’s the one with that damn truck.” Now it was his turn to be confused.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the girl you saw last night, the one getting out of that wreck. The hottie in the truck? Remember?” What the hell was his deal?

“Oh. Of course. Yes, that was her. But that’s not who I was talking about before. The little one that was with her, she’s the one from the bakery this morning.” Ah, realization dawned on me. That’s why Jasper was dazed. He had seen his girl again, and by some weird stroke of luck, she had been with my girl.

“Well it seems I was right about your luck. You saw her again.” He had that frustrated look on his face again.

“But I still didn’t get her name, or even talk to her for that matter. Do you know how lucky I would have to be to find her again? Twice in one day was chance, it would have to be fate to see her a third time so soon.” I could see his point. But with a campus this small, it shouldn’t be too hard to find a yellow 911 Turbo.

When I pointed that out to him, a grin stretched across his face. He finally had a way to find her. I knew he’d come up with a plan. My only problem now was how I was going to find that girl again. I had to talk to her. Suddenly her truck didn’t matter so much. I just had to talk to her.

Emmett was rambling on about the ‘buxom blonde’ that was with her and talking about how incredible it was to find three such extremely attractive girls all together. When he realized he wasn’t getting any comments from me he asked what was on my mind.

I told them briefly about my encounter with the truck girl in the stairwell, causing much laughter and rude commentary. “So, you knocked down a hot girl in the stairwell and didn’t even get her name?” Emmett was cracking up at the irony of who she was.

I wanted to smack him, but even more I wanted to smack myself for my ineptitude. He was right. I had been lying on top of her, feeling her body pressed to mine, and I didn’t even get her name. I was a moron.

As we drove back to the dorm, we made plans on how we would find them. Emmett wanted the blonde, of course, and Jasper was trying to come up with a plan to find the Porsche. I already knew that she lived in our dorm, I just need to come up with a plan to find out where in our dorm.

We pulled into the lot, each of us filled with different kinds of hope and wonder when I heard Jasper’s sudden intake of breath. I glanced over in the direction he was looking and started laughing. There, across the lot, parked next to the truck was a bright yellow car. It must be fate indeed.