Fairytale

2.

Alfie

Waiting, for her, to open the door, was like waiting for the calm after an earthquake. Tense. Nerve-racking. Couldn't get here bloody quick enough.

When the hazel, oak door finally did open, the beautiful blonde I was expecting turned out to be a half naked blonde . . . guy, instead. Shame.

He was one of Gabriella's brothers. His name was Jacob, I believe. Jacob or Ross - I always mix those two up. It's the shaggy, platinum hair that makes the pair so alike.

Jacob shook his hair out of his narrowed eyes, and looked me up and down, furrowing his eyebrows. I almost chuckled. Here he was, looking at me like I was something he scraped off the wheel of his precious Mini Cooper, whilst he was stood in front of a stranger in only his boxers and socks, a greasy looking hot dog in one hand and a TV remote in the other. And the Beauvais family were supposed to be dignified . . .

"I have got the right address, right? Miss Gabriella Beauvais's house?" I inquired, looking down at my slip of paper.

Jacob muttered his confirmation, whilst splattering soggy pieces of sausage drenched in mustard, onto my uniform.

"Well it's not her house, but yes, she lives here" he grunted. There were red circles under his eyes, and uneven stubble decorated his chin. He looked like death.

"Cool. These are her flowers, I'm delivering them" I explained, holding out the bouquet, as if they weren't obvious enough. Jacob just swallowed his mouthful and walked away from the door, leaving it wide open.

"Just, put them on the side . . . yes, right there" he instructed, gesturing to the island in the middle of the kitchen.

Looking around, I was in awe of how majestic, and massive this house was. From the outside it appeared huge, and inside, it was twice as big as I could ever of imagined it.

"Hey, you're that Edwards boy, right? Um, Alan? Alfred?" Jacob asked, pointing at me, as he approached. His expression had changed from one of utter idleness, to one of complete interest.

"Alfie, yeah."

Jacob grinned, and I tried my best not to flinch. The sight of chewed bread and meat all mingled together with the blinding yellow of mustard seeping out of his lips was incredibly unpleasant.

"You know, Ella hasn't stopped talking about you since she came back from your shop."

I was stunned, too taken aback to be flattered. "She . . . she hasn't?" I stuttered, wondering if this was some sort of cruel wind-up.

"It's rather pathetic, really" he sneered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. I caught a whiff of his armpits as he moved, and Jesus, that guy needs a shower. Desperately.

"She was all 'oh my God, he knew my name', and 'oh my God, he remembered we had English together', and 'oh my God, he's just so gorgeous'."

He was putting on this stereotypically girly voice, I suspect was supposed to be his sister. I was over the moon she talked about me, but I wasn't sure if I appreciated how her own brother was perfectly okay with telling me all this.

But, did she really think I was gorgeous?

"I mentioned him one time, Jacob, and that was to say he was coming over!" cried a feminine voice from the top of the stairs. I couldn't help but smile.

Footsteps followed, and soon I found myself face to face with Gabriella again. She somehow looked even more breath-taking than she did earlier - and she had damp hair.

She blushed when she saw me, and focused her attention on her brother. Her expression contorted into one of disgust, as she took a step back.

"Jesus, Jacob, put some clothes on!" she choked, wafting her hand in front of the nose, as if she was batting of the smell. "Actually, have a shower first. It smells like something's died in here!"

Jacob laughed to himself, and just stalked off in the direction of the bathroom, which I believe was upstairs.

Gabriella turned back to me, and gave me an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry about him. His girlfriend broke up with him yesterday. This is his grieving stage - he'll shake out of soon. Hopefully."

I chuckled.

Suddenly, I saw Gabriella's expression change. Her beautiful blue eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. She slowly paced forward, and nervously reached out a hand to touch the flowers.

You see, I figured those tulips were to little a present for her graduation. So, I swapped the order for a bouquet of pastel coloured roses. Pinks and creams.

She was positively shocked, and couldn't believe what was in front of her.

"Alfie . . . I didn't . . . I can't . . . why?" she spluttered, unable to tear her eyes away from the flowers.

"Why? Because I figured it's your graduation, and you should get what you want, not some constellation prize" I told her, smiling.

She looked at me with such adulation, I felt my heart stop, and I was almost certain the world just froze around us.

"But, you didn't have to" she tried to say, but I stopped her.

"Listen, I don't care what you say, those tulips were nowhere near good enough for you. You deserve so much more than a bunch of measly tulips, okay? Consider this a graduation gift from me."

She smiled so brightly, and this time, she didn't look away. She held her gaze on my eyes, and as did I. I resisted the urge to kiss her.

Gabriella broke away, and reached for her purse which was laying on the countertop.

"So, how much do I owe you?"

I placed a hand on hers, forcing the purse shut, shaking my head. Her skin was so cold.

"No, no, I don't need any money. I bought these, for you. Seeing your reaction, that's all I need. Really."

Before she could object, I flashed her a warm smile, and headed towards the door. As I fumbled with the lock, I heard sounds of distress behind me.

Turning my head, I watched as Gabriella - clutching the vase of flowers in both hands, carefully not to spill any water - struggled to climb the stairs.

Grinning to myself, I bound over to assist her. She looked surprised, but smiled all the same. I took the vase from her hands, the weight of it nothing compared to the hefty boxes I lifted on a daily basis at work.

"If you follow me, I'll show you where my room is" she muttered. Behind the flowers, I could see that she was blushing, brightly.

"I'm behind you, every step of the way" I assured her, and we began the ascent to her bedroom.