Belle

Meeting the Prince

Belle

I wake up on the hotel bed to see Beast on the twin, playing a game on his phone and cursing under his breath when he dies. "Morning" I yawn at him. Seeing his face without the scowl as he turns to face me gives me all types of shivers. "Good morning sleepyhead" He responds before turning back to the game.

I sit up and stretch, wincing slightly as my feet brush the ground as I sit up. "If you're showering put plastic bags over your feet so the gauze doesn't get wet. I'll change the dressing later" he says almost nonchalantly.

"Okay, thank you Beast. Really" I stand and awkwardly hobble. Whilst I close the door I swear I almost see him smile. But I don't think my eyes could take in something that dazzling quite honestly.

Following his instructions, I tuck plastic bags over my feet and hairband them on before taking the liberty of using the included shampoo, conditioner and soap. Once I'm certain the dirt from my lawn is fully off of me I get out and then face my next struggle. I don't really want to wear my muddy, sweaty clothes again.

"Belle? I've left some clothes right outside the door. They're mine but I had spares so..." he trails off as I smile to myself, chest constricting slightly weirdly. The black button up is way too big for me and the black boxer shorts are basically everyday shorts as I wear them over my own underwear with the good old inside out trick. "Didn't peg you as a boxer shorts kinda guy"

"I'm not, they were the only ones the hotel sold and I thought you wouldn't want to wear mine, freshly washed or not" he states as I come out, plaiting my wet hair away from my face.

"You're right, and I don't think boxer briefs would be quite so shorts like. You do wear boxer briefs right? You just seem like the type" I shrug

"Wow. All hail the underwear mystic. Yeah, you're somehow right." he shrugs, me air punching despite having an underlying sense of being weirded out by playful Beast.

"So I've talked to our headmistress and she said because we're only a few days off the Christmas holidays and we're 18 year old seniors and therefore both adults, we're allowed to be off campus for a week extra if we take these days off as vacation. I haven't stayed off campus in so long I don't know what to do with myself. And Fifi mentioned that you didn't want to have to stay on campus for Christmas either but she didn't tell me why" He shrugs

"I'll tell you someday but I don't want to drag the mood down. We have two weeks where we can do anything we want! I just need to message my father and ask for my Christmas money present early I guess." I shrug, but when I reach for my phone on the dresser Beast takes it away.

"No way, listen I'm not tactful so I'm just gonna come out with it. You need that money don't you? Well it just so happens I have a shit ton of money myself and I'd be more than willing to share" Beast raises a brow in question.

"No. You're not paying for me. My pride won't allow it. I'll feel like I'm taking advantage of you" I determine, setting my jaw.

"Okay... your pride won't allow you to just take the money huh? How about I make you work for it?" he asks. My gesture encourages him to continue

"You see, I feel like because it's my last year of school I should get Annie and everyone a present to say thank you and I'd like the assistance of a female opinion" Wow, he sure knows how to tempt a lady. Now let's think this through. I offer my opinion and he pays for my food for two weeks. It still seems unfair on him, even if he does have the money.

"I can basically just see the cogs turning in your head. You haven't been shopping with me before, it is an actual job in itself and I'd normally pay vast amounts for the help" He teasingly adds.

"Okay, I'm in but you have to let me pay you back when I can. For pride's sake" I ask. He shrugs "Doesn't make a difference to me but okay, I'll give you a tab and 20 years to pay it off. How does that sound?" he asks

"Perfect"

"Good. Now do you have the keys to your house? I have a feeling you'll be more comfortable there than here" I'm still getting used to Beast with a neutral face. It's not something I feel like I'll be getting used to but it's something that seems to happen outside of school. For him, I realise, it's a toxic environment. Everyone has an image of what he's like that he can't or won't change their minds about, and he's entirely overqualified to graduate to the point where he's teaching classes instead of taking them but his own parents won't let him leave. His only escape seems to be the little family he's created of staff there.

"Sure"

I get to my feet and shuffle awkwardly to collect the carrier bag of my gross clothes before yelping as Beast picks me up effortlessly. He smells so good in a super weird way, like tobacco without the smoke. I know that he doesn't smoke because our room would be stunk out with the scent. My dad used to smoke so I quite like the scent anyway, reminds me of my childhood, but it means I know this is different.

"Do you really think you can walk that far right now?" He asks slightly humorously as he carefully positions me to carry me bridal style, our belongings on my belly. It's weirdly intimate as our relationship has been very formal tutoring so far and now he's carrying me as though I'm light as a feather. We get a very strange look from the man in the elevator with us.

"Don't you normally carry the girl into the room? Not out?" He questions. I'm slightly taken aback by his comment, looking down at my sock clad feet. "This one's a little princess" Beast plays along, ignoring the dirty look I shoot him when the man just laughs and walks out the elevator before I can correct him. Checking out is also awkward as he doesn't set me down and instead carries my weight on one arm as he signs with his left. I have no clue how he makes it all seem so effortless. Once I'm safely deposited in his car, I turn to face him. "That was utterly embarrassing for me" I grit out.

"It amused me princess" He replies but I hear the playful edge in his voice. I roll my eyes and then look at what he's wearing.

"If you're staying here for a couple of weeks you might want to buy some more inconspicuous clothes." I point out, realising how out of place he'll look in my house in his school uniform. "If you trust me, I can get you some clothes to be delivered here later. You just need to pay" I look up at him innocently. He shrugs

"Whatever".

Payback's a bitch, and with that I pull out my phone and browse a website I know well.