Belle

The memory

Belle

"Have you read 'Pride and Prejudice?" I look up from my bed, surprised he not only addressed me first but was actually wanting to talk instead of get tutored. "If I tell you the truth do you promise not to laugh?" I ask him. His eyes roll from his own book to mine

"When have you ever seen me laugh?" He questions. Fair enough. I shrug

"Technically no. I read a rewrite and it included a lot of the original, Pride and Prejudice... and Zombies" I blush, looking up at him shyly.

I can practically see his resolve trying not to crumble as his lips twitch and eyes shine. He chokes on a snort and suddenly starts having a coughing fit.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" I ask, rushing to his side with a bottle of water from our mini fridge. "I'm sorry it's just" he coughs some more "That's kinda fucking hilarious" he looks up at me with amused eyes "You're like this ethereal, otherworldly being and then all of a sudden I find out you won't read classic literature unless it has zombies of all things in it" he bites his lip to stop a grin forming.

I blush magenta however "I am definitely not how you describe me but even then, who doesn't like a good zombie book now and again huh?" I tease slightly, seeing him shake his head good naturedly "You're something else Isabelle" He says, but the way he says it is somewhat flattering and as a result I feel my heart pitter patter in my chest.

In the moment I didn't know what that meant honestly. I just thought it was surprise at him even acknowledging me, but honestly that's when he started coming out of his shell. Depression isn't something you can come out of instantly. Nor is it something that a certain person can bring you out of, so I'll rid you of that romantic notion of me and Beast. No, I'm just here for him to lean on.

That's entirely on him, but between me and you, I think he's starting to improve.

Beast

Isabelle. Belle. Belle means beautiful and that's something she certainly is. Though there's so much more to her. Her soul is more beautiful than her appearance even. She's funny, kind to others, well educated and patient. She's everything I've ever needed without even knowing it. She makes me want to act like everything's normal when I'm with her. She lets me forget all the fucked up shit in my life even for just a minute and that's something I never even considered possible.

A little miracle who is my exact opposite.

I stare at myself in the hairdressers mirror as they cut my way too long hair to just below my chin, being much more manageable but also able to put up still. I'm her opposite.

Everywhere she goes she brings beauty and happiness and warmth. Whereas I bring only fear and anger, my outer cold exterior a coping mechanism to not allow anyone to get close enough to hurt me more than my family already have. And beautiful? The remnants are still there in my features but my natural face is a scowl. An ugly, mean scowl which is staring back at myself in the mirror.

Belle is the only one who can bring out a smile in me, even if it's at her expense frankly, like that time where she was sat looking mortified on the benches with all those reconciling couples. That was hilarious. I can't bring myself to smile at my own reflection, at what I've become. Instead I thank the hairdresser without looking at myself for too long and push my hair behind my ear on one side as I go off to find the ball of happiness that is Belle in the bookstore. I find her sat on a couch, feet tucked under her and crutches discarded as she's so deeply absorbed into the book she's reading.

I allow this time to just drink her in like a tall glass of water.

With her creamy pale skin that my hands are just dying to touch, controlled brown waves springing from her head down to her slim waist. The high planes of her cheekbones, her curious hazel eyes, her fuller bottom lip. Her long legs... her slender neck. She's just too good to be true, especially as her eyes look up to meet mine and her face dissolves into a content smile.

"I found the real pride and prejudice" She waves the book at me teasingly. I remember that conversation well and laugh slightly.

I've been sneaking looks at her over my book, perfectly in eye line with me are her elegant legs, exposed in the shorts she's chosen to wear seemingly just to draw my eye. I don't want to get too close, I can't help but feel like the Mr Darcy to her Cathy.

"Have you ever read Pride and Prejudice?" I suddenly blurt. She looks up at me with surprise written on her face at my interaction. I try to keep it at a low. Gary always manages to convince them to leave so why get attached when she could leave at any second? I return my eyes to my book, cursing my stupidity. But to my surprise, she responds.

"If I tell you the truth do you promise not to laugh?". My eyes rise from the words I've looked at a million times over without actually reading.

"When have you ever seen me laugh?"I ask, straight faced but thinking back to the first assembly back, that was gold, she looked so panicked.

She rolls her shoulders slightly as if preparing herself. "Technically no. I read a rewrite and it included a lot of the original, Pride and Prejudice... and Zombies" she blushes and I try not to let my resolve crumble.

This little angelic woman sitting before me has a guilty pleasure... for zombies. I try to hold a laugh from escaping but a snort escapes unattractively, making me entirely choke on air. She rushes to my side though, instead of laughing, passing me some water and gently patting my back.

"I'm sorry it's just" I manage to get out before my cough comes in the place of laughter "That's kinda fucking hilarious"I manage out honestly as my coughing dies down. I then catch what I'm saying and realise she's cracking my shell. So I try recovering with blabbering, which as you'd guess doesn't go very well.

"You're like this ethereal, otherworldly being and then all of a sudden I find out you won't read classic literature unless it has zombies of all things in it" I can't believe I just confessed that to her. I must be going mad. I have to bite my lip to stop myself from blurting anything else. Like about the fact her ass is currently eye-line with me.

"I am definitely not how you describe me but even then, who doesn't like a good zombie book now and again huh?" her face is a violent pink and yet she still manages to play it off cool somehow. I look up at this girl, realising quite how interesting she actually is. What else has she got to hide? I kind of want to know. "You're something else Isabelle".

But... she's too good to go for a boy like me. I'm fucked up, the negativity to her positivity. Then what was that moment in the car? Her eyes didn't leave my lips, and quite frankly I've never kissed anyone before because I've never felt so compelled to kiss someone like I did then. I can't scare her off by kissing her if she didn't want to kiss me back. I kind of need her. "You ready for the reveal?" I ask, hand on my backwards 'snapback' as she called it. Her eyes glow excitedly as I pull it off, the twisted bun I pulled it into slipping out effortlessly as it frames my face, me running a hand through it to push it off her face. I study her face and see her pupils dilate. It's been washed and brushed, something I didn't do very much, and the cut it effortless like I want it. No need to play with it.

She steps forward and my breath catches in my throat as her delicate hand reaches forward to run a hand through it. "It's so silky" she breathes, her breath brushing my face softly.

Fuck the consequences.

I duck my head slightly and hover my lips above hers, allowing her to make the decision.