Romantic One Shots & Imagines

One Shot #53: Belle

     You needed a breather. The party was fun and all, but there was so many people. So many huge dresses bumping into yours. So much smoke. You knew theme was 1940s classic Hollywood, but it had to have been against some type of fire code.

     You gathered your dress in your hands and slid through the crowd. Goosebumps began to spread along your arms. It was cool and a light fog sat low in the night air. The backyard was extravagant. Two tennis courts, a huge garden, four fountains and even a maze. You decided to relax at the nearest fountain. The darkened reflection stares back at you before vanishing in the wake of swimming Koi fish. You graze your hand against the calm water, spreading ripples.

          "Um, hi." You practically jump as your head whips around to find the owner of the strange voice. "Sorry to scare you. I was watching you..." Your brows furrow. "I mean," He stutters. "I mean, I saw you, but didn't know how to get your attention without scaring you." He chuckles nervously. "But, I guess I failed at that." He walks closer to you but stops when he sees your body turn frigid. "My name's Edward. You can call me Ed or Eddie if you want. My friend went off somewhere and he's the only person I know here, so I got pretty bored."

          "And it was at that point, you decided to come out here?" You ask, trying unsuccessfully to hide the annoyance in your voice. You came outside for space and the last thing you wanted was to be dragged into small talk with some stranger. The backyard had an eerie enough feeling to it.

          "I always wanted to go into one of those life size mazes." He nods toward the it as he sits down next to you at the fountain. You fight the reflexive urge to move away.

          "The maze at night and there's fog? Only sounds like a good idea if you want to star in your very own horror movie." You were serious, but he laughs. A dead silence hovers for a moment.

          "You still haven't told me your name."

          "Alice."

          "So what's your story, Alice?"

          "What do you mean? I don't have a story." You ask, genuinely confused.

          "Everyone has a story. My friend, Kevin, was invited to this party by his co-worker who was invited by a cousin or something. He asked me to come as his wingman, but he didn't seem to have much of a problem in that department, hence why I'm here now."

          You smirk. "I do some work on the side for the couple who owns this estate, so they invited me to come tonight and wouldn't take no for an answer. 'Free drinks! Everyone loves free drinks!' is how they put it." You both laugh.

     You and Edward get lost in a string of conversations. Jobs, family, hobbies and other random topics. Soon, you two were entangled in deep thoughts that neither one would have confessed under any other circumstances. You surprisingly start to feel comfortable around him. You knew he felt the same. He knew when to laugh and he knew when to nod solemnly when you spoke. You didn't want to admit it, but you hated it when he'd ask more questions about you. All you wanted to do was hear him speak. His voice was smooth and charming. You didn't notice until you found yourself drifting away to the sound of his voice rather than listening to his words.

          "I didn't come out here to shamelessly promote myself, but I'm going to be acting in a play, it's tomorrow actually, and I was wondering if you wanted to come? It's all low budget, so word-of-mouth is our only advertisement." He chuckles nervously.