paper love | edward nygma

Chapter 30 ○ Radiance

Grace's POV

The work day ended in a few minutes so I decided to walk around a bit. The GCPD was busy as usual and was full of people getting ready to leave. I looked over to the holding cells and saw James staring directly at me. He was glaring with a cold look on his face, but I wasn't scared of him. He was on the other side of the bars, and I was safe. 

The walk towards my car was a difficult one. Stepping outside of the police station was hard, and knowing I wasn't shielded from everything was nerve-racking. I had finally reached my car when an arm grasped my shoulder. I turned around with shock and saw a familiar face. The face was Edward, and he clearly noticed my shock. 

"O-Oh, I apologize. I didn't mean to startle you." I chuckled with relief. I was glad to see him, especially before our dinner. "It's fine, you didn't scare me. Also, please don't cook. I don't want you to. Your food is tremendous, but I don't want you to work too hard to try to impress me." He smiled wide. "Don't worry, I will order food for us." 

With that, I got into my car. The drive was short, or it seemed to be. I walked into my apartment building, slowly listening to the conversations in the other apartments. There was a loud television coming from the apartment above me. There was constant arguing from a couple across from me, but I didn't do anything about it. Besides, I didn't know the argument. It was probably over taxes or what to eat for dinner. 

I put on a white top with black leggings and black flats. It was a simple outfit, but I thought it was acceptable because we weren't going out to a restaurant. There was no need for my purse, so I didn't bring it. 

Edward's POV

I was extremely nervous. Grace was going to be coming over any minute, and I had to make sure everything was perfect. She didn't want me to cook, so I granted her wish. I got dressed in a green colored suit. I never wore the suit before, so I didn't know if it would look exceptional. 

"Wow, you are really getting dressed in a suit for a Chinese food dinner. It's not like she is going to be in a dress." I looked over at him, and he had a smug expression on his face. "Please, don't interfere tonight." A laugh echoed through the small apartment. "Don't worry about it. I'll be here, just in case you screw up like you always do."

I grabbed the food and put them on plates, and while I was doing that, he was staring at my every move. He was either shaking his head to show criticism, or he was chuckling. I poured some wine and set the table accordingly. It was almost 6:00, so I assumed she was coming up the apartment building stairs. The lights were dimmed to show off the candlelight and the bright green neon that came from outside of the main window.

About three minutes passed, and I heard a knock at my door. After smoothing my suit jacket and adjusting my glasses, I opened the door. I realized that he was right, she wasn't wearing a dress. However, Grace still looked stunning. Her brown curls fell off of her shoulder, and her face was covered in a subtle amount of makeup, still highlighting her features. "Oh, hey Edward. I brought a pie, I wasn't sure if you wanted to have dessert or not." 

She held up a brown paper bag that had a delicious aroma to it. The pie must have been an apple pie, as it strongly smelled of cinnamon and sugar. I took the bag from her and put it on one of the counters in my kitchen. "You wore a suit? I should have a dress on, I'm sorry." She frowned. I disliked seeing her upset. Her laughter was worth the world to me. 

"It's absolutely fine. You look marvelous in anything." She looked up and blushed at me. I escorted her over to the table and pulled out the chair for her, so she could sit down. "This is so fancy for Chinese food. You did this all for me?" I laughed at the thought.  I had done all of this for Grace's happiness. "Yes, I did. If it makes you happy, it makes me beyond radiant." She smiled wide. 

We started to eat, occasionally talking about where we went to college and why we wanted to work in a police department. "Forensics has always been an over exaggerated field. Usually, I just mix some chemicals to create something, it's not a big deal." Grace shrugged and ate more. "Well, you did blow up that piece of iron one time. I could hear that from my office!" We both laughed, but I stopped once I felt someone with me. 

"Well, this is going well. Both of you are acting like nerds, so that is something I guess." Grace looked up at me with confusion. "Are you okay Edward? You are acting weird all of a sudden." I cleared my throat before responding. "Will you please excuse me?" She nodded and I walked over to the bathroom. Once the door was closed, I took some deep breaths while looking at the mirror.

 "You said you wouldn't interrupt us." He suddenly appeared, with a smirk on his face. "I just wanted to watch. This would be different if Kristen came over. I would have already tried to kill her."  My face turned red with anger. "Don't you dare talk like that! I will not let you hurt Grace." His laugh was sharp and short. "You dummy, I wouldn't hurt her. She isn't rude or annoying. She appreciates us." I exhaled before looking back at the mirror. He was copying my head movements. 

"Stop doing that!" His smirk changed from an evil one to a smug one. "Dude, it's a mirror, that's how they work." I thrust the mirror aside, revealing the medicine cabinet that was covered by it. I only had a few medications in the cabinet, and the only other items were toiletries. "You look like an idiot right now. Get back out there, she is getting suspicious!" I couldn't avoid him, it was almost like he was everywhere.