Endeavor

Chapter 7: The World Stops Turning

A.N.: Another installment!

We got to the hotel quickly enough. When I checked the time, Ben should have been at my house already, and the wild goose chase had probably already begun. As if on cue, my phone rang, and I saw it was Amelia. I looked at Eddie. He simply looked back.

"It's up to you. I'm not going to tell you not to answer your sister."

"Yeah, well, I'm not." I opened the car door, and he followed me inside. Angela was standing at the front desk, and when we made eye contact, she lowered her gaze.

Eddie and I went to the third floor, and I followed him to his room. He got his keycard out and scanned it, and the little light on the door flashed green. He opened the door, and I followed him inside.

It was a simple room-not something I'd expect Eddie to stay in. The tiny bathroom was to our left, and one step past it revealed me to a full-body mirror. My hair was messy from my dive to the ground, and I looked completely weary. I looked into the main room and saw there was only one bed, and no couch. This would be problematic.

He set down the duffel bag on the bed and sat beside it, making the springs squeal. "So, what is the plan?"

I sighed. "It would be unadvisable to leave the hotel. If it's okay with you, I might stay until tomorrow night, then, I'll go home." I approached him and sat beside him, laying my hand on his arm. "And Eddie? Thank you for doing this."

He smiled and hugged me. "Anything for you. This is not your fault."

I nodded. The carpet's intricate design seemed very interesting all of a sudden.

"You don't believe me."

I looked up at him. "I stood a guy up. No matter how bad he is, that was wrong." I stood. "I want to go back." I headed towards the door.

He grabbed my wrist. "Rachel, no! If you go back, we will never speak again, and you know that. Please. Just stay."

I closed my eyes. "Why?" Just tell me you love me.

He took a deep breath. "You are my best friend. You open that door, and it's closed forever between us. Please, Rachel."

He was begging me to stay. Eddie Redmayne, world-famous actor, was begging me to stay in his life. Platonically, of course, but we loved each other, I realized. Platonically.

"Eddie, what I did was wrong."

"No. It was so right." He slowly started leading me from the door, and I consented. We sat back down on the bed.

I drew my legs to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. "You care more about me than anyone ever has." A tear fell, and for the second time, Eddie saw me cry. He wrapped his arms around me and brought me to his chest, shushing me soothingly.

"And I always will."

"What are we going to do?" I asked, laying my head on his shoulder.

"I-I don't know, Rachel."

I straightened. "No, like, tonight. We have to entertain ourselves within the confines of this room."

"Ah, yes. Perhaps I'll order a pizza?"

"Good idea."

And so he did. Two large pepperonis, one for each of us. Living with Amelia my whole life, I'd never had a whole pizza to myself. But tonight was a strange one anyway.

They delivered the pizza, and Eddie paid. He brought the food to the bed, as we sat cross-legged across from each other. We talked about everything and nothing at the same time. The nagging feeling that this was all I wanted in a relationship wouldn't go away. As he talked about his college thesis on Yves Klein, I started to make a mental list of all the things he was.

1) Handsome
2) Intelligent
3) Kind
4) Passionate
5) Talented
6) -

"What do you think?"

"Uh, what?" I'd zoned out for too long.

"About Klein."

I nodded. "Brilliant, yeah."

He leaned in and tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. "You're distracted, love."

My mind was a football stadium, a crowd chanting, Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss.

"Tell me what's wrong, Rach."

Oh, nothing. It's just that I'm totally falling for you.

"What will become of us?"

"Anything you want. But please, for one night, let the world stop turning. Let all the little neuroses go," he whispered.

We finished dinner, but we were both much too tired to do much else. We got ready for bed side-by-side, the foam of the toothpaste in our mouths spilling over our lips. He put his pajamas on in the bathroom, while I took the bedroom. "Are you ready yet?" I heard he call after a moment or two.

"Yeah, you can come out."

Eddie stepped out, his auburn hair mussed with the effort of putting his tee shirt over his head. He had flannel pants on, and bare feet. I had a similar set on.

"I'll take the couch," he offered. "You have the bed."

"Don't be silly, I'll take the couch."

"No, it's much too uncomfortable. I wouldn't want you to sleep there."

Silence. "We share the bed," I said quietly.

"W-what? Are you sure?"

"Do you mind?" I asked.

"N-no, of course not. But do you? I mean, is it proper?"

I shrugged. "Do we even care anymore?"

"I promise I'll stay on my side."

"Okay, Ed? The reason I'm here instead of with Ben is that I'm absolutely certain you won't try anything. Calm down."

"O-okay." He wiped his palms on his pants as he sat on the bed. "Let's get this over with, then." He offered a smile, and I climbed under the covers of the left side of the bed, as he went to the right. He turned the TV on and half-heartedly flipped through the channels. "Hotels never have anything good on TV," he sighed, settling on the news.

"Mhm," I muttered, eyes half-lidded, as the Sandman began to work his magic. "What're we going to do tomorrow?"

"Anything. Just promise me you'll attempt not to fret." He laced his fingers in mine. "Rachel, promise."

"Promise," I returned, and I smiled through the dark.

The TV turned off with a click. "Good night, Curly Top." He pressed his lips against my temple, and I wondered what it would take to feel this sensation forever. What it would take for the world to stop turning. What it would take for Eddie to love me back.

A.N.: Now, hopefully my readers don't hate me for such a long gap between updates. I apologize profusely, but I will do my best to get the next chapter out ASAP. All I can say is that I have big plans for it.