READERS CHOICE

I: Meeting Aiden

Rebel and the Beast

© 2013 EncoreDeZiza

All Rights Reserved

Rebel and the Beast

Chapter One; Meeting Aiden

There are a lot of smokers in this world, all driven by different reasons. Some find a sort of intoxicating thrill when they play with sin, some crave death, and others- well, who knew? And as Elle watched the embers slowly make their way down the tiny stick, she realized she couldn’t care less if it did shave a day from her life. It’s not like she wanted to die, or like she couldn’t find a reason to live, she just didn’t have anything to fight for, and she was, after all, a fighter.

“Ella?”

Flicking the ash from her cigarette, she turned to look at her new found company, “It’s Elle.”

“Oh, you’ll have to pardon me, my senses become more and more deceiving with age, it seems.” Sparing the old lady with a tight smile, she tossed the stick to the ground, crushing the tiny embers on her way inside.

“I’ll take it.”

The old lady nearly jumped out of her skin, nervously sorting her papers, “Most people like to go home and think abo-”

“When can I move in?”

“Actually, I have a young man looking at it later, he wants to turn it into a bachelor pad-”

“Really? That’s fascinating. Tell him it’s taken.” She instructed half heartedly, already sizing up the counter space. 

“Ma’am-”

“I’ll double my offer.” That got her attention. Turning from the wooden countertops, Elle could only smirk at the woman’s reluctant response.

“Come back tomorrow, after the boy’s tour, and we’ll discuss it.”

Does twenty seconds after the guy goes in count as an entire tour? Could she go in now? She’d only been out here all day... Yeah. Fuck him. He’d had plenty of time. Tossing the woman’s business card into the backseat, Elle had her car locked and was half way to the house in no time.

She didn’t bother knocking or ringing the doorbell, it was, after all, only a matter of time before it was hers. “Yeah, no, I like it. I could really use the space. Maybe pu-”

Walking right in front of the counter he was pointing at, she made sure to give him her best smirk. “That’s where the microwave goes.”

“What?”

“My microwave. You know, since it’s my house.” She had to admit, he did have stunning eyes. Even as they narrowed in on her, darkened, and nearly showered her with hatred. He was a very attractive man. But that didn’t mean he could just barge into her home and- 

“Elle!” 

“Mrs. Grayson” She greeted, not taking her eyes off Mr. Home-Wrecking-Wanna-Be over there. “Nice to see you again,”

“Elle, darling, you were supposed to come back later.”

“You didn’t give me a time,” she dismissed easily, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against her future counter.

“Maybe,” Even his voice was fairly- No. You’re mad at him. He doesn’t get to be attractive. “That’s because she was planning on selling it to me.”

Her jaw twitched at his irritating demeanor. When he argued, there was this almost spark to those endless mossy green orbs of his. It was quite irritating how pleasantly distracting that really was. “I’ll double my offer.” She spat the words through her teeth like acid, but it wasn’t the old woman’s fault. Elle seriously doubted she woke up that morning and decided to start a fight with these two. 

Just like expected, the still unidentified man did the most irritating thing possible, “I double mine.”

“Well I triple mine.”

He snorted, “And exactly how old are we, princess?”

Oh no. Oh fuck no. “You did not just call me that.”

“What?” He asked innocently, those mossy green eyes turning almost translucent, “Princess?”

Grinding her jaw, she turned to the woman, “Alright. 50 thousand down. Right now.” Her wide, owl like eyes, nearly popped right out of her head.

“I-”

“100 thousand.”

“150!”

“250!”

“350!”

And now they were merely inches apart, both screaming in each other’s faces while the flustered old woman tried to back out of the kitchen, successfully trapping herself against the counter. “450!”

“680!”

“900!”

“Ten Million!” 

“SOLD!” The old woman cried out desperately. Fumbling with her papers, she dropped the files on the counter. Leaving the lease and keys. “A good day to you both!” And with that, she walked out the door. Undisturbed by the maniacs inside.

Nibbling on her bottom lip, Elle turned from the nervous woman to her now homeless friend, “Got a million dollars?”

Slowly pulling his eyes from the wide open door, he let those beautiful green iris’ settle on hers. “You’re fucking insane.”

Grinning, she held out her hand, “Elle.”

Without hesitation, he took it, “Aiden.”

© 2013 EncoreDeZiza

Dedicated to NeonRainbowRaver because she broke her leg-thing, and I miss her. <3