Collision

Chapter 2: In The Beginning

CHAPTER 2// In The Beginning

Busy cars roared past me as I walked down the sidewalk by my apartment. The cold wind stung my bare skin that wasn't covered by fabric, but in a good way. It cleared my senses. I exhaled slowly, my breath visible in the frigid air. An unusual noise filled my ears suddenly, causing my thoughts to scatter. It sounded like... screaming? A rush of feet it sounded like as well. I turned my head quickly towards the sound. A young man with soft-looking, red tousled hair was running around the corner, slightly panting. He kept looking behind him as if he was being chased. The screams came closer. About a hundred screaming teen girls were running behind the man, their arms sticking out in front of them as if they were trying to get ahold of him. The ginger man came closer too. A bit too close in about a millisecond.
"OOF!"
The young man and I collapsed into a heap on the concrete sidewalk.
"Excuse you!" I exclaimed. I closed my eyes and held my head.
"I'm sorry!" the young man said, the British accent heavy. I opened my eyes and blinked a few times. My head spun.
"You might want to come with me if you'd rather not be trampled by hundreds of fangirls!" he said. He pulled me by the elbow into a dim alleyway. I dusted myself off.
"What the heck?! And what do you mean by 'fangirls'?" I asked, looking at the guy intensely.
"I must apologize. I'm Ed. Ed Sheeran."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Yes. Really."
"Cool."
Ed gave me a puzzled look.
"You're not gonna like, fangirl or anything?" he asked. "Um, not exactly. Why should I?" He blinked at me, dumbfounded.
"Well, I don't want to sound self-absorbed or anything but I'm kinda really famous."
"Ah. So you say." I said. He shook his head.
"No! I really am! Do you want me to prove it to you?" he asked. I put my left hand on my hip.
"Do you have to?" Ed threw his hands in the air.
"Not really! I'm just trying to get away from all of these crazy girls!" he replied, desperately.
"Well, I have some place to be." I lied. I looked down to see if I dropped my notebook beside me among all the commotion. I gasped. It wasn't there. Nowhere near me.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Like you care." I snapped.
"Well, I don't think you exactly know me, now do you?" he shot back. I rolled my eyes.
"My notebook. I dropped it when you fell into me." I sighed. Ed looked around and stopped short when he saw the sidewalk. My songs were scattered everywhere. I ran over to them and tried to collect them as fast as I could. Suddenly, Ed was beside me on his hands and knees. He stopped and quickly read one of the papers. I snatched it away from him.
"I don't think I gave you permission to read that." I said nervously. I never let anyone read my songs. Not even Alex. Ed rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sorry." he mumbled. I sighed.
"It's fine. I'm sorry I've been on edge towards you." I said sincerely. "It's cool. You have the right to be spiteful towards me. I'm the one who ran into you." he said. I shuffled the papers into a neat, single stack within my hands. We both stood up.
"So, what are those anyways?" Ed asked curiously.
"Um, just some songs I've been working on." I answered. I slid the papers into my notebook and tucked it under my arm.
"Oh! Really? Those lyrics..." He paused.
"What about them?" I demanded. Ed grinned at me.
"They're pretty good." he said. "Well, thanks." There was an awkward silence between us. Two strangers. Ed looked down and clicked the heels of his converse together, as if he was Dorothy.
"So, are you like on tour or something?" I asked, breaking the silence.
"Actually, yeah. But the place I'm staying at is not exactly accessible at the moment. I guess you can say that the fans have thrown a little riot in my honor." He chuckled.
"That sucks. Where are you going to stay at?"
Ed looked around at the alleyway we stood in. "To be honest, I don't really know." He stopped and smirked.
"Maybe... Someone would help me with the arrangements?" he said, smiling. My eyes widened.
"OH NO. My roommate would KILL me if I brought a stranger to the apartment!" Ed pouted. As if on cue, Alex's ringtone came on. I answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Vic! Sorry to inform you but I have an emergency and I'm gonna have to leave for Mexico today."
I groaned.
"But, why?" I whined like a child. Alex sighed impatiently on the other end.
"Because, Victoria. My sister, Aaliyah, is having her baby and she's having troubles."
I looked up at Ed. He raised his eyebrows at me. Wait a minute, I mouthed to him. Ed rolled his eyes and I returned the favor.
"So, um, is it okay if this one guy stays the night?" I asked, cautiously.
"VICTORIA!" Alex yelled. I closed my eyes. Alex never liked guys that much. Not that she's not straight or anything. She thinks that they are horrid creatures.
"Alex... I'm 20. I'm sure I can take care of myself." I said assuringly. There was a short pause. I knew Alex was thinking. She always was thinking. "Okay. BUT! I swear to the good Lord above, if this guy happens to touch you in anyway that is not appropriate, I WILL break all of his limbs and throw him in the dumpster." she said. My eyes widened at her response. "There's no need for that!" I said quickly.
"Okay. I'm gonna have to go. My plane is about to leave."
"Love you, Boo!"
"Love you too, darling!"
I hung up the phone and stuffed my phone into my faux Coach purse. I walked up to Ed, the heels of my boots digging into the alleyway's gravel.
"So, that was my roommate."
"And?" he asked. His eyes twinkled with anticipation. I looked at him intently.
"She said you can stay." I answered. Ed grinned. I could tell I just dragged myself into something insane and crazy.