AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is the start of some plot twists! I hope you're excited about what happens in the next chapter!
Alice's POV
The blaring sound of the alarm clock hollering in my ear woke me up. I mindlessly swung my hand over the side of the bed and gave the alarm a hefty slap, shutting off it's pestering noise.
I let the welcoming morning sun shine through my window again, the warm vibe sending me into a happy mood.
I shuffled over to my phone reposing on the dresser, and after unlocking it a sudden realization sent a deep-seated feeling of excitement inside me.
Today was SATURDAY.
In exactly 2 hours and 17 minutes, I would be on my way to JAVA, the little coffee shop Asa had told me about. Sometime last night he has texted me the address; the last 24 hours of my life had been so extraordinary that when I saw "MESSAGE FROM ASA" as a pop-up on my lock screen, I was taken aback for a moment.
Then the memories came flooding back.
One memory in particular had rubbed me the wrong way.
My parents were still clueless about my run-in with Asa, thanks to my stupid big mouth shouting out things before my brain had a chance to straighten them out. Of course, I had hastily told Aunt Bea not to mention anything, and OF COURSE she respected my decision.
Thoughts of doubt encased me as I greeting my family resting in the living room before heading to the large bathroom to clean up.
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I stepped up on the little stool to examine myself from head-to-toe in the large, ornate bathroom mirror. I had on a pair of dark skinny jeans, a short sleeve aéro top, and green converse.
I was as ready as I'd ever be.
Glancing at the wall clock beside me,
I let out a sigh of relief; it was only 9:40. That means I still had twenty minutes to spare, which really meant I had twenty minutes to pace around the house and drive myself up a wall from anxiety.
I forced myself to bottle up my emotions as I casually strolled into the living room, not giving away any inkling that I was nervous as hell.
I has just walked into a room of complete chaos. My parents were scrambling around the living room like little ants desperately searching for their hill. They wore plagued expressions on their faces as they tore apart my aunt's leather couch, not even acknowledging my presence.
"What's going on?" I asked curiously, walking over to my mother.
"Well, you know how your father and I were supposed to go on that Hollywood Tour at 10?" My mother asked frantically, not even looking up from the mess she had made of Aunt Bea's couch.
"Yeah,"
"Well we can't find Bea's house keys for when we come back at one. By that time your aunt won't be home."
"We need to leave in five!" My father shouted from the kitchen, bolting in the living room with the pesky house keys in his hands. "I found the keys!"
"Thank God!" My mother turned to me and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Love you Alice, see you later!"
"Bye, Alice!" My father called before he disappeared into the kitchen once again with my mother trailing behind. I heard the back door slam shut and the lock turn, sending Aunt Bea's Victorian house into complete silence.
A sly grin snuck up on me as a shocking revelation hit me like a boulder: now that my parents were gone, I could see Asa later and they wouldn't even have to find out. Since I has already tangled myself into a spiderweb of lies, in order to keep myself out of trouble I had no choice but to make it bigger.
I knew for sure my parents would NEVER let me hang out with a celebrity; they were too worrisome. On the contrary, Aunt Bea was understanding and laid back- she'd probably be zealous about the whole concept.
Speak of the devil.
"Did your parents leave?" Aunt Bea hollered at me, her rough voice echoing throughout the quiet house. She emerged from her bedroom and milled into the living room where I just stood like a mannequin.
"You know what that means, right?" I asked sarcastically, my slight smile widening to one of great anticipation.
"Shall I drive you to JAVA to meet your little celeb, or would you prefer to walk?" Aunt Bea inquired as she hobbled over me and started to fix my already runway-ready hair. I had spend ten minutes brushing out all the knots and another ten French braiding it down to my split ends.
"Can you drive me, Aunt Bea?" I replied, already knowing my aunt would be more than pleased to give me a ride.
"Of course, darling!" Aunt Bea squealed with delight and before I knew it she grabbed my hand and was towing me out the front door.
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There he was. Asa Butterfield. Standing at the front door of JAVA. Waiting for ME.
H-O-L-Y C-R-A-P.
I let out a shaky breath and exhaled my nerves as I began to approach Asa, who was wearing jeans, black converse, and a yellow shirt from some British clothing company.
"Hi Asa," I exclaimed, giving a little wave. Asa smiled as he opened the door for us to enter the coffee shop.
We ordered our drinks and Asa found us a little table in the corner of the cozy little shop. It was when both of us sat down and got as comfortable as possible in such a stressful situation before Asa began to speak.
"Alice, I don't usually invite random fans out to a coffee shop, ask them for their number, or even speak to them after I sign something or take a picture with them."
"Why did you invite me?" I took a sip of my coffee that scalded my mouth from the intense heat. I bit my lip and suppressed a scream, not wanting to make a fool of myself.
"Look, Alice." Asa set down his mug and stared at me. I couldn't help but gaze into his captivating blue eyes as he held me spellbound. "There was something about you that seemed really friendly and inviting. You had such a good impression on me and I couldn't help but want to get to know you more."
"Oh my God-"
"I know this sounds crazy but I really like your personality and you seemed like a very interesting person and had some of the same qualities as I do." Asa paused as he sipped on his coffee. "I guess I was looking for someone around my age to talk to during my visit in L.A."
The startling news took a moment to sink in. I could to nothing but stare at my celebrity crush like a lost child with a puppy dog look on my face. This was unreal.
A sense of bliss flushed inside of me and filled my heart with exuberance. It was like I was I living in an everlasting fantasy where anything was possible. I felt invincible in the heat of the moment- as if I could do whatever the hell I pleased.
I could even lean forward and steal a kiss from Asa; he was literally sitting a foot away from me. Reality seemed to shatter beneath my feet and send me plunging into a state of overwhelming joy.
"Asa, this is really unbelievable." I responded truthfully. "The fact that you even came up and talked to me the other day at the convention was out of this world, so this is like..." I fell silent and did a cursory search in my brain to find the words to complete the next sentence. "Way beyond the galaxy."
"You're flattering me, Alice." Asa smiled nonchalantly as he drank his coffee. "I just want to say that if we keep in touch by texting, it'll be difficult for us to hang out like this. I'm busy almost every day for the next two months."
"I don't care, Asa. As long I get to keep talking to you- it doesn't bother me if it's over a text or in person." I let my eyes transfix on Asa's handsome face as he obliviously looked out the window nearby. "Although seeing you in person is nice."
"That's true." Asa continued to study something outside as he spoke, becoming sidetracked from the conversation.
"I always thought you would want to hang out with girls that were 16 and 5"8, not 14 and 5"3. I look like a child standing next to you."
Asa turned towards me and shook his head in utter disproval. "Why would you say that?" He asked, contorting his good-looks into a distasteful expression. "It doesn't matter how old or tall you are, Alice! It's-"
Asa took a quick glance as whatever he had been ogling outside once again, and this time he gasped in surprise and knitted his brows in anger.
"What's wrong?" I probed, breaking my gaze from his charming blue eyes to turn my head and peer out the window.
"There's two camera men trying to take pictures of us!" Asa whispered abhorrently. He smacked his hand to his head in irritation and stood abruptly. "I'm sorry but I think we need to leave."
"What? Why?" I began to spurt out questions I stood up as well, perplexed.
"If those guys snap some good photos, we might be on the internet or even on a magazine page. They'll caption it 'Asa and his girlfriend' or something absurd like that."
My heart skipped a beat at the mere thought of being labeled as Asa's girlfriend.
Before I had any more time to dwell
on what that must be like, Asa turned towards me with a stony look on his face.
"Alice, I'm really sorry about cutting this short. I had a good time but I really don't like the idea of being hunted down and photographed." Asa shot the camera men a look before turning back to me. "If you need a ride home I'll drive you. Maybe then we can discuss another time for us to talk."
"Alright," I replied hastily, not really having any other options. Asa headed towards the exit of the coffee shop and beckoned me to follow. I scurried behind him and was by his side as we made our way to a sleek black car parked on the side of the road.
Neither of us turned heads to the camera men sitting on one of the benches as Asa courteously opened the passenger side door for me as I reluctantly climbed in.
Asa closed the door with a thud and walked to the driver's seat. Once inside, we slung seat belts over our shoulders and clicked them into place simultaneously.
Asa put on the gas and sped off, not even having the slightest clue of what Aunt Bea's address was.