A/N: Okay, this is the very last time I'm going to add this disclaimer mainly because I'm sure y'all are getting tired of reading it every time. Bold is for when Bes' phone speaks for her and italics is for when she's thinking to herself or to the reader. You'll probably see less italics considering majority of the story is written in first person so a lot of it is her own thoughts anyways.
Hello friend. Today is my second day at Allsafe. I sure hope today isn't as mind numbing as yesterday, but a girl can only dream. Count down.. T-Minus ten months, twelve days, five hours and twenty three seconds.
This time when I walk into the building it's much more calm than yesterday. Probably first day nerves were what really threw me off. Plus I am now handling all of my own basic responsibilities in life so that was definitely a big stressed.
Walking down the aisle to my cubicle, I realize Elliot is not here and I'm immediately disappointed. I mean, sure, I wanted to check him out some more and see what other kinds of people flocked to him.. and maybe just to see how he looks in another one of those dress shirts. But I suppose today is not the day.
The whole day drags on slowly like yesterday, even worse now because there was no one crowding to the space next to me. Sure, talking to people made me uncomfortable but I'd rather be uncomfortable than completely fucking bored out of my mind. No gossip, no drama. No one left to be introduced to. No one else to mention my.. condition. No one to actually talk to, that is, until now.
"Hey, you're the new girl, Bes, right?" I look towards the voice and I beg for it to not be who I think it is.
Fuck.
Sadly, it is. I pull out my phone nervously as he awaits a reply.
"Yeah, that's me. We were introduced yesterday I believe. Ollie is your name?" He nods as he slightly looks confused and points to my phone.
Huh, I thought Gideon would tell him. I guess I understand why he's looking at me weird, I didn't say anything to him yesterday, only an awkward handshake.
"What's all that about?" He questions with a chuckle followed after. I internally roll my eyes.
Someone kill me. PLEASE. I guess I kind of asked for this earlier when I said being uncomfortable is better than being bored. I was completely wrong.
"I'm mute. Can't talk. Ha ha ha." The dramatic amount of haha's was really to just mock him but I'm sure he didn't notice. He looks taken aback though, and seriously looks as if though he wants to apologize. I shake my head.
"It's all good, bro. I thought Gideon had told everyone by now. No way you could have known." I assure him, even though the bro thing was totally to fuck with him. "Do you need something?" I ask, because I really have no idea what he wants.
"Uh, no. Not really. I was wondering though, there's a party at Gideon's house on Saturday and this whole floor is invited. You should come.. Just to get to know everyone better, ya know?" I consider it. This could very well be the biggest disaster in history, to my mental health. But it could also give me the great opportunity to figure out the weakest link in this place. Hopefully it's someone other than me.
"What time on Saturday?" Ollie smiles at my question. Not that I have plans or anything but I definitely want to know just in case.
"Eight thirty. But uh, Hey, do you got a ride? If not me and my girlfriend Angela can pick you up, it's really no trouble." I smirk.
Maybe this guy isn't as insensitive as he is an idiot. I write my address down on a sticky note and hand it to him. He looks like he's amused and I raise an eyebrow.
"Wow! You live in the same building as Elliot. That's so funny, you work next to him and live next to him too! What a coincidence, we're also picking him up." I gulp but smile to try and mask how nervous I look. Ollie shoots back a grin in return and walks away.
SATURDAY
Having not been to a social event like this in years, I have absolutely no idea what I should wear now that I'm the adult this time. So I text my darling childhood friend, Mary. Mary has been my friend since before we were out of diapers and was my friend before I became mute. In all honestly she's probably the only person that knows me almost as much as David does, and he doesn't even know me completely.
I decide she's the only person who can help me in this situation mainly because she's an aspiring fashion designer and it would probably make her night if I asked her for help with this.
On a different topic, I've been super anxious about the fact that not only does Elliot literally live right next door to me, but he is also going to Gideon's party. I guess after Ollie's perplexing guilt trip, Elliot finally caved. Let's not forget to mention we'll be sitting in the back of Ollie and Angela's car together for however long.
Yikes.
In the usual Mary style, she barges right into my apartment. I'm quite used to this because she did this even when I lived with Penelope and Joe. She practically lived there on the weekends so I'm not shocked that it's not any different.
"Hey girl!" She squeals as she runs over to hug me.
I will never get used to that noise, ever.
I smile awkwardly. She lets go of me and I walk into my room, beckoning her to follow me. I point to the dress options on my bed and she crosses her arms against her chest and frowns.
"Really? This is all you have?" She questions.
Huh, I thought they were cute.
"What's the problem?"
"Nothing.. They're cute. Definitely your style, but Im not sure they fit the occasion. You said you're going to a company party, right?" I nod.
"More like a party at my boss's house but basically." I explain, hoping that will give her some context on why I picked out the casual dresses that I did.
"Okay, so... Will there be any cute guys there?" I nod again, quickly this time. A Cheshire like grin spreads across her face. I hate it when she does that. It's creepy and I know that she has a plan concocting in her head that I'm not always so sure are the best ideas..
"I know exactly what you're going to wear."
• • •
"I look like I'm going to a red carpet event, Mary. Don't you think this is too much?" Although I'm complaining, I think it's a very beautiful dress.. And I also like messing with her. A look of frustration flashes over her face.
"You're beautiful. Now hurry up and go finish your makeup." She insists. I turn around and I hear her start talking again, something along the lines of "You mind if I eat something?" I figured at some point she would want to scrounge through my fridge.
"Go ahead."
I can't believe she can eat so much food and never put on any weight.
I first apply some foundation, concealer and contour my cheekbones a little bit. I add some mascara and a nude lipstick just to humor myself. It certainly has been a while since I've actually did my makeup like this and looked kind of like I actually tried.
I walk out of my room and see Mary sitting on my couch eating canned Spaghetti O's.
Nutrition at it's finest.
Mary gasps as she looks me over and checks me out. "Wow!" she exclaims. "I totally had no idea you had those kinds of makeup skills. You look absolutely beautiful by the way." I just stand there and smile, accepting all of her compliments.
"Check out some tutorials on Youtube. They totally saved my life when it comes to this stuff." She nods and types something into her phone.
"Will do." She replies. Becoming engrossed into her phone, she basically ignores me so I silently wait for the knock on my door.
Five minutes and thirty-two seconds go by and I finally hear the knock. Mary looks up from her phone, clearly brought out of deep concentration. I stand up and open the door.
I feel like I've been doing this a lot lately.
When I open the door, I'm completely shocked with who I see standing there.
It's Elliot.
As if he can read my mind he says, "Ollie and Angela are outside, they thought it would just be easier for me to walk you down there." I nod quickly.
I pull out my phone and type, "Sure thing. Just give me like five seconds." He nods and I walk over to Mary who now looks quite interested with what's going on in the real world.
"Listen, here's a twenty. Please go pick up some form of food for yourself while you're house sitting because I guarantee there will be nothing in my fridge or cupboards when I get back. Have fun, don't have any parties or break anything, and please do not try to reorganize my apartment. Love you and I will be back soon." I hear what sounds like a laugh coming from my doorway, but as soon as I turn around to face Elliot it stops, but there is still a lingering half smile on his face. I hand Mary the twenty dollar bill and start to walk away.
"Have fun, Love!" I wave to her and walk out into the hallway, joining Elliot. He looks down at the floor and steadily walks down the stairs that lead to the outdoors and I follow cautiously behind. I have an odd feeling I'm going to break my neck on these stairs one day.
When we get into the car Elliot lead me to, I am immediately greeted by Ollie with a handshake and a gentle smile from Angela. The rest of the car ride is filled with mindless chatter from the couple, and complete angst from me.
Elliot's presence and closeness is definitely make my heart beat a little faster than normal and I'm seriously wondering if he can hear it. Honestly it could just be from the impending doom of meeting possibly twenty or more people, but at least I have a purpose for going I suppose.
• • •
To say the least, I am definitely pleasantly surprised by Gideon's home. Not too fancy, not too casual. Way better than my shitty apartment and can definitely hold more than five people without it getting cramped. Gideon had greeted us all at the door and very quickly but kindly ushered us all into his home.
"Make yourselves comfortable everyone! We have drinks, food, music and we're watching the game!" Gideon's partner exclaimed. Honestly, I've never taken a liking to sports but the way he just said it makes me want to check them out.
I am slightly startled by being brought out of my concentration when someone puts a hand on my shoulder but I relax when I realize it's just Gideon.
"Hello, Bes! It's nice to see you here. I didn't really know if you liked large groups like this but I'm delighted that you came, and totally astounded that you guys managed to drag Elliot along with you!" I smile and nod, but pull out my phone to type.
"You have such a lovely home." Gideon grins and proceeds to tell me about the meaning and cost behind every decoration in his home.
Two hours and thirty minutes have went by and I've been introduced to everyone at the party, and have learned some new things.
Ollie is not the prick I originally thought he was, but he still definitely is a clinger. His problem is that he feeds off the emotions and attention of others. Could be bad, depending on what you think about people like that. I could definitely use that to my advantage.
Angela is completely and utterly a wreck. I had previously thought that she was the one who had all of her shit under control but she definitely does not, and most of t is really all of her fault.
Depending on if you sympathize with her or not.
Here and there she's dropped some information about her and Elliot's friendship. It seems like a healthy friendship, but as Angela gets more intoxicated, I can tell she doesn't really feel that way.
Oddly enough, the reason I have chose to pursue a job in the mental health/psychology field is because many people have told me that talking to me is like talking to a therapist. I'm not completely sure why people confide in me, but I could guess why.
I don't talk.
A lot of people of problems. That's a given. A lot of people talk about their problems with others and don't expect the person they are venting to try and fix all their problems. That's where I come in handy. I don't interrupt, I rarely comment unless asked to/provoked and only add advice when strongly needed. Really it works out quite well.
Personally I know I cannot fix everyone, especially even myself at this point, so I don't feel guilty when I sleep at night. But if I can at least lend an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on, it makes me feel better.
Now, where Angela comes in. She's playing the polar opposite role of mine and not only is she the one venting, but she's drunk venting. These types of people can be extremely tricky but also fun at the same time. They keep calm every single day, putting up with stress and daily life struggles; being so patient and then suddenly they get a little alcohol in them and the dam breaks. Everything is let loose.
I've been listening to this woman ramble for almost an hour now and I'm really thinking I should start charging people for this. The conversation has now turned to how she wish her and Elliot were close like they used to be, how she wishes they could see eachother more.
This would be completely fine if I were not completely biased. Elliot is my "cute guy at work" who I now admit that I'm probably semi stalking. Or at least he probably thinks I am. I assume Angela and Elliot are a package deal, and that's what Ollie is just now learning to deal with.
Since the rambling has now stopped, I take time to assess this situation. I think I know what her problem is. She expects too much. From what she says, he has only declined since the death of his father
(A/N i know elliot and angela only met after their dad and mom died but just for a sec let's pretend that didn't happen, lol)
Which is, sadly, some information I wish she had not told me. I wish he would have had the chance to tell me on his own.
As I was saying, Angela expects a tremendous amount of things from Elliot when she should know well enough he cannot give her that but her and her boyfriend still decide to push him anyways - or at least that's what it sounds like.
Gladly our conversation is cut short by Angela needing to pee.
Hopefully she gets distracted by someone or something inside so I have some time to myself, and so I don't have to dread her coming back to the patio although I'll probably do that anyways.
I guess you could really say I am a loner. This is the biggest social event I've been to in years, and the only one I've been to since I have been an adult and things are completely different now.
My thoughts are cut short because I hear someone come out onto the patio and I'm expecting to see Angela's face when I turn around.
Nope. Just my luck.
It's Elliot.
Elliot immediately adverts his eyes to the city lights and landscape of Gideon's back yard while pulling out a pack of cigarettes.
Huh, a smoker. Who would have thought.
Personally, I think trying to strike up a conversation with him would only lead to absolute disaster with me looking like a fool at the end so I am refusing to initiate anything. I would only probably make him more uncomfortable than he already is.
I start walking away towards the end of the patio and lean over the railing to get a better look at everything. It's extremely peaceful but the breeze has picked up since Angela and I first came out here and definitely much more than when we first arrived here.
Strangely, I even think it has dropped a couple degrees since Elliot came out.
------
A/N : Thank y'all so much for taking the time to read this story!