Living Arrangements by Zoelis9 COMPLETE.pdf

Fanfiction Based On Characters From Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Series

Rated M for Mature Content

Living Arrangements

By Zoelis9

Summary: AH. After a fire destroys Alice and Bella’s apartment, they are

forced to stay at Alice’s brother’s place until it can be restored. How will Bella

adjust to her new living arrangement? And can she ignore her attraction to

Edward during her stay? E&B.

~*~

Chapter 1: Fire

BPOV

“I hate my job, I hate my job, I hate my job,” I murmured to myself as I

entered the door, throwing my keys on the coffee table.

“Then why don‟t you just quit?” Alice asked, peeping up from her book.

“Because I am this close to getting my promotion and my dream job. My editor

says that if I hang on one more month he‟ll bump me up to columnist. Then, I

can work from home and stop writing about dead people,”

“Well, I think your obituaries are very sweet. And I‟m sure things will get

better once you get that promotion,”

“Let‟s hope so. Otherwise, I‟m going to have to marry rich or something. The

nine to five work week is not for me,”

Alice closed her book and jumped off the couch. “Okay, so it‟s finally weekend.

What do you want to do on this glorious Friday night?”

She followed me into the kitchen as I opened a bottle of water. I sighed when I

saw the excited look in her eyes.

“Something told me you already made plans…”

“Well, Jasper and I are going out to the club, and I was thinking about calling

my brother, Edward. He just moved here and I thought it would be cool for

him to meet some new people. Emmett and Rose might meet us down there

too,”

“Alice, I am really not in the mood to go clubbing. I‟ve had the week from hell

and all I want to do is curl up in bed and watch some crappy TV,”

“You know what, Bells? Usually, I would push you on this, but I can see that

you are not in the mood for a debate,”

“Thank you so much Alice,” I said, giving her a huge hug. I was surprised at

this new Alice. Ever since she met Jasper, she had become less and less pushy.

Granted, she was still impossibly perky and would drag me to every mall in the

city on a Saturday morning, but I have come to enjoy that time I got to spend

with my best friend.

Alice and I had met in college. We were roommates freshman year, and the

next year we moved into apartments near campus with our friend Rosalie. I

was a journalism major, while Rose and Alice studied fashion design. After

graduation, the two of them got jobs at Ralph Lauren, while I started working

for a local paper.

My biggest mistake was moving in with my boyfriend, Jake, right after

graduation. Alice and Rosalie got a place in the city, while I stayed near the

college with Jake in a crappy studio apartment.

After a year, Jake had become super possessive and would hardly let me leave

the house to go see my friends. I would only leave to go to work, and then I

would return home for questioning.

Every night, the words got harsher and harsher. Every night, his grip became

tighter and tighter. It wasn‟t until the night he pushed me into the wall that I

knew I had to get out. Jake moved back to Forks, while I transferred to a

mainstream newspaper in Seattle, where I luckily found Alice.

She and Rosalie were still roommates when I got there, but Rose moved out to

go live with Emmett. I took over her room, and things finally came together.

I was now writing announcements for The Seattle Times , mostly doing

weddings and obituaries. It was a crappy job, but since my friend Angela got a

job in broadcast, there was room in the paper for another columnist. Everyone

knew I was next in line for that job, and I was working my ass off to make sure

I got it.

So, other than my boring occupation, life was going at a pretty average rate. I

hadn‟t dated anyone since Jake, and I wasn‟t blind to Alice‟s attempts to set me

up with her brother.

Since she had met Jasper three months ago, she was desperate to find me

someone to be just as happy with. This was the third time she had suggested

going out with Edward, who I had yet to meet.

Honestly, I knew that if he was anything like Alice, I would click with him

immediately…and that was my greatest fear. I wasn‟t ready to get involved

with anyone right now, and I knew that I would mess up any relationship I got

into. I wasn‟t about to take that chance with the brother of my best friend.

“All right, Bella, I‟m going out now,” Alice called from the door an hour later.

“Have fun tonight,”

“You too,”

When the door shut I sighed in relief. I had the whole place to myself. I

decided to make some popcorn and curl up on the couch. I changed into my

comfiest pajama‟s and pulled my hair back into a messy ponytail. Maybe

tonight I would finally catch up on some sleep.

As I waited for the food to be ready, I lay down and gently closed my eyes. I

was exhausted from today, and I needed some rest. The beep from the

microwave would wake me up.

That was what I thought. However, I was not expecting to be awaken by Alice‟s

shrieks as she returned home to our kitchen completely engulfed in flames.

By the time we safely evacuated the building and called 911, half of our

apartment was ruined. Alice was freaking out, telling me that she thought I

was dead. She explained that she decided to come home early to hang out with

me, when she found the place on fire.

Apparently, a fuse had burst in the microwave as I was sleeping. Since it was

an electrical fire, I could have been in real danger. By the time I woke up, the

two of us had to navigate out of the apartment, coughing because of the smoke

that was quickly filling up the room.

I admit that Alice and I had completely disregarded every rule of fire safety.

We didn‟t crawl to avoid the smoke. We didn‟t test the door before we opened

it. And I grabbed my purse before leaving the apartment. I had just taken out

three hundred dollars in cash the day before, and I wasn‟t about to let it go up

in flames.

Luckily, we were safe and sound now. I was surprised that Alice wasn‟t

freaking out about her clothes and the furniture. She was really just glad that

we were both okay. Even though I blamed myself, the fire department assured

me that it was faulty wiring in the product. We had just bought that microwave

a week ago and this was the first time it was used.

The fireman also informed us that we would have to find a new place to live

until the place is restored, which could take up to three months. I sighed.

“Where are we going to go?” I asked Alice. “Rose and Emmett only have a one

bedroom. Jasper too. Everyone else we know lives out of the city. We both

know we can‟t afford to stay in a hotel that long…”

“Relax,” Alice laughed, putting her hands on my shoulders. “I know someone

who lives down the street, has at least one extra bedroom, and will be happy to

put us up for the time being,”

“Okay, but do you know this person well enough?”

“Trust me,” Alice smirked. “He‟s like family,”

With that, Alice took out her cell phone and dialed Edward‟s number.

~*~

Chapter 2: Control

EPOV

I was glad that we decided to leave the club early that night. I had a lot to sort

through to get settled into my new place. I had bought a spacious two-

bedroom apartment not far from Alice‟s place so I would know someone close

by.

I moved here from Alaska, where the rest of my family was. I was offered a job

at a firm here in Seattle, where I could finally use my law degree to serve more

than four people a quarter. I needed to get out of that small town. Sure, things

would be more expensive and crowded. But I liked that. I liked the thrill of

going somewhere new.

Another bonus of Seattle was the fact that I was now far from Tanya. We broke

off our two-year relationship after I caught her cheating on me with my boss,

Marcus. I left her back in Alaska, as well as my family, and my job. I needed a

fresh start.

Much to my dismay, Alice took that to mean that I was looking for a new

relationship. I had heard her speak of her friend, Bella, ever since she started

college six years ago. Bella even went up to Alaska a few years ago for

Christmas, but I was too busy at work to make it home. I had yet to meet this

person that Alice had talked so fondly of over the years.

Although I was interested to meet Bella, based off of curiosity alone, I really

didn‟t like the idea of getting into a relationship, especially with Alice‟s best

friend. I couldn‟t ruin that. Alice was the only family I had close by, and I cared

for her as any big brother would. At the club, I had met Jasper, her latest love

interest, and I really hoped that one would stick. They seemed truly infatuated

with each other, and Alice seemed happier than I have ever seen her.

As I started to take some of the books from the boxes, and place them on the

shelves, my phone started ringing. I was hoping it would be the people who

were supposed to be delivering my piano, but instead it was Alice.

“I thought you went home,” I greeted, thinking she was still wandering the

club. I heard noise in the background, so I assumed it was busy.

“Edward, something happened,” her voice said shakily. She was calm, but I

could tell she was anxious.

“Alice, are you okay?”

“Yeah, we‟re fine. But, when I got home, the apartment was on fire,”

“Holy crap,” I gasped worriedly. “Are you hurt? Where are you right now?”

“I‟m okay, Edward. Relax. Bella and I were able to get out. But the apartment

is trashed and we won‟t be able to move in for about three months,”

“Stay right there. I‟m coming to pick you guys up,” I immediately demanded.

“It wouldn‟t be too much trouble having us, right? I know you‟re just getting

settled. Is there enough room?”

“Don‟t be stupid, sis,” I scolded, grabbing my coat. “I‟ll be there in five

minutes,”

As I approached Alice‟s apartment, I saw a crowd of people outside, as well as

a fire truck. I immediately jumped out of my car and ran towards the truck,

where sure enough, Alice was standing with a blanket wrapped around her.

When she saw me, she ran up to me and threw her arms around my neck.

“Thank God you‟re here!” She whispered, as she started to shake. “I was so

freaked out,”

“You‟re okay, right?” I asked, worriedly.

“I‟m fine,”

“What about your friend? Is she okay?”

“She‟s kind of shaken up. She thinks it‟s her fault that the apartment caught on

fire. But the fireman told us that it was the wiring in the microwave. It could

have happened to anyone,”

“That‟s too bad. Where is she? If everything‟s done here, we can get going. I‟m

sure you both are really tired,”

“Yeah, I‟ll go find her. I think she was talking to the insurance guy. I‟ll be right

back,”

A few seconds later, I saw Alice approaching with her arm around the most

beautiful woman I have ever seen. She had dark brown hair that was pulled

back in a pony tail. Her eyes were full of worry and apology. Her pale skin was

glowing even though it was dark outside. I wanted nothing more than to put

my arms around her and comfort her. It was like she was pulling me to her like

a magnet.

When Alice brought her over, the girl stared at me, wide-eyed, and a pink

blushed graced her cheeks. It killed me. Up close she was even more dazzling.

She had beautiful pink lips and her brown eyes pulled me in even more.

“Bella, this is my brother, Edward. Edward, this is Bella,” Alice introduced.

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