Lace and Leather

Beautiful Day U2

I walked back inside my apartment, where I turned on the iHome, turning the volume way up. I went to my closet and found the black dress I had already decided to wear, along with my new pair of black heals and black bangle. I lied said articles on my bed and walked to the bathroom where I stripped down and let the water fall.

While I waited for the tub to fill, I went and grabbed a towel, shampoo bottles, soap bar, shaver and candles, of course. I settled the items on the ceramic tiles that surrounded the tub, and lit a few of the lavender candles. I settled inside, after many failed attempts, due to my body's disagreement with the hot water inside the tub. And while I rubbed my skin, and twirled my hair with the appropriate soaps, my thoughts wondered upon tonight's activities.

Was Bill serious about picking me up tonight?
Would they really let me into such an exclusive German affair?
Would Bill really spend the evening with me?
Would the paparazzi take advantage of such an occasion?
And, if so, should I let them win and just go after Bill?

Either way, tonight would be spent with Bill and the guys. And I would have fun.

-LnL-
"Even my grandmother hates that joke!" Klaus Knigge, tonight's comedic act, was absolutely killing it.

"We need to go see him live!" Bill said, clutching his stomach after laughing so much. I couldn't even answer him, my insides hurt too much to even breathe a word, so I just nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, that's my show! Have a good night!" He put the mic back on the stand and left the stage, leaving the audience to clap at him. Then, a rather elderly looking man took up the stage and sung some old German songs.

"So, what time are they making the wall fall 'again'?" Gustav's date asked.

"What wall?" I asked, completely confused. But still keeping up in Bill and I's little game of 'footsie'. We may not be showing it, but we where together. We cleared that up in the Audi, helicopter and limo ride here. Yeah, that's right, limo. We rode with the guys in the limo they rented. I was so happy that Bill made sure no paparazzi members saw us, that I decided to give him a chance. I don't see why not, if he's willing to do it underground just to assure we won't get caught. And any boy who goes that far for me is worth giving a chance.

"Mh," Bill put down his glass, mid drink, so he could answer me.

"They've made mini versions of the wall and sent them to be painted by children who live in countries where there is war." A male voice said, from behind me. Clearly, some strange guy had been listening in on us. Although I did find his French accent a little odd.

All of those thoughts slipped my mind when I turned to see who had just said that, for I just could not believe it. "Anatole?"

"Long time, huh?" He chuckled. I dashed from my seat and jumped on my old friend.

"I've missed you." He whispers to my ear.

"I've missed you too." I reply, in a hush voice. We had gotten enough attention from the others, we didn't need anymore. Darwin, it felt like everyone had their eyes on us. But I guess that's my fault for flipping out.

He then lets me down, gently, and I'm astonished by how much he's grown. The little Anatole I knew no longer existed, but a tall, well-built and well crafted man now took his place. "Well, sit down, silly." I took my seat back, and we got the waiters to make room for him and get him an other chair. "So how did you get in here? I thought this was a German affair." I questioned once he was settled.

"Your kind friend over there hooked me up." He nodded his head to Bill. Bill chuckled before replying.

"You where only supposed to drop by after I texted you." He narrowed his eyes at Anatole but kept a smirk on his face, to look like he didn't mind. But deep inside, I knew it bothered him a bit.

"Why would you do that?" I looked at Anatole for an answer. But saw that everyone else who was paying attention had a grin on their face. "What's going on?"

"I saw you perform at the EMA's, and immediately recognized you. So I called to see if we could meet up-"

"And I was there when Jost received the call. I asked him who was calling and what they wanted when he told me Anatole's name, so I took his phone and made this happen." Bill finished for him.

"Aw, Bill! Thank you." I grabbed his hand from under the table. And his face got brighter.

"Happy birthday." I gasped.

"You remembered!" My grip got tighter.

"Of course I did." He laughed at me, and I laughed because he was laughing.

"I should have come with a giant bow on my head." Anatole muttered. Bill and I laughed even harder.

"We have so much catching up to do!" I turned back to Anatole, who nodded.

"That we do." He smirked and took a sip of the wine. "And you have some growing up to do. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've stopped growing years ago." He teased. Scary how he almost knew the real reason. I looked at Bill to ask, but his face was equally tense as mine, so was his hold on my hand. Thankfully, the others didn't notice, for they where all too busy laughing.

"Very funny, Anna." I retorted.

"So not cool!" He chuckled. Even if he wanted to be mad.

Bill's P.O.V
About two hours went by since Anatole's surprise, and even though I was sitting next to Georgina, she hardly said a word to me. All she ever did was talk to that Anatole guy. Leaving me to myself, since everyone had a date. Even Tom hooked up with some random blond actress who I did not recognize.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to use the little girl's room." Anatole nodded and chuckled, while she got up and left.

"Having fun?" Anatole asked me. Is he seriously rubbing it in my face?

"Oh yeah." I nodded with fake enthusiasm.

"You haven't been talking much..." Or maybe he was just making small talk?

"Yeah..." I nodded and looked away. Anyway, the '50 seconds' rule had passed, making it clear for me to go after Georgina without raising any brows. And I seriously need to have a little chat with her. "Excuse me." I mumbled, leaving my nap on the table. And I was out of there before anyone could say a word. I made my way across all of the tables on the way to the bathrooms, all most knocking down a few people as I went. I got in front of the two doors, looked over both my shoulders and discreetly pushed the one designated for women only, making sure nobody noticed me.

"Ah! Male!" Georgina mumbled, pretending to be scared, when she hadn't even turned her head yet, too busy fixing her make up.

"No one here?" I sneak a glance under the stalls.

"If there was someone else here, I wouldn't have announced your presence." She chuckled.

"Anyway, can we like hide in a stall or something?" I urged.

"Relax. I anyone walks in, I'll erase their memory. I've been drinking a sufficient amount of blood, lately." She kept talking while applying her make up.

"Right..." I was a bit stomped, and at a lost for words. I mean how do you confront your date about flirting with someone else? If we are even dating, that is. She suddenly stopped applying her make up, and turned from the mirror to look at me with a look of concern.

"What's wrong, Bill?"

"You and Anatole, that's what..."

"What about us?" She looked utterly confused, and the tone of her voice confirmed that.

"You've been flirting all night long, when we're the ones who are supposed to be together."

"I can't believe you're jealous of Anatole." She chuckled and shook her head. My veins where now boiling.

"And why wouldn't I be? The both of you have been talking non stop all night long!" I swear my shoulder twitched. It was hard enough getting her to go out with me in any way, and now that she is, she starts flirting with an old crush?! I walked all the way to her, until we where only a few inches from one an other.

"We have a lot of catching up to do! We haven't seen each other in years..." Her voice sounded hesitating once I got to her.

"Yeah, but do you have to do it all in French?"

"I can't believe you're making a fuss about this! You're the one who brought him here, dammit!" She stomped.

"I didn't think he would take you away from me a night!" I stomped back.

"No he didn't! You didn't even look the slightest bit interested in joining our conversation!" Her voice sounded like she was a tad hurt.

"That's because you where speaking French!" I growled.

"I thought you said you spoke French!"

"Not that much! I swear, it's like he's pushing me away from you on purpose." I grumbled. Diverting my eyes to the side.

"You're unbelievable. Anatole is my friend. And if you would have been paying attention to our conversation you would have noticed that Anatole is engaged. Anatole isn't pushing anyone, but congratulations you've just pushed me away." She dashed right past me.

"Georgina..." She kept going. "Georgina, wait!" But then she left the bathroom, making it impossible for me to go after her without turning heads and starting tabloid rumors.

So much anger had coursed through my body from just one small argument, it was unreal. I don't think I've ever gotten so easily pissed. And over what? I don't even know anymore. I got so frustrated, that the urge to punch something sent my fist pounding against several bathroom stalls. How much longer must I wait to be with her? I've already waited 7 years since my last girlfriend! And now that I'm closer than ever of everything I've ever wanted, but my fame and jealousy gets in the way. Ugh....

Once I regained a bit of my posture, I went to the door and slowly creeped it open. I was pleasantly surprised with the lack of people near the door. Everyone was out on the balcony, watching as the ceremony went down. I found Georgina at the front door, waiting for the boy to come back with her coat. Perfect.

"Thanks." She smiled politely when she got it back.

"Georgina!" I jogged to meet her. She didn't even turn her head, she put her coat on instead. "Georgina, wait." Even with that, she kept going. I was too far away for her to hear me, even with my 'scream' worthy voice. That's when I noticed Anatole take a hold of her coat, so I stopped where I was. Luckily for me, I was close enough to hear them.

"So, when ever you get your butt back to France, here's my number." Anatole helped her put on her coat, then gave her a small piece of paper from behind.

"I will." She smiled up at him, and turned to face him.

"Happy birthday, Georgina." He put his arms up in front of her and she wrapped hers around his neck.

"Thanks." I read her lips.

"Let's hope we meet before an other 6 years go by." He chuckled, and let her go. She giggled and nodded at him, before walking over to the door.

"Bye." She smiled weakly and left the building.

"Bye." He replied, even though she couldn't hear him.

He turned to go back to the main room, but he stopped once he noticed me."Hey." I didn't want to glare at him, but it seemed as if my glare wouldn't leave. "Look, man. I didn't mean to make it look like where flirting, but looking back now I guess it did look pretty bad..."

"Guess?" I cocked a brow at him.

"Okay, yeah it looked like we where flirting, but we weren't." I gave him a look of disbelief. "I swear!"He put his palms up in front of him. "We where mostly just catching up."

"Why should I believe you? Heck, why should I trust you?" I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall.

"Look man, we talked about our past, present and you. That's it."

"Me?" I asked, my voice rising.

"Dude, don't you know?" I furrowed my brows in confusion."Oh my god. You don't know." He gasped.

"Know what?" I leaned my body against the wall and crossed my arms.

"She loves you. Very much." He stated. In all seriousness. "The fact that you didn't trust her enough tonight, really upset her." Tears threatened to fall and my voice felt like it would crack if I said anything, so I kept my eyes on my shoes. Unbelievable. "Now, normally I'd suggest you go after her, but from what she tells me, she doesn't want attention from the media and this would definitely cause some. So I suggest you just go after her, anyway that you can. But not by text. She'd hate that, since it's not as sincere."

"Anything else I should know about her?" I chuckled.

"She just wants to be happy, man. She used to be the happiest girl I knew back before the accident. And all she wants now is to just be herself and live her life. Now, there seems to be something bothering her, and I don't know whether it's because of something she got herself into or because you're not in her life, but either way, she wants you there. And she just wants to...be." He shrugged his shoulders, and put his palms up.

"How are you so sure?"

"Really? You're questioning me?" He scoffed.

"How can you be so sure she likes me?"

"Are you blind? Like seriously! Have you never noticed the way she looks at you? Or the way she talks to you? Heck! The way she talks about you is a dead give away. Look, I've got to go man. But promise me you'll take good care of her? And that you won't break her heart?"

"Promise." I smiled at him.

"Good. Well, it was nice meeting you, Bill."

"Yeah, nice meeting you too." we took our separate ways, and I walked up to the balcony to meet up with Tom. It seemed liked everyone here had someone, except for me. Even the ones on the street had someone.

"Hey. Where did the two Frenchies go to? Her place or his hotel room?" He teased me, with that obnoxious smirk of his. "Chill, Bill. Ha, that rhymed!" He laughed. Thankfully, his 'date' was no where to be seen, so this way, I could have my brother to myself.

"You're so drunk." I muttered.

"Hell yeah!" He chuckled, like the drunk guy he was.

"Aw common, man! Have a drink! You are at a party, after all." He took a drink from the tray of a passing waiter. "Here." I groaned but took the drink anyway. "Now take a drink." He was instructing me like a parent.

"You're not funny, like, at all."

"Oh swallow that drink and come watch the celebration with me." He pulled on my wrist and brought me to the edge of the balcony where we had a good view of what was going on. The celebration was fairly simple, yet the crowd was enormous. We could see the walls, and the small figurines known as 'U2' up on stage, singing 'beautiful day'. It's funny how that song made you just want to sway, find the one you love and kiss them.

Funny how I will only get the opportunity to do that on new years eve.