You Like Me Just the Way I'm Not

As soon as Belle entered the studio that morning, it didn't take them long to get to work. Robert suggested that she'd take a look at the type of songs he had written for her already, but Belle told him she wanted to try out her stuff instead; only if he would let her. She'd written numerous of songs in her lyric book including the song she had written down at the beach yesterday afternoon. Belle wanted to record 'Dream Catcher' first. A song she'd always been performing since she was 16. Adam agreed along with her because he had heard it before, especially on the day he met her down town near the shopping center she was performing by. Robert could tell the song meant a lot to her. He thought about it for a while until he finally made a decision.

"Tell you what, I'll make you a deal." He said. "You give me your lyric book and I'll scan over your work. I choose my top 10. You sing one of my songs and you can record yours. Deal?" Belle grinned and ran over to Robert giving him a big hug.

"Deal!"

-

3 hours later, Robert had scanned through the songs Belle wrote. He had to admit, Belle was very inspirational and he was slightly impressed, but there were a few changes that had to be made. Robert promised he'd help her improve the lyrics later on. The pair had recorded Roberts song "The First Chance' already. It wasn't the kind of music Belle was used to, but the beat was catchy. They were now currently recording the song 'Dream-Catcher'. He looked up at the blonde through the glass screen and watched her sing her heart out. They were currently half way through the song which was going well so far.

"It's easy to see we're running out of time.
The walls are collapsing.
They're coming down on me (coming down, coming down).
And nothings as it seems.
This world is in ruins you can't believe what you see.
Don't you see, don't you see?"

Belle finished singing and took a deep breath. She looked back at Robert nervously through the screen. "So...how was I? Terrible? Suckish?"

"A voice of an angel." He replied. Belle sighed in relief and beamed happily. "Take half an hour break. You've done well Bells." The girl laughed. Robert had been calling her 'Bells' for the past hour. She guessed it was a new nickname for her.

-

Belle made her way down towards the cafeteria on the second floor. She noticed that not many people were around. A few people would come and go, but the place was mainly empty. There were numerous types of food being served, both hot and cold. There was enough to have a full breakfast and you could choose whatever you wanted from different flavored muffins to hot soup. Belle helped herself to a bottle of fresh orange juice, a sandwich pack and a banana muffin. She decided to buy a candy bar for Adam as well who hadn't stopped complaining all morning. It was driving her mad. Belle heard someone approach her from behind, but didn't pay too much attention as she made her way to the till where a middle aged woman was serving.

"$4.60 altogether please." Belle got out her card, but the woman frowned and pointed to the sign above her. "Cash only sweetheart, sorry."

"I don't have any change." Belle frowned. The woman pulled a face and shrugged at her.

"It's okay, I'll pay." a familiar voice spoke beside Belle. She spun to her left and saw Alex standing there.

"You don't have to do that." she reassured him. Alex shook his head and chuckled.

"I told you it's okay. Besides, I won't take no for an answer." he passed the change over to the lady and gave her a kind smile. "Florence, always nice to see you."

"You too Alexander." The woman mumbled back before disappearing off into the back where the kitchen was. Belle collected her items and thanked Alex. "I'll pay you back as soon as possible." she promised. Alex shook his head and glanced down at the girl.

"No need. Don't worry about it." Belle smiled at the him and walked off to one of the tables in the center of the cafeteria. Alex watched her walk away and he slowly made his way towards where she was sitting; Belle noticed a tall figure standing in front of her and when she looked up, Alex was staring back at her.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked. Belle swallowed nervously and shook her head. Alex immediately sat across from her.

"So, I'm Alex." he announced.

"I know who you are."

"Really?" Alex asked with curious eyes. She smiled softly and moved her head to the side.

"Lets just say I'm a big fan of All Time Low." she said embarrassingly. Alex grinned and placed his right elbow on top of the table slightly messing up his hair with his hand.

"Favourite song?"

"Remembering Sunday." She replied while opening up her bottle of juice. "It was the first song I learnt on guitar." Belle continued.

"I'm impressed." Alex answered feeling quite honored. She sent him a soft smile in return.

"So um...you're Belle right?" She nodded at him.

"How'd you know?"

"I overhead your name back in the hallway earlier on when we were kinda having a staring contest. So, what was the song you were singing before?" Alex had left his studio when his ex girlfriend decided to ring him. Of course he wasn't happy about it, but when he had heard a girl singing, he instantly hung up. Her voice was beautiful that he was left stunned when he realised it was coming from Belle.

"Wait? How'd you-were you eavesdropping?" Belle gulped, at first she was horrified and then she felt panic. Alex could sense by the look on her face that he spooked her.

"Okay! Okay! I sneaked into your studio and I hid, but believe me, when I saw you in there, you were singing with so much passion. I loved it." Belle was left overwhelmed. There was a long pause before Alex spoke up again.

"You're from England too right? The accent kinda gives it away." he said changing the subject quickly.

"Yeah, I'm from London, but I live an hour away from the city." Alex nodded and bit his lip. "I'm originally from Essex. I moved over to America at a young age after my dad remarried." Alex confessed. Belle nodded. She already knew this from when he talked about his family whilst on the radio back in England. There was an odd silence after that. As Alex checked his phone. Belle sat eating in slight awkwardness. It was kinda unreal for her to be sitting in front of one of her idols. Alex checked to see he had four unread messengers from Jack. He rolled his eyes at his best friends suspiciousness.

'Where the fuck are you?'
'How long does it take to get a coffee?'
'Did you get kidnapped?'
'Alexander, this isn't funny! You've been gone fucking 10 minutes now'

Alex silently chuckled and he looked up at Belle who was staring back at him with her eyebrows raised. "My best friend thinks I got kidnapped." the blonde laughed. Alex instantly melted at the sound of her angelic laugh. He was stunned. Belle finished eating before she got up to collect her rubbish and she threw it into the trash can. She checked her phone and noticed she had to be back in 7 minutes. Belle quietly cursed. 'Time goes fast as you're talking to a famous band member' she thought.

"Hey um, Alex I have to get back to the studio otherwise my producer is going to kick my ass." she joked. Alex shot up suddenly, accidentally banging his hip on the side of the table. He hissed out in pain which took Belle by surprise and she cringed at him as he held onto his side.

"Let me walk back with-you. We're going the same route anyway." he stuttered in discomfort. The utter throbbing was hurting Alex like hell. As they were rounding the corner towards Studio 5 and 6, Belle turned round to face Alex. She spun around too fast that she didn't realise how close she was to Alex's face. She jumped back in embarrassment and looked down.

"Er- thanks again Alex for paying the food. You really didn't have to do that and I'm really sorry about your hip." Alex placed his hand on one of her shoulders while holding his sore hip with the other and he looked down at her.

"Belle chillax! That wasn't your fault OK?. It was just me being a dick and hey listen I need to ask you something."

"Alright."

"My bands going down to Malibu beach tonight. We're having a BBQ, you know some drinks, songs around the camp-fire, that sort of thing. It would be amazing if you could be there." Alex explained. He was hoping she'd say yes. He desperately wanted to see her again. Belle bit her lip and stared back into his soft hazel eyes who was silently waiting for an answer.

"I'll try to come." she said sending him a smile before heading into the studio.