Beauty and the Beast

Isabelle's POV (And a little Garreth)

Light poured into my room, turning my once dark haven into a boiling soup of evil sunlight. I groaned, and turned my head into the stuffy confines of my pillow, trying to block the light out. But the damage was done, my eyes had been exposed to the day, and my body was already waking up, no matter how hard my mind and soul clamored for more sleep.
“Stupid sun, can’t give a person ten more minutes of sleep.” I grumbled, rubbing my eyes. "Damn star doesn’t have enough common courtesy to let a girl sleep.”
I am not a morning person. I loathe the morning. To me, waking up every morning is torture, and if I ever go to hell (God forbid) this will probably end up being my eternal punishment. With that happy note, I rolled out of bed, groaning at the sunlight pouring into my room.
My body chose mid-roll to freeze up in pain, causing me to fall flat on my face, instead of what I intended to do, which was to roll gracefully to my feet.
I landed on my face. There were a couple things wrong with that. One being I landed on my face, and the second being I landed on my face, on my wood floor. The hard contact smashed my nose fully against my face and further aggravated my soreness, and as my head had slammed against said floor, gave me a killer headache.
What a lovely way to start the day.
I rolled over on to my back, and looked up at the ceiling, cataloging every ache and pain.
My arm was the worst, I hazard a quick glance and immediately looked away, the bruise was worse, it now covered half of my arm, and the merest movement brought on a wave of pain I’m sure my ancestors felt. It kind of freaked me out. The bruise looked like some alien creature had crawled under my skin, and was now spreading itself all through my body. I shuddered, and immediately banished the thought.
Then there was my derriere. I think when Ryan had pushed me out of the way, causing our somewhat rough landing on the unyielding concrete, my butt bone had taken the brunt of the fall. But I was just going on the incredible pain my ass was in.
“Bells, what on earth are you doing on the floor?” I tipped my head up to see my dad standing in the doorway, his glasses pushed up on his forehead. Uh-oh. I sat up.
My dad only pushed his glasses up like that when he was stressed.
“Umm… Meditating…” I said and blushed when he just gave me a confused look. If I told him the truth, he would probably freak out, and blame Tier. I cleared my throat. “So, um, what’s up, dad?”
“Bells… I got some bad news.” His voice was heavy with strain, and it upset me as much as it worried me to see him like this. His slacks, normally immaculate and wrinkle free was a maze of wrinkles and stains. His shirt wasn’t tucked in, and that is a sin in my dad’s opinion.
Thou shalt not leave thy shirt un-tucked.
“You’re pregnant?” I joked uneasily. My dad never is this… upset. And it can’t be good.
He gave a startled laugh. “No, no its nothing like that.” He cleared his throat. “We made a breakthrough on the liquid—“
“Dad that’s great!” My dad, and a couple other scientists have been working for years on this magnetic liquid that can solidify at the press of a button into a light-weight, easy to maneuver in, bullet-proof vest.
And then, if that works out, they’re going to try to find a way to soak clothes in the liquid, allowing civilians to be bullet proof as well.
It’s all a little paranoid, and way, way over my head, but I was happy for him nonetheless.
He and his partners have been working on this thing for eons, since BEFORE I was born. If that gives you any insight on just how long they’ve been messing with this stuff.
“Yeah, but… we need to move to a bigger laboratory, and there aren’t any big enough, or with the right tools we need, in the U.S… And there is this convention we have to attend, since we had such a big breakthrough…” He trailed off at my sharply indrawn breath.
“What.... Where?” I got up, shakily.
He gave me a sheepish, guilty smile. “Japan.”
“Japan…” I said weakly, sitting right back down. I put my head in my hands as the bitter taste of dread coated my throat.
Japan. As in freaking all the way across the world, as in away from Maurice, from graduating, from Ryan. “Dad—I--- What about graduating?”
He put his hand on my shoulder, rubbing. “I’m sorry, Bells.”
My heart felt like it had been replaced with a black hole or something. A myriad of emotions assaulted me. Most of them being on the dark side of things; fury (even though it’s not his fault), despair, all of it a heavy ache in my throat.
“But it’s senior year.”
“Well, I can’t just leave you here, Bells.” I hung my head. “I can’t just leave school, dad. Or Maurice.” Or Ryan.
“You’ll have schooling there, your very own tutor.” I just gave him a bland stare. I didn’t want a tutor. I wanted to stay here. I need to stay here.
Maurice wouldn’t have anyone; he would be by himself, alone. Oh, God. I could picture his round, smiling face. His laugh. His smell. His company.
Tears welled up in my eyes, threatening to spill over in a glittery river down my face. I wiped at the streaming escapees. My dad leaned down, and gave me a hard hug.
“I know its not fair, Belle. But you can’t stay here by yourself.”
“What about Maurice?” I blubbered, rubbing my wet face on my dad’s t-shirt.
“You know his grandmother would never let you stay there for that long. She has a heart attack when you go over to spend the afternoon there.”
He was right. Maurice’s parents were brilliant photographers, and they were constantly traveling. In order for Maurice to have a normal childhood, they stuck him with his grandmother, who is the strictest person I have ever met in my life. She’s old-fashioned and mean.
“What about…” His phone rang in his bedroom, and he gave me a quick squeeze before running to go answer it.
I sat there on my floor, the tears still flowing heavily. How could this happen? Why now?
Why do I have to leave Maurice? My school.
And Ryan. God, what am I going to do about Ryan?

People walked by me, oblivious of my desolation. I walked through the courtyard, in search of Ryan and Maurice, dreading the moment I have to tell them the news.
I felt like I was betraying them somehow.
Oh, damn. There he is.
Ryan turned the corner, his face pale, drawn. But a huge smile broke out on his face as he walked closer.
I started towards him, my desperation pushing me towards him. His face quickly grew worried, and he frowned as he started to run towards me. I sped up as well, and when he stopped in front of me, I grabbed his arms, needing some sort of contact to keep me from bawling like a baby.
“Ryan.” My voice shook. “I’m sorry…” God, I swallowed a sob. “I’m so sorry.”
“What’s wrong? Are you OK?” His voice held a note of concern I wasn’t used to hearing from him. Overnight he had changed from a surly, petulant bastard to a caring, concerned human being.
It was almost my undoing, seeing the worry shining in his eyes. But I steeled myself up, and blurted out the news.
“My dad,” I said, my eyes tearing up again. Damn it, I was sick of my eye ducts overreacting like this. I have never leaked this much in my life. “He has to go to Japan…” I couldn’t remember why as his blue eyes met mine. I had never noticed how beautiful they are. Bright and glittering, his eyes bore into mine. “An invention convention… And I don’t have anywhere else to stay… I’m sorry… I have to go with him.”
Shock, misery, resentment; it all flitted over his face in mere seconds. And finally settled on a concerned frown.
“I’m so sorry.” I whispered, looking down at the ground. He was going to have to face the consequences. Not me. Not my dad. Him.
“Why?” He said quietly, and put his hand under my chin. Tilting my face up to his own, his blue eyes searched my face. “It isn’t your fault.” Instinctively, we moved closer, our faces were inches away, and he gave me a soft, sad smile.
A smile I wouldn’t have associated with Ryan Tier. A smile that made him seam human.
“But I—“ I broke off as my cell phone rang. Still fighting back the blasted tears, I dug through my pack as Ryan looked on, still standing closer.
“Hello?”
“Bells!” My dad chirped from the other side.
“Dad.”
“Good news.” My heart soared. Maybe, just maybe. “I found someone you can stay with!”
“Who?” I said eagerly.
“Garreth White’s parents said you can stay with them.”

“Look at them.” Garreth spat.
He hung in the shadows, welcoming the slight chill the darkness brought. He was out of sight, able to watch Isabelle and Ryan with hatred pouring off of him in waves.
Jesse followed his gaze to the couple, leaning towards each other. The Beauty and the Beast.
“Why don’t you just give up on her?” Jesse said cautiously. “It’s not like there isn’t other girls, twice as hot as her in this school.”
Garreth turned to Jesse, his eyes filled with hate. It twisted his features, turning his once handsome face into something more repulsive and dangerous. Jesse took a step back instinctively from the frightening rage on Garreth’s face.
“She will be mine, Jesse. I deserve her. Not that stupid bastard.”
“I—“
“I will have her.”
“I know, but—“
“And Tier,” Garreth gave a humorless laugh. “He better hope he can get out of this with his life.”