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Room 1802. The numbers of a new beginning. I put the card to the scanner and the elevator door opened, welcoming me to my first official home with it's melodic ping. I hid my glee behind a half-smirk, willing myself to at least wait until I got to my bedroom so I could jump on the 900 thread count sheets and sing Dancing Queen on the top of my lungs. The doors closed and I allowed myself a face splitting-grin. This was finally it. I was living on my own.
I had been packing and picking out furniture, tiles, lights and decor for the past four months. My dad, fortunately for me, was an effervescent business tycoon and he had promised that on my 17th birthday, that though I was still his little girl, I was allowed to grow up a bit. With a long list of standards - including him picking where I live, paying my bills to watch my spending and a visit from him every two weeks to check on me, he agreed to letting me go. If I abided by his rules he promised to upgrade my allowance generously after three months. If not, I was back to living with him, always on the move from country to country with no real time to make friends. I mean sure, I knew the Olsen's but I had no idea how to do my own laundry. I was pretty sure that wasn't a good thing.
By the time I pinged by the fifteenth floor my excitement could barely be contained. I calmed myself down and when it came time to enter the apartment, I re-assembled my smugness, watched the doors open and... had to pick up my jaw from the marble elevator floor. In front of me was a living room the size of a hotel lobby. My living room. Complete with the plush white Orion couch set I picked out, the 50'' TV, persian carpets, the marble-metal-mocha coffee table and a tiny red velvet circle box sitting right in the middle of the floor. I approached it cautiously, all of the James Bond movies I'd watched keeping me suspicious. I shifted my messenger bag from my right shoulder on to the couch, kneeling in front of it. Right as I moved my hand to lift the lid, the box moved. It moved. And meowed.
I froze. My eyes got prickly, I sat down flat on my butt and opened the present. Inside sat a fresh white kitten, eyes wide and blue, staring me in the face. Tears sprang down my cheeks as I gingerly picked up the kitten and held it out in front of me. Meow.
I had expressed my tiny fear of being absolutely alone after the big move only to my hairstylist over the phone. Dad must have heard and thought of this little guy. I cradled the baby cat to my chest and looked in the box again, where a note was stuck to the bottom. It read: For my princess. You're going to be fine. Call me if anything. I love you. Oh, and it's a boy! The only boy allowed in your apartment.
"Thank you daddy." I whispered.
I laughed and held up the kitten again. "What should I name you, hmm?" Meow. "I think I'm going to name you Jay. You look like a Jay. Welcome to our new home." I got up and went right into the kitchen which was actually a lot bigger than I had seen in the pictures.
There were double islands with four polished oak chairs to match the countertops. The chandelier was made up of lights encased in a glass box, illuminating the pristine gas stovetop, stainless steel refrigerator and polished travertine stone floor tiles. I opened the cupboards and they were already stocked with all of my favourite foods. The fridge was bursting with fruit and other essentials. I took out a bowl of pineapple's and munched as I continued my tour.
To my left was the rest of the apartment. The first door, the one on my right, was the infamous laundry room. Dad and I made sure to pick out the simplest machines, just in case. I scanned that as quickly as I could and moved on. Next was the guest bathroom. Clean, quaint, and a moderate size, just the way I designed it. There was a spare bedroom for when Dad would come visit so I went with modern furniture and a minimalist design. The only room left was at the end of the hall which I took a deep breath before entering.
Once I slid open the frosted glass bedroom door, tears formed again. I put down Jay and laughed as I took a bounding leap onto my California King. Though it was only a little before noon, the curtains were closed giving the room a twilight feel. The grey sheets went perfectly with the creme carpet and everything in between. The coffee colored pillows, the wooden bay window sill, the light oak walk in wardrobe. After exploring the closet I wandered into my personal bathroom, which was about to become my new haven with it's jacuzzi, ceiling rain shower head and miniature crystal chandelier.
I spun around to face the counter and ran my fingers along the smooth marble. I looked in the mirror, smiling at my own reflection. My dark amber hair was still smoothed to perfection and my grey eyes glinted like sparklers in July. I almost broke into song but decided against it.
"Too cliche?" I looked down at Jay who had followed me into the bathroom. Meow.
"You're right." I picked him up and pet his soft little head. And then the doorbell rang.
I wasn't expecting anybody so I crept apprehensively to the elevator doors. The surveillance camera my dad wanted installed hadn't been set up yet so I didn't know who it could have been. I took a chance, pressed the button that lets people up and braced myself, holding Jay close. The doors opened and in front of me stood a man. A tall, light haired, strong jawed man. His golden eyes shimmered and his grin was blinding. He was also holding a package and was wearing a UPS delivery man outfit.
Oh how I wished I was wearing my favourite lavender boatneck that made me feel like Tyra Banks.
"Package for Miss Olivia Stalls." He held out his clipboard and I took it without breaking eye contact. Jay meowed and pawed at him from my arm.
"Thank you. Who is this from?" I had enough confidence to not feel inferior to his godlike beauty but still couldn't help feel a bit weak in the knees.
"I'm sure it'll say in the package, Miss." He smiled at me and retrieved the clipboard.
"Well thank you, Mr...?" I put Jay down, lowered my eyelids at him and smiled. It took him a while to answer so I knew I was doing a fine job.
"J-Julian. Just Julian." He shook his head and grinned back at me. He had caught himself. Good.
"It was nice meeting you Just Julian. Have a nice day." I took the package and backed up a step so the elevator could close. He never broke eye contact and his grin became a smirk as the doors closed on him.
"Ahh!" I squealed and did the whole girly dancing bit. He was absolutely stunning, and if he was the delivery man then I knew that I'd be doing a whole lot of online shopping. I plopped down on the couch, put the parcel down on the table and tore straight through the wrapping. The box was white with gold script of the brand name Zac Posen written on it. Was this some kind of a joke? I removed the lid and a black designer dress stared me in the face along with a pair of nude Louboutin's. I lifted the dress and the tag was still on it, though the price had been scratched out. Inside of one of the shoes was a piece of paper that looked as if it was torn out of a notebook, saying: Welcome to the neighbourhood. Be down at 8. Apt 1501. - J&G
I automatically didn't trust this "J&G" considering I had been home for approximately 3.5 seconds and they knew I was there. That meant that someone was keeping tabs on me, waiting for me to arrive. Which could be bad. But then again, how bad could "J&G" be if they bought me $10,000 dollars in couture as a housewarming present before they had even met me? I deliberated as I paced for an hour, took a long shower, set up a litter box area in the laundry room for Jay and then finally sat down for a breather on my couch.
If I was going to go to this persons apartment, I would be putting myself in danger. Possibly serious danger. And that alone should have been enough to make me want to stay home, curl up onto the couch, grab a book, some snacks and spend the rest of my night relaxing and enjoying my new place. Except I wanted to go. I really wanted to go.
So I did.
I was at war with myself as I carefully applied my signature heavy liner and mascara, one part of me saying I was going mad, the other daring me to live a little. I sighed when I thought about what my father would think but then shook my head because he had always been overprotective. I recalled once when I was eight, to keep the sons of his business partners away from me on one of his long trips, he bought out an entire movie theatre to keep me occupied for the day, watching whatever I wanted, flitting from film to film. I didn't think much about it at the time other than that my daddy loved me but later when I was thirteen I realized it was just a precaution. Since then I had tried my best to live my life with as much vigor and release as I could.
I threw the black lace dress on, slipped on the shoes and padded over to the mirrors in the walk-in. I had to blink twice before I finally breathed out in shock. I looked amazing. "J&G" really knew how to make a girl blossom, even in funeral colours. I tossed my soft wave of hair behind my back and checked myself out one more time before I decided I was finally ready. Jay trotted into view from underneath my bed and gave me what felt like an approving head tilt.
"Think I look good, hmm?" I bent at the waist to better see him from the height of my teetering heels.
Meooow.
"I'll take that as a yes." I gave myself one last satisfying nod and marched out of the room. At the elevator door, Jay gave me two more meow's, this time in confusion.
"I'll be back before you know it." I picked him up, kissed his forehead and put him back down. Just for safe measure, I looked in the gift box one more time to assure myself that I was going to the right floor. I lifted the lid and saw that I had missed a polaroid picture taped to the inside of the top. It was a picture of a somehow slightly familiar girl and guy smiling, both seemingly young and emphatically debonair. It was signed "See you at 8!" in wild writing with a red lipstick print next to it. This gave me even more incentive to go without much worry. Rolling my shoulders back, I pressed the elevator button and was on my way. It was at the sixteenth floor that I realized what the hell I was actually doing.
I knew I had a tendency to be impulsive but this... this time I might have taken it too far. Of course I knew "J&G" were probably the couple in the picture but who said that was who I was going to end up seeing just then? It could have all been a ruse, a set up made by some basic serial rapist out for privileged teenage girls. What was I doing?
I panicked and reached for the stop button but was too late. The elevator buzzed and the doors slid open.
I was bent at the waist, wide-eyed and very unpoised as a party chock full of young adults stopped dancing to welcome their newcomer. Immediately I stood straight and was hit with a raucous round of applause, cheers and whistles. I gave the crowd a smirk but was sweating on the inside. Did "J&G" throw me a party? I scanned the crowd, stepping through the bodies that began to dance and laugh again, looking for the two from the picture. I passed the front of the apartment and the kitchen, hoping I could find them near the back. It took about five seconds to spot one of them.
I found the girl hamming it up for about five different cameras as she stood against the black and gold wallpaper of the hall. She was wearing a dark gold, shoulderless satin dress, hair piled up on her head with wisps straying around her face and neck. Swarovski diamonds glinted in her ears almost as brightly as her perfectly white smile.
"Gabriella! Look here!" Shouted a skinny blonde girl with a superb tan. I wondered how much she'd paid for it.
I stood there and watched as camera after camera and phone after phone was whipped out and she began striking several different poses, which much to my amazement didn't seem silly like I did whenever I tried to strike one in front of a mirror in private.
"All right, all right. That's enough." She said as she finally put her arms back down to her sides and beamed at her little paparrazzo's. "Go enjoy your night, people."
The crowd laughed and a few more flashes went off before she was finally given some breathing space. She turned her gaze to me and gave me a wide smile.
"Well look who showed up. Welcome. I didn't actually expect you to come." She held out her hand. "I hoped, but didn't expect. I'm Gabriella Aves."
"Olivia Stalls." I shook her hand and gave her a wary glance. She seemed friendly enough but it still didn't change the fact that I didn't know this person. She was a bit shorter than my 5'8 but her presence was exuberant enough to make her seem three inches taller.
"Yes I know. My brother and I make it our personal duty to know every person who moves into this building, bearing in mind that there are only twenty different floors. So it isn't all that difficult to keep track." She oozed confidence and aristocracy while still seeming young and enthralling. "You moved here, unfortunately, the day of the party and that didn't give us any real time to get to know you, so we just decided to send you an invite and hope for the best!"
"Ah." I smiled at her and then looked down at our hands that were still touching.
"Oh where are my manners! Let me show you around." She released my hand, stepped past me and gestured back toward the entryway. "This is what I'd like to call Bienvenue à Tomber. Kind of rolls off the tongue doesn't it? It means Welcome to Fall. My idea. It's an annual party my brother and I throw every year. We throw one for each season actually. Speaking of my brother, where did that boy go?..." She trailed off, looking around.
"Is your brother the person who was with you in the picture I found in the box?" I asked tentatively.
"Oh, yes yes," She nodded enthusiastically. "Love the dress by the way. Jared insisted on picking it out himself and refused to let me have any part of your gift. Then again I pretty much monopolized the planning of the party this year so I can't really complain." She shrugged.
So Jared was his name. The only other Jared I knew was Leto, thus kind of hard to live up to.
"But anyways. Let's go find him. He's really excited to meet you." she smiled reassuringly at me and led me back through the whole front area, pausing to smile and hug random people before turning back and checking the other side of the house. She had to shoe away some stray party-goers who had apparently broke a no-bedroom rule but still didn't find him. I could feel little bubbles of nervousness building up inside of me. What if he was different from the image I had conjured up in head of his character? Gabriella checked another room, closing the door gently as if she didn't want to break it. Frustrated, she groaned and put her hand to her forehead as if to think.
"I swear he moves faster than a Bugatti on a highway! If he's not in one of the bedrooms, the kitchen, bathroom or dining hall, he must be... oh! Wow." she snorted at herself. "I can be so dense sometimes. Follow me."
I kept my questions to myself and obeyed. As far as I knew, Gabriella was harmless. A bit flighty and distracted but harmless. I understood that this was all a welcoming gesture but there were just too many holes I needed filled. Like how Jared knew my dress size. Or shoe size. Or how he knew the exact moment to send that delivery man up.
We re-entered the dance floor for the third time and went straight to the balcony door to the left of the glass paneled wall that faced the city. She slid it open and we stepped out, where a tall guy in a dark blue suit stood with his back to us, laughing it up with a fashionably dressed male and female. Even though the city lights were a plenty, the stars still managed to make an appearance. The sky was navy and streaked with dark grey clouds. I had to take a breath to bring myself back to my current situation. I looked around at the patio and realized with a start that the floor the people were standing on was made out of sheer glass. There was a jacuzzi on the left and patio set that took up the whole right side. I made a mental note to check what mine looked like when I got back upstairs.
The guests took note of us, causing the man in the suit to turn around. I already knew what to expect when I saw Jared for the first time but still I reacted like I didn't. He was gorgeous. Beautiful. The kind of beautiful you see in a child's laughter or the crinkle in someone's eye as they smile. Just like his sister, he had dark hair, a strong jaw and identical hazel eyes. Eyes that lit up with recognition when he saw who I was.
"Olivia! Miss Stalls, might I say you look amazing." He grinned.
"All thanks to you apparently." I matched his grin, daring myself to forget about my questions for a second.
"Oh please, the dress is lovely but you are divine. Thank you for coming. I know it might have been a bit weird and scary but my sister and I were both tied up with so many plans..."
"She knows Jared. I told her already." Gabriella rolled her eyes at her brother.
"Well I had no possible way of knowing that now did I little sis, hmm?" he replied.
I laughed at their banter and realized that he had completely abandoned his guests in lieu of introducing himself to me. I looked over at them and realized with a jolt that I knew one of them.
"Olivia." The man grinned.
"Just Julian?"