Hollywood Hills and Suburban Thrills

Banner by Tori. She told me that she was out of Billy Beckett pictures. Cha right. X]

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My stomach had twisted and contorted into something that could presumably look like something from an origami handbook by the time we reached William's apartment door. He had a smile on his face, one of triumph, and my stomach contorted into tighter knots yet.

He dug the key to his door out of the pocket of his skinny jeans and unlocked the door agonizingly slow. I could feel the seconds—minutes, hours, days, years—tick by as he twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. And then, we were both inside, he farther than me. I was standing in the foyer, looking around in awe.

His apartment was nothing like I had expected. Call me the most typecasting girl on the face of the earth, but I was expecting something a lot more…expensive to be the home of the William Beckett.

But instead, he had a homely place. Immediately through the door were a coat rack and little bench, which was now holding Jude's kennel as Jude scurried out and onto the stained wood floor. His claws clicked as he ran around the wall that separated the foyer from another room. I followed in his and Will's tracks, for it was Will that Jude had followed in the first place.

On the other side of the wall was a living room. A big brown couch sat in the middle of the room, facing a television that was placed against a white wall. DVDs, videogames, and CDs were littered all around the floor by the television. I smiled at William when he reentered the room, probably having disposed of his own luggage in his bedroom. Jude was sniffing around the carpet, seeming to have picked up an interesting scent.

"I wonder what he smells," I wonder out loud, watching as his tail swooshed back and forth at a mile a minute. I had taken a few subconscious steps farther into the room, letting my duffel bag slide off my shoulder and onto the off-white carpet. Will, who had walked across the room to get a better look at what Jude was during, was now standing behind me slightly, watching in amusement along with me.

"I think I have a good idea," he laughs and when I looked up, he was smiling, his brown eyes twitching toward the doorway that he had just exited out of. I followed his gaze.

"Will?" I asked uncertainly when I heard movement from in the other room.

Will's arms encircled me, hands sliding across my abdomen and leaving a trail of warmth where they touched. "Just wait," he whispers with his chin on my shoulder, his mouth so close to my ear that I could feel his warm breath on my neck. I shivered, but waited as he suggested. The distinct sound of padded feet on carpet was heard along with the light sound of panting. And then, much to my shock, a black Labrador barreled around the corner, eyes bright and tail swishing as well.

Jude raised his head to face the newcomer and he did just what he had done with Will; his tail tucked between his legs and he lowered his head, whimpering softly. The alien puppy caught sight of Jude and had a pole opposite reaction; its eyes got brighter, its tail swished faster, and it let out a yelp of happiness. The sound made Jude withdraw farther.
"What's his name?"

"Her name is Lucy." Will fingers tapped lazily on my stomach.

Jude uncoiled carefully, taking a few cautious steps toward the stranger, and when Lucy noticed this movement, she settled down too, padding forward vigilantly. The stopped about a foot away from each other, both analyzing the other before taking a few more steps and reaching their noses forward do to take a sniff. And then, slowly but surely, Jude's tail began to pick up speed. His ears perked up and he stretched to his full height.

And then the two dogs took off together across the carpet, both batting their tails and barking joyfully. Will chuckled, his arms tightening around me and my heart started pounding harder in my chest when he tilted his head inward, burying his face in my hair.

"Dani?" He calls to me like I was in a far off place even though I could feel his lips move against my ear. And if it weren't for the chills crawling up my backbone and the dreary happiness that was leaving my brain in a puddle of mush, I would've replied. I would've noticed a long time ago that my cell phone was ringing in my pocket too. Suddenly, his hand was on my thigh and his thumb and index finger were in my pocket front pocket sliding my cell phone out as it rang away. "Are you going to answer this?"

I looked at him in bemusement as he smirked and placed my phone in my hand. And then, he placed a chaste kiss on my cheek and walked out of the room, carrying my duffel bag along with him.

My eyes followed him before snapping to the cell phone that was in my hand. 'Kayla' was flashing on the screen; that explained why whoever was calling hadn't hung up after eight rings. I swallowed a few times and as soon as I felt like I had a little bit of my original poise back, I flipped my phone open.

"Hello?" I ask and the strength left in my voice surprised me.

"Where are you?" Kayla demands, sounding on the verge of throwing a fit.

"Uh, Kayla," The strength in my voice began to dwindle when I caught a glimpse of Will in the door way, walking from one room to another across the hall. "Now isn't the best time to expla--…"

"Now is as good a time as ever!" she cuts me off, now sounding utterly outraged with my lack of information. Kayla had always hated being left in the dark. Especially by me—and I'd been leaving her in the dark for almost three weeks now. "Where are you?" she said the three words in a lethally soft voice and I knew that she was not joking.

"Ok, ok, if I give you the address, would you calm do--…" I was cut off when her side of the line turned to static. I looked at my phone as it said the call was lost and disconnected. I sighed and was about to text Kayla to explain what happened, but she beat me to the punch.

Find a computer. We'll talk there.

I took a couple steps away from where I had been planted toward the doorway that Will had disappeared through to see a computer through an open door just down the hall way. I walked briskly to it and sat down at the desk, opening Internet Explorer, and signing into AIM.
Immediately, a conversation box popped up with Kayla's screen name.

KaylaxKatastrophe: What the hell?!

DanixDisaster: Get comfortable. This may take a while.

KaylaxKatastrophe: Okay. I'm waiting…

I cracked the knuckles in my hands before diving into a longwinded story of what had happened in the last week that I hadn't been talking about with her. I was half way through it when a pop-up blocked the screen. Frustrated, I clicked the 'x' on the corner several times, making sure it would not come back. Several beeping sounds spewed from the speakers, but I paid them no heed and instead turned back to typing my explanation.

I was almost done when I heard the door behind me open, creaking quietly, and then soft foot steps came up behind me. And then, Will's hands were on my shoulders, his thumbs rubbing between my shoulder blades gently.

"What're you doing?" he asks, his mouth dangerously close to my ear again.

I couldn't respond for a moment and my fingers froze on the computer keyboard as his words seeped into my cerebrum. Then, I started typing away again. "I'm trying to explain to my friend here how you and I are currently dating without making her want to rip my head off for keeping her in the dark for so long." I explained in a breathy voice and Will's head twitched to look at the screen and I assumed he was reading my type.

Then, he mentions confusedly, "You do know that the webcam is on, right?"

My hands from again, but out of shock this time. If the webcam is on, I thought with unease, that means Kayla just heard and saw all that.

I looked up slowly to see that she had, indeed, heard and seen all that, but I only knew by what was now all over our conversation window.

KaylaxKatastrophe: O_O ARE FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!

I swallowed and looked up at Will for help but he simple smirked down at me before placing a kiss on my mouth, lingering there while from the corner of my eye, I saw Kayla leaving message after message. I pulled away from him, ignoring his victorious chuckle, to read what she was typing.

KaylaxKatastrophe: How could you not tell me about this, Dani? I feel genuinely betrayed!

KaylaxKatastrophe: Oh my God! I can't believe this! I want to be pissed at you but I can't. I'm actually proud of you.

KaylaxKatastrophe: Holy shit! You're really into this guy aren't you?! I mean—YOU'RE LETTING HIM TOUCH YOU FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!

KaylaxKatastrophe: Hot damn. Get a room, guys!

And that's about the point I closed out of the conversation window, blushing bright scarlet. Will let out another low laugh behind me before placing his hands on my neck, sliding them down to my shoulders and back again.

"Care to come with me for just a moment?" he purrs in my ear, whether it was it was intentional or not.

I swallowed. "Where to?" I ask quietly.

"I want to show you around my place," his nose was behind me ear and his lips were moving against my skin. "Unless you intent on finding your way around in the dark by yourself."

His hot breath caught me off guard and I trembled. "Sure," I replied standing up slowly from the chair and leaving the desk to walk out of the room with Will leading the way, his hand holding mine.

"Bear with here; I don't have special guests over." He winked at me and my stomach did several back flips. "So this is the living room slash kitchen," he gazed around with a fake smile on his face before nodding and pulling me onward. I couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. We stopped in the foyer. "This is the entryway slash hallway and that door down there leads to the balcony." He looked at me. "There's not much out there but an old futon."

I smiled, nodded, and he did the same before pulling me back to the living room. "Living room slash kitchen, nothing's changed." He said as he sped through the room and back toward the hall way that he had just left. "This is a hallway that accesses several rooms." He opened one door. "Bathroom," he walked to the door across the hall and pushed it open, "Guest bedroom, otherwise known as yours," he took a few steps farther down the hall and we were in the computer room again. "Computer room, as you may have figured out on your own," I smirked at him as he turned to the room across the hall. "And this…" he paused, his hand on the doorknob of the closed door, "is my room." And then the door was opening slowly.