Song: "Heaven" by Niall Horan
Alex. I woke up with only her name on my mind. This did not happen to me often... scratch that, this did not happen to me ever.
I was not the type to fall in love at first sight. But something about the way her freckles landed on her nose and her eyes lit up when she laughed made it impossible to keep her from consuming my every thought. My phone felt like a thousand-pound weight in my hand knowing that at the top of my contact list was her name, that if I wanted to I could text her. I knew that the only way I could talk to her again was if I texted her, and I really really wanted to talk to her again. So why did it feel like such an impossible feat?
I lay in bed for another minute thinking of last night and Alex and all the wonderful things in the world, until my alarm blared and I could not ignore my responsibilities any longer.
I pulled on jeans and a t-shirt, digging out a black hat from my closet which I pulled down over my face. I pushed my glasses over the bridge of my nose and headed out the door.
As the elevator brought me from my apartment to the ground floor I stared at Alex's contact on my phone deciding whether or not I would use it. My contemplations were interrupted when a calendar notification burst onto the screen: Buzzfeed Interview with Pedro at 9:00 am. We were currently in the early stages of the press tour for The Last of Us Season 2, which meant I was barely ever home. I had been quite glad when this interview, scheduled to take place in London, coincided with the week of Pride. I smiled at the thought of just how well that had worked out for me. I swiped up on the calendar notification just as the elevator reached the bottom floor. The doors to the outside were wide open letting in the sunlight of London in June, I closed my eyes taking it in.
"Bella, your ride is waiting for you outside." I opened my eyes, smiling at the woman behind the reception. I didn't know her name but she was always so kind to me. I made a mental note to find out her name when I got home later, and maybe buy her a coffee. Right now, however, a very impatient Pedro Pascal was yelling my name from inside a black Lexus, which must have been the car bringing us to the Buzzfeed office.
"Coming!" I walked through the door and immediately thanked my past self for remembering to wear a hat because the sun that had felt so nice moments before was quite blazing once you were under its full heat. The door to the Lexus popped open, Pedro's hand on the handle, his face plastered with a wide smile.
"Hey, Bells"
"Hi, Pedro"
"How are you doing?" He said as I ducked into the car and closed the door.
"Ehm...Good," I blushed and looked down, trying not to give away that my head currently sounded like a Girl In Red song. Pedro gave me a look that told me he would be asking for elaboration later. I groaned silently. 15 minutes passed and the car slowed to a stop, a man in a black suit opened the door. We both stepped out of the car and made our way into the tall beige building. I looked up and took in the sign that labeled the building as the Buzzfeed office, but only for a second because another person in a black suit was walking right behind us.
Pedro and I split up to find our respective dressing rooms. In my room, the black suit I had chosen for this occasion was hanging on a rack, next to the glowing vanity and rows of makeup. Makeup used to make me so uncomfortable because something inside me compartmentalized it as a thing that was strictly feminine. I didn't want to be put in a box.
It was Pedro actually that helped me learn to live with everyone always trying to categorize me one way or the other. I had opened up to him about how wearing makeup and feminine clothes made me feel, and he responded by letting me do his makeup and then posting a picture on Instagram. My road to being more open about my identity was definitely not over right then and there, but his willingness to break out of gender norms gave me the courage to do it too. I realized that just because others would always try to put me in a box didn't mean I had to let them. I smiled at the thought of the incredible friend I had gained through Pedro.
My thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice, "Bella dear, are you ready?"
"Hi Alma," I beamed towards my stylist of two years. Nearly 60 years old now, she was one of my favorite people in the world.
"Let's get you ready"
YOU ARE READING
Falling In Love (Bella Ramsey)
FanfictionAlex is a first-year student at King's College navigating life with the open wounds of her parent's rejection of her identity and her last relationship. There was very little to her life until she bumped into a person who would change that.
