Accidentally In Love (Peter Hale Fanfiction) ON HOLD

Chapter Three: Drunk

            I was perusing through the racks at Francesca’s, a cute little boutique in downtown Beacon Hills that Allison and Lydia had recommended to me when I spotted it: a navy crocheted bustier dress with a sweetheart neckline and spaghetti straps.  

“Wow,” I mumbled to myself as I picked it up and admired the dress against my figure; it was adorable! But when I checked the price tag, I realized I’d have to spend my entire paycheck for the week on the piece of attire. Or I could sell my eggs. With a defeated sigh, I hung up the dress and turned to exit the over-priced but impossibly stylish store. The dress had been the fifth thing I’d desired but had to turn down when I’d seen how much it cost, and I was sick of all the false hope. I was crossing the street, headed in the direction of the frozen yogurt shop, when I recognized a flash of red-ish brown hair accompanied by a tall, broad-shoulder guy with a crop of black hair and a five o’clock shadow. Derek and Cora Hale.

“Hey! Hey, wait!” I shouted after them, picking up my pace and following the two of them into an old, decrepit apartment building that was barely staying upright. The lobby was deserted when I entered, but I spotted the Hales by the elevator and charged in after them at the last second.

“Hi,” I breathed heavily as the doors closed behind me and Cora’s narrowed gaze ran up and down my body. Self-consciousness hit me like a slap in the face, and I quickly glanced down at my outfit to make sure everything was in its right place. The zipper on my high-waisted jeans was zipped, and the hem of my light blue button-down shirt was tucked in. On the other hand, the navy blazer I’d slung on at the last minute was a little haphazard around my shoulders, and my brown leather purse was nearly slipping off the crook of my arm.

“Do we know you?” Cora snapped at the same time Derek said “Hey, Charlotte right?”

I flushed. “Charlie, actually. Um, yeah, I met you guys in the elevator a couple days ago? In my apartment building?” I was starting to feel like a friendless loser for chasing them down and basically stalking the pair into their home when they clearly weren’t interested in getting to know me.

“Oh, right. How’ve you been?” Derek replied with a tentative smile while his sister rolled her eyes.

“Good, good. Beacon Hills is a lot different than LA.”

“I’ll bet,” Cora said, her miffed expression melting away when she realized I was from Los Angeles. “I spent a couple years living in LA, and I loved it.”

“Me too. I actually went to college up there – UCLA?”

“Ah, cool. The city’s beautiful.”

“Oh yeah, and the beaches there are amazing. I miss the water over here,” I told her as Derek lead the way to what I assumed was their apartment. The entrance opened right into a huge loft that was sparsely furnished with a bed in the corner, a long table and several chairs in the middle, and various pieces of exercise equipment scattered around the open space. The opposite wall had a spectacular view of the city through two huge, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a spiral staircase in the back left of the room led up to the second level. Damn, I thought as I admired the penthouse with slack-jawed awe. 

“You live here?”

“Yeah, just moved in actually. What do you think?” Derek called from wherever he’d disappeared to. Cora smirked at my expression, bumping my elbow with hers and motioning for me to sit down when she stretched out on the bed, facing me. I planted my butt on one of the rolling chairs by the conference table, sliding it over so that I could talk to Cora but still spin around and soak in every detail about their apartment. The Hales fascinated me for some reason, and after my talk with Allison and Lydia, I was curious as to why they’d warned me to stay away from Peter.