Chapter 9

Allison's POV

I enter Ian's house squealing and jumping excitedly.

"Ian!" I squeal. "I made it! I'm leaving the outskirts. I have an apartment ready and everything!"

And I'm even more better off than I was before, I think giddily.

Ian looks shocked for a moment, and then he's giving me a beaming smile.

"I'm so happy for you, Allison," he says.

"You've earned this."

That makes me grin.

"I'm moving back to the city tomorrow," I say. "Would you like to come with me?"

Now Ian looks like I've zapped him with lightening. He opens and closes his mouth a few times.

"You… want me to come with you?" he manages to say when he finds his voice.

"Of course. You're welcome to come along if you want. You're my friend, Ian. Did you really think that I would leave you behind now that I've made it big enough to take you with me?" I reply, amused.

Apparently, he did. Ian can be funny like that. We spend the rest of the day packing, and by dawn the next day, we're ready to go. This time, I don't have to find a bus.

Not when I've been gifted the latest car by the company.

I have been given the address of the apartment, but I'm actually going to see it for the first time. My eyes pop when I see the building, and even more when I see the interior of my new apartment. It's much bigger and better than anything I could have possibly imagined.

As I stand in the middle of the living room, I can't help remembering my previous apartment, and how much it had hurt to come back and find it empty. If only Peterson could see me now. I stretch out both hands at my sides, close my eyes, lift my face to the ceiling and breathe in deeply.

"Do you smell that, Ian?" I whisper. "It smells like joy."

……

I return to work the very next day. I'm a little surprised to see Elsa standing at the lobby, her eyes fixed on the entrance. She smiles brightly the moment she sees me, and runs up to me, throwing her arms around me. I hug her back, my heart full of joy.

Everything is finally as it should be, is all I can think at the moment.

As we walk hand in hand upstairs, Elsa chatters nonstop as if to fill me in on every single thing that has happened since I was gone. Eventually, we have to go our separate ways: she to her office and I to mine.

"See you after work," she says.

"Of course," I reply.

When I walk into my office, my colleagues stop whatever they were doing to stare open-mouthed at me. I flash them all a big smile, walking to my seat. I hope that they'll look away then, but they keep gaping like I'm a ghost even as I boot my system and I get to work.

After closing hours, I head to the lobby to find Elsa already waiting.

"Would you like to come with me to the recruitment team's office?" I ask, taking a large brown envelope out of my bag.

"Of course, but why?" she replies.

"I need to submit this," I say, waving the envelope. "It's Ian's CV."

Elsa lets out a small squeak.

"Ian?" she stutters. "Why are you… why is… wait, Ian is going to work here?"

It's a struggle to hide my laughter as I respond.

"If all goes well, yes. He's living with me now, too."

Elsa looks like she's going to faint. Her face gets a dazed look that remains the whole way to the recruitment team's office and out to the parking lot and into my new car. The car, at least, is able to wake her from whatever dreamland she seemed to have travelled to.

"Oh my gosh," she exclaims, looking around with wide, awed eyes, "this is so beautiful!"

"Wait till you see my apartment," I reply with a grin.

"Damn! Do you know what this means, Allison? You're a big shot now! In fact, I've decided that I have to see this apartment," she declares.

"That can easily be arranged," I reply fondly, turning away from the road leading to her street. "We're going right now."

Elsa's bright smile grows blinding… then her face suddenly falls. I look at her in concern.

"Is something wrong?" I ask.

"Um…" she says. "Ian is going to be there, I guess?"

Oh. So that's it, I think with a smile.

"Yes, he's going to be there," I reply. "But don't worry, Elsa. It's going to be fine. You just have to be yourself. Ian thinks you're a great person."

Elsa perked up at that.

"Did he say that?" she asks eagerly.

"Yes," I reply sincerely. "I asked him what he thought about you, and that's what he said. So you see? You don't have anything to worry about."

"Of course I have things to worry about!" Elsa squeaks. "Thinking that I'm a great person doesn't mean he likes me. You can think that someone's a great person and still not like them. Romantically, at least."

"Well… you have a point," I respond.

"So what do I do?!" she lamented.

What do you mean, what? I think with a soft sigh. You think I, of all people, would know anything about romance?

"Be yourself," I say with a shrug.

She looks up to give me a fake glare.

"That is very helpful," she says with sarcasm.

"Why, thank you," I reply, missing the sarcasm on purpose. "What could you possibly do without me?"

She slaps my shoulder, and I giggle.

"You better get your act together," I say teasingly. "We're here, and I'm sure you don't want Ian to know that you hit defenseless people without provocation."

Her cheeks turn red.

"You…!"

I'm out of the car before she can hit me again, and we make our way upstairs. I push the doorbell, trying not to laugh at Elsa doing breathing exercises beside me.

I'm surprised that she doesn't swoon when he opens the door, smiling at us.

"Welcome, Allison. Hi, Elsa."

"Hi," she says breathlessly. "It's been a long time, Ian."

It has only been two days, Elsa darling, I think fondly. Really. Am I going to behave like this too, if I ever fall in love?

Xander Black's gorgeous face swims into my mind at that thought, and I push it firmly away as we walk into the apartment.

Elsa heads immediately to the fridge and pours herself a drink. She sips it slowly, going from one room to the other and exclaiming at everything she saw.

When she returns to the living room, her glass is empty and her eyes are a lot brighter.

"This place calls for a celebration!" she declares, toasting with her empty glass. "Come on, girl, we're going shopping!"

Trust Elsa to suddenly make certain decisions out of nowhere. Not that I mind. This time, I can actually indulge her.

"Sure," I say. "Why not?"

And that's how two of us find ourselves at the mall about an hour later. I've never been much of a shopper, so I let Elsa lead me from aisle to aisle, selecting dresses, shoes and accessories for me and herself to try on. She takes one picture after another of us in each one we try on, even those she decides that we're not taking.

I'm filled with excitement by the time we're done. We're heading towards the exit, holding several bags in either hand and laughing at a joke I can no longer remember, when a shocked voice calls my name from behind us.

"Allison?"

That familiar voice.

I freeze, my heart lurching instinctively. It is Elsa who turns first, and speaks in a cold voice.

"What do you want, Peterson?"