Fic: Five Times Emmett Didn't Meet Elle (Legally Blonde, 5/5)
TITLE: Five Times Emmett Didn’t Meet Elle
AUTHOR: empressearwig
PAIRING: Emmett/Elle, with mentions of Elle/Warner and Warner/Vivienne
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: What if Elle hadn’t ended up at Harvard Law…
DISCLAIMER: The characters of the Legally Blonde: The Musical belong to their owner. No copyright infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to normative_jean for reading this first.
Part 5: Don’t Go To Parties A Lot
“I don’t know why I let you drag me here,” Emmett muttered. “I still have a lot of studying I need to do.”
“Because even you cannot study or work 24 hours a day. Occasionally you need to get out,” his friend Aaron explained patiently. “It’s just a party. You’ll go, you’ll have fun, and you’ll live to study another day. Now come on.” Aaron pushed Emmett forward into the house.
Inside, a house party raged. Music blared from speakers scattered across the main room. The crowd seemed to be split between dancing and drinking, with more adventurous souls doing both at the same time.
“Let’s go get a drink,” Aaron shouted, in an attempt to be heard over the music.
Emmett nodded and started moving in the direction Aaron indicated. He knew he was going to need some alcohol to make it through this evening.
Back in the kitchen where the kegs were set up, it was slightly quieter. They both grabbed a plastic glass filled with beer. Emmett quickly chugged down half his glass.
“You might want to slow down, dude,” Aaron advised. “It’s not like you have any tolerance for booze.”
“You wanted me to come, I came. You want me to say, I’m going to need to be a little fucked up.” Emmett drained the rest of his glass. Throwing it in the trash, he quickly reached for another. “So now what?”
Aaron laughed. “It’s a party, man. Are you so lame you don’t remember what happens at those?” Seeing Emmett’s blank stare, Aaron sighed loudly. “You drink, you dance, you talk to girls, and if you’re really lucky you find one stupid enough to want to hook up with you.” He cuffed Emmett on the shoulder. “Let’s go check out the other room.”
They wandered back into the main room, trying to stay out of the way of those that were dancing.
Emmett scanned the crowd, but didn’t recognize anyone. “Who are all of these people?” Emmett asked Aaron. “I don’t see anyone that I know.”
“Mostly people from BC and BU!” Aaron shouted back. “I’m trying to get you laid, man, and all the girls we go to school with know how lame you are.”
Emmett stared. “So you thought bring me somewhere where I know no one was going to up the chances of that? Thanks a lot man.” He set his beer down on the nearest flat surface. “I’m out of here.” He headed for the door, and was just about to open it, when it flew open and a beautiful blonde girl walked in.
“You weren’t leaving, were you?” she asked, and Emmett darted his head around quickly seeing if she was talking to someone else.
Seeing no one, he stammered out, “No, I was just going to get some air.”
“Good,” the girl answered. “The party’s just getting started.” She smiled at him, and walked off with her friends.
Emmett stared after her. He quickly walked back to where Aaron still stood, prying him away from the girl he was hitting on. “Who is she?” Emmett demanded.
“Who is who?” Aaron asked, confusion written on his face. “And weren’t you leaving?”
Emmett scanned the dance floor and pointed. “See that blonde girl in the bright pink top? Who is she?”
Aaron looked. “Her? Man, she is so out of your league. Pick someone else.”
“Seriously, who is she?” Emmett pressed.
“Her name is Elle Woods.”
“Where does she go?”
“Some fashion school, I think. But she has a boyfriend at Harvard and she’s not your type at all.” He tried to refocus Emmett’s attention on someone else. “Now, see that girl over there? She’s more your speed.”
“Thanks for the tip.” Emmett slapped Aaron on the back and wandered to the kitchen for another beer. Cup in hand, he walked back to the main room and found an empty spot along the wall. He leaned back, and searched the crowd for the blonde girl that had instantly captivated him.
She wasn’t hard to spot. Even in a room full of pretty girls, she stood out. If one wanted to be cynical about why, it would be because of the color of her hair and the brightness of the top she wore. But another reason was because of how she moved. She seemed to be effortlessly unselfconscious as she danced to the music.
Emmett stared, trying to determine the best way to get a girl like that to even look at a guy like him.
To his mortification, she looked up and their eyes met.
She continued to move to the music as she held his gaze and smiled.
He bit back a gulp. This was not the normal type of reaction he got from girls, much less ones that had boyfriends and were prettier than he’d ever had any success speaking to. He tried to smile back, though he feared that it came off as more of a look of a crazy stalker type.
Her smile deepened, and she crooked a finger, gesturing towards herself.
His eyes darted around, certain now that she couldn’t be smiling at him, despite the fact that she was still looking right at him.
She repeated the motion, more emphatically this time.
He shook his head vehemently. He might think this girl was beautiful, her smile might literally weaken his knees, but she was not going to be responsible for his public humiliation. Him dancing was not something that anyone should be subjected to, particularly a girl that he wanted to impress.
She shook her head, and leaned over to whisper something to one of her friends. The friend made a face and Elle laughed and broke away from the group. She began walking towards Emmett.
His eyes practically bugged out of his head. He’d imagined spending the rest of his evening watching her from afar, and maybe eventually having enough courage to say hello to her while at the keg, but never had he thought she’d approach him. He shook his head, and tried to ready himself to not babble. He knew it was going to be a losing battle, but he figured it was worth the effort.
She stopped next to him and leaned against the wall. “Hi,” she said.
“Hi,” he echoed.
“I’m Elle Woods.”
“Emmett Forrest,” he offered. Was he supposed to say more than that? He didn’t know how to be around girls like this.
“You look pretty out of place,” she observed. “Where do you go to school?”
“Harvard.”
“Oh,” she said. “I know people that go there.”
“I would think,” he said wryly. “All of the school’s in Boston sort of bleed together.”
She laughed. “Too true. So what are you doing here Emmett?”
He pointed in Aaron’s direction. “See that guy, trying to flirt with the brunette in the blue shirt?”
She nodded.
“He’s a friend of mine. He thinks I don’t get out enough.”
“Is he right?”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Only maybe?”
“Okay, he’s right.” He frowned. “But hey, what made you jump to that conclusion?”
“Well, for starters, you wouldn’t dance with me, even though you’d been staring at me since the moment I walked into the house,” she explained. “In fact, I’m pretty sure you were on your way out before we ran into each other.
“So because I wouldn’t dance, I’m a shut in?”
“Not necessarily, but in my experience, guys who go out a lot are pretty much willing to do anything a girl wants at a party.” She shrugged. “I could be wrong, but I go to a lot of parties.”
“No, you’re right,” he admitted. “I don’t go to a lot of these types of parties. Or any types of parties.”
“Why not? Isn’t that what college is about?”
He smiled. “Not when you’re a partial scholarship student and you have to work for the rest of your tuition and living expenses.”
“Oh. Well, that makes sense.”
Curious, he asked, “So what are you doing in Boston? You’re definitely not from around here.”
“What gave it away?”
“The accent. No native talks like that.”
“Ah. I suppose they don’t,” she said. “Followed a guy.”
“What?”
“You asked why I’m here,” she explained. “I followed my boyfriend here.”
“And where is he tonight?”
“Probably at another party trying to pick up another girl.”
He looked at her curiously. “Is that why you’re standing here talking to me?”
She frowned. “No. I don’t stoop to his level. You just seemed like a nice guy who was a little lost, so I thought I’d try to help you fit in.” She pushed herself off the wall and took a step away. “But if you’d like, I can leave you alone and you can go back to staring at me.”
His arm darted out to grab hers. “No, don’t” he blurted out.
She turned back, laughter in her eyes. “Ah, so you like my company.”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s something to do.”
She just stared at him.
He gave in and laughed. “Fine, yes, I do. It’s certainly been the highlight of what I expected to be a crappy party.”
She smiled, and waggled her eyebrows at him. “No chance I can talk you into joining me on the dance floor?” She extended a hand. “Please?”
He shook his head. “No, no, no.”
She pouted. “So that would be a no?”
“Do you value your toes?” he asked wryly. “If you do, you’d reconsider that invitation.” He glanced down at his watch. He frowned. “I should get home, though. I have an 8 o’clock class tomorrow.”
“On a Friday?” she questioned. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. “You are a workaholic, aren’t you?”
“I’m afraid so.” He straightened from his stance against the wall. “I’d offer to shake your hand, but this doesn’t seem to be the occasion for it.”
“Probably not,” she agreed.
“So I’ll just say it was nice to meet you. And that maybe I’ll see you around again sometime.” He started to walk away, but she grabbed his arm.
“Wait, do you have a cell phone?” she asked.
He nodded. “I do.”
“Well, the pull it out,” she ordered.
He shrugged, and pulled it out.
She grabbed it out of his hand and started programming a number into it. She reached into her back pocket and then punched a series of numbers, that he presumed were his phone number into her own phone. She handed the phone back. “There, now you have my number and I have yours. You will see me again.”
“Why’d you want me to have your number?” he asked quizzically. “Don’t you have a boyfriend?”
“I do,” she nodded. “But I can always use a new friend. And you, Emmett Forrest, seem like you would make a great friend.”
He laughed. “I see. Well, see you around then Elle Woods.” With a final smile, he turned and walked towards the door. When he got there, he took a final look back, and saw Elle had returned to her spot on the dance floor with a gaggle of girls. Once more, their eyes met and held, and she gave him a little wave. He returned the gesture and walked out into the cold, Boston night.
Maybe parties weren’t so bad after all.
AUTHOR: empressearwig
PAIRING: Emmett/Elle, with mentions of Elle/Warner and Warner/Vivienne
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: What if Elle hadn’t ended up at Harvard Law…
DISCLAIMER: The characters of the Legally Blonde: The Musical belong to their owner. No copyright infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to normative_jean for reading this first.
Part 5: Don’t Go To Parties A Lot
“I don’t know why I let you drag me here,” Emmett muttered. “I still have a lot of studying I need to do.”
“Because even you cannot study or work 24 hours a day. Occasionally you need to get out,” his friend Aaron explained patiently. “It’s just a party. You’ll go, you’ll have fun, and you’ll live to study another day. Now come on.” Aaron pushed Emmett forward into the house.
Inside, a house party raged. Music blared from speakers scattered across the main room. The crowd seemed to be split between dancing and drinking, with more adventurous souls doing both at the same time.
“Let’s go get a drink,” Aaron shouted, in an attempt to be heard over the music.
Emmett nodded and started moving in the direction Aaron indicated. He knew he was going to need some alcohol to make it through this evening.
Back in the kitchen where the kegs were set up, it was slightly quieter. They both grabbed a plastic glass filled with beer. Emmett quickly chugged down half his glass.
“You might want to slow down, dude,” Aaron advised. “It’s not like you have any tolerance for booze.”
“You wanted me to come, I came. You want me to say, I’m going to need to be a little fucked up.” Emmett drained the rest of his glass. Throwing it in the trash, he quickly reached for another. “So now what?”
Aaron laughed. “It’s a party, man. Are you so lame you don’t remember what happens at those?” Seeing Emmett’s blank stare, Aaron sighed loudly. “You drink, you dance, you talk to girls, and if you’re really lucky you find one stupid enough to want to hook up with you.” He cuffed Emmett on the shoulder. “Let’s go check out the other room.”
They wandered back into the main room, trying to stay out of the way of those that were dancing.
Emmett scanned the crowd, but didn’t recognize anyone. “Who are all of these people?” Emmett asked Aaron. “I don’t see anyone that I know.”
“Mostly people from BC and BU!” Aaron shouted back. “I’m trying to get you laid, man, and all the girls we go to school with know how lame you are.”
Emmett stared. “So you thought bring me somewhere where I know no one was going to up the chances of that? Thanks a lot man.” He set his beer down on the nearest flat surface. “I’m out of here.” He headed for the door, and was just about to open it, when it flew open and a beautiful blonde girl walked in.
“You weren’t leaving, were you?” she asked, and Emmett darted his head around quickly seeing if she was talking to someone else.
Seeing no one, he stammered out, “No, I was just going to get some air.”
“Good,” the girl answered. “The party’s just getting started.” She smiled at him, and walked off with her friends.
Emmett stared after her. He quickly walked back to where Aaron still stood, prying him away from the girl he was hitting on. “Who is she?” Emmett demanded.
“Who is who?” Aaron asked, confusion written on his face. “And weren’t you leaving?”
Emmett scanned the dance floor and pointed. “See that blonde girl in the bright pink top? Who is she?”
Aaron looked. “Her? Man, she is so out of your league. Pick someone else.”
“Seriously, who is she?” Emmett pressed.
“Her name is Elle Woods.”
“Where does she go?”
“Some fashion school, I think. But she has a boyfriend at Harvard and she’s not your type at all.” He tried to refocus Emmett’s attention on someone else. “Now, see that girl over there? She’s more your speed.”
“Thanks for the tip.” Emmett slapped Aaron on the back and wandered to the kitchen for another beer. Cup in hand, he walked back to the main room and found an empty spot along the wall. He leaned back, and searched the crowd for the blonde girl that had instantly captivated him.
She wasn’t hard to spot. Even in a room full of pretty girls, she stood out. If one wanted to be cynical about why, it would be because of the color of her hair and the brightness of the top she wore. But another reason was because of how she moved. She seemed to be effortlessly unselfconscious as she danced to the music.
Emmett stared, trying to determine the best way to get a girl like that to even look at a guy like him.
To his mortification, she looked up and their eyes met.
She continued to move to the music as she held his gaze and smiled.
He bit back a gulp. This was not the normal type of reaction he got from girls, much less ones that had boyfriends and were prettier than he’d ever had any success speaking to. He tried to smile back, though he feared that it came off as more of a look of a crazy stalker type.
Her smile deepened, and she crooked a finger, gesturing towards herself.
His eyes darted around, certain now that she couldn’t be smiling at him, despite the fact that she was still looking right at him.
She repeated the motion, more emphatically this time.
He shook his head vehemently. He might think this girl was beautiful, her smile might literally weaken his knees, but she was not going to be responsible for his public humiliation. Him dancing was not something that anyone should be subjected to, particularly a girl that he wanted to impress.
She shook her head, and leaned over to whisper something to one of her friends. The friend made a face and Elle laughed and broke away from the group. She began walking towards Emmett.
His eyes practically bugged out of his head. He’d imagined spending the rest of his evening watching her from afar, and maybe eventually having enough courage to say hello to her while at the keg, but never had he thought she’d approach him. He shook his head, and tried to ready himself to not babble. He knew it was going to be a losing battle, but he figured it was worth the effort.
She stopped next to him and leaned against the wall. “Hi,” she said.
“Hi,” he echoed.
“I’m Elle Woods.”
“Emmett Forrest,” he offered. Was he supposed to say more than that? He didn’t know how to be around girls like this.
“You look pretty out of place,” she observed. “Where do you go to school?”
“Harvard.”
“Oh,” she said. “I know people that go there.”
“I would think,” he said wryly. “All of the school’s in Boston sort of bleed together.”
She laughed. “Too true. So what are you doing here Emmett?”
He pointed in Aaron’s direction. “See that guy, trying to flirt with the brunette in the blue shirt?”
She nodded.
“He’s a friend of mine. He thinks I don’t get out enough.”
“Is he right?”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Only maybe?”
“Okay, he’s right.” He frowned. “But hey, what made you jump to that conclusion?”
“Well, for starters, you wouldn’t dance with me, even though you’d been staring at me since the moment I walked into the house,” she explained. “In fact, I’m pretty sure you were on your way out before we ran into each other.
“So because I wouldn’t dance, I’m a shut in?”
“Not necessarily, but in my experience, guys who go out a lot are pretty much willing to do anything a girl wants at a party.” She shrugged. “I could be wrong, but I go to a lot of parties.”
“No, you’re right,” he admitted. “I don’t go to a lot of these types of parties. Or any types of parties.”
“Why not? Isn’t that what college is about?”
He smiled. “Not when you’re a partial scholarship student and you have to work for the rest of your tuition and living expenses.”
“Oh. Well, that makes sense.”
Curious, he asked, “So what are you doing in Boston? You’re definitely not from around here.”
“What gave it away?”
“The accent. No native talks like that.”
“Ah. I suppose they don’t,” she said. “Followed a guy.”
“What?”
“You asked why I’m here,” she explained. “I followed my boyfriend here.”
“And where is he tonight?”
“Probably at another party trying to pick up another girl.”
He looked at her curiously. “Is that why you’re standing here talking to me?”
She frowned. “No. I don’t stoop to his level. You just seemed like a nice guy who was a little lost, so I thought I’d try to help you fit in.” She pushed herself off the wall and took a step away. “But if you’d like, I can leave you alone and you can go back to staring at me.”
His arm darted out to grab hers. “No, don’t” he blurted out.
She turned back, laughter in her eyes. “Ah, so you like my company.”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s something to do.”
She just stared at him.
He gave in and laughed. “Fine, yes, I do. It’s certainly been the highlight of what I expected to be a crappy party.”
She smiled, and waggled her eyebrows at him. “No chance I can talk you into joining me on the dance floor?” She extended a hand. “Please?”
He shook his head. “No, no, no.”
She pouted. “So that would be a no?”
“Do you value your toes?” he asked wryly. “If you do, you’d reconsider that invitation.” He glanced down at his watch. He frowned. “I should get home, though. I have an 8 o’clock class tomorrow.”
“On a Friday?” she questioned. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. “You are a workaholic, aren’t you?”
“I’m afraid so.” He straightened from his stance against the wall. “I’d offer to shake your hand, but this doesn’t seem to be the occasion for it.”
“Probably not,” she agreed.
“So I’ll just say it was nice to meet you. And that maybe I’ll see you around again sometime.” He started to walk away, but she grabbed his arm.
“Wait, do you have a cell phone?” she asked.
He nodded. “I do.”
“Well, the pull it out,” she ordered.
He shrugged, and pulled it out.
She grabbed it out of his hand and started programming a number into it. She reached into her back pocket and then punched a series of numbers, that he presumed were his phone number into her own phone. She handed the phone back. “There, now you have my number and I have yours. You will see me again.”
“Why’d you want me to have your number?” he asked quizzically. “Don’t you have a boyfriend?”
“I do,” she nodded. “But I can always use a new friend. And you, Emmett Forrest, seem like you would make a great friend.”
He laughed. “I see. Well, see you around then Elle Woods.” With a final smile, he turned and walked towards the door. When he got there, he took a final look back, and saw Elle had returned to her spot on the dance floor with a gaggle of girls. Once more, their eyes met and held, and she gave him a little wave. He returned the gesture and walked out into the cold, Boston night.
Maybe parties weren’t so bad after all.