Like Crazy by willyoupleasebequiet
Review by Lemon Charlotte
Rating: M
Genre: Romance/Humor
Characters: Edward/Bella
Summary: They say that there are three certainties in life: birth, death & taxes. A fourth certainty in Edward & Bella's life is their friendship...okay, five if you include Edward's fixation on seeing her boobs. Inspired by WhatsMyNomDePlume's "Best I Ever Had"
“Holy shit, I love you”
Apple Charlotte, Eve’s pudding, Bakewell Tart, Eton Mess, Banoffee Pie, Creme Brulee, Tart au Citron, Banana Split, Lemon Meringue Pie (especially that). Sometimes I just need sweeeeeeet! And Like Crazy, willyoupleasebequiet’s debut story, is just that.
Sweet, light, simple, sometimes crunchy and with a bit of bite, this is a simple tale of Edward and Bella, two long-time friends who share a love of zombie flicks, Chandler Bing’s best lines and a cute puppy called Hugsy. It’s about how they met, how they got together, and why they work. A simple story, confidently told with snappy dialogue, engaging characters, the lightest touch of citrus and (almost) zero angst.
willyoupleasebequiet pays homage to the awesome The Best I Ever Had by Whatsmynomdeplume in her first A/N. If you liked that story (and how could you not) then this one will no doubt appeal. Bella is a super-nerd. Harvard-educated, a child prodigy, beautiful, smart, sweet. Edward, on the other hand, is:
attractive, smart, thoughtful, caring, and intelligent. However, he's the guy that your parents tell you to stay away from because he 'has too many tattoos and piercings;' he was the student that never paid attention at school and distracted others around him, frustrating the teachers.
He's a delinquent; Always has been since an early age with many bad records against his name that includes some minor criminal charges, as well as a short stint in a rehabilitation facility. He has problems with authority, is unable to keep a steady job, smokes too much and constantly makes crude jokes.
He has twenty-three piercings in total—five in one ear, three in the other, his eyebrow, lip, tongue, four that run down the nape of his neck and one on each finger, just above the knuckle. Multicolored tattoos adorn the entirety of his back, the bicep of his right arm and the forearm of his left.
Already, I am intrigued.
Their friendship begins when he saves her from the path of an oncoming bus on the streets of NYC, managing to cop a feel in the process. Gentle flirtation on Edward’s part marks their relationship, but they soon agree, following an experimental kiss, that they are most definitely better friends than lovers.
Bella stuttered out a laugh before Edward closed whatever distance was left between them. It was a light, chaste kiss and neither of them closed their eyes. But then the kiss changed, it turned deep and strong. Bella had the dim awareness that her arms were wrapped around his shoulders, one hand buried in his hair and that Edward's arms were wrapped around her so that their bodies are pressed together.
If anyone around them were watching, they would think that it's sweet for two people to be unable to keep their hands off each other. Either that, or they're huge abusers of PDA and should probably get a room.
This kiss is neither of those things for Edward and Bella.
They pulled away from each other, both breathless, and Edward was the one to speak first.
"This is never going to work is it?"
"No way, no how." Bella gasped out. They both push the other away as well as taking more than a couple of steps back, the two voicing their horror and outrage about the kiss.
"Nope. Too weird, too weird," Edward chanted, grimacing and shaking his head.
"God, that was awful," Bella shuddered, and rubbed at her lips with the back of her hand, not even trying to be subtle about it. "Ugh, there is so much metal in your mouth! How do women kiss you?"
"They kiss me just fine," Edward shot back. "And anyway," he added, making a face, "you're the one that uses way too much tongue."
Bella gasped, looking indignant. "I do NOT use too much tongue!"
But something is going to change. We know where we are headed, since each chapter is punctuated with a TBIEH-style glimpse into a future where Edward and Bella are much more than friends. It makes for an easy, enjoyable, satisfying read:
We're like two teenagers making out two minutes before curfew as though we've got nothing to lose when we've got absolutely everything to lose.
My hand tangles in her hair, the other on the small of her back and I'm leading her away from the doorway. I hear the door slam shut behind me and then her fingers are digging into my shoulders, reaching for me too. I lift her up and hold her until she wraps her legs around my waist.
I move my lips to her neck and strain at the buttons on her shirt. She squeezes me and I walk with her, lips still attached, blindly inside her apartment.
My heart is pounding against my chest. All my other senses seemed to have disappeared. All I can sense is Bella and how right this moment feels. I swear this indescribable feeling is what I've been waiting for all my life.
We're crossing a line into something else. Something other. Something that will never be the way it was before. And that will be so much better.
And when the moment of realization hits, it’s with a thunderclap. I don’t want to introduce too many spoilers, except to say that eight months apart, when Edward leaves for a job in California triggers a re-evaluation of the friendship on both sides. Their phone conversations, and particularly Edward’s “letters” recorded over the months, are adorable. Their eventual meeting, and subsequent revelations on both sides, is simply lovely.
In the build-up to this point, Edward and Bella have become the best of friends. Edward has slowly revealed the details of his difficult, complicated and unhappy past to Bella. His intelligent comments on the life of a recovering addict are on the periphery of the story yet powerfully described:
When you're in rehab, the world feels as small as the thin layer of air touching your skin. All that exists is your almost-dead body and the pain inside your head. There is no tomorrow or a few days from now. There is no career or family or any loved ones.
There is only now and the burning nerves in your head, the ache in your chest, the molten lava in your stomach, the emptiness, the need, the desperation, and the fear.
The fear.
That this pain is all you'll feel for the rest of your life. When your world is so small, the only option is to be selfish.
I forget that there's no need to be selfish anymore, now that I'm with Bella. On these bad days, I push her away and can be cold, distant and reactive. The extraordinary thing about it is that she'll stay, unmoving and stubborn and I wish, I wish I could have the same patience as she does. Being with someone like me is not easy and it comes with its fair share of challenges but she never gives up and never holds a single grudge. Not once. Not ever.
I love Bella and I'm crazy about her, but some stories are meant to stay private. Just because you find love, doesn't make your life perfect.
I love angst and I love plot but once in a while I need a fic to simply clear out the cobwebs, to give my heart a rest from all the clenching and to make me smile. Like Crazy fits the bill perfectly. I do hope you enjoy it.
"Apple Charlotte, Eve’s pudding, Bakewell Tart, Eton Mess, Banoffee Pie, Creme Brulee, Tart au Citron, Banana Split, Lemon Meringue Pie"
I dont even know what half of these things are, but they sound ZOMG DELICIOUS! :D
Thank you so much to indieficpimp and Lemon Charlotte for this :))