Hello my dearies, this little one shot is just a simple act of procrastination. When I hit writers block for Unbitten, I started imagining an entirely different story and I knew I wouldn't be able to work on Unbitten again until I got this out of my head. So, without further ado, procrastination brings you "Only Human." Hope you enjoy! :)
Only Human
My heart pounded nervously as my two best friends flitted hurriedly around me fixing stray hairs, touching up make-up, and pulling on my outfit to make sure I looked just right. As much as I appreciated their help, I wished they would just sit down and stop bothering me.
The last two hours had been a blur of choices and motions, and I couldn't tell if it was that or nerves that now made my stomach churn uncomfortably. Alice had brought over five different outfits for me to try on for my date tonight, and insisted that I try each one on at least twice. Rosalie had brought an entire suitcase full of make-up plus another bag of things to do my hair with. From the moment I let them in the front door of my house, they had assaulted me with fabrics, blushes, bobby pins, or any number of utensils that I would never have normally used.
"Guys, don't you think maybe Edward asked me out because he liked me?" I asked while Rosalie sprayed what was left of the can of hairspray into my curls.
"Silly Bella," Alice admonished. "We're just creating a more beautiful version of you!"
"You look wonderful, Bella. I promise," Rosalie tried to appease me as I glared at them both.
I checked the time again, just as I had been doing every thirty seconds or so since this torture began. It was now 5:50. The minutes were passing in slow motion while Alice and Rosalie seemed to be speeding up in their preparations.
"We've only got ten more minutes," Alice sang in excitement as she noticed the time as well.
I couldn't stop the smile that spread over my face at her announcement. Ten more minutes until I could go on that date I had been wishing for since the first day of freshman year. Just ten more minutes until I could be the girl I had always been jealous of- walking by Edward's side with my hand in his.
"Earth to Bella," I head Rosalie's annoyed voice coming from beside me.
I wiped the goofy smile I unconsciously built off of my face. "What?" I asked.
"I asked you to look up three times," Rosalie said in frustration.
She was coming at my eyes with the black eye pencil yet again, and it took everything in me not to protest and pull away. If I hadn't seen the magic these girls could work on an average looking girl like me, I probably would have run away screaming a long time ago, but luckily for them, I had endured this process before and I knew the end result would be worth the agonizing procedure.
"Ok, you're done," Rose announced as she leaned back to admire her work. Alice joined Rose as they both scrutinized every aspect of my appearance. They looked at each other and smiled widely before I was allowed to turn and face the mirror.
They had really outdone themselves this time. I barely recognized the brunette beauty that stared back at me in the mirror. I blinked twice, as if I was afraid I wasn't seeing myself correctly, before breaking into a smile.
"You guys are amazing!" I said, trying to keep the girly squeal out of my voice in my excitement.
I turned back to the mirror one more time to take in the amazing work that Alice and Rosalie had done. Rosalie was bound to be a famous makeup artist with the fascinating way she had applied smokey eye shadow around my eyes and given me just enough color in my cheeks to make my skin glow. My hair was curling back away from my face in perfect waves and it shone gently in the light. I had been skeptical at first of the outfit Alice had finally chosen for me. I would have been much more comfortable in the jeans and flowing shirt that comprised outfit number one, but she had insisted that I wear the black and white dress that was outfit number three. She had also ordered me to put on a pair of patent leather heels to go with my dress, which I knew was a bad idea the moment she handed them to me, although I felt unusually stable in them as I admired my appearance in the full length mirror.
I actually felt like I deserved to be the girl going out with Edward Cullen.
I turned and wrapped both Alice and Rosalie into a hug.
"Thank you guys so much," I said, feeling happy tears prick the corners of my eyes.
"Bella stop!" Rose ordered as soon as she saw the water in my eyes. "He's going to be here in five minutes and I don't have time to fix your make-up!"
I laughed at her comment and turned to grab the clutch that Alice had assembled for me off of the bed.
"Ready?" Alice asked as I turned confidently to face them again.
I nodded in excitement.
Just as we turned to leave my room and go downstairs to wait for Edward, I heard the doorbell ring. My eyes immediately widened and I felt my heart skip a beat.
"He's here," I said, freezing in the doorway. I was suddenly finding it hard to breathe and I couldn't focus on Alice and Rosalie's assuring words as they led me down the hall to the stairway.
When we got to the top of the stairs, I could hear Charlie greeting Edward and making light conversation while they waited for me.
"I'm sure she'll be down in just a second," Charlie said, and I heard Edward chuckle slightly.
"Ok Bella, this is it. Just be yourself, remember to breathe, and most importantly, remember how beautiful you look tonight," Alice whispered into my ear.
I gave her a thankful smile before setting one foot on the stairs in front of me. As soon as I saw Edward waiting at the doorway, I felt the tug of a smile on my lips and my nerves eased slightly. He was the epitome of perfection as he watched me descend the stairs with a smile that could have lit the whole house. He looked like something that stepped out of GQ magazine in his dark suit and thin tie.
I barely noticed the way Charlie was looking at me until I reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to say goodbye to him. His eyes were wide with shock and he stuttered for words as he told me to have fun and be home by eleven.
Before I knew it, I was following Edward outside into the cool night air and he was opening the door of his silver car for me to get into the passenger's side. When he got into the other side, he turned and looked at me before starting the car.
"Bella, you look absolutely beautiful," he said, taking my hand in his own and bringing it up to his lips to give it a small kiss.
I felt the heat rise to my cheeks at his words, and my hand seemed to tingle where he had kissed it.
He smiled at me before turning back to start the car and pull out of my driveway. I was happy to see that though we were now on a date, talking to him was just as easy as it had been for the past three years. We joked and teased each other, going in and out of conversation as we drove into town. We finally arrived in front of a large building that was lit up with thousands of small lights under the canopy leading to the doorway. A valet took Edward's car at the front door, and Edward offered me his arm as we walked up the steps and into the dimly lit building.
He offered a pair of tickets to a man dressed in a tuxedo at the door, and the man smiled and waved us inside.
Edward opened the door for me and I entered a large room, dimly lit and filled with circular tables where couples were sitting, laughing and talking together while they sipped wine out of tall fancy glasses. There was an open space at the front of the room, and behind the space sat an orchestra, playing a soft tune while people milled about.
"Where are we?" I asked in amazement, taking in my surroundings in awe as Edward watched me.
"The 5th annual orchestra grand dinner," he said, as if it was a commonplace event.
"Wow..." was all I could say in response. I had no idea that something this elegant had ever occurred in our small boring town.
"Come with me," he said, offering me his arm once again.
I took it and he led me across the room to a small table that was draped with a white satin tablecloth with deep red napkins folded into a fan shape set across the china plates. He pulled my chair out for me and I sat down, giving him a shy smile in thanks as he sat down beside me.
I looked around in amazement at the hall. It was beautiful. The high ceilings were inset with more of the tiny sparkling lights, giving the appearance of thousands of tiny stars overhead. The walls were a deep golden color, with red and cream colored designs playing up and down the length. There was a small balcony on one side of the room where people were standing, looking over the room.
"Do you like it?" Edward asked, placing his hand over mine on the table and bringing me out of my inspection of the room.
"Very much," I said with a smile. "It's beautiful."
"You're beautiful," he replied, squeezing my hand gently.
We were interrupted by a man dressed in a black tuxedo who stood from the front of the orchestra and began introducing himself along with the orchestra behind him and welcoming all of us. We responded with a light applause when he finished speaking, and he turned to conduct the orchestra in their first piece. As the music began, servers appeared, bringing with them our first course of the evening.
Being on a date with Edward was easier than I thought it would be. Having known each other for so long gave me a level of comfort I had never before experienced on a first date, but with Edward, it seemed easy. We talked and laughed while we ate an extravagant four course meal, ending with a chocolate mousse dessert for Edward and a large slice of cheesecake for me.
"Try mine," Edward begged for the third time. "It's better than any cheesecake you've ever had in your life."
"No!" I argued back. "My cheesecake is too delicious for me to mess the taste up by trying something else.
I watched him as he rolled his sparkling green eyes at me and returned his attention to his chocolate dessert.
"Bella...." he said a moment later in a mischievous voice.
I looked up, and before I could lean away, there was a bite of the chocolate mousse coming straight for my mouth. Without thinking, I turned to the side and clamped my mouth shut, just as I felt the chocolate goo touch my mouth. The dessert clumped around my mouth and made a chocolate trail across my cheek as Edward started laughing hysterically at me. I tried to stifle a laugh and replace it with a glare, but feeling sticky chocolate all over my face ruined the effect, and soon I was laughing just as hard as Edward.
"I can't believe you did that!" I managed to get out between fits of laughter.
He just shrugged, still unable to speak through his laughter. Finally, we stopped laughing and I began wiping my face with my napkin.
"Here, let me," Edward said, smiling into my eyes before taking my napkin out of my hands. He brought the napkin up to my cheek, but as though thinking better of it, he lowered the napkin. He leaned closer to me and kissed my cheek right on one of the blobs of chocolate goo, removing the chocolate mess as he kissed me. When he leaned back again, he caused me to break out into giggles all over again. He now had chocolate on his face as well.
When he realized what I was laughing at, he threw my napkin back at me and picked up his own to start wiping his face. When we were both mousse-free, we finished our desserts and the waiter came to take our plates away.
"I'm so full I don't think I'll ever be able to move again," I said, leaning back in my chair with an uncomfortable sigh.
"We'll see about that," Edward laughed, standing and offering me his hand.
"Where are we going?" I asked as I took his hand.
"We're going to dance," he said matter-of-factly, turning me towards the large open space I had noticed earlier that was now full of dancing couples.
"Edward..." I said, slowing my pace and eyeing the dancefloor warily. "I really can't dance."
He leaned close to me, his face within inches of my own. "I'll help you."
The thought of dancing still scared me, but I nodded slowly, only comforted by the fact that Edward would have his arms around me, guiding every step I took while we danced.
I expected dancing with Edward to be like dancing with any other guy I had ever danced with at a high school dance- the typical placing my arms behind his neck, his arms around my waist style. Instead, Edward wrapped one arm around my waist and took my other hand in his, directing me to put my other hand on his arm. When he started moving with me to the music, it felt easy. I simply followed the direction of his footsteps with my own and soon we were spinning and dancing just as well as any other couple on the dancefloor. I could see my happiness reflected in his eyes as we danced, and I felt perfectly at ease.
Eventually, Edward stopped leading me gracefully around the dancefloor, and he led me back to our table.
"Would you like a drink?" He asked as I sat down. "I hear they have some of that great punch with the sherbert in it over there."
I smiled widely and nodded and Edward left to go get our drinks. I took the opportunity to look around the crowded hall again. I watched the people dancing and spinning with a small smile on my face. I was having the best night of my life and it was only our very first date. I hoped that he was enjoying our date as much as I am, but he seemed to be happy, so that was a good sign. I remembered the day I met Edward. His good looks had immediately attracted me to him, but his smile and his kindness had drawn me to him on a whole new level. We became friends while we spent a year as lab partners in science class, and my feelings had quickly developed for him. He had always been a star- captain of the football team, popular, and totally out of reach for someone like me, but after three long years of friendship, he had just walked up to me and asked me out. He acted like he hadn't expected me to say yes, but I did, and it was all I could do to keep myself from squealing on the spot.
"Here you go, Bella," I heard his soft voice whisper in my ear as one of his arms came around and set a small cup of punch on the table in front of me.
I turned and smiled at him as he sat down again in the chair beside me. "Thank you," I said.
We sipped the punch in silence for a few minutes, both of us watching everyone else in the room, until he finally broke the silence.
"Come here, I want to show you something," he said, standing and offering his hand to me.
I nodded and took his hand, and he laced our fingers together and smiled that beautiful crooked smile at me.
He led me out of the main room and into the lobby of the building, past the man at the door and down a hallway to the very end, where there was a steep flight of stairs.
"I'm not going up there!" I protested, looking down at my dress and back up at the steep stairs. "I'll break my neck!"
He rolled his eyes. "No you won't. Come with me, please?"
I grimaced, but followed him up the stairs, holding on to his hand tightly.
We reached a small door at the top, and Edward opened it as though he had been here many times before. It led out onto the roof of the building, and I looked around confusedly to see why he wanted to bring me up here. When I turned back to look at him, he was watching me with a bemused expression on his face, his hands stuffed comfortably into his pockets.
"Why are we up here?" I asked.
He shrugged as he walked closer to me, coming within inches of my body. "I wanted to be alone," he said gently. He looked deeply into my eyes and brushed a strand of hair back out of my face, his hand lingering on my cheek as he did so. "So I could do this," he said after a moment's silence, leaning in closer to me.
His lips touched mine gently at first, but as he kissed me, his hand traveled down from my cheek until it rested on the back of my neck, pulling me closer to him, deepening the kiss. My hands came up as well and tangled in his bronze hair, feeling the energy of the kiss running between us. Too soon, he stepped back away from me, gliding his hand down my arm until his fingers reached mine again. A gentle smile played on his lips as he looked at me, neither of us caring to speak. He finally leaned in again, this time only kissing my forehead before draping his arm around my shoulders and leading me over to the side of the building, overlooking the small town below.
I could see the orange glow of the street lights below, as well as the light from the windows of several houses, blurring into small patches of light as they got further away. I could see the mountains in the distance, and I could hear the wind moving through the air as it brushed through my hair and around my dress.
"It's peaceful up here," I said quietly.
"Mmhmm," he nodded in agreement. "Do you want to dance?"
I was caught off guard by his sudden question, assuming he was enjoying our time on the roof as I was.
"I'd kind of like to stay out here for a bit," I said uncertainly.
"Me too," he said, offering me his hand.
I frowned, confused by his seeming contraction, but I took his hand. As soon as I lightly placed my hand in his, he used the small force of my movement to spin me around and bring me in closer to him. He started to sway slightly with his arms wrapped closely around me, and I laughed.
"Edward, there's no music up here."
As soon as the words left my lips, he smiled back at me and started humming a delicate tune. He matched his humming perfectly to the gentle sway of our bodies.
"How's that?" He asked.
"Perfect," I replied, smiling to make sure he understood that it wasn't only his song that was perfect.
"Anything for you," he said, hugging me closer as we continued to move softly to the sound of his voice.
I laid my head on his chest as we rocked back and forth, listening to the rumble his humming created in his chest that formed a perfect lullaby. We stayed like that for what seemed like ages, both of us perfectly content in a little world all our own. Finally, I broke the silence.
"Edward, this has been the most amazing night..." I said, lifting my head from his chest to look up into his eyes as I spoke.
He nodded. "If I could slow down time and stay here in this night forever, I would," he said gently, staring into my eyes with such intensity that my knees felt weak.
"Sorry Edward, after all, we are only human," I replied with a small smile, laying my head back down onto his warm chest.