Disclaimer: Romeo & Juliet themes belong to Shakespeare, Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer
Thank you so much to heroicunicorn99 for the edits and feedback!
Edward POV - Chapter 1
I watched as guests all around me mingled amongst themselves. Men would approach women and ask them to dance. The women would giggle to their friends and bat their eyelashes before taking the gentlemen's hands and sauntering over to the dance floor. I rolled my eyes and held back a gag.
How on earth did I get talked into coming here? The decorations of this grand ballroom were over-the-top, the music was loud, and the people around me were intoxicated. I know Jasper loves to crash wild parties, but why of all parties does it have to be the one hosted by my family's great enemy: Swan.
For as long as I can remember, the Cullens and the Swans have been in a vicious feud over territory in this small town. Fighting seems to happen everyday.
"My father would die of a heart attack if he knew I was here," I muttered to Jasper.
"Then it's a good thing this is a masquerade ball, no one will be able to tell who is who!" Jasper exclaimed as he adjusted his mask then mine. "Keep calm my young Cullen prince! My friend, you must stop your worrying. Remember why you came: to get over that silly girl who doesn't know what she's missing. That foolish girl, Rosalie. I mean, she's not even that pretty."
My chest tightened just hearing her name. Rosalie was the niece of the head of the Swan family, and the girl who crushed my heart with a dismissive glance and flick of her wrist. She was purchasing a loaf of bread from the baker when I first saw her. It was there that I approached her in town to confess my affection; however, she claimed that she had no interest in love or to be in love. She then shooed me away as if I was some dog begging for scraps.
"-can't let her ruin your life. That hard-hearted wench, that Rosalie, torments you so much that you will surely become mad!" Jasper was still on one of his rants when I snapped out of my dark memory of rejection. "Edward, are you listening to me?"
"Yes, yes." I replied. I sighed and glanced around the ballroom, desperate to leave.
Jasper crossed his arms and huffed. We were just standing on the outskirts of the dance floor. I leaned against the smooth, limestone wall and started to watch the couples dancing again.
Emmett, my cousin, returned with a plate filled with various snacks and finger foods. Jasper looked disgusted as Emmett stuffed a slice of pie in his mouth.
"Say what you want about the Swans, but they sure know how to entertain! Hey, I hope you weren't thinking about her again." he scolded, pastry and all. "You need to move on! She didn't even give you the time of day, so you shouldn't give her a second thought. Look around, Rosalie looks like a crow compared to all these beautiful women."
I was going to argue with Emmett. I was going to tell Jasper that he didn't know what he was talking about.
I was going to leave when I suddenly stopped in my tracks. My eyes connected with a pair of soft, innocent, brown eyes. She was descending down the stairwell, wearing a dress as blue as the sky that fills the heavens.
As my eyes remained fixated on the girl, a blush began to spread across her cheeks. The bright red color against her snowy white skin would put roses to shame.
She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Have my eyes ever seen such beauty until now? Has my heart ever beaten for any other reason? Did I love anyone ever as much as I loved this perfect stranger?
She turned away and disappeared around a corner. I had to go talk to her. To let her know of my existence, to capture even a moment of her attention.
I started to make my way through the crowd, searching for her. I could hear Jasper and Emmett calling after me, but I didn't care. I practically ran around the corner where I saw her turn, only to find three men crouched down, huddled in a circle. Two were scrawny looking while the third was quite large in build.
"I'm telling you, I think it was them!" said the smallest.
"How would you know? Everyone is wearing a mask!" The other scrawny one argued.
"Well you boneheads better find out. Because if it is true, if those Cullen snakes are slithering around on our territory, there will be consequences." The mountain with arms grabbed the drink in the small one's hand and crushed it.
"Aw, man. I wasn't finished with that."
"Yeah Jacob, not cool. You spilled it everywhere." They both pouted.
"Get going! Find those Cullen bloodsuckers, and get a mop to clean this up."
They started to get up from their huddle and I realized what they would do if they found me, Edward Cullen, standing right behind them. My chance of talking to the blushing angel would go out the window, along with me and my friends. I panicked, looking for a way out, when a small, soft hand suddenly grabbed mine.
"Over here!" a melodious voice whispered from behind a curtain.
I grabbed the velvet fabric and quickly threw it behind me. My heart stopped beating. I found myself towering over the girl, the only girl who existed in my world, the only girl who took my breath away. We were pressed up against one another, hiding behind the curtain and stone wall. She was so close that her floral scent filled the air around me.
Her warm hand stayed intertwined with mine, my right hand resting on the wall beside her head. I resisted the overwhelming urge to cup my hand against her rosy cheeks.
"A-are they still there?" she asked in a shaky voice.
"Uh, um. I-I'll check." I sounded like an idiot.
I peeked out from behind the curtain. The entire hallway was empty now. Even the spilled drink was mopped up already. We were alone.
"I think it's fine now." I said. I wanted to stay in that position with her forever. Unwillingly, I let go of her hand and removed the curtain behind us, walking out into the now empty hall.
"Oh. That was quick," she said to herself, sounding dejected. I told myself that I shouldn't dare to hope, but could she have possibly wanted to stay with me too?
"Thank you for helping me. I don't know what would have happened if those men caught me standing there." I turned to see her stepping out from behind the curtain. She was looking down, straightening out her dress.
"I do know. Whenever Jacob is huddled with his two goons, they are always planning something foolish. He is so hot-headed, always looking for a fight. It's best to just avoid him." She lifted her head and once again our eyes met.
It was electrifying how her gaze made me feel, I could get lost in her deep brown eyes forever. Her eyes were wide and seemed to twinkle like stars in the night. Her shiny, mahogany hair framed her heart-shaped face and flowed like a river over her slender shoulders.
"What were you doing here anyway, so far away from the festivities?" she wondered.
I thought about asking her what she was doing so far from the festivities. Or maybe lying and saying that I was looking for the bathroom. But I decided to tell the truth.
"Our eyes met for a brief second as you were descending the stairs," I confessed. "I came looking for you."
She blushed, once again. Will I ever tire seeing the red color sweep across her face?
"I noticed you, too." She smiled, and my heart soared.
"Would you like to dance?" I asked, holding out my hand towards her.
"Dance?"
I could see panic in her eyes and I started to panic thinking I was too bold. Why would I think she would be interested in me just because she noticed me gawking at her?! I quickly put my hand behind my back and cleared my throat.
"I'm sorry, I-" I started backing up, wanting to crawl in a hole and die.
"No! It's not you, I would love to dance with you."
I was confused.
"It's just...I, uh..." she choked out, "I-I can't dance. Whenever I do, I somehow manage to hurt my partner in a matter of seconds. I am afraid you will laugh and think me to be ridiculous."
I couldn't help myself, I laughed.
Her eyes grew wide and she looked to the floor in embarrassment. "See! I haven't done anything and already you are laughing at me."
I lifted her chin with my fingers and stared into her beautiful eyes.
"The only way you could hurt me is by not dancing. I thought you did not want to have anything to do with me. I would also love to dance with you, regardless the risk you may impose."
Her smile returned.
"I am sorry, though, for laughing. That was rude," I added.
Holding out my hand once more, she accepted.
A/N: Thank you for reading the first chapter of my story! Please leave any comments and suggestions.