Tap, tap, tap. I heard Edward knock on my window. That meant that my mommy and daddy were sleeping already. I grinned and got out of bed, running to my window, but my feet were slippery from my socks. I fell on my bottom and blushed, getting up and tiptoed over to my shoes. I put them on and stood on my bed to open my window.
It was hard to see him right now, but he was really handsome. Sometimes he played Prince and Princess with me and he was a prince who rescued me from the monsters… his brothers and sisters played too, and they pretended to be witches or kings or servants but most of the time, Edward said he wanted to play with just me. I asked him why, and he said that it's because he's not very good at sharing. I thought that was funny, because Edward shares his things with me all the time.
He climbed inside my room and smiled at me. "Hi Bella. Are you ready to play dress-up with Alice?" I giggled.
"You have to play, too, silly." He pouted, but I knew he was pretending.
"You would make me wear a dress? But I'm a boy!" I laughed again and covered my mouth so no one would hear me. Edward said that if my mommy or daddy woke up and found out he couldn't take me to his house to play anymore.
"You wear black makeup on your eyes, though. Are you sure?" I whispered with a grin. He crossed his arms and turned his nose up away from me, still pouting.
"But don't worry, you can still be a boy in the game," I gave in, laughing.
"Oh, good. You had me worried there. No dresses for me!" He picked me up and I put my arms around his neck and tucked my face into his chest. He put a leg out my window and carried me down into the tree. He shut my window and jumped down.
He ran really fast through the woods. I couldn't really see anything though, cause it was too dark out. It wasn't long before I saw the lights of his parent's house and he was carrying me inside. Edward didn't really live here, he lived alone at a different house, but he knew I liked to play with his brothers and sisters so he brought me here sometimes. Also, his mommy and daddy were really nice.
When he set me down in the entryway I immediately smelled something yummy. I grabbed Edward's hand and ran to the kitchen, but not as fast as he runs. His mommy, Esme was pulling chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. She set them down on a cooling rack and turned around to smile at us. I gave her a huge hug.
"Hi, Esme! Those cookies smell really good. Are you going to play with me and Alice and Jasper and Edward?" Esme laughed and kissed me on the head.
"No, sweetheart, I have to work, but you'll all have a lot of fun. As soon as those cookies are cool, you can eat as many as you want."
Edward picked up a cookie and held it for about ten seconds and then handed it to me. It was cooled down from his hands. I took a big bite and it was still warm and melty in my mouth.
"Mmm… thank you so much for making these, Esme. And thanks for cooling it down, Edward."
"Of course, Bella," they both said at the same time. I giggled and took another bite of my cookie. I held it up to Edward.
"Do you want a bite?" I asked him. He leaned forward and his two special teeth popped down. He took a little bite of the cookie, chewing and swallowing while I watched him. He almost never ate, because he said didn't actually need to eat. He smiled at me and turned to his mom.
"My compliments to the chef," he said, "these are really good." Esme waved her finger at him.
"I made those for Bella, you'd better not eat too many." I laughed and took another bite and handed the cookie to him again.
"I will share with him" I told her and he took a big bite and stuck his tongue out at his mommy.
"Bella will share," he said. She huffed and waved at us.
"I'll see you later, you two," she said and she went out to the garage where we heard a car start and pull out of the driveway. Edward picked up another cookie and held it up to my mouth. I took a big bite and moved over to his chair to sit in his lap. I cuddled up to him.
"Bella, there's plenty of cookie. Please don't take such big bites. I don't want you to choke."
"Okay," I said. When my mommy and daddy say that to me I tell them not to worry, but I know Edward gets sad when he worries about me. He put his arms around me and rocked me back and forth. Then I heard a car pull in. Edward smiled and picked me up.
"Alice and Jasper are back, time to play dress-up!"
"Yay!" They were inside a moment later, because Edward's family was really fast. Alice ran over and grabbed me, picking me up and kissing me on the cheek.
"Bella! We're going to have so much fun!" Jasper smiled at us.
"Hello, Edward. Hi Bella."
"Hi, Jaz. Where did you and Alice go?" I wondered out loud.
"We went out for dinner." "Oh. You must've been hungry. It's even past my bedtime."
"Yeah, we were hungry. But we got back as soon as we could because we were excited to play with you," Alice explained. I had a question now.
"Why do Alice and Jasper get hungry, if you don't?" I asked Edward. He froze, but answered me anyway.
"I do get hungry, I just eat different foods than other people." I wanted to ask him what he did get hungry for, but he looked so sad and scared that I gasped when I looked up at him. Alice put me down and I ran over to him. I grabbed his legs and hugged him tightly.
"What's wrong, Eddie?" His eyes narrowed, but they were happy now. "Excuse me? What was that you called me?" I smiled up at him innocently
"Nothing, Edward." He smirked at me and growled playfully.
"That's what I thought."
Alice pretended to cough, "Eddie!" and Jasper chuckled.
"Are we going to play dress-up, or what?" Edward snapped. I jumped. He was mad.
"I'm sorry I called you Eddie, Edward." I said, quietly. I must have really hurt his feelings. His eyes widened.
"Oh, Bella, you can call me anything you want, I was upset with Alice and Jasper. They were thinking about something I didn't like. You don't have to apologize."
"Oh," I breathed a sigh of relief. He picked me up and held me tightly as he followed Alice and Jasper upstairs.
"Bella, what am I going to do with you?" I didn't answer, because I wanted to ask him something. "Why don't you like the name Eddie?" he looked at me funny.
"Why don't you like the name Isabella?" I thought about that for a minute.
"Well I guess you can call me Isabella, but only sometimes," I allowed. He smiled.
"You can call me Eddie, but only sometimes," he told me back.
"Okay."
Alice impatiently shoved a pile of dresses at me. They were all pink and the scratchy kind. I scowled.
"Alice, these are a scratchy material."
She made her eyes really sad and I crossed my arms.
"No. I will choose something comfy." I marched past her into the closet and looked around. Alice sighed dramatically.
"I made you a different dress already, because I already saw you liking it. Personally, I wish it were more colorful, but…" she pulled out a silky black dress with dark red ribbons sewn into swirly patterns on it. It flared out at the waist, like the others, but it wasn't so poofy. I loved it immediately.
"It's perfect," I whispered. It was really pretty, and it reminded me of Edward. "Edward, look, it matches your eyes," I said to him. He smiled, but he didn't look very happy.
"My eyes shouldn't be those colors, Bella," he muttered. I shook my head. "I like your eye color, Edward. What else would they be?"
"They could be black and gold if I ate a different diet." "Why would you want a different eye color?" He looked at me and laughed.
"I don't know, this is a silly conversation, isn't it?" I looked over at Alice and saw that her eyes were black and gold. I didn't want to upset Edward, so I just kept it in my head so I could think about it later.
Alice pulled the closet door shut and got me out of my pajamas, helping me put the pretty dress on. I came back out, wondering what the boys would wear, but especially Edward.
"Edward, what are you going to wear? I want to match you." Edward smiled.
"Don't worry, I have just the thing."
He ran to his room with his super speed. He came back in really fast, and he looked like he did when we played Prince and Princess. He looked handsome. Really, really, handsome. He was in a black suit with a dark red tie. He always combed his hair when he pretended to be a prince, but his hair was really messy from all that running. I giggled and combed through it with my fingers.
"Hey, none of that!" he protested, shaking his head so it got messy again. I laughed and he twirled me around. I actually liked it better when it was messy, but I loved to put my hands through it. His hair was really soft.
Alice awwwed and took a picture before I could say anything. I heard the click and hid my face in Edward's shoulder. Alice laughed from behind me.
"Too late. It's perfect. Now you can remember this forever, Bella. Don't you want that?" I frowned. When she put it that way… I turned around and stuck my tongue out at her. She laughed and danced her way into the closet to find what she wanted to wear. Jasper left the room to get dressed too.
Alice came out at the exact moment Jasper came in. Edward grabbed the camera. Alice was wearing a metallic pink dress that shimmered down her and flared at the waist like a ballet tutu. She had a silver belt on with a little bow, and Jasper had a silver tuxedo on with a pink tie. Now it was my turn to awww. They met in the middle of the room and kissed, and Edward took a picture. Click. Alice spun around and pouted at him.
"Way to ruin the moment, Edward." He raised an eyebrow at her. She seemed to realize something and laughed. "Now it's time to accessorize!" she squealed delightedly. Edward and I groaned, and Jasper laughed at us. Alice made him accessorize a lot.
Edward picked me up and whispered, "We could run away now. We might make it." I giggled.
"But we must stay," I said putting on a martyr face, even though I was having fun. Alice tsked at us.
"You're so ungrateful, Edward. Bella is having fun, aren't you Bella?"
"Yep." I said, popping the p. "But accessorizing is not fun." She sighed.
"But I've finally got you wearing something nice. Besides, it's part of the game." I sighed back at her. She pulled out two huge cases from the top of her closet. "Makeup, and nail polish," she announced, very business-like. She opened the makeup case.
"First, Edward, let's touch up your eyeliner."
She pulled it out and was going to try to put it on him, but he snatched it out of her hand.
"I know how to do my own eyeliner, Alice," he said, irritated. He looked in the little mirror and put more on.
"I want some," I said immediately. I'd never worn makeup before. I hadn't even ever seen Edward put it on, but I knew he wore it. Alice put her hand out for the eyeliner as Edward finished, but he ignored her, instead pulling me onto his lap. I looked up and shut my eyes, smiling. I felt a little tickle on my eyelids. He kissed me on the nose.
"Done, Bella."
He held a mirror up for me. My eyes had black all around them, it made them look big. It was cool. I smiled and showed everyone my eyes, even though they already watched him put it on me.
Alice looked confused, like she was excited and sad about something. I tilted my head at her. She sighed.
"I don't know whether to be happy she's wearing makeup or sad that she looks like you, Emo-ward." I frowned.
"Emo-ward? What?"
Edward snorted. "Lame, Alice. For a psychic, couldn't you at least come up with something better than that? I'm not even emo." This time Jasper snorted.
"You might as well be. I'm the empath here, I know these things."
Edward rolled his eyes, tossing Jasper the eyeliner. "Okay Mr. Empath. If you're so in touch with emotions, have at it, bro."
Jasper cringed away from the makeup like it was poison. "Uh-uh. Not happening. Completely hetero, right here!"
"What's hetero?" I asked Edward.
"Okay, enough!" Edward almost shouted at Jasper. He pulled me close. "I'll tell you later, alright Sweetheart?" He called me names like Sweetheart when he got protective of me.
"Okay. Will you paint my nails black like yours?" I asked.
"Sure, but remember, I'll have to take all of this off before I take you home. Your mom and dad can't see." "I know," I said sadly. Maybe Alice needed to take pictures after all.
"Excellent!" Alice yelled, jumping up and grabbing the camera. Alice grabbed a little black bow and placed it in my hair. Edward growled under his breath, and messed with the bow himself. He was getting protective again. His nails were already black, but he grabbed some black nail polish and put my hand on his knee. He started doing my nails black.
I once tried to do my nails purple by myself, but it got really messy and then I tripped and spilled it on the floor. He didn't get it messy at all. I liked looking like Edward. I heard Alice taking pictures, but I ignored her. Instead I watched Edward's face while he focused on doing my nails. When they were done he blew on them gently. It was really cold but they dried super fast.
"One more picture and then we have to get ready to go. It's a school night." I sighed. Edward picked me up and turned to face Alice.
"Say cheese," she told me. I smiled but didn't say cheese. That was kind of stupid. Click. Edward put me down and Alice got me back into my pajamas. I found a necklace in the closet.
"Do you ever make Jasper wear girly-things?" I asked her. She laughed.
"Every now and then, if he doesn't behave the way I want him to."
I laughed, imagining Jasper in a necklace. I went back out and Edward used something soft and wet to gently wipe the makeup off of my eyes. Alice took off my nail polish and I hugged her goodbye. Then I hugged Jasper, and Edward picked me up.
"Bye Alice, Jasper. See you next week," Edward said. He carried me downstairs, and grabbed a handful of cookies. He gave them to me. I stuffed my mouth full and asked.
"What's hetero?" I asked between bites.
"Not such big bites, Bella. It means that he love's only Alice, and that he's not in love with boys." I laughed. What a silly word to make up. I ate about half the cookies by the time he reached my house a few minutes later. I didn't want him to go, but the warmth of my nightlight looked so nice and I was getting tired.
He tucked me in, and kissed me on the top of my head. "Goodnight, Bella."
"Goodnight, Edward. Do you promise you'll come see me tomorrow?"
"I promise," he told me, his pretty red eyes said he was telling the truth, so I didn't complain when, a moment later, he was gone. I looked across my room. The only sign he had been here was a little wind blowing my yellow curtains back and forth. I knew he'd be here tomorrow so I had no problem closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.