Fireworks shot off in the sky and festive tunes filled the air to celebrate the country's birthday. July fourth weekend was upon the quaint beach town of Southport, North Carolina and young people everywhere covered the streets adjacent to the rows of fishing boats that overlooked the ocean.
Carlisle Cullen, Esme Platt and Emmett McCarty stood up in the balcony clapping as they cheered on Emmett's girlfriend Rosalie Hale as she competed in the annual Croaker Queen Beauty Pageant to name the town's most beautiful, goal-oriented young woman.
The host had a booming voice. "Let's welcome back the six finalists back onto the stage. Come on back out girls!"
Rosalie was the third to enter via stage left, donning a black one-piece bathing suit and heels that accented her divine figure perfectly. She smiled and placed her hands behind her back as she took her place in the middle of the small group of beauty queens.
"Look at her," Esme gushed, "She was born for this."
Carlisle looked over at his friend, who raised his eyebrows.
"Dude, she does these exercises to make her boobs pump up," Emmett said with laugh, making Carlisle chuckle.
"Guys!" Esme scolded, leaning forward, "I'm on sexist overload as it is. Kill the commentary." She smiled at Carlisle, who wore a guilty expression and then leaned an elbow on his shoulder.
The host rattled off a question as Rosalie stepped forward.
"In the spirit of Mother Theresa, what will be your contribution to your community and the world at large?" He handed the microphone over and Rosalie smiled to the crowd as she accepted it.
"Well, Bob," she began, "At summer's end I plan to move to New York City where I'll pursue a career as a serious actress. It is my goal to entertain the world through artistic expression. Through art I shall serve my country." Rosalie smiled wide and the crowd began to cheer and clap.
Carlisle turned to Esme and gave her a look. "Do you feed into all this?"
"Work it babe!" Emmett called over the ledge of the balcony, cupping his hands by his mouth. "Look, man, they're eating it up. She's incredible."
Rosalie continued to smile, taking an extra look up into the balcony for a brief second and then handed the microphone back to the host. She stepped back, allowing the other girls to give their responses one by one.
The pageant had been long and this was the final question that would determine the winner... that and their choice of bathing suit and shoes. The truth was that Rosalie felt no butterflies in her stomach. She stood proudly amongst the other beautiful competitors an waited patiently as Bob unfolded an envelop given to him by the panel of judges.
"This year's Croaker Queen is..." There was a dramatic pause, "Ms. Rosalie Hale!"
The crowd erupted into celebration as confetti and balloons began to fall from the ceiling. Festive music began to play again Rosalie stepped forward with the same big smile and waved to the audience as she accepted her crown and a bouquet of flowers.
"Yeah!" Emmett hollered from the balcony, "Yeah baby! That's my girl!" He stomped his feet and jumped around, pumping his fist in the air as he continued to cheer.
Carlisle and Esme clapped wildly for their friend and laughed at Emmett's over the top celebration. Even Bob glanced up at the nearly empty overhang and grinned wide at Emmett as he showed praise for his significant other.
Rosalie smiled up at him and continued to wave as the pageant came to a close...
An hour later the madness of the event began to die down and Rosalie linked her arm through Esme's as they wandered down a dock that lead from a crowded beachside restaurant toward a band that played by the water.
There was barely room to walk, as the crowd of teens and twenty-somethings jumped around to the tunes of the small rock band.
"How's my hair?" Rosalie asked, glancing over at Esme as they made their way shoulder-to-shoulder through the crowd.
"Hurricane proof," she teased, making the two of them laugh.
"Hey, it's all about the hair," Rosalie joked back, "Don't forget that when you're some hotshot lawyer some day. Those people think it's all about brains and ability and completely ignore the 'do."
"So the 'do is vital," Esme confirmed, "Got it."
"Hey Esme," a boy popped out of nowhere with a tray and a single shot of liquor on it, "I bought you a shooter on the house."
"Oh... thanks James, but you know what I have this mental block with these things," she said to him, "I'm going to have to pass."
"Look why don't you let me take you out before you leave town?" he suggested, "You know a little bon voyage type of thing."
"Oh, um..." Esme turned to Rosalie for some help, who immediately eyed the sky at their awkward interaction. "You know, I... I don't know think so James."
"Look, we've been friends since forever. You can't just leave without a farewell, right?"
Before Esme could say another word Emmett slid in and grabbed the shot, boxing out James from the conversation as he did so.
"A toast to us!" Emmett raised the glass high above his head, "To our last summer of immature, adolescent decadence!" He downed the liquor and ran a hand across his mouth with a smile.
"Somebody's buzzed," Rosalie said with a quick laugh.
Emmett smiled back and then turned to James, who stood just behind him. He smiled for a second, and then took both of his hands and shoved him back a few feet. "Take a hike..."
James stumbled back into another partygoer and hesitated for a moment before angrily trying to retaliate against Emmett, who towered over him.
Carlisle was approaching the three of them and saw the fight about to break out, and so he hurried down to step in between Emmett and James.
"Easy!" he called out, putting an hand on either guy's chest as they reached over him to try swinging at one another. "Easy, hey!" Carlisle called out more forcefully, causing both of them to back down; Emmett with a smile.
"Hey, man, I'm just taking care of your girl like I promised," Emmett said to Carlisle. He turned away from James, who stood huffing and puffing looking as if he could take another swing at any moment.
"Thanks... buddy," Carlisle said, still attempting to diffuse the situation. He saw Rosalie pull Emmett toward her and then turned to see if James was okay. "Let's just get out of here," he said to his friends, and then took Esme's hand, "Okay?"
She nodded and felt bad about the altercation between Emmett and James.
"Bye James," she said a with a guilty wave, and then turned away as he continued to scowl.
"Let's go down to Dawson's Beach," Rosalie said to Emmett. The two of them shared a kiss and Emmett nodded as he twirled the keys to his BMW.
Carlisle and Esme followed close behind and hurried to the car, sliding into the back seat as Emmett revved the engine and put the car in drive.