A/N: Hey, my little ficlers (that is now the new name that I give to readers). Loads have been going on right now and this little ficlet has been zooming around my brain for weeks, months even and I just barely got around to writing it. It took several days, tedious hours full of crazy music and lots of weird internal banter but I finally got it all down, all 22 1/3 Microsoft Word pages or all 11,628 words of it. I'm crazy exhausted but I really love this story to death. I had to pull my inner gay out for this one and I found it somewhere between the moment I was outside helping my mom with cleaning up outside and listening to the Adam Lambert's crazy awesome vocals and imagining him naked/in leather. So yeah, it's pretty gay but in a really good way. Anyway, enjoy!
Summary: After discovering her queer side, Bella's got issues finding a girl. Lucky her that the new student is having the same problem.
Disclaimer: Sovoyita lives in a celebrity's version of poverty and is unable to own Twilight or its characters.
TURNED WEIRD FROM QUEER FOR YOU
"I'm really sorry about your date, Bella."
I shrugged, "It's no big deal, Alice. It just wasn't the right one, I guess. I really wasn't expecting much, though. That's the great thing about setting low expectations. You don't get hurt as badly." She smiled sadly at me, her bright hazel eyes gleaming with sadness. It pained her to know what I was going through, unable to find someone to love me back in the way I wished to be loved, as someone who was different and 'weird' but still human, still a girl who needed that kind of attention.
"Are you sure it was right to just end it like that? Maybe there was another reason…"
"No, Alice, I'm sure about this."
"But…"
"Alice, she just wasn't gay enough, okay?" People turned in my direction, some raising their eyebrows and grinning while others grimaced and frowned in disgust. Blushing, I ducked down into my wilted salad, pushing around the cherry tomatoes.
It had been a big surprise to people in Forks High—and Forks in general, really—that I, Bella Swan, daughter of Forks' chief of police Charlie Swan, was a lesbian. Not that I had given them any hints otherwise. I was a lousy dater, to be totally honest. However, the small-town-mindset was keeping the locals behind the times. When news spread that I had gone on a date with a girl from La Push reservation, there had been a huge uproar, the counselor calling me in to talk to me about my lifestyle decision and how it was "wrong and immorally sick" and "against the will of God", to which I proceeded to say that I had the right to have a relationship with whomever the hell I pleased and that I could report her for talking about religion in school, a federal offense as stated by the constitution. Thank you, Congress, but misconceiving the words of Thomas Jefferson. Booyah.
After awhile, the chaos had died down, but I still got looks from some of my peers. Most girls avoided me, looking at me with hesitant and worried glances, as if they expected me to jump on them without a moment's notice. I couldn't go into the girls' lavatories without hearing girls squealing, some making hasty remarks about how hearing them was probably what got me off. I was exiled from my own sex. I was exiled from a restroom. Guys, however, looked at me differently now. Some looked on with disturbing fascination as if I was a rare animal in a cage while others looked at me with some sort of misplaced respect. I suppose it was probably because of the "hunt" boys partook in, the hunt for girls. I was now part of the hunting party.
Alice called my attention away from my plump tomatoes, now punctured by my plastic spork. "Bella, I know this has been really hard for you, but maybe you should go back and ask her out again. She seemed really excited when you asked her. Maybe she's just a bit confused."
"Alice," I sighed, having known that it was necessary that I explain to Alice properly otherwise she would force me to face her tiny, pint-sized wrath, "Jessica was interested in dating me for all the wrong reasons. Homosexuality isn't about glamour and going against the man. It's actually about loving someone of your own sex in a way that is probably more wholesome than most people think. She was thinking of what Mike was saying last week when he said that seeing lesbians making out was "hot"." I made quotations with my fingers, rolling my eyes. "She took it to heart and decided that I was the closest lesbian she could find. I had to explain to her that though Mike may find lesbians' activities to be enticing, he wouldn't actually want to date one."
Alice frowned, tearing apart bits of her roll with her thin, manicured fingers.
"I just don't get it. I'm sure there are tons of girls around here that would love to go out with you. I mean, Leah was willing. What ever happened with her?"
I sighed, sipping my lemonade in an effort to hold off on the question. Leah was…insane, for lack of a better word. After one bad breakup and a doctor's visit that revealed that she was infertile, she had decided that lesbianism was her best shot. I honestly had no idea what could have possibly been going through her head but whatever it was, it was totally wrong. She liked being controlling and she seemed to enjoy making fun of me. She didn't like me, either, which really confused me. Basically, I was following her around, letting her make fun of me and then paying for her dinner. She was a scary girl.
That didn't really explain why I dated her for a semester before finally breaking it off. Maybe it was because every time I ever brought up that we weren't really great for one another, she'd lay on the guilt, reminding me that she was seriously damaged from her last relationship and that I was going to break her heart (her deep, dark, infinite black hole of a heart). I remained her verbal punching bag for a long while, though, and that in itself had changed me a bit, too.
"Leah just wasn't right for me. Besides, it's not like just any girl will do, Alice," I pointed at her with my spork, chewing on my tomato noiselessly. "That's like me telling you to go out with Mike or Tyler and expecting you to decide that he's your soul mate all of a sudden. There's got to be a connection. There just hasn't been one yet."
Alice sighed, mumbling an apology. I frowned. It was painful to see her so put out by my situation, but what could I do? I wasn't much of a catch to either gender, so limiting my range even further was probably not the best move in most cases, but boys just…didn't attract me. It made things harder, but there really wasn't much I could do about it.
I remember when I had first told my father about it. He had actually been the guinea pig for my revelation seeing as my mother, Renee, could be a bit eccentric when it came to sexuality. She would have cried, screamed, gasped, calmed down, and then gone to the computer and sent me some informative books on protection. Then she would have started carrying around rainbow flags, throwing her gay pride in the faces of the conservatives. For her, it would be a riot. Charlie, however, was a different story.
The whole "I'm gay" speech didn't really happen. I couldn't just outright tell him but I couldn't evade the situation so I decided that I would draw a picture: a stick figure with long hair stepping out of a closet, beady little eyes looking crazed. He had looked at it, looked at me, turned to the closet door, nodded, and then went back to his baseball game. When a commercial came on, he sighed, turned to me and said, "Well, at least my bullets won't be wasted on boys, now."
It had been a very calm fiasco, in any case. He wasn't particularly sure of what to do, but he defended me, which was more than I could ever ask of him. When the townspeople (the conservative, scary scary townspeople) were distraught over what to do, he made a huge effort to just get them to let it go. He told all his friends, coworkers, and other various people throughout Forks (there weren't many people) that there was little to be worried about. I had always been a good kid and if my homosexuality hadn't been known, what difference would there have been?
The point was that there were no problems so far…other than the fact that I had yet to find someone to be with. Sighing, I resigned myself to eating my juicy tomato and wilted lettuce salad, unattached to any particular person. As the bell rang and Alice and I made our way to our Biology class, I noticed how the girls in the hallway parted so Alice and I had a clear walkway to class, which I knew for sure wasn't simply out of courtesy.
At least I don't have to waste my time on boys, now.
Jessica basically talked to me because she enjoyed gossip and in order to get all the juice, she had to be around me willingly. I didn't mind much, but she made the comment beforehand that she was not attracted to me and now that she was dating Mike, she was unavailable, so no footsie beneath the table. Then Alice—ever the potty mouth—told her that if she made another prejudice comment that made me out to be desperate or immoral, she'd play footsie with her outside—in not so many words. Jessica was very quiet after that. But the new stream of gossip that she had come in to seemed to have been too great for her to handle and she spilled her secrets with a wary gaze to Alice.
"There are new students coming here!" she whispered quietly, giggling loudly. "My mom said she got a call from a woman yesterday and she had set up joint accounts for several teenagers around our age. Got them debit cards and everything!"
"Jessica, isn't it breaking the confidentiality clause for your mom to be talking about a customer's accounts?" Jessica shrugged, ignoring me.
"Three of them are boys and the other is a girl! Their names are Emmett, Jasper, Edward, and Rosalie. Such olden time names, huh? I bet they're kinda dorky, you know? They're all adopted! How strange is that? Anyway, they'll be here tomorrow. They've been really secretive though, you notice? No one knew except for me," Jessica began giggling again, her normally tamed curls bouncing wildly in her splendor.
"But you know what this means, don't you?" Jessica questioned, eying me delightfully. Self-conscious, I felt myself back away a bit.
"What?"
"The girl, Rosalie, just might be the lucky one, right?"
I rolled my eyes but when I looked over at Alice, expecting the same reaction, she too was smiling delightfully.
Crap.
Alice and Jessica were cruel, cruel girls when they were given an extensively stocked department store, a Bella, and a never-ending stream of cash. I had tried to sit back with a smoothie, nearly sucking in the plastic cup whenever Alice gave me a look that told me I was going to get it good. It normally gave me the idea of what she was looking at. She was currently in the mini-skirts. Luckily for me, those weren't dress code. However, Alice had strange ways of working around the rules.
Jessica was draping clothes over me instead of making me stand to try them on. She enjoyed times like these—Alice's clothing budget was phenomenal—and she was going to milk it for all it was worth. Also, she was about my size, which meant that if I got a shirt she wanted, she could borrow it and I wouldn't care. Most of my skirts (all Alice's doing) ended up in her closet somehow. I had managed to maintain one skirt in the past two years and it was a khaki one that I liked above all others because it was of a normal length rather than something Alice had managed to scrounge up in the Juniors' section of the department store.
Suddenly, Alice popped her short body out of some huge pile of clothing that had collected on the dressing room floor, holding two pieces of clothing as if they were "the ones". She threw them in my face, practically making me inhale them before I could actually try them on.
Red-faced and annoyed, I looked at them and groaned. A deep blue V-neck blouse that was probably two sizes too small and a black skirt that barely managed to maintain the three-inch length between my knee and the hem. I glared at her but she smirked. Sighing, I stood and headed over to the cashier (Alice was never wrong about sizes) only to be stopped. Smiling cheerfully, Jessica topped the pile with a couple shirts and two pairs of heels, one pair of strappy sandals (probably for her) and another pair of tall, patented black peep-toe heels.
I was so screwed.
When I walked into school the next day, my legs felt like they were about to break in half and my ankles didn't seem to move naturally at all. It was like walking on toothpicks—tiny, splintering toothpicks.
My skirt kept on riding up and my black lace bra—Alice, I hissed internally—was peeking through the top of my shirt. I was embarrassed, off-balance, and out to get a girlfriend. What else could possibly go wrong?
I managed to make it to my English class with no enduring injuries other than the one to my pride. Alice smirked from her seat in the dead center of class, patting my desk with her manicured hand. Rolling my eyes, I sat down, pulling my books out of my bag.
"Guess who has our class, now?" Alice whispered, a grin in her voice. I turned around and saw what she meant. The new girl, Rosalie.
She was beautiful, unexpectedly, of course. Long blonde hair framed a miraculously symmetrical face of glowing pale skin, blue eyes, and red lips. However, looking at her closely, I could just…see something.
Shaking my head, I whispered, "She's straight. And she's taken."
"What?" Alice spoke too loudly and Rosalie looked up from her book, a confused look on her face. My face heated and I shook my head, mumbling an apology, before turning back to Alice. She still had a look of shock on her face and her spiky hair—that normally looked so perfectly put together—suddenly looked wild and untamable.
She hissed, "How could you possibly know that by just looking at her? I mean, she's freakin' wearing non-cashmere cardigan! How could she not be a lesbian?"
"Hey!" I hissed back indignantly. "I've worn a cardigan like that before!"
"My point exactly!" Grumbling loudly beneath my breath, I tried to collect myself. I wasn't really angry about Rosalie not being "the one". I was more upset that I had worn these stupid heels for nothing.
"Can't you at least, I don't know, try? She could be it, you know? She's really pretty, too."
I sighed, laying my head on the desk facing Alice. "Alice, it doesn't work that way. Forcing my lifestyle on others isn't right, you know that. It's not like shopping or books and music. It's a decision that could change your entire life. You can't just turn people to something like this. It's their decision and I just can't influence that. Besides, she does have a boyfriend. I can't be the reason they break up."
The class started in a sort of eerie silence. No one was used to being around a speechless and depressed Alice.
By the time lunch had come around, I'd officially met Rosalie Hale. It seemed that my instinct and newly-founded gaydar was up to snuff because the girl did have a boyfriend—her adoptive brother Emmett McCarty—whom she was engaged to and loved very much. Alice had felt plenty admonished afterwards, so I didn't rub it in (ha ha, I won). Rosalie was also one of the nicest people I had met, though she had a tendency to be a bit vain at points. It had turned out that Rosalie's sweater had been passed down to her from her mother and she had worn it because of that, though she admitted it wasn't as nice as her cashmere sweater. She and Alice would get along just fine.
We offered our lonesome little table to her and her siblings, somewhat eager to meet them all. We'd heard plenty from Rosalie in the past couple of classes that we'd had together. Emmett was supposed to be a great football player but he was better known for being a master of all things involved physics and biology. Rosalie was best in math, apparently. Her twin brother, Jasper, was a whiz when it came to History and Government, and her other brother, Edward Masen-Cullen (she admitted that though they all kept their original surnames, they were and always would be Cullens, the name of their new "mother" and their "father", the new Forks doctor) was a musical genius and had been from the ripe age of four. Basically, I was about to meet a family of adopted geniuses. If they acted anything like Rosalie, I knew that we'd get along just fine.
There was one thing that was bringing me down, though.
Meeting new people always had a dual effect when it came to me. While a majority of people didn't really ask that particular question, the one that split people apart, some found out in weird ways, the same way that I found out that Rosalie wasn't a lesbian nor would ever be. Rosalie hadn't looked surprised when Alice blurted it out during class that I was looking for a girlfriend—her last attempt to make something out of Rosalie's arrival. That, however, didn't mean that her brothers were not homophobic. One of them could be and I was afraid to ask her. If they hated me, I wouldn't hang out with Rosalie around them because I would most likely make them uncomfortable. That was the last thing I wanted.
The prospect of meeting them frightened me but there was little I could do but wobble along on my too-tall heels and hold my head as high as I could without exposing my push-up bra in the process.
After grabbing my normal lunch of wilted salad and surprisingly juicy tomatoes with a bottle of lemonade, we all sat along our humble little table, away from the other students. Alice had made one joke about being a psychic—because she always managed to be right about everything—and people noticed how strange it was. While everyone liked her well enough and some even adored her—boys eagerly stepped up daily to carry her books—many didn't want to be around the weirdness that was Alice Brandon all the time.
Rosalie was poking her salad, looking forlornly at the wilted green leaves but smiling hopefully at the tomatoes when the air in the room began changing, all heads turning in direction of the cafeteria's entrance.
It was strange how majestic a trio of boys could look while just walking into a room. It seemed like a perfectly executed act, as if they had planned the entire shenanigan and rehearsed it so as to pull off the perfectly synchronized act: the blonde one—Jasper, I presumed—had a calm look on his face, his eyes straight forward and focused as he gazed at the students in one fell sweep of the eye; the copper/bronze haired one, Edward, was running one long-fingered hand through his disheveled hair, making it stick up haphazardly around his austere-looking face; the curly-haired one who was obviously Emmett if Rosalie's description was anything to go by, large and muscular as he was, was smiling mischievously at the crowd of students that were spread across the self-proclaimed audience, a ringleader who enjoyed attention above all else.
They entered the empty lunch line, the lunch lady's face giving an uninterested twitch as they paid for their meals and headed our way. Eyes remained on them as they came forward and it wasn't until they sat down that conspiratorial little whispers began , some speaking of the grand entrance the boys had made, others pondering why they'd choose to sit with us (particularly me), the freaks.
"Well, who are these lovely ladies?" Emmett said, his voice booming loudly, practically echoing in my ears. Rosalie looked immune to it, but she rolled her eyes and grinned brightly at him, pulling him down for a kiss. I was glad I wasn't as shallow as Alice sometimes wished me to be. Hurting Rosalie and Emmett by hitting on her would have sent me into a spiraling torrent of guilt.
"This is Alice and Bella; ladies, this is Emmett, Edward and Jasper." My assumptions correct, I smiled at them with a small hello, hiding my anxiety. They sat beside us and a conversation began between Alice and Jasper, the electricity coming off in none-too-subtle waves. Had I forgotten to mention that Alice was a debate prodigy? She questioned everything and she had yet to lose in any government-related debates. Jasper was smiling at every question thrown at him and when he questioned back, Alice grinned like a mischievous child, looking strangely like Emmett despite their major size difference.
While Emmett and Rosalie chatted it up and got cozy in their seats, I poked at my salad, unable to really start a conversation when my stomach was bubbling with nerves. From the corner of my eye, I could see Edward looking up at me, staring curiously at me and then at the others, back and forth. I could also see that his eyelashes were really thick around his green eyes, bright and open.
Why did my lesbian side have to hide away now when I needed it to be around most? I'd always read about these powerful lesbian girls who spoke their minds and broke social boundaries. Why couldn't I be one of them?
"Umm…I'm Edward," I heard muttered close by. Turning that way, I didn't have a chance to see that Edward had leaned my way before bumping foreheads with him. I fell from my chair, completely off balance from the unexpected hit, and slammed against the floor, backwards. My hands, knowing that I was unable to save myself from the fall, flew down to my skirt and kept it from riding up—Alice, I cursed.
Groaning, I barely managed to sit up properly when people started crowding around me, asking if I was alright. I muttered and sputtered when people started lending hands—I think Tyler or Eric groped me in that instant, though—especially when I saw Edward, one hand around my arm and the other nursing his injured forehead. He grinned absurdly, shrugging. A little spark of familiarity hit me then and I began laughing. He joined along, a low, melodious laugh produced from his throat. People backed away and slowly went back to their seats, Tyler, Eric and, surprisingly, Mike, staying behind for moments to see if I was alright and if they could get me anything, glaring hard at Edward. They stood clear away from him, grimacing at him in what looked to be disgust. He caught their eyes and glared back but it was much more subdued, as if he felt guilty.
"I'm fine, guys. Really, just go." They nodded and left, their eyes shooting back to Edward once and again.
"What's up with them?" I muttered, suspicious. They knew I didn't go for guys just as they knew I would never go for them. Not to be vain or anything but there was really no need for jealousy.
"They found out," Edward murmured. I turned to him only to his face lowered, expression downcast. It gave me a minute to look at him closely because when he'd walked in, I had been more focused on the style in which he and his brothers had entered the room rather than what he looked like.
From top to bottom, I saw interesting features. His hair was actually pretty soft-looking, which probably meant he didn't use gel or hair products. It amazed me how it stuck up in strange directions, looking like it couldn't be tamed and yet it still looked good. His face was defined, a jaw line made to cut glass, nose perfectly straight and structured to fit his face. Under his eyes, I saw a smudge of something…eyeliner. Okay, I could see why his lashes looked so thick now. A thin line of black kohl liner must have been drawn in under his eyes. It actually looked really natural on him. Internally, I grinned. I couldn't even apply eyeliner have the time. It always smudged.
His clothing was something out of a magazine…a really expensive fashion magazine, the ones you couldn't get in Forks. Armani skinny jeans that hugged his legs none-too-tightly and seemed really comfortable, a button down shirt of dark blue—we matched, oddly enough—with the sleeves rolled up just below his elbow. He was pretty fit, as well, which led me to a strange conclusion, seeing as I wasn't one for stereotypes.
"You're gay," I said quietly, leaning closer but far away enough that there wouldn't be two bruises to my forehead the next morning.
He looked up, his eyes glaring half-heartedly at me.
"Well, so are you," he whined childishly. I laughed, feeling kind of light. He tried to scowl but one corner of his lip quirked just a bit, giving him a slightly crooked grin.
"Yeah, but my enemies are the girls. You'll probably be surrounded by them tomorrow. The social classes around here have severely been lacking a gay man. Now that there's so much television, people expect at least one in each school. You've finally filled in the spot."
He groaned, "But why do you get the guys?"
Shrugging, I laughed, "Because I've joined their hunting party. Duh." Edward laughed along with me and I realized that he understood what I meant. Alice didn't get why I couldn't just go after girls and get into a relationship the way she could with nearly any boy in Forks High. There were so many limits put on me and she didn't understand that I had built my own prison. I thought all homosexual, transsexual, and pansexual people did, but how could we help who we were? To lie to the world would be to lie to ourselves and I wasn't sure I had the heart to do that.
"Well, now I've got all the birds on my side, I suppose," Edward said, grinning at me. I smiled back.
"Does this mean we have to initiate war against each other?" I asked jokingly. Edward put on a stern, thoughtful look, rubbing his chin and pulling at an imaginary beard. I snickered.
"I suppose we don't have to. In fact…we could use each other to our advantage…"
"Convincing the boys to get the girls to stop hating me," I frowned, breaking the good mood. "They'll always not like me. Girls are vicious creatures. I don't even know why I deal with them."
"That's why I stay away from them," Edward offered. "Such emotional creatures shouldn't be around delicate body parts that can easily be rendered useless." He pointed to his pants and I couldn't help but crack a smile.
"Boys are rather delicate, aren't they? That's why I don't try and mess with them. Squeamish little buggers," I said, smirking. Edward opened his mouth to retort but the bell rang loudly, effectively ending our banter. The others walked away, still deep in their conversations.
Sighing, I stood wobbly on the blasted Heels of Infinite Torture, holding onto the table for support.
"I guess I've got Biology next," Edward said, standing as he held one hand out to me, offering his assistance. I shook my head but changed my mind as my balance was rigorously tested when my other foot made its descent to the floor.
"So do I," I managed to mutter, focusing on the heels. I would conquer them. I swore to it.
"Why do you even wear those? They can't be comfortable."
"Alice is why I wear them," I said. There really was nothing else to explain.
"Oh."
"Oh what?" I quirked my eyebrow at him and he grimaced, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Well, it's just that…well, Jasper and Alice are getting along so well. It must bother you that she is interested in him so suddenly. She's not… like us, is she?"
Frowning at him, I said, "No, she's not like us. But I think you've got it all wrong. Alice is like a sister to me. Being attracted to her would be like…you being attracted to your brother." Edward grimaced and I laughed.
He had avoided saying gay, which made me think that he was uncomfortable with what he was. I felt my chest hurt from that. We really were quite alike. A strange sort of kinship had formed that moment and somehow, the need for a relationship with a girl became obsolete. Edward managed to become the one person I could talk to about anything.
"Ew…that's really gross."
"Oh come on, you can't say that. Most guys actually like that kind of thing, they just don't know it yet. It's kind of longer and sometimes it gets rougher or harder, but it can really be satisfying when done and used properly."
"I think you're biased, Edward."
"No, I'm not! Here, I'll show you."
"No, no, no, I think I believe you," I said as I held Edward's shoulders an arm's length away from me. He sighed exasperatedly, looking up towards the ceiling.
"Bella, it's just a hug. Come on, you can't tell me you've never been given a proper hug." I grumbled, pouting childishly. He smiled in return, his white teeth pearly and gleaming in the light as he opened his arms widely for me to scoot into. I hesitated at first but finally gave in. There really was no fighting Edward when he gave me such a wide-eyed look as the one he adopted when he wanted something. It was actually kind of adorable…in a weird, creepy kind of way.
I leaned into his chest and his arms closed around me, slowly applying pressure to my arms. My body was tense at first, but his hand reached down to the small of my back and he murmured, "Just relax. Give it a second." I did as he said and, slowly, I felt what he meant.
There was pressure, yes, but it was slow moving, like warm air filling up a room. My arms were enclosed underneath his but I felt loose, able to move if I wanted but I didn't want to. There was just so much warmth in it, so much pleasant pressure…it was just so nice.
My hand reached up to his back from the seat of his leather couch. Even when I was feeling the heated pressure so comfortably against my body, it felt incomplete and I was curious to see whether my own reciprocation of the hug would make a difference.
Oh!
How could hugging feel so pleasant? As my arms tightened their grip on Edward's frame, the embrace became complete. It was ever so fulfilling to feel the combine pressure pull me closer to him, warmth and closeness dancing together between our torsos as we held each other tightly, an emotional release I hadn't realized would be so wonderful.
"See what I mean?" he murmured into my hair, tucking my head beneath his chin. I nodded, mortified as my face grew hot with a fresh flush.
"Y-yeah," I stuttered, pulling away abruptly, my hair flying over my face as it cooled. I turned away, pretending to stretch and pop my back.
"I think I've got to get home," I said finally, my face significantly cooler. My heart was pounding loudly in my chest and I felt as if I was about to start sweating, the heat building beneath my skin.
"Oh, okay," Edward said quietly. I looked a little more closely at him and saw that he was turned away, frowning. I grimaced in response. Had he noticed that I had gotten embarrassed over his hug? Was he uncomfortable that I had squeezed back? I doubted I'd ever be sure, but if I wanted any shred of dignity to survive this current visit, I'd need to leave immediately. After short, choppy goodbyes, I nearly ran to my old, rusty red Chevy, revving the old engine as fast as I could. It sputtered as I pushed the gas for all it was worth until I was a good distance from the Cullen home before pulling over to the side of the road, screaming in frustration as I slammed the brakes.
How could this happen? Was fate just pulling some sort of horribly cruel joke on me for kicks? Had it not laughed enough when it made me look at girls as more than just comrades in gender?
I banged on the horn hard enough that it actually honked, startling me enough that I screamed in surprise. It had been broken for so long already…I didn't think my poor truck even had enough time left to even croak, let alone honk. Poor thing was probably sensing my anger. I stroked the steering wheel, sighing angrily at myself.
"Sorry, Red…I didn't mean to take it out on you." The engine gurgled in response, sounding like a large, old dog grumbling deep in his throat.
"I know, I know…it's just…it's weird, you know? This kind of thing doesn't happen to other people. Why's it got to be me?" The sounds emitted from the engine dropped suddenly before coming up again and I imagined Red shrugging at me. I smiled, somewhat abashed.
"I shouldn't be so selfish. You've got loads of problems, too. I need to ask Rosalie if she can change your oil and maybe give you a nice pick up to last you awhile. Sorry, Red, but you're getting old." Red grumbled deeply, his engine sounding like it was snoring. I laughed and took him off the brakes, resuming my drive home.
When I'd gotten Red, it had been love at first roar. He'd been a great companion when I first transitioned myself into Forks from Phoenix with my mom. Charlie had earned major points with Red. Plus, good-ole Red was the equivalent of having an old hound. He was obedient and sometimes stubborn and difficult but he was reliable when I needed him to be. I didn't need a fancy new car that lacked personality when I had Red with me. He was also a pretty good companion since his every grumble or purr made for really good conversation, especially since I wasn't really much a conversationalist anyway. Charlie caught me talking to him once and just shook his head and walked away, mumbling about getting me more friends.
Red had been hearing more about Edward, though, for the past few months. Good things, mostly, since Edward had turned out to be a great friend, better than Alice in many ways. First off, he did a great job of dealing with my odd habits. He had looked at me oddly when I talked to Red in front of him for the first time but otherwise, he didn't bother questioning it. When he got out of my car when I drove him home once (Emmett had borrowed his car, a brand-spanking new silver Volvo that I laughed at because it was just like him: gay), he had pet Red's hood and said, "Thanks for the ride, Red." I was very pleased afterwards and Red seemed to have taken a liking towards Edward ever since. He always worked whenever Edward was in the truck.
Secondly, Edward understood, a point that I reminded myself of every time I had a strange thought about him, as I had many times recently. I didn't want to lose the feeling of being normal, the way I felt when I was with him. As cheesy as it sounded, I felt like myself when I was with Edward, an odd occurrence seeing as I was such an outcast amongst my own gender. He lessened the blow that the girls dealt me and yet he treated me like a girl, not a fellow guy out to get girls. I wasn't part of hit hunting party; I was just his friend.
Lastly, my father liked him. 'Twas a grand day when I brought Edward home and introduced him to my father, telling him that we'd be doing homework in my room. Charlie had gone purple in the face, pulled Edward into the kitchen and given him a talking to before I could say a word about Edward's sexuality (or a reminder of my own). Minutes later, Edward and Charlie came out of the kitchen, both red with embarrassment. Charlie mumbled an apology and allowed us to go upstairs, but not before I smacked him across the back of the head for making assumptions.
Sighing again, I pulled into the driveway, vaguely surprised when I saw Alice's car—a canary yellow Porsche she'd been given for her birthday by her father, a wealthy investor—parked where my car normally was. After pulling into the yard, I jumped out of Red, patting his flank as I walked into the house. His engine had already sputtered to a restful silence but the gasoline gurgled lightly as I passed. Smiling, I walked in, feeling slightly better than I had when I left the Cullen's place.
"Bella!" Alice greeted happily, bounding off the couch lightly. Charlie chuckled at her antics (he had always been so taken with her) and went back to watching his baseball game.
"Hey, Alice. What's going on?" I hung my jacket over the edge of the couch and went into the kitchen to rinse my hands of the rust that Red had left on my skin.
"Well, I figured that today is as good as any to have a girls' night, just you and me. Since Jasper and I have been hitting it off so well recently, we haven't had much girl time…" I smiled, drying my hands as I fondly remembered what had been going on.
Alice and Jasper had been like two peas in a pod…opposite sides of the pod. Alice was known for her craziness and her general loudness. Jasper had turned out to be quite the opposite, always calm and collected. It was so funny to watch them when they chatted, Alice animatedly hopping up and down and making hand gestures while Jasper dotingly nodded at her, agreeing with her every word. After about a day after they met, they were dating, frankly looking like a couple that had been together years instead of just days.
"Okay, Alice. Am I going over to your house or are we doing it here?" Alice wrung her tiny hands together, her impish features suddenly taking on an adorably childish look that told me that this request wasn't what it appeared to be.
"Well...I was thinking maybe we could have it over at Rosalie's. We haven't done a girls' night with her yet and she said she wanted to do your hair up…"
I chuckled exasperatedly but nodded nonetheless, Alice squealing in response, her tiny body squeezing me in a hug. Somehow, it was different from Edward's hug. She wrapped her arms around my stomach, squeezing the breath out of me quickly and forcefully with her tiny ligaments. Edward's arms had been slow-moving and careful, like balloons inflating slowly, warmth building and spreading across my chest and back as they did. Alice's just didn't add up.
I couldn't tell why.
The Cullen home was the epitome of comfort and class. Glass walls and white surrounded us as we entered the beautiful redwood door and I felt myself taking in a deep breath, almost as if I was trying to smell the woods that surrounded the house in the foyer.
"Back again, Bella, Alice? I told you that you wouldn't be able to get enough of my cookies!" Esme said playfully as she welcomed us through the house, kissing our foreheads. She was a woman in her thirties who looked to be only twenty-six and she reminded me of Snow-White because she just looked so kind and matronly. When I first met her, I had almost suffered culture shock from her mere presence. My own parents, while I knew they loved me, weren't particularly warm people. Charlie was aloof half the time and he spoke when necessary, a very cool personality. Renee was his polar opposite, her own sweltering personality full of questions and curiosity that rivaled a cat's made her more of a therapist than a parent. Esme acted like a mother, something I had never before experienced. It was wonderful.
"Hey girls," Rosalie welcomed as she walked in to the room, appearing far more relaxed in her chic-looking "loungewear" (I always called them sweatpants but she had told me that sweatpants were meant for sweating and loungewear were for lounging…it really made no difference to me, they looked like sweatpants). Rosalie was someone who wasn't comfortable in most atmospheres outside of her own home.
Her past, the one she had before she had been given a refuge with the Cullens, had been harsh and strict. After being set up in an arranged marriage at the age of sixteen with a man that raped her, she had been given a second chance. She didn't talk about it any more after she had first told us, and that was fine with me. I didn't want to know the details of what happened to her because it was like hearing about someone doing that to Alice. There was no way I could listen and sit still without the insurmountable rage coming forth and taking over my mind, an aspiration for revenge on the men who had caused her this pain.
I called my attention forth to the plate of cookies set out for us, the Mystery Cookie. She didn't tell us what was inside it but I knew that the ingredients were something that had to be magical. She watched us expectantly as we each took one and bit into them, our eyes nearly rolling back into our heads as we did. Grinning, she insisted that I grab another before walking into the kitchen to bring us milk.
She had noticed some time back that I was underweight, something I couldn't really help but I did my best to appease her by eating more in front of her. Depression made me lose any appetite I may have once had. Bubbles of nausea would burst in my stomach whenever I had gotten home from a bad date or after a particularly harsh day at school when the girls were feeling malicious. Esme was quick to pick on that, though. I think she brought out cookies whenever I was here simply for that reason. She should have realized that I would probably be overweight if this cookie raid continued. They were so delicious, I didn't know if it was possible to stop.
Rosalie eagerly dragged us into her room and plopped onto the center of the bed, pulling us on as well.
"Oh, three girls on one bed; my lucky day," I joked, smiling when the girls laughed. I hadn't been used to joking about it before, but Edward had made it easier. He wasn't really the stereotypical gay man that I had thought he may be after the first day—he had a Volvo—but he joked around with his brothers when he was feeling good. Making perverted jokes around Emmett only to see his expression grow shocked was honestly one of the most entertaining pastimes we had. I'd once asked Edward about bunk-beds because he had said that when they were younger, he and Emmett had shared one. His response had been, "I like to top," to which Emmett had spat out his milk and bite of cookie to deny ever having partaken in any such thing. We had laughed for a good ten minutes after Emmett had stomped off to huff to Rosalie.
"Earth to Bella, come in Bella," Alice called, waving her hand in front of my eyes. Rosalie made static sounds behind her, repeating Alice's words. I blinked once.
"Well, someone has safely returned home. Now, would you like to explain what had you out in space for the past two minutes?" Alice asked, quirking a delicate black eyebrow.
I quickly came up with, "I was just thinking about that new dress they came out with in Milan. You know, the white lace one? I was thinking, it could be made into something to be worn almost anywhere if it was shortened up a bit, you know? Maybe if we sans the sleeves."
"Nice try, Bella, but we all know that you wouldn't be thinking about that dress for two minutes. Now, be a good girl and tell us the truth or I'll force you to tell me." Rosalie leaned over the edge of the bed and pulled up a thick, fashionable leather belt, holding it up as a warning that she wasn't kidding.
"Dominatrix," I muttered, curling inward a bit.
"Tell us, Bella," they said in unison. I groaned and buried my face in the nearest pillow I could find, mumbling what I could and knowing that I wouldn't get away with it.
"What was that, Bella?"
I growled so loudly that not even the pillow could hide it. "I'm thinking about Edward!"
"Oh…why? We know he's kind of girlie but I thought we were kind of pretty, too. Don't you find us attractive?" Rosalie asked jokingly. I could hear the curiosity in her voice though and my face felt hot and sticky against the silken pillow case. Turning my face in their direction, I wanted to run away, to not be seen in this moment.
"I don't know why," I admitted, frowning as my throat began to hurt. "He just…I don't…I can't…"
Tears began flowing from my eyes and I was quickly pulled up from my position on the bed and into a hug from both girls, surrounded by their arms. Why couldn't I just say it and get it over and done with instead of facing this embarrassment?
I'd have to face it if I said it because then it'd be true.
"Sh, Bella, calm down. Just breathe nice and slow, okay, hon? There's a good girl, shh, just calm down." I hiccupped and tried to pull away to wipe my eyes and nose before they could see me in my wretched state but they didn't allow me to. Alice had managed to conjure up some tissues and handed me a couple. It was only a second or two later that someone knocked on the door, opening it when they received no reply.
"Rosalie, since when have you and Alice been bi?" Immediately, I stiffened. Edward.
"Bella, what's wrong?" He came around the other side of the bed, frowning when he saw me, face red from crying, eyes watering. The girls released me, but I couldn't even make myself leave the room to hide away in the bathroom until he left. His hands went to my cheeks, cupping them gently as he leaned closer. The pads of his thumbs rubbed softly against the bottoms of my eyes, delicately wiping away the remnant tears.
"What happened?" he murmured, leaning close enough that I could see that he had passed on wearing his eyeliner; his eyes looked just as bright and green. His voice, deep and baritone, whispering to me, triggered something inside my chest and a sob released me, tears cascading from my eyes. His own widened but he didn't back away. His hold on my face tightened ever so slightly and I had to wrench my face away from his hands, tripping over my own feet as I ran into Rosalie's bathroom, wincing as I slammed the door behind me and locked it.
My chest rose and fell shakily as I cried, unable to breathe properly. Outside the door, Rosalie and Alice yelled at Edward, asking him what he'd done and what he'd said while he insisted he had done nothing. I wanted to scream at them for yelling at him when he'd done nothing other than be himself, nothing other than be my friend.
Friend. That's all we'd ever be, wasn't it?
It took time but slowly my breath became even as silent tears slowed and ceased. The childish need to look into the mirror at my disheveled reflection was ignored as I rinsed my face in the sink, rubbing my skin with a soft towel.
It was one thing telling your friends that you might actually be straight after thinking for so long that you were gay. It was another thing entirely to tell them that you were turned straight because of your gay best friend, your gay boy best friend.
Irony was a bitch.
I didn't come out of the bathroom until I knew that a certain bronze-haired boy wasn't in the room. When I did, I was practically tackled by Alice and Rosalie, both of whom insisted that we could still continue with the sleepover/girls' night. They immediately began spraying my hair with strange liquids and pulling out curling irons.
"Yous got some 'splaining to do," Alice murmured as she concentrated on my hair, separating strands as carefully as she could. I blushed and tried to hold my tongue but Rosalie was holding closer to my head than was safe. Rather than risk my forehead, I spoke up.
"Edward didn't do anything wrong," I said quickly, trying to appease any anger they may have still felt for him. They nodded for me to proceed. Sighing, I rushed my explanation.
"You both know that we've become great friends and everything. So we've been hanging out and just talking a lot and today, I came over. So then he was telling me about something he's done with other guys before him and told me I'd love it too so I let him and now I feel weird things and I don't know what to do because he's a guy and I just feel so lost!" I was breathing harshly when finished. Both girls had stilled their curling irons on pieces of my hair; I almost swore that I saw smoke. "Rosalie? Alice?"
"You had sex with Edward?" they cried in unison, both accidentally yanking at my hair. I yelped in surprise and pain.
"What? What're you talking about? We hugged, you idiots! Crap, remove those stupid things from my hair!"
They quickly twirled the irons out of my hair, revealing shiny, perfect curls that looked off along the rest of my otherwise straight hair. Breath heavy and eyes meeting, Rosalie and Alice turned to me and said, "Talk."
"Guys, we just hugged, nothing more, nothing less. But…it got me thinking and now I feel…weird."
"Were you fully-clothed, missy, when you were doing this so-called hugging?" Alice questioned icily, her fists on her hips. I nodded hurriedly. She sighed and waved her hand for me to continue.
Hesitantly, I said, "I don't know…what it means. The hug was…amazing. I didn't know a hug could feel that way." Rosalie leaned forward, her lips set into a frown.
"Bella, if all you need is a hug then you can't say this feeling is because of Edward. I mean, I know Charlie isn't exactly the most physical of fathers and he doesn't really show that he cares through touch, but he does love you. Maybe you just need more interaction from others. You've been single for awhile, right? Maybe we could find you somebody…" I shook my head, my face heating up in shame.
"But…I don't want anybody else." I stood, pacing the room as the girls looked at me helplessly. "When you hug me, it's just like a sister hugging me. Sure, it's nice, but it's not as good as that. I've tried looking at other girls, heck, even other guys just to see if my attraction would extend past Edward, but it just won't. I'm not even attracted to anyone anymore. It's just him!"
I sat down abruptly, feeling overwhelmed. This sucked.
"I'm a lesbian who finally turns straight and the one guy I like is gay. How crappy is that?" Rosalie and Alice looked at each other, for once without words. They caringly took strands of my hair and began curling again, gently patting and petting my hair in a shared form of comfort.
The night had been restless and when I slept, I saw green eyes behind my eyelids. When I finally awoke the fifth time, I didn't bother to stay on the bed any longer. Rosalie's memory foam mattress was working just like the infomercial said it would; I was able to leave without waking either girl.
Once I was downstairs, I sought the cookies that Esme always left out. They were in the little cookie jar that she always placed on the center of the counter. I reached in and pulled out the largest cookie I could find, letting it find home in my mouth. Holding the bitten cookie in one hand, I opened the fridge and pulled out the milk carton and poured myself a glass before sitting down at the bar, cookie jar pulled close.
How sad, I thought to myself. Brought down to this level, sipping milk and chomping down on cookies; pathetic.
I grumbled into my cookie, licking crumbs from my fingertips.
"Hey." I jumped, nearly falling off my stool before I caught myself at the edge. Turning, I saw the silhouette of a man with wild hair sticking up in all directions. Sighing in relief, I put my hand to my chest, trying to calm myself from not only the scare but also the upcoming conversation.
"Jeez, Edward, you startled me."
"Sorry, Bella, you surprised me, too."
"What're you doing here?" I questioned, chastising myself for even asking. It was his house; I had no right to ask him that.
"My cookie senses were tingling. I wanted some."
"Oh." I tried to laugh but it came out like a weird sort of cough. He walked over and we awkwardly sat next to each other at the bar, each with a glass of milk and a couple of cookies between us. He nodded as he chewed his slowly, not saying anything.
"Umm…I'm going to go back to bed…bye." I clumsily hopped off my stool and tried to hurry away.
"Bella, please, just…wait." I stopped, stiff and unsure but unable to run like my instincts were telling me to.
Edward had hopped off his stool—graceful as ever, the little queer—and walked over to me. His hand went up to my cheek, cupping my face as he had earlier in the evening. This thumb sat beside my lips, rubbing gently.
"You have cookie crumbs on your lips," he said in a murmur, leaning close.
Just as I was about to ask how he could possibly see cookie crumbs on my lips when we were in the dark, his lips were on mine, silencing me.
I hadn't kissed boys or girls before, and despite what people thought of lesbians being naturally great kissers no matter how much experience they had, I was fairly sure that I was embarrassing myself. With my lack of experience and shock pretty much killing any sense of kissing I may have had, I was just a lump with lips that Edward was kissing. His lips were over mine, so gentle and soft that I was frozen in my spot. Finally, after what felt long minutes, he broke away from me, leaving chaste little kisses over my lips even as he moved away. His eyes were too dark to see properly, but they were lidded, lazily blinking at me.
I should slap him, I thought passively, unable to think clearly as he pulled away enough that the movement made me anxious enough to actually whisper, "That's it?" He blinked properly then, and whispered back, "What?" before deciding that we couldn't stand in the dark any longer. He quickly strode over to the light switch and flicked it on, nearly blinding me in the process. I covered my eyes.
His feet were the only thing in my vision as I looked down and away from the light.
"Bella, please look at me," he said pleadingly. It took only his voice to make my resolve waver enough for me to need to see him.
His eyes were bright again but the skin around was dark and bruised looking as if he hadn't been getting enough sleep.
"Are you okay? What happened earlier? Why did you run away from me?" he questioned quickly, running his hands through his hair nervously.
"I think I have the right to question you first." Wincing, he nodded, lowering his hands to his sides. They fidgeted.
"First, I'd like to ask you the most obvious question: why did you kiss me?"
"Pass?" After a stern gaze, he buckled.
"Okay, but you've got to promise not to laugh." I nodded.
"Well…I've recently realized that I have an addiction to cookies. I really can't help it though. I'm bad, Bella, so bad. I told myself I'd only have one but I want more and I can smell cookie crumbs from upstairs. You were walking away with them on your lips so I had to get them. I'm so sorry. I need help. You should probably call a shrink on me. If I'm cured, this won't happen again. I need help, Bella."
"Edward…if you think I'm going to fall for that crap, you've got another thing coming. Now, the truth before I decide that I should feed your addiction and choke you with cookies myself."
"Okay, okay, just…you're going to hate me after this. You'll never want to hang out with me anymore and then everything will suck again. So before I tell you…" His arms were instantly around me, applying that smooth, soothing pressure that I had never felt before. It warmed me again and I felt my chest fill with heat. His cheek was pressed against the top of my head and he murmured into my hair, breath blowing across my scalp.
"It's embarrassing and I know you'll feel uncomfortable but you want to know and I can't lie to you any longer." He sighed into my hair, murmuring, "Please don't let me regret this," almost silently.
"I'm so attracted to you, Bella. I didn't think it was possible for me to ever like a girl or a guy as much as I like you. I love you, so, so much. I've wanted to kiss you for so long and I know that I shouldn't have, but I needed to. When you were crying earlier and you ran away from me, I was so angry at myself for not knowing what it was that was bothering you. Whatever it was I did, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." He pulled away from me and paced the kitchen, running both hands through his hair shakily.
"I shouldn't even like you. I mean, not only are you a girl, but you're also crazy! You talk to your truck like he's a person and you're gay! How can I even comprehend you?" He stalked up to me, his hands quickly taking my face in his hands.
"But I love you," he said with conviction, his eyes glaring into my own with determination, burning green fire. "And I don't want to stop anytime soon. I'm happiest when I'm with you and I have somehow managed to regain my love of boobs and curves because of you. I don't think I can go back to boys."
Unable to think properly, I tried to reply. "You've been looking at my boobs?" His face was blank for a moment before a small smile cracked through. His laughter was breathless and slightly delirious but he didn't hesitate to rest his forehead against my own.
"You're absolutely ridiculous," he murmured, kissing my nose. "But I love you."
"This is kind of late, but I think I love you, too. Or, at least your hugs. But I think that, with time, I can learn to love you as well." His smile widened.
"I don't know how this is going to work out. We'll have loads of problems."
"Like what?"
"Well, there is one major issue. I'm gay."
"So am I. I think I have worse problems, though. I don't wear makeup."
"I do."
"I'm stubborn."
"So am I."
"I'm very virginal. You'll have to teach me stuff but you're so gay that I don't know if you can."
"My dad's a doctor. I'm sure we can work something out. Besides, I've got looks and money. I'm a catch."
"There'll be loads of controversy. People will be talking for weeks. My dad may have to start taking medication for blood pressure when he finds out about this."
"There's always been controversy. Now, people will talk because they'll realize that we're so attractive that we turned each other straight. And my dad can talk to your dad about lowering his blood pressure."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Wow…this might actually work."
"I think so." I watched his green eyes glow brightly behind his seriousness, the playful undertone making me smile.
"Kiss me again, Rainbow Boy."
"I don't know how you managed to get me into the heels again."
"It's a powerful device called persuasion, Bella. Learn it, use it, control it."
"It's not persuasion if it has to do with Edward, Alice. Bella's just that whipped."
"I'm not whipped," I grumbled, looking rather stupid with curlers in my hair.
"No, you are. Now hold still while I take out the curlers. If you mess up your hair, you're stuck with it throughout prom and you know how Angela's going to be taking pictures. If you look like you have a nest on your head, don't come crying to us." With the threat made clear, I stayed put.
Edward and I had been doing a pretty good job of this whole boyfriend-girlfriend relationship thing. There were some minor issues just as I was sure there were in normal homosexual relations but we did our best to persevere. Edward had done a pretty good job of regaining that long-forgotten Love of Boob and I was pretty darn satisfied with getting to enjoy the Love of Flat Man-Chest, or "Love of Booblessness" as Emmett called it right before Rosalie smacked him across the head. However, I'd grown accustomed to love every Teen-Rated aspect of Edward that was visible without any loss of clothing. I'd come to the conclusion that I no longer fell into any category such as heterosexual or homosexual. Now, I was Edward-sexual. It was a crazy category that only held one participant, but I was glad that I was the only one.
The one downfall was that there were many people against my joining with Edward. For one, the girls had lost their patented gay man. They were without the rainbow of sunlight that normally shone on their otherwise grayscale lives. The boys had lost a hunting party member, which also led me to find something else out. Turns out that Edward had seen his first sign of straightness the moment he'd hit his head against mine. When he'd helped me up, a deeply receded instinct had popped forward, leading his hand to instinctually grope my backside. Silly boy had been so gay that he'd forgotten what straightness felt like.
Tyler and Eric were instantly let off the hook for that incident but with the coming of my own straightness, I had to put up major boundaries. Edward was a very possessive man, and he was very good at protecting what was his. He asserted his inner Alpha-Rainbow in a way that I hadn't assumed he would. Naturally, I was a fairly independent person but with Edward, I think he had some sort of magic hypnosis powers hidden in his eyes. When he swore to me that he wasn't going to do anything stupid, I had somehow managed to believe him. That's why I had let him borrow Red.
Little had I known that he would desecrate my good-ole hound of a truck by making him wear a silly silver ornament that was adorned in elegant script that said, "This truck—christened Red— is hereby owned by Isabella Swan, Rainbow Girl and girlfriend to Edward Cullen, Rainbow Boy." People knew about all things new in the little town of Forks, so everyone noticed when Red showed up at school one day wearing a new trinket. I was off-limits to all boys after that.
Red must have been bribed with an oil change or a tune up because he purred after Edward gave him his fancy new rearview-mirror collar. I laughed whenever I looked at it, grinning when it caught the light just right.
"Okay, girlie, time for the walk down the stairs. You think you can handle it?" I groaned but stood on my wobbly, toothpick heels and held on for dear life to anything that I could. The stairs weren't the only obstacle, after all; I still had to leave my bedroom.
With some effort and major concentration, I managed to make it halfway down the stairs before I looked up when I heard a gruff throat clearing. Charlie stood there, stoic and blank faced as ever, a disposable camera in his hands.
"Hey, Dad. What do you think?" He cleared his throat again, and I feared that maybe he was getting a bit emotional.
"You look great, Bells." With my final steps, I managed to stand up straight enough that I was secure in the fact that I could walk over to Charlie without tripping. He smiled a crinkly-eyed grin, holding his hand out to me.
That was the thing about Charlie. He'd been a great support when I told him that I wasn't as gay as I'd thought I was. To tell him, all I'd had to do was bring Edward over and say, "Dad, Edward's not allowed in my room anymore, okay? Edward, go hide in the closet while I make dinner. When it's done, we'll do our homework in the kitchen."
Charlie had taken it fairly well, all things considered. Renee had been a bit upset, though. She'd had great fun in a new club she'd joined for parents of homosexual, transsexual and pansexual children. She would probably have gotten bored with it anyway.
I hugged Charlie once more when someone knocked on my door. Quickly, Alice and Rosalie, both already dressed and ready, stood on both sides of me and allowed Charlie to open the door. In poured Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper and, finally, Edward. The latter three were all dressed in tuxes, holding little plastic boxes with corsages and wearing matching flowers in their front pockets. Each fell into place before their designated woman, Edward bowing lightly when he came into my space.
"You look beautiful, Bella," he murmured, kissing my knuckles, his kohl-lined green eyes staring deeply at my own. I blushed, silently pleased behind the embarrassment. His flower wasn't exactly the same elegant solid color that Emmett and Jasper's were. The petals of his rose were each a different varying color, creating a plethora of colors that resembled a rainbow. He caught my eyes and grinned.
"I didn't want to have the same flower as everyone else, considering the circumstances in which we came to be." I nodded, laughing when he pulled my corsage from its plastic protection and wrapped the delicate black band around my wrist. This explained why Alice had insisted on a black dress.
With parting goodbyes and many camera flashes, we left in Edward (gay) Volvo, Edward insisting that while my truck was a classic, it wouldn't due to bring him to prom. He just wasn't used to that kind of crowd. I, sadly, agreed.
"Christina and I have been thinking…" Edward started, looking forward as he sped along the highway in direction of the school.
"Who's Christina?" I asked curiously. I couldn't remember anyone by the name of Christina at school.
Edward gestured vaguely with his hand, making a swirling movement. "You're riding in her."
I looked around, then at him, and then at the car's console, staring at the eye-shaped air-vents and the satellite radio-mouth.
"Christina," I said to her, nodding my head in greeting. She purred beneath us and I knew she heard me.
"Yeah, we've been thinking that maybe it would be a good idea if you, Red and I took a ride to my favorite spot in town. It's kind of hard to find if you don't know where to look, but I'm sure Red'll be able to handle the road there. It's a really good place to relax; plenty of nature to enjoy and lots of sun. It's nicest after a good rain shower."
"Is Christina worried about getting mud in her wheels?" I asked accusingly, laughing when she sped up and growled a bit. She was such a poodle.
"Of course not. She's just not used to this kind of terrain. Red's got experience."
"Sure, Edward, whatever you say."
"You know, I never used to hear Christina speak to me. I think the language of cars is starting to rub off on me. It used to be all about the tools and parts to fix them. Now, it's like another person. What have you done to me, Bella?"
I shrugged, laughing as Christina purred beneath us. "What can I say, Edward? I've turned you weird for me." He smiled, laughing as he pressed the gas a bit harder, speeding us towards our destination. The sun dipped low on the horizon, making the windshield glow different colors through the dewy window, spraying us with color.
Turned weird, indeed.
FIN
A/N: So, how was that my little ficlers? I rather enjoyed writing it so I hope you got something out of it as well. Now, I know this ficlet has got some controversial issues in here. Loads of people I know wouldn't agree with it, but I've got an opinion of my own that says it's alright. Plus, picturing two guys going at it in my head paints a really pretty picture. So, Question of the Ficlet time.
What's your opinion on homosexuality/transsexuality/pansexuality? Where do you stand on that front? Do you find that the issue is being glamorized by the media or do you think it needs more attention?
Okay ficler-babes, this is it for now. Hope you've all been doing good. Please REVIEW!
-Sovoyita
P.S. If you read my other stories, I haven't updated them because I wanted to be fair and update them all at once...plus, they aren't quite the way I want them yet. I'll be in New York for the next couple of days so I won't be able to post anything, but I'll keep on writing when I can. There so much to do and so little time. Just give me a chance to catch my breath, guys. I've got too much on my plate to focus on any one thing for extended periods of time. This one-shot was a lucky one.