Disclaimer: Nothing would be possible without Stephenie Meyer's brilliance.
Please bear with me on this one, I just got over a nasty cold and have had this idea circulating in my head for about 10 minutes. It's a very vague story so far (it'll probably end up being 3-4 chapters), but get ready for some E/B fluff and an injury or two (:
"Now, everyone, please keep an open mind about this. You know I care about you all immensely, and this is purely for our family's sake. Think of it more as an experiment. If it doesn't sit well with you, then that is perfectly alright with Esme and myself." Carlisle finally began to talk of what Edward and Alice seemed aware of already. Edward had a smile playing on his lips, his arm thrown behind the back of my chair. I glanced up at him; his dazzling golden eyes piercing mine with a radiant glow.
Alice, on the other hand, did not looked pleased. In fact, she was pouting. I knew she was dying to announce what vision she had seen that was not making her happy about what Carlisle was telling us.
"All of you know we can't stay here forever. And I must admit, it does sadden me to think that we have been here for so long and not one of you have participated in any sort of extracurricular activities that the humans do in Forks," Esme began, her tone soft.
"They all think we hike! We alone have kept the Newton's store in business! Just ask anyone who sat by us in class, we were gone half the time to hunt!" Alice slapped her little hand of the table, causing the rather stable surface to quiver.
"Alice, would you please share whatever you saw with the rest of us? It's obvious there is something about this seemingly harmless idea that is bothering you," Carlisle questioned.
She shook her head, causing her shimmery earrings to sparkle when they caught the light from the window. With a huff, she turned to Edward and grumbled something unintelligible under he breath.
"Alice saw herself…cheerleading," Edward said calmly, throwing Jasper a glance. A huge frown appeared on Jasper's face, his eyebrows coming together tightly. I tried to imagine it; Alice, cheering loudly towards the bleachers and prancing around Forks High School with pompoms. Okay, that last part was a bit exaggerated. Forks eliminated the pompoms in the 90's.
"Jasper, what in the world do you have against that?" Emmett looked extremely confused, but entertained at the same time. Rosalie rolled her eyes and shot Alice a warning look.
"Edward…?" Carlisle looked distraught. I chuckled to myself, imagining how any other normal person could interpret this conversation. My chest swelled with adoration for the Cullens, and how they trusted me enough to have me at their family meetings.
"Jasper dislikes the way the boys at Forks look at the cheerleaders. Since he won't be there, he's worried about the way she'll be treated. Alice is also upset…she doesn't see Bella with her." He smirked, looking down at me.
"Ha!" I couldn't help myself as I laughed once in shock. Why Alice would ever expect me to put myself in any sort of situation where I was on display, performing stunts and drawing attention to myself, I never imagined. Edward moved one hand to hold mine under the table, his thumb rubbing across my knuckles soothingly.
"This is meant to be practice. For you to learn self control, and maybe give back a little to the town that has treated us so well," Carlisle said sternly, "As for Emmett and Jasper, I was thinking you both could coach a sports team for younger children. And Rosalie, what if you volunteered with the elementary school? One of my patients told me that they need more volunteers."
Rosalie's mouth, usually turned slightly downwards, erupted into a brilliant smile. Emmett also looked pretty happy as well…who knew he would be excited about coaching little kids? Or, maybe he was just happy about Rosalie getting to spend time with children. I couldn't help but hope it might make her a little more easy going. Jasper still looked less than thrilled.
Looking up at Edward, I gazed at his strong jaw, his perfect smile, his adorably tousled hair. What did Carlisle and Esme have in mind for him? All of a sudden, a dull feeling overcame my senses. They couldn't possibly be expecting me to take part in a school sport?
Sensing my discomfort, he took both arms and circled them around my waist. His chair was automatically closer to mine, his sweet smell just barely calming me. His smile was genuine, and my fear melted away. He was more protective of my safety than I was of extreme embarrassment. He wouldn't put me in a situation like that.
"Carlisle, I think I'm going to try out for the swim team. And you're right, I think it would offer me good practice at self control," Edward said, his fingers interlocked with mine around my waist. Esme was beaming.
"Oh, Edward! I cannot wait to come to one of your meets! Needless to remind you, but I feel the need to-"
"Esme, you know I'd never put us in danger. I promise to be as mediocre of a swimmer as possible." He smiled, offering Esme an answer before she even addressed the issue of Edward being so fast. Ha, I could see it now! Edward beating every record for the state of Washington, easily making it to the Olympics, and not even trying hard.
"Bella, you do know that we don't expect you to feel obligated to be involved in this," Esme paused, "it's mainly to teach these crazy, competitive Cullens that patience comes from practice. We know you have a lot on your plate, so don't feel like you have to take part."
I did have a lot on my plate. I had endless amounts of homework, despite how brilliant of a tutor Edward was. Charlie had become accustomed to the chores I took upon myself to do everyday. Every other waking moment was spent with Edward, and it still never felt like enough. However, I knew that Edward wanted to please Carlise and Esme, and I knew that I was a terrible swimmer. There had to be something I could do, I refused to be left out because of my lack of grace.
"Maybe…I can learn some patience, too." Seven heads snapped towards me in disbelief.