Keeps Oxygen
Summary: Behind these masks we renegade against the sound, We'll let our voices slowly fade and ring out. Graduation was our last happy day.
Disclaimer:
One shoe
Two shoe
Don't own
Don't sue
Prologue. . .
"-terrible, fire everywhere-"
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.
"Birdie, Birdie, Birdie..."
"It's been near 5 years, Alice. She has to move on eventually."
"Is it really so wrong that I find beauty in humanity?"
"I must've graduated at least 15 times, and the robes never get any less itchy."
"And now, may I be the first to introduce to you the Forks High School class of -" an explosion of static and cheering. Our graduating class was small; only 97 students. I imagine my class back in Pheonix would've amounted to approximately 800. Not that I minded. Knowing the luck my old school had had in the past with commencement ceremonies, I was overjoyed with the regular Washington overcast clouds. Back in Arizona, the outdoor ceremonies were rained on (usually the first rainy day that year), and the indoor ceremonies were plagued (blessed?) with defective air-conditioning, where the temperature would mount to over 100 Farenheit. Definitely not memorable for the right reasons.
Breathless with excitement, I joined my classmates in tossing my hat up into the air, with my first solidly connecting with Eric Yorkie's face.
In habit, I covered my eyes with my hands, not wanting to see the damage I may have caused. I knew today had been going far too well - I hadn't ripped my gown, there was no tripping while crossing the stage to receive my diploma, and the ultimate - I told Rosalie a joke ("Two guys meet up in a bar..."), and she genuinely thought it was funny! She actually thought it was funny enough that she went and told it to Carlisle, Jasper, and Esme. Needless to say, I was stunned (and partially flattered).
Back to my current predicament, though.
I moved my hands away from my eyes.
"Eric," I moaned, "I am so, so, so sorry!"
Eric rubbed his nose beaming, almost as if I had not just decked him one, but instead had just declared my undying love for him.
Fool.
"Don't worry about it Bella, I-"
I waved my hands wildly, as if trying to shove his words back into his mouth.
"No, Eric, seriously," I could see Alice, looking like a model in her cap and gown, walking towards us. " I don't want you to remember me as the girl you nailed you one at the end of commencement." I was beginning to feel horrible - Eric's eyes were already starting to bruise up.
Eric looked like he was about to reply, but Alice had (finally) arrived at my side. "Come on, Bella. Everyone's waiting for us by the first building. She took my hand, and I could only wave to Eric as Alice guided me through the throng of people - there were only 97 graduates, but it seemed that everyone had invited 20 people each, not including people living in town without relatives graduating. Everything in town ended up closed. Apparently, graduation was quite the event.
The crowd thinned out, and eventually I could see a familiar group of faces.
Charlie and Phil were leaning against the side of the building about four feet apart, each with his hands shoved into his pockets. It was pretty apparent that neither of them were feeling very comfortable with the situation. I made a mental note to thank Phil for skipping his game in South Carolina to come to my graduation.
A couple feet over, my mother, Esme, and Rosalie were standing in a bit of a circle. Esme and Rosalie appeared to be trying to make conversation, but Renee (who, by the looks of her pink nose, was not immune to the meaningful ceremony) was openly gawking at Rosalie. While I knew how she was feeling, I couldn't help but feel slightly mortified for my mother. Rosalie must've sensed my gaze, and looked over at Alice and I. She rolled her eyes at me in a not unkind way, and then returned to the conversation.
Jasper and Emmett, mature as they were, were having a staring contest. Each had a look of utmost intensity on his face, as if his brain was within seconds of exploding. I was pretty sure that this would end the way it usually did - Jasper would use his powers to get Emmett distracted and focused on something else -most likely Rosalie - which always made Emmett blink or move his gaze. Nonetheless, it was quite the ritual.
But something was missing.
"Alice, where are Edward and Carlisle?"
Yes, where was my personal Adonis and his equally attractive 'father'? The last time I saw him was as he graced the stage with his beauty to accept his diploma - one of many that would be going into storage, or so he told me the night before. I thought my heart was going to stop as he watched me with his piercing gaze as he strode towards the principal, breaking eye contact only when his diploma was shoved into his hand. As for Carlisle, being one of the most wealthy and respected citizens of Forks, gave the address to the students. It was absolutely beautiful, and I'm sure that there were few, if any, dry eyes in the audience.
And now they were gone.
"Alice, where are Edward and Carlisle?"
Alice hesitated a bit, and it seemed that she had been deep in thought. She blinked once, then looked at me as if her mind was just registering what I had asked.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, and pulled me closer as she dropped her voice, "They just ran back to the house-" she winked at the mention of simply running back to their house (which was more of a mansion), which lay on the outskirts of town "-Tanya and the others never showed up, you see."
I nodded. The Cullens had invited the Denali Clan from Alaska to our graduation. Edward was absolutely giddy about introducing me to them, Tanya especially. He stuck to the bare minimums when describing her, and would simply repeat saying how he couldn't wait for his 'two favourite girls' to meet. I raised an eyebrow at this comment, but didn't say anything. As graduation came closer, Edward's mood seemed to constantly improve, so much that when we were laying in bed the night before, he had been speaking with such enthusiasm that I half expected him to start jumping up and down on the bed.
As we drew closer, my mother finally noticed us, and threw herself at me, bursting into tears.
"Oh Bella, we're all so proud of you! Oh my, my baby's all grown up, going off into the world-"
She proceeded to sob several incoherent comments (one thing I did hear included the purchase of kitchen utensils), but not before making some odd -and moist - transition from me to Alice, who simply patted my mom on the head.
Charlie and Phil left their places on the wall to congratulate the graduates. When I hugged Charlie, I could see unshed tears resting in his eyes. It broke my heart to think of how hard the next couple of months would be for him.
I gave Phil an awkward hug. As I thought of it more and more, I came to realisation that I never really knew him. Flashing him a smile and thanking him for coming, I turned back to the Cullens - my 'extended' family.
Esme came forward first, glowing like the proud mother she was. She kissed me on the forehead, and held me in the motherly fashion that I'd grown accustomed to expecting from her.
"My dear Bella," She breathed stroking my hair. I could feel her smile on my head. "Congratulations."
Rosalie followed, and gave me a hug and a kiss, one shoulder pat, one cheek. I didn't need Jasper's power to know that she was feeling blindingly awkward. Despite the combined efforts of myself and the Cullens (Edward excluded), Rose still felt guilty for what is now referred to as "The Volterra Incident." According to Emmett, I needed to be turned as soon as possible, or else we would run out of places to go without some sort of dark and horrible memories. All I can say is it's a good thing he said that while Edward was away hunting, or Emmett would have more to worry about than a broken TV.
"Congratulations, Isabella." Rosalie mumbled as she stepped back, staring at her feet.
Emmett bounded up, clearly unperturbed by his (expected) loss.
Scooping me up in his arms, he spun me around. "Ah, it feels like only yesterday you were a shy little junior who couldn't walk across a flat surface to save her life, and you blushed! You constantly, constantly blushed! And now, you are a high school graduate...and...you still blush..."
"It's because you're cutting off her circulation, Em." Jasper walked up beside Emmett, a smug grin on his face. Unlike Rosalie, Jasper and I were able to come to an understanding when it came to what happened in September, and now were pretty good friends, if I did say so myself. Emmett set me down on the ground, and Jasper extended his hand. "Congrats, Bella." He then took a step closer and murmured in my ear, "The first time around is always emotional, but you'll get into the loop of things eventually."
A slight breeze rustled the trees.
"Yes, Jasper, thank you for that enlightening piece of information."
My heart leapt into my throat. I could've recognized that beautiful voice anywhere.
I turned around and smiled. No one could make these drab black gowns look like a couture suit like my angel.
"I was wondering where you went." I mock-scolded him as I went up on my toes (no mean feat, considering I was already in 3-inch heels) and gave him a peck on the cheek.
Edward smiled sheepishly, and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Sorry, I had to check on our M.I.A. guests."
"And?"
He frowned, and his brow furrowed. "They still haven't arrived. Carlisle's still at the house in case they show up. I just don't understand it - Tanya said that they were planning on arriving at 7 this morning." His tone turned disapproving . "If they were going to be delayed, they could've at least contacted us."
I gave Edward the biggest hug I could. While I knew -he knew- that there would be other graduations, I could sense that he had really wanted the Denali clan to be around for this one.
"Well, I'm sure they didn't miss grad intentionally. In fact, by the time we get back to your house, I bet they'll be waiting in the living room with a good reason."
Edward smiled wanly. We both knew it was a lame attempt to make him feel better, but it must've worked a little, or he wouldn't've been smiling, right?
"Edward, Bella!" We loosened our embrace to turn to Alice, who was wildly gesturing for us to come with her. "C'mon, we're heading back to our place now!" She crowed, "And we're taking my graduation present!"
I took Edward's hand. Yes, Edward had stayed true to his word, and two weeks after we had returned from Italy, he took Alice and bought that yellow Porsche, and Alice took every chance she had to drive it.
An idea popped into my head as Jessica walked by.
"Hey Jess? Do you think you could take a picture for me?"
She raised an eyebrow at me- while we were talking more, we still weren't exactly close. However, she agreed to take the picture. I handed Jessica my camera, and Alice and I attempted to fit all of the Cullens, my parents, and Phil to fit the small rectangle of the camera. After observing and over-analysing everything, we crouched down in front between Jasper and Edward.
"Okay, everyone say 'Cheese'!"
"Ew," I could hear Emmett behind me groan as the flash went off. Supressing a giggle, I stood up from my rather uncomfortable position and went to retrieve my camera. As Jessica handed my camera back, I knew that this might be the last time I see her, and I knew I should say something, if anything.
"Jess...I know we haven't really talked the past year, but I just want to say that I appreciate everything you did for me, even if I wasn't so responding."
"Yes you would've-"
"Now, yes, but not at the beginning of the year; you remember what I was like. But you were there, and you did try to help me. I refused it, which was stupid. So, all in all, I just want to thank you for the past year and a half, and I hope you have a good time at Boston U."
The next thing I knew, I was being attacked by a mass of curls. Jessica seemed to be trying to tell me something, but I couldn't understand under all of the sobbing.
Apparently High School Graduation is emotional.
Then it was time for my parents to go home.
My mom gave me another hug, which brought on another wave of tears. Phil gently put his arm around her shoulders and led her to their rental car - they were flying back to Jasksonville tonight.
Charlie walked up and gave me another hug and a kiss on the cheek. Thn he turned to Edward. I held my breath, expecting the worst. However, Charlie was fairly civil this time - he held to fingers in front of his eyes, then pointed one finger at Edward. Charlie shook his head and walked away.
Yes, quite civil.
I rolled my eyes. It was becoming apparent that Charlie was never going to let what happened this year go.
Edward opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. No it's-all-my-fault talk today. "Not today. I'm over it, and if Charlie isn't, then too bad for him. Now come on."
He gave a deep sigh, but let it go.
As we pushed through the small crowded that had formed around Alice's car, I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head. We may have graduated, but some things never changed.
Yes! This first chapter is finally finished! I never thought it would end!
And in case you were wondering, here is the joke Bella told Rosalie at the beginning:
Two guys meet up in a bar. The first one asks, "Did your hear the news - Mike is dead??!!!"
"Woah, what the hell happened to him?"
"Well he was on his way over to my house the other day and when he arrived outside the house he didn't brake properly and boom - He hit the curb, the car flipped over and he crashed through the sunroof - Went flying through the air and smashed through my upstairs bedroom window."
"What a horrible way to die!"
"No no, he survived that, that didn't kill him at all. So, he's landed in my upstairs bedroom and he's all covered in broken glass on the floor. Then, he spots the big old antique wardrobe we have in the room and reaches up for the handle to try to pull himself up. He's just dragging himself up when bang, this massive wardrobe comes crashing down on top of him, crushing him and breaking most of his bones."
"What a way to go, that's terrible!"
"No no, that didn't kill him he survived that. He managed to get the wardrobe off him and crawls out onto the landing, he tries to pull himself up on the banister but under his weight, the banister breaks and he goes falling down on to the first floor. In mid air, all the broken banister poles spin and fall on him, pinning him to the floor, sticking right through him."
"Now that is the most unfortunate way to go!"
"No no, that didn't kill him, he even survived that. So he's on the downstairs landing, just beside the kitchen. He crawls in to the kitchen, tries to pull himself up on the stove, but reached for a big pot of boiling hot water, whoosh, the whole thing came down on him and burned most of his skin off him."
"Man, what a way to go!"
"No no, he survived that, he survived that! He's lying on the ground, covered in boiling water and he spots the phone and tries to pull himself up, to call for help, but instead he grabs the light switch and pulls the whole thing off the wall and the water and electricity didn't mix and so he got electrocuted, wallop, 10,000 volts shot through him."
"Now that is one awful way to go!"
"No no, he survived that..."
"Hold on now, just how the hell did he die?"
"I shot him!"
"You shot him? What the hell did you shoot him for?"
"He was wrecking my house."
Yes, it's kind of lame, but it was definitely appreciated, considering all of the Mike-hate in the Cullen-air.
If you have gotten this far, then thank you for reading, and please please review!
NS