Chapter 1
We were sitting around the living room. Emmett, Jazz, and Carlisle were watching some sports game. Rose, Alice, and Esme were talking about a shopping trip. I was sitting next to Edward, listening to him play my lullaby.
All of a sudden Alice shouts, "We're going to a cave!"
I looked and there were blank stares around the room. Then I asked, "Why?"
"Because you're getting married in two weeks and after that things are going to get busy and I wanna go now," Alice answered.
"And who, exactly, do you plan to drag on this little trip?" Edward wondered.
"Well, you, me, Bella, Jazzy, Em, and Rose?" Alice answered.
"What about Esme and Carlisle?" I asked.
"Carlisle has a doctor's convention thing in Ohio in two days and Esme was going with him. We're leaving tomorrow and I don't want to wait for his convention to end," Alice said.
"What cave are we going to?" Emmett asked. He was starting to bounce in his excitement.
"We're going to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. It's supposedly haunted. We're going on the New Entrance tour. It's rumored that you can hear the voice of a woman who died after this incident," Alice said.
"Ooooh, ghost! This is gonna be awesome! Hey, I wanna hear this story!" Emmett exclaimed. By now he was bouncing in his seat like a kid on Christmas morning.
"Okay, so this girl, Melissa, had a tutor named Beverleigh. She fell in love with him but he courted one of her neighbor girls. She grew up around the caves so she knew of little crevices and passageways. She was insanely jealous and angry so she led Beverleigh down to the cave. While he wasn't looking, she ducked into a secret crevice and left him in the cave to find his own way out. It was like three days later and no one had seen or heard from Beverleigh. Melissa was worried so she went back down to where Beverleigh had last been and started calling his name. She searched and searched but never found him. She died shortly after. She only meant it as a cruel joke and figured he would get out on his own. He was never heard from again and it's said that people can hear a woman, supposedly Melissa, calling out and coughing," Alice finished her telling.
"Awwwesommmmeee! Haunted cave, here we come!" Emmett shouted.
"Emmett, you don't really believe that do you?" Edward scoffed.
"Of course I do!" Emmett yelled. We all stared at him like he had gone crazy.
"What? I'm being totally serious. Rose and I went to this house, Win something or other—"
"Winchester House," Rosalie put in.
"Yeah, that. Anyway, it's this huge mansion in California and it's supposed to be haunted. We went on a tour and when they were talking about the place I heard these weird noises. They were coming from above where no one is allowed. Then I swear, as we were walking on I looked back and saw a ghost woman sitting on the bed. It was totally awesome!" Em finished. I ventured a look at Rose and she just shook her head.
"Em…you're an idiot," Edward said.
"Well Bella, what do you think?" Alice asked.
"Sounds, um, fun. Heh, well, um, yeah. Sooo…ghosts, huh?" I said. I tried not to show that I was scared. Okay, yes, I know ghosts aren't real, but still. They scare me. They're weird and freaking, and just…unnatural. I peeked up at everyone and could tell I wasn't hiding it well.
"You're not…scared, are you Bella?" Alice asked me, incredulous.
"No, yes, I don't know, maybe a little," I mumbled. I still hadn't looked at Edward to see his expression.
"Sure, she's about to marry a vampire yet a little ghost story scared her. Ghosts aren't real, love, that's just a story," Edward said. He sounded amused so I looked up at him. His eyes were sparkling and he looked like he was trying to hold back laughter. I sat there staring at him and the brat finally just burst out laughing.
"Oh shut up. I know ghosts aren't real. You're laughing at me. I can't believe you're laughing at me. Stop it," I pouted. After a few more chuckled he finally quit.
"I'm sorry Bella but it's just so silly. Forgive me?" He smiled. He didn't sound sorry at all.
"Hmph, no. And don't even try to dazzle your way out of this, brat," I said.
"Uh oh, Eddies in trouble! Good luck digging your way out of this one baby brother," Em boomed.
"A word of advice, son. Never laugh no matter how silly something may seem. It never works out well," Carlisle chuckled. He acted like he knew from experience. Interesting, I'll have to ask Esme later.
"Bella, love, I'm sorry. Please forgive me?" Edward begged. He was being so unfair, giving me huge puppy dog eyes like that. They were so big and he looked so cute, how could I resist?
"Okay, fine you're forgiven…this time," I said grudgingly. The brat had the nerve to smile like he had gotten away with something. I sat pouting a little longer and planned how to teach him a lesson. Finally, I decided to look over at Alice who started grinning like the Cheshire cat. Either she was up to something or she just had a vision or both.
"Okay, kiddies, enough bickering. We need to get moving. I want to try and get an early start tomorrow. Bella, I'm going to pack for you and I want to talk to Charlie. You drive your truck and I'll follow you in my car. You're going to spend the night here. So, let's move," Alice said. Edward walked me to my truck and tucked me inside with a kiss. The garage door lifted to show Alice sitting in her Porsche, waiting to leave. I started up my truck and rumbled down the driveway. It seemed like a short drive when we stopped in front of the house. Alice and I got out and headed up the walk. Surprise, surprise, we found Charlie in the living room watching a baseball game. Once the commercials started, Alice swooped in.
"Hey Charlie, how's it going?" Alice asked.
"Fine, hun. What's up?" Charlie asked.
"Well, the weddings in a couple of weeks so I planned a trip to get in a last hurrah. The six of us are going to go on a little road trip out to Kentucky. There's a cave out there that I thought would be fun to visit. Then I have a few other activities planned. We'll be back a couple days before the wedding. This thought came up kind of sudden so I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. We're planning to leave in the morning so I thought Bella could just stay over at our place tonight. I wanted to let you know before we just took off," Alice spouted.
"The six of you kids? Off for two weeks? What about your parents?" Charlie asked. He didn't exactly look happy. I don't think he liked the idea of me being with Edward for two weeks without parental supervision, which was pretty dumb. I know, he's my dad so he's supposed to be weary of stuff like that, but still. We're getting married in two weeks anyway. It's not like we're going to do anything bad.
"Yup, the six of us kids. Carlisle has a convention in Ohio in a couple days and Esme is going with him. We're actually going to meet up with them for a little while. And don't worry Charlie. Jazz, Emmett, Rose, and I will keep a close eye on Edward and Bella to make sure they don't get into any trouble. There's nothing to worry about," Alice assured. If anyone could convince Charlie it would be Alice. And I could tell by the look on his face that Alice managed to get to him.
"Alright, but I want to talk to your folks anyway. And I want to hear from one of you while you're gone too," Charlie said.
"You got it Charlie. I'll have Carlisle give you a call when we get home. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go up and pack Bella's bag. I can't rely on her to pack right," Alice teased. Alice flitted up the stairs, leaving Charlie and I alone together. We sat in silence for a few minutes and then Charlie started talking.
"So, I guess it's all set then. Looking forward to it?" Charlie asked.
"I guess. Alice is dragging us along so I really don't have much of a choice," I told him. He nodded in understanding.
"Yeah, the girl seems pretty persuasive. Oh look, the games back on," Charlie said. He turned back toward the TV. Alice came down a few minutes into the game carrying three suitcases. Holy moly, three suitcases! What did she pack me anyway?
"Alice, what…? Why are there three suitcases?" I babbled.
"Oh, calm down Bella. We can't go on a trip with inadequate clothing choices. We'll be gone for two weeks. Three suitcases are hardly enough," Alice said. She was smiling as she said that. Why did I get a bad feeling about this? Oh I know, because it's Alice. I'm not sure I want to know what she's planning.
"Okay Charlie. I'm stealing Bella away now. We'll call when we get to Kentucky and be back in a couple weeks. And I'll tell Carlisle to call you," Alice assured. Charlie got off the couch and helped carry bags out to Alice's car. When everything was packed, Charlie gave me an awkward hug.
"Have fun, kid, and be careful," Charlie said.
"I'll try. Thanks dad," I replied. Alice and I got into the car and drove off. The first few seconds were quiet and then Alice launched into her plans.
"Bella, it's time to let you in on the plan," Alice began.
"What plan? Is this what all your crazy grinning was about earlier?" I asked.
"Yes. Rose and I had been planning to whisk you away for a few days sometime before the wedding. Then, a couple weeks ago, I had a vision that you were planning to pull something over on Edward. So then I got everyone in on this scheme and we started planning the trip. When we're on the tour, the lights are going to blink out unexpectedly. Either Rose or I is going to grab a hold of you so don't be scared. The three of us are going to leave the guys behind and head to Ohio to switch cars with Carlisle and Esme. It'll throw Edward off a little. The guys will slow him down once he figures out what we did. I have four places picked out for us to go. While we're at one place, Em and Jazz will take Edward to one of the others. I figure after he smells our scent at one of the places we've been he'll start to figure out the guys are in on this shenanigan. By then we'll be at the final destination and it won't matter. So, got all that?" Alice finished. I didn't know what to say at first. I'm kind of weary about Alice's mystery destinations but it sounds like a fun way to mess with Edward. But thinking about it, I don't want him to worry. He's so prone to it, that he might think the worst when I turn up missing.
"Alice, what about Edward? He'll worry when I disappear," I asked.
"Don't worry Bella; we'll leave him a note saying that Rose and I stole you. Besides, it should be obvious when Rose and I are missing too," Alice giggled. She did have a point. I don't know why I didn't think about that.
"Yeah, duh, you're right. It should be obvious. Okay, let's do it. Although, I don't think I really have a choice, do I?" I said.
"Nope, no choice at all," Alice smiled. I hadn't noticed before, but we had stopped on the side of the road. Now Alice had the car moving again and we were pulling into the drive. Edward was standing on the porch, waiting for me. Alice parked in the garage and I got out to walk to Edward. I grabbed his hand and walked inside.
"Alice packed me three suitcases. Three! I didn't even think I had enough clothes to fill three suitcases," I told him. He must have thought that was funny because he started laughing.
"Bella, what do expect when it's Alice? I wouldn't be surprised if you found things in there you never knew you had because Alice just went out and bought them without telling you about them," Edward said. He did have a point.
"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised either," I said. We snuggled up on the couch and were just getting comfortable when my stomach growled. Greeeattt, thanks stomach.
"Sounds like we need to feed you. What do you want?" Edward asked. Hmm, what did I want? Well, I wanted to just sit here with Edward but my stomach disagreed.
"Umm, I don't know. Anything is fine," I told him. Just then Esme popped her head in the living room.
"I have ravioli in here if you want some. I'll put it on a plate and bring it out to you," Esme said. Sure enough, she came in carrying a steaming plate of ravioli. "I hope you like it. Also, its hot so be careful."
"Thanks Esme. It smells great," I thanked her. It really did smell awesome. And I didn't have to move to get it. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started eating. It was gone in like five minutes. I could feel Edward watching me and turned to look at him. He seemed amused.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Does my eating amuse you?" I wondered.
"No. I just like watching you eat and you looked cute scarfing that down. I think that means we need to feed you more often. We can't have you wasting away after all," Edward said. I don't understand how me inhaling my food is cute but ah well.
"I don't see how that can be cute," I snorted. Edward just laughed.
"Anything you do is cute to me, love," Edward said. I blushed. He was just so sweet sometimes. Okay, well, most of the time when he wasn't being a brat. We settled back in together when I yawned. Oh come on. First my stomach, now sleep interrupts my Edward time. I guess it was getting pretty late though. At least on the bright side, I wouldn't have to worry about the grumbling and yawning in a few weeks. Once he changed me, I would have all the time in the world to just snuggle up with Edward.
"Come on Bella; let's get you up to bed. It's going to be a long day tomorrow," Edward said. He hoisted me in my arms and ran up to his bedroom. He deposited me on the bed and then lay down next to me. I snuggled into his side and he started humming my lullaby. I didn't even remembering falling asleep when I was woken up to gentle shaking.
"Bella, love, it's time to get up now. You only have a minute until Alice comes and drags you out of bed," Edward murmured. It was too early to get up.
"Mmm, go 'way. Five more," I mumbled.
"Bella, you need to –," Edward began. Then Alice burst into the room.
"Bella! Get up, get up! It's time to go. Come on, get up and dressed. You have two seconds before I drag you," Alice warned. Obviously I was not destined to get any more sleep. Very slowly I got up.
"K, I'm up. I need a human moment and then we can go," I mumbled. I took a few minutes to go to the bathroom and brush my hair. Then I got dressed and wandered downstairs to find everyone waiting around for me.
"Finally! Come on. There's a bowl of cereal on the counter. Eat as fast as you can so we can go," Alice urged. I shuffled off to find my breakfast, Edward following behind. It was way too early for all of this. With my breakfast done, Edward and I went out to find the others. Alice and Rose were in Edward's Volvo and Em and Jazz were in Rose's BMW, Em behind the wheel. Edward and I walked toward Rose's car when Alice stopped us.
"Bella, you're in here with Rose and I. Edward you'll go with the boys," Alice directed. I was about to protest, but then I looked at Alice. She had that look in her eye that said 'No arguing.' I really didn't want to bother this early in the morning so I crawled in the back. Edward placed a kiss on my forehead, shut my door, and then got in the BMW.
"Okay, we're all set! See you later both later, Es and Carlisle," Alice said with a wink. Alice pulled out of the garage followed by Emmett. It didn't take very long to get to the interstate and then the trip began. With the vampires driving, the trip that should have taken over a day and half took only twelve hours. I slept most of the trip. I also get the feeling that we would have gotten to Cave City sooner if we hadn't had to stop for a few human moments, courtesy of me. The trip may have started when we started driving, but our real fun was only just beginning. I was getting pretty psyched about this little prank.
A.N: so you just read the first chapter of Pre-Wedding Distractions. I started thinking about writing this story when I went to Mammoth Caves over the 4th of July weekend last summer. Now I finally have the first chapter for all of you. The story of Melissa and Beverleigh is actually real. You can find the whole story at .. You can find information about Winchester Mystery House here: /. I've actually been there too. If your ever in San Jose, California or close to it, you should see about going. It was actually pretty interesting and that's saying something since I was seven. Anyway, thanks for reading the first chapter. I hope you decide to stick around for what happens next. Drop a review and let me know what you think. Thanks again =D