"Surely this is a jest." Disapproval was thick in Edward's baritone. My brother stood at the threshold of my bedroom, arms crossed, shaking his head as he glanced over my outfit. "Nina Ricci? We're just meeting the Swans for dinner, Rosalie. It hardly merits dressing up in one's Sunday best. Not to mention we've been waiting almost ten minutes for you to make your appearance."
My chin rose as I shifted my weight, modeling in the mirror one last time. I'd gone through three outfits already, which lay discarded in a tangle of brightly colored fabric on my bedspread, before I'd pulled one of the designer pieces Alice had picked out for me. The pale material was weightless against my skin, though I felt the difference where the skirt left my legs very flatteringly uncovered at mid-thigh and vulnerable to the chill in the air. It was fortunate our adoptive mother came from a rich family and could support my sister's expensive taste.
"I don't know what it says about you, Edward, that you actually knew who this dress was by." I said cattily as I sailed passed him.
"That both my sisters are frustratingly obsessed with haute couture and monopolize the television with Fashion TV." Edward retorted as he followed me down the stairs. "But don't think I'm naive as to why you're all dressed up."
"Why is that?" I demanded.
"Bella." I felt my heart stop, the slow burn of blush rising with a darkening hue over my cheeks. Edward almost stumbled into me as I paused.
"Bella? I couldn't care less about her." I tried to smooth out the catch in my throat, my grip tightening against the railing with dread. On her first day, I'd made the mistake of staring at her a little too long and she'd caught me. Since then, she either ignored me or argued with me over the most trivial things in the few classes we shared, both of which I was sure she did to drive me insane.
"You're jealous." Edward was smug. "She's got depths you'll never reach." Smart, pretty, athletic, it was hard not to feel envious, the compulsion to prove myself better than her, have her notice me the way I had been all my life. Furious, I hurried down the rest of the steps.
"Ah, Rosalie, you're here." Carlisle greeted me as I took my seat at the dining table. Bella's head instantly angled in my direction, unsettling amber eyes fixing on my own. I glared back, refusing to be intimidated by the new girl who threatened my position as the prettiest in school, but I was secretly relieved she had noted my arrival, even if charged with mutual dislike.
It may have been vain to call myself attractive, and yet, almost since puberty, I had been aware I was, my slender figure curving in all the right places. But next to her, I felt like the vulgar and clumsy sketch of a high school student compared to the more elegant composition of a famed painter.
Even her voice was entrancing, the lilting notes of Odysseus's siren, and everyone in the room had turned to her. "Something smells delicious."
Esme smiled as she set out the elaborate feast she'd so graciously prepared. "We're having salmon. I hope you both like fish."
"Used to catch them all the time as a boy." Charlie Swan flashed an awkward yet endearing grin before he gestured to the dessert. "And these apple pies look absolutely succulent." Esme flushed red, as if she rarely received such compliments about her baking.
"Aw, mom, you know I hate fish." Emmett jabbed at his mouth and made exaggerated gagging noises, before heading to the kitchen for a bowl of cornflakes. But once dinner started, the Swans initial enthusiasm for the meal faded, spending most of dinner listnening to my family share stories.
I almost missed when Alice leaned into whisper, "Chief Swan's kind of cute, don't you think?" I shrugged, finding it hard to difficult to focus on anything but Bella. She and Edward were preoccupied in some private discussion, and my lips edged into a frown as I strained to overhear.
"Oh, I see." Alice gave me a once over. Though her manner was generally more palatable, she could be as insufferably insightful as Edward about things.
"What?" I hissed for once not wanting to draw attention.
"Nothing." Her voice was singsong, a laugh shielded behind her hand. "Just could you be more obvious, Rose? I love that dress but is Bella here to eat dinner or you?" She cocked her eyebrow, daring me to disagree with her, but I didn't answer, too afraid Bella had heard. When I finally convinced myself to check, Emmett was vying for her attention.
"So you like seafood, Bella?" He opened his mouth, half-chewed cereal on full display. "See food. Get it?"
She won him over with her musical laugh, the sound delicate like the chime of clinking china, and even Edward appeared spellbound. I hated how they all looked at her. I hated how she didn't look at me.
"When I hear you laugh, I'm sure I've just experienced how an Angel sounds," Edward told her, and I lost all reserve, I snorted in amused disgust.
"'Surely you jest.'" I mocked his pretentious way of speaking. Though Carlisle didn't raise his voice, I could tell he wasn't pleased.
"Rose, that was uncalled for. You should apologize to Edward." I gritted my teeth as he added. "And Bella."
It was too much. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction. No doubt she loved everybody falling over themselves to please her. I rose out of my seat and strode toward the stairs, not caring what the rest thought. At first I didn't hear the footsteps echoing behind me, sound lost in the little arguments that had flared up in my departure. I'd already made it up to the second floor when the creak of the staircase had me wheeling around.
"If you're here for an apology, you wasted your time." I snapped.
"That's not why I came. I couldn't eat." Bella wrinkled her nose as though the very idea was disgusting. "I'm just a little uncomfortable around that many people. I prefer to keep to myself." She did look unsettled, her lashes fluttering with a downcast gaze.
"Wouldn't you rather be alone with Edward?" I accused, jealousy tipped my voice with hatred, but I instantly regretted. I'd never noticed how expressive her face was, her mouth quivering as it tried to hold onto a smile through the sting of my venomous tone.
"He's nice but you haven't any idea how hard it's been trying to ignore you when your mere scent is absolutely..." She hesitated, laughing. "Intoxicating. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."
"Oh." Shock riveted through me. Any witty comeback died on my lips when I saw the intense way she was looking at me as though she craved me far more than the dinner she had abandoned. I wasn't entirely sure I would've minded. Somehow I couldn't help but hate her less when my mind was singing triumphantly that ishe/i admired me.
We stood talking for awhile. I told her about my family, how Emmett was one of my best friends. I joked that if we hadn't grown up together, we would've probably made a good couple, half-hoping to make her jealous. It seemed to work, her hand closing over mine, her face hovering too closely. I found myself wanting to press my lips against hers.
The feeling must have been mutual.
Without warning, she leaned in, lips crushed over mine, and instinctively my fingers tangled in the wispy chestnut of her hair, pulling her nearer as my tongue ran lightly across the line of her mouth. She tasted of ice, hard and cool, thrilling me down to the bone. Her left hand trailed along my thigh and up the hem of my dress, her fingertips softly tracing the edge of my boyshorts, while I undid the buttons on her blouse, revealing black lace and cream white cleavage.
"I didn't take you as a lime green panties kinda girl." Her soft giggle brushed my throat.
"I'm usually a no panties kinda girl." I replied boldly, not wanting her to see I was embarrassed, but she didn't have a chance to respond, interrupted by a voice from the bottom of the stairwell
"Is everything okay girls?" It was Carlisle and I was glad we were shielded by an angled wall.
"We're fine." I answered, tugging my skirt down and she re-buttoned her shirt. When we were presentable, I peeked around the corner. "Bella came to talk to me and we worked things out. We actually have a lot in common."
"I'm so glad you two are hitting it off." The doctor smiled.
"Come on, Bella." I grabbed Bella's hand, guiding her down the hallway. "Let me show you my room."