.:Emmett's POV — Bet Before the Meadow:.
"I said leave me alone!"
"Don't do this. Please."
"It's over. Get out!"
Click.
"Tell him to avenge you. Tell him—"
Click.
"There's a big swell coming in."
"And I don't just surf the Internet."
Click.
"About three things I was absolutely positive-"
Click.
The TV faded off, and I set down the remote with a bored sigh. "A thousand channels and there's nothing good on. Seriously, who'd want to watch any of that crap?"
"A lot of people, Em," my wife responded in a tone that, quite obviously, illustrated she wasn't very interested about my Saturday morning TV resentment. Her eyes were glued to this month's edition of Popular Mechanics.
"Well, if you ask me, they're insane."
"What about the sports stations?"
"Nothing I haven't already seen."
"I guess you're out of luck."
Leaning back against the couch cushions, I slung my arm over Rose's shoulders. Luck definitely wasn't on my side today. If I had my way, Rose and I'd still be upstairs, in our room, clothesless. Needless to say, we weren't usually the first ones out of our bedroom in the morning. But we agreed to go with Alice and Jasper on a run up Mount Olympus (Washington, not Greece; though that had certainly been a fun vacation), and we had sworn to Alice we'd be ready to head on out early — early enough for the sun to be out, yet for the humans to still be sleeping in. Alice got pissy if we didn't follow through. So what the hell was taking them so long to get down here?
My impatience subsided when I heard a door open on the third floor. I wondered what Edward was up to. Maybe he changed his mind and was coming with us. But the moment I saw him, I knew he wasn't.
Edward trotted down the last flight of stairs. His expression was torn, conflicted over something. What else was new? Only, his wary face didn't explain his clean-cut look; he wore brand new white sneakers, crisp blue jeans, and a light beige sweater with a white collared shirt underneath. Definitely not an outfit for a sprint up a seven-thousand foot tall mountain; he'd need something a little more durable for that.
"Don't you look handsome," I commented.
He just glared at me as he passed. I chuckled, though I didn't get it. All I did was compliment him.
"Sarcastically," he corrected.
I grinned. "So what are you all dressed up for?"
"I'm not dressed up."
I arched an eyebrow at him.
'I'm not dressed up,' Edward says as he inspects his reflection in the window, straightening his already perfectly straight sweater.
Edward halted his prepping instantly. He turned to glare at me again. And was that... was that embarrassment on his face, too? Woah. "This wouldn't have something to do with a certain human girl, would it?"
"Shut up, Emmett."
"It does! Where are you going? On a date?"
"It's none of your business."
"That's never stopped me before," I muttered, shrugging.
"Where are you going, Edward?" Rosalie peeked up from her magazine. Her face was hard; her tone, accusing.
"It's none of your business either, Rosalie," Edward responded coldly. They hadn't been getting along lately. More so than usual.
"It's this whole family's business if you're going out with that human," Rose shot back. "It always will be our problem if you continue to involve yourself with her."
Edward gritted his teeth and I braced for some kind of lashing out, but then his irritation seemed to waver. My seemingly always confident little brother — in one way, at least — suddenly looked unsure of what he was doing.
Rose lifted her shoulders when she met my eyes, smug. "He knows I'm right," she said.
"Oh please, Rosalie," Alice chirped, skipping down the steps with Jasper strolling in behind her. 'Bout time they got their asses down here. "Edward's just going to take Bella somewhere nice."
Jasper glanced at our brother, and asked, "Where are you going?"
"Ah, the question of the day," I laughed.
Edward wasn't as amused as I was. "What does it matter where I'm taking her?" he all but shouted at us.
"Temper, temper."
"You know exactly why it matters," Rose huffed. If Edward didn't just answer the question, Rose was only going to get worse, and I didn't want her in a bad mood all day. "The longer you drag your weird infatuation out, the deeper we are all involved in this."
Edward scoffed at her choice of words, then after a moment of thought, he sighed. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he finally conceded. "Fine. You do have the right to know. It's just..." He paused, but we all understood; at least, I did. The kid was embarrassed, which was usually great teasing material, but I laid off.
"I am taking her to a place I found," he continued in a rush. "A place I like to go when I want peace and quiet. She wants to see what I look like...in the sun." He trailed off, suddenly uncertain again.
Everyone stared for a moment. I was positive I wasn't the only one who found his plans strange.
"You're taking her into the forest?" I asked. "Alone? To the middle of nowhere?" Which was the only place Edward could go to get 'peace and quiet'.
Man, I was usually the reckless one in this family.
Popular Mechanics suddenly slammed onto the coffee table. Rose was standing, seething, eyes ablaze. "Are you out of your damn mind?" she demanded. I almost laughed, but I wasn't about to push myself in Rose's war path. I was reckless — not stupid.
"Edward," Jasper said quietly, uneasy, "her blood appeals to you too greatly for you to do this."
"It's risky, I know," Edward said through his teeth. He kept his eyes on the floor, his brow furrowed angrily.
"Risky doesn't even cover it," Rose growled. "You are purposely trying to endanger us all then, is that it? Since your first couple of stunts weren't thorough enough."
Edward bared his teeth at her, but she was unyielding.
"You are supposed to be fixing the mess you made, Edward. Not causing more problems!" She huffed in exasperation, before harshly folding her arms over her chest, her hip jutting out — god I loved when she did that.
"This won't end well," Jasper murmured.
Alice seemed to disagree. "I am the only one here with actual insight on how anything will end, and I say Edward and Bella will be fine."
Rose waved her hand dismissively. "You're visions aren't one-hundred percent, Alice."
"Bloodlust triggers instincts, not decisions," Jasper agreed.
Personally, I was tired of all the cynicism. Hell, we should at least give the kid a chance; it's not like he'd listen to us anyway once his mind was made up. And his mind was made up — about Bella Swan, at least.
"Oh, come on," I said, eyeing my youngest brother. "Edward's got the most self-control next to Carlisle — if anyone can do this, it's him."
"That doesn't mean he can do it."
"I think he can...if he loves her."
"Which he does." Alice smiled.
"I'm leaving."
Annoyed with us, Edward turned to go. Before he made it out the door, Rose got out another interrogating question. "And what about that girl's friends and family? Is anybody aware that you and her are going to be together today?"
Edward hesitated. In that hesitation, I knew the answer to Rose's question. So did she.
"Oh, that is just...great! So when she goes missing you'll be the first suspect on the list. Perfect!"
Was it the wrong time to add the girl's father was also the Chief of Police?
"She's not going missing," Alice argued lightly.
"Is that what you see?" It was Edward who asked our little psychic sister the question we were all wondering.
"Yes." Edward narrowed his eyes a pinch, and Alice rephrased. "I mean, it wavers slightly. Because it depends on you, Edward."
"Of course it depends on me." Edward turned away again, slamming the door as he left. The whole house rattled. I watched one of Esme's crystal vases jolt dangerously close to the edge of its pedestal.
"What I mean by that, Edward," Alice continued casually, as if he was still in the room and hadn't stomped out in one of his fits, "is that it's all up to what you want to do. Don't forget I would be very upset with you if you killed my friend!"
I caught the grimaces Rose and Jasper made. They hated when Alice referred to the human girl in a personal way. Admittedly, I was wary at first, too, but Edward's already made his decision, however crazy it was. Even I could see that he was way too far gone, and there was no coming back. Whatever happened now was going to happen, and we would just have to deal with it. The worst we would have to do was move; Rose would be pissed, but everything would be fine in the long run. I honestly didn't see anything terribly dangerous that could be brought on by today's little date — (it made chuckle just thinking of Edward and a date). If he slipped, we'd run, and in a couple decades it'd be over. We could "kill" Edward off, too — claim both teenagers died in a car accident. As tragic as it would be for the human and her family, it was a part of what we were. Unless you were (too-human-to-be-immortal) Carlisle, you made mistakes — Edward was no exception.
But I seriously doubted he'd make one here.
For one thing, Edward wasn't the type of guy who would let his family down. The only thing stronger than his temper was his willpower. He was stubborn, sometimes more hard-headed than Rose, disregarding the fact she was so stubborn she hasn't ever tasted human blood before. Once his mind was set, Edward tended to conquer some horrible odds, so I was curious to see how this played out.
Another thing, from what he went on about during our hunting trip last weekend — how fragile humans were; how it took all he had to not end our trip early; his obsessive concern about Peter and Charlotte's visit — I swore he had lost his mind, but now, even if part of me still thought he was insane, I got what Rose and Jazz couldn't see yet: Edward truly cared for the girl. I didn't think he was able to kill Bella Swan. Call me outrageously optimistic, but I had faith Edward could pull this off without going for her throat once.
Jasper started shaking his head, doubtful of the situation. "Despite what you see, Alice, the chance of his success is slight. I wish he wouldn't go. The girl's scent is too much for him. I'd put money on him returning with eyes of a different color."
"How much money?" I asked, beginning to grin. "I'll bet you $500 he doesn't kill her."
Jasper arched an eyebrow at me, doubtful of my sanity, probably.
"Five hundred dollars says the girl lives to see another day," I offered persistently.
"Fine. It's a deal."
"Emmett! Jasper!" Esme's voice sounded, overflowing with disapproval. "This is no issue to be gambling on. I don't want to hear you boys being so insensitive."
Jasper and I mumbled apologies, mainly sorry she caught us. Although, I guessed she had a point. I hoped Edward didn't take offense to this.
"Too late," I heard my brother grumble as he got in his car.
Well, whatever. It was already a done deal, and I was confident. If Bella Swan was so important to him, he wouldn't hurt her.
OoOoOoO
Turns out this actually was a lucky day for me. By the time I won the race up to the peak of Mount Olympus, I was five hundred dollars richer.
Thanks for reading! Just the thought of Edward and Bella confessing meaningful love in a meadow while the other Cullens are having a snow fight at the top of Mount Olympus amuses me greatly. ;)