Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight
Soooo… here is the second chapter.
I'll try to keep everyone in character, but honestly, some of them might be OOC.
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
Emphasis/Renesmee's gift
Text from books
~T~
"Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age
The child is grown, and put away childish things.
Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies."
~ Edna St. Vincent Millay
"Book One." Seth read. "Bella,"
"That means the book is from my perspective…" Bella said. That also meant everyone – that Edward – would be able to hear her embarrassing thoughts.
Emmett grinned, rubbing his hands together. "This is going to be good."
If Bella could still blush, she was sure that she would definitely be a whole new shade of red.
"It says book one… so there'll be a book two… which means a second perspective, probably." Seth pointed out, setting the book aside. "I wonder whose perspective it'll be…" He looked over at Edward. "Maybe, you because –"
"Shut up, Seth." Jacob said. "Just start reading."
Seth nodded his head and picked the book back up, reading, "Preface,"
I'd had more than my fair share of near-death experiences; it wasn't something you ever really got used to.
It was only the first sentence of the book and Edward was already feeling guilty. He knew these fair shares of near-death experiences were his fault.
It seemed oddly inevitable, though, facing death again. Like I really was marked for disaster. I'd escaped time and time again, but it kept coming back for me.
This time Edward actually winced.
Bella noticed it right away – she liked the fact that nothing could escape her vampire eyes – and turned to give Edward a stern look. "Do not." She told him. "It was all worth it in the end." She gestured to Renesmee, who was curled up on Jacob's lap, to prove her point.
Still, this time was so different from the others.
'This must be about Renesmee,' Bella thought, looking over her daughter.
You could run from someone you feared, you could try to fight someone you hated. All my reactions were geared toward those kinds of killers – the monsters, the enemies.
Edward took Bella's hand in his.
When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not give it?
If it was someone you truly loved?
Renesmee seemed to understand what the book was talking about. She jumped off Jacob's lap and practically danced across the room to Bella, jumping into her arms. She pressed her little hand against Bella's cheek. I'm sorry, Momma.
Bella took Renesmee's free hand in hers. "Don't apologize, sweetie." Bella told her. "You are worth everything."
Renesmee rested her head against Bella's shoulder, showing her images of the two of them together.
"Engaged." Seth announced the title of the first chapter.
No one is staring at you, I promised myself. No one is staring at you. No one is staring at you.
But, because I couldn't lie convincingly even to myself, I had to check.
Emmett chuckled at this.
As I sat waiting for one of the three traffic lights in town to turn green, I peeked to the right – in her minivan, Mrs. Weber had turned her whole torso in my direction.
Esme frowned. That wasn't very polite of Mrs. Weber.
"That is very rude." Carmen spoke with a hint of a Spanish accent, which was only detectable by vampire ears.
Her eyes bored into mine, and I flinched back, wondering why she didn't drop her gaze or look ashamed. It was still considered rude to stare at people, wasn't it? Didn't that apply to me anymore?
Then I remembered that these windows were so darkly tinted that she probably had no idea if it was even me in here, let alone that I'd caught her looking. I tried to take some comfort in the fact that she wasn't really staring at me, just the car.
My car. Sigh.
"Your car was a Mercedes Guardian." Rosalie said, glaring at Bella. Her glare held no hostility; it was just offence over Bella's lack of excitement for cars.
"Yes, but it wasn't my truck." Bella said.
Rosalie wrinkled her nose. "Your truck was old."
"And that's why I liked it." Bella mumbled under her breath.
Rosalie rolled her eyes.
I glanced to the left and groaned. Two pedestrians were frozen on the sidewalk, missing their chance to cross as they stared. Behind them, Mr. Marshall was gawking through the plate-glass window of his little souvenir shop. At least he didn't have his nose pressed up against the glass. Yet.
"This is why I do not like humans." Stefan said casually, speaking in his smooth tandem.
The light turned green and, in my hurry to escape, I stomped on the gas pedal without thinking – the normal way I would have punched it to get my ancient Chevy truck moving.
Edward frowned. He had given Bella the Mercedes Guardian to keep her safe – if he had known she would've struggled with it, he wouldn't have given it to her.
Engine snarling like a hunting panther, the car jolted forward so fast that my body slammed into the black leather seat and my stomach flattened against my spine.
"Bella, love, you should've told me you had difficulties with the vehicle." Edward said.
"So you could get me another missile-proof vehicle, just easier to drive. I didn't think so." Bella shook her head.
Emmett laughed. "But you so needed it when you were human, little sis."
Bella chose not to say anything in return.
"Arg!" I gasped as I fumbled for the brake. Keeping my head, I merely tapped the pedal. The car lurched to an absolute standstill anyway.
Emmett opened his mouth to make a comment, but Bella spoke first, "I don't drive like that."
"That's because you're a vampire now," Emmett said, rolling his eyes. "Vampires don't fumble."
I couldn't bear to look around at the reaction. If there had been any doubt as to who was driving this car before, it was gone now. With the toe of my shoe, I gently nudged the gas pedal down one half millimeter, and the car shot forward again.
Many of the vampires around the room looked amused.
I managed to reach my goal, the gas station. If I hadn't been running on vapors, I wouldn't have come into town at all. I was going without a lot of things these days, like Pop-Tarts and shoelaces, to avoid spending time in public.
Moving as if I were in a race, I got the hatch open, the cap off, the card scanned, and the nozzle in the tank within seconds. Of course, there was nothing I could do to make the numbers on the gauge pick up the pace. They ticked by sluggishly, almost as if they were doing it just to annoy me.
It wasn't bright out – a typical drizzly day in Forks, Washington – but I still felt like a spotlight was trained on me, drawing attention to the delicate ring on my left hand. At times like this, sensing the eyes on my back, it felt as if the ring were pulsing like a neon sign: Look at me, look at me.
Renesmee pressed her hand against Bella's throat. Does it matter what others think, Momma?
"No, honey, it really doesn't." Bella told her daughter.
It was stupid to be so self-conscious, and I knew that. Besides my dad and mom, did it really matter what people were saying about my engagement? About my new car? About my mysterious acceptance into an Ivy League college? About the shiny black credit card that felt red-hot in my back pocket right now?
"People are so rude." Maggie commented.
"Hell yeah, they are." Jacob mumbled under his breath.
"Yeah, who cares what they think," I muttered under my breath.
"Urn, miss?" a man's voice called.
Edward stiffened, immediately thinking the worse.
I turned, and then wished I hadn't.
That statement didn't help Edward at all.
Two men stood beside a fancy SUV with brand-new kayaks tied to the top. Neither of them was looking at me; they were both staring at the car.
Hearing this sentence, Edward felt relaxed. He had nothing to worry about.
Personally, I didn't get it. But then, I was just proud I could distinguish between the symbols for Toyota, Ford, and Chevy. This car was glossy black, sleek, and pretty, but it was still just a car to me.
Jacob shook his head. "Oh my god, Bells." He groaned. "That's pathetic."
Bella shrugged her shoulders. It was true. Becoming a vampire hadn't changed her opinion on cars; that's exactly why she hardly ever drove her Ferrari, much to the horror of Jacob and Seth.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but could you tell me what kind of car you're driving?" the tall one asked.
"Urn, a Mercedes, right?"
Seth stopped reading to look at Bella, his expression mirroring Jacob's. "Bella…"
"Keep reading, Seth."
"Yes," the man said politely while his shorter friend rolled his eyes at my answer. "I know. But I was wondering, is that... are you driving a Mercedes Guardian?" The man said the name with reverence. I had a feeling this guy would get along well with Edward Cullen, my... my fiancé (there really was no getting around that truth with the wedding just days away). "They aren't supposed to be available in Europe yet," the man went on, "let alone here."
"No challenge for us." Rosalie said.
"Or any other vampires," Garrett added.
While his eyes traced the contours of my car – it didn't look much different from any other Mercedes sedan to me, but what did I know? – I briefly contemplated my issues with words like fiancé, wedding, husband, etc.
Tanya looked at Bella curiously. She was certainly interesting so far.
I just couldn't put it together in my head.
On the one hand, I had been raised to cringe at the very thought of poofy white dresses and bouquets. But more than that, I just couldn't reconcile a staid, respectable, dull concept like husband with my concept of Edward. It was like casting an archangel as an accountant; I couldn't visualize him in any commonplace role.
Edward lifted a hand to stroke Bella's cheek. "Being your husband isn't a commonplace role. It is so much more than that."
Bella smiled at Edward.
Like always, as soon as I started thinking about Edward I was caught up in a dizzy spin of fantasies. The stranger had to clear his throat to get my attention; he was still waiting for an answer about the car's make and model.
"What kind of fantasies?" Emmett asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Is it something like BD –?"
"Emmett!" Esme, Rosalie, and Bella shouted. Edward had growled.
Jacob, on the other hand, looked torn between whether he should be laughing or protecting Renesmee's already-large knowledge from that sort of information.
Garrett was snickering, and so were some of the others.
"I don't know," I told him honestly.
"Do you mind if I take a picture with it?"
It took me a second to process that. "Really? You want to take a picture with the car?"
"Sure – nobody is going to believe me if I don't get proof."
"Urn. Okay. Fine."
I swiftly put away the nozzle and crept into the front seat to hide while the enthusiast dug a huge professional-looking camera out of his backpack. He and his friend took turns posing by the hood, and then they went to take pictures at the back end.
"I miss my truck," I whimpered to myself.
"Your truck was a piece of shit," Rosalie mumbled so quietly that Renesmee wouldn't hear it, but everyone else could.
Very, very convenient – too convenient – that my truck would wheeze its last wheeze just weeks after Edward and I had agreed to our lopsided compromise, one detail of which was that he be allowed to replace my truck when it passed on. Edward swore it was only to be expected; my truck had lived a long, full life and then expired of natural causes. According to him. And, of course, I had no way to verify his story or to try to raise my truck from the dead on my own.
"You killed my truck, didn't you?" Bella turned an accusatory look on Edward.
"Guilty," Edward said, though he didn't look guilty at all.
"I knew it…"
My favorite mechanic –
I stopped that thought cold, refusing to let it come to a conclusion.
"Sorry, Bella." Jacob apologized. Now that his feelings for Bella were the way they were supposed to be – they were best friends, even siblings, nothing more – he had finally been able to understand the position he had put Bella in.
Bella shook her head. "I'm sorry, too, Jake."
Instead, I listened to the men's voices outside, muted by the car walls.
"… went at it with a flamethrower in the online video. Didn't even pucker the paint."
"Of course not. You could roll a tank over this baby. Not much of a market for one over here. Designed for Middle East diplomats, arms dealers, and drug lords mostly."
"Were you that much of a danger-magnetic." Kate questioned, looking at Bella.
"I wouldn't –" Bella began.
"Yes, she was." Both Edward and Jacob said at the same time, cutting Bella off.
Sarabella smiled a bit, speaking for the first time since they had started reading, "Wait till we read the other books."
Bella groaned.
"Think she's something?" the short one asked in a softer voice. I ducked my head, cheeks flaming.
"Huh," the tall one said. "Maybe. Can't imagine what you'd need missile-proof glass and four thousand pounds of body armor for around here. Must be headed somewhere more hazardous."
"Maybe you need it for running down a vampire, or perhaps a wolf." Emmett suggested.
Bella glared at Emmett.
Body armor. Four thousand pounds of body armor. And missile-proof glass? Nice. What had happened to good old-fashioned bulletproof?
"Sarabella has Mercedes Aegis; it is completely damage-proof. It's one of the best protection vehicles on the market in the future." E.J announced with a smirk. He gestured to Jacob and Edward. "Da – Jacob and Edward bought it for her." He had to catch himself from calling Jacob dad – he didn't want to freak him out – and from calling Edward grandpa.
Sarabella crossed her arms and huffed. "I won't be having it forever."
'She looks cute when she does that…' Seth thought suddenly, not really knowing where the thought came from. He felt a pull towards Sarabella – like he should've imprinted on her the moment he saw her, but he couldn't. Seth wondered if this was how Jacob felt when Bella was pregnant with Nessie.
"Hey! Seth! Seth!" Jacob's shouting snapped Seth out of his thoughts.
Seth looked blankly at Jacob. "What?"
Jacob gave Seth a questioning look and gestured to the book. "Read."
"Oh… Sorry," Seth said, looking down at the book. He continued reading…
Well, at least this made some sense – if you had a twisted sense of humor.
It wasn't like I hadn't expected Edward to take advantage of our deal, to weight it on his side so that he could give so much more than he would receive.
"Oh, Bella," Edward whispered, caressing Bella's cheek. "You gave me so much just by living."
"What lovely displays of affection," Garrett said before Belle could reply.
Kate – she was sitting on the armrest of Garrett's seat – smacked him on the shoulder.
I'd agreed that he could replace my truck when it needed replacing, not expecting that moment to come quite so soon, of course. When I'd been forced to admit that the truck had become no more than a still-life tribute to classic Chevys on my curb, I knew his idea of a replacement was probably going to embarrass me.
"That was not my idea." Edward commented absentmindedly.
Make me the focus of stares and whispers. I'd been right about that part. But even in my darkest imaginings I had not foreseen that he would get me two cars.
The "before" car and the "after" car, he'd explained when I'd flipped out.
This was just the "before" car. He'd told me it was a loaner and promised that he was returning it after the wedding.
"I'm thinking of getting an even better one in the future." Edward said, looking at his daughter.
'If we live through the Volturi…' Bella thought. Her eyes then wondered over to Sarabella and E.J… they were the ray of hope that the Cullens needed. If Jacob and Renesmee lived to have children… perhaps, they all lived. And even if the rest of them didn't, it was enough for Bella to know that her precious daughter – her Renesmee – would live to have children of her own.
It all had made absolutely no sense to me. Until now.
Ha ha. Because I was so fragilely human, so accident-prone, so much a victim to my own dangerous bad luck, apparently I needed a tank-resistant car to keep me safe. Hilarious. I was sure he and his brothers had enjoyed the joke quite a bit behind my back.
"Not Eddie and Jazz," Emmett said, grinning. "But I certainly did."
"Grow up, Em." Edward muttered.
Emmett's grin widened. "Never,"
Or maybe, just maybe, a small voice whispered in my head, it's not a joke, silly. Maybe he's really that worried about you. This wouldn't be the first time he's gone a little overboard trying to protect you.
"Overboard is downplaying…" Jacob said under his breath.
I sighed.
I hadn't seen the "after" car yet. It was hidden under a sheet in the deepest corner of the Cullens' garage. I knew most people would have peeked by now, but I really didn't want to know.
Probably no body armor on that car – because I wouldn't need it after the honeymoon. Virtual indestructibility was just one of the many perks I was looking forward to. The best parts about being a Cullen were not expensive cars and impressive credit cards.
"Yes… virtual indestructibility, speed and strength, amazing flexibility, unlimited senses, beauty beyond belief, and never aging," Rosalie said dully. "The perks of being a Cullen,"
If Bella had been a human, she would've flinched, but being a vampire allowed her to control her facial expressions better. Bella knew that Rosalie wasn't directing her harsh words at her, but just speaking them in general.
Maggie looked at Rosalie from her spot across the room. Though she didn't say anything, she understood what Rosalie was feeling. While she was glad that Siobhan had found and saved her, Maggie sometimes wished she didn't have to go on. She would always spend decades and decades being stuck as a delicate-looking, fifteen year old. Maggie had once dreamed that she would grow up, find someone she truly loved and would marry, then start a family of her own. However, Maggie was quite sure that her feelings weren't as strong as Rosalie's.
"Hey," the tall man called, cupping his hands to the glass in an effort to peer in. "We're done now. Thanks a lot!"
"You're welcome," I called back, and then tensed as I started the engine and eased the pedal – ever so gently – down.
No matter how many times I drove down the familiar road home, I still couldn't make the rain-faded flyers fade into the background. Each one of them, stapled to telephone poles and taped to street signs, was like a fresh slap in the face. A well-deserved slap in the face.
Jacob opened his mouth to say something, but Bella silenced him with a glare.
My mind was sucked back into the thought I'd interrupted so immediately before. I couldn't avoid it on this road. Not with pictures of my favourite mechanic flashing past me at regular intervals.
My best friend. My Jacob.
Renesmee was curious – she had always thought of Jacob as hers. She placed her hand on Bella's throat. Momma…?
Bella couldn't say anything. She simply kissed the top of Renesmee's head. 'I wonder what Renesmee will think of my relationship with Jacob?'
The HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY? posters were not Jacob's father's idea. It had been my father, Charlie, who'd printed up the flyers and spread them all over town. And not just Forks, but Port Angeles and Sequim and Hoquiam and Aberdeen and every other town in the Olympic Peninsula. He'd made sure that all the police stations in the state of Washington had the same flyer hanging on the wall, too. His own station had a whole corkboard dedicated to finding Jacob. A corkboard that was mostly empty, much to his disappointment and frustration.
My dad was disappointed with more than the lack of response. He was most disappointed with Billy, Jacob's father – and Charlie's closest friend.
For Billy's not being more involved with the search for his sixteen-year-old "run-away." For Billy's refusing to put up flyers in La Push, the reservation on the coast that was Jacob's home. For his seeming resigned to Jacob's disappearance, as if there was nothing he could do. For his saying, "Jacob's grown up now. He'll come home if he wants to."
Esme was frowning. She could only imagine how difficult it had probably been for Jacob's father.
Jacob pretended to look nonchalant, though he was actually feeling guilty for the hell he'd put his father through.
And he was frustrated with me, for taking Billy's side.
I wouldn't put up posters, either. Because both Billy and I knew where Jacob was, roughly speaking, and we also knew that no one had seen this boy.
The flyers put the usual big, fat lump in my throat, the usual stinging tears in my eyes, and I was glad Edward was out hunting this Saturday. If Edward saw my reaction, it would only make him feel terrible, too.
Of course, there were drawbacks to it being Saturday. As I turned slowly and carefully onto my street, I could see my dad's police cruiser in the driveway of our home. He'd skipped fishing again today. Still sulking about the wedding.
"He sulked after the wedding." Jacob laughed.
"So did you." Embry said.
Jacob stopped laughing to glare at Embry. "Shut it,"
So I wouldn't be able to use the phone inside. But I had to call...
I parked on the curb behind the Chevy sculpture and pulled out the cell phone Edward had given me for emergencies out of the glove department. I dialed, keeping my finger on the "end" button as the phone rang. Just in case.
"Hello?" Seth Clearwater answered, and I sighed in relief.
Seth stopped reading for a moment, a grin spreading across his face.
I was way too chicken to speak to his older sister, Leah. The phrase "bite my head off" was not entirely a figure of speech when it came to Leah.
There was silence for a few minutes… and then suddenly all the shape-shifters burst into laughter.
"So true," Embry laughed.
"Spot on." Quil added.
Leah scowled. "All of you shut your mouths."
This only made all the shape-shifters laugh harder. After a few more minutes, the laughter died down and stopped.
"Sorry, Leah," Bella offered up an apology, though she knew it probably wouldn't matter.
"Don't bother." Leah muttered. She then turned her glare on Seth. "Keep reading."
"Hey, Seth, it's Bella."
"Oh, hiya, Bella! How are you?"
Choked up. Desperate for reassurance. "Fine."
"Calling for an update?"
"You're psychic."
"Not hardly. I'm no Alice –
The Cullens felt a sharp pang.
you're just predictable," he joked. Among the Quileute pack down at La Push, only Seth was comfortable even mentioning the Cullens by name, let alone joking about things like my nearly omniscient sister-in-law-to-be.
Both Stefan and Vladimir found it very strange that the Cullens and the wolves seemed to have a strong truce, especially taking into consideration their terrible odor.
"I know I am." I hesitated for a minute. "How is he?"
Is this about my Jakie? Renesmee asked, holding her mother's hand. Worry laced Renesmee's thoughts.
"Don't worry, sweetie. Everything is fine now. He is fine now." Bella reassured her daughter. She looked at Jacob, who was watching Renesmee. "Go over to Jake."
Renesmee leaped out of Bella's lap and headed over to Jacob, launching herself into his waiting arms. She immediately pressed her hand to his cheek. Jake..?
"I'm spectacular, Ness." Jacob told her. "No need to worry."
Seth sighed. "Same as ever. He won't talk, though we know he hears us. He trying not to think human, you know. Just going with his instincts."
"Do you know where he is now?"
"Somewhere in northern Canada. I can't tell you which province. He doesn't pay much attention to state lines."
"Any hint that he might…"
"He's not coming home, Bella. Sorry."
I swallowed. "S'okay, Seth. I knew before I asked. I just can't help wishing."
"Yeah. We all feel the same way."
"No we didn't." Leah muttered.
"Thanks for putting up with me, Seth. I know the others must give you a hard time."
"They're not your hugest fans, " he agreed cheerfully. "Kind of lame, I think. Jacob made his choices, you made yours. Jake doesn't like their attitude about it. 'Course, he isn't super thrilled that you're checking up on him, either."
"Sorry, Bella," Embry said, and Quil nodded his head in apology, too.
"It's fine." Bella told them. She was glad that she could have her old friends in her new life, and that was all.
I gasped. "I thought he wasn't talking to you?"
"He can't hide everything from us, hard as he's trying."
"And I did try very hard."
So Jacob knew I was worried. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Well, at least he knew I hadn't skipped off into the sunset and forgotten him completely. He might have imagined me capable of that.
And that was exactly what Jacob had thought.
"I guess I'll see you at the... wedding," I said, forcing the word out through my teeth.
"Yeah, me and my mom will be there. It was cool of you to ask us."
I smiled at the enthusiasm in his voice. Though inviting the Clearwaters had been Edward's idea, I was glad he'd thought of it. Having Seth there would be nice – a link, however tenuous, to my missing best man. "It wouldn't be the same without you."
"Tell Edward I said hi, 'kay?"
"Sure thing."
I shook my head. The friendship that had sprung up between Edward and Seth was something that still boggled my mind. It was proof, though, that things didn't have to be this way. That vampires and werewolves could get along just fine, thank you very much, if they were of a mind to.
The shape-shifters – aside from Jacob and Seth, of course – looked offended at the mere suggestion.
Seeing their expressions, both Sarabella and E.J rolled their eyes.
Not everybody liked this idea.
"Ah," Seth said, his voice cracking up an octave. "Er, Leah's home."
"Example A." Seth stopped reading to say.
Leah glared at Seth, though it didn't have much of an affect.
"Oh! Bye!"
Jacob was grinning.
The phone went dead. I left it on the seat and prepared myself mentally to go inside the house, where Charlie would be waiting.
My poor dad had so much to deal with right now. Jacob-the-runaway was just one of the straws on his overburdened back. He was almost as worried about me, his barely-a-legal-adult daughter who was about to become a Mrs. in just a few days' time.
I walked slowly through the light rain, remembering the night we'd told him…
Bella sighed. The moment had been embarrassing enough for her… she didn't want all these people to know about it.
As the sound of Charlie's cruiser announced his return, the ring suddenly weighed a hundred pounds on my finger. I wanted to shove my left hand in a pocket, or maybe sit on it, but Edward's cool, firm grasp kept it front and center.
"Stop fidgeting, Bella. Please try to remember that you're not confessing to a murder here."
"You might've well been with Charlie." Jacob grinned.
Bella glared at him.
"Easy for you to say."
I listened to the ominous sound of my father's boots clomping up the sidewalk. The key rattled in the already open door. The sound reminded me of that part of the horror movie when the victim realizes she's forgotten to lock her deadbolt.
"Calm down, Bella," Edward whispered, listening to the acceleration of my heart.
The door slammed against the wall, and I flinched like I'd been Tasered.
Jacob, Emmett – and several others – either looked on the verge of laughter or amusement.
"Hey, Charlie," Edward called, entirely relaxed.
"No!" I protested under my breath.
"What?" Edward whispered back.
"Wait till he hangs his gun up!"
Several people chuckled.
"I don't think a guns going to do much work on Eddie-boy, Bella." Emmett said, grinning.
"I know that. I wasn't worried about Edward being shot. I was worried for the mental sake of my Dad – I didn't think he'd take it very well when his bullet would ricochet right off Edward."
Emmett was now full-blowing laughing.
Edward chuckled and ran his free hand through his tousled bronze hair.
Charlie came around the corner, still in his uniform, still armed, and tried not to make a face when he spied us sitting together on the loveseat. Lately, he'd been putting forth a lot of effort to like Edward more. Of course, this revelation was sure to end that effort immediately.
"He's just a little more tolerable of me now." Edward commented.
Jacob rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's because he can't handle how awesome I am."
"That is what you think." Edward muttered so quietly only vampire ears would hear.
"Hey, kids. What's up?"
"We'd like to talk to you," Edward said, so serene. "We have some good news."
"Serene… of course," Jacob shook his head.
"I knew what to expect." Edward said.
Charlie's expression went from strained friendliness to black suspicion in a second.
"Good news?" Charlie growled, looking straight at me.
"Have a seat, Dad."
He raised one eyebrow, stared at me for five seconds, then stomped to the recliner and sat down on the very edge, his back ramrod straight.
"Don't get worked up, Dad," I said after a moment of loaded silence. "Everything's okay."
"Depending on how you look at it." Emmett said casually, as though he was talking about the everyday sports. "Edward only wants to steal – and marry – his only daughter and then take away her innocence."
"Emmett!" Bella growled.
Rosalie smacked her husband on the back of the head.
Emmett shrugged his shoulders.
Edward grimaced, and I knew it was in objection to the word okay. He probably would have used something more like wonderful or perfect or glorious.
"Yup." Emmett spoke again. "Eddie's going to have a wonderful, perfect, and glorious time robbing Bella of her –"
"Emmett!" Bella hissed.
"Sure it is, Bella, sure it is. If everything is so great, then why are you sweating bullets?"
"I'm not sweating," I lied.
Edward shook his head. Bella's lying had been so pathetic when she was human… but that was also one of the many things he loved about her.
I leaned away from his fierce scowl, cringing into Edward, and instinctively wiped the back of my right hand across my forehead to remove the evidence.
"You're pregnant!" Charlie exploded. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"
"Not yet…"
"Emmett!"
Though the question was clearly meant for me, he was glaring at Edward now, and I could have sworn I saw his hand twitch toward the gun.
"He was more than considering shooting me." Edward said, sounding highly amused.
Bella would've gasped if she was human, but her vampire mind had quickly processed the new information, giving her no time to be shocked at all. "And you never told me?"
"It didn't believe it was necessary to worry you."
Bella let out a frustrated sigh, deciding not to say anything more. It was all over anyways.
Renesmee put her hand on Jacob's cheek. Grandpa wanted to shoot Daddy?
"It's okay, Ness." Jacob reassuringly patted Renesmee on the head. "Nothing to worry about."
"No! Of course I'm not!" I wanted to elbow Edward in the ribs, but I knew that move would only give me a bruise.
E.J laughed. A laugh which sounded similar to Jacob's. "Sarabella –"
"Don't, E.J!" Sarabella cut her brother off with a pleading look. (Seth thought it was very adorable).
"- one time elbowed Gran- Edward and broke her elbow. It didn't heal right, so then Carlisle had to re-break her elbow so it could heal properly." E.J continued his story despite Sarabella's protests.
Sarabella crossed her arms. "It was an accident… I didn't realize that G- Edward was standing right beside me."
"D- Jacob kept her away from all vampires for about a solid week after that." E.J added.
"He wouldn't even let me leave my bedroom…" Sarabella muttered.
The Cullens and Jacob were laughing. Even some of the shape-shifters.
I'd told Edward that people would immediately jump to this conclusion! What other possible reason would sane people have for getting married at eighteen? (His answer then had made me roll my eyes. Love. Right.)
Charlie's glower lightened a shade. It was usually pretty clear on my face when I was telling the truth, and he believed me now. "Oh. Sorry."
"Apology accepted."
There was a long pause. After a moment, I realized everyone was waiting for me to say something. I looked up at Edward, panic-stricken. There was no way I was going to get the words out.
"I realized that, but I was still hoping you'd be able to do it." Edward told Bella.
"Sorry,"
"It is fine, love."
He smiled at me and then squared his shoulders and turned to my father.
"Charlie, I realize that I've gone about this out of order. Traditionally, I should have asked you first. I mean no disrespect, but since Bella has already said yes and I don't want to diminish her choice in the matter, instead of asking you for her hand, I'm asking you for your blessing. We're getting married, Charlie. I love her more than anything in the world, more than my own life, and – by some miracle – she loves me that way, too. Will you give us your blessing?"
Esme smiled approvingly.
He sounded so sure, so calm. For just an instant, listening to the absolute confidence in his voice, I experienced a rare moment of insight. I could see, fleetingly, the way the world looked to him. For the length of one heartbeat, this news made perfect sense.
And then I caught sight of the expression on Charlie's face, his eyes now locked on the ring.
Emmett made an explosion gesture with his hands.
I held my breath while his skin changed colors – fair to red, red to purple, purple to blue. I started to get up – I'm not sure what I planned to do; maybe use the Heimlich maneuver to make sure he wasn't choking – but Edward squeezed my hand and murmured "Give him a minute" so low that only I could hear.
The silence was much longer this time. Then, gradually, shade by shade, Charlie's color returned to normal. His lips pursed, and his eyebrows furrowed; I recognized his "deep in thought" expression. He studied the two of us for a long moment, and I felt Edward relax at my side.
"What had he been thinking?" Bella curiously asked Edward.
"He was shocked at first, then angry and annoyed – and he considered shooting me again – and then he finally began to fully process what he'd been told. He realized that us marrying was going to be inevitable because he'd seen what me" – Edward flinched – "leaving would do to you."
Bella took Edward's hand in hers. "We came back to one another – and that's all that matters."
"Guess I'm not that surprised," Charlie grumbled. "Knew I'd have to deal with something like this soon enough."
I exhaled.
"You sure about this?" Charlie demanded, glaring at me.
"I'm one hundred percent sure about Edward," I told him without missing a beat.
"As I was with you," Edward murmured in Bella's ear.
"Getting married, though? What's the rush?" He eyed me suspiciously again.
The rush was due to the fact that I was getting closer to nineteen every stinking day, while Edward stayed frozen in all his seventeen-year-old perfection, as he had for over ninety years. Not that this fact necessitated marriage in my book, but the wedding was required due to the delicate and tangled compromise Edward and I had made to finally get to this point, the brink of my transformation from mortal to immortal.
"Compromise?" Jacob looked over at Bella and Edward.
"Keep reading," Bella ordered Seth, ignoring Jacob.
These weren't things I could explain to Charlie.
"We're going away to Dartmouth together in the fall, Charlie," Edward reminded him. "I'd like to do that, well, the right way. It's how I was raised." He shrugged.
He wasn't exaggerating; they'd been big on old-fashioned morals during World War I.
"You lived through the time era of World War I?" Seth stopped reading to look at Edward. He knew that Edward was old, but he didn't know exactly how old.
Edward nodded his head. "World War I was a very frightening four years."
Charlie's mouth twisted to the side. Looking for an angle to argue from. But what could he say? I'd prefer you live in sin first? He was a dad; his hands were tied.
"He almost did say that." Edward said.
"Knew this was coming," he muttered to himself, frowning. Then, suddenly, his face went perfectly smooth and blank.
"Dad?" I asked anxiously. I glanced at Edward, but I couldn't read his face, either, as he watched Charlie.
"Ha!" Charlie exploded. I jumped in my seat. "Ha, ha, ha!"
I stared incredulously as Charlie doubled over in laughter; his whole body shook with it.
I looked at Edward for a translation, but Edward had his lips pressed tightly together, like he was trying to hold back laughter himself.
"Your father's thoughts were very… funny." Edward informed Bella.
"Okay, fine," Charlie choked out. "Get married." Another roll of laughter shook through him. "But..."
"But what?" I demanded.
"But you have to tell your mom! I'm not saying one word to Renée! That's all yours!" He busted into loud guffaws.
I paused with my hand on the doorknob, smiling. Sure, at the time, Charlie's words had terrified me. The ultimate doom: telling Renée. Early marriage was higher up on her blacklist than boiling live puppies.
Renesmee frowned at the last part. She didn't like hearing things like that.
"Well, Bella," Renée had said after I'd choked and stuttered out the impossible words: Mom, I'm marrying Edward. "I'm a little miffed that you waited so long to tell me. Plane tickets only get more expensive. Oooh," she'd fretted. "Do you think Phil's cast will be off by then? It will spoil the pictures if he's not in a tux –"
"Back up a second, Mom." I'd gasped. "What do you mean, waited so long? I just got en-en . . ." – I'd been unable to force out the word engaged – "things settled, you know, today."
Rosalie looked at the book. When she'd gotten engaged, she'd gone through town and flaunted it. Something which Rosalie was now disgusted with herself for doing.
"Today? Really? That is a surprise. I assumed ..."
"What did you assume? When did you assume?"
Edward was smiling crookedly. "I like your mother, love."
"I know."
"Well, when you came to visit me in April, it looked like things were pretty much sewn up, if you know what I mean. You're not very hard to read, sweetie. But I didn't say anything because I knew it wouldn't do any good. You're exactly like Charlie." She'd sighed, resigned. "Once you make up your mind, there is no reasoning with you. Of course, exactly like Charlie, you stick by your decisions, too."
And then she'd said the last thing that I'd ever expected to hear from my mother.
"You're not making my mistakes, Bella. You sound like you're scared silly, and I'm guessing it's because you're afraid of me." She'd giggled. "Of what I'm going to think. And I know I've said a lot of things about marriage and stupidity – and I'm not taking them back – but you need to realize that those things specifically applied to me. You're a completely different person than I am. You make your own kinds of mistakes, and I'm sure you'll have your share of regrets in life. But commitment was never your problem, sweetie. You have a better chance of making this work than most forty-year-olds I know." Renée had laughed again. "My little middle-aged child. Luckily, you seem to have found another old soul."
"Literally."
"You're not... mad? You don't think I'm making a humongous mistake?"
"Well, sure, I wish you'd wait a few more years. I mean, do I look old enough to be a mother-in-law to you? Don't answer that. But this isn't about me. This is about you. Are you happy?"
"I don't know. I'm having an out-of-body experience right now."
Renée had chuckled. "Does he make you happy, Bella?"
"Yes, but –"
"Are you ever going to want anyone else?"
"No, but –"
"But what?"
"But aren't you going to say that I sound like exactly like every other infatuated teenager since the dawn of time?"
"You were hardly "every other infatuated teenager", Bells." Jacob rolled his eyes at his best friend.
"Thanks, Jake." Bella said, more than glad that she and Jake could talk normally.
"You've never been a teenager, sweetie. You know what's best for you."
For the last few weeks, Renée had unexpectedly immersed herself in wedding plans. She'd spent hours every day on the phone with Edward's mother, Esme – no worries about the in-laws getting along. Renée adored Esme, but then, I doubted anyone could help responding that way to my lovable almost mother-in-law.
"Thank you, Bella." Esme smiled wonderfully.
Bella returned the smile.
Leah crossed her arms, scowling. It had been hard to resist Esme's lovely charms… even for her.
It let me right off the hook. Edward's family and my family were taking care of the nuptials together without my having to do or know or think too hard about any of it.
Charlie was furious, of course, but the sweet part was that he wasn't furious at me. What could he do now, when his ultimate threat – telling Mom – had turned out to be utterly empty? He had nothing, and he knew it. So he moped around the house, muttering things about not be able trust anyone in this world...
"Dad?" I called as I pushed open the front door. "I'm home."
"Hold on, Bells, stay right there."
"Huh?" I asked, pausing automatically.
"Gimme a second. Ouch, you got me, Alice."
Alice?
That sharp pang returned.
"Sorry, Charlie," Alice's trilling voice responded. "How's that?"
"I'm bleeding on it."
"You're fine. Didn't break the skin – trust me."
"Bloodsucker would know," Paul muttered.
The vampires ignored him.
"What's going on?" I demanded, hesitating in the doorway.
"Thirty seconds, please, Bella," Alice told me. "Your patience will be rewarded."
"Humph," Charlie added.
I tapped my foot, counting each beat. Before I got to thirty, Alice said, "Okay, Bella, come in!"
Moving with caution, I rounded the little corner into our living room.
"Oh," I huffed. "Aw. Dad. Don't you look –"
"Silly?" Charlie interrupted.
"I was thinking more like debonair."
What does that mean, Jakie? Renesmee asked, her hand resting lightly in Jacob's cheek.
"It means courteous, gracious, and having a sophisticated charm." Edward answered Renesmee's question.
"My Jacob is debonair." Renesmee spoke flawlessly.
Rosalie snorted. "As if."
Charlie blushed. Alice took his elbow and tugged him around into a slow spin to showcase the pale gray tux.
"Now cut that out, Alice. I look like an idiot."
"Never say that to Alice." Edward shook his head.
"No one dressed by me ever looks like an idiot."
"She's right, Dad. You look fabulous! What's the occasion?"
Alice rolled her eyes. "It's the final check on the fit. For both of you."
I peeled my gaze off the unusually elegant Charlie for the first time and saw the dreaded white garment bag laid carefully across the sofa.
"Aaah."
"Go to your happy place, Bella. It won't take long."
"I hope I'm your happy place." Edward murmured, stroking Bella's check.
"Of course."
Emmett made gagging sounds, but he was ignored.
I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes. Keeping them shut, I stumbled my way up the stairs to my room. I stripped down to my underwear and held my arms straight out.
'How embarrassing…' Bella thought.
"You'd think I was shoving bamboo splinters under your nails," Alice muttered to herself as she followed me in.
The Cullens chuckled.
I paid no attention to her. I was in my happy place.
In my happy place, the whole wedding mess was over and done. Already repressed and forgotten.
We were alone, just Edward and me. The setting was fuzzy and constantly in flux – it morphed from misty forest to cloud-covered city to arctic night – because Edward was keeping the location of our honeymoon a secret surprise to me. But I wasn't especially concerned about the where part.
Edward and I were together, and I'd fulfilled my side of our compromise perfectly. I'd married him. That was the big one. But I'd also accepted all his outrageous gifts and was registered, however futilely, to attend Dartmouth College in the fall. Now it was his turn.
Bella nearly groaned. No.
Before he turned me into a vampire – his big compromise – he had one other stipulation to make good on.
Edward had an obsessive sort of concern over the human things that I would be giving up, the experiences he didn't want me to miss. Most of them – like the prom, for example – seemed silly to me. There was only one human experience I worried about missing. Of course it would be the one he wished I would forget completely.
Emmett waggled his eyebrows.
Here was the thing, though. I knew a little about what I was going to be like when I wasn't human anymore. I'd seen newborn vampires firsthand, and I'd heard all my family-to-be's stories about those wild early days.
This sent many of the vampires into the memories of their wild newborn years. How uncontrolled they'd been, how delicious the blood had tasted.
Human... and passionately in love.
"More than passionately,"
I wanted the complete experience before I traded in my warm, breakable, pheromone-riddled body for something beautiful, strong... and unknown. I wanted a real honeymoon with Edward. And, despite the danger he feared this would put me in, he'd agreed to try.
Alistair – who had been moody and silent – looked at Edward.
"I knew that." Edward growled.
Bella was about to ask Edward what he'd just read from Alistair's mind, but Edward gestured to Seth to continue reading.
I was only vaguely aware of Alice and the slip and slide of satin over my skin. I didn't care, for the moment, that the whole town was talking about me. I didn't think about the spectacle I would have to star in much too soon. I didn't worry about tripping on my train or giggling at the wrong moment or being too young or the staring audience or even the empty seat where my best friend should be.
I was with Edward in my happy place.
"That's the end of the chapter." Seth announced. Suddenly, his stomach rumbled.
Esme smiled. "How about we read another chapter and then I'll make some lunch."
The shape-shifters looked disgusted at the thought of eating a bloodsuckers cooking, but Seth looked ecstatic. "Your cooking is the best, Mrs. Cullen." He said.
"Call me Esme, Seth. And thank you."
"Who is reading the next chapter?" E.J asked everyone. His sister was too busy staring at Seth.
Maggie stood. "I will." She volunteered, walking gracefully across the room to Seth. Once she had the book, she returned back to her seat.
As Maggie had walked across the room, Vladimir's eyes had followed her every movement.
Maggie immediately began reading…
~T~
FINISHED! Finally! Took me forever! But I had fun writing it!
I hope you all liked it!
I'm thinking of pairing Vladimir and Maggie together. Weird pairing, but hey… I thought it would be slightly interesting.
Also, sorry for any grammar mistakes!
Anyways, please review!
