Disclaimer: All characters behind this work of fanfiction belong to Stephenie Meyer. All ideas that this fanfiction are based on belong to me.
"Alice, please!" I shouted, exasperated. "I like my hair and I would love to have some of it left after tonight, but at the rate you're going, all my hair will be burnt to a crisp by the dumb curling iron!"
Alice frowned slightly and grabbed another section of my hair, rougher than she had before. "Honestly Bella," she began, sounding upset. "You aren't anything like how I imagined a normal human girl to be."
I grinded my teeth, resisting the urge to bolt from the chair. The night had initially started as a private celebration for Edward and me, but had now somehow turned into an extravagant event that required me to be tortured for hours by Alice and her desire to make me "more beautiful than usual". "I thought we'd already established that I'm far from normal."
Alice looked thoughtful as she curled the last section of my hair. "That's very true. Most normal people wouldn't stay within 100 feet of a vampire, let alone consider marrying one!" She released my hair and unplugged the curling iron in one fluid motion, and then grabbed her make up kit. I let out a heavy sigh. No escaping for me anytime soon.
"Is this really necessary Alice? Edward and I are just going to the meadow; no one is going to see us there!" I grimaced as she dabbed blue eye shadow on my eyelids.
"Edward will see you! Don't you want to impress him?" Alice demanded, smiling innocently. "You have two and a half more weeks of being human, Bella. I'm trying to enjoy these last few moments. In nearly three weeks you won't need any make up because you'll be flawless! So can I please have my fun?"
I snorted, feeling insulted and amused at the same time. "I'm glad my human imperfections provide a certain amount of entertainment for you. Where is Edward, anyway?"
Alice gently swept a light pink shade of blush on my cheeks. "He's downstairs with Carlisle and Esme discussing wedding details. Would you prefer an indoor or outdoor wedding? I have to know soon because if you want an outdoor wedding I'll have to make sure the day will be cloudy but not rainy…." Alice froze. Her body became completely rigid as her eyes widened in horror, her mouth quickly muttering words I couldn't understand.
"Alice?" I questioned tentatively, turning around in my chair to face her. "What are you seeing? What's happening?"
She didn't respond. My heart thudded in my chest as various worries formed in my head. Maybe Edward is going to call off the wedding! Maybe Charlie is going to get into an accident…
"Bella?"
I felt a cold but familiar hand on my shoulder. I smiled at Edward, but his attention was focused on Alice. I knew he was sifting through her thoughts, trying to find out exactly what she was seeing. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and his grip on my shoulder became painful.
"Ouch!" I yelped loudly. My shoulder was being crushed by his hand. The last thing I needed was Carlisle to tell me I needed to wear some kind of shoulder brace during my wedding – as if I wouldn't already look ridiculous enough.
Edward quickly released his hand just as Alice's vision ended. She blinked several times, her golden eyes full of worry. Edward shot her a questioning glance, to which Alice shook her head ever so slightly. I frowned, feeling left out.
"What was all that about?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood. "You guys both look so serious!"
Alice let out a giggle. It was too unnatural, too forced. Something was wrong. Edward smiled slightly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes, which remained cold and void of emotion. "It was nothing love," he reassured me, pressing his cool lips against my hair.
My heartbeat quickened, but not because he was touching me. I knew he was lying. Alice never had visions about "nothing". Knowing Alice's past visions, this one was probably just as important as the others, and most likely involved some crazy vampire intent on destroying me. Since I met Edward, I had become accustomed to such things. Why would he try to hide one of her visions now?
I let out a low sigh. As much as I wanted to beg him to tell me, I let it go. Tonight was too important of a night to ruin.
Edward wrapped his arm around me and I snuggled closer as we lay in the grass in the meadow where I had first seen Edward in the sunlight. It seemed so long ago, a simpler time, before talk of marriage, angry trackers, and vengeful vampires. Sometimes I think Edward was happier then, before we were so serious about each other. Before he knew he would, as he so happily puts it, "rip my soul out of my body and condemn me to hell".
The night was actually somewhat clear, a rare occasion in Forks, and I intended to use it to my advantage. I had it all planned out. A memorable setting, a clear sky with a few twinkling stars visible, curled hair, and eye shadow. How could Edward resist? I knew the agreement was to try once we were married, but I couldn't wait any longer.
I pulled away from Edward and sat up slowly. He had been strangely quiet the entire evening, and I couldn't help but feel it had something to do with Alice's vision. Every time he looked at me it seemed like he was suffering from some kind of internal conflict, and it made me nervous. The last time I had seen him like this…things didn't end well. I pushed the thought from my mind. He promised it would never happen again, and I had to believe him.
"Edward…" I began, clearing my throat. "I have a proposition."
He sat up quickly, his face lighting up a little. He enjoyed my attempts at changing his mind, although they were often futile. "I'm all ears Bella," he replied, smiling.
I felt my face begin to heat up – one of the pains of being extremely pale. I hoped that the darkness of the evening would cover my tomato red face, but I knew it couldn't disguise the heavy thundering of my heart. "Well, you know the agreement that we have with the whole making love thing? I think it's pretty pointless. You know I'm going to marry you and we'll be together forever," I babbled. "So I don't see why I should have to wait."
Edward laughed. "Ah, impatience. A human characteristic I don't miss having. You'll enjoy being a vampire Bella – after you live 100 years, waiting doesn't seem to be such a horrific thing."
I made a face at him. "Funny. Too bad you're a vampire; otherwise you could have had a successful career as a comedian. But you didn't answer my question."
Edward's face became serious. "You didn't ask a question."
I moaned, frustrated. There was no way I could come right out and ask him to make love to me, so I decided the best way to go would be to show him. I crawled over to him and pushed him back onto the grass, his eyes full of shock. I took advantage of his surprise, straddled him, and pressed my lips against his. I inhaled his scent, my mind becoming pleasantly numb as I opened my mouth slightly and pushed harder against him. He kissed me back, tentatively, but after a moment gently pushed me away.
Rejected again. I bit my lower lip as I inched away from him, pulling my legs to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. I was beginning to think the only reason he was attracted to me was because my blood "sings" to him. After facing rejection twice, I knew he couldn't possibly be attracted to me in that way. I hid my face in my arms, desperately trying to collect myself. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, I thought quickly to myself.
"Bella," Edward sounded frustrated. "That was unfair. We've discussed that and you know the conditions under which I'll try and fulfill your insane request – the most important one being that we are married."
I didn't respond.
"Are you upset?" he asked, sounding incredulous.
"Yeah, I am upset. But I guess you wouldn't understand, since disappointment and sadness are human emotions," I responded, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
His face hardened. "I might not be human, but I understand how it feels to be upset. Now, if you're done making jabs at me for being a…well, inhuman, then maybe we can have a civilized conversation. Perhaps you could start by looking at me."
I stood up quickly. Edward was being different, distant. He wasn't being his usual loving, concerned self. Something was bothering him and he felt like he couldn't confide in me. It hurt.
"I'm ready to go home," I said, struggling to keep my tone even.
He shrugged and motioned for me to get on his back to run us back to his car.
He didn't even try to convince me to stay.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yay, I feel accomplished! Chapter 1 is complete! I wanted to keep writing, but I'm going to try and keep my chapters a reasonable length. FYI, this fanfic is going to include Edward x Bella and Jacob x Bella. I know there's a lot of Jacob-haters out there (I don't like him much either, but he's a huge part of my storyline), but hopefully that won't keep you from continuing to read! I plan on having the next chapter up within a few days. Please review and let me know how you like it so far!
