A/N: Thanks to mikenewtonislove, xLaurelCullenxx, Nicki-hunny, VolturiGirl, iownthesmiley, and cullen1994 for reviewing, thanks for the support and kind words, love ya! ;)
We arrived at the beach at around 12:20, and it was one of those rare days in Forks where the sun actually shined. Bella and Emmett were having a silent conversation with their eyes, but I understood what they were feeling. Emmett must have been furious, disgusted, horrified, miserable, inconsolable, and heartbroken. He obviously did not like the return of his brother, but understood that he needed to forgive him eventually. This upset him deeply.
Emmett was a very fascinating person. He was overprotective, funny, unbelievably understanding, and completely and utterly annoying. Though most of the time I spent with him was dripping with sarcasm or joking around, Emmett the most amazing friend. It hurt Bella, and me as well to see Emmett in such low spirits. Emmett rarely discussed the sensitive topic of his brother with me, but I understood. Bella would always give her most honest opinion on something, and would willingly give a five minute hug to anyone who needed it. She could handle either one of us getting emotional without saying a word. As you can well imagine, it wasn't normal for Emmett to cry in front of me while I gave him a meaningful hug. It's just not like that between us.
I wasn't much of a talker, which explained why I didn't have an excessive amount of friends. Okay, so Bella and Emmett were my only real friends, but they were the only people I needed in my life. I loved reading, especially history books. I didn't really date, and although I knew almost all of the answers in class, I never raised my hand or shared my opinion in class. I had a dream of becoming a therapist or a history teacher. While Bella was able to give her opinion, I was best at listening and speaking only when necessary. I could calm anyone down and understand their feelings.
As soon as we arrived at the beach, Bella and Emmett put on their matching sunglasses and crossed their arms. I just laughed and rolled my eyes at the immaturity of my friends. Bella giggled but Emmett turned to us, looking serious.
"Race you to the water! READYSETGO!!" Emmett shouted. People turned to look at Emmett with a disapproving glare, but I was set on running to the shore. I laughed and ran freely, my feet kicking up sand as I sprinted across the beach. Bella was last because she kept falling, so she walked sadly behind us. Emmett looked behind him and frowned. We both knew Bella was very self-conscious, so Emmett ran back and took Bella up on his back. He then sprinted after me. I stopped sprinting, but kept running so Emmett could come in front of me. Bella was smiling and laughing as Emmett tripped and flung Bella into the sand. She sat there, sand in her hair, pouting. I ran after them, hardly containing myself from the look on Emmett's face.
"Jasper?" I heard a voice ask from behind me. I turned to see a blonde girl with sharp blue eyes. She smiled lightly and my eyes widened in shock. She was tall and much more beautiful than I remembered.
"Rose? Is that you?" I asked, examining her. She nodded happily and I embraced her.
"Jazz, who's this?" Bella asked, standing beside me and leaning on my shoulder. Rosalie looked shocked, but slightly amused. She had a teasing look on her face.
"Bella, this is Rosalie, my long lost cousin." I said. Rose raised her eyebrows and examined Bella. "Rose, this is my best friend Bella." Rose looked slightly disappointed, probably expecting Bella to be my girlfriend.
"Hi, Rosalie, nice to meet you." Bella said politely, sticking out her hand to shake. Rose hesitantly took her hand, eyeing Bella with a cautious look. Rosalie took a while to warm up to people. It took her two years until she realized I wasn't going to attack her or verbally abuse her. She had a trust problem.
An awkward silence passed between us. Then, leave it to Emmett to destroy any signs of awkwardness. I suppose I should appreciate him for that one trait...
"Guuuuys, why'd you ditch me?" Emmett whined, stomping up behind Bella. Rose's eyes widened as she took in Emmett's massive form. When Emmett saw Rosalie, his jaw dropped.
EMPOV
I was getting angry that Jasper and Bella weren't coming to the shore, so I decided to go look for them. I found them standing with their backs towards me.
"Guuuuys, why'd you ditch me?" I asked, coming up from behind Bella. I realized they were talking to someone and I glanced at the person before turning back to Bells and Jazz. I did a double take.
The girl in front of me was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen in my entire life. She had golden hair and deep blue eyes that I could look into forever. She was tall and charming and drop dead gorgeous. Not to mention her-
"Will you guys stop ogling each other and talk? Jeez." Bella interrupted my thoughts. I realized the angel standing before me was mirroring the emotions I was sure were displayed on my face. I grinned widely and offered my arm for her to take.
"Shall we?" I asked with a goofy smile. She smiled back and I felt like she could tell me that leprechauns and unicorns were real and I'd believe her. Oh man, those eyes!
"We shall." She replied, taking my arm and shooting me another glittering smile.
BPOV
I watched grinning as Emmett and Rosalie walked off, both beaming like a couple of idiots. I shook my head, glad that Edward was out of Emmett's mind. I turned to Jasper with a wicked look on my face.
"I guess it's just you and me now..." I said. Jasper narrowed his eyes, realizing what I was up to. He readied himself, raising his arms in defense but preparing to strike.
"TAG YOUR IT!" I screamed, smacking him on the chest and running as fast as I could. Me being me, I tripped and fell onto the sand, tripping Jasper in the process. Jasper toppled over me and we both fell on the ground laughing. Our giggling evolved into a full-blown sand fight, then we resolved to sitting in the sand, laughing and joking around. It was summer days like these that I came to really respect Jasper.
EPOV
A few hours later...
I lounged on the couch, my feet hanging off and my chin tucked into my chest. I stared at the TV with a blank expression, not even paying attention to what was playing. I was lost in thought. My friend, Alice, who was Emmett's age was coming over to visit from New York. She was the most energetic little pixie ever to exist. It amazed me how she could bounce off the walls without a hint of caffeine. Though she was really annoying, she was a great friend.
Still thinking deeply, I heard the door open. I turned to see Bella standing there, glancing at me, then the TV. She snickered as I turned to see what was playing. Finally focusing on the TV, I realized what was playing.
"SpongeBob? Nice." Bella snickered again and my eyes widened. She must've thought I enjoyed these childish TV shows (A/N: I love SpongeBob btw, I just didn't picture Edward as a SpongeBob fan ;D)
"No, really, I-I wasn't watching that, I-" I stammered, my cheeks turning red. I didn't know why I was reacting like this, probably because I didn't want this gorgeous angel to think of me as some childish fool. Which I was in fact. I was related to Emmett, anyone who spends their childhood with that kid is bound to have some of his ridiculousness rub off on him.
"That's okay, your secret is safe with me." She winked and I think I felt my heart stop. How was this girl doing this to me? I was enthralled by her and I hardly said five words to the girl! (A/N: For the record, he literally said five words to Bella. I counted. ^_^)
I was just about to protest when Emmett burst in with the widest grin on his face. He didn't acknowledge me as he danced about the room (well, he danced the best he could, considering he was hardly capable of dancing with his massive size), Bella was giggling. Jasper came in with his arms full of beach equipment such as chairs, towels, an umbrella, etc.
"God, did you see her? She was awesome! She said she wanted to major in engineering! And damn, did you see her-" Emmett rambled. I rolled my eyes, I had never seen Emmett lovesick, but I really wished I hadn't.
"Emmett stop! That's my cousin!!" Jasper yelled in disgust, covering his ears as Emmett went on about how attractive his new infatuation was. They had only been gone for about two hours and he was already obsessed. Well, I shouldn't be talking considering I hardly had a conversation with a girl and I was going crazy for her.
"Oh, Emmett?" I said. I saw Emmett visibly stiffen and Bella put a comforting hand on his shoulder. I prayed he wouldn't have to be afraid of talking to me for very long, it was utterly absurd and hurt me deeply.
"Yes, Edward?" Emmett responded blankly, but I could detect the hatred and unexpressed anger in his eyes. I really had no idea how me leaving would have this much of an impact on him. It hurt me a lot.
"My friend Alice Brandon will be coming over this weekend, I just wanted to let you know." I informed him gently, trying not to upset him in any way.
"Good to know!" He responded sarcastically. It was so weird seeing Emmett like this. It was not at all the Emmett I remembered. I felt that horrible feeling of guilt creep up on me that I was beginning to feel multiple times on a daily basis.
With that, Emmett, Bella, and Jasper trudged up stairs. Bella was talking animately, no doubt trying to bring Emmett's mind off the "dreadful" conversation with me. As guilty as I was, I couldn't help but feel Emmett was overreacting. Maybe he wasn't only mad at me because I left. Maybe there was another reason.
BPOV
Breaking my promise to Edward, I giggled as I retold the event when I had walked in. I knew he wasn't really into SpongeBob, but it was funny to tease him all the same. Jasper laughed and Emmett even smiled a little. I wracked my brain for something that would cheer him up.
"I KNOW!" I shouted, accidentally blurting out what was supposed to be kept in my mind. Emmett and Jasper both gave me a 'what's-wrong-with-you' look. I blushed and shrunk back, shying away from their amused gazes.
"How about we have a sleepover on Saturday, maybe you could invite Rosalie..." I winked at Emmett then frowned at the topic.
"I seem to be the only one in this room that she doesn't like." I said sadly. Jasper patted my head in a foolish manner, but attempting poorly to bring me reassurance.
"Rosalie? She's always like that to new people. Especially since she seemed to take a liking to Emmett, she probably got nervous about you being so close to us." Jasper explained, but it only made me feel worse. I had always been insecure about my relationship with Em and Jazz because I was afraid it would affect their love life. Emmett saw my hesitation and smiled.
"Don't worry, B. If Rose has a problem with my little sis, I don't want anything to do with her." I smiled at him and thanked him, but I could see the sacrifice in his eyes. I hoped Rosalie would warm up to me soon.
"So who else will we be inviting?" Emmett asked curiously.
"I have a couple of friends that could come over, but I don't know if they could sleep over." I said.
"Who?" asked Jasper hesitantly. He knew I had a few friends that had crushes on him, but they were probably just using me to get to him. How pathetic.
"Jessica, Angela, Mike, Tyler, Eric, Tanya." I listed off. Emmett and Jasper were hesitant with the boys, but they agreed. I immediately made a mental list of things to get for the party since I knew Em and Jazz wouldn't help at all.
I cheered in excitement, but after spotting Emmett's wicked grin, I was wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into.
A/N: I am so sorry I hadn't updated sooner! I just have so much to do this summer, sleepovers, shopping, movies, etc. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! ^_^ I'm a little sad right now because one of my favorite authors on FF, Fall Down Again Bella, is leaving for an unknown period of time. I'm just adding this so maybe you could take a look at one of her amazing finished stories and give your support. I'd really appreciate it if that was me, so I'm sure she will as well.
Anyhoo, I LOVE the reviews! Imagine my expression when I checked my emails and saw how many hits their were! So many favorites and alerts, it made me smile. :)
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