1. Party (Part Two)

I watched Bella as she set up for movie watching time, but when she sat on the couch I closed the unnerving distance between us by grabbing her tiny waist and dragging her towards me, then protected her from my unpleasantly cold skin with a throw that was at hand.

"You know, I've never had much patience with Romeo," I confessed as the movie began.

"What's wrong with Romeo?" She asked sounding aggravated.

"Well, first of all, he's in love with this Rosaline—don't you think it makes him seem a little fickle? And then, a few minutes after their wedding, he kills Juliet's cousin. That's not very brilliant. Mistake after mistake. Could he have destroyed his own happiness any more thoroughly?" I was going to make anything and everything to ensure Bella´s happiness, which led to mine.

"Do you want me to watch this alone?" she asked a bit unenthusiastic.

"No, I'll mostly be watching you, anyway. Will you cry?" I asked her, sketching the delicate veins of her arms with my finger, and the goosebumps that this raced almost made me shiver.

"Probably, if I'm paying attention." She stated

"I won't distract you then." I said, kissing her hair, drinking her fragrance with delight. I whispered Romeo´s lines to her, and she actually cried when Juliet woke up and found Romeo in the grave. I loved to see her moved by emotions, it was absolutely engaging.

"I'll admit, I do sort of envy him here," I said, wiping her tears with her beautiful chocolate hair.

"She's very pretty." She said appraising.

Pretty? What? Nothing could compare to my Bella, her conclusion was the most ridiculous one she could have drawn from my remark. "I don't envy him the girl—just the ease of the suicide," I mocked her a bit. "You humans have it so easy! All you have to do is throw down one tiny vial of plant extracts…"

"What?" She gasped.

"It's something I had to think about once, and I knew from Carlisle's experience that it wouldn't be simple. I'm not even sure how many ways Carlisle tried to kill himself in the beginning… after he realized what he'd become…" I explained, and added jokingly "And he's clearly still in excellent health."

She rounded on me, studying my face. "What are you talking about?" She asked a bit confused. "What do you mean, this is something you had to think about once?"

"Last spring, when you were… nearly killed…" I had an excruciating time talking about that terrifying memory, but I force myself to calm with a sniff of her neck, her fragrance had a very soothing effect on me, despite the pain, it steadied me and reminded me the world was the best it could be. Once calmed, I proceeded "Of course I was trying to focus on finding you alive, but part of my mind was making contingency plans. Like I said, it's not as easy for me as it is for a human."

For a moment she was deep in her thought, and I imagined she was remembering too because she traced her scar with her finger. Then, she dispelled the memories with a shake of her head and her eyes focused.

"Contingency plans?" She inquired

"Well, I wasn't going to live without you." I said rolling my eyes as I stated this most obvious reality. "But I wasn't sure how to do it—I knew Emmett and Jasper would never help… so I was thinking maybe I would go to Italy and do something to provoke the Volturi." I said while my thoughts wandered to Italy. What could I do so Aro wouldn´t be hesitant out of respect for Carlisle?

"What is a Volturi?" she asked.

"The Volturi are a family," I clarified, still wondering what I might have to have done to convince Aro. "A very old, very powerful family of our kind. They are the closest thing our world has to a royal family, I suppose. Carlisle lived with them briefly in his early years, in Italy, before he settled in America—do you remember the story?"

"Of course I remember." She said a little strained.

"Anyway, you don't irritate the Volturi. Not unless you want to die—or whatever it is we do." I said to her evenly, after all death was not something that frightened me, least of all if the alternative was to continue to exist without Bella.

"You must never, never, never think of anything like that again!" she said taking my face in her hands. "No matter what might ever happen to me, you are not allowed to hurt yourself!" I could feel her body temperature had dropped slightly, her eyes were wide and teary, and her lips tremble. She was afraid.

"I'll never put you in danger again, so it's a moot point." I tried to reassure her.

"Put me in danger! I thought we'd established that all the bad luck is my fault?" she spat. She was fuming now. "How dare you even think like that?" her expression was contorted in outraged and pain, but I had to make her understand.

"What would you do, if the situation were reversed?" I asked.

"That's not the same thing." She replied obstinately.

Ha! Well, of course it was not! My disappearance from this world was nothing compared to her ceasing to exist. It was ludicrous to place them in the same category of events, I laugh to myself.

"What if something did happen to you? Would you want me to go off myself?" She asked growing very pale.

How could she think that? A world without her was completely unbearable. But then I understood that it might be painful for her too, the prospect of my demise. Except it was different, she was human, she´d forget in due course. Not that I´d ever do such a thing if Bella was around.

"I guess I see your point… a little," I conceded, though I could envision nothing but complete emptiness without her. "But what would I do without you?"

"Whatever you were doing before I came along and complicated your existence."

"You make that sound so easy." I sighed. What was it that I was doing before? It was totally anodyne.

"It should be. I'm not really that interesting."

Oh Bella! How could I phrase this to make her finally see that she was my raison d'être, that since I met her, even before I´d realized I loved her, all other things had no appeal for me if I couldn´t be with her. She was more than interesting; her heartbeat was my north, her blush the most exquisite, her hidden thoughts the most intriguing mystery, her scent the most provocative perfume, her lips the most inviting, her eyes the most trusting and aware, her kindheartedness the most sincere, she was exceptional. She was everything to me, the best part of my life, and my love for her the very best part of me.

My reverie was interrupted by the approaching wheels of Charlie´s car. "Moot point," I said lamely, sitting us in a more suitable position for her father´s benefit.

"Charlie?" She deduced.

I smiled to her in answer. Soon she reached for my hand.

Charlie arrived with a box of pizza in his hand and a smile on his face for Bella. I waited for them to finish eating and asked him if I could take Bella out for the evening. She looked as if she hoped he´d asked her to stay, however there was a game he wanted to watch and we were free to go, but not before Bella snapped a picture of me with her brand new camera and Charlie sent his regards to my family, Alice specially. I was overjoyed with the prospect of celebrating Bella´s life with my family.

I drove us to my house, a bit impatient by her truck, which was dreadfully slow even when driven at maximum speed. She asked me to take it easy, and I couldn´t help making a new attempt to debilitate her determination to never let me buy her anything- least of all a car. It was to no use, of course.

"You know what you would love? A nice little Audi coupe. Very quiet, lots of power…"

"There's nothing wrong with my truck. And speaking of expensive nonessentials, if you know what's good for you, you didn't spend any money on birthday presents."

"Not a dime," I affirmed. It was true, and I felt it in my heart that she was going to love our gift all the more because of that.

"Good." She said pointedly.

That, immediately made me think of the presents my family had spent money on and I wanted to save everyone involved an unnecessary awkward time, by trying to make her see how important this was for us.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked.

"That depends on what it is." She answered defensively.

"Bella, the last real birthday any of us had was Emmett in 1935. Cut us a little slack, and don't be too difficult tonight. They're all very excited." I pleaded.

"Fine, I'll behave." She granted.

"I probably should warn you…" I had to prepared her so she was not overwhelmed by Alice´s excesses, the presents of course, and the fact that, Rosalie and Emmet where back home. I knew the animosity my sister felt for Bella made her very edgy, but Rose had promised to behave.

"Please do." She said apprehensively.

"When I say they're all excited… I do mean all of them."

"Everyone? I thought Emmett and Rosalie were in Africa." She asked a bit alarmed.

"Emmett wanted to be here." It was perfectly true.

My brother really cared for Bella and wanted to be with her today. He found her charming and was somewhat protective of her. In the beginning he was merely pleased – even if he thought I was totally deranged- that I had found someone to love, but as he got to know Bella, he who was absolutely good and honest in nature, found that he truly liked her, not because he considered her amusing – which he did-, but because he understood her perfectly.

"But… Rosalie?" She asked doubtful.

"I know, Bella. Don't worry, she'll be on her best behavior." She´d better.

Looking for a change of subject to help her relax, I returned to a less stressful one, or so I thought.

"So, if you won't let me get you the Audi, isn't there anything that you'd like for your birthday?"

"You know what I want." She said very quietly.

God! Bella could be really single minded. I knew she wanted to be changed and she was very well aware of the fact that I´d never do that to her. She simply didn´t understand what this curse felt like, the blistering pain from the thirst, the isolation that came with our need for secrecy, forfeiting your previous relationships, watching the people you care about die … the guilt if or when you killed someone …

"Not tonight, Bella. Please." I said, not wanting to argue about this for what felt like the millionth time. Eighty-six times over the past six months to be exact.

"Well, maybe Alice will give me what I want." She challenged.

I growled enraged, because I knew Alice would, if I let her. "This isn't going to be your last birthday, Bella," I promised her.

"That's not fair!"

I gritted my teeth in impotence.

No, this situation was not fair at all. And there was nothing I could do about it. Because the choice was simple, her soul in exchange for her youth and her life. How would I ever condone the loss of such a beautiful, magnificent soul?

We arrived at my house and had I been less tense I´d laugh. Japanese lanterns and pink roses assaulted our view, they were everywhere. Alice really knew her way around party planning, I had to thank her for this. It was a beautiful effect, worthy of Bella. The light of the lanterns enhanced the soft cream color of her skin and reflected in her adorable eyes – which were now wide with anxiety. She let a moan escape her mouth. And I breathed in her floral aroma, now stronger with the delicate perfume of the roses. It relieved my unease almost completely.

"Try to be a good sport." I pleaded

"Sure," she said.

"I have a question." She said as I opened her door. I could only hope it wasn´t related to our still fresh discussion.

"If I develop this film, will you show up in the picture?" she asked playing with her camera.

At this, I had to laugh. She was amazing! She never failed to surprise me. I knew she was only half joking, but it was the non joking part that did it for me. She was so candid and still so innocent, despite the fact that she spent most of her time surrounded by vampires. Amazing!

We got in the house, and my family received her with a very loud and heartfelt "Happy birthday, Bella!" Inside, the profusion of pink roses and pink candles was overwhelming, there was the cake I knew Alice had chosen – under which criteria I wasn´t interested to find out- crystal plates, this was hilarious, we only needed one, and three small silver boxes topped with pink fluffy bows, Bella´s presents from us. I realized Bella would be stressed so I tried to comfort her encircling her waist with my arms and kissing her head.

Esme kissed her forehead affectionately and Carlisle hugged her lightly "Sorry about this, Bella. We couldn't rein Alice in." He said, pointlessly whispering near her ear. Oh! She did a wonderful job! I´m sure Bella loves it. Esme thought.

Emmet started teasing her about her unrelenting blushes; which caused her to blush deeper, and left to install the stereo in her truck, teasing her some more on the way out. Yeesh! Feel that blush… God Edward, you´re strong kid! You should see your doting eyes… hahaha! Emmet laughed at me. Rosalie didn´t say anything. I get that Edward´s crazy… but Emmet? Why does he like her? She´s a human for God´s sake! Very plain too … well not that Em is ever going to see her the way he sees me, of course not, but still… I don´t see the charm, she´s always awkward and her only interest is Edward. He is so disgustingly happy though… ok, I´ll try not to dislike her for his sake…

Jasper smiled politely at her from a distance, he knew better than to approach her. I had warned him, if it was even a little hard, he should stay as far as possible from Bella. Alice was always a little upset about this; she had complete confidence in him. I knew better, I knew his mind. They are happy, she´s a bit uncomfortable though … she´s so shy! They really love each other, that´s very intense. Edward´s blissful, there´s a pleasant change of atmosphere! How does he do it? It´s baffling, the way I know her scent appeals to him… I threw him a warning glance. Sorry Edward! Didn´t mean to! Alice came hopping toward us, grinning hugely. You´re soooo sweet, you two! She is going to love this Edward, don´t worry…Why wouldn´t she, she´s with you after all.

"Time to open presents," She said out loud, taking Bella to the gifts table.

"Alice, I know I told you I didn't want anything—" she started to object with pleading voice and face.

"But I didn't listen, Open it." Alice said replacing the camera with the present from Emmet, Rose and Jasper. She opened it and looked up from the empty box a little confused.

"Um… thanks." She answered uncertain.

Even Rosalie smiled at the utterly perplex look on Bella´s face. "It's a stereo for your truck; Emmett's installing it right now so that you can't return it." Jasper clarified, glancing briefly at Alice.

"Thanks, Jasper, Rosalie," She said beaming. "Thanks, Emmett!" she said a little louder, and everyone heard his thunderous laughter.

"Open mine and Edward's next," squealed Alice sounding as excited as I felt. And everyone glided unconsciously nearer.

"You promised." Bella said giving me an outraged look.

"Just in time!" Emmet announced coming closer as well.

"I didn't spend a dime," I reminded her, reaching to sweep from her face a very distracting lock of hair.

Urgh! What´s with the unwillingness to receive presents? I´ll never get her!. Thought Rosalie exasperated. I ignored her.

Bella took a steadying lungful of air. "Give it to me," she breathed opening her hand in front of Alice.

She´s so funny, why would getting gifts bother her? Weird little sister. I heard Emmet chuckled.

She received the gift rolling her eyes at me, while starting to unwrap it. It all happened so fast, yet everything was perfectly clear. I felt the scent of her blood even before she softly uttered "Shoot" at the tiny little prick the paper cut left. I stopped breathing altogether, but the fire in my throat was almost unendurable, my entire body tensed willing me to hunt. Simultaneously I heard "Oh no!" "She didn´t!" "Careful Edward!" "Shit!" "uhnj!" and Jasper´s mind go blank, he was feeling my acute need as if it were his own and this intensified his thirst exponentially. At that, I realized that Jasper was beyond reasoning, he was going to kill Bella, without even deciding to do it.

"No!" I bellowed, but Jasper was already flying towards Bella, and I flung myself at her desperately trying to protect her, to reach her fast and be careful at the same time. In my total frenzy for her safety I miscalculated and saw with horror that we were going to smash into the glass-loaded table. But Jasper crashed on me before I could react, and we landed with an earsplitting crash. Jasper was still trying to get to Bella, growling, snarling furiously without even realizing what or who was stopping him. He was in full hunting mode; all he wanted was his prey. Emmet came to my aid, holding his breath as was everybody now except for Carlisle – who didn´t need to- and Jasper –who was beyond trying-. Emmet grabbed him and started to pull him off of us.

Once he succeeded, we surrounded Bella. She was now bleeding profusely from an eight inches cut that went up from her wrist. The red blood pulsed from the inviting gap, calling to me, driving me mad with thirst. It didn´t matter that I was not breathing, I remembered the overpowering scent of her fresh flowing blood, its uniquely delicious taste, and seeing that blood exposed to me, was more than I could stand. Suddenly Bella looked up from her arm, and I saw the fear in her eyes as she assessed our hungry faces, and Jasper still snarling viciously, and my resolved was strengthen immediately. It´s Bella. My Bella. My love. My life. It´s Bella. It´s Bella. I repeated to myself.

Please bear with me a little; these first chapters are going to be similar to those in New Moon, after all I´m using practically all of the dialogs. And I´m not changing the story!!!. I promise once Edward´s out of Bella´s life, things will change.

Please review! Even if you didn´t like it :( ;)