Hello! So, the Cullen's are introduced more into this chapter. Hope you enjoy! Please leave me a review. It could be anything - a question about the fanfiction or about me. Like my favourite pizza topping or some crap (I don't like pizza.) Please leave a tiny review about anything! I love your feedback! Thanks a lot, new chapter soon :)
I don't own the characters, Stephenie Meyer does :)
"Come on Bella, you have to celebrate your eighteenth birthday!" Alice whined to me at the cafeteria table. My birthday was just less than two weeks away, and I didn't want to do shit. It was effort, and I hated being celebrated. Or in any way the center of attention.
"I don't want to do anything!" I shouted at her stomping my feet. She was such an ass sometimes, always wanting her way.
"Why not?! Parties are fun and I could organize a fucking fantastic one with ice sculptures and lights and great music and an amazing venue..." I watched her face as she made little lists of everything she wanted. I groaned, this isn't what I wanted. I didn't want to be celebrated, I'd rather die.
"Alice, no."
"Please?" She begged, clasping her hands together and giving me puppy-dog eyes. It was hard to say no with her big brown eyes staring up at you, her lips pouting.
"Please, please, please, please with a cherry on top?" She whispered and grabbed my hands. I rolled my eyes. There was no fucking way she would give up until she got what she wanted. Maybe a small party wouldn't be too bad. But nothing over the top. Just a few friends, good music, no fucking ice sculptures.
"Ugh, fine," I moaned, folding my arms over my chest. "But nothing spectacular! Small and quiet."
She squealed and hugged me tight, she'd gotten her way. Stupid ass. But we both knew there was no way she would obey those rules. It was Alice, we were talking about. Everything had to be bold and drop-dead perfect. I groaned thinking about it. It was going to be living hell.
"Okay, so you have to come over and pick out colour schemes with me, and lights..." I switched my brain off. This wasn't my type of thing, it was hers. But if it made her happy, I would go along with it all. Through the blood, sweat and tears.
That's all she could talk about in gym, that stupid party. My ears shut off after a while and I paid no attention to what she was saying, I concentrated on my jogging for once. It was a nice enough day for Coach Clapp to take us outside and into the playing fields. Athletics, my least favourite thing. We jogged at a steady pace, and I was already out of breath. Alice wasn't breaking a sweat. It was like she wasn't breathing just talking. Her breath wasn't laboured in the slightest.
Alice followed me home in her fancy Volkswagen, behind my growing truck. I turned into the driveway to see Charlie's cruiser was already there. He must be working shift tonight. I signalled 'one minute' to Alice through her black-out car window, and ran into the house.
"Dad?" I heard him grumbling to himself in the kitchen. Something about burning, he was probably trying to make dinner. And failing miserably. I was kind of glad I wouldn't be here to eat it.
"Alice has invited me round for tea, is that okay?"
"Alice who?" Charlie mumbled, stirring something in a pot on the stove.
"Cullen, she's knew to school." Come on, Charlie. Alice was waiting for me.
"Okay, that's fine. Call me if you need picked up." He said as I half ran to the door.
"Bye." I yelled and slammed the front door closed.
"Oh my fucking god, that's your house?" I was completely astounded by the sheer size of it. It looked at least four stories tall, and almost completely made of glass. Huge glass windows that were to the floor covered most of the front side of the house. It looked light, with bright colours. The front yard was massive, completely surrounded by trees and forests. I could hear a trickle of a river to the right, behind the mass of cedars. It was beautiful. Three other cars were parked by the double-garage as we pulled in and Alice parked. I climbed out, closing the door behind me, not taking my eyes off this house. I was taking it all in, the whole beauty of it. The light wood, the glass that was slightly streaked with raindrops. The few grey steps leading up to the glass front door. Wow.
"Yep," She popped the 'p' at the end purposely. "I helped Esme choose it. It's beautiful don't you think?" Alice leaned against the side of her sleek, beautiful car. I nodded, not sure what to say. The house had taken all the word out my mouth.
"Come on, we have a party to organize." I groaned in response, and she took my hand and led me up the concrete stairs, and to the front door.
Inside was even more amazing. A huge, curving staircase marked the west side of the house, walls painted a neutral colour, not complete white. The wooden floors were polished, no trace of dust anywhere. The downstairs was very open and wide, a huge chandelier dangling from the middle of the high beamed ceiling. I was in awe. Alice led me up the stairs, our feet echoing in the nearly silent house. I heard slight murmuring from upstairs, and I prayed it wasn't Edward. Since Jake's party, he kind of scared me. He seemed very mysterious, and his eyes were imprinted in the back of my mind. The brilliant emerald-green. It made a shiver run down my spine.
"Mom, Dad. This is Bella." Alice pointed to me as we stepped up the last few steps. Her parent stood in the open planned kitchen, chopping up vegetables. Her parents struck me as young-looking. The only thing that gave away age was the slight creases in their faces. Still very beautiful though. I felt my face redden as Alice's father stuck his hand out to me. I took it and shook, looking into his deep blue eyes. He was very good-looking.
"Hello Bella," His voice was soft and had a slight English tinge to it. That was strange, Alice didn't have that. "I'm Carlisle, and this is my wife Esme."
The woman, Esme walked over to me and embraced me. I had to hug her back quickly, the blush turning bright red. I wasn't good in these situations.
"Hello Bella, we've heard so much about you." She said, her voice almost musical. Her hair was a pretty, caramel colour, and I saw where Alice got her dark chocolate eyes. She smiled at me and I said hi, before turning back to Alice.
"I'm planning Bella's birthday party," She squealed, bouncing up and down like n excited child. I rolled my eyes at her. "We'll be up the stairs."
"Lovely meeting you Bella." Carlisle called after us and I replied "You too." before Alice dragged me up more curving stairs.
"And this is my room!" Alice exclaimed, opening the door and walking into a bright room. The walls were white, the carpet a strange shade of crimson. A double bed was sat against the east wall, black vine patterns traced the covers. The north wall was mostly glass, allowing enough of the Forks' minimal sun to light the room. A big black edged mirror sat against the opposite wall. Pictures of old and new decorated the other spare parts of wall. It was a beautiful room and it suited Alice. She skipped over to another door and opened it wide. Trust her to have a fucking massive walk-in wardrobe. I raised my eyebrows at her before walking in. The walls covered in racks of clothes and shoes and any type of jewelry. There was another door and I opened it. A big bathroom. Wow.
"Wow." I murmured before walking out of her closet.
"You like?"
"Umm, hell yeah." She laughed and walked over to the mirror, appraising herself. I took off my hoodie and placed it on her bed and looked around. It was beautiful. Nothing compared to my crappy room. Mine looked a mess next to hers. Alice pulled an Apple laptop out from under her bed, and placed it on the bed. I sat down, bringing my knees up to my chest. Prepare yourself for hell, Bella. Looking through different shades of colours and lights and ice sculptures. Enjoy, I thought to myself.
"Alice, everything is fine. It's your choice, make it look perfect." I mumbled, not even paying attention to what she had brought up on the computer screen. She leaned down and flicked on a lamp in the dimming room, the slight sun finally setting behind the trees.
"Okay, so the colour scheme is scarlet, the lights a bright white. Oh my god, I'm so excited!" She squealed and I rolled my eyes. How did she find this exciting? I guess she wouldn't be the one in the limelight the whole night - that would be me.
"Where the hell are we going to have this party anyway?" There was no way I could have it at Charlie's. It was way too small. And there was nowhere else, except for the old, grubby town hall. I shuddered at the thought.
"Here, of course! It's going to be fucking amazing, I can tell you now!" She clapped her hands together and grinned at me.
"Alice, I can't just borrow your house for you to throw your party! That's not fair on Carlisle or Esme, or Edward..." I forgot that I hadn't seen him yet. Maybe he was away, or out. I didn't know.
"Don't be silly. They are fine with it - I asked them yesterday. And they're out of town for your birthday, visiting some relatives. Edward will still be in, but he'll probably be sulking in his room." She laughed. "It's all planned!"
I sighed, she was going to make this party fucking amazing. But I could guess I wouldn't really enjoy being the main attention all night.
"Okay, only if you're sure it's fine with them all."
"Don't worry Bells, I've got it sorted." She winked at me and closed the laptop. " Come on, I think dinner might be ready. We'll sort out your outfit tomorrow or something."
I groaned, and followed her out the room and down the stairs. Ugh. She would probably make we wear a puffy dress and thirteen inch heels and jewels or whatever else she had going on in that tiny head of hers. She would make me look like a princess, or she would try. Whatever would make her happy.
We sat at the table and Esme served out dinner. It smelled delicious, and I complimented her after i tasted it.
"Esme, this is amazing. Thank-you so much for having me." I smiled at her. She grinned back at me, showing me her perfect, white teeth.
"It's fine Bella. You are welcome any time, honey."
Carlisle started asking me about school and mentioned how he was happy Alice had found a friendly bunch of teens to hang around with. I smiled at him, telling him I was glad Alice picked us over Jessica Stanley. He laughed. I was really glad Alice picked us over her, the bitch. I hated that Stanley.
Just then, a figure appeared at the top of the stairs. It was hard to tell who it was but I guessed Edward. I looked down at my plate, not wanting to catch his eyes and fall into that trance again. Not in front of his parents. Definitely not.
"Nice of you to make an appearance, son." Carlisle murmured, raising one of his thick eyebrows at Edward. I watched Edward roll his eyes at Carlisle. I didn't think Carlisle saw though.
"I was busy, sorry." He sat down at the spare seat opposite me. I kept my head down and concentrated on the food on my plate. I stabbed the small potato with my fork and placed it in my mouth. I chewed it quietly, trying hard not to look at the green eyed beauty.
"Edward this is Bella, Alice's friend." Carlisle introduced us, thinking we hadn't met. I looked up to smile a little at him, his green eyes already fixed on mine. His expression unreadable.
"I know, we've met." His words surprised me, I didn't think he would admit to that. He picked up his fork and began to eat, still not letting go of my stare. I forced myself to turn away, lowering my eyes back to my nearly empty plate. Small conversation carried on until Alice and I had finished, then we picked up our plates and walked through to the kitchen. Alice took mine and stacked it in the dishwasher, before heading back out of the kitchen. I followed her.
"Thank-you again, Esme and Carlisle. Thanks for having me."
"You're welcome, Bella." Carlisle called through as I followed Alice up the stairs again.
We spoke about Jasper, and she told me about their first date.
"Aw, Alice that's so cute. You deserve each other, you're both amazing." She smiled at me, and then smirked, kinking her eyebrow.
"So... What about Edward then?"
I nearly choked, my sound making a gagging noise.
"What about him?" I frowned at her.
"You went all quiet when he came down, and when he looked at you..." She giggled, clapping her hands together. I punched her in the arm softly, a blush spreading up my face.
"No, that's not... He just intimidates me a bit, you know?" I lied to her. He didn't really intimidate me, he was just mysterious. He made me curious, wanting to know more about him and his personal life. He seemed very quiet to me, keeping his personal life to himself. He annoyed me a little about how much I didn't know about him. He was unknown.
"Hmmm. Sure Bella," She laughed, seeing through my small lie. "There's something more there. And we both know it."
I rolled my eyes at her, trying not to believe.
"Come on, let's go back to the boring dress shopping."
She scrolled down page after page of dresses, all colours and lengths, some sleeved, some heart-shaped at the chest. I couldn't picture a single on me, I'd never really worn dresses. I was more of jeans or shorts type of girl. I didn't like having my legs out most of the time. I don't think I'd worn a dress since I was about seven.
"What about that one, that would look amazing on you Bella." She murmured, pointing to the screen. It was beautiful, but I couldn't imagine it on my body. It was skin-tight, and a deep grey colour. It had slit right down to my stomach, exposing a lot of cleavage. Cleavage I didn't have. I couldn't see me in something like that. I prefered to be more covered.
"No, it's too visible there." I pointed to the chest. She sighed.
"Come on Bella, if you've got it, flaunt it!" I laughed at how dramatic Alice was. "I'll order it anyway, and if it isn't right we can send it back."
"Okay, that's fine." I played with a loose thread on the duvet.
"Maybe Rosalie could come over and help us out tomorrow or something..."
"I'll be down in a minute, can you just start the car up?" She chucked me the set of keys, which I missed. They fell to the soft carpet with a thud. I reached down and picked them up. I leaned across the bed and grabbed my hoodie and phone. I gave Charlie a quick text to say Alice was dropping me off. He was still at work, it was only eleven at night. I didn't see Carlisle or Esme in the kitchen when I walked down, so I assumed they were in the living room next door. I didn't want to intrude so I didn't say goodbye. I stalked down the last set of stairs, humming to myself. Alice couldn't find her shoes even though she had about a million pairs. She needed her 'special' ones. I laughed quietly under my breath. What were wrong with the one she was wearing before? Who knew. A shadow frightened me at the bottom of the stairs.
His green eyes stared into mine, his expression difficult to read, as usual. I sucked in a huge gulp of air, he frightened me, like he'd just appeared from no where. He held the front door open for me as I slowly made my way down the stairs.
"Hello, Bella." His voice was deep but smooth, not rough. It was like music to my ears, low and beautiful. I stopped walking and looked at him, my bottom lip making its way between my teeth. I could feel my face redden by his stare, his eyes wouldn't move from my face. Shit, earth to Bella. Speak, you idiot.
"Umm, hi." I stuttered, stepping from the last step, proud I hadn't fallen on my face yet. Too late. I stumbled and tried to keep my grip on the banister but fell over my own feet. His warm hands caught my hips and he was inches from my face. I felt the blush in my face go scarlet and I couldn't look up at his face, completely humiliated.
"Watch your step next time." I could hear the smile in his voice, as he kept his grip on my hips for a few seconds longer. As soon as his hands left my body, I felt cold.
"Yeah, I-I will." I ducked my head and walked out the door, feeling his eyes on me the entire time. I swear he laughed again as I stumbled down the few steps, towards Alice's car. I kept my head down, cursing to myself at what a klutz I was. What an embarrassment. I unlocked the car and sat in the passenger's side, waiting for Alice. I could feel my heart in my throat for some reason, like it wanted to beat out of me. I closed my eyes and felt the red slowly disappear from my neck and cheeks, my face cooling down. I put the keys on Alice's seat and played around with radio. Once I was satisfied with what channel it was on, I looked back up to the house. I saw him again. Still in the same spot as before, near the front door. He hadn't moved. I watched Alice skip down the steps and she brought Edward in for a hug, before running out to the car. She swung the car door open and showed me her little sparkly flats she'd been trying to find.
"Found them."
Oooh, hot Edward ;)
