Before we get to it, I've forgotten to give credit where credit is due… Stephenie Meyer owns the characters, but the rest of 'er is mine.
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Chapter 4
BPOV
Once we're ready, we make our way back to the living room where Alice turns up the music and busies herself making us more drinks.
Just as we're hitting our stride, singing the chorus to Total Eclipse of the Heart, I notice something near the front entrance move in my periphery. I turn as I'm about to belt out my line, and I spot Jasper leaning against the wall all slack-jawed, looking at us. My I really need you tonight never makes it out of my mouth, causing Alice to turn to look at me in a huff, only to follow my gaze towards to the door.
"Hey babeeeee," she somewhat slurs.
"Darlin', you've bin drinkin'," he states with a slight chuckle.
"Yup" she beams at him as she stumbles her way over for a hug.
"Bellsie, you keepin' up with my girl?" he asks as he picks Alice up for a hug and kisses her on the temple.
"Yes, Sir," I mock salute.
This gets a full-blown guffaw from Jasper as he shakes his head. "So I guess I'm drivin' tonight, or we're cabbing it then," he states to no one in particular.
"Baby, let's cab it, that way you can get right liquored up and celebrate with us!" exclaims Alice as she starts to bounce up and down.
"Just what are we celebrating?" asks Jasper, still smiling.
"Bella's finally letting me hook her up with Mike Newton! Oh, and Edward should be there tonight!" she adds almost as an afterthought.
"You've set her up with Newton?" he asks with a confused look on his face.
This reaction alone should be setting off alarm bells, but I can't feel my face much less pick up on non-verbal cues. Alice slaps him on the arm.
"Go get ready, we have to head out soon," says Alice as she hands him a beer. Jasper smiles, cracks open his Sam Adams, takes a swig, and heads up the stairs, leaving us to our singing and dancing.
We're the first guests to arrive at Peter and Charlotte's. Charlotte welcomes into the house, and Alice and I offer to help her get some things finished up in the kitchen. Just when I think I've made my getaway, I hear Peter's booming laugh.
"Well, well, Ali-cat, what have you done to our little Bella?" he asks between chuckles.
"Alice decided to force-feed Bellsie-wellsie here mass quantities of alcohol, I came home to both of them hollerin' Total Eclipse of the Heart," laughs Jasper, "in fact, they were singing with such presence that even the neighbor's dog was howling to drown 'em out," he finishes between chuckles.
"You know Bella, I think this is the first time I've ever seen you drunk," ponders Peter.
"For Christ's sake, you all act like I never do anything spontaneous or fun," I say with as serious a tone as I can manage. I'm going for a wounded look, and it probably would have been successful were it not for the hiccup at the end of my comment. This of course just fueled the boys' laughter, "This just might be the best birthday present ever!" exclaims Peter between thigh-slapping laughter.
Annoyed, I pick up a glass of red wine from the counter, raise it up over my head and toast Peter before downing the rest of the glass.
"I think I'll just get myself another glass of wine," says Charlotte with a smile, "you ladies want some?" she asks.
"Yes please," Alice and I both reply in unison.
Half a bottle of wine later more people start arriving and I'm no longer feeling buzzed, I'm full on drunk. Some people turn into lushes when they drink, some people get violent. Apparently, alcohol is a mix between liquid courage and truth serum for me as I find myself getting weird stares from a few of the guests.
"Alice, why in the hell is everyone looking at me funny?" I whisper.
"They're not looking at you funny," she states.
"Ah, look around, everyone is staring at me…" I say, panic rising.
"Ok, I'll admit, lots of people are staring, but they're not looking at you funny," she clarifies.
"Alice", I whine.
"They've no doubt never seen you drunk before, let alone actually speaking to anyone at these parties, so they're probably just shocked," she says as two men I'm sure I've been introduced to before walk by while looking me up and down, nodding their appreciation.
"Well, maybe shocked and aroused, especially those two meat heads…" she amends.
"Get me the fuck out of here before I say or do something that'll embarrass the hell out of me." I beg.
"Chill out and lay off the wine, you'll be fine," she soothes, "besides, Rose and Em will be here soon and, oh, look! Mike just walked in!" exclaims Alice as she drags me out of my corner for introductions.
My attention is immediately drawn to a blond guy walking into the room saluting everyone like he's an officer in the army. I suppose he's not bad looking, just your blond-haired, stylin' guy wearing a brand named polo with the collar turned up—really? I'm no fashion diva, but I thought that fad had, well, faded. His jeans are no doubt brand name and they look like they're purposely dirty and ripped. This guy screams metrosexual and I can't help but wonder what Alice was thinking when she decided that he might be a good match for me. Maybe he's really charming and a great conversationalist, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
"Alice, you sweet, fair thing, you be lookin' hot girlfrien'," he comments as he saunters over to us, saluting everyone in his way. I hear a grumble next to me and I look over to see Jasper wearing a scowl.
"Hi Mike," she says smiling, blatantly ignoring his inappropriate comment.
"Jazzy-Jazz, how you doin' bro?" Mike makes to fist-bump Jasper, who will have nothing of it.
"Newton," is all he says. He makes no attempt at returning the handshake.
"Mike," Alice soldiers on, "this is my friend, Bella, the one I was telling you about", she continues.
"Stop right there!" exclaims Mike as he clutches his heart; his dramatic plea makes me jump. "Did it hurt Bella?" he asks me.
"E-excuse me?" I stammer. I must be drunker than I thought, this guy makes absolutely no sense when he speaks.
"Did it hurt?" he repeats, "When you fell from heaven," he concludes. I'm staring at him slack-jawed, trying to frame a response to such a cheesy, stupid, useless comment, but quite frankly, I'm drawing a blank. There are no words for this, no words. I think to myself.
Jasper snickers at my side, "sorry Bells, but I can't sit here straight-faced any longer," he whispers, "if you want me to punch him, I'll be out back with the real men," he pats my head as he walks away. "Alice, you owe her, big time!" he says over his shoulder.
Alice offers an uncomfortable giggle and pats my shoulder, "I'm so sorry for this, I'll do way better next time, I promise," she states solemnly.
I'm too dumbstruck to form a coherent answer so I just nod.
"Mike," Alice says, "why don't you go get yourself a drink in the kitchen, and see if they need help flipping burgers," I love it when Alice takes command.
"More than happy to," he salutes Alice, "did you know I had cooking classes with the Naked Chef?" he asks, and I'm not entirely sure if he's serious or joking, either way, it's really sad.
Once he's out of earshot, I turn on Alice like a hyena staring down a baby zebra.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?" I shout, somewhat louder than I had planned as several people within a 10-meter radius turn to look at us. "I'm really sorry," she insists, "Professionally, he's not such a douche."
"Seriously, Alice!" I exclaim, "your vetting skills are sorely lacking—in fact, I have lost all faith in you as a matchmaker after this poor excuse of a man." I'm just hitting my stride when she takes out her phone and types out a quick text. Not 10 seconds after hitting send does her phone beep.
"Save your speech, Rose and Em are here," she says, "I'm gonna head out back to tell Jazz. Why don't you cool off and stay as far away from the Naked Chef's apprentice as you can," she finishes, barely able to contain her laugh. And I have to admit, it's pretty funny, sad, but funny nonetheless.
I'm drawn out of my musing my Peter charging the front door. I can't help but notice that he's changed into his customary birthday outfit. Charlotte is a saint to put up with his antics.
"Boys, what the fuck took you so long?" he roars "Been waitin' for a birthday like this for three years now!" yells Peter out on the front porch. Those neighbors must just love him. Next, Emmet comes stomping into the house with a shit-eating grin on his face.
He's not in the house for two seconds before he's cracked a beer and bellows "Let the season of Peter begin!"
I chuckle to myself feeling sorry for Rose having to raise two kids at once. I'm expecting her to follow Em into the house, but instead, I greeted by a long pair of legs, men's legs, attached to an amazing body, and that's when it hits me; I know this body.
Holy. Fuck.
Mr. Venti, in all his glory, is standing in Peter and Charlotte's entrance looking around the room like he knows these people. I want to leave the room, melt into the wall, look away, anything; but I can't. I'm completely fixated on him. I'm a little startled when his eyes lock with mine. Holy shit! He recognizes me. Before I can even blink, he mutters something to Rose and heads off to the back yard.
This can't be happening… I'm trying to figure out if this reunion is a good thing or a bad thing, but before I can make much sense of anything, the saluting wonder is walking towards me looking me up and down, smiling like an idiot. Christ, I thought he'd be out back for longer, I sigh, trying to figure out how I'm going to get as far as humanly possible, away for this dork for the rest of the night.
"So Angel, how come we've never met before?" asks Mike with a goofy grin on his face. As he speaks, his eyes are locked on my chest, not my face. Strike two, buddy. I think as I clear my throat in hopes of getting his eyes to focus on mine, or at least focus on my face.
"We must run in different circles," I say. I'm trying to be as short with him as possible, maybe he'll be able to read between the lines and figure out that I'm not interested.
"I'd run circles around you all day, any day," he says.
Just like I thought, he's illiterate. I smile weakly at him and look down. Compliments, especially from people I don't know have always made me feel uncomfortable and awkward. As I'm about to make an excuse to dash out to the backyard to find my friends, Mike surprises me by running the back of fingers down the side of my face.
"You have amazing bone structure, you know that?" he asks. "You ever think of modeling?" he continues, "I could use you in our next catalog." he smiles, like he's doing me the world's biggest favor.
Before I can even process what's going on, he puts his arm around me and directs me to another couple standing not far off. "Come, on," he says, "You know, I could totally get you a 5% discount on merchandise at my store," he says and the seriousness of his tone makes me throw up in mouth, just a little.
How did I get here? I ask myself. Mike still has his arm draped over my shoulders and is chatting animatedly with apparent colleagues of his when I get the feeling that I'm being watched. I look around and quickly spot Mr. Venti and his almost familiar, piercing gaze. Instead of blushing and looking away in embarrassment, thanks in large part to the liquid courage still coursing through my veins, I meet his stare head on. His eyes flicker down to Mike's arm draped possessively around my shoulder then back up to my face. When his eyes meet my own again, I realize that he has a pained look on his face. He looks so lost: beautiful and vulnerable, but lost. As soon as he meets my gaze again he turns on his heel and stalks out to the backyard again, almost crashing into Jasper as he makes his escape.
Jasper, ever the observer, stares at me, then at Mr. Venti's retreating form, then back at me with a small smile playing at his lips. The smile, however, transforms into a scowl as his eyes flicker to Mike's arm over my shoulder. Then it dawns on me; they were both staring at Mike's arm over my shoulder. Do they think we're together? I cringe at both how this looks and at the thought of being Mike Newton's… anything!
I extricate myself from Mike's hold and excuse myself from the conversation.
"You need anything, baby?" Mike asks.
I bristle at his term of endearment. Strike three, jackass, now get me the fuck out of here. "First, I'm not your baby, and second, I most certainly do not need anything from you." I state with as much gusto as I can and storm off in the direction of the kitchen.
By the time I get to the kitchen, I'm so angry, I visibly shaking. Rose is leaning against the counter, chatting with Charlotte and Angela about Katie. Rose takes one look at me and states without emotion, "Alice owes me fifty bucks," with an emotionless look on her face, then turns back to her friends and resumes her conversation as if I weren't even in the room.
Dumbfounded by her cryptic comment, I simply stare at her until she sighs, exaggeratedly, "what was she thinking setting you up with that dweeb?" she asks rhetorically, "I mean, seriously, that was the easiest fifty bucks I've ever made, like taking candy from a baby, really", she says to no one in particular.
"At least somebody's getting something out of this shit-show of a set-up," I mulishly reply.
"Oh relax, will you? Besides, you're mostly drunk, you probably don't even realize how much of a loser Newton actually is," she says.
"Oh Rose, trust me, I realize." I deadpan.
"Look at it this way, at least you're here with other friends and not on an actual date with the douche," says Rose, no doubt looking through her rose-colored glasses.
"Alice's out back if you want to gloat," I reply sardonically.
"Oh, she's probably tearing a strip off of Edward as we speak, so I'll just wait that little storm out before I head out back for a victory lap and collect my winnings," she says with a chuckle.
"Edward?" I ask, sidetracked by this new bit of information.
"Her and Em's cousin, practically their brother," she clarifies, "He came with us tonight. Emmet, Jazz, Peter, and Edward all grew up and went to school together. He's Katie's godfather, but he's been away, overseas, for the last three years or so. He just got back last week, apparently."
So Mr. Venti has a name and it's Edward.
"What? Who is Mr. Venti?" asks Rose.
Shit. I realize that I've probably said this out loud.
"Nothing." I mumble.
"Right. Well, why don't you go out back and introduce yourself to the other tortured soul at the party?" she says, "Besides, Em's back there and no doubt waiting for you to come out and say hello," she says with a wink and a knowing look, that only Rose can pull off.
What have I got to lose?
Nothing, that's what; I steel myself, thankful for the near bottle of wine that coursing through my veins, and make my way out to the backyard to introduce myself to the mysterious Mr. Venti—I mean Edward. I should really start calling him by his name; he'll think I'm a bigger idiot than he no doubt already does if he hears me referring to him as a cup of over-priced coffee.
I'm about to round the corner of the patio to go find my friends, when I hear my name and can't help the chill that runs down my spine at the way it sounds when he says it.
"Alice, I have no intention of treading anywhere near Isabella, so relax," says Edward. I'm frozen in place, trying to understand what's going on, and more importantly, how Edward knows my name.
"Surely she's enough to tempt even you, Edward, come on; she's got the face of an angel and the rest of her is pretty damn seraphic as well," says Alice, bless her, forever championing me.
"Fine Alice, she got a pretty face, I'll grant you, but I'm not in the mood to chase after anyone, especially someone who bats her eyelashes at the biggest moron in the room!" says Edward, rather heatedly.
What. The. Fuck. I can't help but wince at the venom in his voice when he all but calls me a tramp. The jackass doesn't even know me. I am beyond mortified. I'm sure my face is color of a hothouse tomato. I can feel my eyes welling with tears, and I angrily swipe at the traitors that are threatening to fall. I should march up to him and demand that he not only apologize, but explain himself as well; but I'm not hardwired that way. My body always chooses flight. I turn on my heel and make a beeline for the safety of the house—Mike Newton, be damned.
I stumble back into the kitchen only to come face to face with Rose, ever observant Rose.
"Wow, that was fast—what the hell happened to you?" she asks as she takes in my tear-streaked face.
"N-nothing, just st-stubbed the shit out of my t-toe," I stammered as I wiped the last of my tears away.
"Bullshit, Bella—" said Rose with her hands on her hips in her quit fucking with me pose.
I cut her off before she could finish her sentence. "Not now, Rose. I'm just gonna go up to the b-bathroom and get c-cleaned up… I'm fine." I finish and I practically run out the room and up the stairs to the bathroom.
Thirty minutes later, I'm sober, decent, and as steeled as I can make myself, when I descend back to the party. I quickly scan the living room to find it Edward and Mike-free. I breathe a sigh of relief and grab a bottle of water from the cooler and make my way to the corner of the room to pretend to be engrossed by Peter's music collection. The party is now in full swing and the festivities have moved from testosterone-fueled lawn games to a men-only beer pong game in the living room. I honestly don't know how Charlotte does it, Rose would have Emmet castrated if he tried to pull this off at their house.
Alice brings me a piece of angel-food cake as a peace offering—she knows it's my favorite, while she continues to apologize for the disaster that is Mike Newton.
"Forgiven and forgotten, or at least I plan on forgetting all about him—where is he anyway?" I ask, as I realize he's been absent for quite some time.
"Jasper has him out in the back yard trying to capture a skunk under Peter's shed," she giggles, "he said to say "you're welcome" on his part."
For the first time in what feels like hours, I smile and laugh.
After cake, I return to my musings in the corner, glad to be alone. I'm trying to make sense of Peter's eclectic taste in music when I'm startled back to the here and now by the most musical and hauntingly familiar voice.
"Are you taking any requests?" says Edward, just over my left shoulder.
"What?" I say as I whirl around grasping my throat from his surprise attack. His voice is so calm and soothing, so different from the angry tone I heard him use earlier. I know I should just walk away, but once again, I am rooted in place, completely fascinated and enthralled by the man standing in front of me.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, I was just wondering if you were in charge of the music," he says with a soft chuckle, light dancing in his vividly green eyes.
"Oh, no. I wouldn't even know how to turn this thing off let along change the disc," I stammer, feeling my cheeks warm under his scrutiny.
He seems to stifle a quiet laugh as he extends his hand in greeting, "Hello, my name is Edward Cullen".
To say that I am shocked at our conversation is the understatement of the century. I go to take his hand and introduce myself in return, but I'm so startled by the painful electric shock that passes through our joined hands when we touch, that I snatch my hand away before any real handshake has occurred.
"My apologies, can we try that again?" he says with a wry smile.
This time, I take his hand firmly into mine and stammer, "I'm Isabella—Bella Swan," nice, and now I'm an idiot who doesn't even know her name, I think as I blush ten shades of red.
"Pleased to meet you Isabella-Bella," he says, clearly amused.
Christ, could I be any more of a dunce? "Just Bella," I manage.
"What do you do for a living, Bella?" he asks, and I can't understand for the life of me why he wants to know. Didn't he just call me down to the lowest for standing near Mike Newton? I'm so damn nervous as to why he's even speaking to me that I keep my answers as shot and simple as possible—less chance of embarrassment that way.
"I'm a teacher," I reply.
"Well, you know what they say about teachers don't you?" he says with a knowing tone. Are you kidding me? He is not pulling the lazy teacher joke. I can't take much more shit tonight. I think to myself.
"No, I don't," I say in my most innocent and confused voice.
"You know; those who can't; teach," he says realizing too late that this quite possibly the worst thing you can say to a teacher.
"Oh, really?" I ask in my most serious, toneless voice, "That's nice. If you'll excuse me," I say as I turn and head out of the living room.
Most often, I berate myself for my sense of flight and cowardly ways, I can't help it, I don't like conflict. In this case, however, I'm glad for my tendency to retreat. I might have said something really rude to him, or worse, I might have kicked in the nuts. I find myself back in the kitchen, glad to be alone. I might as well make myself useful as I sit here and simmer, so I start doing some of the dishes in the sink—there'll be less for Charlotte to do later.
I'm so angry with this man for making me feel so worthless. The pots and pants don't stand a chance against angry, hurt Bella. As I scrub, I notice some more angry tears slipping into the soapy water in the sink. This just makes me angrier. I've cried so much because of this man tonight. Who in the fuck is that guy anyway? What kind of son-of-a-bitch says things like that to someone he doesn't even know? He must be socially stunted or something.
The slam of a cupboard door startles me and I don't even have to turn around to know it's him. I feel the same electricity in the room as when we shook hands a little while ago. What I don't expect are the words he all but whispers as he retreats from the room.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" he whispers pleadingly.
The sadness in his voice is crippling, and I know from his words and the way he's said them that he remembers. This time, he is the one fleeing and he is the one giving my very same words back to me from when we first met in the coffee shop. In that moment, he is forgiven.
I finish the dishes and grab my things; I need to get out of here. I am exhausted from the emotional roller coaster that has been this evening. I see Alice and Jasper in the living room, talking to Rose and Emmet.
"Hey guys, I'm beat. I'm gonna cab it home," I say with a tired smile.
"You sure?" asks Alice; I know she's hoping I spend the night at their place; she's worried about me.
"I'm fine, I'm just Peter Partied out," I say lamely.
"I saw you and Edward chatting earlier," says Rose, clearly wanting details.
"Not tonight, Rose," I say and maybe it's the tired sigh that accompanies my plea, but she relents.
"OK, not tonight, but definitely tomorrow. You're still coming to the game?" she asks as she hugs me whispering an I love you in my ear.
"Wouldn't miss it." I say with a tight smile.
Emmet gives me a hug and Jasper walks me outside and waits for the cab with me.
"Spit it out, Jazz," I say as whatever is on his mind is clearly bothering him.
"You and Edward…" and I'm about to interrupt him, but he puts his finger over my mouth, "all I'm saying is give him a chance. He's the best of us, always has been," he finishes.
"You saw?" I ask, and from his quick nod, we both know that I am referring to the colossal fuck up that was our first conversation.
"That's the first time I've ever seen him pluck up the courage to go speak to a girl in the 20 years I've known him, and not just any girl—you. Hell, even I'd be nervous, you're the Belle of the ball," he says and I swat him playfully.
"I'm serious, Bells," he says solemnly, "I meant every word."
I'm stunned into silence by his statement. Before I can reply, the cab pulls up and honks impatiently at us. I hug Jasper fiercely. As the cab starts to pull away, I remember one last thing and I ask him to pull over.
"Jasper!" I yell, and he turns to look in my direction, "Thank you for the skunk!" I bellow and I am rewarded with a loud guffaw and a mock salute.
"Take me home please," I say to the cab driver and we pull away into the night.
OK, so I have a few ideas as to which direction this story could go. Please tell me what you think. REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Thanks.