AN: Hi guys. :) Again, sorry for such a short post for Chapter 2 Enchanted. I hope this makes it up to you. Also, in the last chapter, Rose speaks in Russian to Bella at the very end. I forgot to mention that she meant to say "Tell the truth." :) Sorry!
DISCLAIMER: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. Any similarities to the original characters or themes from the cooks or media franchise are used here for entertainment purposes only, with no monetary gain for me, the FanFiction author. All original content, ideas, songs, and intellectual property of You're Not Sorry are mine. (Idea based off of AngelGoddess1981.)
Chapter 3: Unconditionally
(Week after Chapter 2 Enchanted)
~~ ~~ YNS ~~ ~~
Last night was the first Raider soccer game that I had gone to. They played against the New Prague Trojans and slammed the Trojans into the dirt, winning 6-0. Edward (AKA Bronzie) scored 2 goals, while Jasper scored 4, and Eric Yorkie came close to scoring twice, but the goalie caught the ball both times.
After the game, the Whitlock-Hale family had gone out to Jasper's choice of restaurant - Culver's. Jasper was over the moon after scoring his 10th goal of the season, something not even Edward had managed to do so early in the season.
I was prepping for my first piano competition in Minneapolis this weekend, which is something I'm actually excited about. Dr. Atzinger figured out I wanted to compete at lower levels where I would earn college scholarships rather than money. That being out in the open, he had told me to sign up for the competition where it would be several pianists playing with an orchestra, and then the audience would vote for the winning pianist. The winner will receive $25,000 scholarship to the college of the winner's choice, as long as the program selected would be a musically related program. 2nd place will receive $15,000, and 3rd place receive $5,000. Since I was last to sign up, I signed up to play Beethoven's 5th Piano concerto E-flat major, Op. 73. It was a 40 minute piece, the longest one, which would be the grand finale before the voters cast their votes. I would be one of the older pianists competing, as you could only be a junior or sophomore in order to compete.
The entire Whitlock-Hale family, as well as Charlie, would be there. It would be the first time Charlie would ever see me compete live. I was nervous, but grateful he took the day off.
Jasper was picking me up today to take me to school. He, Rose, Mike, Alice and I always carpooled since it made no sense to drive 5 cars to school when the 5 of us went to the same school.
"Dad? I'm leaving for school." I called, seeing Jasper pull up the driveway.
"Okay Bells. Have a good day at school!" Charlie appeared in the hallway, a towel in his hands. "You going to Atzinger's today, right?"
"Yeah. I have practice with him." I said, my hand on the handle of the door.
"Okay. Sounds good. See you later." Charlie gave me a smile.
I smiled and stepped outside the door, taking in Jasper's gleaming truck. I saw it was only Jasper sitting in the car, and instantly realized that Jasper had finally gotten the dream truck he had been talking about for the last week.
I got into his truck, and said, "You got a new truck!"
"I did." Jasper laughed.
"When?" I asked.
"Dad and Mom took me to the dealership on Saturday, but it was delivered early this morning." Jasper answered.
"Wow, it's so nice!" I took in a deep breath. "It even has the new-car-smell."
Jasper guffawed. "It smells better than your car."
"What do you mean?" I protested.
"Your's is like an explosion of flowers." Jasper gave me a teasing grin.
I rolled my eyes. "You have an oversensitive nose."
"Ya, ya." Jasper snickered. "You're going to ace this Saturday." Jasper said, pulling into the parking lot of the NHS.
"Thanks." I got out of his car. "How's soccer practice going?"
"Good." Jasper responded as we started walking towards the school. "Cullen and I have been forced to try to become a team to try to score more often."
I nodded. "You and Edward don't work well together?"
Jasper shrugged. "I don't like him. He's cocky and arrogant."
"Ah. Your goal keeper is pretty good." I tried to keep the conversation going, without bashing players on the head.
"Yeah, McCarty is great. He's huge but very lithe and quick to move in the direction of the ball." Jasper agreed.
"I think he'd be a good match for Rose." I mused.
Jasper paled. "Why do you say that?" He stuttered.
"Emmett pushed me over once during lunch - the day you were gone. He apologized profusely, and ended up eating lunch with me. His personality seems like one to compliment Rose very well." I explained.
"Yeah. Well, I disagree." Jasper gruffly responded.
I rolled my eyes. "Jasper. Stop being so overprotective of Rose."
Jasper sighed. "OK."
"Just don't say anything to Emmett or Rose. I'll talk to them." I warned Jasper.
Jasper rolled his eyes as we turned towards the hallway that would take us to the English hall.
"Bella!" I heard that velvet voice that supposedly was supposed to make my insides quiver, according to Alice. Instead, I was nervous and afraid. I knew somehow that if I would let myself fall for Edward, something would happen to me.
Jasper stiffened, obviously recognizing the owner of the voice. "C'mon, Be-"
Edward interrupted Jasper, giving him an icy glare. "Bella, I just wanted to apologize to you for my terrible behavior back at the start of school year. It was a bad day."
Jasper put his hand on my shoulder, "Bella, please."
I ignored Jasper, which terrified me. I was not the type to ignore my friends, yet there was something about Jasper's actions that made me stare into Edward emerald eyes that bore into mine.
"I forgive you." I stuttered, afraid of Jasper's reaction.
Edward grinned at me, flashing a wide, toothy grin. "My name is Edward. Edward Cullen. I'm having a party tonight at my place, why don't you come?"
I looked at Jasper, who was looking at the lockers as though there was something interesting. "Jasper." I prodded, my voice cautious. "Do you want to go with me?" I asked.
"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Sure." Jasper said, for the first time in knowing him, he was disconnected from the conversation.
I felt disappointment pricking at my heart, but pasted on a fake smile to Edward. "See you there." I said, my voice obviously fake.
Edward nodded. "Great! You won't regret this, Bells!"
I smiled and turned around to go to my next class, Jasper following me.
"Well, you got your date with the guy you're in love with." Jasper said, his voice a little off.
I stiffened, and gave Jasper an icy glare. "Yeah, well, apparently you need to fall in love with a girl."
"I have." Jasper's voice was soft.
"Who? Maria?" I spat, thinking of the hispanic beauty who tried to monopolize Jasper's time.
Jasper remained quiet.
I nodded, afraid of what Jasper could say. He opened his mouth to say something, but I tuned him out and ran to English, trying to get a desk where Jasper would not be able to sit next to me. Just to my luck, I found a spot in the back next to two boys on the soccer team, Withers and Yorkie.
"Good morning, Bella." Withers gave me a genuine smile.
"Hi... I know your guys' last name, but not your first." I apologized.
"Ah, so you've watch our soccer games?" Withers asked.
"Yeah, you guys are good."
"Thanks." Withers responded. "I'm James. This is Eric."
"You're sweeper, right?" I asked James.
He nodded.
"And you're left midfielder." I nodded at Eric. "Good steal yesterday when that Trojan set up to kick the ball into the goal." I spoke of the play where the striker on the Trojan team was in a position to kick the ball into the goal, but Eric stole the ball in a couple seconds, and was sprinting for the Trojan team where he passed to Jasper who promptly scored the first goal of the game.
Eric nodded. "Thanks. I'm surprised you know the rules and plays of soccer."
I snorted, giving Eric a smirk. "Why? Because I'm a fancy girl?"
"That, and because you the piano nerd of the school, Bella." James pointed out with a grin.
I rolled my eyes. "Please."
"Your Mom is hot." Eric blurted out, and then paled.
James and I both broke out in loud laughter. "Wait until you meet her." I choked out through my laughs.
"Uh.. Bella?" Jasper appeared in front of me, holding my English notebook. "You dropped this."
His expression looked genuinely sorry, but I was determined to be mad at him. "Thanks." I said, my voice impassive as I took it from his hands.
He nodded. "Uh..."
"Okay class." Mr. Cullen walked into the classroom, his hands full of papers. "I finished grading all the tests last night, and since you, Mr. Whitlock, are still standing, you can help pass out tests."
As snickers rippled through the room, I pasted a smirk on my face, and tried to focus through the class as Mr. Cullen explained the need of showing and not telling when writing our artistic essay. I found myself doodling through most of class, until I heard Mr. Cullen end the class.
"I want you all to write a 10,000 word essay for tomorrow's class. It is to be descriptive of the hardest time in your life. This is going to be worth 100 points, so do well. This will be one of your main essays this semester." Mr. Cullen said. "You all have been in school for 9 years minimum. I expect perfect grammar. Dismissed."
I got up from my desk when James held my arm. "Hey Bella, you going to Edward's party tonight?"
I shrugged. "He invited me. Jasper and I might be going."
James grinned. "Well, here's my number. I'm your friend, Bella. Use my number." He punched my shoulder gently, and swaggered out of class.
Eric walked out of the class with me, chatting about soccer and the practices, and what it was like to play with Edward and Jasper, who were best enemies until they got on the field, where they forgot about their rivalry and played with the intent of winning.
"By the way, Bella, you didn't hear this from me, but there are boys all over the place talking about you." Eric mock whispered.
"I heard nothing, Eric. Did you say something?" I teased.
Eric grinned. "Okay, I gotta run for US History. See you tonight!"
I gave him a smile and entered the library. I looked at all the tables, noting all the people who were there. Generally, Rose, Jasper and I all shared a table during study hall since we knew each other and could study without bothering each other. I saw Rose and Jasper at a table, and then spotted Emmett McCarty in a corner. Going over to his table, I asked, "Mind if I join you?"
Emmett looked up from his book. "Nope. Sit down."
I gave him a smile. "You're a great goalie." I offered.
Emmett laughed loudly. "You like soccer?"
"My friend's on the team." I shrugged.
"Ohh.. Jasper." Emmett recognized. "How long have the two of you been together?"
"Uhh... we're not dating." I muttered. "He's in love with someone else."
Emmett looked confused. "Weird."
I shrugged. "It is what it is. Hey, can I set you up on a blind date?"
Emmett raised an eyebrow. "This isn't going to be a fake date or a guy date?"
I shook my head. "I genuinely think she's a good match for you."
He grinned. "Sure. I'll unleash my worst and see if she adds up."
I rolled my eyes. "It'll be tomorrow at Culver's at 7:30."
He nodded, pulling out his iPhone. "K. I'll punch it into my schedule so I don't get there late."
I laughed.
"Do I know this girl?" Emmett asked, focusing on me.
"Maybe." I vaguely responded.
"I'm a senior. Is she younger than me?" Emmett asked.
I smirked at him, and pulled out my MacBook Air.
"She is." Emmett grinned. "I think I know who it is."
I glared at him. "There's a reason it's called a blind date."
"Okay, okay." Emmett backed off. "If it goes south, I'm blaming you Bells."
I nodded, and began working on the essay for tomorrows English class.
After the hour was up, I felt like I had a good grasp on what I was going to write. Packing up my stuff, I peeked at where Jasper sat, his back towards me. I could sense his trepidation but couldn't sense what it stemmed from. A growing sense of unease pricked at my heart, because something was going to happen. I didn't know what, but there was going to be a change in our friendship.
~~ ~~ YNS ~~ ~~
"Have a good rest of your week, Bella. Don't forget, no practice sessions greater than an hour at a time." Dr. Atzinger reminded me. We had just finished an hour long lesson in preparation for the competition this week. After finding out that I had prepared for a competition one day for 17 hours, he just about fainted. He made sure to clarify with me that the best time spent practicing should be spent in intervals between 40 minutes to an hour, maximum.
"Okay. Sounds good. I'll see you Saturday." I nodded to him as I walked out of his studio.
He gave me a smile. "Sounds good."
I began my walk down the crowded hallway, squeezing past bodies that were rushing from classroom to classroom, from studios to studio. "Bella!" I froze, hearing Jasper call after me. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me." I turned to see Jasper weaving through the people frantically. "Bella." Jasper panted. "I'm so glad I caught you."
There was a raw look of fear in his eyes, and I could tell he was nervous.
"Hi Jasper." I said, my voice soft. I continued walking towards the exit of the building with Jasper at my side.
"How were lessons?" Jasper asked, cautiously, as if testing the waters.
"Good." I responded. "Dr. Atzinger thinks I'm ready for the competition this weekend."
"Good. I'm really excited to see you perform live." Jasper gave me a tentative smile. "I just wanted to make it up to you about the comments about Edward and apologize. I was wrong, and overstepped my bounds."
I nodded. "Thank you for apologizing." The onslaught of pain seared my heart as I thought of Jasper being in love with Maria.
"I... uh. I know you're planning on going to Edward's party tonight, so I told your Dad that you'd spend the night with us. He said to have a good night." Jasper explained.
I nodded. "Okay. thank you."
Jasper gave a small smile, and said, "I was hoping you'd let me take you to dinner tonight before the party."
I shrugged. "Sure. It's a free meal."
Jasper gave a small smile. "I was thinking we could try the Mandarin Garden off of Division."
"Yeah, sure. Uhh... my car's here." I pointed out my car parked outside.
"I know. Rose dropped me off." Jasper rubbed the back of his neck.
"Okay." I nodded. "Lets go then."
We remained in silence until we arrived at the restaurant. "Bella." Jasper said as I turned off the engine. "I need to talk to you."
"You are." I looked straight ahead of me, refusing to look at Jasper. I sensed he wanted to talk about what happened this morning, but I wanted anything but to talk about that.
"About this morning..." Jasper took a deep breath. "I wanted to clarify things with you."
"I don't." I interrupted.
"What?" Jasper asked.
"You're in love. I'm in love. Be happy. Okay? I forgive you. You forgive me. We move on." I explained. "Please. Don't make me relive this morning." I begged.
Jasper shook his head. "I messed up, Bella. I screwed it up."
I dropped my head, not wanting to hear how he screwed things up with Maria. "I don't care, Jasper. I'm sorry, but I can't hear about this right now. I don't want to know that my best friend is in love with a girl who isn't even a girl biologically!" I exclaimed in anger.
Jasper paled. "Maria's transgender?"
I buried my face in my hands. "Yes, she is! No. He is. I don't know!" I wailed.
Jasper shook his hair. "Look, I'm not talking about her. I'm talking about you. I screwed up with you."
"Not the way I look at it." I muttered.
"I insulted you. I made you wince in pain. I'm sure that if we would have been home, you would have cried. On top of that, I didn't apologize right away. It was wrong."
I nodded. "Okay. I accept your apology and forgive you. Lets go." I said, opening the door.
"Bella..." Jasper sighed. "I just want you to know that I'm supporting you no matter what you choose to do."
I swallowed. "Thank you."
Jasper nodded and opened the door. "Lets go."
We entered the small Japanese restaurant, and approached the maître d. "Can we get a table for 2?" Jasper asked her.
She nodded. "Sure." The maître d led us to a quiet booth in the back of the restaurant. "This work?"
Jasper and I nodded. "Yeah. This is perfect." I answered.
"Good. Your server will be along in a couple minutes." The maître d smiled at us and walked back to her podium.
I took in a deep breath. "This is a nice place."
Jasper nodded. "Yeah. Mom brought me here when I arrived from Ireland."
Looking at him over the top of the menu. "What's good here?"
"Uhh... everything?" Jasper shrugged. "I didn't really eat here... since I ordered a burger like 30 minutes before the plane landed."
I laughed. "So we're just experimenting."
"Yup." Jasper gave me a smirk. "We'll keep coming back until we've tried everything."
"Sounds good. It'll be our restaurant." I gave him a grin.
Jasper's face had a slight glow to his face. "I can't wait for Saturday." He grinned.
"Why? You excited to see me all dolled up like my Mom?" I teased.
Jasper snorted. "Your Mom always looked like an over painted, over plucked and over dried version of a woman."
I laughed. "That's a nice compliment."
Jasper laughed. "No, I'm seriously really excited to see you play live. You have such a passion for playing, and it really do it beautifully."
I blushed and bite my lip. "Thanks?"
Jasper rolled his eyes. "One of these days, you're going to believe me when I compliment you."
I snickered. "Like that'll ever happen."
Jasper raised an eyebrow, and began telling me of the soccer practice of that day. Watching his face light up, I wanted to keep this seared into my memory, never forgetting this moment and keeping stuck into my memory when I knew that I'd need him but he wouldn't be around.
~~ ~~ YNS ~~ ~~
Jasper and I had spent 2 hours at the restaurant, talking about our passions in life. Completely forgetting about time, we arrived at Edward's party at 7:30. The party started at 5:45, so I felt a little guilty for being late.
"It's okay, Bella. It's a high school party, not a formal ball." Jasper reassured me.
I snorted. "Have you ever been to a formal ball?"
"No." Jasper admitted.
"How do you know what they're like?" I asked.
"I watched Enchanted." Jasper rubbed the back of his head.
I laughed. "That's exactly like a ball, only more standing around, drinking champagne and mingling."
"So... pretty much a high school party only with dresses and tuxes?" Jasper queried.
I nodded. We had walked up to the front door, and before I could ring the doorbell, Jasper pushed the door open and held it open for me. "Thank you." I gave him a smile.
He nodded. We looked around a seemingly silent house, until I heard a shout of protest pierce the house calm. "Where's the party?" I whispered.
"Dunno." Jasper whispered back.
"Do we have the wrong house?" I asked.
Jasper rolled his eyes as Edward walked into the living room, a huge grin on his face. "You made it!"
"We did." I agreed.
"You have a good afternoon?" Edward asked me.
I nodded. "Yeah. I had piano lessons, and then Jasper and I went to dinner."
Edward nodded. "I see. You two... aren't dating, right?"
I shook my head, desperately wishing I could have said yes instead.
"No. We're just friends." Jasper said, his tone slightly off.
I looked at him, and he gave me a small smile. "Yorkie and Withers here?"
Edward nodded. "Yeah, a bunch of the guys from the soccer team are here. They're in the game room downstairs. It's down that hallway, and third door to the left."
Jasper nodded. "Thanks. I'll be downstairs if you need anything, Bella."
He left, and I watched him disappear into the hallway.
"Thanks for coming to my party." Edward said, breaking the silence.
"It's kind of... quiet." I searched for the right adjective.
Edward laughed. "You were thinking there were going to be kegs of beer all over the place, weren't you?"
I blushed. "It was an impression that my Mom pushed on me."
Edward's realization dawned on his face and I ground my teeth in expectation of what was to come. "Your Mom... is Renee Mitchell, right?"
I nodded curtly, stiffening up as the memories surfaced. I pushed them back down, and clenched my jaw firmly.
"Sorry, didn't mean to pull up your mom." Edward apologized.
"Well, you did." I snapped.
He put his hands up. "Sorry." He looked contrite. "Hey, how's your AP English Lit class going?" He asked.
I shrugged. "Good. Mr. Cullen is a hard teacher to please, but it stretches me as an author."
"Yeah.." He ran his hand through his hair.
"Isn't your last name Cullen?" I asked, suspiciously.
He nodded. "He's my Dad."
"Oh wow." I said, surprised. Although, I didn't know why I was surprised - both father and son had great genes.
He nodded. "I take his class in third period. Dad came home raving last Friday how you were the only one who actually aced the unit test perfectly without having to redo anything. He was impressed."
I shrugged. "I studied hard, and it paid off."
"I don't think you realize, Bella, that my Dad purposely writes the hardest tests possible that even my Mom's students had difficulty with. No one, in his 9 years of experience of teaching, ever aced any of his tests." Edward explained. "That's why AP English Lit is a class that only has 3 available periods, rather than the usual 6."
I felt the blood rush to my face, and quickly turned away. "Thank you." I mumbled.
"C'mon, I want you to meet my family." Edward said, guiding me through the living room towards an arched doorway. The living room was full of creams, browns and a yellow-golden paint smeared on the walls. In the hallways were pictures of Edward in his soccer uniform, plaques of his achievements.
"Emmett's your brother?" I asked.
Edward nodded. "Yeah. He's 9 months older than me. He took Mom's maiden name on his jersey to prevent confusion since we'd both be an E. Cullen."
"Oh." I murmured as we entered the kitchen, where I saw Mr. Cullen sitting at the counter, laughing at a story Emmett recounted from the day.
"Bells! Hey!" Emmett caught sight of me and gave me a tight hug, twirling me around.
"Emmett... can't breathe!" I choked out.
Emmett grinned as he put me down. "Eddie brought you in the kitchen to meet the Spanish Inquisition, eh?"
Edward glowered at Emmett. "Don't call me that." He muttered.
"Edward, introduce us." Mrs. Cullen said.
"Mom, Dad, this is Bella. Bella, you know my Dad but this is my Mom. And of course, you know Emmett." Edward introduced me.
"Hi Mrs. Cullen." I smiled.
"Oh, please. Call me Elizabeth." Mrs. Cullen gave me a smile, coming over to give me a hug.
"Hi Bella." Mr. Cullen gave me a smile. "Call me Carlisle out of the classroom, please."
I smiled slightly. "Thank you." I murmured.
"So, Bella, do you like literature or are you just amazing at English?" Carlisle asked.
Emmett rolled his eyes as he sampled Elizabeth's fresh-out-of-the-oven jalepeno poppers. I saw Edward smirk out of the corner of my eye, and I answered, "It's partially being trained to know what to look out for, but also I really loved the unit, which motivated me to study."
Carlisle nodded. "I never seen someone perform so well on a test. I'm very impressed with you, Bella."
"Thank you, Mr... Carlisle." I corrected, a blush coating my face.
Carlisle smiled. "Well, thanks for coming to Edward's birthday party. I know it means a lot to us to see his friends, classmates and teammates coming to his birthday party."
I gaped at Edward. "It's your birthday?" I gasped.
Edward ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah... I didn't want gifts or anything, so I didn't tell anyone that it was my birthday party, but rather just a party."
"Edward hates the attention that comes with birthday parties." Elizabeth explained, her voice soft. "Emmett, bring in the kids to the dining room, please. We're almost ready."
"What's for dinner, Elizabeth?" I asked.
"Edward loves jalepeno poppers. There are taco fillings on the table, and toppings as well." Elizabeth had a teasing tone as she winked at Emmett.
"I'll have you know," Emmett began explaining around a mouthful of napa lettuce, "my salad is famous for its perfectly grilled chicken."
I laughed. "Suuure, Emmett. Just like your infamous goal stop at practice." I teased him of the goal I had made on him the other day during his practice. Emmett had pulled a twirling fairy move, eventually catching the ball in his hand like it had landed there, until I tackled him, and the ball had fallen into the goal, fair and square.
Emmett gave me a mock glare. "Don't you dare mention that, Jezebel."
I clutched my throat in fake drama. "Oh, he wounds me!" I fell over, as though I fainted.
"Bella?! You okay?" Edward appeared, kneeling next to me, worry creasing his face.
"Yeah." I sat up as though nothing happened. "Just fine. Now, Mrs. C, where do you need help?"
I refused to look at Edward and focused intently on Elizabeth's, Mrs. C's, face. "Uh... well, I think I have everything ready." She responded.
"Okay. I'm going to go find Jasper." I announced, and walked out of the kitchen.
"I'll join you." Edward added, quickly following me.
I remained silent until we got into the hallway. Before I opened the door, I looked at Edward, who had this weird look on his face. "Why are you chasing me, Edward?" I asked, bluntly.
"You fanscinate me." He said, his voice soft.
"I fascinate a lot of people, Edward." I snapped.
Edward shrugged. "I just ... I really like you."
I remained silent.
"You gave me my crap back when I dished out crap to you. You never let me trample over you. You carry yourself with a sense of pride. Sometimes though, you're haunted. It's like there's this deep wound inside of you, and while no one notices, I do. I want to know you though." He declared, a light in his eyes that I had never seen before.
"Well then... good luck. You're not going to make it." I gave him a small smile that didn't reach my eyes, and pushed the door open that led into the basement.
"Thank you. You're wrong though... I will make it in." Edward insisted, fully convinced.
I whirled around, anger flashing in my eyes. I felt the tips of my ears burning, and snapped at Edward. "The hell you will." I hissed. "You will not unless I let you. And right now, you're the last person I'd let in."
Before Edward could respond, Jasper's voice filtered through my ears. "What?" I turned towards Jasper.
"I just wanted to know where the bathrooms were..." Jasper said, uncertainty tainting his voice.
I pursed my lips, and slipped past Jasper. "Excuse me." I murmured.
My phone rang, and I looked at the screen. Charlie. "Hi Dad." I answered the phone.
"Hi Bells. Look, I know you're with the Whitlocks tonight, but can you come home? Your Uncle and cousin are here, and I'd like you to meet them." Charlie explained.
"Oh sure. Yeah, I'll just get my stuff and come home." I said, eagarness creeping into my voice. I wasn't excited to meet family, but I was excited to get out of this awkward party.
"Sounds good, Bells. I'm ordering out so dinner will be home in 30 minutes." Charlie informed me.
"Perfect. I'll be home before that." I told him.
"Good. See you soon."
"Yup. Bye." I hung up the phone, and looked up to see Jasper standing in front of me.
"You going home?" Jasper raised an eyebrow, amused.
I nodded. "Charlie called." I explained. "My uncle and cousin are over tonight. Dad wants me to meet them."
"Oh. Awesome." Jasper gave me a smile. "We're leaving then."
I nodded.
"Praise God." Jasper sighed, relief pouring out of his body. "I cannot wait to get out of here."
I grinned. "Lets go find Birthday Boy and leave."
We walked upstairs. "Edward?" I called.
"Up here." Edward came down the stairs, an expectant look on his face.
"Dad just called me. I need to go home. Sorry." I apologized.
"Bella's my ride." Jasper added.
Edward nodded, disappointment flicking across his face. "Alright. Thanks for dropping by."
I nodded. "Thanks for inviting us. Hope the rest of the party goes good."
Edward gave a small smile. "Thank you."
Jasper and I left, offering small waves of parting, and then walked to my car.
"Well that was..." Jasper began.
"Shh." I hissed, elbowing Jasper in the ribs. "He can still hear you!" I mouthed.
Jasper raised an eyebrow, but I remained silent until I got into my car. I pointed out the covered speaker outside the front door. "That's a speaker. Whenever someone stands in front of it, it's activated. When it's activated, you can hear inside the house what's going on outside. There's even a camera."
"oh. Wow. Techy much?" Jasper rolled his eyes as he seatbelted himself into the passenger seat.
I smirked. "My Mom had that every where she ever lived. Security was as tight as tight could be." I began driving out of the neighborhood and towards the other side of town.
"Your mom... you never talk about her." Jasper observed.
"If I do, it's never positive." I murmured.
"Why?" Jasper inquired.
"I only talk honestly about a person. If there's nothing positive to say, there's nothing to say at all, except the truth. And the truth I will say." I answered without any emotion.
"If you would google my name, you would probably find out everything about me. My Mom is The Renee Mitchell. Yes, my Mom was the model who kept a stunning physique and amazing complexion despite being pregnant twice in the last 3 years, with a caramel hair color that only my Mom could wear. Little do people know that she hired secret barbers to find out how to create that dye color, and for 2 years, my Mom watched them practice on wigs until they finally perfected it. She is known for her amazing modeling, acting, singing, entrepreneurship, business skills, you name it, she did it. She made countless amounts of money that I still don't even know how she did it. My parents divorced when I was 2. Mommy dearest, Renee Mitchell, took me and left Dad, Charlie. We moved to Pheonix, Arizona, andI started playing piano shortly afterwards. Then I started violin at 4, and cello at 5. And then we moved to Moscow Russia, and my Mom paid millions to big-name pianists to teach me. I started competing at piano competitions at 9, and my Mom kept in the business of competing, soon including the violin and cello as my competing instruments. Mom gained even more fame as her only daughter slammed everyone at competitions and took titles." By the time I was finished with telling the background story, bitterness had filled my voice like water overflowing a dam.
"What did she do to make you hate her?" Jasper asked.
"Long story." I muttered. "She just completely disregarded anything I wanted to do. It was a helluva day when I told her I'm moving to live with Charlie."
Jasper gave me a look of sympathy. "That sucks."
"Don't." My voice hardened.
Jasper looked confused.
"Do not give me sympathy for this, okay?" I spat. "I hate getting sympathy for this. This is not my fault where I need sympathy. Give it to her for ruining her daughter's life!"
"...Did you say you have siblings?" Jasper asked.
I nodded. "Jane and Alec. Twins. They're 7 and in boarding school. Jane's in Italy, and Alec is in Austria."
"Wow. You never got sent to boarding school?" Jasper asked.
"I screamed bloody murder when Renee told me. I swore her that if she would send me, I'd burn all of my instruments, refuse to play and be the next Miley Cyrus." I answered.
Jasper guffawed. "You? The next Miley Cyrus? Oofta."
I grinned. "I like Miley. She has a fun personality. Renee hates Miley Cyrus. If there is a person Renee could get rid of, Miley takes the crown instantaneously."
"Wow." Jasper said, stunned. "You're friends with celebrities?"
I paled. "Yes. I am."
"Who do you know?" Jasper asked.
"Taylor Swift." I said.
"Really?" Jasper gaped at me.
"She and I wrote RED together." I added.
"Okay. Now I'm just imagining this." Jasper rolled his eyes.
As I pulled up to a stoplight, I opened the console and took out the RED CD that was signed by Taylor. I read the signature on the front cover. I love you, Bella! Thanks so much for ALL your help on this CD! You made it phenomenal. 3 Taylor
"Open up the front cover, take out the booklet, and look at the list of authors. First of all of the authors is I. Masen. All of the 6 letters are the first and last letters to my full name, Isabella Marie Swan." I explained.
Jasper grinned. "Duuude, my friend wrote the RED CD with Taylor Swift!"
I rolled my eyes. "I helped with 1989, too."
Jasper gaped like a fish. "Dude. You have all of her CDs, and like... 3 more personal CD's that have Taylor Swift's handwriting here!"
I nodded. "Yup."
"Wow. Who else do you know?" Jasper asked.
"Shakira." I answered.
Jasper groaned. "Oh my gosh. You're killing me. Did you know Robin Williams?"
I nodded. "Yes. Played for his funeral."
"Okay, Bella. This is crazy. Do you know like the whole music world?" Jasper questioned.
"Pretty much." I grinned.
"Who is your favorite artist to hang with?" Jasper asked.
"Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran." I said, after a couple seconds of thought.
"This is so not fair. You know all of my favorite artists." Jasper pouted.
I laughed. "Taylor's coming to the competition. You can meet her there."
"Do you even have her phone number?" Jasper asked.
"Yes." I responded, pulling into his driveway.
"Wait. Taylor Swift is coming this Saturday for the competition?!" Jasper exclaimed.
I nodded. "Yes."
"Oh my word. She's in town for her 1989 tour, and she's coming to see you play?" Jasper squeaked.
I laughed. "Yes."
"I got to go digest this." Jasper grinned. "Have a good night, Bella!" He got out of the car.
"Oh, Jasper?" I rolled down the window.
He turned around and came to stand in front of me. "I need you to do me a favor."
"Anything." He promised.
"You can't tell anyone of my connections. I don't want to become the next Ms. Popular because I can hook you up with One Direction, or because I'm personal friends with Harry Styles." I explained. "I need this to stay between us."
"Gurl. You're even friends with Harry Styles?!" Jasper queried.
"The right question is who don't I know, Jasper." I smirked at him.
"How?" Jasper asked.
"Because my mom is Renee Mitchell." I rolled my eyes.
"Oh. Gotcha. Well, consider your connections mum. Who is Taylor Swift, again?" Jasper asked, faking stupidity.
"Get outta here, Jazz." I laughed, pulling out of his driveway and driving the not even 500 ft to my own driveway. I saw a Mercedes Benz parked, and rolled my eyes. I have rich family on both sides now? What is this, the Twilight Zone?
I entered the house, and heard Charlie downstairs in the TV room, watching what, from the sounds the filtered thru the basement, a football game. I walked downstairs, and entered the TV room. "Hi." I said.
The TV muted instantaneously. "Bells, hi!" Charlie got up and gave me a hug.
I hugged him. "Hi Dad."
"Billy, Jacob, this is my daughter, Bella." Charlie introduced me. "Bella, this is my brother, Billy Black-Swan. That's his son, Jacob."
"Hi." I waved.
"Hi Bella. It's nice to finally meet you." Billy offered.
"It's nice to meet you too." I greeted, my voice soft. I put out my hand to shake his, and gripped his hand with a firm clasp.
"Bells, my famous cousin!" Jacob got up and gave me a hug.
"Hi Jacob." I murmured, my Russian accent seeming to come out when I pronounced the J with a Y sound.
"You've even got an accent." Jacob grinned. "Call me Jake."
I nodded.
"Come on. Show me your car. Charlie told me your car makes this weird puttering sound, so I'm gonna show it how to putter." Jake said, pulling me upstairs.
"Okay." I gave him a small smile.
"So, Uncle Charlie told me that I have a cousin, and he's been talking for months about you. Especially since the last 3 months, when you first asked him if you could move in." Jake rambled on. "You have no idea. It's like Uncle Charlie has finally woken up. I used to hate these every Sunday family dinners, but I'm looking forward to them since you're going to be around now. By the way, you aren't dating anyone are you?"
I could only shake my head no.
"Good. I just got out of a grounding that lasted me a month. Don't want to beat up your boyfriend and then find out that I'm grounded for a lifetime." Jake gave me an innocent grin. "So where's your car?"
"Outside." I answered, pointing to my car sitting out in the driveway.
"Holy cow... is that your's? I've been begging Dad to buy a Nissan, but he is this Mercedes-pro type of guy. Nothing but the best." He mimicked his Dad's deeper voice.
I smiled a little bit.
"Okay, pop the lid." Jake exclaimed, positioning himself in front of the car, ready to start tinkering.
"...Are you sure you know what you're doing?" I asked.
Jake nodded. "Yup. I fix Dad's Mercedes." He nodded his head towards Billy's shiny, black Mercedes.
"K." I opened the driver's door of the car, and popped the lid.
"Thanks Belly. Tell me what you do other than play music." Jake siad, beginning to tinker right away.
"I seriously only play music." I muttered.
Jake looked at me from underneat his brows. "Really? Not even a job?"
"My job is to play piano." I raised an eyebrow back at him.
"Really? How? You can't make money off of playing piano. Don't you play violin too? Oh, and cello. I know I saw you playing cello for Taylor Swift's Wonderland video." Jake continued rambling.
"I compete. When you win a competition, you win money." I explained slowly.
"Speed up, Swan. I'm not slow." Jake grumbled.
I repressed a laugh that tried to bubble out of me. "Well... that made me a lot of money. Over the years, if I would win, Re... my Mom would pay me money too. But now I'm all cut off with no support except for Ch.. Dad."
"You call your parents by their first name?" Jake asked.
I shrugged. "It's what I was told to growing up."
Jake nodded. "Gotcha. You know Uncle Charlie would help you in any way he could."
"Yeah. I don't need monetary support though." I responded.
"Not even for college?" Jake asked, surprised.
I shook my head. "Nope." I popped the p.
"Gotcha." Jake nodded.
I said nothing, and enjoyed the silence. And then Jake started talking. "I go to Faribault High. I'm a sophomore and play for the varsity baseball team. I'm the first baseman. I love playing first. It's fun position. You go to Northfield High?"
I nodded.
"Good. I play for the Raiders. I'll come visit you some days. You play for the orchestra?" Jake just kept on rambling. He reminded me of Alice, how he would ask questions, but mainly remained the only person to talk through a conversation.
"Yeah... no." I shook my head. "I've played with professional orchestras. Why would I play with kids who can barely tune their instruments?"
Jake shrugged. "You lost me after the 'profession orchestras.'"
I rolled my eyes. "It's not worth my time to try to play with the high school orchestra. Maybe college levels, but not high school."
Jake nodded. "Gotcha. What's your favorite color?"
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Did I get transported to kindergarten?"
"Did you even attend kindergarten?" Jake teased.
I shook my head.
"First grade?"
"No?"
"Second grade?"
"No."
"Third grade?"
"No."
"Fourth grade?"
"Nope.
"Fifth grade?"
"Nein.
"Sixth grade?"
"Ni."
"Seventh grade?"
"Nyet."
"Eighth grade?"
"Hell no."
"Nineth grade."
I raised an eyebrow at Jake.
"Okay... homeschooled until this?"
"Yep."
"Wow. You're a homeschool kid." Jake muttered.
I rolled my eyes. "I am not going to even try." I got up and began walking away.
"Wait, Bella! I just want to get to know you. I'm sorry." Jake said, quickly catching up to me, and putting a hand on my shoulder.
"I'm sure you do." I muttered.
Jake looked hurt. "Bella, what did I do to you?"
"Homeschool kid, Jake?" I snapped. "You couldn't even wait until you know me until you started making judgements. Am I that low because of my upbringing that you can't even try to understand me? You keep talking like I am not capable of returning your questions, and then when I do get a word into this monologue you try to call a conversation, you judge me! I do not hang out with people like that, because I'm not judgeable by only 100 words!"
Jake looked guilty. "I didn't mean to come off that way, Bella. I just chat to fill up silence. I'm allergic to silence. I didn't mean to sound like I judge you."
I shrugged. "I have to eat." I turned on my heel and walked inside, leaving Jake in my wake.
"Bells? You doing OK?" Charlie was in the kitchen, pulling two pizzas out of the oven.
"Yeah. Just fine." I muttered.
"Good." Charlie nodded. "Jake and you will get along real well."
I rolled my eyes. "Is that cheese stuff, supreme pizza?" I pointed out to the perfectly baked pizza.
Charlie grinned. "Yup. Don't think I don't remember you loving supreme pizza."
I blushed. "I didn't think you would remember, to be honest."
"Bella, just because your Mom-"
"Renee." I interrupted. "She's not my Mom."
Charlie nodded. "Just because Renee doesn't remember the simple fact she's a mother, doesn't mean I've forgotten every thing you like."
I smiled slightly.
"I know that this is a new house and very different from the last house I lived in, but I want you to design your room as you want. So next weekend, I have an interior designer coming, and you two can design your room in a fashion that you like. I want you to feel like this is home for you." Charlie told me, giving me a hug.
I nodded. "Thank you."
"I love you, Bells. Fame or no fame. I love you unconditionally." Charlie told me, pressing a kiss into my hair. "I want you to let loose, and find you. You are not who Renee built you up to be. If you love music and want to keep competing, then go ahead. If you want to be a soccer player, or a president, or a model, whatever, I'm proud. Because you've gone so far with what Renee has forced you into. But I know you'll push yourself forward in the direction you want."
"Thanks, Daddy. I love you too." I bit my lip to keep the tears from my eyes.
"I love you so much, Bells. Be awesome." Charlie told me.
All your insecurities
All the dirty laundry
Never made me blink one time
Unconditional, unconditionally
I will love you unconditionally
There is no fear now
Let go and just be free
I will love you unconditionally
Come just as you are to me
Don't need apologies
Know that you are worthy
I'll take your bad days with your good
Walk through the storm I would
I do it all because I love you, I love you
Unconditionally by Katy Perry
AN: So sorry for taking so long with this chapter. I hate that I took so long, but I didn't know how to write out the stuff of how Bella gets to know her new friends. I can think ahead to the angsty parts, but we need to buidl up first. Hopefully the next chapter comes easier. Don't shoot me for how I portrayed the characters please - they're my version. I'm just borrowing names. :)
