July 4th- 5:24pm
"Emmett, you've reached a new level of stupidity!" Bella shouted from her bedroom window, her hair blowing wildly in the wind.
"C'mon, Bell! It's the fourth of July!" he defended, nudging me.
"Yeah! Let's have some fun!" I added. I could see her bite her lip, but her resolve weakened.
"Fine...let me get dressed, you get everyone else. And don't let my dad see those fireworks. He'll arrest you before you can say God Bless America." We laughed as we split up-he was going to get Rosalie and Jasper and I was getting Alice. I knocked on the bright, red door, still not comfortable enough to just waltz in like everyone else did.
Her mom answered, decked out in red, white and blue attire. Stars and stripes everywhere. Mrs. Brandon looked much like her daughter, on the short side, but plumper.
"Hello, Edward," she greeted politely, "are you here to see Alice?" I nodded. "Upstairs, first door on the right." After thanking her, I followed her instructions and found her room. The walls were pale yellow, but still too bright for the town and her furniture was all white and elegant. Her bedspread was just plain, light orange.
I wasn't surprised to see her in denim shorts and a white tank top covered with red and blue stars, dancing around her room, singing along to some song I'd never heard. I stood in the doorway for a good minute, trying not to laugh and when she turned around and saw me-her face was priceless.
"Omigod! Edward! Don't do that, god, I think I'm having a heart attack!" Tears were streaming down my face, I was laughing so hard. She glared at me and slapped my arm. Hard. "Did you need something or did you just come over to try to kill me?"
I took a deep, calming breath.
"Okay, so Emmett's cousin, Royce, sent him a package full of fireworks and stuff and so he wants to go set them off tonight. You're coming, right?" She grinned.
"Like I would miss that." She threw on her white tennis shoes and bounded down the stairs. I wasn't far behind. "Going out, ma! I'll probably stay at Rose's!" She didn't even wait for a response. We started walking in the direction of the field we'd played baseball in twice a week since I moved in.
I heard an undecipherable shout from right behind me and before I knew what was happening, I was falling forward with an added hundred pounds on my back. Lucky for me and her, I steadied myself and continued on walking.
"Isabella Swan, you'll be the death of me," I explained flatly.
"I'm sorry...can I have your music collection when you pass?" she teased.
"But of course. I've already written you into my will."
"Why thank you...but won't your mistress be unhappy that she won't get it all?" Bella frowned.
"As if there could be anyone but you, darling."
Alice turned around and began to say something but stopped when she saw whatever face Bella was making over my shoulder.
We kept walking, neither of us saying anything at all until we reached the clearing, where Rosalie and Alice were directing Jasper and Emmett on where to put coolers and lawn chairs.
"Rosie, it doesn't matter where they go," Emmett complained, dragging the heavy cooler across the clearing.
"Just put it under that tree, Em," she sighed, flicking her wrist in the direction of an old weeping willow. Jasper followed him slowly, weighed down by the chairs.
"Bella! Come sit!" Rosalie called from her spot on the seats that had just been set up. I felt Bella climb off my back and leave me standing alone on the other side of the clearing.
"Edward, my man. You want a beer?" Emmett asked, opening the blue cooler. I thought, why not? He tossed one to me before pulling another bottle out and tossing it to Bella, who opened it using the arm of her chair and taking a swig.
Feeling awkward standing so far away from everyone, I made my way over to Jasper, who was pulling a bag of chips out of a bag next to the cooler. I'd grown to like Jasper and Emmett. They were the most opposite people on Earth. Emmett was big and loud, he demanded attention while Jasper was quiet and reserved, preferring to fade into the background.
"Hey," Jasper nodded in my direction, not taking his eyes off Alice, who was fluttering around Bella, her mouth moving a mile a minute.
"Hi," I replied quietly. "So how long have you and Alice been together?"
"Since the seventh grade," he answered, a lazy grin appearing on his face. "She didn't even give me a choice, just made the announcement one day that I was her boyfriend. Best moment of my life." I couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, she and Bella were weird ones back then," he chuckled, and the mention of Bella's name, I wanted him to explain further. I was thankful when he did.
"Yeah, she and Alice were practically born and raised here, best friends since they were potty trained. They were inseparable, still are. I mean, when I was declared Alice's boyfriend, Bella was always there, never leaving our sides. She's one of the best friends I've ever had-better than Emmett. She gets me, you know? I mean, her home life isn't the greatest and neither is mine, so we understand each other." I nodded.
"What's wrong at home?" I asked after a long silence. Jasper considered this for a moment.
"Just that my dad's in the military and stuff happens, it's actually a really long story that I'm not going to get into right now," he said in a rush, smiling.
"And you're probably not going to tell me about Bella's?" I assumed and got a nod in response. "I understand."
And I did, it wasn't his secret to tell.
"Ed! Jas!" Emmett boomed from where the girls were sitting. Our heads whipped around in his direction, just in time to see him wave us over. Jasper lifted Alice up when we got there and lay back on the chair, her situated between his legs. Bella patted a spot on the chair next her, gesturing for me to sit. I, of course, obliged.
"So, when do you think we can set these babies off?" Emmett asked, gesturing to the box next to his feet.
"Until other people do...less conspicuous...I don't want to get busted," Bella said, her eyes containing just a hint of worry.
"Babe, your daddy is the chief of police," Alice pointed out. "It's not like he's gonna arrest us."
"Uh, yeah. I guess you're right," she laughed nervously, glancing at Jasper, who nodded slightly in return.
Jasper was her Bella. The one she told everything to. He was her best friend, her confidant, one of the most important people in her life.
Was it wrong that I wanted more than anything to take his place? Was it-
"Guys, it's game time," Rosalie announced as she stood up.
"YES!" Alice cried, jumping out of Jasper's grasp and then proceeded to dance around in a circle.
"Game time?" I asked, turning to Bella. She grinned.
"It's a tradition we instated when we were ten," she began. "Every Fourth of July, we played games until it was time for fireworks. And why stop because we grew a little?"
"That's cool," I said, not knowing what else to say. She laughed, getting to her feet.
"What's first?" Jasper asked, causing Emmett and Alice to start jumping up and down, waving their arms wildly.
"Just say it!" Rosalie sighed.
"RED ROVER!" they cheered in unison, grinning like fools.
"I CALL EMMETT!" Bella shouted, rushing to his side.
"Well, I call Edward!" Alice yelled, grabbing onto my arm.
"What am I? Chopped liver?" Jasper asked with mock hurt. Alice laughed.
"Get over here, you," she giggled, holding out her hand to him.
"I always get picked last for this shit," Rosalie muttered walking over to Emmett and Bella, a few yards away. Once we were all in position, hands held tightly, Alice called the first name.
"Red rover, red rover, send Rosalie right over!" Rose sighed, but let go of Emmett's hand and started to sprint, aiming for mine and Alice's clasped hands.
Alice Brandon was surprisingly strong for such a small person, and held onto my hand so tight, I thought she was going to break it.
Rosalie Hale was also a fast runner. Like, track star fast.
I thought she dislocated my shoulder as she slammed into our connected arms, breaking them apart. Emmett cheered as she jogged her way back over to her spot.
"Red rover, red rover," Bella sang. "Send...Jasper right over!" He released Alice's hand and ran directly at the space between Emmett and Bella.
I was concerned for a brief moment. What if he hurt her?
Of course he didn't, though. He went towards Emmett more and broke through, Bella laughed and told him something in a low voice as he passed, causing him to smile and pat her head.
I tried very hard to suppress the jealousy.
"I can't believe nobody got hurt!" Alice breathed as we all lay on the ground. It was just after seven-thirty and we'd ended our game of Red Rover. She was right being shocked, seeing as how that game almost always ended in a bloody nose or sprained wrist.
"What next?" Bella asked, her head next to mine. We were situated in a circle, looking up at the sky. It was reaching twilight and the stars were starting to light up the sky.
"I say we play freeze tag," Jasper put in, causing shouts of agreements to arise from my friends.
"Okay, you gotta crawl under legs to unfreeze and if you're tagged twice, you're it," Rosalie said.
"One, two, three," Bella started.
"NOT IT!" we all yelled, mostly in unison, except for Emmett, who was slightly behind.
"Dammit, I suck at that," he said, getting to his feet and starting to count to ten with his hands over his eyes.
"Scramble!" Alice shouted, bolting to the far end of the clearing with Rosalie, both of them, hiding behind a tree.
I went to the opposite side, while Bella just stood there behind Emmett while Jasper started to climb a tree.
What the hell were they doing?
"Ten!" Emmett screamed, looking around. He didn't notice Bella, who was biting her lip to keep from giggling. Jasper was on a low branch, but hidden from view like Alice and Rose.
Emmett's gaze settled on me and he was after me like I was a gazelle and he was a lion.
Dammit.
Then I was running as fast as I could until I was cornered, under the tree where Jasper sat.
"Now!" Jasper shouted, just as Emmett was nearing. He leaped out of the tree, tackling Emmett to the ground. The girls were close behind, jumping onto Emmett and Jasper, laughing.
"How does this happen every time we play this game?!" Emmett cried from the bottom of the pile of people.
"Edward! Grab my camera!" Alice giggled. I ran the short distance to the chairs and grabbed the small, pink digital camera from her seat and jogged back to my friends before snapping a picture to go along with the others Alice had been taking all night.
"Emmett! Be careful!"
"Rosie, I haven't even lit one yet. Calm yourself, woman!"
It was finally dark enough to light the fireworks and the sky was already changing colors from the ones being set off in town.
Currently, Emmett was in the middle of the clearing, firework in one hand, a lighter in the other. He set the explosive down and flicked the lighter on and set it on fire.
He bolted away from it and stood next to Rosalie, who was on my left and Alice and Jasper who lay intertwined on a lawn chair, watching as the firework went off, and exploded with a crack in the air, turning the sky red for a brief second.
"Nice job, Em," Bella said, returning with a drink and settling on the seat next to me.
"Okay, here goes another one," he said, pulling a firework from the box and setting it off. It shot to the sky like a bat out of hell, turning into a magnificent array of colors.
After a few more going off and our rowdy cheers as Emmett didn't screw up, Bella shivered.
"Cold?" I asked.
"Just a bit," she admitted, crossing her arms over her chest.
"C'mere," I murmured, laying back on the chair, pulling her in between my legs in a similar fashion to Jasper and Alice had sat earlier. I wrapped my arms around her...for warmth. Really, that was all...
But who was I kidding? I needed to be close to her, but I wasn't ready to admit that.
And as her breathing slowed and she drifted into unconsciousness, I couldn't stop my mind from wandering to what it would be like if I did admit it.
