Chapter 3- The Unlikely Proposal
I took off my backpack and placed it at my feet, kicking it into the apartment. Shoving roughly, I inched the door open slowly, first putting my head and left arm through the gap, then pulling the rest of my body in after me. I surveyed the hallway, looking for the easiest path to move through the boxes of clothes. I decided the path around was my safest bet, treading carefully over each box in order to avoid a severe yelling at from Alice if I touched anything. I made it about halfway before I lost my balance and toppled over, crushing one of the larger boxes. I shifted quickly, aiming to salvage whatever garments I could from the crushed pile, when I picked up a familiar blue blouse.
Alice came rushing into view. "Oh, you're back! Don't mind any of this, I had hoped to have it all shifted before you and Rose got home."
"Alice? What the hell is this?" I asked, holding the blue blouse up in front of me for her to see.
"I'm just clearing out some wardrobe space for some more in style stuff" she said, nonchalantly.
"This is my shirt!" I cried, looking around and spotting more clothing items I recognised. "Why are you taking my clothes?"
Alice rolled her eyes as though I were a child throwing a temper tantrum, "Because, silly, it's hardly like my wardrobe needs updating."
I stood up, waving the shirt in front of Alice's face. "You can't just take other people's things Alice! I like my clothes."
"That's because you don't know any better, Bella" she replied calmly, taking the shirt from me and throwing it into another intact box, "you'll be thankful for this later."
She picked up the closest box to her and made a move towards the door. I stepped sideways to block her path
"Oh no you don't, put those back where you find them. Now."
"Bella, be reasonable. Most of the clothes here you've had since high school. While it's fantastic that you've managed to keep your figure, it's time for an update" she replied, making an attempt for the door again.
I stepped in her path once more, placing my hands on my hips.
"And what if I don't want an update, Alice? What if I'm happy as I am?" I made a grab for the box, but Alice danced lithely out of my reach without even touching any of the other boxes at her feet.
"Well, that's too bad, cause you're getting one." Alice continued toward the door.
I defiantly picked up another of the boxes and stumbled over the others towards my room.
"Oh no, you don't!" Alice yelled, dropping her box on the spot and grabbing mine.
"Let go, Alice! You can't win!" I grunted, pulling as hard as I could to remove the box from her grasp.
"Bella, you're being ridiculous! Let… go…" she yanked with all the might her tiny body could muster until the cardboard handle ripped, causing us both to fly backwards. She landed comfortably among the piles of clothes which now scattered the floor, while I crashed noisily into the hall table, knocking the wind out of me.
Just then, Rosalie stepped through the small crack in the door, holding the bronze handle in order to keep her balance in her six inch boots, clearly a purchase for the benefit of her All Saints audition.
"Oh my god! Have we been robbed?" she cried, hurriedly reaching inside her small black clutch purse for her phone.
"No" I groaned, rubbing my right side which had hit the table. I could already feel the monstrous bruise that was forming there.
Rose clambered her way across the room, kicking boxes out of the way as she went, and held out a hand to pull me up. Alice was already on her feet, skipping around the room to tidy her mess. She threw all the loose clothes into one box near the door. When I was safely on my feet, Rose once again appraised the mess in the hall.
"What happened?" she asked seriously.
"Bella was being stubborn" Alice complained, folding up one of my favourite red t-shirts and dropping it into the closest box which held all my pairs of faded blue jeans.
Rose chuckled, "When isn't she?"
My chin jutted out as I defended myself. "Alice's evil schemes to reinvent my wardrobe have risen to a whole new level. She tried to throw out everything I own!"
"Not everything!" she denied, "just everything I didn't buy you."
I huffed, picking up a scruffy grey sweater which belonged to my mom. She'd rarely worn it, saving it for the rare occasions when she'd come to visit me in Forks and had to endure Washington's typical rainy weather. Once I'd moved to college, she'd had no use for it anymore, and given it to me. I folded the sweater over my arm and began to move through the room picking up the rest of my clothes, not daring to put anything in any boxes for fear that Alice would sneak them out of the apartment when I wasn't looking. Rose followed my lead.
"Knock knock" called a smooth voice.
Alice squealed, dropping all the clothes she'd been gathering and raced to swing open the front door. I sighed, rolling my eyes as I went to retrieve them. There behind the door stood Jasper Hale, leaning casually against the top of the door frame. Jasper was Rosalie's twin brother, who also attended Brown to study American History. Jasper and Rosalie looked a lot alike. He shared her ocean blue eyes and stunning gold hair, although his was cut short and lacked the orderly attention Rose put into hers each day. Despite this, he was still extremely attractive, also inheriting the Hale supermodel good looks gene. He was slightly taller than Rose, and lean. He always appeared smart and in order, most likely as a result of Alice's obsession to control his wardrobe like everyone else's. Unlike everyone else though, Jasper didn't mind this one bit.
He bent low to place a kiss on Alice on the lips. The kiss began as a casual peck, but rapidly shifted to a full on make out session right then and there.
"Enough with the P.D.A" Rose grumbled. I glanced over at her in sympathy. Rose and I were used to this kind of behaviour from the pair, but it didn't make it any less irritating. Although I had no siblings of my own, I could understand why Rose might find it a little strange and annoying to have her best friend and twin brother all over each other at every chance they could get, company or not. Rose was a huge supporter of Alice and Jasper's relationship, even being the one to suggest they go to prom together in junior year, which was the beginning of their romance, but I don't think even she could stomach these kind of displays.
"Okay guys, get a room!" I laughed, throwing one of the shirts in my hand at their heads.
Alice pulled it off and scowled at me, but Jasper took it from her with a low chuckle, handing it back. I took it gratefully, knowing that if Alice kept her hands on it I would never see it again. He turned back to Alice, touching foreheads with her so that they could communicate silently. The downgrading of raunchiness seemed to satisfy Rose as she returned to collecting the shirts; however I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy as I saw just how devoted Jasper and Alice were to each other.
Jasper knew Alice better than anyone else, and he loved every part of her. Even her manic, controlling side which drove the rest of us up the wall. He kept her grounded, and would have done anything to make her happy. In a way it reminded me of how Phil kept my mom from hurting herself with one of her daft ideas, but with Alice and Jasper it was different. Just looking into their eyes now, you could see that he would go to the ends of the earth to keep Alice safe. And Alice had saved Jasper too. Before they'd met, Jasper had been involved with some bad people who had led him down a dark path. But she, with all her light and hope, had brought him back and shown him a future beyond all the misery and pain. It was a once in a lifetime love. Soul mates bound for each other. And so, although I was a mostly realistic person, with my love of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, how could I not be a hopeless romantic? I wanted a love like that so much. But I knew better than to believe that I would ever be so lucky.
Jasper turned to face us, finally taking in the state of the room. He let out a swooping whistle.
"Alice, what did you do?" he asked, hardly astonished by the devastation his girlfriend's fashion obsession had left its wake. Alice slapped him hard over the back of his head, causing him to rub the sore spot.
"I'm giving Bella the wardrobe makeover she's so desperately in need of" she replied brightly.
"No, she's not" I corrected, grabbing one of the boxes and heading towards my room. Rose held the door open for me, and I squeezed past the narrow gap and dumped the box in the middle of my bed. Jasper followed us in, carrying two of the boxes stacked upon each other while Alice clawed at his arm whining about how I needed to learn that what I want isn't always what's best for me. Jasper caught my eye and winked as I mouthed a pronounced thank you.
With Jasper's help, it didn't take long to move everything back, although my room was far smaller than the hallway, leaving next to no room to move around once in there.
"Right," Jasper grinned, turning to Alice, "you ready to go?"
"Yep, just give me a second" she replied, dancing out of the room to grab her bag and her coat. Rose and I slumped on the floor, crushing numerous boxes of clothing on the way.
"So what crazy expensive outing are you spending our parent's money on today, Jasper?" Rosalie teased.
Jasper glared at her jokingly, "Actually I was thinking about taking her for a stroll around the park, maybe sharing a hot dog by the lake, keeping it simple, y'know?" he shrugged.
Rosalie gasped dramatically, "What are you thinking? Are you trying to make her break up with you? You know how Alice loves the finer things in life." Of course Rose was joking, since we both knew that Alice would have happily spent her Friday evenings in a sewer so long as she were with Jasper. But it was still highly unusual for Jasper not to take Alice out on an intricate date planned three weeks in advance with only the finest of food and activities. Which must mean that he was up to something…?
"Oh my god!" I cried, grabbing Rose's arm excitedly, "He's going to propose!"
Jasper clamped his hand over my mouth before I could say another word, staring at the door in anticipation of Alice's reaction to the news. After a lengthy period of time, Jasper seemed content that Alice had not heard my exclamation, and removed his hand.
"Sorry!" I whispered, but threw my arms around his neck while he was still bent to my level.
"Hey hey hey!" Rose interrupted. "He's my brother; I should be the first to congratulate him!"
Jasper stood back, running a hand through his blonde hair in embarrassment. "She hasn't even said yes yet" he murmured.
"But she will," I reassured. "If there's there one thing Alice loves more than big romantic gestures, it's the intimacy of the small ones."
"Are we talking about you or Alice?" Rose snorted. I shoved her playfully, giving her my best scowl.
Before I asked anymore about how Jasper planned to pop the question, Alice appeared at the doorway in a completely new outfit. She now wore a cute black dressed that hugged her slight figure, coupled with black tights and a pair of stunning red stilettos which added an extra six inches to her height. She'd tied a red ribbon into her pixie-like hair, and a teal raincoat hung over her arms along with a small red purse. She looked curiously at us.
"What're you whispering about?" she enquired.
"Nothing" we all answered at the same time. Alice's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Jasper cleared his throat, "Ready?" he asked. Alice nodded and turned back out of the room for the front door. Jasper turned and gave us a quick salute before following her out.
"Good luck!" we whispered after him. The second we heard the door slam, we jumped up, squealing in delight and hugging each other.
"I can't believe this!" Rose sang, "Alice is going to be my sister in law!"
"She'll love that!" I laughed. In truth, Rose and I sometimes worried about Alice.
Although she was one of the kindest and most loving people in the world, Alice had grown up without a family to be a part of. Her mother and father had abandoned her at birth, and she'd spent her life being shifted between various foster homes. At sixteen, she became legally emancipated and so moved to Fork to complete her high school education. Shortly after I met her, Charlie, being the Chief, had discovered her background, and without a second thought, invited her to live with us until we moved to college. Since then we'd treated each other as sisters. Alice never showed any sign of bitterness towards her parents or her past, but she had once confided in me that the one thing she desperately wanted was to be part of a family. Although I'd told her she would always be a part of mine, it didn't seem like enough.
But this meant that Alice would really belong to a family. She would be a Hale. Rose and Jasper's parents already loved Alice like a daughter. It was everything she'd ever wanted and deserved. It was perfect.
Rose and I didn't bother to unpack the piles of clothes, instead shoving all the boxes into a corner for another day. We opened a bottle of red wine and curled up on the large beige couch in the living room, talking about the old days. It seemed that Alice growing up had made us all nostalgic.
"Remember that British guy you used to date? What was his name again?"
Rose downed the last of her second glass in one go before answering. "Alistair?" she asked, making a face.
I nodded, grabbing the bottle to top myself up. Rose held out her empty round wine glass expectantly and I refilled it almost to the top. "What was his deal? He always seemed sort of… moody" I stated.
Rose mm'ed as she took another swig of wine. "He didn't seem too interested in me. He liked to come and hang out at my house, but only with my family. I used to think it was just an excuse for him to get closer to Alice, since she was my best friend and she was always there. It took me a while to figure out that it was actually Jasper he was after."
I snorted, splashing a little bit of wine onto my grey sweat pants. "He's gay?! Wow, I never knew" I sighed, shaking my head incredulously before taking my own swig of wine.
Rose giggled. "I don't know what made me go for him anyway. We had nothing in common, although he was quite good in bed" she winked.
"Oh, gross Rose!" I moaned, "Is there anyone you wouldn't sleep with?"
"C'mon Bella, don't judge! It's not like there was much better in Forks. D'you remember your first boyfriend?"
I cringed. I didn't like thinking about my relationship with Jacob Black during my final year at high school. "Don't remind me," I grumbled.
"Exactly."
We drank in silence for a few minutes before Rose huffed.
"Ok, I'm sorry, Bella, that was a low blow. I know Jake's still a bit of a sore subject for you."
I patted her knee in reply. "S'okay," I sighed, "we just weren't in the right place."
Rose sat up straight, shifting to face me directly with her eyes full of concern. "But seriously, Bella. It's been three years since that ended. Have you even been out with a guy since we started college?"
Although her words were not meant harshly, they still stung. I couldn't look her in the eyes as I answered, instead staring at the small red stain on my sweat-pants. "Mike takes me out all the time" I muttered.
"Bella, you don't even like that moron" she replied. She'd said it nicely but I could hear a hint of amusement in her words. I decided it wasn't worth being angry about, instead joining her in her quiet laughter.
I recounted to her how he'd run faster than a gazelle being chased by a hungry lion when he'd heard that she was home. Before we knew it, the atmosphere was light and fun again. We'd finished the bottle of wine and were both witless with laughter as Rose was telling me about her most recent disaster of a date which had involved the guy, Alec, bringing his twin sister, Jane, in the hope of having some sort of twin double date with her and Jasper, when we heard the front door slam loudly.
We both jumped up, grasping each other to keep our balance. We were prepared to bounce on Alice so she could join the club of glee with her news. We stopped short when it wasn't Alice who walked through the archway.
Jasper stood there, looking broken and defeated as he clutched onto the small red purse Alice had taken with her. There was a clear agony in his eyes, which instantly sobered Rose and me up as we rushed to his side.
"Jasper, what happened?" Rose cried, while at the same time I asked "Where's Alice?"
Jasper looked at me, surprised. "She's not here?" he croaked. His voice sounded raw, like he'd been shouting endlessly for hours, and possibly crying too.
Rose led him to the couch and sat on the floor by his knees, taking Alice's purse and placing it on the large coffee table. I stood across the room, not sure what to do.
"Jasper, tell me everything" Rose prompted.
"Alice and I, we were talking about the future, saying where we might go after this, what we might do… I couldn't wait any longer, so I asked her. I pulled out the ring, got down on one knee and asked her to make me the happiest man in the world. It was perfect. It felt perfect."
"Then what happened?" Rose asked urgently.
"She said no," his voice broke. "She said she couldn't do this, that she wouldn't do this to me. Then she ran away. I don't know what I did wrong. She even left her purse. I thought I should come and return it since she left her keys in there. She didn't come back?" he questioned, fear now overtaking his misery.
"Does she have her cell?" I asked, pulling mine out and dialling Alice's number. Jasper didn't need to answer, her ringtone sounded from inside the purse. "Dammit Alice" I cursed quietly.
I strode into the hall, slipped on my old converse and grabbed my brown coat as I made for the door.
"Bella, where are you going?" Rosalie called after me.
"To find Alice, we can't just leave her out there on her own."
I heard Rose push herself off from the living room floor and follow me into the hall. She slipped on her own pair of boots and grabbed her grey faux fur coat and clutch from the hall table. We didn't speak as we raced out into the night in search for Alice. It was unseasonably cold for early May, and I shivered, hugging my coat tighter around me as I squinted into the darkness.
Jasper was last to leave the apartment, shutting the door behind him. I turned back to him.
"Jasper, you should stay here in case she comes back."
Jasper shook his head. "I left a note on the door saying to go to Kate's and calls us from there if she comes back. We'll cover more ground with the three of us," he still looked distraught but he'd put his own misery aside to focus on his mission. Nothing mattered to him but Alice's safety now.
We organised a plan of attack, separating the areas of town into thirds and splitting them equally between us.
"If we hear nothing in an hour, meet back at the apartment" Rose said, taking the role of authority in our search party. Jasper and I nodded in agreement, and without another word, began our search for Alice.
I know we're having a bit of a slow start to the story, I really want to set up a background so we get a real idea of Bella's life at the moment before I properly introduce our wonderful alumnus, Mr. Edward Cullen. There's a lot ahead for these two so let's enjoy this easy world of Bella's before the entropy increases (I'm currently studying for a very big Chemistry exam, forgive me for dropping in terms every now and then.) Which brings me to my next point. I have exams from the 16th of Jan-22nd of Jan which are a very big deal for me. While I'd like to promise that I'll have a new chapter out every week, my priority lies in my studies so please try not to be too impatient if I miss a week or two of publishing. Regular updates will resume as normal after that. Once again, thanks for reading :).