Monday evening

Rosalie walked towards her car, Bella in tow. The sun was starting to set and they'd both agreed that having Rosalie sit through dinner was less than ideal, even if Ellie knew neither of them were completely human. They'd spent the afternoon talking about their supernatural backgrounds, while Rosalie strayed to the truck pretty quickly, much to Bella's amusement.

Rosalie learned that Bella could only sense impending death when she was close enough, and that she couldn't save the individual, even if she tried (she tried), so she definitely wasn't the Grim Reaper. She was human, so she felt pain when she was starving or freezing, though her instant regeneration didn't allow her to die. And, no big deal, she'd raised two kids some hundreds of years ago, but staying around family was the worst kind of torture, so she purposely lost track of the bloodline.

Rosalie had gawked until Bella became fidgety and awkward, announcing that she didn't want to talk about it, and, "Just forget it, okay?"

She most definitely wasn't going to forget it.

With a lot of difficulty and itching with a mixture of jealousy and sympathy, Rosalie complied.

Bella was filled in on all technical aspects vampire. The strength, the speed, the near invulnerability, the gifts, and a slightly censored version of the blood lust. Needless to say, she guffawed when Rosalie explained what happened to her in sunlight, then promptly shut up at Rosalie's pointed look.

"We have to seek out the sun some time," Bella said, coming to a stop at the shiny Mazda, next to Rosalie. "Your whole family, but especially you. If I never see you sparkle, I will just," she clenched her fists and jaw in an exaggerated dramatic fashion, "perish."

Rosalie watched her as she gave the unconscious compliment, enjoying a light fluttering in her chest. It was distracting enough to make her reply lag behind, to the point that Bella looked over.

When Bella caught the look Rosalie was sending her, her heart stuttered, and she averted her eyes.

"We definitely don't want that," Rosalie said, trying to sound as sarcastic as possible to distract Bella from her swooning.

Bella snorted, cheeks pink as she shook her head. She cleared her throat, shaking it off. "So, uh, thanks, again. It got kinda messy back there, with the feelings and stuff. It helps to have someone around."

The way she said it made Rosalie suspicious, like Bella had encountered people who hadn't handled it well. "Don't treat me like some teenager," she scoffed, affronted to be put in even remotely the same category. "Emotions aren't inherently messy and the fact that you think anxiety is, means you've never had so much as an unconventional urge."

Bella breathed in shakily, eyes misty with something like adoration. Rosalie was completely serious about her words, painfully aware of one of the darkest struggles she'd had to endure as a vampire, so it came as a surprise when Bella was suddenly hugging Rosalie again.

Bella's scent was strong that close, rich with satisfaction and glee.

It only lasted a moment, short enough that Rosalie barely had time to take a hold of Bella's waist, before Bella disengaged. The hug became a stunted starting-ending half embrace where their faces were almost nose to nose.

Rosalie inhaled Bella's warm breath, calmly taking in the details of her eyes. She didn't feel intimidated by the close proximity. The few hugs they shared should have been enough indication, but—

"Okay, bye," Bella said hastily, giving Rosalie's shoulder a friendly smack as she pulled away. She walked backwards to the house. "Drive safe!"

Rosalie blinked at the veritable dust trail Bella left behind.

Okay then.

###

Rosalie had barely parked her car before Alice appeared, not so patiently waiting for Rosalie to get out. She was bouncing on her feet, smiling wide and happy. Rosalie briefly considered taking her sweet time getting out of the car to torture her some, but decided against it.

As soon as she opened the car door, Alice's nose wrinkled. "You smell weird."

Rosalie paused, momentarily insulted until she figured Bella's otherworldly scent had gotten in her clothes, but Alice was already talking again.

"So when do we get to meet her?"

"Who?" Rosalie asked, taking a second to catch up as she stepped out of the vehicle.

"Our future best friend!" Alice exclaimed with the utmost confidence.

"Oh God," Rosalie whispered to herself, realizing that Bella would totally be open to friendship with someone quirky like Alice.

Alice blinked prettily, obviously trying to turn up the charm with a winning smile. "I promise I'll try to behave?"

Rosalie scoffed at the promise of trying. "It's not you I'm worried about," she said, remembering Bella's meeting with Carlisle. She hadn't exactly verified her disdain for him, but it seemed problematic enough. "It's Carlisle. Bella might..." She was searching for the right words, when she took notice of Alice's 1000 yard stare. "Right. Of course," she muttered, settling to wait for Alice to clock back in. She glanced at her watch.

With a timing that was no doubt on purpose, the door to the garage opened. "Rosalie," Edward greeted, joining them. His face was set in a serious frown.

"Edward." Rosalie folded her arms, vaguely annoyed that neither of them could wait until she entered the house. "I'm fine, not entertaining suicide, and mind your own business," she said in one long exasperated breath.

The worry melted from his face, instead replaced by mild amusement. "Normally I'm the one who can read minds."

"You're also painfully transparent when you do," she said, glancing at Alice.

Edward nodded his head as if to say that was a fair jab. "I apologize. It's not every day I catch stray thoughts about death."

"Right."

A silence befell them.

"What's that smell?" he asked, almost conversationally. He inhaled through his nose. "You smell like..."

Rosalie couldn't help but think very loudly that she smelled fucking fantastic and if one more person asked, she would throw them into the moon.

"Uh, nice," Edward finished, fumbling slightly. He blinked, confused.

"Why does Bella hate Carlisle?" Alice interrupted, completely unphased by Edward's presence.

Rosalie glared at Edward, daring him to read her mind on such a sensitive subject. For her part, she tried not to think of the answer, but it was hard when someone was trying to have a conversation with her.

Edward averted his eyes.

Alice, seeming to notice the reluctance, continued to talk, "The longer you wait, the more likely she is to throttle him."

Edward snapped to attention, incredulous that any human could hate Carlisle to the point of hurting themselves.

Rosalie frowned. She couldn't imagine what would enrage a kind person such as Bella. Then again, she had a hazy memory of Bella trying to shove off Carlisle when she realized he was turning her. And that was when she thought she'd been murdered. Would she really fan the flames and tell Bella the truth of her death?

"Carlisle will just have to scram!" Alice exclaimed, snapping her out of it.

Rosalie shot her wan smile for attempting to lighten the mood. "I'll think about it," she said. Then, deciding she'd had enough, pushed past them.

Neither followed.

Monday night

The moon was clearly visible in the night sky by the time Rosalie had found a spot. A spot to be alone for a while. She'd opted to sit high up in a tree, if only to feel hidden away. After a while of watching and listening to the nocturnal animals come to life, and making sure she hadn't been followed, she pulled out her necklace. The moon illuminated the Charon pendant in her hand, the one she'd been carrying around since she met Bella, in case she magically forgot about her—again.

Bella, the cursed human.

The pendant no longer inspired dread, and she tucked it away for another reason than to remember her brush with Death.

She breathed in, disappointed that she had gotten used to the feel of the cool air, and gripped the thick branch she was sitting on. The clear sky allowed her to gaze at the stars, to take her mind off things.

She must have been there for quite a while before a voice called to her, "Hey!" A quick glance down revealed Emmett, looking up with an amused smile. "Care for some company?"

Rosalie shrugged. Of all the Cullens, she was least likely to send him away.

Taking it as a go ahead, he climbed up the tree with the agility of a large bear. The tree shook when he jumped from one branch to another, but he managed to keep everything intact and settled down besides Rosalie with less impact than she expected.

"Hey," he repeated, more softly. His smile melted away as he sniffed the air.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. She knew Bella didn't smell human, but this was getting ridiculous. Before he could ask, she sighed, "It's Bella."

"Oh yeah! I remember." His smile was back like that. "Cool," he said simply, turning to take in the view.

Rosalie raised a brow at his curious behavior. Or maybe she'd gotten so used to meddling that his non-reaction felt weird to her. "You're not gonna ask why?"

He looked at her. "Why what?"

"Why she doesn't smell human?" She realized a much more pertinent question. "Why she's on me?"

Emmett shrugged, either suspiciously indifferent or not-so-suspiciously respecting her boundaries. "Do you want to tell me?"

Rosalie realized that she kinda did. Emmett was a good friend—all the Cullens were. But where the others' approaches were more direct, Emmett wielded more tact. Usually. "She's an immortal human," she said, leaving the death curse for another time. "We hugged."

There was a brief moment where Rosalie expected Emmett to become his boisterous self, to cheer or something, but he remained grounded. He just kept smiling, appearing happy for her. "You like her," he concluded.

Rosalie couldn't deny it if she tried. The fact was that she did like Bella. She couldn't find a reason not to like her. Even the usual soulless vampire argument turned moot in the face of Bella's immortality. A vampire might be the closest thing to family she might enjoy for longer amounts of time.

And it wasn't just a one way street. Rosalie yearned for the humanity that Bella had in spades.

A hand appeared in her vision, palm upwards, next to her thigh. "It'll all work out," he said, even though he couldn't possibly know. He seemed more his age than she'd seen in a while. It was nice.

Rosalie took his hand, allowing him to squeeze hers.

He smiled, eyes glinting with a hidden, gleeful wisdom. "Maybe not the way you want, but you'll be fine."

He might not be able to see the future, but his words were comforting nevertheless. She mirrored his smile with a muted version of her own, and leaned her weight into his side, resting her head on his shoulder.

Wednesday at midnight

"Could you eat our disgusting, human food? Hypothetically speaking?" Bella asked, popping a fry in her mouth. "To, I don't know, blend in?"

Rosalie tore her eyes away from the tacky interior of the 24/7 diner. Bella chewed on her food, seated across from her in a booth. She swore the place was great for junk food, especially when you looked at other places that were open around midnight. She had also sworn she'd never gotten food poisoning there, followed by an eyebrow wriggle, because duh, Bella regenerated instantly. Rosalie had squashed the urge to shove her.

Rosalie grimaced at the thought of eating anything. "If the situation requires it."

"That's... gross?" she said with a frown. "Though I guess it makes sense, evolutionary-wise."

"A wolf can eat the sheep's grass to gain their trust," she said, grabbing two fries from Bella's plate, eyeing them thoughtfully. To her amusement, Bella was practically staring, waiting for her to eat them. She grinned.

"You're such a jerk," Bella laughed once she realized that Rosalie was just taunting her. She shook her head.

Rosalie was going to put them back, but their waitress was eyeing them strangely. Maybe even eavesdropping. Bitten in the ass by her own prank, she stared the elderly blonde woman down as she put the fries in her mouth and chewed.

The waitress hurried to avert her eyes.

"Oh God, this is terrible," Rosalie said softly, sporting a perfect poker face.

Bella almost choked on her snicker. She quickly grabbed a few napkins from the dispenser, but instead of using them herself, she held them out to Rosalie. "I told you I was totally fine with you watching me eat."

Rosalie took the napkins and pretended to wipe her mouth, spitting the food in it instead.

"Though to be fair, that was a joke," Bella added.

In another effort to seem human, she pretended to sip her water. She thought she'd pulled it off pretty well by wearing a larger, less flattering sweater for a change, but no such luck. "You also said you were dealing with anxiety and needed a distraction."

"Yeah, I was thinking of 'keep me company with messages while I do a human thing that makes me feel better.' You just decided to... spoil me." Bella's smile was genuine, but the bags under her eyes betrayed her rough night.

With sudden clarity, Rosalie remembered Bella eating fries when they bumped into each other in the hospital parking lot. It struck her as odd that Bella had been alone then and was planning to be alone now, especially because she had friends and liked company.

Then again, those friends were mortal, maybe even the cause of her anxiety.

Bella seemed to notice the wheels turning in Rosalie's mind, eyes clear and inquisitive. "What?" she asked through a full mouth.

"Nothing." Despite her reply, she reached over to cover Bella's idle hand with hers, making her pause mid chew. Her consequent dumbfounded face was priceless.

Bella, regaining her wits, swallowed. She twisted her hand to hold on properly, their fingers twining. She was smiling shyly, and her face had turned pink by the time she popped another fry into her mouth.

The moment of peace was short-lived, however, when Bella became tense and squeezed her eyes shut. Worried that she was in pain, Rosalie asked, "What is it?"

Bella opened her eyes, revealing that her pupils had dilated a noticeable amount. "People keep dying tonight," she said in a hushed tone, making sure not to attract attention. "I didn't tell you before, but I know their lives and thoughts until they're gone, and it's," she sighed, her pupils returning to normal, "exhausting."

Surprisingly, Rosalie's first thought was that the death curse was worse than she imagined. Her second thought concerned her own death. Bella had been, however short the time period, omniscient about everything hers. "Mine, too," she concluded softly.

Bella blinked a few times, her brain visibly processing at 10% capacity as she tried to decipher Rosalie's meaning. When she did, she nodded her head. "I probably knew everything while you were human, but that evaporated as soon as you, y'know, started a new phase."

Rosalie didn't remember the exact words that Bella had spoken during that window, but she knew they were kind. Bella wanted her to be at peace and know love, happiness. She didn't have to care about the vain, naive woman Rosalie used to be, but she did.

Rosalie didn't realize the lack of an immediate reply could be interpreted as anything bad until Bella slackened her hold on her hand. She was trying not to look sad, besides tired, as she braced herself for some kind of rejection.

Rosalie held on tighter.

Bella searched her eyes, and blew out a long, relieved breath at whatever she found.


Oof, I feel like I'm handling this story with the grace of a bull in a china shop. The only thing that's driving me atm is (spite) all the funny ideas I have for the future.

Also, I'm never googling anyone ever again.

Me: *innocently googling Kirsten Stewart to find out what the fuck her eye color is*
Me: hah, she's younger than I
Me: ...
Me: time for a Meltdown^TM

Me, five hours later, still none the wiser: FUCk