A/N: A few time jumps here, I'm sorry about that, but I was getting impatient and wanting to get to some juicy stuff. So good news: the good stuff will be coming soon.
A burn filled my nose and throat as soda came ejecting from my mouth violently. I choked and coughed trying to clear my esophagus as Alice watched me with sick delight on her face. I glared at her as I reached for a tissue on my bedside table. I get terrible runny noses in the winter weather, okay? It's not what you're thinking.
"So yes then?" Alice smirked, getting up to hand me another tissue and taking the soda can from my hand. We were sitting in my room, Alice now at the foot of the bed with a textbook open beside her while I sat leaning against the headboard working on my computer. I had several essays due by Sunday and it was already Wednesday, so I invited Alice-she more invited herself-over to work together. I knew Bella had classes today and wouldn't be home until 4. Alice must've known that too.
"No." I replied, tossing the crumpled tissues into the trashcan that sat 5 feet to my left at the door. I missed. Alice raised her brow at me.
"I've seen the way you stare at her." She smiled, analyzing my face. I rolled my eyes, looking back down at my laptop where my 1,000 word essay sat at a measly 215 words.
"Don't you have work to do?" I replied as coolly as I could while I continued typing. Alice shifted to the spot beside me. I knew what she wanted was a reaction, and I absolutely refused to give her one.
"You can tell me, I won't tell Bella." Alice said, poking my shoulder. It had only been 2 months since we'd met, but she was quickly becoming the annoying little sister I'm glad I never had. It was mid-October. Last month we celebrated Bella's birthday with a cheap birthday cake from a grocery store, and shitty paper party hats (thanks to Alice), but Bella loved it. It was the first picture I had with her. Well, Jacob and Alice were also in the picture, but still. We had our resident assistant take it for us. A group photo of the 4 of us, barely friends. Bella beaming with Jacob at her right, Alice on her left, and me at Alice's side. I would never admit it, but when Bella handed me my copy of the photo, I was elated. I've never been one for friends. Emmett had been my only friend since I can remember. It was strange, these friendships that were forming. I felt almost as if I didn't belong, like I was getting in their way… yet they never excluded me. Even Jacob, who I found off-putting at first, was consistently friendly.
He and Bella were closer now, I'd noticed. Sometimes before game nights, the two of them would sneak into Bella's room or take a walk outside. I tried not to think too much into it, but I will admit it bothered me a little to watch them return giggling and leaning into each other. I still had no information at the nature of their relationship, but it seemed obvious.
Emmett never wavered in seeking details about Bella. I didn't have much to tell him, as I still didn't know her all that well myself, but he still pressed. I wont even repeat the things he'd suggested I do to make a move on her.
I continued typing, trying to concentrate on whatever I was writing while struggling to pull myself from my thoughts. Alice clicked her tongue as she watched me.
"Problem?" I asked, annoyed. She looked up at me innocently. Fake innocently.
"Nope." She chirped. A minute or two of silence passed before she spoke again.
"I just think you and Bella would make a cute couple is all." She said slowly. I stopped typing then and looked at her in bewilderment.
"What?"
She looked at me then and shrugged. I glared at her in return. She was teasing me, and we both knew it. Hoping to get a confession of some sort or trying to play matchmaker. Either way, it was cruel, especially considering Bella would never be interested in me.
"You're annoying." Was all I replied to her as she laughed.
When Bella returned home that afternoon, Alice and I were watching television in the living room. Some kind of chef competition show that she was really into. I'd long completed my essay and decided to call it a day on homework. I knew it wasn't a good idea, but Alice tempted me with the promise of a paid lunch, so I gave in. She sat on the armchair to my left, her small legs curled crisscrossed beneath her as she grazed on her leftovers from lunch.
"Hey." Bella greeted as she dropped her bag on the floor beside the couch and plopped down beside me.
"How was class?" Alice asked, picking another French fry from the Styrofoam tray in her lap all while never removing her eyes from the TV. Bella sat up to quickly snatch a fry from Alice, resulting in a glare and a playful middle finger. Both girls laughed. I felt happy for Alice having made such a good friend in Bella. I know she said she wasn't having an easy time making friends here, so the fact that I had something to do with their relationship brought a bit of pride to me.
"Eh, you know. Who would've thought humans need food, water, and air to survive? Apparently, we need a whole chapter dedicated to it." Bella quipped, standing up, "I'm gonna shower." She said, making her way to her bedroom.
"Kay." Alice muttered as she kept her eyes glued to the screen. "Oh, COME ON, you dropped the chicken?! What an amateur!"
Bella came back out of her bedroom with her bag of toiletries and a large blue towel draped over her should, rolling her eyes at Alice's outburst as she walked by.
I drifted off into thoughts of schoolwork and deadlines as I looked out the window to my right which overlooked the student square. There was no one outside, probably because of how cold the weather has been lately. I still had essays to write by Sunday, yet here I was wasting time on the touch listening to some celebrity chef call people idiot sandwiches on TV.
With that, I went to my room to grab my laptop and continued working on my biopsy research paper. Alice didn't seem to notice anyway.
About 20 or 30 minutes went by before Bella finally emerged from the bathroom wrapped in her towel. Her hair hung soaked down her shoulders, her face was pink and fresh looking. Makeup free, she was still gorgeous.
I tried to keep my eyes focus on my laptop screen as to not make her uncomfortable as she walked by. After she had shut her bedroom door, however, I let my mind drift just a little into dangerous territory.
Bella soon emerged again from her bedroom, this time clothed, and rubbing her head with the towel around her neck. She returned to her previous place on the couch beside me and waited a few minutes before speaking.
"So, Jake told me about some Halloween party at the frat house. You guys wanna come with?" She asked, wrapping her hair up in the towel so it sat on top of her head.
This grabbed Alice's attention.
"Yes! That would be SO much fun!" She squealed in her seat for a moment before focusing her attention on me. I pretended not to hear them as I typed some gibberish in an effort to look busy.
"Edward, I know you heard. We're going right?" Alice pressed, staring daggers into me. I frowned, looking up at her, then Bella, who stared at me in anticipation of me reply. I cleared my throat then and resumed my typing of "sdsnsldvnidnvd" into my word document.
"I uh, I can't. Em and I usually work on the Hallow's End event in WoW that day. It's sort of a tradition so…" I wasn't lying, Em and I did always work on the special Halloween quests on Halloween night…but always after being dragged to whatever awful party he forced me to go to first. We'd go, I'd hide in a corner until it was over, then we'd head back to our homes and jump on WoW for the rest of the night. Once or twice we switched it up by playing horror games instead. One time 2 years ago we played Dead by Daylight on Halloween night and I shit you not, this guy-
"Oh, come on! You play that game every night, you can't miss one? Please?" Alice sighed loudly, leaning forward to rest her clasped hands on her knees as she begged.
"I do not play every night." I muttered, embarrassed. I couldn't have felt more like a loser in that moment.
"Whatever. Come on, it'll be so fun! We can dress up and dance. Oh my god! Matching costumes?! Eddie please!" Alice shrieked excitedly. Bella laughed loudly, covering her mouth. I felt myself turn beet red at Alice comment.
"Absolutely not. Congratulations, you completely dissipated any chance you had of getting me to go with that comment."
"Alice please." I begged as she straightened my "cape." She stood back, taking in a look at my ridiculous costume before a huge grin spread across her stupid little face. Alice decided to dress me up as a vampire…creative, I know. Complete with fangs, fake blood around my mouth, and a black and red cape. I won the argument as far as the ruffle shirt and leather pants, thank god, and was allowed to wear a black t shirt and jeans instead. She also tried to force red contacts on me to "sell the look," but I won that battle too, and opted with my glasses instead.
"You look great! I'm so excited!" She gushed, fixing a loose piece of hair in my face. I looked at myself in the vanity mirror Alice brought which sat on my dresser. I could see my skin through the cheap costume makeup that Alice had painted on. White covering my face, black on my eyes, and fake blood "dripping" from my mouth. I looked utterly ridiculous.
"Please don't make me do this." I begged, receiving a playful slap on the chest.
"You're already dressed, we're going." She lectured, turning around to sit on the edge of my bed, pulling a shoe box to her. She proceeded to slide her feet into a pair of red heels and raised a leg in the air to examine them. "What do ya think?"
"Nice." I grumbled, pulling on the too tightly tied cape around my neck.
"You barely looked." She huffed, standing up and adjusting her dress. She wore a matching vampire costume, in an effort to further embarrass me. A short as hell red dress the bellowed out around her thighs, black fishnet tights, a black choker and dark eye makeup. She swore up and down she would be overdressed for the party, though I begged to differ.
She pushed me out of the way of the mirror so she could examine her makeup again, which was fine with me. I definitely wouldn't be looking into any more mirrors tonight. Oh god, no that's not a vampire joke, I just meant…Jesus Christ, forget it.
An alarm on Alice's phone went off then, signaling time to leave. She quickly applied a 46th layer of lip gloss before rushing me out of the bedroom.
"Bella! Let's go!" Alice yelled at Bella's bedroom door while she ran around the living room looking for her purse. I leaned against the wall, watching Alice curse as she moved the couch pillows around and tripped over a beer can.
I thought of Emmett just then. He knew and was all too supportive of my (Alice's) decision to go the Halloween party instead of play games all night, but I still felt guilty. I'm sure he probably had tons of parties to chose from back home, but he always made time to hang out with me on this holiday.
"Found it!" Alice cheered as she pulled a tiny black purse from between the couch cushions and slung the strap over her shoulder.
Then, Bella opened her bedroom door and I knew right then this night would suck.