Disclaimer: I only own Johanna and my setting. That's why my place names sound weird. Oh, and I own Demetri's last name! But not Tanya's, though, because hers is a French word and is owned by the French language. I make no sense.
A special thanks to xx-twilight7-xx for helping me pick out some of the dresses. Ce chapitre est pour toi! :D
Emmett: It was great replying to your reviews. I was so happy when ultimategilmoregirl (she replied with an even longer comment than I did!) and Minniluna (who insists on being called Mona) replied back. But as much as I like doing this, Lady Saruman still does not own me.
Me: Gee, thanks Emmett, like I really needed you to rub that in my face.
Emmett: Truth hurts.
Me: Yeah, I know that. You know what? You know what? I'm not letting you do the replies anymore. Take that. :) (Shh you guys know I'm just saying that)
Emmett: NOOOOOOOOO!
This chapter will be DPA (different physical appearance). Hehe yes I made that up :P. And I think you may need to look at the pictures of the dresses (links at the end of the page) to understand what I am saying. I always sucked at describing fancy, intricate articles of clothing.
Emmett's POV
My crazy sister had somehow managed to get all three of the other girls—Rosalie, Heidi, and Johanna—to go shopping with her. She was even able to convince Tanya as well. Tanya, who disliked shopping. Alice was probably the most social person on the planet—she could communicate with anyone and was rarely ever shy. She and Johanna were already cordially chatting away in less than two minutes after they were introduced to each other.
So Alice dragged them all to the mall, where they probably splurged on their dresses. And the scariest thing was that none of the girls seemed to mind being bossed around for eight straight hours by my little shopping demon of a sister.
When she returned at last, I nearly pounced on her in my eagerness to see her dress. I had no clue why—it was something I did for every dress she bought for a dance. Perhaps it was my protective older brother role that caused me to do that. Alice saw it as something else.
"Emmett, you're such a girl," she said, a bit taken aback by my unusual enthusiasm.
"Come on, Alice," I whined, trying to imitate her always effective puppy eyes. Needless to say, I failed.
"Tch no. You're going to tell Jasper what it looks like. Well, after he persuades you to tell him."
That comment stung. "I can't believe you don't trust me." Then the second sentence registered. "In case you've forgotten, I'm not a girl, and I'm not the one who likes him so much that I'll do anything he asks of me."
"No, I mean haven't you noticed that he's quite charismatic? He can influence almost anyone to see things his way and he's always able to get you and Edward to do things for him."
I had to admit she had a point. Even in my laziest moments, Jasper somehow still got me up on my feet to help him get something because he was too lazy to go get it himself. I thought it was just because I was too nice for my own good.
"I'll show you my shoes though. Look look look!" she said enthusiastically, bouncing up and down with a pair of balance-threatening heels. Unsurprisingly, I saw the word 'Gucci' on there. As for the price, I didn't even want to think about it. It was certainly a good thing that she worked a part-time job on the weekends. Nevertheless, I gaped at her.
"Alice, please tell me you didn't force the other girls to get shoes like those too."
She only looked at me innocently.
Day of Homecoming
The dance was at seven, and the girls came at four (no doubt due to the orders of a certain paranoid Alice). It secretly pleased me that Rosalie had agreed to assist Alice with the girls' makeup, because that meant Demetri couldn't pick her up—meaning he had a lesser chance to attempt anything with her.
I was sprawled over the couch with my legs dangling off its armrest, reading. I heard Alice laugh shrilly from upstairs. What was going on up there? Oh. Wait. She was probably subjecting victim number one to her "elite decorating skills", as she called it.
At five forty-five, I showered and got ready, adjusting my tie to make it impeccably straight. Cologne was kept to the bare minimum; I didn't want to suffocate Heidi…and especially not Rosalie.
It was now six thirty. As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and Alice danced into my room—wearing the brightest yellow dress I had ever seen in my life. It had a revealing neckline (or so it seemed to me), spaghetti straps, and a single sash that crossed one shoulder, making the entire top part asymmetrical. It fell slightly above her knees, and she actually looked adorable in it. Sister-wise, of course.
She had always been quite tan, so her yellow dress suited her and didn't look awkward at all, like it usually would on others. I swear Alice was trying to drive Jasper crazy.
She wore the pair of light grey strappy satin sandals she had shown me that other day. The heels were a frightening four and a half inches high (I had secretly measured them one day when she wasn't home).
The doorbell sounded again and Alice pushed me out of my room. "Go sit with the guys and try not to emanate any of your 'I hate Demetri' vibes please. Oh yeah, and not a word to Jasper, no matter how much he tries to wheedle it out of you. Or else."
I couldn't refrain from shooting her an annoyed look. "Some trust please, Alice."
She grinned, unperturbed. "Oh, I trust you. It's just that you might cave in to his persuasiveness."
"Again, Alice, I'm not you."
"And like I said, he's uncannily talented in getting people to submit to his will." She gave me one final little push.
I went downstairs, and before I had even made it halfway down, my nose started burning. It only got worse the further down I went. Three of the four guys on the couch looked uncomfortable as well. If my parents found the strong smell suffocating, they were doing a good job of hiding it. Not wanting to go anywhere near the couch, I settled for sitting on the bottommost step of the stairs. The guys were talking to Esme and Carlisle about the dance. Demetri looked abnormally excited—I say abnormally because this was far from his first dance—no doubt because of his date. He was currently engaged in a friendly banter with Esme about her title.
"…no, please, call me Esme."
"Oh, I couldn't, Mrs. Cullen. It would be very rude of me." It was hard to stop myself from punching him in the face. Obviously, it wasn't rude if an adult told you to call her by her first name. Get your facts straight, Demetri.
He then winked at my mother.
What the hell…was Demetri flirting with Esme? Back off from my mom, I snarled at him in my head.
Carlisle noticed also. He casually put his arm around his wife and gave Demetri a friendly yet dangerous smile that I knew all too well. "That's very kind of you, Demetri, but really, we insist."
I couldn't stop those negative feelings from flowing out now. They were directed towards one person, and ironically, that person was the only one who was oblivious to the hatred I was exuding. What was up with this poor excuse for a guy? I knew he wasn't a player and he certainly didn't have commitment issues, so what was he doing now? He should marry the French teacher and then they could take turns ruining each other's lives.
Jasper flashed me a warning look, but his eyes immediately softened as he fixed them on a point behind me. I twisted around and beheld my sister gliding down the stairs. How did she do that in those crazy heels of hers? I mean, if they were flat shoes, sure, but this was just insane. I didn't get to dwell on that fact since Heidi came after her. And tonight she looked nothing like she did at school. I jumped up and to the side, out of their way.
"Wow, Heidi, you look amazing!" I said, meaning the words. And indeed she was. She wore a brown dress with a shiny silver O-ring that was attached to the vee. It had several folds in the front, and it ended slightly below her knees. She had on a pair of lighter brown heels that matched her dress, and I was thankful that they weren't sparkly and abhorrent. I had seen enough of those on my personal hell teacher to last me for quite a while. She was wearing what resembled a tiara—it wasn't really one, just a thin band of silver to keep her hairstyle in place. She smiled and returned the compliment.
However, she couldn't compare with Rosalie, who mimicked Alice's descent perfectly.
My golden-haired Aphrodite had on a white dress, simple yet elegant. It was a single strap dress, tight at her waist and with very little flare. The strap itself was made of jewel-embedded rings that were all linked together. The dress was stunning, but that was most likely because Rosalie's beauty made it so. I knew that was a biased explanation but I didn't care. Her hair shone with that perfect silky sheen, as always, and she had left it down with the ends slightly curled. Entangled in her mane was an assortment of different flowers, half-woven into a messy garland, but I was sure she had intended it to be that way. It made her look wildly free and as if she was one with nature. Dangling from her earlobes were diamond earrings that fell in a chandelier pattern, and hanging on her neck was a platinum teardrop necklace that hung on a simple chain. The silver heels that the Greek goddess wore only accentuated her height—they were stiletto, but they could not have been more than two inches high. They were also bound to her feet by means of ankle straps. She had managed to make herself unbearably beautiful with only simple attire—nothing was overdone.
Despite all that, nothing could compare to the beauty of her sweet face. Rosalie was an amazingly fast healer, and by six weeks, her scars had already begun to fade. Any traces left of the wound were covered by some type of cosmetic just for that purpose. The mysteriousness of her grey-blue irises was enhanced by makeup.
I heard a whistle from behind me and saw Demetri's greedy eyes roaming up and down Rosalie's body. He looked as if he had won the lottery—and he had. He had been struck lucky the moment Rosalie said yes to him. I, however, thought she could have done so much better.
"Looking good, ladies," he said in what he probably thought was a sultry tone. It was disgusting, and the girls stared him down with their accusing eyes. God, I never want to hear him talk with that voice again. I wanted to throw up.
Heidi chose that exact moment to choke. "God, Demetri, what the hell are you wearing? I think I'm going to…die…of that smell…and it's so strong too, not to mention stinky." She couldn't stop coughing. Alice was gagging behind Demetri's back. Rosalie was wrinkling her nose. Tanya was pinching hers. Johanna's clutch served as a mask.
Turning my attention to something less revolting, I noticed Jasper's eyes were fixed on Alice's, and vice versa. Demetri, damn him, had moved into my line of sight. His eyes were focused on a point too low to be Rosalie's face. I felt my teeth clench instinctively. Thank God she wasn't wearing a dress that showed cleavage. Who knew what would happen then.
Heidi noticed her brother too. "Pig," she muttered from her place next to me. I laughed and rewarded her with a huge grin for agreeing with me. See what a good friend she was?
Not asking the girl you like to this dance is a sin, the stupid rebel voice started. Shut up! I snapped right back at it. We can't always get what we want. It was Heidi's turn to laugh at me. "Internal conflict?" she asked sympathetically. I nodded. Traitorous face. That reminded me…I still needed to learn how to keep a blank face.
I took out the box containing the corsage and the boutonnière. I slipped the arrangement of lisianthus flowers, baby's breaths, and ribbons onto her wrist, and she pinned the single flower onto the lapel of my tuxedo jacket. The others repeated our actions on their partners. I noticed that Rosalie looked nauseated.
And of course, the one thing my mom could never forget: pictures. Esme made us pose in many different ways while she snapped away on the camera.
When we were about to leave, she and Carlisle held Alice and me back. They waited until everyone was out of the door, and then they turned to us. I knew what was coming. They went ahead with the pre-dance talk, and I listened obediently. But this time they added a little more to it.
"Emmett," Carlisle said in a low voice. "I don't trust Demetri at all. You saw what he did to Esme. Please be careful when you're around him. I'll also have to ask you to take care of Rosalie as well. Let's just say that he might attempt to get carried away when he's with her. And," he added, "watch over Alice too."
I nodded; I had planned to do those things anyway. Alice was impatiently rocking back and forth on her heels, which I never knew was possible. Carlisle turned to her.
"You too, Alice. Watch yourself around Demetri. And although I know that Jasper is a good person, you can never be too careful."
This time Alice and I both nodded. "Thanks, Mom and Dad."
"Have fun," Esme said. My parents were smiling relaxed smiles now. The fact that they could trust us made me feel very happy inside.
The car seating was quite simple: we were going to take two cars. Riding with Edward in his car were: Alice, Jasper, Heidi, and I. The other car consisted of Tanya, Demetri, Rosalie, Johanna, and Alec, Tanya's date. I loathed the idea of having Rosalie with that scum boy, but he couldn't try anything with other people in the car. The arrangement of the return trip was much better—Alice, Jasper, Edward, Rosalie, and I were piled together. It was convenient, what with each of the three pairs of siblings who could be dropped off together.
When we arrived at school, we showed our ID cards to one of the dance supervisors standing at the door and gave her our tickets. She waved us in, and we were impressed with all the decorations that had transformed our gym into what looked like a dance club. That is, all of us except for Alice, who was muttering about how she could have done so much better.
"Aww Alice, don't be a killjoy." The words came from the bastard who shouldn't even be talking to my sister. Alice ignored him. Jasper shot him a fierce look that was capable of burning up Demetri's face.
We were still taking in our unfamiliar surroundings, seeing and memorizing where everything was located. We had come slightly late to avoid the opening speech, so the dancing had already started. Following the end of the upbeat song, the first few notes of a slow, soft song began.
"Heidi, would you like to dance?" I asked, offering my hand to her. She accepted, and off we went, swaying to the music.
After our song, Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music" came on, and Demetri asked Rosalie to go with him to the floor. She rejected him firmly.
"I'm sorry, but I don't freak dance." And she turned around and struck up a conversation with the nearest person. Heidi and I shook with silent laughter. Rosalie had changed a lot ever since her accident. She now had a much better sense of propriety. Demetri stalked over to the refreshments table, clearly vexed.
After several more songs (some of which Demetri had gotten Rosalie to dance with him to), the student council captured our attention. Heidi and I went to join Alice and Jasper at their table and we waited for the others.
Since our school was unlike others, there was no Homecoming court; it was just the king and the queen, who were announced during the dance, not during the Homecoming game. This was what they were about to do now. A senior from the student council was chosen to declare the winners. Someone named Victoria Something-or-other was crowned Queen.
Demetri's arm had somehow managed to snake its way around Rosalie's shoulder, and she didn't even mind. They were infuriating. Go to hell, Demetri…ugh. I hated how he affected me this badly. I normally did not curse people, not even the French teacher. Carlisle and Esme had always taught me to have good morals; and now, because of one person, all that disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Annnnnnnnnd the Homecoming King will beeeeeeeee—" those dramatic pauses were overused. "—Demetri Kydovski!"
A collective gasp ran around our table. Rosalie instantaneously shrugged Demetri's arm off of her shoulder and turned away from him. He was grinning broadly as he stood up and strutted to his waiting crown with his chest thrown out.
"What the heck. He never told me he ran. Jerk," she muttered, but she didn't sound hurt or anything. I couldn't suppress a smile.
"We could all dance with you," Johanna suggested shyly, most likely still trying to retract her timid side. Rosalie's physical appearance really did intimidate girls. Fortunately, Rosalie seemed to know that and gave Johanna a grateful smile. The girl visibly relaxed.
The next slow song started, and Demetri and Victoria waltzed on the floor first. I saw her wince. Couples started joining them. However, neither Heidi nor I felt the slightest desire to go. We kept Rosalie company. After three songs, Demetri still had not returned. It was clear that he did not intend to come back. And the worst part was that he had just left her without saying anything.
When we went to go get some punch, we finally spotted him. Heidi gave her brother the most hateful look she could conjure up. "I can't believe he actually did that," she snarled. "I am so going to kill him. Whatever happened to the chivalrous conduct he was taught?" she hissed through her teeth. Her eyes were glued to her brother, who was now strutting away.
Rosalie looked at her with a new respect. "I don't mean to pry, but do you hate him or something?"
"More often than not—well I don't hate him, it's just that he does a lot of selfish things that annoy me. Like that." She waved her hand in the general direction of the smirking Demetri, who pulled a random girl with him to the floor. I was smiling smugly as well. Excellent. Demetri had blown it. Now I could take over without being accused of stealing someone else's date—he had made the choice when he decided to ditch her. Technically, she was a free agent.
Heidi nudged me and said loud enough for Rosalie to hear, "Hey Emmett, I'm going to go dance with some other people, okay?" Dropping her voice, she added, "Have fun with Rosalie and I'll see you later." She winked at me and waved at Rosalie before sashaying over to Alice.
I repeated the same question I had asked Heidi to Rosalie, and then we were whirling on the floor, with Demetri completely forgotten. Matching my steps with Rosalie's, our closeness—it was all so dreamlike. Unreal. And it wasn't going to last long.
Someone requested for a song. When it started, I led Rosalie outside. That song was disgusting and suggestive and there was nothing we could do while it was playing. Except talk. And it was much easier to do so outside, where it wasn't as loud or as suffocating.
We seated ourselves on a backless stone bench. Privacy at last.
"Hey Rosalie," I began. It sounded so lame. "You look beautiful tonight." How much more mundane could I get?
"Thank you. You don't look bad yourself." A smile was playing on her lips. My heart missed a beat at her praise. How was she able to make simple words sound so majestic and elegant?
"I'm…sorry about Demetri." Only a fool would bring up a subject like that. Way to ruin the moment, Emmett, the voice said.
Thankfully, Rosalie didn't look bothered at all. "I don't really care…and plus, I got you. So I guess it was a convenient way to dump him without really having to do it."
That was the last thing I expected her to say. "You were planning to dump him?"
"Sooner or later. He's a terrible dancer. He stepped on me twice," she added, grimacing.
I couldn't help myself. I pulled her in for a hug and she laid her head on my shoulder. It was even better than dancing with her. It was perfection without end. Disregarding the smell, that is. As if she had read my mind, Rosalie pulled away.
"Sorry about the smell. I had to wash my arms with soap and put on a bunch of lotion to cover it up. But my dress though…" she looked at it regretfully. "It reeks of skunk. I think he doused half a bottle of eau de crap on himself."
Eau de crap…what a perfect way to describe the smell. I didn't want our little moment to be ruined by another mention of Demetri, so I hastily changed the subject.
"So…you got me, huh?"
She smiled. "Yeah. I ended up with you anyway. Now this is what having fun at a dance is supposed to feel like. I've said so before, and I'll say it again. If you had asked me I would have definitely accepted."
That was it. I needed to hear her confession right now. "Rosalie…just what exactly are your feelings for me?"
She sighed solemnly. "Do you want me to tell you the truth?" I nodded, waiting anxiously.
She suddenly jumped up and laughed playfully. "Not a chance."
"Man, Rosalie, you suck." I jumped up in pursuit of the girl I liked. She teasingly danced away from me and I started chasing after her. Okay, forget what I said about Alice driving Jasper crazy; this girl was killing me.
We stopped in our tracks when a roar of fury issued from the gym. It was followed by an abrupt silence. Even the deejay stopped the music. We took off again, this time in earnest.
We entered the large building to see everyone gathered in a circle around something. There was a slight gap between the throng, and I headed towards there, guiding Rosalie forward with my hand on her back.
"Hey, what happened?" I asked the nearest person, a small sophomore who was shorter than me by about a foot. He jumped and spoke rapidly, the words coming out jumbled and barely coherent.
"Um, I uh, the Homecomingkingguy uh, was attacked?" He gestured towards the object of attention.
Demetri was covered from head to toe in punch. His white shirt was almost completely stained, and his jacket and pants were going to require some serious dry-cleaning. The agony I felt from not being able to punch Demetri in the face now paid off very handsomely. His formerly perfectly arranged black hair was now drenched in a vile mixture of hair gel and refreshment. The most rewarding thing, however, was the look that was frozen on his face. It was a combination of shock, revulsion, and ire, with shock being the most dominant.
I felt Rosalie's body convulse with silent laughter when she leaned against me for support. I wrapped my arm around her waist, holding her up; heels are very dangerous objects to be in with Rosalie laughing as hard as she was, only made worse by her attempts to stay silent.
The deans were trying to speak over the hubbub of the crowd, but they were continuously drowned out. Having had enough, one finally grabbed a megaphone out of nowhere and bellowed at us to be silent.
"NOW, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?" Dean Karraty yelled. Demetri wheeled around in a frenzy, trying to spot some guilty faces. His eyes landed on my face, which I was pretty sure was twisted in confusion, and he pointed at me.
"There! That's the one! I know he did it 'cause he's just jealous of me!"
"Is this true?" Karraty interpolated before I had a chance to argue back.
"No," I stated firmly. "I was outside, and I ran in when said incident occurred."
"He's telling the truth," another voice chimed. To my utter surprise, it was Heidi, and she had a most apologetic expression on her face.
The dean rounded on her. "How so?"
"It was an accident. I was getting punch and when I was walking away I slipped on a paper towel." She pointed at the incriminating object that was lying on the floor not three feet away from her. The cup was still in her hand. Wow. Who would have thought sixteen ounces could be capable of doing a lot of damage? But our counterexample was right in front of our eyes: a fuming, messed up Demetri.
The aggravated dean turned to the rest of us, demanding to know who was responsible for "littering and causing an unfortunate young lady to slip". As soon as he had turned away from her, Heidi caught my eye and winked. That nearly sent me into another round of laughter. I nudged Rosalie from behind and breathed "Heidi" into her ear. I shouldn't have done that. Heidi gave her a wink too and Rosalie instantly started choking and attempted to pass her fit off as coughing; it was flu season, after all.
Karraty looked relieved and began to disperse the crowd. Demetri glared at his sister balefully before stomping off to the restroom. As soon as he did, Heidi skipped over triumphantly.
Rosalie and I attacked our heroine with tight hugs. Rosalie joked that she was now 'avenged', and Heidi said that it was her 'duty' to make her brother pay. At least he didn't smell so bad anymore.
"You so did not trip, Heidi," Rosalie said gleefully.
"I know! I dumped it right on his head!" Heidi responded just as excitedly. They started jumping up and down while hugging each other. I waited for the fall, but it never came.
"He's going to give you hell though…" Rosalie fretted, something she would not have done a month ago.
"Yeah, he will, but not as much as my parents will give him when I tell them just exactly what he did." She beamed. "And in fact, I really couldn't care less if he stays mad at me for the rest of his life. He might try to get revenge on me, but I'm not really concerned about that at the moment."
Speaking of concern…oh crap. Where were Alice and Jasper?
After a several minutes of desperate searching, I found her…standing with the deejay. Oh no. What was she up to now?
A sweet, unfamiliar melody reached my ears and Alice said through the deejay's mike, "I call this the Emmett and Rosalie song! Now dance, you two! Everybody dance along!" It was random but embarrassing.
Half the people were staring at us expectantly, waiting for us to start dancing, so I wrapped my arms around Rosalie and we started swaying. The spectators now followed our lead.
The dance continued up till midnight. We had our group dance. And don't forget about the partner pictures and the group ones. When we finally piled into the cars, we were tired but blissfully happy, especially Alice and Jasper, who I guessed had made some progress with each other. The last I had seen of Demetri was when he had nearly tried to tear his hair out, literally. That was when Alice had decided to embarrass Rosalie and me. I had no clue whom he got a ride home from, because Alec's car wasn't crowded anymore.
That was the best dance I had gone to so far. Had it not been for Demetri, I wouldn't have had all that time with Rosalie. His actions had also opened Rosalie's eyes to the fact that he was a plain jerk. Basically, Demetri had made my day—or rather, my night. It had turned out to be more enjoyable than I had ever expected.
Which reminded me: I would have to thank Demetri on Monday for that.
A/N: ATTENTION! BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALL BEEN SUCH GREAT R&RERS, THIS IS A FREE CHOICE CHAPTER! THAT MEANS YOU CAN REQUEST WHOMEVER CHARACTER YOU WANT TO ANSWER YOUR REVIEW :) And I'm giving you guys an extra treat. So not only will the characters answer your questions/reviews, but they will do it CONVERSATION STYLE! And also, because I feel bad for not having updated for so long, they will give you a PREVIEW of a scene from the next chapter. Today's your lucky day :D
My excuse for taking such a long time: The Olympics are sooo interesting! I can't stop watching so I'll be writing wayyy slower than usual. Not to mention commercials are only a minute long. And the schedule is from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m., so I'll basically be watching TV the whole day. But I'll still write :D
Did anyone see the men's 4 x 100 Relay? The French said they came to "smash the Americans", but we won them by 0.04 seconds. And then the 4 x 200. Haha we beat everyone by half a pool. It was hardly fair. And we created a new world record there too :) And then today. Oh my gosh. Phelps beat Cavic of Serbia by 0.01 OF A SECOND. Amazing. And everyone thought Cavic was going to win 'cause he was ahead the whole time, but somehow Phelps just threw himself to the wall and his fingers touched first. WE DOMINATE THE POOL AND AT VOLLEYBALL! MUAHAHAHAHA!
And at last. Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson won gold and silver. We finally beat China. MICHAEL PHELPS GOT HIS 8 GOLD MEDALS!!
One last thing: GO TEAM U.S.A!
Links
To see the dresses, I've posted them all on my Freewebs site. Click on my author profile on this site, then click on 'Homepage' at the top left corner. Once you've gotten onto the Freewebs page, you'll know how to get to the pictures from there :D
So school is starting in less than three weeks. I think I'll only be able to get one more chapter in because don't forget, I still have the last part of my summer work to do.
THE BETA RULES MY LIFE. I feel so evil for making her edit this when she's at the Sequoia and the Yosemite National Parks for a little vacation just before school starts for her. So merci beaucoup. x3
Wow. My longest A/N yet. I should shut up now. If you made it all the way down here then you are simply AMAZING.
