~Change~
Ch7
Disclaimer: :(
(EPOV)
"Bells seems like a very nice person." Alice and I were sitting in the loving room waiting for Jasper who had gone to put the twins in the car. The party had ended and everyone was long gone, except for my pixie sister.
"She is Ali, she really is." A playful smirk appeared on her face and before I could retaliate, the she spoke.
"So when are you gonna ask her out?"
"Alice." I used the voice is used to use on Cassie when she tried to get me to give her chocolate chip cookie before dinner when she was five.
"What?" She feigned innocence and I came very close to falling for it.
"No."
"But it's so unbelievably obvious that you two like each other. I saw you talking when Cassie was opening her presents and it was like you were lost in your own little world."
"We were just talking Alice. I learnt some stuff about Bella in a pretty unconventional way and she wanted to learn a little about me. That's all."
"Oh. Well, you should still ask her out."
"As much as I would like to, and trust me, I do, I don't think that now's the right time."
"Edward! Come on! Cassie's 18, you're a resident; you don't have to worry about any of those little things anymore. And you don't have to worry about what Cassie will think of you if you start dating, because I know you do. She's a grown women, and she's going to be starting her own life soon, if not with Nate, then with someone who loves her just as much, if not more."
"There are so many things wrong with that statement Alice. First of all, never, ever, talk about my daughter and marriage in the same sentence. You may not have said it, but it was what you were implying. And secondly, and I'm trusting you not to repeat this to anyone, not even Jasper!" She nodded and motioned with her hand for me to continue. "I don't think that Bella's ready for a relationship right now, let alone looking for one."
"Oh. "
"Yeah."
"Well, when it does happen, and I swear on my black and green Jimmy Choo's that it will, don't stuff it up."
"I'll do my best. You know that my track record with relationships is far from noble peace prize worthy."
"I know. That's why I said what I said." She gave me one of her overactive pixie hugs just as Jasper appeared in the doorway.
"What has you swearing on your favourite shoes darling?" After being away from Texas for over fifteen years, Jasper still managed to keep the undertone of his Texan drawl.
"Just Edward's love life."
"Oh. Anything happening there?"
"Maybe. Maybe not."
"Alice!"
"Alright, alright! I'll let it go. But Edward, please don't let this opportunity pass you by. Okay?"
"I'll try Alice. That's all I can promise you."
"That's all I want. We better get going, it's way past the twins bedtime." I was once again on the receiving end of an overactive hug as well as a manly pat on the back from Jasper before they both finally headed out the front door.
I was walking through the house, making sure everything was off, when I spotted Nate and Cassie still sitting outside in the backyard. They were sitting on the swings and she was leaning against him with her eyes closed.
As he father, I wanted nothing more than to storm out there and pull them away from each other, but I knew for a fact that Cassie would hate me if I did that, and that was the last thing I wanted. She looked so peaceful and that made me smile more than anything else ever could.
On Sunday I woke up to the extra bright sunrays streaming through my bedroom window. I hadn't slept at all as thoughts of a certain brunette had filled my dreams, and I wasn't quite sure wether to consider that good or bad.
I threw off the covers and made the quick decision to go for a run and clear my head.
The air outside was cold , but that didn't bother me, especially since it was 7am and exactly what I expected from the typical, gloomy Fork's weather
Bella had put quite a spin on my life, and I was once again at a loss as to what to do about that. She seemed like a warm loving mother who wanted nothing more than to be there for and keep her daughter safe, and I could tell for a fact that she hadn't had the easiest life.
I may have only known her for a little over a week, but I couldn't deny that there was some truth in what Alice had said. There was something there, this nagging feeling, and I wanted nothing more than to act on it, but I had a feeling that right now, Bella needed a good friend more than anything else.
Moving to a new town was scary enough, I could bet my life that it would be even scarier to have to worry about your stalking ex finding you when he was supposed to be in jail.
By the time I had finished my internal rant, I had come full circle and was once again at the front of my house. I kicked of my shoes and discarded my Ipod as I walked through the front door and walked straight up the stairs to take a shower.
I had almost made it when I heard the sounds of someone softly strumming a guitar, followed by Cassie's beautiful voice.
Yeah
I'm walking on a tightrope
I'm Wrapped up in vines
I think I'll make it out
But You just gotta give me time
Strike me down with lightening
Let me feel you in my veins
I wanna let you know
How much I feel your pain
I was extremely tempted to knock on the door and tell her how good I thought that sounded, but thought better of it. There were only three people in the world that Cassie played for. Mel and Nick when she was alone babysitting, and Nate, as he was the one who had bought her the guitar.
I had asked her about it once, and she told me that to her, writing music was like writing in a journal. Private and close to her heart, and something that she sometimes shared. I knew exactly what she was talking about. It was how I was when I was a kid.
My birth parents died when I was four years old. Elizabeth and Edward Masen.
They were killed by a drunk driver on their way home from an event at that was held at the hospital me father was working at.
To this day, I do not remember much about that period in my life. I do however, remember that straight after the funeral, which was around five days later, and again something I cant remember much of, my then 'aunt' Esme and 'uncle' Carlisle helped my pack up my prized possessions and I moved with them to the place I now called home. Forks, Washington.
They officially adopted when I was 8 years old, but I started calling them Mom and Dad a long time before that. My birth parents never left my life. Esme was constantly providing me with reminders of them, but in all honesty, I felt closer to them than I did to Edward and Elizabeth. It was just how my life turned out.
I finally made it to the shower and let the steaming hot water untangle the knots in my muscles.
As soon as I finished my phone started ringing, and there was only one person who would call me this early on a Sunday morning. Alice.
"To what do I owe the pleasure Alice?"
"Good morning to you too big brother!"
"Is it really?"
"Why would you ask that?"
"Because it's early on a Sunday morning and you're much to happy to just be calling me for the sake of calling!"
"Can't I just want to talk to my brother?"
"No!" She huffed in annoyance before continuing.
"Fine. Angela called and wanted to reschedule your date."
"Who's Angela? What date?"
"The date I set up for you on Tuesday. Her name is Angela."
"Oh. The blind date. Ali, do I really have to do that."
"Yes Edward. Angela is looking forward to it, and you can't just bail on her. And you never know, you may end up liking her."
"Fine. Now what's all this about rescheduling?"
"Oh, she can't make it on Tuesday. Something to do with having to work late. Anyway, Jazz got offered some tickets to the Nickelback show tonight in Seattle, so seeing as your not so keen on this date, I thought that maybe you'd be more comfortable if you moved it to tonight and we all went to the concert together."
"Uh, sure, but I have to work tomorrow."
"Well, Jazz booked us all hotel rooms there so we didn't have to drive back late. Do you think there's a slight possibility that maybe you could get the day off or something, or maybe go in late?"
"Ali, this is a lot to ask for one date, and one that I don't really want to go on at that."
"But everyone's going. It's gonna be like one really big party for us. Mom and dad are looking after the twins and Lilly. It just thought that it might be nice for us to use this as an opportunity for a little break!"
"What exactly do you mean by everyone else?"
"Well, obviously Jazz and I, then there would be you and Angela, Rose and some guy from the hospital, and Emmett and Bella."
"Oh."
"So you in?'
"I'll have to double check with the hospital first, but that should be okay." For some strange reason, after Alice mentioned Bella's attendance, I couldn't find the will power to say no. She squealed and I had to pull the phone away from my ear.
Once Alice had finally calmed down, I promised to be at her house around noon. We were all meeting together so we wouldn't have to take as many cars. How Alice managed to pull this off on such short notice, I would never know, let alone understand.
I quickly packed an overnight bag after calling the hospital and double-checking that there were no big cases that needed my attention. At the same time, I also checked up on Anthony. I was just something I did now. I had grown so close to him and his family that I couldn't help it.
When I was done with all that, I went looking for Cassie and found her in the kitchen eating breakfast.
"Morning."
"Hey Dad, what's up?"
"Your lovely aunt Alice is dragging me to Seattle tonight."
"Sounds fun. Why?"
"I have a date." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I hid my face in my hands. I, a grown man, was embarrassed to admit to my eighteen year old daughter that I was going on a 'date' for the first time in just as many years.
"Really?"
"Yeah." My response was muffled as I refused to look up.
"That's great dad. I'm really happy for you." That got my attention.
"Uh, thanks. I appreciate it, I think." She laughed her musical laugh that always made me smile.
"You should. I take it that you're not gonna make it home tonight then."
"No. Jasper booked hotel rooms or something. I don't know. I'm really just being dragged along for the ride Cas." She laughed again before getting up and cleaning her dishes.
"Go have fun tonight. I promise I'll be good. Nate and I have some studying to do anyway and Jayda and Marc were gonna come over and study with us. Don't worry about me for a change, okay?"
"Cas, I always worry about you. You're my little girl." She narrowed her eyes at me, but just as quickly replaced it with a grin.
"I know. I always will be." She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before retreating up the stairs to her room, but not before she turned around and yelled "Love You."
I arrived at Alice and Jasper's just after twelve and before I had a chance to knock, the front door flew open and I was nearly knocked over by the force at which Lilly charged at me.
"Uncle Eddie!"
"Hey Lil." I picked her up and closed the door behind me before venturing further into the house.
"Uncle Eddie! I'm gonna stay with grama and grampa and we're gonna play candy land and grama's said we can make cookies and we're gonna watch movies!"
"That sounds like heaps of fun Lil. Can I come?"
"NO! Mummy said you have to go with them to," she paused for a moment, trying to remember then name, " Seattle!" She smiled triumphantly.
We reached the kitchen, where everyone was crowded around the bench. No one had noticed my arrival, and I didn't mind that in the least.
Lilly jumped out of my arms and ran to the lounge where I heard the distinct sound of the Spongebob Squarepants theme song.
"Edward!" So much for going unnoticed.
"Hey Al!" She walked over and gave me a hug, before pulling towards everyone else.
"We're only waiting on Emmett, Bella and Angela. Everyone else is here."
"Cool." As we got closer I saw the familiar face of Ben Cheney standing next to Rosalie.
"Hey Edward. Long time no see." I laughed at that. Ben was the last person I had seen before leaving the hospital on Friday night. He held out a hand for me to shake and I happily accepted.
"Hey Ben. What are you doing here?"
"Rose asked me if I was free, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see Nickelback."
"Yeah. They are pretty good." Our small conversation was interrupted when the doorbell rang and Alice looked at me.
"Edward, could you get that."
"Sure." I once again made my way to the front door, and once again had to fight to keep my composure, much like yesterday afternoon, as I let Emmett and Bella in.
"Hey."
"Hey. Everyone's in the kitchen. You can…" Before I could finish my sentence Lilly came bounding towards us.
"Emmett!"
"Hey there Lilly-Loo!" She attacked his legs, much like she had mine, causing both Bella and I to laugh.
We all made our way to the kitchen and it was decided that we would take two cars. My Volvo, and Emmett's Jeep, since they were the biggest. Emmett, Rosalie, Ben and Jasper we're going to go in the Jeep and Bella, Alice, Angela and I we're going to go in the Volvo.
When Angela finally did arrive, I was the first to notice the little hitch in Alice's match making plans.
As soon as Bens eye's landed on her, it was a lost cause.
Some time later, we found ourselves in Seattle. We had settled in at the hotel, and much to my liking, I had ended up sharing a room with Bella.
On the car ride, we found out that Ben and Angela had been high school sweethearts, but had lost touch when they went their separate ways to go to college. Needless to say, they we're very happy to see each other again and ended up being each others dates for the concert, and that left me with Bella, as Emmett had very obviously claimed Rosalie.
We were now waiting in the Arena for the concert to start. The opening act had come and gone, and they were actually pretty good. I couldn't help my smile as I watched Bella nod her head to the beat of the music.
She was standing in front of me and I was finding it very hard to not wrap my arms around. It just seemed to be the place that she belonged.
Just as she turned around to look at me, the lights went down and I didn't miss the huge grin that appeared on her face.
A count appeared on the giant screen in the middle of the stage and the crowd started to count down along with it. As soon as it hit one, there was a loud bang and Bella jumped backwards landing right in my arms. She giggled and I smiled at her, but that smile turned into a grin when she didn't make any effort to move.
I heard the beginnings of Something In Your Mouth and when Chad appeared and started to sing, I was very amused to see Bella singing right along with him.
Got to meet the hottie
With the million dollar body
They say it's over budget
But you'd pay her just to touch it
Come on!
She kept singing and eventually started doing a little jumping, right there in my arms, which really wasn't going to help me in the long run.
Needs to hit the big screen
And shoot a little love scene
If Hollywood had called her
She'd be gone before you had her
Come on!
The song continued and the excitement in the crowd continued to grow. I was also seeing a new side of Bella. I may not have known her for that long, but I could tell that right now, she was actually having fun, something that she didn't do very often, and it suited her. My suspicions were confirmed when Emmett grinned as he watched her.
The played a few more songs before stopping to talk to the crowd.
"Hello Seattle." The screams that came next made the whole building shake. "How ya feeling?!"
It continued on like that. They would talk in between songs and I was surprised to see that Bella knew almost all of the words to their songs. She still hadn't moved from her place in my arms. She had stopped jumping around though, for which I was extremely thankful.
The next song I instantly recognised, as I was sure Cassie had blared it though her speakers at some point this year.
This time
I wonder what it feels like
To find the one in this life
The one we all dream of
But dreams just aren't enough
So I'll be waiting for the real thing
I'll know it by the feeling
The moment when we're meeting
We'll play out like a scene
Straight of the silver screen
A strange feeling of nostalgia settled over me as I wondered wether I'd ever get my silver screen moment. I went so far as to wonder wether I could even have that with Bella.
She was beautiful, beyond beautiful in my opinion. She was honest, and she seemed to care for everyone around her, no matter, and I couldn't deny the draw I felt to her any longer. I would be kidding myself if I even tried.
'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there
'Cause everybody wants to feel like someone cares
Someone to love with my life in their hands
There's gotta be somebody for me like that
I found myself wondering if Bella was that person, that somebody, but instantly berated myself for doing so. I had known her for a little over a week. I needed to take this slow, and I still didn't even know if I would get the chance.
It was about halfway through the show when they stopped to play some slower songs.
The first of which was Photograph that I knew was Cassie's favourite song. I told Bella this and she laughed, saying that it was hers too.
The couples around us started swaying to the beat of the music. Bella just looked at me and smiled. I decided then that if anything was going to happen. I was going to let her decide.
The next slow song was actually one of my favourites, Never Gonna Be Alone. As it started, I noticed the couples around us, including Alice and Jasper, Angela and Ben, and much to my surprise, Emmett and Rosalie, dancing in what little space they had, and I couldn't help myself.
Time
Is going by
So much faster than I
And I'm starting to regret
Not spending all of it with you
I leaned to whisper in her ear.
"Ms Swan, would you like to dance?"
This chapter was a bit longer than last and I actually kinda liked it. The whole concert thing is partly based on my own experience at a Nickelback, which was awesome by the way…Thanks for all the reviews and alerts and favourites. It really does mean a lot.
Music:
Thunder - Boys Like Girls
Nickelback:
Something In Your Mouth
Gotta Be Somebody
Never Gonna Be Alone
