Chapter 5- Surprises

As we walked into the main house, everybody was scrambling all over the living room. Apparently, Alice was still barking out orders to set up the last final preparations for the party.

"Emmett, where are you? Stop hiding, and get your butt over here to blow up these balloons!"

"B-b-but Alice, I've already blown up 100 balloons. I can't do anymore! I'm done!" Emmett whined.

"Too bad! We need more balloons!" Alice chimed.

"Jasper! Can you come here, darling? I need you to set up these snacks!"

"Rosalie! Can you set up a playlist? Oh wait, never mind, Edward is here!"

Yeah, it was a mess. The guests were casually seated around the couches, looking a little anxious and frantic. They were probably scared to be put to work by Alice. When she wants something, you could not deny her. You had to do what she said. Alice was very, very good at persuasion.

Edward groaned as Alice passed him what she had previously picked. There were at least four hundred CD's in her hands. I rubbed his back in circles. Alice apparently had decided to not let me work on any of the preparations, since she did not want to let me in on any of the details. I was thankful for this, but I also was a little peeved. The entire family was in on the party, except for me. Even the guests knew more than I did. Zafrina, Senna, Kachiri, and Nahuel were going to set up the decorations; Carmen, Elezear, Kate, Tanya, Garrett, and the pack were getting the food. Carmen, Elezear, Kate, Tanya, and Garrett definitely needed the help of the pack to pick out food, considering they could not taste what they were buying. Edward had music, and the rest of my family was in charge of coordinating what everybody was getting Nessie. That left me in the dust.

At least I had convinced Edward of our present for Nessie. He originally had wanted to get her a car and a driver's license, but I convinced him to let Nessie attend school with us in January. That took a lot of convincing for Edward to give in.

The party began at exactly six o'clock. Jacob took Nessie to the reservation while the rest of us were setting up. There, the pack threw their own small party to make it seem like we had nothing planned. When our guest of honor arrived, Nessie was completely stunned upon walking into the big house.

"Who-what-wait when? How?" she struggled to form coherent sentences.

"We were all in this, sweetheart. Happy birthday!" Edward beamed proudly of his now fully-grown daughter. I was thrilled to see my baby so grown up, but I was also sad to let her go. I knew Jacob was soon going to take her away and sweep her off her feet in her own love story, almost as magical as Edward's and mine. Almost. I doubted anything could be as magical as my happily ever after.

"Wow. Um. I'm speechless. Thanks everybody!" Nessie chirped.

"No problem, angel. Why don't we go have dinner now, and then you can open your presents?" I asked.

"Presents? You mean there's more?"

"What do you mean more? We haven't given you anything yet," I said in a confusing tone. Edward grunted, so I guessed that Jacob had already given her quite a bunch of presents already at the smaller party.

"Oh, Jacob got me a ton of stuff. A tote, a gift card, a picture frame, a headband, and look, he even got me this bracelet. It comes with this wooden wolf charm. Jake said he made it himself! Isn't that right, Jakey? It's awesome, I know."

I had to laugh at Nessie's enthusiasm. "I can imagine. Jake made me a bracelet just like that. You must be starving, let's go eat."

"Sure thing!"

After the pack and Nessie finished eating, Nessie began to open presents. Unsurprisingly, Alice and Jasper together bought Nessie a new wardrobe with a chest of drawers. Rosalie and Esme made a scrapbook of Nessie's rushed childhood with all of the pictures they took. Alice also chipped in with scraps of Nessie's clothes from when she was younger. Emmett and Carlisle got her a new laptop and a set of books for her personal library. The Amazonians made Nessie a handmade necklace of Southern American flowers. Carmen, Elezear, Kate, Tanya, and Garrett all chipped in to get her a brand new iPod video. Nahuel made Nessie a bracelet of his native flowers, as well.

Once all of the presents were opened, Kate and Garrett decided to make an announcement to all of us. I had no idea what they could say, but Alice was jumping up and down, and Edward was beaming, so I could tell it had to be really good news.

"Ok, everybody, settle down. You all know that Garrett and I have been together for a while now. Well...." Kate started, before taking an unnecessary breath of air.

"You're engaged!" Alice chirped.

"Way to ruin the surprise Alice," Kate laughed.

Everybody's jaws dropped. We could all see this coming eventually, but we never would have been able to imagine Kate getting married. She was the one who was looking forward to love the least.

"Wow, Kate! That is amazing! We're all so happy for you and Garrett both!" Nessie gushed, as she jumped up and hugged Kate. I was next to hug her.

Edward high-fived Garrett.

"Thanks guys. Kate and I both decided to have the ceremony somewhere in this area, so you all can come, if you want," Garrett humbly spoke.

"Of course we will be there for you both," I nodded, along with the rest of the guests.

"Bella and I have a surprise as well, except this one is for Nessie," Edward started.

"Yes, Edward and I have both agreed on this. Nessie, you have to listen to everything we say without interrupting, since there are rules to what we're about to offer," I started to explain.

"We think that you could come to school with us in the spring with the rest of the family," Edward explained.

"Oh my gosh! Really!? I would love to! I can't wait! I'm already excited to go! I'll actually have a normal life!" Nessie squealed with excitement.

"Now, Nessie, hold on. There are rules to this," I warned her.

"I know, I know. But I'll be okay with whatever you want me to do. I just want to go so badly!" she protested.

"Okay, then. Edward and I have already come up with a story that would explain the resemblance and living situation. You will be Edward's niece and are staying with us because a drunk driver killed your parents," I started.

"Also, at least one family member will be with you at all times, so you will never be alone in your classes, just in case," Edward added.

"And you cannot go to any parties without us, either," I explained.

"Okay, that sounds easy enough. I can't wait! I am so excited! This will be amazing!" she squealed as she jumped up to hug Edward and me. "Thank you so so so so much! It will be perfect! I promise."

"We're glad you like the idea," Edward smiled.

"Jake, can you believe it? I'll actually get to be normal. Somewhat, at least," she gushed over to Jacob.

"Yeah, perfect," Jacob sighed. Unlike everybody else in the room, Jacob was not happy with this news. He had an expression on his face as if he was going to change to a wolf from his anger.

"Jake, why don't you come with us too? Would that be okay, Mom and Dad?"

"Don't bother asking. I'm not going with you," Jake retorted at Nessie with disgust in his tone.

"What? What do you mean? Why not?" Nessie stumbled for words. Confusion and hurt crossed her face. Jacob's words even stung me after he said them.

"I don't want to," Jacob said as he stormed out of the house.

"Can you excuse me? I need to go to my room for a second," Nessie asked, trying to hold back her tears. I saw two slip out of the corner of her eye.

We didn't have time to respond, for she ran out of the living room.

"What just happened?" I asked. I was probably just as confused as Nessie was.

"I don't know, but Jacob will pay," Edward vehemently whispered.