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Chapter Eight: BASEBALL
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Summary: Bella Swan is not only an artist living of her art; she's also a vampire. Dr Cullen and his wife request to meet her, offering to become her patrons and she's confronted by a lifestyle she never would have considered, but doesn't sound that unappealing either. When she eventually meets Edward Cullen, will she give love a chance, or will her past with James stand between them?
Characters (this chapter): Bella, Edward, Alice/Jasper, Rosalie/Emmett, Esme/Carlisle (POVs are underlined)
Warnings: AU. WIP. all vampire. all canon pairings/characters. changing POVs.
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or any of the characters.
Author's Notes: Transition chapter before Edward and Bella really get to know each other (otherwise known as my excuse to write a lighter fluffy chapter with the other Cullens present - they are made of love you know). Thank you to everyone who has been leaving me comments, questions/reviews/comments are always welcome and I try to reply to most of them (sorry if there are exceptions, I'm currently studying for my exams). Special thanks to my beta helaluvE.
(Bella POV)
With all the time I had spend between painting and getting to know the Cullens, I hadn't noticed much of the weather in Forks. I knew that it would be wet and cloudy, which, of course, was a good thing for our kind. Right now there was a thunder storm coming in; we could all hear it from afar. For some reason though, this made the Cullens absolutely excited. Especially Emmett.
I was up in my studio, painting, when Alice danced into the room, carrying a bundle of clothes. On top of the bundle there was a baseball cap, adorned with a capital C. I looked up at Alice questioningly, but she only smiled back at me. "You'll see," she shrugged, and walked gallantly back out of the room. I stared after her for a while, thinking things over, but I had no idea what was going on. We were going to play baseball?
Still, something in me felt daring. Call it the Alice-effect, or maybe the Cullen-effect. They were my family now, I shouldn't feel embarrassed or uneasy among them anymore. I was like them now, no longer the monster I had always thought myself to be. I changed into my new outfit, and joined some of the Cullens in the living room, all dressed for the occasion themselves.
"Glad to see you join us Bella," Carlisle said, and smiled.
Esme walked into the room next to me and threw an arm around me. "First time in a long time we can have even teams," she smiled at me and then at Carlisle. My eyes looked for Edward's frightfully.
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(Edward POV)
Edward? I heard Bella's voice in my mind before my eyes connected with hers. There was a playful fear in them. What could she possibly have to worry about? I looked at her in anticipation.
I don't know how to play baseball.
My reaction was immediate, but unintentional. Without thinking through Bella's need for me to be the only one to hear it, I broke out in a roar of laughter.
"It's not funny!" Bella exclaimed, taking a few steps towards me, probably feeling like sinking through the floor right about now.
"Dude, what's the matter with you?" Emmett asked, a pleased grin spreading across his face.
"I'd wipe that smile of your faces boys," Alice entered the room, happily skipping to the door, Jasper and the baseball gear in tow. "We'll be playing boys versus girls," she took a few confident and elegant steps towards me. "And I won't have you making fun of my new sister. You'll see she's quite the natural at it."
The images in Alice's head already told me it was true. Us boys would be on the losing side today.
We all ran to the clearing in unison, Esme and Carlisle leading the way. Bella was sturdily giving me an even more silent treatment than usual, which I still found amusing for now. I went running next to her. "I'm sorry for laughing," I said, even though part of me really wasn't. Still, it was the polite thing to do. After all, she was now part of the family. "Let me make it up to you by teaching you how to bat?" I asked hopefully.
We arrived at the field then and came to a halt. Jasper tossed me a bat, but Bella grabbed it from my hands. "I think I'll take my chances with Rosalie for now," she smiled teasingly. Had she been any other person, my feelings would have been hurt. Now I only grinned in return.
"You're lucky I'm not a sore loser," I leaned in as I spoke the words, my hands behind my back. Bella continued to smile, and looked straight into my eyes. How badly I wanted to get her alone some time, to ask her about her thoughts.
"Let's see about that when we're whooping your butts," Rosalie walked over to us, and grabbed Bella by the arm, dragging her to the other side of the field. I let her go reluctantly.
"I'll try to go easy on you,"Bella said with a quirk of her mouth. Emmett snickered at the thought of the women defeating us. I already knew that if we wanted any chance at winning, we would have to up our game. Time to talk strategy with Carlisle, even though we knew he didn't like it when we cheated.
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(Carlisle POV)
We soon found out exactly what Bella meant by going easy on us. Unfortunately for us, she didn't try at all. She had us all stumped with her aptitude. She might not have known how to play baseball, but she was an extremely quick learner. Not to mention her insight in the game was instantly awe worthy.
Edward might have already seen the outcome in Alice's mind, but he wasn't going to give up just yet. We discussed strategy, even though with Alice's gift most of that was futile. Maybe a few last-minute decisions could save us.
Rosalie ended up showing Bella how to bat, while Alice and Esme explained the rules to her. Then it was time for the showdown. We never even stood a chance.
As a fairly newborn Bella was stronger than Emmett, batting the ball much further out than him. We didn't immediately think of a home-run, after all we had Edward on our side as well. But Bella was faster than Edward as well, much to everyone's surprise. Jasper and I saw the fun in all of it, Edward and Emmett only got more competitive. Normally that was Rosalie's forte.
When Bella hit her final home-run, sliding into the last and winning inning like a professional, her trousers grass-smeared, she remained laying on the floor, and like Edward had done before, let out a roar of laughter. She kicked her legs up in the air, absolutely marvelling in the sensation.
The entire family joined in on her laughter; it was infectious.
"Are you sure you've never played baseball before?" I asked her when we were headed back home, the boys behind us being their foolish selves. Emmett had already challenged Bella to an arm wrestling match. She had assured him he'd most likely lose. Everyone could now see how Bella was gaining more and more confidence, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
"I know my dad Charlie used to watch a lot of baseball," Bella answered, and I found it curious to hear her talk about her past so candidly. It was never my intention to pry when I asked such questions, I was merely curious. "But no, I never played, or knew anything about it apart from it being the American pastime."
"Well, your game is very impressive," I complimented her. I waited for her to say anything more, but she remained silent. I decided to be bold myself. "If there's anything you want to talk about, anything at all, feel free to come to me Bella. You're part of our family now."
"Thanks," she smiled at me softly, and I was confident that if there was ever any problem she would indeed come to me.
to anyone who gets this far: i'm writing several chapters ahead on this one and i'm currently reaching the 'James' chapters. i'm working with flashbacks: are there any flashbacks anyone would love to see me write?
next chapter: Edward
