I have a new beta (again)! Her Mighty Ubergeekness (love the name btw) has worked miracles with this chapter and she's teaching me all about dialogue tags and action beats. ;-) She's been absolutely awesome and deserves a lot of love. MWAH

As always, I have to thank Simaril and Verseseven. I would be lost without you, and I flove you hard!

Disclaimer- All recognizable copyrighted and trademarked items mentioned herein belong to their respective owner, most especially Stephenie Meyer. Everything else belongs to the respective author.


BPOV

"Bells, could you come down here for a minute?" Charlie hollered from downstairs.

"Sure, dad," I yelled back. I stuck a bookmark in the book I was reading and went down to see what he wanted. He was standing in front of the mirror in the hallway, looking flushed and frustrated.

"This damn thing won't cooperate with me," he said. Glaring at the crooked tie around his neck. I tried hard not to laugh out loud, but I couldn't fight off my smile, which earned me a scowl from Charlie.

"Forgotten how to tie a tie, dad?" I asked with a chuckle. I had never seen him this nervous before; it was quite endearing. He was going on a "real" date tonight with the woman he had met in Olympia. The training series had ended last week, and since he wouldn't run into her at lunch anymore, he had mustered up the courage to ask her out. It was clear that even if the two of them had been seeing each other for weeks, the date tonight signified a change in their relationship, and it was taking a toll on his nerves.

"Yeah, yeah, make fun of your old man," he huffed. I took pity on him.

"I'm sorry," I said. I reached up to straighten out the tie and fix the collar of his shirt.

"There, perfect," I announced. I took a step back to look him over. He eyed me warily and waited for my verdict.

"You clean up nice, dad." I complemented him, causing a light blush to appear on his cheeks.

"Thanks," he mumbled, looking pleased but embarrassed.

"Looks like you're ready for your big night." I teased him. He had declared that the date wasn't a big deal, and I didn't know if he was trying to convince me or himself. It was a huge deal for Charlie to go on a date, and we both knew it, but I understood his need to try to play it down. He was nervous and out of his element.

"You sure you're okay with this, kiddo?" he asked me.

I rolled my eyes at him. "You've asked me that about ten times now, and my answer hasn't changed. I'm more than okay with it, dad, I'm happy for you."

"Yeah, I just…" I knew he had been worried about how I would react to him dating someone, but I was genuinely happy for him. He had been alone for far too long, and he deserved to experience love again.

"Yeah, I know," I said. I leaned in to give him a hug. Our relationship had changed a lot during the last months; we had started to talk more and got to know each other on a new level. I had realized that Charlie and I had a lot more in common than I would have imagined, we had a similar outlook on life, and he was full of helpful advice. He also had a great sense of humor. We had begun to spend quality time together every Wednesday evening together, watching movies, playing cards, or simply talking. I found that I really enjoyed spending time with him, and we'd grown quite close.

"You be careful tonight, Bells." Charlie insisted. "I don't like the idea of you going out partying, and I'm not even home in case anything happens."

"Dad." I warned, "we've talked about this. I'm going to a party with some friends. Normal stuff for a teenager, remember?" By the look on his face I could tell that he regretted ever saying something about wishing I would spend less time around the house and more time out with friends like a normal teenager.

"I'll be fine," I assured him. "You've got your phone with you so I can reach you if I need to, but nothing's going to happen. I want you to enjoy your evening and not worry about me." I couldn't really tell him that it was extremely unlikely I'd get into any trouble, seeing as I was going to be protected by five vampires, but I didn't want him to be worried about me.

"I'll always worry about you, kiddo, it comes with the territory." He smiled.

"Dad…"

"I know, I know." He chuckled, raising his hands up in defeat. "You have a good time and I'll see you tomorrow."

"You too, and be safe." As soon as the usual parting words left my mouth I realized that they could be taken in a completely different meaning, and judging by the expression on Charlie's face, he had the same thought.

"Umm…yeah…" he awkwardly said, shuffling his feet a little. We looked at each other and broke down in laughter. He shook his head slightly and gave my shoulder a squeeze, and then he was out the door.

I went back upstairs, intent on finishing reading the chapter I was on. As soon as I sat down on my bed, however, my thoughts began to go over the last few weeks. That day in the meadow, I had gotten to know a side of Jasper that reminded me a lot of myself. He was lost and felt like he didn't know up from down anymore. I could relate; that was how I had felt the first months after Edward left. We talked for a long time about how I had changed, what I had done to come into my own more, and how easy it was to be affected by what other people thought about you.

Jasper was fascinating to me; he was a contradictory man. He appeared to be very confident, and yet he felt insecure. He was privy to everyone's emotions and he could influence them as he wanted, but he didn't have a real handle on his own feelings. He showed a quite depth of character, even though he was almost a stranger to himself.

We'd started a comfortable friendship that day, and I found that the more time I spent around him, the more I wanted to get to know him. We had not had any time to really talk since that day, but he always made sure to give me a hug when he saw me, and there was a lot of meaningful looks exchanged between us. We had slipped into a way of private communication through emotions, and it felt sort of intimate, but good. I enjoyed getting to know him through his emotions and I probably liked his arms around me a bit more than I should, but I tried not to think about it too much, and just appreciated it for what it was.

Jasper was not the only one I had started an unexpected friendship with; Rosalie and I had gotten to know each other a little bit better. She had approached me and expressed her gratitude for what my explanation about the bloodlust had done for Jasper. Apparently the two of them were really close, and she was elated to see some of the weight on his shoulders lifted. To say that I'd been shocked to see her be nice to me was an understatement, but I appreciated it nonetheless.

Her gratitude towards me had changed back into distaste, however, when I'd told Carlisle and Esme how I felt about them. The two of them had apologized for leaving, and said that they'd always loved me and thought of me as their daughter. I'd bristled at that statement, and I may have told them that it was bullshit. They might have loved me for making Edward happy, but they didn't love me for me, and if they actually thought of me as their daughter, I was better off without them, because parents who could just up and leave their child without a word or a way to stay in touch were not the kind of parents I wanted.

Rosalie had been pissed off that I spoke to Carlisle and Esme like that, and she let me know in no uncertain terms that my behavior wasn't acceptable. I had asked her why she was the only one allowed to voice her opinion, and the word bitch was flown back and forth for a while. The family had tried to step in to break up our argument, but we'd ignored them and continued to chew each other up until we ended up with a newfound respect for each other, and an honest, and forthright friendship had been forged.

I found it quite ironic that the two Cullens I'd had the least amount of contact with before were now the two that I got along with the best. I guess in a way it made sense; Rosalie and Jasper's leaving hadn't hurt me as much as the others, but it was still unexpected.

Emmett was excited that Rosalie had warmed up to me, and he was working really hard to get back on my good side. It was almost impossible to stay upset with him, and I knew that he hadn't left me by choice. His wife had made it clear to him that he was coming with the family, and leave me to my life. I understood that, but I was still hurt by the fact that he never even tried to contact me.

It broke my heart to see Carlisle and Esme sad, and I'd had moments when I just wanted to say to hell with my feelings, and forgive and forget, but Laura and the pack had helped me to stay true to myself. They always reminded me that I mattered, and that I wasn't allowed to sell myself short ever again. I'd ended up making a deal with Carlisle and Esme; we would start anew. They wanted to get to know me for who I was, and I wouldn't hold their mistakes over them. It would take time, but I had hope that I might be able to trust them again.

Alice was another story, though. She'd apologized profusely, but then seemed to think that everything could go back to the way they were. She had a hard time coming to terms with my new confidence, and she was clearly rattled by my ability to say no. I couldn't really blame her; I'd never denied her anything before, but her happiness was no longer more important than mine. I needed her to understand how deeply she'd hurt me, and if she truly wanted to be my friend again, she would have to start respecting my wishes.

Thinking of respecting my wishes inadvertently led me to thoughts of Edward. Both he and Jasper had explained how his vampire instincts had kicked in when he was afraid to lose me that day in the meadow. I tried to be sympathetic, but I knew that I could never really comprehend how that fear had translated into him trying to protect me from Jasper, and it made me uncomfortable. I had thought that I knew Edward, but I was beginning to realize that I knew him about as well as he knew me. I would never have thought that he would blatantly lie to me, and if someone would have said to me that he was capable of tearing a person he supposedly loved to pieces, I would have denied it till I was blue in my face.

Edward had continued to apologize to me, and he constantly tried to remind me of what we had together. He didn't quite seem to understand that it wasn't the lack of memory of our relationship holding me back, it was that his intensity was overwhelming. I had finally snapped, and told him to back off. I'd made him the same deal as the others; we could start over and get to know each other, and maybe one day we could be friends, but for the moment I needed some space from him or I would end up really disliking him. He'd agreed to my terms, and kept his distance even though I could feel his eyes following my every move.

Laura had been my lifeline these past few weeks, and I had spent a lot of time with her, talking, crying, and laughing. She was the source of balance in my messed up life with repenting vampires and worried werewolves, all struggling for my time and affection.

Angela was another person I could go to when I needed some peace. She was blissfully unaware of the supernatural creatures around us, and spending time with her and Ben worked as a release for me. With the two of them I got to be a 'normal' teenager, hanging out with friends, and that was exactly what I was attempting to do tonight.

Apparently, Mike Newton threw a mid-summer party every year, and since this was the last summer before everyone went off to college, tonight's bash was supposed to be extra big. To Angela's surprise, I didn't hesitate to accept the invitation when Mike had sprung it on me, and we had quickly made plans to get ready together. Ben was going to pick us both up at my place later, giving us time to do "the girly stuff," as he had put it.

Of course Alice knew about the party, and a slightly dazzled Mike had invited her and the rest of the "young" Cullens when she had approached him. I had mixed feelings about it. One the one hand, I wouldn't get to have a supernatural free evening after all, but on the other hand, it gave us a chance to spend some time together under less intense circumstances.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and it made me jump. I looked at the clock and realized that Angela was already here. It was time to get ready to party.


JPOV

What am I doing here? I asked myself for probably the tenth time in the last couple of hours. This was the last place I would ever have thought I would be, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why I had agreed to come. Oh, who was I kidding? I knew exactly how I got roped into this, and the person responsible was off dancing and having a great time, while I stood at the sidelines trying not to get too affected by the whirlpool of emotions around me.

I felt Edward enter the room a second before I saw him; his emotions stood out from the rest of the crowd. The most prominent emotion he was emitting was grief with an undercurrent of regret, but he also had a small amount of hope mixed in, and he was clearly working on his determination.

You're going to change tactics, Edward?

He snapped his head towards me and gave me a small nod in confirmation. He had tried very hard the during the last weeks to be a friend to Bella, in hopes that she would see him respecting her wishes and start to see him in a different light. It wasn't working, though, and the distance between them increased rather than anything else.

He had apologized for his behavior in the meadow that day, she had accepted his apology and seemed to understand what had happened. She had told him that she didn't like to see him hurting, and she wanted them to be friends, if it were possible. Edward desperately clung to the fact that she still could see a place for him in her life and was doing anything he could to make her happy. The things that made Bella happy nowadays were, however, very different than before we'd left Forks, hence the current attendance of 'the Cullen kids' at Mike Newton's annual summer party.

Bella wanted to party, and where Bella went, we all went. We were all trying to make our abandonment up to her and show her that we really did care about her. She'd had some choice words for all of us, with the exception of me and Rose, and then she had given us one more chance to put our money where our mouths were, so to speak. She didn't trust us, and the only thing that could change that fact was proving over time that we were repentant and genuine in our intentions.

Edward, apparently impatient with the progress he was making, squared his shoulders and walked over to Bella on the makeshift dance floor. A slow song had just started and he reached out his hand to her, asking for the dance. She sighed quietly, and I could feel her discomfort, but she took his hand and was quickly pulled into his embrace. I decided to give them some privacy and went outside to find Emmett and Rosalie.

"Hey, bro! Great party, right?" Emmett greeted me with a huge smile. He'd been working hard on getting back in Bella's good graces, and was overjoyed at the idea of going to a party with her. Apparently the joy hadn't diminished, because he was practically bouncing on his feet. Rose was looking at her husband with mild amusement, and the immense love she had for him always made me feel good.

"Not really my scene."

"Yeah, but come on; you have to admit that it's pretty funny watching them getting more and more drunk, and they say the most hilarious things. Try to think of it as a scientific study in the behaviors of inebriated teens."

"They're not animals in a zoo, Emmett," Rose said. She scoffed, but the laughter in her voice belied the chastising tone she was going for.

"Sure they are, Rosie, look at them. See all the mating rituals going on? Males trying to outdo each other for the female's attention, and females primping themselves to lure in the most desired male."

"They do that every day," Rose argued. I had to agree with her there.

"Yeah, but with the alcohol in their systems they're losing their inhibitions and going full out." He nodded towards a couple of girls in the process of unbuttoning their shirts to show off more cleavage.

"True, but it looks as if alcohol isn't needed in every case," Rose said with a smirk. I followed her line of sight and saw Bella making her way over towards us, Edward hot on her heels. He was definitely not one of the drunken teens, but he was most undoubtedly fighting for the attention of a certain female.

"Hey, guys, what are you doing all the way over here?" Bella asked with a frown. "Why aren't you dancing like the rest of us? I know you can dance. You're ,like, super-coordinated and stuff."

We looked at her for a second, and then the three of us broke out in laughter.

"Bella's drunk!" Emmett bellowed in glee.

"I'm not drunk," she said with a huff. "I'm happy!" She nodded her head in affirmation, while swaying slightly on her feet.

"She's clearly drunk, and I'm concerned," Edward said at a level not audible for humans.

"Oh, come on, Edward, she's having fun, don't ruin it," Emmett said. Bella squinted her eyes at him and looked back at Edward.

"Are you talking about me behind my back, right in front of me?" She tilted her head to the side. "That was a weird thing to say, wasn't it?" She mused, seemingly in deep thought. I could feel her concoction of amusement, confusion and awe, and I wondered what was going on in that mind of hers. Edward's frustration told me that he, too, wondered the same thing.

"There's a lot of weird sayings, though." We were all listening to her with rapt attention. "Like a bat out of hell. Where did that expression come from anyway? Why is the bat in hell to begin with?" she asked. I could feel a strong sense of confusion emanating from her.

"Or holy crow… I mean, holy cow I get, with the cow's status in India and all, but crows? Are they worshipped in some obscure country that I've never heard of? But that doesn't make sense either, because if it's not a well-known fact that crows are worship worthy than why are so many people using the expression?"

Emmett couldn't hold in his laughter anymore, but it didn't stop Bella from rambling.

"What about…it's raining cats and dogs, stealing someone's thunder, easy as a cakewalk?" she asked. "Has anyone ever seen ever seen cats and dogs dropping down from the sky? And how can you steal someone's thunder? How do you even get your own personal thunder? And cakewalk? What the hell is that anyway? Did someone once line up a row of cakes for people to walk on?"

The amusement of everyone finally got to me and I broke down in laughter. She was absolutely adorable in her ponderings and the love we all felt for her only intensified.

"I love a happy Bella!" Rose exclaimed in between giggles, and Emmett and I nodded our heads in agreement.

Edward might not be too keen of the fact that Bella was drinking, but he still chuckled at her reflections. "Well, I don't know the reason behind all of them," he said, "but to steal someone's thunder comes from the seventeenth century, when somebody stole the idea of a play writer named John Dennis who had built a machine that made sounds like thunder."

I felt bad for him. He clearly thought he had found a way to relate to her, but it didn't exactly have the desired effect, as Bella turned around and glared at him.

"Thank you, Mr. Walking Know It All," she spat, and the mood was instantly ruined.

"I didn't mean—" He started to defend himself, but she quickly cut him off.

"Yeah, I know…" she said, sighing, and then continued, "I need another drink."

"I'll get one for you." Emmett offered, and took off towards the table where the various liquors were kept.

"Ooookay," Bella said. She looked at his retreating form, amusement clear in her expression.

"I'll go help him," Rose said. "I'll make sure you get something that's actually drinkable." She winked at Bella, and walked after Emmett with a smile on her lips, leaving Bella, Edward and myself. The silence was uncomfortable so I looked around to see what Alice was up to. Last time I saw her she was talking to Jessica, of all people, and I really didn't want to go anywhere near that particular human.

"She's still talking to her," Edward answered my unspoken question, and then, noticing Bella frowning, added: "Alice is talking to Jessica."

"Oh," Bella said and laughed. "Better her than me."

We all chuckled a little, and then the silence came back. It felt extremely awkward, and I needed to do something.

"May I have this dance, Miss Bella?" I asked in a heavy southern drawl, adding a bow for effect. Bella laughed, put her hand in mine, and started to tug me towards the dance floor. Edward stood watching us with a mixture of jealousy and sadness.

We reached the dance floor just as the music changed to some Latin inspired rhythms. I smiled and leaned down to whisper in Bella's ear, "I hope you know how to salsa." I felt a quick burst of fear and insecurity from her, but then it changed to confidence and mischief.

She got up on her toes and whispered back in my ear, "You'll just have to teach me, señor."

"Para mí será un placer," I said, and spun her around so her back was towards me. She gasped, but relaxed her body against mine. I gently put my hands on her hips and guided her movements.

"It's all in the hips," I said. "Feel the rhythm and move your hips, the rest of your body will follow." She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tried to do as I instructed. It took a little while, but she found the rhythm and started to move her hips in slow seductive rotations.

I still had my hands on her hips and pulled her closer to me. She put a hand on my arm and threw her other arm up behind her head. She threaded her fingers in my hair and sighed softly. We moved together as if we'd been dancing together for years, our bodies responding to each other perfectly. She was so warm and soft, and I marveled at the feel of her against me.

We had exchanged a few hugs in the past weeks, it wasn't the first time I was close to her, but this was completely different somehow. The music was intoxicating and the air seemed charged. I was getting affected by the lust of the people around me, and by the inebriated woman in my arms.

I moved my right hand from her hip and slowly let it trail around her body until it rested against her stomach. Her top had risen up a little due to her arm being behind her head, and my fingertips landed on her bare skin. She was silky smooth and oh, so warm. I gently caressed the sliver of skin, exploring the texture and the feel of her muscles moving underneath.

She was a little ticklish towards the right side of her waist, and I rejoiced in her giggling. It was such an unusual sound coming from Bella, she wasn't the giggling type of girl, but I found it to be quite lovely. I trailed my fingers around her belly button, feeling the dip and the softness. I was totally lost in the sensations of her, and I don't know if I was projecting, but Bella moaned and pressed herself closer against me.

I could feel myself growing hard against her, and I suddenly realized that things were quickly getting out of control. Thankfully the song came to an end, and we both seemed to snap out of whatever trance we had been in. We pulled away from each other, and I could feel the slight embarrassment coming from Bella.

"Um…" she said, turning around to face me. "Well, that was…" she trailed off, not finding the correct words.

"Interesting?" I provided, smiling a little in hopes of alleviating some of the tension. She laughed, and I could almost feel her giving herself a mental shake.

"Yes, interesting. That's a good word."

"Thank you for the dance, Miss Bella," I said, laying the southern drawl on thick. I felt a quick burst of lust from her, and realized that the drawl probably wasn't the best idea to make things less awkward between us, as she seemed to actually like it.

"Thank you, Jasper. I'm going to see if Emmett managed to find me that drink now," she said, stretching up to give me a kiss on the cheek before walking away in search for Emmett.

I stood watching her retreating form, wondering what the hell just happened, when I felt an intense torrent of jealousy. I looked around and met Edward's dark eyes.

Calm down, Edward. I thought at him. We can't have you lose it here among all the humans.

I projected a heavy dose of calm towards him, and walked outside, telling him to follow me. We reached the far end of the garden and found a relatively private place, we could still hear all the party goers, but the humans wouldn't be able to hear us.

"Let's sit down," I said. And you can tell me what's going on with you.I added.

"You already know what going on with me, Jasper," he said. The hostility in his voice mirrored the jealousy he was feeling. "Do I need to spell it out for you?"

We sat down on the grass; I stretched my legs out in front of me and leaned back on my hands, enjoying the feeling of the soft grass beneath my fingers.

"Tell me," I urged him.

"Fine," he huffed. He was clearly annoyed that I was making him talk about it. "That was totally inappropriate behavior back there, Jasper. You were touching her, and having lust filled thoughts."

"And?" I encouraged him. He needed to let it out so we could talk about the more important things that were bothering him.

"And…and…and it's Bella!"

"Yeah."

"You've got Alice. How do you think she would feel about you touching her best friend like that?"

"First of all, Edward, this isn't about me and Alice, or even me and Bella. And second of all I wouldn't call Alice and Bella best friends anymore. Would you?" The relationship between the two of them was definitely not what it used to be. Alice was trying to make amends, but her abandonment had hurt Bella almost as much as Edward's had.

"What do you mean, it's not about you and Bella? Of course it is!"

"No, Edward, it's not. Bella and I got a little carried away while dancing. I was affected by all the emotions around me, and Bella… well, her inhibitions are lowered at the moment," I said, chuckling a little, thinking about her ramblings earlier.

"Yes, but even without alcohol, she's a lot less shy than she used to be," he said. His emotions spoke of a mixture of pride and sadness.

"She's certainly changed a lot."

"I don't know what to do, Jasper." Finally we could begin to talk about the real issue. "I feel as if I don't know her anymore, and every attempt I make to rectify that is met with either scorn or irritation."

He got up on his feet and started to pace around, and the frustration rolled off of him. I sat quietly, giving him a chance to sort through his thoughts and feelings. After a while, he sighed and sat back down next to me.

"What am I doing wrong?"

"She's been deeply hurt, Edward."

"I know that, and I keep apologizing, but it's not helping."

"Maybe you need to stop apologizing, and start proving to her that you've learned a lesson?" I suggested.

"What do you mean?" He frowned.

"I am in a unique position, Edward. I can feel your remorse and your lack in confidence, but she can't. I know that you did what you thought was best, and that you've come to realize that you made a huge mistake, not including her opinion."

"Yes, I know that, and I've told her that."

"You may have told her that, but have you really changed your behavior towards her?" I started to run my mind over all the times in the past where he would make decisions without consulting her.

"I'm hardly doing that now," he said with indignation, "she's not listening to anything I've got to say anyway."

"She's not listening because you're still telling her what she should or shouldn't do," I said.

"I'm not—" he started, but I had to cut him off.

"If you're going to have any chance at all to get back in her good graces, you need to hear me out." He sighed, but nodded for me to continue.

"Think about how you have reacted to things, Edward." In my mind I showed him his less than positive reaction to her spending time with the wolves, how he'd handled finding out about her particular relationships with two of the wolves, how he kept frowning when she used foul language and his lecturing about her drinking.

"I just want her to be safe." He barked out his reply quickly, but I could feel his resignation. He knew that he was going about things in the wrong way.

"It won't be easy, but you need to accept that Bella has changed, and you will have to do some changes of your own. Your intentions are good, but you come across as being uptight, and she's already got one father, she doesn't need a second one."

"You sure about that?" he asked with a smile. I followed his line of sight and saw Bella knock back a shot of some clear liquid.

"Want to go back?" I asked, feeling his need to be closer to her. He nodded his head and we walked back over to the partying humans. Someone called out for body shots, and there was a loud roar in consent to this idea.

Alice came running up to me, radiating exhilaration. "This is going to be so much fun," she squealed. I looked to Edward, but he just shrugged, indicating Alice was guarding her thoughts. Whatever it was, she was clearly happy about it, and I couldn't help but to project her emotions, making everyone around me feel even higher than they already did.

Jessica was eager to do a body shot on Mike, and we all stood watching, unable to look away. She was trying too hard to be sexy, and ended up looking pathetic, but Mike seemed to enjoy himself, so who was I to judge? I could feel disbelief radiating from Bella and I shot her a quick burst of curiosity. She smirked, and shook her head at me.

Emmett caught our brief interaction and threw an arm around Bella's shoulders. "Think you could do a better job?" He challenged her.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She shot right back at him, and his interest peaked.

"Hell yeah, I would." He exclaimed, and then got a calculating gleam in his eyes. "But you wouldn't do something like that, Bella, would you? Lick some guy right in front of everyone?" I could feel his excitement, but he did a good job of keeping the mask of skepticism. Bella, however, didn't buy his act, and the mischief coming from her almost made me giddy.

"No, you're right, I wouldn't do that." Emmett's face fell when he realized that he was unsuccessful in his effort to goad her into it. Bella laughed at him and reached out her hand for Rose, giving Emmett a wink.

"But I would lick a beautiful girl in front of everyone," she said with a devilish smirk, and all of our jaws dropped.

Holy shit, that was hot!

"What do you say?" Bella asked, running her hand through Rose's hair. "Are you up for it?"

"As long as you're the one doing the licking, Bella," Rose answered, and Emmett was practically panting from lust.

Bella guided Rose to a lawn chair, then went to get whatever supplies she needed. Most of the humans had gathered around to watch the show, and the anticipation was high.

I noticed Edward warring between feelings of impropriety and curiosity. I silently reminded him of what we'd talked about, and he gave me a pleading look, asking for help. I shot him some calm and happiness, and watched as he visually changed demeanor in front of me.

Bella came back, carrying salt, a lemon wedge, and shot glass of something that smelled like tequila. She slowly sauntered over to Rose, who was eyeing the lemon with trepidation. Bella smiled at her, raising an eyebrow in a silent question, and Rose nodded her head, showing that she was still game.

Bella handed Rose the salt and the shot glass, and then got down on her knees in front of her. She nudged Rose's legs apart and crawled in between them. The lust level rose around me, and I was dangerously close to getting a hard-on. I pulled Alice in front of me and wrapped my arms around her, covering any possible embarrassing reactions.

"Open up," Bella said, and put the lemon wedge between Rosalie's lips. "Hm, I think I'll need to make some more room here," she mused and started to pull down Rose's top a little, making Emmett groan.

Bella leaned in and licked along Rose's collarbone up her neck, leaving a wet trail that she quickly sprinkled salt on. She took the shot glass, pushed Rose's breast apart a little and placed the glass in her cleavage. She sat back on her heels for a moment, searching for Emmett. Apparently satisfied with the expression on his face, she rose back up on her knees and slowly licked up the salt from Rose's skin.

"Oh fuck." Emmett breathed out. I could see Bella smiling against Rose's neck before she bent down to wrap her lips around the shot glass.

"She's got her mouth against my Rosie's breasts." Emmett's voice had a husky tone to it, and I knew that he and Rose were in for a busy night.

Bella threw her head back and swallowed the tequila. She put the glass down on the ground and reached up for the lemon wedge. Rose leaned forward, and as soon as Bella's lips touched hers, something seemed to take her over. Rose's eyes darkened and she pulled Bella closer. All of a sudden the lemon was thrown away and they were kissing. They were both radiating curiosity and surprise, but they were also feeling a lot of lust and amazement.

"The-the-they're kissing," Emmett stuttered out in astonishment. His words broke the silence that had descended when the kiss began, and the crowd erupted in cheers and whistles.

Edward and I snapped out of our staring and shared a look.

That was seriously hot.

He responded with a quick nod, feeling slightly uncomfortable. I realized that he didn't have someone in front of him, hiding his obvious erection, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

Don't worry about it, Edward, judging by the general amount of lust, I'd say that all the guys are having the same problem.

Bella and Rose finally entangled themselves from their heated kiss, and Emmett bowed down in front of Bella as a show of his respect. He then quickly grabbed Rose's hand, shouted a thanks for the party to Mike and took off running with Rose in tow. Everyone started to laugh and the lusty haze lifted, people went back to dancing, drinking and talking. I breathed a sigh of relief and willed myself to stop think about Bella's pink tongue licking Rose.

"Bella," a voice called. A guy made his way through the dancing people. I recognized him as Angela's boyfriend.

"Bella, I have something for you," he said, waving an envelope in the air. As soon as he came closer the smell of vampire hit my nostrils.

"The envelope has been handled by a vampire," I whispered, loud enough for Bella to hear. Her eyes widened and she took a couple of steps towards the boy.

"Ben," Edward said quietly.

What?

"His name is Ben."

Thanks.

"Hi, Bella," Ben said. "Mike ran out of sodas, and I being the sober one went to the store to get more. I was approached by some guy who asked about you."

"Oh?" Bella said.

"Yes, he had apparently heard about the party and thought you might be here. He seemed kind of weird, though, and I wasn't sure you knew him, so I didn't tell him where you were."

"Thanks, Ben," Bella said. She gave him a smile, showing her appreciation for him not revealing her location.

"Sure," he said, feeling very protective of her. I realized that they'd gotten closer since the last time I had met him, and I was glad that Bella had friends who were looking out for her.

"He asked me if I could give you a letter and handed me this envelope," Ben said, and Bella took it from him with a feeling of dread. She hid it well, though, and thanked him again. He turned around and went to find Angela. Bella stood frozen, staring at the envelope in her hand. Edward went up to her and gently put his arm around her shoulder, guiding her away towards a quieter place, Alice and I following behind them.

"Bella, do you want me to open it?" Edward asked.

She looked at him, confusion clear in her eyes. "Does it really smell of vampire?" she asked, and Edward nodded. "But why would a vampire give me a letter?"

"I don't know, love," Edward said softly. "Why don't you let me open it to find out?" She narrowed her eyes at him, and he quickly added, "I'll read it out loud, I promise." She nodded her consent and he ripped the envelope open.

As soon as he opened it, Alice gasped and slipped into a vision. Edward growled and I couldn't take it anymore. I yanked the envelope away from him and looked inside. There wasn't a letter in it, though, but pictures. Pictures of a broken human who had obviously been tortured, then killed. Across one of the pictures, eight words were written: See what happens to people you love, Bella?