Hi, guys! Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows.
I loved the names you gave me, and I did send out sneak peeks. As I was writing this chapter, I decided to use one of your names for a new character. Like mentioned, I loved all of your favorite names, but I felt like Anastasia fit this character the best. So thanks to MJ3 twilight D for suggesting this lovely name. Someone asked me what the purpose of asking you guys for your favorite names was, and I honestly did not know, but just now, I decided I might as well use one of your suggestions as a name for a character. Thanks to RetroReaction for inspiring me to do so.
This chapter is especially long: enjoy it :)
"Bella, I've got news! I'm coming to Forks, Washington!" Gia screamed happily.
I couldn't believe it. After months of merely speaking on the phone- it was April now- we were going to physically see each other? I couldn't hold my excitement in. I squealed like a newborn pig.
"Oh my God, I can't believe this! When are you coming?" I questioned.
"This weekend. I'll be staying Friday and Saturday, departing early Sunday morning. Do you mind me staying at your house?" she asked.
"No, of course not! You know you're welcome here! Do you need me to pick you up at the airport?" I offered, hoping she would say yes.
"Sure," she accepted.
I beamed. This was going to be a great weekend.
"You have a best friend called Gia who's going to visit this weekend?" Edward repeated.
"Yes," I replied patiently. "I met her in New York."
"Oh, so she needs to meet me?" he asked gloomily.
Yes, Edward wasn't really the best with meeting new people. He hated awkward moments.
"Yes," I replied, rolling my eyes. "But don't worry, she'll only obsess over you for the first day and a half."
He groaned. "Just fantastic."
"Gia!" I exclaimed, running up to her and hugging her.
She stumbled back under my weight, but still managed to return the embrace. "Bella!"
We hopped around in a circle multiple times, still holding each other, as we squealed. When we pulled apart, I noticed a beautiful girl standing next to her, looking both embarrassed and aloof. She had long, straight hair the color of fire and icy blue eyes. She was petite, delicate-looking, and pale. All in all, she was intimidating in her beauty.
I gave Gia a questioning glance.
"Oh, I forgot to mention this to you, but I decided to bring along a friend. It was a last minute decision. When you left, I met her, and we grew close, so I wanted both of my besties to get to know each other better. Is that okay with you?"
I processed this. I couldn't help feeling a bit of jealousy, but I knew this was irrational. I had met new close friends such as Angela, and I had a solid boyfriend in Edward. Gia, of course, made friends as well. I just wished she hadn't done this so abruptly- and by this, I meant bring her new friend along with her without telling me. But I decided to let it go.
"It's fine. I'm Bella, as you could probably tell. My full name's Isabella Swan," I introduced myself.
The girl stared back at me coolly. "I'm Victoria Chandler. As mentioned before, I'm Gia's new friend."
Gia Montrose found a mean friend. But I couldn't tell her that. It'd come off as petty and immature. So I smiled and nodded, ever the gracious hostess.
"Well, it's really nice to meet you, Victoria. Are you comfortable sleeping on a sofa, because I wasn't aware that you'd be arriving, and we just don't have enough beds for you," I said sweetly.
She rolled her eyes and replied, "Does it look like I'd be okay sleeping on a couch? I brought my own air mattress."
So she was outwardly mean. Why in the world did Gia choose to be her friend? I looked at Gia meaningfully.
She mouthed, She's not usually like this.
I mouthed back, Oh, so it's just around me? Great.
She mouthed, Sorry.
"A bit rundown," Victoria observed. "Was your apartment back in Manhattan this dingy?"
"Tory!" Gia whispered furiously. "Be nice."
"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to having to live in these sorts of accommodations," she said, wrinkling her nose.
I rolled my eyes and led them to my room. Gia set her bags down onto the air mattress I had laid down for her, and Victoria began setting up her own air mattress. Soon, she was done.
"Now show us your cute boyfriend!" Gia demanded, trying to look stern and failing.
Victoria's eyebrows quirked in curiosity, and she asked, "You have a boyfriend?"
"Yes, I do. Why, is that a surprise?" I questioned.
She smirked. "A bigger surprise than you can imagine. He's probably not even that cute... your standards of 'good-looking' must be lower than everybody else's."
Wasn't she a sweet one?
"Tell your friend to shut up," I snapped at Gia, who was frowning at an oblivious Victoria.
"Tory, you told me you'd behave," Gia said quietly, playing the part of a disappointed mother.
Victoria rolled her eyes. "Loosen up, Gia. You and your friend are so uptight."
Gia and I exchanged looks. This reassured me; we were still closer than she was to Victoria.
"Anyway, call Edward," Gia insisted, looking at me pleadingly.
"No," I said firmly. "Let's hang out, just us girls, and tomorrow, I'll tell him to come over."
Victoria groaned, "You're so childish."
Gia shot her a glare and turned to me. "That sounds good. We need to fill each other in!"
"I'm going to kill this girl," Gia announced after I told her about Tanya, the blackmailing witch.
Meanwhile, Victoria murmured, "This girl sounds cool. Where can I see her?"
I ignored Victoria. "I know, Tanya was terrible. Thank God that's over, and Edward and I are together now."
I could've sworn I heard Victoria say, "Not for long."
But I was sure it was my imagination.
"Hey, Edward. You want to meet my friends today? You're a social butterfly, this should be an easy choice for you," I teased, watching as Gia and Victoria looked at me excitedly.
A pause.
"Stop playing around with me, Bella," he replied. "You know how awkward I am around new people."
"Fine, I can readily admit that, but this is your time to practice and improve on your social skills!" I encouraged. "Besides, remember when you were with Tanya, and hanging out with all the cool kids? Well, what happened?"
"You know that was merely a phase I went through after you rejected me," he said, annoyed.
"Okay, okay, I'll acknowledge that as well, but I seriously think you should meet them. They really want to meet you."
He sighed. "Fine, see you and your entourage in five."
Gia and Victoria gaped as Edward stood at the doorway, an uncomfortable expression on his face. They both looked starstruck. I couldn't blame them; Edward wasn't too hard on the eyes.
"He's gorgeous," Gia whispered furiously. "You totally dulled his beauty when you described him!"
I shrugged. "I got used to it."
I leaned up and pecked Edward on the cheek. He smiled and I ushered him inside, pushing past the girls lightly while doing so. Victoria was the first to regain her composure. She gave Edward a dazzling smile that admittedly made her already beautiful face striking, and held out a hand.
"Hi, I'm Victoria Chandler. But you can call me Tory," she purred.
Edward backed away a little. "Edward Cullen, nice meeting you," he said, taking her hand gingerly.
"Can I call you Eddie?" she asked.
"No," he said shortly.
She looked taken aback. "Why not?"
"I hate that name," he replied. He then turned to Gia, who had been watching the exchange warily.
He held a hand out to her. "Nice meeting you, Gia."
She blinked. "You know my name?"
"Bella told me about you," he explained.
Gia smiled. "Well, it's nice meeting you, too."
Victoria's phone beeped. She looked at it and swiftly typed something in. A few minutes later, she looked up and smiled.
"My friend invited me to a party in Port Angeles. Let's go."
"You have a friend in Port Angeles?" I asked in disbelief.
"Yes," she replied impatiently. "Anastasia West. She used to live in New York City, but she moved away a few years ago."
"Anastasia West?" That name sounded familiar. "I might know her."
"It's not just you," Victoria replied scathingly. "She's a famous actress. She was in Danger's Path and Intense."
Her? I knew her! She was one of my famous actresses when I was younger. She helped me get through my adolescent years when Edward had been bullying me. But she had stopped acting awhile ago, and it had made me sad. I couldn't believe she was right next door in Port Angeles. What was she doing here? And why was she friends with snobby Victoria?
Victoria glanced at my face and sighed. "She moved here because she was tired of living in an area where paparazzi could track her easily and where everyone recognized her. In a small town like this, not many people notice. I met her when we were younger, around 6 at the time. She moved on to becoming this big shot movie star, but I was never really jealous. She's my closest friend; how could I be?"
She said these words, but her face showed a different story. A bitter smirk was playing on her lips, and her eyebrows were puckered.
I nodded slowly and said, "Well, I'm a huge fan."
"Isn't everyone?" she spat.
"Yes, yes," I replied in surrender. "Sorry, let's not talk about this."
Her face smoothed out, and she asked, "So, you're coming to the party?"
I looked at Edward, who was fidgeting nervously. "Um, I don't think Edward and I are going to go," I said.
He shot me a grateful look.
"Why not?" Victoria whined, widening her blue eyes.
"Well, we're not really into those sorts of things," I muttered.
Edward added, "We find them stupid, actually."
Victoria pouted. "Please?"
He sighed and looked at me. I didn't know what to do, so I turned to Gia, who glared at me for putting her in the spotlight.
"Um," she started, twirling a piece of her long hair idly. "I don't know, Tory. Why don't you go alone? You like that sort of scene, anyway."
Victoria stared at Gia, her eyes pleading. "Please, Gia. I want my new friends to come with me to this."
Gia looked at me helplessly. I honestly wanted to curl up with a good book tonight; not watch as teenagers got drunk and crazy. Finally, Edward spoke up.
"We'll go," he relented.
I stared at him, wide-eyed. "Really?"
"Yes. It's just one party, Bella," he pointed out. "We'll survive. Besides, I think you should hang out with some of your friends more often, and here is a chance presenting itself to you. Take it."
"But I've never been to a party before," I replied, looking down at the ground.
I felt a hand lifting my chin up. When I finally let it lift my face all the way, I was met with a pair of scorching green eyes.
"Bella, you only live once," he quoted.
Time to break the heavy mood. "Did you seriously just say that?" I teased. "So cheesy, Edward. I didn't know you had it in you."
He rolled his eyes and grinned lazily. "So, we're going?"
"Yes," I said finally, sighing.
Victoria smirked.
Suspicious.
"No, Gia! Stop! I don't want that gunk on my face," I complained, swatting her persistent hands away.
She frowned. "Please, Bella. You're going to look so great after this makeover."
"Are you calling me ugly?" I demanded.
"Yes," piped in Victoria. "She is."
I felt the strange urge to knock the mascara she was holding out of her hands. I ignored the compulsion and turned back to Gia.
"You're not ugly, Bella. But I think, sometimes, dressing up is nice. You've never done it before," she said.
"Yes, I have. You just weren't here to see it," I shot back.
A wounded expression came on her face. "You let another friend make you up?"
"Um... no. Just dress me up," I lied.
She stomped her foot immaturely. "I was your friend before whoever she is. Come on!"
"Fine, fine! But don't make me look like a raccoon," I warned.
She squealed happily and began her little project. I wished I had never agreed to go to this stupid party.
An hour later, we were all ready and waiting for Edward to come pick us up in his Volvo. Victoria and Gia were whispering, but I wasn't really envious. I was too distracted by the clingy, sparkly dress I had been forced into. I tugged at the hem self-consciously as the Volvo turned the corner onto my street.
As soon as it stopped, Edward got out, handsomely decked out in a black t-shirt and black jeans, and walked over to our side. Victoria batted her fake eyelashes at him as Gia whispered, "He looks great."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were into him," I joked.
She smiled pleasantly.
Edward helped Victoria in reluctantly, then Gia. I was the last to climb in. He turned to me and offered a hand, but as soon as he saw me, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. I refrained from rolling my eyes. Teenagers. I swatted his hand away and climbed in myself.
He shut the door softly and went over to the front. During the ride there, he kept on glancing back at me. I wished I had brought a hoodie or something. Anastasia's house was about 1 hour and a half away, and by the time we got there, I was feeling sluggish. Gia and Victoria had talked about girly things the whole ride here and for me, it had been a boring one.
Edward helped us out and hung back as Gia and Victoria rushed for the door.
"You look beautiful," he murmured against my ear.
I blushed and said, "You do, too."
"But you dressed up. I'm still in my regular outfit, if not a little spiced up," he said, laughing.
"You still look amazing," I protested. "Now let's go. I'm cold."
We hurried to catch up to Gia and Victoria. They were waiting for Anastasia to come and open the big oak doors. Meanwhile, I surveyed the house. No, correction. Mansion. It was a large, white abode with huge glass windows and a waterfall shaped like a mermaid in the front yard. Loud music was pumping in the house, but because this house was kind of secluded, no one really came to complain.
A few moments later, the door opened, revealing Anastasia West. I kept my jaw from dropping. I wanted her to be comfortable in her own house and party; not ogled by a fan. She was as beautiful as they made her out to be both on television and in magazines. I could tell they hadn't had to used much makeup on her, or edit much.
Her long golden hair was styled elegantly, and her large dark eyes were expressive. She smiled at Victoria, but her smile dropped as she surveyed the rest of us. Well, when she looked at me and Gia. When she looked at Edward, a leisurely smile spread on her face.
"Tory, introduce me," she demanded, looking at Edward.
Victoria eyed her. "Anastasia, Edward. Edward, Anastasia. And these two are Gia and Bella."
Anastasia looked at Edward appreciatively and beckoned that we come in. Finally.
As soon as we were in, she shut the door behind us and shouted, "Drinks in the kitchen. Feel free to associate with anyone here. I don't personally know a lot of them."
And with that, she pranced away, but not before winking at Edward.
I was disappointed, to say the least. Here was someone I had looked up to so much, and she was a vindictive, seductive woman with no respect for others. She was a typical Hollywood star. I would be trashing any past posters of her.
And not only that, but she was so blatantly flirting with Edward. Sure, she didn't know he was my boyfriend, but shouldn't she have automatically come to the conclusion that he was dating one of us? And Victoria. Well, I was angry with her flirting, but honestly, Edward didn't like her, so I wasn't too worried. But who knows how attracted he'll be to Anastasia? The thought scared me.
Gia went off to dance, but not before whispering, "Have fun. Keep as many girls as you can away from that boyfriend of yours."
I nodded and watched as she glided away.
"So," Edward said awkwardly. "Do you want a drink?"
"I don't drink," I told him.
"I know that," he hurriedly replied. "I meant soda or fruit punch."
"They might be spiked," I pointed out.
He rolled his eyes. "Bella..."
"Fine, I'll have a coke."
Luckily, the soft drinks were not spiked, so Edward and I were feeling pretty sober two hours into the party. We were honestly bored out of our minds, but we couldn't leave without Gia or Victoria, and the last time we had seen her, Gia had been dancing with a cute guy, while we didn't know where in the house Victoria was.
Edward sighed as I laid on the couch, resting my head on his lap. Drunk teens staggered past us, muttering the oddest things, and the music seemed to have gotten louder since the beginning.
Finally, Edward announced, "I'm going to find your two friends, so we can go home."
I nodded in agreement and stood up. "You go upstairs and downstairs. I'll stay on this floor."
He gave me a thumbs up and walked away. I shoved past moving bodies and searched through the throngs of people dancing. I couldn't find her anywhere. It was driving me nuts! Finally, I decided to ask someone for assistance. It's been half an hour, at least!
I went over to the only calm guy in the bunches of people.
"Hey, did you see a girl with auburn hair and blue eyes? She's pretty tall," I described, trying to bring some hope into my sinking heart.
He contemplated before brightly saying, "Yes! I have, actually. She left the room an hour ago and headed upstairs."
I could've sworn I saw a smirk play on his lips as he said this, but I ignored it. He was helping me, after all. He could be lying, but at this point, I was trying everything I possibly could.
I thanked him before sprinting upstairs. Then, I realized that Edward was upstairs too, and if Gia was truly upstairs, he'd have found her by now. But maybe not, my other side argued. Maybe he just hasn't finished looking. This is a huge house. My other other side agreed.
I tried every door. I ran into a few things I wished I hadn't run into, but otherwise, nothing special. I was about to head downstairs when I ran into a grinning Anastasia.
"Hey, have you seen Gia anywhere?" I tried, expecting a no.
"Yes, I have," she replied, surprising me. "She's in that room by the closets."
"But I tried that one," I muttered.
"She stumbled into it 10 minutes ago," she said.
"Oh, that was after I checked. Thank you so much," I told her gratefully.
She smiled again and left. Maybe she wasn't so bad. I walked over to the room, which was all the way on the opposite end of the hallway. For some reason, my feet wouldn't move, as if they were telling me something... like not to go into this room. Like doing so would mean that I would feel miserable. Or like doing so would hurt me.
But I laughed off my paranoia and creaked open the door. What I saw made me stumble back in surprise.
Edward was kissing Gia... passionately. His shirt was off, hers was coming off, and I didn't want to see anymore. I shut the door quietly and fled. I didn't care where I was going; I just had to go somewhere.
So you guys weren't expecting for Gia to be the naughty one, huh? You thought it was going to be Victoria or Anastasia, huh? Haha, sorry, I find this both sad and funny. I'm so sadistic.
Please review a lot since this chapter was the most dramatic since the first few. It would mean the world to me.
FOR A SNEAK PEEK OF THE NEXT CHAPTER, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: Do you usually skip over author's notes or actually read them? Haha, if you skip over them, you won't see this one, and then, no sneak peek :)
Sorry, I'm in a weird mood right now. Must be the stress or emotional pressure :) Or the sugar my mom put into the strawberries she made me...
Anyway, bye, and remember to tell me what you thought of this chapter.