These characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Just making that clear.

Rosalie


"Artists for $200."
"Unlike other artists of the time, Leonardo based these angel parts on the ones that birds have."
"What are wings?"

I woke up, drenched in a cold sweat. The worst nightmares were the ones that had actually happened in the past. This one haunted me about once a month, sometimes more or less. I've had it ever since my dad died.

It always started out with our high school's annual Halloween party. Alice and I really put up a fight to go, we were only freshmen, and our parents weren't fond of the idea. After about a week of arguing, we convinced them. My mom and dad decided they could just go out for a nice dinner. I was dressed as a dark fairy and Alice was a showgirl (not a slutty one, she was pretty much fully clothed). We were 14, and the party was at a ritzy hotel.

I remember everything about that night, in perfect detail. The room was dimly lit, but there were candles to give the room a haunting feeling. Alice and I were dancing to music, swinging our hips side to side. I remember my mom bursting through the doors in a frantic panic, and screaming our names as loud as she could. She broke down in the middle of the dance floor, and Alice and I both dropped the glasses of punch we had. The sound of breaking glass was nowhere near as painful as the sound of my mother's sobs.

Tears were shed as she told us dad had been hit in the car after he dropped my mom off at the restaurant's doors. He was still alive, and was in critical condition at the USC University hospital. I got sick and hurled, right there on the dance floor when she told us. I didn't care what people thought of us. How could a person judge someone whose father was dying?

How my mom got to the hotel, I would never know. I would never ask her, either. I could not imagine marrying the love of your life only to lose them. I couldn't fathom the heartbreak that she felt at that moment, and even I thought it was the end of the world. Little did I know, it would be a long, bumpy road that was the path to healing.

When we got to the hospital, the doctors told us the outlook was not good. They asked us to say our goodbyes, and told us he would be gone before the next day. Bawling, I stepped into the room where he was hooked up to wires and machines. The constant beeping made it worse, and, even now, every time my ears start ringing, I hear those beeps. He looked terrible, with bruises on his face and his nose obviously broken. The top of his head was wrapped, and I didn't even want to know what was underneath them. I told him I loved him, sat next to him on the bed and sobbed. I took off my fairy wings and put them on the bed. The crystals hanging from the black wings were the same as the tears that fell from my eyes. Clear, and heavy. Since I didn't believe in angels, I hope the wings carried him somewhere peaceful.

***

After I took a shower to clear my head, I got dressed and ready for the game. I grabbed my Forks Spartans shirt out of the dryer. It really was a neat shirt. It was navy blue with yellow sleeves, and had Forks in white on the front, with a white Spartan. I looked outside, and it was overcast. Yuck. I decided to wear jeans instead of shorts. I also put on tennis shoes, because I didn't want to be sinking into mud with anything else. As soon as Alice was ready to go, I grabbed Emmett's jacket, and also his mixed CD I made him.

"Hey, Alice? Will you drive by the school and see if the bus has left yet?" I asked.
"Uh, yeah, I guess." she said.

She did, and the bus was indeed there. I found the window that Emmett was sitting by. I stood on tiptoes and knocked. He opened it and peeped his head out of the window, and looked down at me.

"I made you a mixed CD," I said, handing it to him as the bus started. I jumped and started to run back to the car, "See you at the game!" I called after him. He put his arm out the window and waved at me.

I was ready to be at Hoquiam and see them play, but I wasn't as excited for the 2-hour trip with Alice and Jasper. We got to Jasper's house, which was very nice on the outside. It was very big, tan colonial style house with a perfectly manicured lawn. I wondered what the Hales occupations were. I also wondered if everyone in the whole town was freaking rich.

Alice and I got out of the car and went up to his door. Alice blushed, which was weird, as she knocked on huge oak door. She actually used the knocker, which was a little lion. How cute. I love lions. Lions were the mascot at our old high school. The mascot was pretty much the only thing I liked out of the whole freaking school. Eh, except debate club, because we actually won a lot. I was actually a very competitive person for how much I hated sports.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out, and opened it, and saw that it read One New Message from Emmett. I fumbled with the phone from excitement, got it under control and clicked read. I didn't really know what he was going to say, and I was really surprised when I read, Rosalie. I can't believe you put fucking Hanson on that CD you made.

I started laughing hysterically. Jasper had come to the door, and Alice and him were looking at me like I was a damn lunatic. Well, I probably was, but that is a different story. I sent him a message back. Of course, Emmett. I know deep down you love them. Another 30 seconds went by before my phone buzzed again. I had to give him props, the guy could text like a maniac. Though something about that worried me. No. Not even deep down. I did like how he didn't type in text speak also. His texts were actually easy to decipher. Okay. Deep deep deep down. I shot back. I didn't feel a buzz after that. Weird.

Jasper, Alice and I all got into Alice's car. We had to take it because it had more room than Jasper's car, which was a red '67 Chevelle. We didn't get to see it though, because it was in the alarmed garage so no one stole it. Yeah, it's official. Everyone in Forks was rich. Jasper started up the car and drove us out onto the road. I got another buzz. Okay, maybe a little. I smiled a smile of gratification.

I enjoyed the fact that Emmett knew when to bow out of an "argument".

Emmett

"Snack Attack for $600."
"Spice things up with this snack--tortilla chips covered with melted cheese & dare I say jalapenos!"
"What are nachos?"

Hanson?! Fucking Hanson?! Not only was it Hanson... it was N*Sync. It was the Backstreet Boys. It was fucking LFO. Good thing she wrote out a list to tell me all the names and artists, or I would have thought all the songs were sung by the same band. The amazing thing is, I listened to every. Single. Song. All of them. Why? Why would I put myself through torture for TWO HOURS? Especially before a baseball game! I am supposed to be listening to Styx right now. Or Guns and Roses. But instead, I am listening to "Every Other Time" by mother fucking LFO. I sent her texts and tried to pretend it wasn't a big deal. It was, though. It was downright embarrassing, even if no one else had a clue.

Something was wrong with me, obviously. No way would any normal person be able to sit through that for two hours. I got off the bus, seething and confused. An odd combo, but it is what it is. I was hoping Rosalie was just fucking with me and didn't really love all of those songs. Loving them when she is 12 is a lot different than loving them now, though. I did not like my mind being a jumbled mess of random craptastic thoughts, but that is exactly what Rosalie made it do.

When I saw her face, it wasn't just seeing the face of a girl. It was like seeing the face of a goddess... flawless skin that contrasted with her stunningly blue eyes, which were framed by a multitude of dark lashes. She had a perfect nose and high cheekbones. Her blond hair that framed her face, and the soft tendrils that were always in the way, then she would have to lift up her hand and sweep them back. And her lips, Good God her lips. Full, the perfect shade of pink, they would definitely look good around my... never mind.

To get back to the point, she made my heart race. I wouldn't think about her body, because baseball pants are tight, and I wasn't wearing a cup yet. I walked into the dugout and threw my bag on the concrete floor, where it made a thud. Edward looked at me and frowned.

"Emmett. Focus. No need to get pissed. We need this game." he said. Really, we didn't need it. No one needed a perfect fucking record to win state or anything, this wasn't college football.

I looked at him. "I don't want to talk." I said through my teeth, and walked out to the field to play catch.

After warm-up, I waited in the dugout for my turn to bat. I was the third batter, so I had to step up to the fucking plate in the first inning, which didn't give me much time to fucking get over myself. I seemed to get myself somewhat together, and stepped up to the plate.

I saw Abby in the stands. Strike one.

I saw Abby look really closely at Rosalie. Strike fucking two.

And, finally, I saw Abby get up and start walking over there. Strike three.

Thankfully, I was only the second out, and Edward was up next. He hit a home run, surprise, surprise and then Newton hit a pop fly to the first basemen, so it was our turn to go out on the field. I can't believe she walked over to Rosalie. Why would she do that? What a fucking crazy ex-girlfriend-bitch-whore! I just couldn't think of enough teenage girl, stereotypical words to describe this situation that was most likely going down the shitter. I tried to focus as Sam was pitching, making sure I watched the ball all the way into Mike's catcher's mitt. I felt like a freaking forth grader with ADHD, trying to take a standardized test.

After the torture that was our baseball game, which we lost by two points because I am a major dumbass, our JV team got ready to play. This meant I would have time to talk to Rosalie and kick Abby in the cunt. I went to the bathroom and changed my clothes. It was the next best thing to getting to take a shower, which was not a luxury we were offered at visiting games. On my way to Rose, I stopped by the concession stand and got some nachos. I could never resist that cheese from a can. I handed over the money to the girl and took my food over to where Rose and Abby were sitting.

"Hi, Emmett." Abby said, with traces of slut oozing off of every word.
"Um. Hi," I said, and turned to Rose, "Thanks for coming, babe."
"That sounds like bedroom talk to me..." Abby said. Was she really saying these words or was it my imagination fucking with me?
"Excuse me?" Rosalie said. So it wasn't just me, then. "I don't even know you, and people that do know me wouldn't even make comments like that about me. Please don't just assume we do those things."
Abby scoffed. "Oh, come on. You hang out with Emmett. He's a lot more inappropriate than I am."
Rosalie stood up. Cat fight? "No, he's not. I could tell you're an inappropriate bitch from when you first talked to me. Who else would approach someone just because they're wearing your exes' jacket? Ask yourself that! I could've been wearing Edward's jacket for all you know. Emmett and I aren't even dating!"

People were starting to look over and stare. I started sweating. This being in the middle of attention shit wasn't my thing. It was also really weird to me that girls could talk for a little bit, be in good company, and then someone says something and they hate each other. All within a few seconds, nonetheless.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have answered my questions then." Abby said.
"Uh, I'm not a bitch. I'll answer people's simple questions." Rosalie said.
"Rose, Abby--" I said, trying to interject.
"If you call me a bitch one. More. Time..." Abby said.
"What? What could you possibly threaten me with?" Rose said.
"Girls... I think we should not--" I said.
"Emmett. Shut the hell up." Abby said.
I said, "Don't tell me to shut up," at the same time Rose said, "Don't tell him to shut up." .

I looked at Rose. We both must have been thinking the same thing, because we both just started to walk away, while that crazy bitch was yelling profanities behind us. I would explain my relationship with Abby to Rose when the time was right, or whenever she asked. Whichever came first.

"So, what's up with that chick?" she asked. Well, that didn't take long.
"She's the crazy ex." I said, shrugging.
"Obviously. But why is she so insane?" Rose asked.
"I dunno. She was like that the whole time we dated. It just took me about a month and a half to get tired of that shit." I said.
"I see. I feel weird interrogating you like this, but I'm genuinely curious. I can't believe she yelled at me!" she said, laughing.
"I can't believe you yelled right back at her. You've got balls." I said, laughing.
"Let's hope that isn't a rumor that gets spread around..." she said.
"No kidding. So, you aren't mad?" I asked.
"Not mad. Just surprised. I'm sure we'll have a talk about this sometime, but not here."
"That seems fair." I said, looking at her.

We had made our way to behind the bus, and somehow her hand had made it into mine. I spun her around, quite gracefully if I might add, and looked into her eyes. Those bright, blue, intoxicating eyes. She looked right back into mine. She moved her head closer to mine, and I followed her lead--

"Rosalie!! There you are. Let's go! Jasper's ready." Alice said.
Rosalie groaned, then gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Bye, Em." She said, walking away.
"See ya." I said, and waved.

Even though watching her walk away was a great view, I was majorly bummed that I didn't get a good kiss. We were so close, yet so far. I didn't know if I could take the confusion much longer.