Not Without A Fight
Annaleise Marie

Round Ten

AN: Thank you guys so much for all of your wonderful feedback on the last chapter! Twenty-one reviews? It blew my mind and warmed my heart on a level you guys just wouldn't understand. Haha. I cuddled with the reviews at night. Not really, because they're virtual BUT the idea was there.

So this chapter took longer than planned because... the plan didn't work out. I wanted to write one thing, and then it just sucked and writing it was like being punished for something. So... this is something completely different from the plan, and... I hope you guys enjoy it! Sorry for the wait!

For those of you who have not been online in the last two days and therefore didn't see the notice yesterday, please note that in order to make this chapter writable, I had to go back and change a fair bit of the end of the last chapter. Basically most of the last section. Please go back and reread that part, if you haven't, or this part may not make sense to you.

I feel like I should tell you guys how very very tired I am at this exact moment, and ask you to please cut me a little slack on this chapter for instances such as, for example, last chapter's, "I stared at the ceiling as I laid back in my bed, staring at the ceiling." Dear lord. /facepalm

Ahem. I own a new laptop adapter because mine finally crapped out, and an astounding sense of horror that I actually spent that much money on a cord that had nothing attached to it. I do not, however, own Twilight. That belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

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EPOV

The weekend went by too fast for my liking. I discovered both that I don't actually know much about Rosalie, and about thirty new things that I could know about her.

She loved Charlie Chaplin and hated Adam Sandler. She could bake, but couldn't cook. She loved fashion but hated fashion magazines. The only celebrity crush she had ever had was Isaac Hanson, but she hasn't had any patience with celebrities since the nineties. She took graphic design because she was good at it so it was an easy class but her real love was mechanics – she was discouraged from taking auto shop, however, because she wouldn't be taken seriously as a girl. Her parents had been traveling almost non-stop as representatives of the umbrella company that presided over Forks Bank since they decided that Rosalie was old enough to look after Jasper, but in truth, Jasper had always been the one to look after her and keep the household running. She didn't separate her lights from her darks when she did laundry. She loved infomercials but never ordered anything. She had volunteered at an animal shelter when she was younger but quit because the cats scared her ("It's the way they look at you – like they're bored with your existence but at the same time would love nothing more than to smother you when you're sleeping."). She preferred violets to any other kind of flower. The list went on and on.

Absolutely nothing that I learned about her held any great importance, but all of it was immediately filed away as part of her being – which was becoming more important in itself by the day.

Saturday and Sunday, she would wait until my mom left for work at night – I hadn't bothered to ask, but I think she was now on a permanent midnight schedule – and then come over. She never brought pajamas, but always stayed the night. I think she liked wearing my clothes to bed.

All too soon it was Monday again, and the end of Thanksgiving break – back to school, and back to not seeing her throughout the day.

Alice wasn't in first period. I nudged Jasper awake and asked him where she was. He shrugged.

"I think she had an appointment with Dr. Cullen," he said, closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair again.

"Dr. Cullen? Edward's dad?" I asked. Jasper nodded.

"Alice has been seeing him once every other week since she moved here," he said.

"Is she sick?"

"In a manner of speaking," he said. "Dr. Cullen is a psychiatrist."

"Why does she see a psychiatrist?" I asked. Alice, despite all of her quirks, almost seemed like the sanest person in this town. Jasper sighed, sitting up again, seeming resigned to the fact that he was going to be kept awake.

"She has abandonment issues," he said slowly, as though choosing his words carefully. "Her mom left her last year, and her dad left her pretty much before she was born. For some reason he crops back up every three years or so; calls her or visits. I think it just makes things worse."

"So Alice lives alone?"

"Pretty much," he said. "Her mom drops in about once a month, I guess to make sure that she's still alive, and sends money for groceries and the bills. But Alice hates living alone, so she's never there either. She's always either at our place, or I'm at hers. I think it's a comfort thing, too. As much as she trusts me, I think she's worried that one day I'll leave, as well. As long as I'm physically with her, she knows that at least for the moment, I'm not going anywhere."

I think that was the most Jasper had ever said in one sitting, to me at least, and definitely the most personal.

"Sorry," he said, as though realizing this. "It's just kind of one of those weight-of-the-world things, and sometimes you just have to unload some of that weight, you know?" I nodded. "Don't tell Alice that you know, though. It's her business, and not really mine to tell."

I wasn't really sure what to think about the story. Despite Alice's warning the first day about touching her, ninety percent of the time she seemed like a very caring, generally happy person. I never would have guessed that she was dealing with all of that.

Jasper leaned back in his chair again, replacing his hat over his face and remaining like that for the rest of the class.

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RPOV

I was distracted in first period office assisting. The weekend had gone by too fast and my brain was still trying to take in everything that had happened since Friday. Emmett had surprised me, first by his reaction to the news, and then my his actions through the weekend. It was like it didn't matter to him, at least not as far as how he saw me. I had sincerely expected him to bolt, and why wouldn't he? But he didn't. It confused me.

"Rose?" I was pulled from my thoughts as Bella waved her hand in front of my face.

"Huh?"

"I asked if you were going to the wrestling tryouts," she said.

"Why would I go to them?" I asked. She shrugged.

"Well, Jasper's trying out, and so's Edward, so I figured you could keep me company if you were going to cheer on Jasper. You know how awkward I am when it comes to school events," she said. Well, I couldn't deny that. I hadn't ever seen anyone so, well, for lack of a better term, socially retarded than Bella at a school function. She wasn't like that when she was just around her friends, but she was kind of clumsy and didn't really fit in with any of the standard cliques, so forced social situations made her uncomfortable.

"That, and Jasper says that Emmett's trying out," Alice's voice chimed in and Bella and I both jumped, looking around to see Alice standing in front of the desk.

"Shit, Alice, make a noise," I said. "Don't just sneak up on people like that!"

"Sorry," she said, not really seeming apologetic at all, but rather amused. "Anyway, I need you guys to check me in for the day," she continued, holding out a doctor's slip. Bella took it and pulled out the pad of hall passes, filling one out for her. "So, will you be going out to support your man? You know what they say, if you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter!"

"Oh jeez, Alice, really?" Bella asked, groaning at the joke.

"And anyway, he's not my man," I added shortly. I wasn't really sure what Emmett and I were.

"Suuuure he's not," Alice drawled, rolling her eyes. Bella snorted a laugh before turning it into a cough as I glared at her.

"What would you know about it?" I asked, turning back to Alice. She smiled.

"I know things," she said confidently. The bell rang to signal second period as Bella handed Alice her excuse and hall pass.

"So, wrestling tryouts, yes, no?" Bella asked as we pushed our way into the crowded hallway outside the office.

"It's not like the guys really need our support," I pointed out. "Those tryouts are just a formality."

"Yeah, but you know teenage boys," she laughed. "They always love a chance to show off how big and strong they are. And who are we to deny them that?"

"Okay," I said. "I'll meet you by the gym after school," I finally agreed as we reached the part of the hall where our paths separated.

"Sounds good," she said, nodding. "See you then!"

She was off with a wave before I could respond. Second period was Biology with Edward, and she was always in a hurry to get there. I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the twinge of regret I felt that I didn't have any classes with Emmett.

Christ, when had I become so truly attached to him? I guess it was only natural, but still, on some level it bothered me.

---

EPOV

Here's the problem with wrestling: I have no idea how to do it. I've always been much more into the combative styles of fighting, rather than the rolling-on-the-floor-with-other-guys-in-spandex type of deal.

So I guess it's a good thing that tryouts were kind of a joke. I could pick up the finer points in practice.

But for now, I was basically operating under the assumption that the main idea was to take the other guy to the mat, and keep him there. Shouldn't be a problem. I was easily the biggest guy there. And wasn't wrestling done by weight classes? Maybe if I was lucky I wouldn't even really have to wrestle before I had trained up a bit.

Not that it would matter in the long run. I only intended to be on the team long enough to go up against Royce, and when I did, I had no intention of wrestling. It was going to be a good, old-fashion, southern-style beatdown.

Because I'm Emmett Fucking McCarty, and I'm one ferocious fucker.

Yes. Ferocious. Like a tiger, or a dragon, or some shit. I resisted the urge to roar because hell, that shit would amuse me. Sometimes I have to remind myself that without being able to hear my internal monologues, most people would not find the verbal parts amusing. Frightening, maybe. Not so much amusing.

We weighed in, and as I suspected, I was the only one in my weight class. Not that that rescued me from anything. It just meant that I would be going up against Edward, who was in the next class down.

I watched the other guys, trying to figure out if there was some sort of rhyme or reason to it. I'm sure there was, being that it was an organized sport, but I couldn't see it if there was. As far as I could tell, the rules were simple: Take the other guy to the ground, keep him there, don't get pinned, don't break bones.

Okay. Got it.

When it was finally mine and Edward's turn, I took him down fairly easily. Not as easily as I would have guessed, he was an illusive bastard, almost as if he could anticipate my movements. But still, once I actually took him down it was easy to keep him there.

Edward was quite a bit bigger than Rosalie, and it struck me that if Jasper was right, and Royce was in my weight class, that Rosalie never stood a chance against him. I had been ignoring that fact, somehow, despite the fact that I was aware, on some level, that I could physically overpower her if I were that kind of guy. Rosalie's attitude made it pretty easy to ignore.

Now it slapped me in the face, and the anger flared up again like never before as the coach blew his whistle to signal the end of the match and I let Edward up, shaking his hand all good sportsman-like. I spotted Rosalie in the bleachers across the gym with Bella and Alice and wondered how I hadn't noticed her before.

She and Bella both looked mildly shocked. Alice just grinned.

Jasper high-fived me when I rejoined the line. Jasper Hale fucking high-fived me. What was this world coming to?

---

"So... you did really well today," Rosalie said when tryouts were finally over and we were walking to the parking lot.

"You sound surprised," I said, glancing at her. "Hell, you look surprised."

"I don't know," she said. "You always just kind of seemed like the gentle giant type. So yeah, I guess you could call me surprised."

"Mildly frightened?" I asked. That was usually the reaction I got when I actually did show my strength. Rosalie wasn't the first person to call me "the gentle giant type". Not by a long shot.

"Oh yeah, you're scary," she scoffed. I laughed. "And you will be even more scary when they issue you that spandex leotard thing. Cause then, you know, you could make someone suffocate to death from laughing too hard."

"Your brother wrestles and you don't know what it's called?" I asked, deciding to ignore the slight. She shrugged.

"I don't think it has a name," she said. "Other than the 'goddamned hideous leaves-nothing-to-the-imagination bastard uniform'."

"Very nice," I said, stopping when we reached her car. I wasn't really sure why we were still driving separately. Waste of gas. Poor ozone layer. Obviously we're conspiring against it.

I leaned down to kiss her – it was getting much easier now to work up the nerve to do it, although each time I decided to I still imagined the snub to end all snubs for a split second – before she got in her car.

"See you tonight," she said, smiling.

"Mom doesn't work tonight," I told her regretfully. She shrugged.

"Then you come over to my place."

"Sneak out? Me?" I asked, feigning insult. "Why, I am shocked that you would suggest such a thing."

"So I'll see you around nine?" she asked, ignoring me. I nodded. Of course she'd see me around nine. I'd probably jump through hoops to see her any time she wanted.

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AN: Forgive me for the somewhat vague match between Edward and Emmett. I actually have about as much interest and knowledge about wrestling as Emmett so I'm bullshitting. Why pick wrestling instead of something else? Why, because it's highly convenient, youngens. So we're all just going to pretend I know what I'm talking about from here on out, aren't we? Yes, yes we are.

So again, sorry about the week-long wait for this chapter. Especially to those of you that I told it would be out by like, last Saturday. It gave me unexpected trouble. I hope it's not too bad.

I also hope that the explanation about Alice satisfied some of your questions. I actually didn't expect people to be so interested in it this soon. Haha.

Next chapter will deal more with progressing Emmett and Rosalie's relationship, instead of his friendships and school shit and yadda yadda yadda. See you then!

/bribes reviewers with cupcakes, because like Rosalie, I can bake but I can't cook to save my life.