Chapter Twelve
I felt like I was walking on air that Monday, when I pushed the doors into the school open and strode inside. Had I been in some stupid teenage drama or poorly written musical, my steps would have followed the beat of some lame pop-tune, while my giant smile would have ensured everybody that I was most definitely in love. I felt like flying, because the feeling in the pit of my stomach, it could not be described. I was so happy. There was no other way to put it, no fancy words, or outgrown clichés. It was truly happy. And it was all because of Alice.
Thankfully, I wasn't in either drama or musical, so I only looked slightly ridiculous as I skipped (yes, Bellas do skip occasionally, it happens when we're extremely happy about something) down the hall. No one noticed me much, as I had always preferred it, except my friends who could see a change in me immediately.
Mike offered me a crooked smile as I stopped next to his locker. "What's with you today?"
Pulling myself out of the little universe I'd been in since Saturday night, I decided that it was probably the time to start acting like Bella Swan again. "I'm sorry," I grinned (that I could not stop myself from doing!), "I've just had a very good weekend."
He chuckled to himself. "Well that's good. You hang out with Jacob more?"
I should probably have been slightly worried with the hint of jealousy in his tone when he mentioned Jacob, but it hardly registered in my brain at all. Jacob, well – Jacob and I had had a very interesting conversation on the phone last night after I drove my truck home to cook dinner for my father. Charlie hadn't really asked me about Alice or anything regarding the day before, which was nice, and I appreciated it, because Charlie and I never really talked much about anything. But Jacob and I did, and he'd called to 'make sure I was okay' as he'd put it.
I wasn't really sure what he meant, I mean, what was his definition of 'okay'? All I really wanted to do was burst my news out to him, because he was my oldest and closest friend in the entire world, but I also knew that if I told him – a werewolf – that I was dating a vampire, all hell would break loose. So I opted for the safe thing and instead just told him about Victoria and James and how they were still lurking around in the woods of Forks. He hadn't been too thrilled to hear so, but he said Sam had had his suspicions, because they'd still be picking up the scents. Jacob had ensured me that they were now working even harder to try and catch the two remaining vampires, so no one got hurt.
I did realise that I'd have to tell him eventually about me and Alice. But we hadn't mentioned anything about the news I received that Saturday, so maybe Jacob just wanted to pretend that all of it hadn't happened. It was okay with me, for the moment, because I seriously did not want to get into it right now. We could deal with it later. Later, when I was more settled in my relationship with Alice, and he'd had a chance to get comfortable with the idea of me knowing that he was not a regular guy.
I shrugged my shoulders at Mike, pulling myself back into the real world. "We hung out Saturday. I was with Alice yesterday."
"Alice Cullen?" Mike questioned, now sounding very interested.
I couldn't hide the smile that came onto my face then. "Yeah, we hang out. She's awesome."
"Just awesome?"
We both turned to find Alice standing there right next to us, having showed up completely unannounced and silently. I knew why, but hadn't I known, it would have definitely freaked me out. I could tell that Mike felt slightly disorientated right now, to be honest. I smiled warmly at her, letting my eyes take in the beautiful sight in front of me. She was wearing a stylish attire of black and purple, and across her arm she'd draped her famous red raincoat. She looked entirely adorable.
She tapped her foot against the floor impatiently. "Bella!" she hissed with a little pout. "I was under the impression that you found me more than just awesome. I didn't give you all those kisses yesterday for nothing, you know!"
I guess my insecurities about a public relationship had never really crossed Alice's mind. I don't really know why I thought they would have. Alice didn't get insecure, not about anything. Definitely not about love and our relationship. It was pretty evident, with the way she was eyeing me up and down now, a huge grin on her face, that she wasn't going to hide behind silly façades and pretend that we were only friends. I knew it'd case trouble from some people, after all, Forks is a small town and everything just slightly scandalous is made into a huge deal, but I couldn't actually bring myself to care. I wanted to be with Alice, with everything that came with it. Our love wouldn't have been traditional had we been male and female, because she would still have been a vampire, and I would still have been a regular girl. To tell the truth, getting crap from the population of Forks was the least of my worries. I was more worried about our future and what would happen after school and such things.
I wanted to take Alice to the dance, and I wanted to hold her hand and peck her lips. Even at school. So everyone would just have to deal with it. At my high school in Phoenix, it wasn't considered scandalous to be gay. Plenty of people were; they slept with whoever they wanted to, boys or girls. It hadn't mattered, because it was okay there. But here in Forks, things like that didn't just happen. Two girls dating, going to the dance together, that would definitely cause some gossiping in the small homes of close-minded people.
"You're absolutely incredible." I was sure to inform her.
Mike eyes moved from Alice to me as if they were following a very intense tennis match. "Arh... are you two, like, dating now?" he questioned, his knuckles turning white from where he was clutching his open locker tightly.
Alice pecked her lips to my cheek before she spoke up. "While the details aren't exactly sorted out yet, I will most certainly inform you Mike, that yes, we are together. And I won't attempt to hide it."
I grinned to him like some complete idiot. "What she said."
Mike had to think about that for a few more seconds, before he swallowed loudly. "Cool."
I wasn't sure if he really thought it was cool, but I was most certain, that – when Alice dragged me down the hall by the hand – he was texting Jessica to inform her of the news. And as soon as Jessica knew, so did the rest of my friends and probably the rest of the school. I wasn't quite sure if I was ready to the third inquisition Jessica would put me through during Spanish, but I agreed with Alice about our relationship. We shouldn't try to hide it. Which meant I'd have to tell my father tonight, because as soon as it was out in school, someone would tell someone, and word would get back to my father. It was a small town, after all. And news like these? Yup, I was pretty sure he wanted to hear them from me.
Alice dragged me to her locker and pushed me against it with little force. She smiled at me through her long lashes. "I was thinking about you through the night." she whispered, her small hands placed on each side of my body, effectively boxing me in.
"I was dreaming about you." I mumbled, my eyes locked securely to hers. Even in a crowded hallway at school, Alice had the ability to make me feel completely out of my head. It was like I couldn't even think when I was with her like this; I felt so different, yet so completely the same. That ridiculously awkward teenage girl who'd somehow managed to snap the hottie of the school. God, even in my thoughts, my current situation seemed like something out of a bad teenage movie. Except for the fact that Alice wasn't a cheerleader, she was a vampire. Which led to entirely other dimensions in our relationship.
Alice tiptoed up to place a short kiss on my lips. "So I'll be at your place after school!" she announced happily and shoved me aside, so she could open her locker and get her books for the first two periods. "We have the matter to discuss of our project which is, in fact, due in two days, and I will need to meet Charlie again under these circumstances."
I felt my throat tighten at everything she said. First off, I couldn't begin to imagine how we'd manage to spend as much time together as we had, without actually even starting properly on our project, and second off, she wanted to meet Charlie under which circumstances? The circumstances in which she was my girlfriend, as in not just a female friend, but a female person I dated? This would be one heck of an afternoon.
"You think that's a good idea?" I managed to choke out. I was starting to panic. I knew I had to tell Charlie myself before it got to him somehow else, but I hadn't actually even begun to imagine how on earth I'd get it out on the table. It just seemed like such a completely uncomfortable situation. And though my father had adored Alice when she stayed for dinner that day, I was pretty certain that he'd feel a bit differently as soon as he heard that I was now kissing the small pixie.
Alice smacked her locker shut and stared up at me again. "I'm certain, Bella. You need to tell him, and I'll be there when you do. Don't worry, I know I'll convince him that this is the best thing for you." and with those words, she strutted down the hallway to get to her first period, and I couldn't help the tiny smile on my lips. That was so unfair. She knew these things, and I'd just have to wait.
I almost jumped when I realised that the warning bell had already sounded, and I was late for Spanish. Luckily I had my textbook in my book bag, so I scurried down the hallway and into the classroom, thankful that the teacher hadn't arrived yet. Most of the seats were taken already, but I saw Jessica wave me over, as she removed her book bag from the spare desk next to hers. She'd saved me a seat.
Oh, I thought to myself as I made my way across the floor, great.
And 'luckily' for me, the teacher gave us questions for the text we'd prepared at home, and Jessica and I, we always worked together, so there we sat, next to each other, and there were murmurs in Spanish and English all around us, so Jessica found this the perfect opportunity to question me. She was practically giddy, I could tell, when she opened up her dictionary and pretended to flip through it in search of a word.
"It's time now, Bella," she whispered, looking at me across the spine of the book, "spill."
I felt my cheeks burn with redness. "About what?" I whispered, absent-mindedly drawing doodles on the margin of my notebook. I had a feeling we weren't going to get much Spanish done today, so I'd just have to suck it up and talk to her. And, like with Charlie, it was better if Jessica heard it from me so it would be the true story and not some lame rumour. Except I couldn't very well tell her everything, since it involved various werewolves and a family of vegetarian vampires. (I smiled at the thought of that term – vegetarian vampires. Alice had told me about their little inside joke yesterday, I found it completely hilarious).
"Is it true?" Jessica whispered, her voice hissing with determination, as she lowered the dictionary even further, "I got a text from Mike saying that you and Alice Cullen are..." she swallowed loudly, "together?"
I just looked at her.
"Well?" she continued to press. "Are you?"
I knew it'd come to this, so I shuffled a bit closer to her. I wasn't one for gossip, but I did consider Jessica one of my closest friends even though she was the gossip girl of Forks. "We're dating." I whispered to her, and her eyes went wide in surprise. "I like her a lot, Jess, and I really don't wanna mess this up."
Jessica's jaw was practically at the table as she gaped at me. "You're in love with her."
Apparently I was that transparent, and my love for Alice must have oozed out of me, but I didn't even mind. If we were going to be public about this, everybody might as well know just how completely in love with Alice I was. "I am." I confirmed with a small nod.
"But you lied to me." Jessica pointed out (I wasn't sure when I'd lied to her, but I was sure she was going to tell me), "When we asked whether or not you going with Alice to the dance meant that you were a couple. You said that it didn't."
I recalled that conversation. It had been awkward and during lunch in the cafeteria. But at that point, I hadn't lied to her. Because at that point, I hadn't been with Alice like I was now. We'd just been friends. I offered Jessica an apologetic smile and told her just that.
She looked defeated. "Oh well..." she mumbled, "I guess it's cool then. I just can't believe you're actually dating a Cullen! And Alice nonetheless. We all thought for sure that you and Edward had something going on!"
I couldn't help but giggle lowly to myself. Of course they'd think that. Because every time a girl and a guy found common interests and actually started having a genuine friendship, everybody always made it out to be this huge deal, as if boys and girls couldn't be just friends. Which sucked completely. Because Edward and I? We were practically the best of friends. Heck, I'd even say that he was my best friend, because Alice could no longer hold that position. "Of course you thought that. But I told you, Jess, Edward and I are just friends."
She sighed dramatically. "Well yeah. But seriously! Alice Cullen! I don't understand how you can be alone with her. I know she's tiny and all, but she seems a bit scary to me." she paused. "They all do."
I reached for Jessica's hand and awkwardly patted it. "They're not scary," I told her in a whisper, "They're completely normal. Just like you and me."
"Except they're much more good-looking!" Jessica piped up, and after a fit of giggles, she continued to ask me about every detail in mine and Alice's relationship. There wasn't much to spill yet, but she seemed satisfied with what I could give her. Our first kiss and the murmured 'I love you' I'd told her in the weekend. This seemed to throw her completely off track for a second, but I was happy to tell her all these details, because honestly, I'd been scared of what she was going to think of me. If she was going to hate me for being with another girl, or if she was going to be supportive. It seemed to me that even though she was a little freaked out, it was more because of the fact that I was dating a Cullen, not because said Cullen was a girl. Which pleased me, because I knew that I'd certainly need friends when the truth came out. I was positive that some people at this school wouldn't be thrilled about the new lesbian couple in Forks.
When the bell rang and signalled the end of class, I bent my head to my notebook, and couldn't help but smile when I realised what I'd been drawing without paying much attention. I'd clumsily written Alice's name across the paper and doodled small hearts and stars around it.
I smacked my notebook close and went to my next class, which was History with Eric. I knew he wasn't going to question me the way Jessica had, so it would be nice to just have a quiet lesson while jotting down dates. It'd give me time to ponder my thoughts, because our teacher rarely called on anybody. He just talked in his boring monotone voice, and I was pretty happy with that today. It'd give me time to wonder how on Earth we were going to get Charlie to like the idea of Alice and I – together.
When I shuffled to my regular seat, I stopped in my tracks. There, right on the table, where I'd been about to throw my book bag, lay a red rose with a ribbon around it, that had a small note attached to it. I had never considered myself as a romantic girl, but this gesture – it was just too sweet. I dropped my bag to the floor and reached for the rose, completely ignoring the whispers around me. Apparently, roses on desks were not seen very often at Forks High. I turned the note over in my hand.
Bella, love like ours come along once in a life time. Alice.
It was completely corny and yet so completely true. There was no way I'd ever find a love like Alice's again, because I could feel it in the way she looked at me. I was the Esme to her Carlisle. We were meant to be together, and vampires never fall out of love. And even if humans do, I was pretty certain that Alice would be all I was ever going to need. If she'd let me, of course. But I was pretty sure she would.
I took a seat and sniffed the rose gently, before placing it on the table and taking out my books. Eric took a seat next to me and glanced at the flower.
"Do I want to know?"
I grinned at him. "I'm pretty sure you don't."
"Cool." he mumbled, before he turned his attention towards his books as well.
During lunch, I was grilled completely. Lauren did not offer me one look and I was pretty certain this meant that she was not cool with my choice of a partner. I didn't even care, though, I'd never cared much for Lauren. But the rest of my friends asked me just about everything, and though Jessica had heard the story before, she gushed completely when I hesitantly told them about last Saturday.
I kept throwing small glances at Alice from my seat. I had her in plain view, and I could see that she was grinning like a mad woman, while the rest of her siblings chatted and pretended to eat their lunch. She was listening to every word being said at our table, and though I'd like to tell her to butt out and stop listening in, I knew this was her having her fun. Which was okay with me, the least I could do was bring some comedy into her life.
After lunch I had Biology with Edward, which was always nice. I excelled in Biology, I always had, and with Edward next to me, the class was pretty much spent talking about everything and nothing. We talked a little about the work we had in front of us, and quickly finished it. We couldn't very well risk talking about the things I really wanted to talk more about (vampires), in case someone actually heard us. But we could talk about Alice and I, and there were a few things I wanted to know about their family, but I couldn't get myself to ask Alice. I just didn't want to upset her or worry her, even though I knew Alice wouldn't think much of it; she was so light-hearted and took everything easily. But I just didn't want to ask her in case she took it more personally than I thought she would.
But Edward would probably not be offended by the question, because I knew that he and Rosalie didn't always see eye-to-eye either. So that's why I casually brought it up in our conversation. Just sort of nonchalantly asked him if he knew why Rosalie didn't like me much. (I knew she was probably listening in on this conversation from her classroom down the hall, where she had French, but I didn't really care).
Edward grinned at me. "Really Bella? You think Rosalie doesn't like you?"
"I know she doesn't like me." I scoffed, because it was pretty evident that that was the truth. She hadn't said one kind word to me the entire weekend, so I was sort of used to it by now. It'd just be a lot more pleasurable to hang with Alice at her house if I didn't have to fear Rosalie's wrath every second.
"She likes you, Bella." Edward was sure to inform me, his fingers gracing mine gently. "She thinks you're great, and she likes that you make Alice so happy. And," he licked his lips, "she's just worried about what will happen now that you know our secret. It has nothing to do with you personally."
I squeezed my eyes together and stared at him in disbelief. The attacks I'd received this weekend had definitely seemed personal to me. "She snaps at me all the time." I firmly told him, my voice hard. "And she's never said one kind word to me. Not even 'hello'."
Edward continued to grin at me. "That's no different from how she treats everyone. She snaps at all of us, that's just who she is. She still doesn't like me very much." he shook his head and grinned, lowering his voice so I had to lean in closer, "She says 'You bet your ass I don't, you idiot. And tell Bella to stop whining, I like her just fine'."
I couldn't help but blush lightly. "She does? You do?" I confusingly murmured, not knowing whether or not to direct my question at Edward or Rosalie herself.
Edward waited a second before nodding. "It takes years for her to warm up to people. She's still not cool with Kate, Jasper's girlfriend. It'll take a while before she warms up to you too, but in the end, it'll all be good."
"Thank you, Rosalie." I whispered, knowing she was still listening in on our conversation.
There was a silence between Edward and I for a few minutes, while he scribbled across our project paper, and I was consumed in thoughts about what I'd just learned. I was very happy to know that Rosalie didn't despise me as much as I'd thought she did. It had worried me the entire weekend, because everyone else had been so nice to me and treated me as a part of the family already, but Rosalie had hissed at me and shot me dirty looks, and only when Esme was near to scold her, did she pretend to not want to murder me. But I was happy to know that that was generally how she treated everybody. I'd just have to work my way into her good graces as quickly as I could.
"By the way," Edward whispered, when there were five minutes left before the bell rang and I'd have to attend PE as the last class of the day, "Alice says you'll have to skip Gym today, because you need to figure out what to do about your project and about Charlie."
My eyes moved from the table to his and I felt the butterflies move in my stomach. "Really?"
"Yes." he huskily smiled and slowly started packing the books into his bag again. "And also," he continued to inform me, "I feel the need to tell you that Alice is planning a shopping spree this weekend. With her, Rose and Esme. She wants to buy you a dress for the dance." he paused and I could feel my heart beat in worry, "I know how much you hate shopping, so I thought I should warn you."
My heart was beating rapidly as I clutched my book to my chest. I could practically already feel sweat trailing down my back in worry at what I'd most likely have to endure. I wasn't going to go shopping with the female Cullens. I didn't even want a dress. Even if I was going with Alice to the dance, I'd planned on wearing my usual jeans and a t-shirt. Alice would look more stunning than me anyway, so what was the point? Besides, I'd never been able to rock a dress properly. "There's no way in hell I'm going shopping with her." I spat at Edward, just as the bell rung.
He teasingly ruffled my hair. "If you say so." he mumbled, before he was out of the classroom, leaving me to myself.
I could not believe that Alice actually thought I'd go shopping with her. Didn't she know me at all? Yeah she does, I told myself in my thoughts, as I made my way out of the school and towards my truck. I dodged Mike and a few other classmates, before hopping into my car, waiting for Alice to show. There was no reason to just stand there and alert every teacher and student in the parking lot that I was going to skip PE. She might know me, but she's still going to force me to do this.
Approximately thirty seconds later, Alice opened the car door and jumped in next to me. "Hi." she mumbled, and I could immediately tell that something was wrong with her. Her head was downcast and she didn't look at me when she placed her bag next to mine on the seat between us.
I turned on the ignition and moved my head to look at her. "Something wrong?"
She didn't answer, but turned to stare out of the window instead, so I decided to just get us safely out of the parking lot without bumping other cars. I figured she'd tell me soon, because it wasn't like Alice to keep anything inside for very long. She was a happy spirit, so she'd be miserable in this state for more than five minutes.
And I was absolutely right, because as I drove us down the main street of Forks towards the forest, she turned her head to look at me. "Bella?" she whispered gently, and I averted my eyes from the road to meet hers quickly, "Don't you love me at all?"
My eyes were straight on the road, but I cocked an eyebrow anyway. What was she getting at? She knew I loved her! Why would she even presume otherwise? "What?" I huffed, truly confused, "Alice, how can you even ask that? You know I love you."
"Then why is there no way in hell you're going shopping with me?" she piped, her tiny bell-like voice ringing between us in the small cab of my truck.
I spluttered and felt the need to roll my eyes. That was it? That was what she was so down about? Of course it would be, she was Alice Cullen after all. "Alice!" I couldn't help but grin, "Is that what this is about? It's not that I don't wanna spend time with you, I just don't really wanna try on dresses all day and..." I trailed off, tapping my fingers against the steering wheel as I parked my car against the curb, leaving room for my father's police car in the driveway. I turned to meet her big eyes.
"But it's the dance!" she argued, squirming in her seat, "I want us to look fabulous together! I want our dresses to match. Please Bella!" she stuck out her bottom lip and pouted to me in a way that was truly unfair. How could anyone – ever – say no to a face like that?
I wiped a piece of my hair out of my eyes and sighed heavily. "Alice, I don't really wear dresses. I look horrible in dresses." I tried to convince her, even though I knew I'd pretty much lost the battle.
She pouted even more. "Bella..."
I closed my eyes for a second and felt myself break into a grin. "Alright, I'll go with you, Alice." she squealed and clapped her hands. "But!," I added with a very serious look, "I have the right to veto dresses. You'll have to find something black for me. Deal?"
"Deal!" Alice happily smiled and wrapped her arms around me tightly, pulling me into a comfortable hug. I breathed in the scent of her hair and tightened my arms around her as well.
Our eyes locked, and I wanted to kiss her badly, but it would probably be a lot more comfortable if we went inside. The next time that such a moment would occur today (because I knew for certain it would), we'd be on either my bed or the couch downstairs. "We better get inside." I breathed, before I pulled back.
The both of us grabbed our things and we went inside the house. We decided to work in the living room. We had a lot we needed to sort through before we had to present the work to the class. For starters, it'd be a good idea if I could even remember what the poem was about, but everything besides Alice had skipped my mind lately. I wasn't even sure if we could even manage to do all of this in such short time, but I hoped Alice had some bright idea. It'd been relying on her a lot lately, but I knew she didn't mind.
Alice sat Indian style on the couch and gave me a huge smile. "So!" she brightly smiled, "We're in a bit of a hurry with this project, I don't actually think we'll be able to do anything remotely like Ms. Righte wanted us to."
I bit my lip. "Then what do you suggest we do?"
"I suggest we wing it!" Alice giggled, throwing her arms behind her head and falling backwards into the soft cushion of the couch. "I know the poem by heart, if you study yours, I'm sure we can read it dramatically and she'll be quite pleased."
I stretched my legs out and playfully nudged her with my left foot. "We're supposed to do something other than just reading it." I felt the need to point out for her, though I knew that she knew this.
Alice blinked at me. "Yes, but now you're being silly, Bella! If we read it to each other, it's not just us reading it to the class, is it?" she smiled at me, and I felt myself blush under the intensity of her stare, "Besides, I feel a strange affinity with that poem regarding you and our current situation. I'm sure Ms. Righte will be pleased with this. After all, she loves me!"
I wasn't going to win this argument, and I didn't really want to. If we didn't actually have to work on our project, there were so many other endless possibilities for things we could do. I licked my lips subconsciously. Maybe ending what we almost started in the car would be good...
Alice grinned wickedly at me and with a flash, she was no longer sitting against the sofa, but her arms were on either side of my body as she held herself above me, her face hovering mere inches from mine. "Winging it gives us time for much more pleasant activities..." she huskily whispered, before her lips travelled from my cheek to my mouth.
Kissing her again was definitely just as amazing as it had been the first few times. We hadn't exactly kissed much so far, but it was definitely something that I could easily get used to. Alice was very skilled with her mouth, and though I had no practice whatsoever, she didn't seem to complain about what I could do. Our lips sought contact, and my hands had a will of their own as they teased her sides, her waist, before travelling up her backside and into her hair. I wanted badly to pull her closer, on top of me, but I was positive that if she landed on top of me, I would go absolutely crazy and let my hands into much more compromising positions.
Alice turned us over then, and pulled me down on top of her, her hands tangled in my hair, as our lips kept caressing each other. Mouths were pried open and tongues started fighting. I yearned to touch every corner of her mouth; my tongue was scratching against her tongue, her teeth, her cheeks and her the roof of her mouth. She was making these amazing small murmurs of joy and I removed my mouth from hers and trailed kisses down her beautiful face to the base of her neck. Latching my mouth on it, she purred loudly and I grinned to myself.
I was getting pretty good at this pretty quickly.
"Bella," her small voice rang wonderfully in my ears and I detached myself from her neck and looked up to meet her eyes, completely out of breath. She was breathing too, but she was stunning as she looked at me, her black eyes clouded with lust and feelings. "Bella, things are going really fast between us."
I breathed out heavily. I knew she was right. Even though I physically longed to be with Alice, to have every part of her, I also knew that I wasn't ready for that kind of thing yet. I'd never had a boyfriend or girlfriend before, and we were only three days in. And I was thankful that Alice seemed to know this about me, that she seemed to just know that I wasn't ready for that kind of intimacy yet. And she seemed quite contend with just kissing as well.
"Sorry." I sheepishly grinned, falling onto her body with my full weight, knowing it wouldn't crush her in any way.
She tugged me closer, one hand tangled in my long brown hair, the other resting limply on my backside. "It's okay, I want to be with you, badly. I just don't want you to do anything you're not ready for."
I turned my head slightly upwards, so I could look at her, even in this position. "I don't know how soon I'll be ready. But with the way I feel about you, I'm pretty certain it won't be too long." I heard myself tell her, very seriously. And I wasn't scared about taking that step either. I wanted it to be with her, this special experience. And I was old enough to do these things anyway.
Alice smiled warmly at me. "I don't know how it'll work, though." she gently whispered, "I mean, just when I kiss you, my instincts are wailing to take over. I'm certain it'll be even harder to resist if we get even more intimate."
I swallowed loudly. I hadn't though of that. I'd thought it was only going to be me who had to do this huge thing and take a big step, but she was right. This was something new for her, too. She was right. It was going to be hard, I was pretty certain of that. But thankfully, she hadn't pushed me away today, so that was always a good sign.
"I want to try though." she quickly assured me, her hand drawing a small circle on my back. "I mean it. It'll just have to work."
We didn't say much the rest of the afternoon. I'm fairly certain that I fell asleep sprawled across her at at some point, but we didn't talk much, we just laid there together, sharing occasional kisses and touches. And if this was what it felt like to have somebody to love, I could easily see why everyone was so obsessed with feeling like this. Because it was quite extraordinary to just be with her. We didn't have to talk or do anything, we could just be with each other, and that was all that mattered.
I was gently nudged awake by Alice, as her soft hands pushed me off of her. "Bella, Bella.." she pressed her lips to my ear, and I shifted, just wanting to lie there and sleep some more. Even though she was hard as a rock, I'd never felt more comfortable. "Your father will be pulling up outside in one minute, I suggest we make believe that we've been studying this entire time."
I immediately pulled myself from Alice and stretched my arms with a yawn. "I've been sleeping for that long?" I murmured, before scooting down the couch to reach for my books. It would be better not to give my father a heart attack by being cosy with Alice before we even had a chance to break it to him nicely.
Alice perched herself on the edge of the couch and grabbed one of her books too, opening it in her lap. "I didn't wanna wake you up." she grinned at me, a funny twinkle in her eye.
I combed my fingers through my hair quickly, before I pulled it into a ponytail, using the scrunchie I always had around my wrist. "So this winging it?" I lightly questioned, "Does it apply to telling my father about us?"
Alice smiled warmly at me. "I suggest we get right down to business, because I need to get home. I have to hunt, and I think you and your father might want to talk... maybe... afterwards."
I didn't want to pry and ask her if she'd seen anything in particular, because if it was very important, she'd tell me. So I just leaned across the couch and placed a very soft kiss on her cheek, before I leaned back in the sofa, just as Charlie drove into the driveway outside. I could feel the nerves settling in my stomach again and the beat of my heart sped up, but I knew it was going to be okay. My father had never said anything that would lead me to believe that he was against homosexuality, and he certainly adored Alice when she stayed for dinner that one time. It was pretty important to me that my father wouldn't be against this, and if he for some reason was, I had no idea what I'd do.
The front door opened and my father's feet shuffled inside. I held my breath as he discarded his jacket and his belt, before kicking off his shoes. "Bells!" he hollered then, probably thinking that I was upstairs, "I'm home!"
I took in a deep breath before announcing my presence. "In the living room, Dad!"
Charlie then dragged himself from the foot of the stairs and into the room. He stopped in the doorway when he saw who was sitting across from me on the couch. "Well hi Alice."
She flashed him her most adoring smile. "Hello Chief Swan."
He shuffled a little closer and gave the coffee table a look. "You two doing homework?"
I closed my book with a tiny smack and placed it gently on the table. "We were, but..." I cast a sideways glance towards Alice, who mimicked my action and closed her book as well, "we actually wanted to talk to you about something. Something very uhm... important."
I realised now that winging it is not a good idea when you have to tell your father that you're gay.
Charlie looked curiously at the both of us, before he took a seat in his usual chair, right across from where I sat on the couch. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "What then?" he mumbled, clearly very uncomfortable with the entire situation.
That makes two of us.
"Chief Swan," Alice begun, crossing one leg over the other as she looked at him, "I realise that this might come as a shock to you because of the fact that Bella is your daughter, but..." she trailed off and glanced at me, that loving smile perched on her lips, "but I'm very much in love with her."
Charlie's eyes snapped from Alice's to mine.
"I'm gay... Dad." I whispered, not daring to look him in the eye as I uttered the last word of the sentence.
Alice was completely silent in her seat as she studied my father closely, and I looked at him as well, wondering what he was going to say and when he was going to say it. He was looking at his hands, and I could tell that he was thinking hard. I was afraid of what would come out of his mouth, but when he looked up and his eyes met mine, I knew I shouldn't have been worried, because he had a small – though slightly sad – smile on his face.
"Renée warned me that this day might come." he mumbled, scratching the back of his head.
I shared a look with Alice before I spoke up, "She – she did?"
Charlie was hesitant to speak again. "Your mother knows you so well, Bells, she knew that you uhm... you weren't exactly.. straight."
"Oh." was all that could come out of my mind at that point. Leave it to my mother to figure it out before I did myself.
Charlie's eyes shifted from me to Alice, but he had a kind look in his eyes, and that made me happy. "I guess I hoped she might be wrong, but to be honest, I think that you couldn't do much better than Alice here."
I could feel my heart swell and Alice's face lit up as well by the praise coming from my father. "So... it's OK?" I whispered, now tugging at a loose hem on my shirt. Even though I'd had many awkward conversations with my mother, this sure beat them all!
Charlie nodded his head stiffly. "'Course it is." he grunted, and we just looked at each other for a while, and I knew that he understood.
"Chief Swan?" Alice softly spoke up from the couch, and we turned to look at her – both of us – expectantly. "I just wanted to make sure that it's okay with you that Bella attends the dance at school with me."
And just like that, the entire mood was changed from serious to light, when Charlie agreed and said he'd expect nothing less of the girl his daughter was dating. We talked about the dance briefly, and Charlie asked if Alice's parents knew about us, and we assured him that they were okay with it and happy for us. And then Alice announced that she better get to the hospital to catch a ride home with her father.
"I'll start dinner in a minute, Dad." I smiled at Charlie, knowing that all the questions would be coming as soon as we were alone. It might be slightly uncomfortable to answer questions about my love life to my father, but I knew he meant well. He was okay with me and Alice and that was all I could ask for at the moment.
I followed Alice to the door and sighed happily. "That went rather well."
"It most certainly did." Alice happily cheered, leaning onto her toes to place a chaste kiss on my lips. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bella. My beautiful Bella."
I clutched the door handle tightly, as I watched her jog down the driveway and towards the forest.
I was pretty certain for a second, that things couldn't get much better than that.
I apologise profusely for the obnoxiously long wait for this update. There's no excuses.
I hope you enjoyed this update. Just because they're together, doesn't mean it's over. There's still much more to come, just in case any of you were wondering.
Please drop off a review with your thoughts. I'm feeling a bit on the edge with the start of this chapter, but I'm thinking it might just be because it's been such a long time since I wrote on anything for this story.
Disclaimer; I don't own Twilight.
