Disclaimer: I do not own nor make profit off of Twilight. It belongs to Stephenie Meyer and Summit Entertainment, etc.
A/N: This is an insert-an-OC story that will veer from canon timeline, but the actual canon events will retain great similarities.
Drithligh: Thank you for reviewing! The 'reason' evolves over the course of the story as Mireille makes her place in the Twilight world and it really won't be completely revealed until much later in the story, but you will certainly see hints here and there. Whether or not they are obvious is something else entirely. ;) As far as Mireille's magical appearance, there is no definite source of that (at least, I haven't created one, lol). I don't think that's what you were asking, but I wanted to put it out there anyway. :D
Just4Me: LOL! Sorry, but Bella must be included in the story. ;) Thanks for reviewing!
scareDcat: You fiend! You read my mind! XD Well, not exactly, but you'll see next chapter… ;)
SLKerouac: Alice hasn't really seen much of anything as yet, in regards to Homecoming, but we'll see what happens. :)
Chapter Numbering: Because FFnet doesn't allow for Prologues/Epilogues/Intermissions (which are usually not meant to be labeled "Chapter #") my numbering within the actual chapter will be different than the link FFnet displays.
Previously – Edward and Mireille played 20 Questions and Esme asked Mireille to make a grocery list. Mireille and Edward search for Mireille's possessions, Edward admires Mireille's artwork, and Alice joins them to look at Mireille's possessions. Alice tells Mireille to wait on reading the books until after Homecoming. Mireille examines the music alcove in her room and Edward suggests she led him through 60s and 70s music. A couple days passed, Edward had to return to classes or risk trouble, Carlisle came home early and danced with Esme, and finally Alice began prep for Homecoming.
Chapter 12: Irksome
Come Saturday afternoon, Alice began my prep for the Homecoming dance by cutting out my usual afternoon room explorations.
"You need to practice dancing in your heels," she said firmly, pulling me downstairs with a written schedule and the aforementioned heels in hand. "Esme will be doing your nails at four o'clock, so you won't have any time for practice afterward if you go spend time in your room now."
"Oh, all right," I groaned a little, accepting the black heels from her hand without an argument.
"Edward, crunch time!" Alice commanded sharply of her brother, who was sitting at the piano as we passed the conservatory area. He had been playing steadily ever since that morning, when I'd gone out for my usual exercise. I suspected he was trying to steel himself for the hormonal mental onslaught he would be facing at the dance.
"Trying being the key word," Edward remarked rather darkly as he headed over to the dining area with us.
"Stop whining and dance," Alice scoffed, pushing him forward to the CD player that was again sitting on the side-swept dining table.
"Yes, mother," he snarkily replied, switching on the player with a vicious flick of his index finger. Alice rolled her eyes and left the room, presumably to start getting herself ready.
"Are you going to be in this mood the whole night?" I complained to my intended escort for the evening.
"I'd forgotten the past few days how irksome their thoughts can be," he admitted with a scowl, pulling me into position. "Going back yesterday only reinforced that."
I didn't really know what to say to that, so we danced in silence for the most part. What I eventually realized was if that was how the dance was going to go, I wasn't all too certain I wanted to attend.
"Look, I'll try to ease up on the gloomy behavior," Edward interceded with a sigh. "Okay?"
"Okay," I shrugged. We only had about forty-five minutes of silent twirling, thankfully, when Esme came to get me.
"It's time to do your nails, dear," she informed, smiling slightly.
"Thanks, Esme," I sighed in some relief to be away from Edward's mini-tantrums. In response to that, the vampire in question scoffed and headed outside in a blink. Esme frowned unhappily at that particular action, but said nothing (aloud, anyway) as she took my heels for me and led the way upstairs.
"I wish he wouldn't stay that way the whole night," the lovely mother fretted quietly as we cleared the third landing. "I'd really hoped he could enjoy himself somewhat. And of course I want you to enjoy the evening, too."
"We'll be fine, Esme," I did my best to assure her, feeling my own doubt laughing at the contradiction.
"You're sweet, dear," she smiled gratefully, pressing a hand on my back to gently lead me into the room she and Carlisle shared, "but I know Edward. This mood he's in right now doesn't usually lead to anything except moody dirges and sonatas for the next week."
While I easily let Esme draw me around the shelving unit that served as a divider for their bed, a deep frown creased my face. Edward looked to be heading straight into that less-happy place he had suggested was yet several months off. The reason he was arriving there so quickly was a matter that reached quite beyond my comprehension. Hadn't he found some encouragement by knowing there was someone meant for him? Did I not make it clear that Bella would become something special to him? I had pretty much confirmed it on Wednesday night, but here Edward was, moping and grizzled not three days later.
Thoughts no less bothersome continued to assault my mind as Esme helped me focus on choosing a color of nail polish.
"What about this one?" she asked me with a vague smile, offering up a sparkly dark plum polish for me to see. It was the eighth polish she had asked about, as far as I knew.
"I like it," I agreed just to help the poor woman feel productive in her endeavor to help me get ready. I just couldn't find the enthusiasm any more, knowing that Edward would be in a foul mood the entire time we were gone. At least the color I'd agreed to wear was a good match for my dress.
"Wonderful," Esme reluctantly agreed, her smile hesitant in the extreme. My obvious discontent was not easy to gloss over, much as she was trying. Nonetheless, the motherly vampire continued in that precise vein of communication until my manicure and pedicure was finished. The motions were a little bit soothing in spite of the cold hands performing them.
"Now for your hair," she murmured, pulling me into the beautiful spring-like bathroom and settling me at the cornered vanity counter. "What would you want it to look like, Mireille?"
Chancing a glance up at my reflection didn't help me decide any, nor did it enthuse me any more than before, but I made a general estimate based on the dress itself. "Something to the side, I guess."
"Maybe a chignon on the same side as your bare shoulder?" The suggestion was full of hope that my interest had grown.
"Sure, that'll be great," I smiled less distantly, hating to disappoint her hopefulness. Whether or not I liked it, I really needed to be more enthusiastic. For Esme's sake, at least.
"What about some pieces hanging loose?" she wondered next, picking up a comb from the countertop and beginning to tame my fuzzy, curly mane of hair. "I could take a couple pieces at the temple…"
"That sounds okay," I nodded, pleased by the more generous smile on the Esme's face.
Time passed very silently while my hair was smoothed, twisted, and turned into what I could only imagine was a professional-looking chignon on the right side of my head. As yet I couldn't even see it; I was facing the sink wall – the one that happened to have a window instead of a mirror. Even when Esme completed the look and nearly turned me around to see it, Alice bounded in at high speed and dragged me out before I ever glanced in the mirror. The only part of my hair I was capable of seeing were the two loose strands at each temple.
"She didn't even get to see her hair, Alice," Esme scolded lightly from behind us, but the psychic would not be moved.
"That's just it," she argued respectfully, towing me out the door and down the hall. "She can't see it until she's all ready. It won't be as lovely without the dress and everything else to go with it."
"That's kind of true," I shrugged for the tenth time that day.
"Oh, very well," sighed Esme exasperatedly. "Let me know if you need any more help."
"You could get started on dinner for Mireille," Alice remarked just as we disappeared into her wardrobe. Esme's melodic laughter reached my ears from down the hall.
Pointing to the long, pink-cushioned bench at the opposite end of the room where the vanity mirror was covered with some fabric or another – Alice moved off to her lengthy closets and opened one of the doors to reveal the garment bag holding my dress.
"You've got about ten minutes to put on lotion and change into your undergarments," she told me bluntly.
"Alice!" I exclaimed embarrassedly, ears and cheeks turning slightly red.
"Oh, what?" she half-laughed, waving my reaction off blithely. "We all wear them, don't we?"
"Unfortunately, some people don't," I grimaced, nose scrunched in distaste, causing the fashionista to break into a full laugh.
"That's not exactly relevant, but I take the point anyway," she continued to giggle, opening another closet door to reveal a black garment bag.
"What color are you wearing?" I asked, now curious. That was one topic we had never discussed in the few days I had been in Forks so far.
"You'll see after you eat," was her hedged reply. Knowing I would get no more from her, I accepted the lotion and undergarments that that were set out for me to use. Alice was forced to speed up the process and apply some of the lotion herself because I began to intrude on makeup time.
"All right, on to the makeup," she cried at last, seeming to grow in excitement by the second. "You keep your eyes closed!"
"Yes, Alice," I sighed resignedly, closing my eyes immediately. "Work your magic, pixie."
"Ha," she laughed abruptly, and in front of me I could hear the fabric being whisked off the mirror in one quick swoop. The most difficult thing I had to do was constantly keep my eyes closed. All the while, I just had that annoying urge to open them and see what was going on. Every swipe and brush and powder puff applied to my features increased my curiosity. Intermittently, Alice would pop in with a "Don't you dare!" or an "I know what you're trying to do!" and I would squint my eyes closed with renewed willpower.
"Done!" Alice exclaimed happily at last. "But you still can't look. Wait right there."
"Well, I wasn't planning to trot along blindly," I snorted.
"Shush," she demanded amusedly, and I could hear her whisking the fabric over the mirror again. "All right, you can open your eyes, but don't look down at yourself at all."
Opening my eyes was a relief after so long of seeing blackness. Any longer and I probably would have fallen asleep. Another relief was the incoming scent of something very tasty, followed by Esme with a tray of food.
"Alice didn't want you accidentally looking into any mirrors," she explained laughingly as she settled the tray up on the counter before me. Atop the tray was the most beautiful-looking bowl of minestrone I had ever encountered, accompanied by soft bread and a large cup of yogurt with granola and raspberries.
"Wow, Esme," was all I could say, my mouth already starting to water. The mother in question laughed a second time and patted my shoulder on the way out.
"Hurry and eat," Alice pushed rapidly, pulling her garment bag off the closet and disappearing into her bedroom to change. In spite of the impending rush, I ate my dinner quite comfortably and peacefully, not leaving a single delicious bite on the tray. Esme came up as if an alarm had gone off, though I supposed Alice had informed her.
"Finished?" Esme inquired smilingly, eyeing the empty dishes.
"Yes. There's not a drop on there now," I laughed slightly. "Thank you. It was really good."
"You're very welcome," she smiled wider, picking up the remains of my dinner and gracefully slipping out the door. "Alice is coming back now."
"Nope, I am back," the black-haired vampire replied, sidling in beside her mother.
Practically dancing into the room, Alice looked quite sharp in a vivid green belted gown, for which the single sleeveless shoulder was on the opposite side of my own. A slit came up to Alice's knee, leaving exposed the strappy black and green heels she wore.
All of her jewelry was black and simple, save the necklace falling across her collar bone. The thick necklace consisted of five rows of black beads.
"That's definitely an unusual color to wear," I commented. "I like it."
'Thank you," the tiny woman grinned, reaching out to me. "Now close your eyes again and stand up."
Aiding me with a hand on my elbow, Alice made sure I stood without seeing myself at all. Getting into the dress with my eyes closed was not fun and I was embarrassed at wearing only my under-things in front of Alice, but she kept jabbering so freely that I somewhat overlooked it all.
The black sheath heels finally went on, my makeup was touched up or – in the case of lip products – applied for the first time, and Alice turned me towards something only she could see. The sound of fabric being removed boosted my somewhat weak enthusiasm, albeit barely. Clearly it was time to see myself.
"Open your eyes," Alice told me, excitement palpable in her voice. I wondered why she sounded so far away.
Again relishing the lack of blackness that opening my eyes entailed, it took a moment to adjust my sight. When I did, I was mesmerized by the reflection in the mirror.
Makeup was no unknown in my life, but I had never taken much care with it. Lip balm or a touch of mascara. Blush, perhaps, if I was so inclined. Never eyeliner, lip liner, foundation, a full complement of eye shadows, and whatever else Alice had put on me. Half the time her touch had been too light to properly understand what she did with the makeup. Now, with the finished product sitting before me, I couldn't explain it either. All I knew was that my eyes were covered with medium plum and dark gray shadows to create a smoky look, in addition to a gray-purple eyeliner that brought out the blue of my eyes. On my lips – thankfully not a shiny finish – was a rich color to complement the plum in my dress and the blush was a mix of muted pink-peach colors.
My hair was another world entirely. Esme had surely done the most beautiful chignon I had ever been party to. While my dark, golden-brown locks were pulled snugly into the hold at the back of my head, there was a looseness that allowed some of the natural wave in my hair to show through. The two free strands at my temples were soft and delicate, but not so thin as to be flimsy. Elegant was the only word to describe the entire effect.
"Thank you," I said distractedly, but with genuine gratitude. I forced myself to look in the mirror at Alice, but the small vampire was not there. Confused, I tried to turn around and make sure, but suddenly there were cold hands at the back of my neck and beads falling against my collar bone. Whipping around to the mirror, I was amazed to find Edward standing behind me and his mother's necklace around my throat. The plum-colored gems matched perfectly.
"They do," he agreed quietly. "After I saw your dress a few days ago, I thought that immediately."
"Thank you," I repeated, this time for his benefit. "They're lovely."
"Here," he murmured, reaching out for my left arm to slip the bracelet on. He then took my right hand to slip the pearl ring onto my finger. Fresh and beautiful, a corsage of deep purple hydrangea easily slid onto my wrist next. Only then, when I remembered there was a flower for Edward's lapel also, did I genuinely examine my escort's appearance.
Simple yet classy, Edward's black suit and dark gray tie enhanced his pale handsome features excellently. I saw now why black was not a frequent color in the Cullens' public wardrobes.
"You look very dashing," I grinned at Edward, the first time I had grinned with such sincere cheer the entire day, before I noticed something. "Oh, where's the boutonnière?"
"Right here," came Alice's happy reply, followed abruptly by her appearance at my side and the matching hydrangea boutonnière being handed over to me. Both vampires stared expectantly at me for a minute or two, until I realized they were expecting me to put it on the lapel.
Raising any eyebrow, I dryly remarked, "You do know I haven't the slightest idea how to put this on, right?"
"Oh!" Alice exclaimed in understanding while Edward muffled his laughter. "Sorry! Just watch."
Watching the green-bedecked woman attach the small bunch of hydrangea to her brother's lapel was easier than remembering how to do it after she left, but I managed well enough with Edward's help.
"Note to self… don't try flower arranging," I murmured sarcastically, making Edward laugh a little.
"I don't think that's the same thing," he chuckled, offering me his arm.
"Close enough," I sniffed slightly, slipping my hand through the crook of his elbow. "Anyway, you finally have a decent-looking boutonnière… I wonder what in the world Alice did for flowers to match that outfit of hers."
"White," Edward answered with a shrug, leading me out into the hallway. "You look lovely, by the way. Violet tones are a good match for your coloring."
"You didn't compliment her first thing?"
We turned as one to find Emmett in a black suit and dress shirt, fiddling with his white garden rose boutonnière while waiting outside his and Rosalie's room. A mock look of disapproval on his face was tempered by the grin trying to break free.
"I didn't exactly get a chance to say it," Edward defended lightly, rolling his eyes. "Alice bounded in with the boutonnière before I could."
"Actually, I think I started talking immediately, so it was kind of me," I mentioned thoughtfully.
"Still," Emmett pressed on, allowing his grin to show finally. "What with how pretty Mireille looks right now, I'd think you couldn't hold it in, little brother."
Edward opened his mouth to offer a snarky retort, when Jasper's voice came from the other side of the staircase, "Emmett, will you shut up? I'm sick of feeling Rosalie's irritation."
"Sorry, Rosie," Emmett apologized through the partially-open door of his bedroom. "You know no one's ever as beautiful as you are. And I had to rib Edward, didn't I?"
Edward rolled his eyes more strongly this time, pulling me down the stairs quickly while I giggled at the candid exchange between siblings. This experience was so much better than the books or fanfiction could ever produce.
"Glad to know that," Edward snorted amusedly. "Although why you haven't lost your mind yet, thanks to us, is a mystery I have yet to solve."
"No mystery necessary," I laughed more freely. "I'm already crazy, I guess. Hence why it was so easy to adjust to being here with all of you."
"I wouldn't call intense vomiting and strange dreams easy," he chortled. "But whatever suits your fancy, I suppose."
"Oh well," I lifted one shoulder nonchalantly. "At least I wasn't completely lucid for that part. I hate being sick."
"I can see why," he muttered disgustedly, bringing another giggle out of me.
In the foyer, Carlisle and Esme stood arm-in-arm with satisfied smiles on their faces as they watched us come down.
First Alice and Jasper, then Rosalie and Emmett came downstairs mere moments after us. I couldn't decide which couple looked more striking. There was Alice in her vivid green dress, white lily corsage, black snakeskin clutch, and spiky black hair offset by Jasper's honey blond hair and black suit with green satin vest and tie, and matching lily boutonniere. I'd never imagined Jasper in such a color before, but the Texan looked quite attractive in it.
Then there was Emmett in his all-black suit ensemble matched by Rosalie's glittering, strapless black gown with a slit up to mid-thigh, her slender black heels with glittering silver straps down the middle, a large white garden rose corsage, a glittering black clutch, and glowing blonde tresses barely pinned on one side of her face. Like Alice, Rosalie had all black jewels. Personally, I would never have worn the low-cut gown she wore, but Rosalie was gorgeous and confident in it. And as for Emmett, while I had never particularly admired his looks as much as Edward or Carlisle, now I could truly appreciate the handsomeness of his charmingly roguish grin and glittering, laughing eyes.
"You all look so wonderful," Esme sighed happily, hands clasped gleefully in front of her. Carlisle smiled at her joy, rubbing a hand up and down her arm.
"You really do look exceptional," he agreed, plainly including his wife in that assessment. Edward caught my eye, nodding with a smirk which put a grin on my face. The night was looking up.
"Thank you," I replied pleasantly, contrary to Alice's bright "Thanks!" and Rosalie's self-assured nod. The three sons all nodded gratefully, but said nothing.
"Here, Mireille." Alice handed over the fluttery black clutch I remembered her picking out on Tuesday. The fact it was from Christian Louboutin still hadn't registered completely in my head.
"Now we have to take pictures!" the pixie informed everyone even more brightly, popping over to Carlisle and handing him an expensive-looking camera. Smiling indulgently, he stepped over to the wall of coat hooks, waiting patiently while Esme and Alice determined the best angles to use and who should stand where against the opposite wall of the foyer. Somehow upon our arrival downstairs, I had missed the fact that the Cullens' two cushioned benches were missing.
The final decree was that Rosalie and Emmett, wearing all black as they were and both invariably the tallest of their respective gender in the house, would stand in the middle. Jasper was moved to stand beside Emmett, while Edward stood beside Rosalie, leaving Alice and me on the outside edges for the group photo.
Our alternate photos moved a little slower. Alice was picky about seeing all of the accessories and flowers in each picture, but Esme also wanted two different poses for each couple, so it was a trial to capture different poses that still covered all of Alice's accessory bases. There was the typical standing couple pose, and then different positions for each pair.
Rosalie chose the enormous and dramatic stone fireplace for her picture, sitting on the large hearth with her dress spread artistically to one side and hair fanning out like liquid gold on the other. Because of his height, Emmett ended up on the hardwood floor beside Rosalie's knees, his hand reaching up to grasp hers over his broad shoulder.
Alice picked the stairs for her alternate pose, standing a few steps above her much taller husband. Jasper faced his wife on her higher plane, face upturned and one foot on the step in the very middle of the distance. Their hands stretched the space like a goodbye scene in a fairytale. I loved the pose so much that I dubbed it my favorite straight off.
Edward and I were not decided upon much of anything for our alternate pose. The sofa was Esme's suggestion, quickly turned down by Alice on the grounds that it was too much contrast with our dark clothes. Privately, I thought the sofa was just too plain – much to Edward's amusement – though I wasn't going to tell Esme that. Emmett brought up the front porch. While it was a good setting, Carlisle wisely pointed out that it was a little too chilly for it at that time of year.
In the end, Rosalie was the one to find our pose. While Alice and Esme rapidly debated reusing the stairs in a different way, the blonde vampire calmly seated us side-by-side on the piano bench, hands joined between us, knees leaning towards the middle, and ivory and ebony showing through in the background. Everyone except Edward had stared momentarily before Alice quickly informed Carlisle that it was perfect and he should take the picture.
Now with only twenty minutes before the dance was set to start and none of us even in the car yet, Alice inexplicably stopped us once again, shouting, "Oh, wait!"
"What, Alice? We're going to be late," Rosalie complained snappishly, flicking her hair back with great impatience.
"We need to take a picture of Mireille with Carlisle and Esme!" Alice exclaimed in a voice that screamed 'are you kidding me?'
"Why?" Rosalie demanded, echoing my own sentiments, albeit in a rude way.
"We've always taken individual pictures with them before dances and special events," the smaller woman argued firmly, standing her ground with a steely glint in her golden eyes. "This is Mireille's first homecoming, so we're definitely taking a picture. Carlisle and Esme, stand against the back wall behind the sofa. Mireille, I want you standing between them. Come on, or we will be late."
Carlisle and Esme were already in place by the time I came over to fill the empty place in-between, their genuine smiles warming me. Camera in hand, Alice sat atop the back of the closest white sofa to take the picture of Carlisle's arm around my shoulders and Esme's around my waist.
"Wonderful!" Alice cheerily announced. "Okay, let's go. And no, Rosalie, we are not going to be late."
"At least there's that," griped the blonde, grabbing her fur-collared dress coat as she swept outside, followed more slowly by Emmett, who was still looking quite cheerful.
"Now you really know you're welcome, Mir," the big vampire said with a wink, hands in the pockets of his dress pants. "Picture with the parents and all, you know."
With that he disappeared completely, leaving me pleasantly surprised by my new nickname.
"He's been cooking up all sorts of nicknames the past few days," Edward informed me with a chuckle and an eye-roll. "Alice kept arguing with him about your reactions."
"Oh, some of them were just ridiculous," Alice inserted, rolling her eyes. "I had to get in your corner on almost all of them."
Turning pink, I didn't respond further. Heaven only knew what kind of names Emmett had been considering.
Japer and Edward helped Alice and I into our black dress coats at the same time, while Carlisle and Esme wished us an enjoyable evening.
"Try to be slightly more mellow than normal, Mireille," Carlisle regretfully informed me, apology in his eyes. "I am sorry, but the story requires some reticence on your part."
"It's fine, Carlisle." We had talked about that particular subject twice since Thursday morning. As per my public back-story, it would only make sense that I wasn't as enthusiastic as the rest of the group. "Really, I understand the need."
"All right," he chuckled gratefully. "Have a good time as much as you can under that restriction."
"I will," I smiled, easing into Esme's parting hug at the same time. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, dear," she said with a squeeze, propelling me to the front door where Edward waited. "Have fun, all of you."
"Well be back by eleven at the earliest," Edward told his parents with a smooth face, offering his arm for me to take again. Only a slight hint of mischief was visible in his bright eyes.
"Get out of here, you ingrate!" Carlisle laughed richly, holding an embarrassed but smiling Esme to his side. Smirking devilishly, Edward pulled me outside. I was too well-humored too much to say a proper good night to Carlisle and Esme; the amusement only left after I was already belted into the backseat of the silver Volvo. I was greatly surprised to find Emmett behind the wheel.
"Hey Emmett," I greeted him in amusement. "Why aren't you with Rosalie?"
"Hiya," he grinned back at me, then answered my question, "Well, we can't let the little sophomores drive yet, can we? Chief Swan might not like that."
"Oh, yeah!" That made sense. I kept forgetting that Edward couldn't legally drive yet.
"You and me both," Edward remarked in annoyance as Emmett sped off behind the M3. At that moment, I was very grateful to be in the backseat and somewhat distracted. "Rosalie has been driving us to and from school every day."
"Hey, I did some smooth driving sometimes," Emmett interrupted indignantly, scowling at Edward in the rear-view mirror.
"Four times, Emmett. Four." Edward left it at that, ignoring the continued scowling of his black-haired brother.
"Who will be able to legally drive next?" I asked curiously.
"Jasper in November," Edward answered. "Then Alice in February."
"And you in June," I added without thinking.
"How do you… nevermind." He shook his head as if to clear it. "I shouldn't be surprised. The books probably mention it."
"Oh, no, it wasn't the books," I contradicted him pleasantly. "The author was talking about it in some interview. Plus it was in the guide when I glanced over your bio page."
"It lists our birthdays?" Emmett wondered out loud, frowning a little. "Weird. Cool, but… weird."
"Actually, I don't think it lists anyone else's. Except Bella, that is. I'd have to double-check, but I'm pretty sure yours only has the year."
"Damn," the big guy snapped his fingers.
"Sorry," I laughed. "When is your birthday, Emmett?"
"August eighth," he proudly announced, seeming to puff up even more than normal. "When's yours? I didn't read your birth certificate, only heard Jasper say it was in January."
"January third. Almost the fourth, but I was too headstrong to wait any longer, I guess."
Laughing loudly, Emmett pulled into the high school parking lot, whipped into an open parking space beside the M3, and jumped out only a second after having turned off the car. To have arrived so quickly, I didn't want to know how fast he'd driven.
"You definitely don't want to know," Edward assured me and got out of the car to come around my side and help me out.
"I'm so nervous," I muttered, seeing all the students milling about in groups, chattering and laughing and glancing around nervously like the rest of the herd.
"Herd?" Edward chortled heavily, trailing behind Rosalie and Emmett while Alice and Jasper came up beside us.
"What about a herd?" Alice asked, glancing inquiringly at her brother.
"Mireille is being funny again," he glanced over the remark I'd been thinking, sensing my vague embarrassment.
"Nothing new there," Emmett called back to us from where he walked with his arm around Rosalie's waist. Not that I could deny it. Most of the time, I made sarcastic or randomly funny remarks just by commenting on day-to-day things that I noticed. Half of those times were unintentional; indeed, the unintentional ones were usually the funniest of the lot, much to my indignation.
"It's actually your embarrassment that is so amusing in those instances," Edward confided in me with a hint of a smirk.
"Thanks so much," I grumbled, glaring at him and a giggling Alice. Jasper was trying to stay neutral, I could tell, so I gave him a break.
"Oh, if you only knew," said Edward with a low chuckle, patting my hand sympathetically where it lay on his arm.
"I don't like the sound of that," I frowned suspiciously, eyeing Jasper with accusation clear in my gaze. In response to my wary emotions, the Texas native just grinned slightly. Rolling my eyes came naturally by now, so I didn't fight it.
Instead, I turned to focus on the decorations outside. Typical balloons and crepe paper announced the front of the gym, all in black, white, and occasional yellow. The black banner above the gym doors matched the color scheme, proudly announcing 'Night of Stars Homecoming.'
"Boring," Alice sighed very quietly, also eyeing the décor.
Boring didn't begin to cover it, even with stars everywhere. Who didn't like to see a bit of color at a dance?
"Here's your ticket," Edward told me in a low voice, handing over a little black rectangle of cardstock with the details of the dance in white and yellow lettering and (of course) a little star image.
"Thanks," I smiled slightly in return, slowing as he did when Rosalie and Emmett found the end of the line.
Someone ahead was turned in our direction, talking with the person behind them, when they noticed exactly who was in line for the dance. Staring in what they probably thought was an inconspicuous manner, the original person who espied us whispered the news to their neighbor. Faces began to turn everywhere, most every pair of eyes zeroing in on the elusive Cullen family and their newest member. My discomfort rose every passing moment, but as I was short and stuck in-between the other members of the family, actual eye contact with my personage was relatively small. Nevertheless, as a show of support, Alice, Jasper, and Edward closed ranks on three sides and left Emmett and Rosalie as my forward guard.
The time it took to approach the ticket table was really too long as far as I was concerned, although once we did reach it, I decided I would rather have stayed in the line. Neither of the two adults accepting our tickets looked at all pleasant towards me. They seemed tolerant of the siblings. Indeed, one might say there was respect in their eyes for Carlisle and Esme's adopted children. For me, mistrust colored their gazes. What on earth they were suspicious of, I could hardly imagine. Not that I was ignorant of how the rumors of my 'arrival' would have tainted their opinions, but it was strange that I once again faced so much hostility from people I had never even met. One would think that being Carlisle's 'niece' might have added some level of understanding, but apparently not so.
"Don't let it worry you," Edward murmured in my ear after the man at the table handed us back our stamped tickets and allowed us to proceed. I could feel his gaze following me doubtfully as I moved off to the side of the hallway with Edward. "They just don't trust outsiders. You should have seen their first reactions to us."
"I don't think that's quite the same thing," I countered with a nervous laugh, eyeing the decorations through the inner gym doors a bit skittishly. A white and black balloon arch stood in one corner of the gymnasium that was covered in black paper; the place where a photographer waited in boredom for students to come and get their picture taken. Nothing much else was actually decorated, save the black-draped table of drinks and cookies on the wall opposite the main doors.
"Maybe not," Edward agreed with me, an understanding smile lighting his face, "but you'll be fine. Come on, coat check."
Unpleasant worries kept on hitting my brain as we moved to the makeshift coat check opposite the ticket table and Edward helped me out of my coat. He kept my coat check ticket himself, slipping it into his inner jacket pocket.
"If we dance, you won't be as bothered by all of the unfriendly faces," he suggested kindly. Nerves in full force, I nodded and followed him into the gym itself and to the middle of the floor where Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett had already begun to dance. No one danced near them. As a matter of fact, no one danced within a full ten foot radius of any of us.
"Relax," Edward murmured again, pulling me into the proper hold and slowly leading me with the rhythm.
In spite of the enjoyment I derived from the dancing itself, eyes still followed me everywhere I went. Disconcerting though it felt, there was little I could do about it, as Edward kindly pointed out to me. The Cullens still received stares, after all, and they had been here a little while already. I could only hope everyone became accustomed to looking at me without suspicion after I started attending school.
The usual twirling, such as Edward's siblings were doing right then, didn't even begin until about five dances in, so I guessed he wanted to ease me into it.
"Sort of." He tried not to smile.
"What does that even mean?" I asked suspiciously as we spun past the front doors. That hidden smile of his was troublesome at best.
Still tamping down his smile, Edward leaned down to murmur in my ear, "How would you feel about dancing with my brothers?"
My jaw fell slightly. That was not at all what I expected. "Why?" I murmured back.
"It would prove our solidarity, as Alice put it," he explained simply, pulling back from my ear to glance cautiously at my surprised expression. "…You don't have to, if that bothers you."
"I didn't say that," I hedged rather conspicuously, but quickly gave into the shrewd expression on his face. "I'm just worried I won't be very good. Since I've never danced with them before…"
"Don't be ridiculous," he muttered, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Emmett is already thinking of how careful he needs to be. And Jasper's patience is in full force. Stop worrying, will you?"
"Easy for you to say," I frowned at him, making sure to lower my voice just in case. "You can see what's going on through everyone's heads and Alice's visions. I can't."
"Neither can Rosalie, Emmett, or Jasper," he argued quietly, frowning the same as I did, "but they're not worried."
Sighing, I gave up on debating the point; it was too irritating.
"Good, that's settled then," he smugly asserted, sending my own eyes rolling. When the song ended, the watching crowd of students was shocked to find us all switching partners. Edward moved to Alice's side, Jasper to Rosalie's, and Emmett to mine. His size was wild to stand next to. I felt kind of like a Geo Metro parked next to a semi-truck.
"Hey, Mir," he winked at me, positioning us much more loosely than Edward. That was a bit of a problem, however, because I could hardly reach up his arm at all in the first place. Add in the distance and I was pretty much grazing his forearm with my fingertips. The two of us seemed to realize this at the same time. Emmett broke out laughing quieter than normal and I bit my lip to hold in a laugh.
"Oh well," he shrugged once his laughter died down, still sporting a happy face. "At least you're taller than shorty over there."
"Watch it, you big bear," Alice hissed playfully as she and Edward danced past us suddenly, both of them grinning slightly. Emmett laughed again, not taking it badly in the slightest. He began to slowly dance us across the floor, clearly being incredibly careful with my fragile human body. For that, I was very grateful, even if his extreme care started to make me smile.
The big guy grinned a little at me. "What are you laughing at?"
"You," I admitted, still biting back laughter. "I've never seen anyone dance so carefully."
"Oh, you want a little less careful, huh?" he teased, getting a dangerously mischievous look in his eye. My nerves went on red alert, even though I was sure he wouldn't hurt me or anything.
"Emmett, don't you dare," Alice hissed angrily as she passed a second time. Edward, too, looked frustrated with his brother.
Dancing around our spot with an equally annoyed Jasper mere seconds after her brother and sister, Rosalie hissed equally as irritably, "We don't need a scene."
"Sorry, babe," Emmett groused, deflating instantly. Whatever he had planned, it wasn't a good thing. Maybe my red alert hadn't been so wrong after all.
The dance continued just as carefully after that, until Jasper came over to cut in. Emmett stepped back, offering another smile. From the corner of my eye, I watched Rosalie and Edward begin a stiff yet beautiful dance. They really were two of the best looking people I had ever seen.
Jasper took up a stance slightly less distant than Emmett, though just as formal as Edward. His care was no less than Emmett's, yet somehow it didn't feel as tentative. Our dance was still very graceful and smooth.
"You're having quite a night," the Texan commented with some dry humor. "Anything you haven't felt yet?"
"I can think of a few things," I mumbled embarrassedly, quite glad I had yet to feel a few in particular.
Jasper's brow rose curiously, and I sighed before continuing, "Love, hate, horror, terror, disgust... Do I need to go on?"
"Please do," he muttered in great amusement, beginning to twirl us around the floor with greater ease and less caution than before. He was obviously getting more comfortable as we went along.
"Uh…" I pretended to think about it for a moment or two, before going on definitively, "No. Actually, make that a double no."
Snickering quietly, Jasper turned us once, and my eyes caught sight of something he had told me about on Wednesday, but I hadn't really believed. With a gasp of laughter, I drew Jasper's startled attention over his left shoulder. When he saw the source of my amusement, the honey blond vampire started snickering all over again, this time louder than before.
Emmett and Alice were dancing together, both sporting stamped-out grins at my reaction. They were just so… different! I couldn't help laughing at the height and size differences.
"I told you, didn't I?" Jasper teased in a deep voice. "But you didn't believe me, did you?"
"Shut up, Jasper," I uttered in embarrassment, cheeks tinged pink. He did as I suggested, but a smile never left his face the entire time we danced.
After a while, I was back in Edward's embrace and spinning the floor with much more confidence than earlier that night.
"You don't seem to have done badly at all," he smirked.
"Okay, so it was fun," I confessed freely. "I just wasn't sure at first. And it took my mind off of the staring."
"Have you looked around lately?" he wondered curiously, some glint of smugness in his eyes. Warily and confusedly doing so, I no longer found myself the object of everyone's gaze. Amazement flitted through me.
"No one seems to be doing much staring now," was his stolid addition.
"Wow, I didn't even realize," I breathed pleasantly. Unfortunately, my pleasant feelings were interrupted by human urges. "Where's the uh…"
"Oh, it's over there," Edward nodded towards a wide entryway in the back wall. "I'll be waiting by the refreshment table, all right?"
"Okay," I smiled slightly, then moved off to the indicated area to take care of my human minutes.
The bathrooms were actually not as bad as I had feared earlier that week. They looked clean and relatively modern, although the lighting was low and awful. When I checked my reflection at the sink, my skin looked as though it was tinted goldenrod, rather than its natural peachy color. Sighing resignedly to this small and (admittedly) insignificant flaw in the bathrooms, I moved to grab a paper towel when I realized I had left my designer purse hanging by its short, thin strap on the door hook inside the stall. Throwing away the harsh brown paper once my hands were dry, I headed back to grab the purse.
No sooner had I disappeared into the stall than did the bathroom door creak open on noisy hinges and a few twittering girls enter the room. At first I didn't pay attention to what they were saying, but just as I was ready to open the stall door again, I found myself the object of their conversation.
"Ugh, did you see her?" one girl commented disgustedly in a very prissy voice.
"The new Cullen girl?" another clarified in a deeper and slightly more mature voice, though equally as unhappy as the first. "Yeah, of course. Who didn't? She walked in like she owned the place."
"Rich kids think they can do whatever they want," a third girl griped, her voice of a distinctly nasal quality. "She'll probably be another stuck-up thing like Rosalie Hale."
"Looks like it," the first girl chimed in icily. "Did you see them in line? Edward Cullen was carrying her ticket. She must be a real snob, if she can't even hold her own ticket. She was too full of herself to even take her own coat off. He did that for her, too."
"Bet he likes her that way," the deep-voiced one remarked with a rude snort. "Like the other ones do with each other. That has to be illegal."
"Like Dr. Cullen practicing plastic surgery on them," the third girl added conspiratorially.
"Doesn't look like he's done much with this one yet," the girl with the deeper voice laughed sarcastically.
"Thank God she's in the grade below me." The first girl let out an exaggerated sigh of relief.
"I know, right?" the second one agreed. "It's bad enough having Hale the ice queen in classes."
"You get all the luck." It was the nasally girl again, and her voice was really starting to bug me. "She's in my grade, from what Samantha heard Mrs. Cope telling Mr. Banner. I'll probably have her in one of my classes. As if that freak Alice Cullen wasn't bad enough with her horrible hair and weird personality."
"I feel for you," the first girl added, words a mask of sickly sweet sympathy. The deeper-voiced girl hmm'd her agreement. The next sound I heard was the door opening and closing, the creaks and squeaking passing straight through me. Minutes passed after they had gone, and all I could do was stand there and think.
They were just some dumb girls. Just stupid kids who didn't know me. And they were too selfish and snotty to try and see me as a person. That was all… I tried to convince myself of that truth; tried to tell myself it didn't matter. But no matter how much I told myself their words were unimportant, it was a terrible challenge to stop tears from flowing down my cheeks.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed Chapter 11: Interview!