Chapter 14: I Get Even

Everyone cheered and eventually I was able to breath again, although my cheeks and sides still ached.

"When did you have time to plan all that out?" I asked them.

"Edward came up with the idea," Alice supplied.

"And I picked the song!" Alisha yelled, jumping into my lap. "You used to watch Mulan all the time with me."
"And I told everyone what to do." Lauren added lastly. "We were going over everything last period. Melissa said that she would even help play along."

"Wow, all that just to ask me out." I said, glancing up at Edward. "You must really love me."

Although I meant it in a joking way, the look he had on his face told me otherwise. "I wanted to show you that I cared and this seemed like a good way." He said, smiling.

I bit my lip, grinning back.

"Okay, now that all of this is done, let's pick up the mats." Melissa said, although she was still smirking.

I sent a fake glare at her as everyone moved to comply, even the Cullens. With the extra help, everything was put away within a few minutes and then we were headed. Alisha and I climbed in Edward's car while everyone else took Rosalie's.

During the short ride home, Edward held my hand again, the same as he did while walking me to my classes. This was something I would never get used to. The feel of my hand in his, the temperature, the silken smoothness of his skin. I was sure I had never felt anything as good against my skin as his. It was amazing how soft and hard it was against my own.

When Edward pulled up, it was a surprise to see my Dad's car in the driveway. Usually he wasn't home this early. I also caught sight of my truck, sitting in the driveway looking lonely. I bit my lip, thinking of how I had been ignoring it lately. Is it bad I felt terrible for not driving it?

"I'll see you tomorrow." Edward said.

I nodded, sending another glance towards my truck. "I think I'm going to drive myself tomorrow, okay?" I told him.

He seemed perplexed but he didn't question it. "Then I'll see you at school." He revised.

I smile and nodded as I was climbing out. I turned to say goodbye but he seemed tense. He was grasping the steering-wheel again, looking forward, his eyebrows drawn together. "Are you okay?" I asked, the worry clear in my voice.

"Just another complication." He said before turning to me. He relaxed again and smiled. "Have a good night."

"You to," I told him, giving him a single nod. I took a step back and watched as Edward drove away. As he was halfway down the street, another car pulled around, parking in Charlie's driveway.

I looked to see Jacob in the driver's seat, his father sitting next to him. "Hey, Annabell!" He called happily, smiling a goofy grin.

I waved back, his grin infectious as I smiled back. "Aren't you a little young to be driving?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow. I shot a 'hi' at Billy but returned my attention to the boy in front of me.

He chuckled looking sheepish. "Just don't tell the chief. I'm getting my permit soon anyways." He told me.

I rolled my eyes just as Alisha opened the door. "Anny, are you coming in any time soon?" She asked, giving me a look.

"In a sec," I told her but she was already closing the door.

"Your sister?" Jacob asked, already out of the car and helping to get his dad out.

"Yup, she's usually not so moody which means she's probably hungry." I said.

He laughed.

"So what are you guys up here for?" I questioned.

Charlie came out of the house then.

"These two geezers have a date." Jacob said, gesturing with his thumb. That earned him a whack from his father.

"Watching a game?" I asked, remembering what Billy had said the first time I had been introduced to him.

Jacob nodded.

"Well, if you get bored of it you should come over and hang out. We don't watch sports but I'm sure we could figure something to do." I told him. He seemed pleased by the invite.

"Why don't you two head in and get the game ready, I'll be in a moment." Billy said, looking towards Charlie and his son. They didn't question it, instead doing what had been suggested. I was slightly surprised but before I could comment, or head to my own house for that matter, Billy turned towards me, his dark eyes hard.

"Annabell, I have to say that I was surprised to see one of the Cullen's here." He said.

I shrugged as if it was nothing. "I'm friends with their family. They're all really good people." I said, perhaps emphasizing the people just slightly more than I should have.

He eyed me before continuing. "I don't know if you heard about it but there is quite a bit of gossip about them down on the reservation." He told me. It was clear that he wholly believed in the legends that his son didn't.

"Actually, I am aware of what is said about their family." I told him.

He seemed surprised. "You seem . . . well informed."

I was slightly annoyed with the attitude he was taking with me but at the same time, I realized that he was just following his beliefs and trying to warn me. "I am," I told him. "And I trust them. They are all amazing friends."

He seemed doubtful but he didn't push it beyond that. "Just be careful." He said, almost pleading.

I nodded, knowing he was just trying to help but at the same time that didn't mean I would have to listen completely.

We parted then, heading to the separate houses. When I walked in, Alisha was sprawled across the couch, staring at the ceiling. "You take to long talking." She said.

I smiled and ran in, tickling her. "That's funny coming from you." I said. "Half the time you can't stop talking."

Her laughs filled the living room until Dad walked in with a pile of papers. He chuckled when he saw us, putting the papers aside. "Annabell, stop torturing your sister." He said.

"Aww, but dad," I whined, resisting the urge to grin.

He gave me a play glare as Alisha ran behind him still laughing. She peaked out from behind his leg with a toothy grin. I heaved a giant sigh in defeat, Alisha giggling at the display. "Fine. I guess I'll be banished to the kitchen to make supper." I stood, slowly trudging out of the room.

Dad had to hold back a laugh as he spoke up. "Actually, I ordered takeout. It should be here soon." He informed us.

"Yayy!" Alisha cheered, jumping out from behind him.

Much to his word, the food showed up soon after that. I got out plates as dad paid for the Chinese. The meal was good, especially as Alisha struggled to use the chopsticks that was provided. That was a funny sight but at the same time I knew how she felt. I had gotten so frustrated by them in middle school that I had spent a week using nothing else until I had finally mastered the stupid things.

"So, I saw one of the Cullens dropping you off today," Dad began towards the end of the meal.

Alisha supplied what he was hedging at. "Uh huh, Edward gave us a ride. He did yesterday to." She told him absentmindedly, trying to pick up some noddles.

I bit my lip, trying to keep the embarrassed blush from rising in my cheeks.

"He's the one that drove you home after the accident, right?" Dad asked.

I nodded, stuffing a clump of rice in my mouth.

"Is there a reason why?" He continued.

I shrugged before swallowing so I could speak. "Just to hang out a bit before school. Alice and Rosalie picked me up yesterday." I told him. I shot Alisha a look, praying she wouldn't mention what happened at the end of cheering practice. Dad didn't need to know that yet.

He wavered and then spoke again. "Are you going to be going to the dance with Edward?"

I spluttered into my drink, droplets splashing the table as Alisha laughed. I seriously didn't want to be having this conversation with my dad.

"Um, no." I told him.

"Well, who are you going with then?" He continued. He wouldn't look up from his food and as this continued I found my own eyes drawn to my plate.

"I'm not going at all." I told him.

It was his turn to be surprised. "But I thought you liked dances?" He questioned.

I looked up at him and caught his eye. "Not after what happened." I told him.

Remorse flashed across his features before he cleared his throat. "Right, I see. Well, do you have any other plans for that day?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I was thinking about doing something outside. I heard it was supposed to be nice. Maybe I'll go for a hike or something." I told him. I was only sixteen, Dad didn't need to know that I had a boyfriend yet. The thought surprised me and I felt weird thinking about Edward in those terms.

"Oh, well make sure that you stay safe." He said.

I nodded, picking at my food. "Sure."

It was at that point that there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Alisha said, jumping up from the table and running from the door. I stood and followed after her, watching as she opened the door to Jacob standing on the porch. "Hi!" She said, smiling.

Jacob grinned back at her. "Hi, can I come in?" He asked.

Alisha stepped back, opening the door wider. "Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Jacob. Is Annabell here?" He asked.

She nodded before turning her head in my direction. "ANNABELL!" She called. "A weird guy is here!"

I laughed, both at her description and the astonished look on Jacob's face. I walked forward, still chuckling. "Alisha, it's not nice to call people weird." I told her.

She shrugged her shoulders and closed the door. "Jacob, this is my sister Alisha." It old him. "Alisha this is Jacob. Dad bought my truck off his dad."

"Oh," she said, before smiling. "I really like that truck. It's fun to ride in."

Jacob crouched down next to her, getting at her eye level. "Have you got to ride in the back yet? That's even more fun!"

Her eyes widened before she shook her head no. "I can ride back there? But there are no seat belts."

I laughed but Jacob's grin just widened. "That's what makes it fun." He said. "Sometime we'll all go out and you can ride in the back, okay?"

She nodded before we all headed back into the kitchen. The rest of the night passed relatively fast. Jacob picked at what was left of the chinese food, choosing the best bits.

I noticed that Alisha seemed to really like Jacob as well. She was always friendly when she met new people but even then it sometimes took a while for her to really relax around them. She had only known Jacob for an hour but she was already calling him Jakey. Thankfully Jacob didn't seem to mind the attention. He told me that he two older sisters and had always wanted a younger one to boss around, Alisha would suffice.

Eventually though, Charlie and Billy came over to collect him. Dad got the two men into a conversation and got an invite for the next game night that was happening. If it was up to me, I would just stay here and he could go watch it with them. Although I love sports, I liked playing them more than watching them.

Soon, night was descending and everyone headed their way, which meant I headed up to my bed. Despite how tired I was, I was still to keyed up to sleep. I was excited for tomorrow and the pep-rally that would come and beyond that, I was excited for Saturday. I couldn't wait to see what that would bring. Thankful at some point in my musing, I slipped into sleep.

The next morning I rushed getting ready, hyped up. My hair went up into a ponytail, with the blue and gold bow from competition. We wouldn't be putting our uniform on until after lunch.

I grabbed my bag and ran out to my truck, throwing it into the passenger seat. Big red roared to life when I turned the key and then I was off. Perhaps it was riding with the Cullens or maybe it was just my hurry to get to school but I grimaced at the slow speed of my truck. It seemed to take forever to get to school, in reality it was really only ten minutes. I pulled into the empty space next to Edward's car. Most of the Cullens stood around it.

I turned of the ignition and reached for my bag. By the time I had it, my door was already open, Edward standing there.

"Hi," I told him.

He smiled. "Hi," he said back.

I climbed down from my truck and he closed the door behind me. "You know you're going to spoil me. I'll be so lazy soon you'll have to carry me everywhere." I told him, joking.

He reached out, taking me hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I wouldn't mind."

I laughed, knowing that he probably wouldn't.

"Sit with me at lunch today?" He asked as we started moving towards the school.

I was delighted to see that he had asked this time instead of just assuming. "Sure," I told him.

I turned to Alice who was walking next to me. "Excited about the pep-rally?" I asked.

She had the front half of her hair pulled into a small pony and the bow put into that. It had to suck having hair that short when it came to cheering. She nodded. "It's going to be so much fun. I can't wait for it."

I laughed at her exuberance but then again, Alice did everything with exuberance.

Throughout the morning, Edward continued with his questions but this time it was more focused on people than it was on myself. He wanted to know more about my mom, friends I had back in Maine, and any relationships I had before. Though I have had crushes, I never had any type of relationships. It kind of makes it hard when you're one of the youngest girls in your grade.

When lunch finally came, Edward and I snagged a table for ourselves. Although I knew we weren't alone, stupid vampire hearing, sitting by ourselves gave us an air of privacy.

Edward pushed his tray towards me, much like his whole family did yesterday. "Thank you," I said, reaching for the chicken nuggets he had grabbed.

"Your welcome." He told me.

I munched on the nuggets as Edward's eyebrows drew together. His head tilted slightly to the side and then his lips parted. "May I ask you something?"

"You've been doing so all day," I told him, forcing back a snort.

"And so I have," he conceded. "Don't take this the wrong way but I was wondering why you wanted to drive yourself this morning."

I took my time, finishing another chicken nugget before I answered. "Well, for the short story, I felt bad for making my truck sit there instead of actually driving it." I told him, earning a bark of laughter. "For the long story, it's was because I like being independent. That's not to say that I didn't like spending time with you, just sometimes I like to be on my own, doing something under my own power. I don't think you realize how much of a loner I was back in Maine. Sure I had a few friends but not really any good ones like I do here. I really like that people are so friendly and accepting but sometime I just need my own space."

"I see," he said, giving me a blinding smile. "I suppose that it is a good idea that you decided to bring it anyways."

I cocked my head at that, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" I questioned.

"Rosalie and I are going to be leaving at the end of lunch. If I am going to be spending the whole day with you then I want to be prepared." He told me, his voice darkening slightly by the end of it.

"So hunting then?" I asked, lightly. I wouldn't let him ruin the happy atmosphere that we had created so far. I had notice how fast his mood could change sometimes, how dark he could get and I was determined to get him out of it.

"Yes," he said.

"Why Rosalie then?" I continued.

He shrugged. "Probably Alice would have accompanied me but she didn't want to miss the pep-rally. Something about payback." He seemed slightly frustrated, as if he didn't know what would be happening in the future.

"Is she blocking you someway?" I asked, curious. I had never heard of anyone doing so.

"It is possible to control your thoughts, though it takes a lot of practice to do so. They simply don't think about something they would rather I not know or they cover it up with something else. Right now, Alice is translating the Declaration of Independence into Morse code."

I couldn't help the laugh that erupted at that. Could she be any more crazy?

"Well, have fun hunting then." I told him, grabbing a pudding cup that was on his plate. "Speaking of which, what are we going to be doing on Saturday?"

He grinned, his darkened mood from earlier fully gone. "I'm surprised you haven't guess it yet." He said, truthfully. "You said that you wanted to do something outside and you know from Alice that it's going to be sunny."

I caught the hint and my eyes went wide. "So you're going to show me what you meant about the sun?" I asked, the excitement started to leak into my voice.

He nodded and I almost squealed, almost.

"That is if you still want to go. You can always change your mind." He told me, almost sounding pleading.

I caught the meaning behind his words, he didn't want me to go with him but I understood his reasoning better this time. He was worried about my safety more than anything.

I reached forward, laying my hand against his own. My finger started to lightly skim the back of his hand, trying to relay some sort of comfort. "I trust you," I told him. "You need to give yourself more credit."

He glowered at the table and I resisted the urge to sigh, the bad mood was back. "And you need to realize that we aren't as safe as you think. Every time we have been together, we've been surrounded by people. In class, the ride home from Port Angeles and even that night in your room, there have always been other people around. Never have I been alone with you like I will be tomorrow."

I was getting annoyed now. "So what, are you saying you need a reason not to kill me?" I asked.

He winced at my words and some of his anger left. "No, it's not that. Other people are just a reminder that I have to be careful but it's too easy to be myself with you. I'm just worried that I'll reach out to take your hand and break it by accident if I forget what I am."

His voice was raw with emotions and it was easy to see that he had thought about that possibility way too much. His eyes were agonized.

I fully took his hand, lacing my fingers with his own. "But you haven't hurt me," I told him truthfully. My voice seemed to bring him back a little so I kept talking. "You're not the monster you see yourself as, you're far from it and at some point, I'll prove that to you."

There was a hope in his eyes, he didn't want to see himself as a monster but he still did. I gave him a soft smile and slowly he smiled back.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay at least until the end of school and then you could take off with Rosalie? It's going to be a good show, especially if you take any indication from Alice." I asked.

He seemed to waver. "I don't know. I want to be fully prepared for tomorrow."

"Come on," I groaned. "Two hours won't make that much of a difference and you can just come by later tomorrow if it means that much to you. You won't regret it." Just as an added defense, I threw in the puppy dog look.

He chuckled, his eyes much lighter. "Okay, I guess Rose and I can stay for the rest of the day. I'm sure that she will enjoy the pep-rally anyway."

I could her Alice squealing from across the cafeteria at the change in events.

I laughed as I noticed the time. "At this point," I told him as I stood from my seat. "I have to get headed. We have to change and get a few things set up."

Edward nodded before standing with me. We walked over to his family where Alice stood waiting for us. We parted ways after that, Alice and I headed to the bathroom with our cheering bags. After getting changed, we made our way to the gym. There were already people there, working on setting things up. The cheering team and a couple different clubs such as the AV club, the students senate, etc. had all worked to put this together. Balloons and streamers were being set up, someone was going over the sound system and different games were being set up. We joined the throng and within twenty minutes people were starting to filter in from lunch. When the bell finally rang, the rest of the student made their way to the bleachers as the cheerleaders huddled in a group on the side of the gym.

First there would be a few speeches, mostly reminding the students to be safe before and after the dance. After that there would be an obstacle course set up by us. Next was a 50/50 raffle. Students would buy tickets for the chance to pie their favorite, or least favorite teacher in the face. The money from that was going towards prom. There was also going to be a teacher vs. students basketball and dodgeball game, not to mention our performance in the end.

After all the students quieted down, the principal stepped up, giving the speech we had all expected. When he was done, we went to work, setting up the few things. There was a bat at one end, then a course with a rope ladder that they would have to do the grape vine through, a few crates they had to jump over, a station where they had to do a toe-touch, roll back across the gym and then finally they had to eat a pie with no hands. There would be one student from each grade that competed.

Melissa chose a few of us to pick out the students and I got chosen to pick a student out of the senior section. I went to stand in front of it. As I looked, there were a few males that were jumping up and down, pointing to themselves and trying to get picked. There were also a few people hiding their faces, trying to go unnoticed. That was when I saw Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper sitting in the back of the bleachers. My eyes landed on Emmett and I remembered what Edward had said. Alice was trying to hide something about payback. I grinned, finally understanding. I was going to get Emmett back for all those short cracks he had done to me. "Emmett Cullen!" I yelled, pointing to him.

I could hear Alice laughing in the background. Emmett grinned, not knowing what was in store for him before he made his way down the bleachers. Cheers erupted from his class and I could see the smug smiles on their faces. They all expected him to win. What they didn't know was that he would literally gag at the last part.

"Right this way," I said, leading him to the front as I smiled.

He grinned back but then it faltered. "I don't like the look in your eye." He said, warily.

My smile just widened in answer.

The other contestants were lined up. Angela had been chosen to represent the juniors, a boy I didn't know for the sophomores and another girl for the freshman. She was a tiny thing with wild red-brown hair. The other three were positively dwarfed next to Emmett.

The course was quickly explained to everyone except for the last part that was kept hidden as a surprise. Then air horn was sounded. The four students grabbed the bat, putting their foreheads to one end and spun around ten times. Emmett was the first one done, followed by the freshman and then Angela.

As they moved onto the rope ladder, Emmett was grinning, pretending to wobble around as he expertly maneuvered through it. The crowd cheered for him as he approached the hurtles, already a good amount ahead of the rest of them.

Emmett led for the rest of the event so that by the time he reached the table that had the pie, the others were still at the end of the gym, doing the hurtles.

At the table the cover was moved off his pie and he froze, a grimace taking over his features. His eyes flickered to mine and he glared as I burst into laughter. "I told you I'd get you back." I said but I knew he would hear me.

He eyes narrowed before he turned back to the table. The freshman girl was halfway through her rolls and was approaching the table.

"Come on Emmett, you're going to let a little girl beat you?" I yelled. The senior class was now yelling at him as well as they noticed that he hadn't started in on the pie. He looked at his fellow students before looking down at the pie. He frowned and then shoved his face in the pie as I continued laughing. In the stands I could see Edward and Jasper laughing as well. Rosalie was grinning at her mate as she watched it unfold.

At this point both the freshman and Angela were working on their pie, the sophomore soon following. It would be a fight to the finish, especially because Emmett would stop every other bite to grimace.

I couldn't stop laughing as Melissa finally called the winner, it was the freshman girl who had won in the end. As Emmett glared at her, I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture of his pie covered face. I was going to hold this over his head for a long time.

His glare turned to me as I walked closer. "What was that about me being short again?" I asked.

"Ha ha, very funny. I am so getting you back for this." He said.

I snickered. "What? You didn't like the pie?" I asked, innocently. "I thought it was your favorite."

His glare intensified as someone handed him a towel. He wiped the pie off his face and walked back to the senior section, getting booed by his class for losing a race that he had been so ahead of.

The mess that was created was cleaned up and eventually the teacher vs. students games were begun. The students ended up winning at basketball but the dodgeball game went to the teachers. It was time to pie a teacher after that. Five teachers had volunteered to be pied, one of which was Mr. Varner the trig teacher. His bucket was by far the one with the most tickets. I wondered if it was because the kids hated him or just hated math in general. Either way he got pied in the end, along with all the other teachers that had agreed to it. Finally after all the mess was cleaned up it was our turn to perform.

It only took a few minutes to roll the mats out and set them up. Because our gym had bleachers in both side, the routine had been changed a bit so that the stunts, dances, jumps and tumbling faced both direction. It was a little confusing, mostly during the tumbling section but it worked out in the end. Alice especially seemed to enjoy her time on the mat. She was like a star on it, drawing the eye to her. It probably helped that she was a flyer for most of this but it was amazing how much attention she attracted. Part of me wondered if it was a charisma that she had or if it was because of her enhanced beauty from what she was. Either way she definitely belonged on the mat.

When everything was over, I met Edward at the edge of the bleachers, still in uniform. Students were giving us a wide berth but still their eyes remained on us.

"So I'll see you tomorrow then." I said, giving him a smile.

"Definitely. What time would you like me there?" He asked.

I shrugged, not really caring. "Whenever you want, doesn't really matter to me."

"Well it is a weekend. Would you like to sleep in at all?" He questioned, his eyes searching my face for an answer.

I chuckled. "To tell you the truth, I'll probably be up early because of Alisha. There is no sleeping in when she is around."

"Okay, how about nine then?"

I nodded. "Sounds good." I squeezed his hand that was again intertwined with mine. I didn't want to let go but I knew I would have to.

He probably knew how I felt. He leaned in, his lips close to my ear. "I'm glad you asked me to stay. I love watching you perform." His breath wafted over my skin, goosebumps erupting. As he pulled back, his cheek brushed against my own, the lightest of touches but it left a scorching trail. I was sure that my face was bright red or at least that one spot was.

"I'll see you later." He said, laughter in his voice.

I was to dumbstruck to do anything but nod.

Sorry I'm late with this. Yesterday was completely hectic and I totally forget about posting the chapter at all so here it is. So Twisted Fate will be happening so from now on, that story will be posted on Monday while Fate Be Damned will be updated every Thursday. Because both stories will have the same first chapters, I will however be posting the fist two chapters of Twisted Fate. So for those of you who plan on reading that, see you Monday. If you just want to stick with this story then see you next Thursday, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter!