BPOV
We decided to set the date for the wedding on June 20 – even though I didn't think we should have it on Edward and Alice's birthday. But both were adamant that we get married on that date, so that it made the day that much more special.
In fact, Alice had gotten me so caught up in wedding plans, that Edward and I hadn't taken the time to tell our fathers about the engagement. When we finally sat down and talked about, we decided it would be best to save the news until after New Years.
Alice and Rosalie had planned an enormous party to ring in 2009. It will be held in the Cullens' basement with a handful of friends from school. I tried to help them as much as I can, but my skills for party planning are limited – I at least managed to make the guest list and help decided what food to serve.
Esme and I went to the store together around 4 p.m., New Year's Eve while Alice and Rose decorated. It was strangely comforting to know that in just a few months, this wonderful woman would be my mother-in-law – in fact, I felt as if she was already.
We were wandering down the frozen foods section when she turned to me, "So, how are you and Edward planning to break the news of your engagement to Charlie and Carlisle?"
I put a bag of pizza rolls in the cart, "We were hoping we could all have lunch together on the third. If we set them down together, that could make it easier, right?"
"I think so," she said. "Killing two birds with one stone should at least make you and Edward be more at ease. Plus, Alice and I will be there – we won't let either father get too uppity."
I laughed and grabbed for a box of mini quiches, "Thanks Esme."
We picked up chips, drinks and a few trays of veggies and fruit before heading back to the house to see what progress Alice and Rosalie had made. I walked downstairs and gasped at the sight before me – every wall was covered in silver paper with silver satin sheets thrown over every table, chair and couch.
Esme followed me downstairs and noticed the sparkly, rainbow colored confetti on the floor.
"You do realize you're vacuuming all of this up in the morning, Mary Alice Cullen?" Esme asked with a laugh.
"I know Mom, geez," Alice replied as she tied different colored sashes around each of the table chairs.
Everything looked so amazing. I ran my hand over the smooth, satin sheets and smiled at Alice and Rose.
"This is going to be awesome!" I said as I hugged both of them.
"Damn straight!" Alice replied. "Now, let's go up and get some of that food ready!"
We prepared some of the appetizers for the guests who showed up early before Alice and Rosalie took me upstairs to get ready. This is a process I've become very accustomed to – letting my two best friends do my hair and make up and letting them dress me up. I had to admit, it made my everyday routine in the bathroom a lot easier in the morning after their advice.
They gave my hair a bit of a curl and put some very natural makeup on me before I slipped on a simple, purple dress and headed downstairs where Edward was sitting on the couch with Emmett and Jasper. I sat on the armrest next to my fiancé and he smiled up at me, wrapping an arm around my waist.
"How is it possible for you to look more and more beautiful every day?" He asked quietly.
I smiled from ear to ear before leaning down to kiss him. Suddenly, there was a gagging noise coming from the other end of the couch. Emmett was pretending to be sick as we kissed – he is such an ass sometimes!
I pulled back and glared at him, "Grow up!"
"Please!" Edward added.
He scooted over so I could slide down next to him as Rose and Alice came downstairs. Alice plopped into Jasper's lap and kissed him on the cheek playfully. I gave Emmett a warning glare against any further gagging noises and he glared right back at me. Well, I couldn't tell if it was directed at me, or at someone standing behind me.
I turned to see Rosalie glaring back at him and realized all was not well in their relationship. Come to think of it, she hadn't mentioned him much when Alice and I have our little girl talks with her. Perhaps she was having second thoughts about letting him back into her life.
She looked down at me with a weak smile, "Come on, Bells, let's go check on the food."
I gave Edward a confused look before standing up to follow her. He shrugged back at me before turning to Emmett, who was sulking like a four-year-old in the corner. Rose turned to me as the door swung closed behind us.
"He is such an asshole! I can't believe him sometimes!!" She cried as she hugged me close.
"What did he do this time?" I sighed.
"I told him about Edward proposing to you, and he got all weird, right?" I nodded for her to continue. "Then, when I asked him what was wrong, he told me to stop smothering him and that he's not ready to get married! I hadn't even brought it up, he just went ballistic."
"Oh, Rose, I'm sorry!" I said, stroking her hair gently. "Look, I'm sure he's just being stubborn, old Emmett. Give him time, and he'll realize he was being unreasonable!"
"No, it's more than that!" She said. "Why was he so against even the idea of us getting married? He won't even refer to me as his girlfriend; he just says we're 'dating.'"
I sighed again, "So, did you two break up?"
She nodded as she wiped her eyes.
"Is that what you want?" I asked.
She shook her head.
"Then work it out," I said simply. "If you want to be in a relationship with him, tell him straight up that that's what you want. And, if he still refuses to accept what you're feeling, then maybe it's not meant to be."
She nodded and laughed slightly, "Thanks Bells, I needed that."
Alice burst through the door, "I sense dish going on in here that I'm not in on, and that's totally unacceptable!"
"It's nothing," Rosalie replied. "Emmett and I have just hit a rough patch."
"What kind of rough patch?" Alice asked, dragging me and Rose to the table. "Is he being a dickhead again?"
"Yes," Rose admitted. "I told him about Edward and Bella's engagement and he got all panicky, like I was pressuring him to propose to me."
"God! I hate boys!" Alice yelled, rather loudly.
"Hey!" All three boys responded from the living room.
"Well, it's true – you all suck!" Alice yelled again.
"Thanks, sweetness," Jasper said.
Alice cackled evilly and stood back up, heading to the fridge. She pulled out the trays of fruit and veggies that Esme and I got, handing one to me as we walked to the basement with Rose just behind us. We opened the tops and set up more of the food. Alice perked up suddenly and smiled mischievously at Rosalie.
"You know…there are going to be a ton of available guys at the party tonight," she said slyly. "If you really want Emmett to make a definitive decision about commitment, you could flirt with a couple of them and let him know what he's missing out on."
"Alice," I hissed, "That's totally immature."
"And totally brilliant," Rose said. "I'm doing it! I'm going to make Emmett so jealous steam will come out his ears."
I sighed in exasperation, "Something tells me this will not end well."
EPOV
Ever since Bella agreed to marry me, I've felt like I've been walking on air – completely untouchable. Even Dad's nagging about declaring myself as a pre-med at UBC couldn't bring me down from this high.
As Emmett sat there pouting on the couch and Jasper lost himself watching whatever Civil War era movie he turned it to, I walked down to help the girls finish setting things up. It was a little after 8 p.m., and we expected guests to start arriving soon, so Bella was setting out buckets of ice and cups for drinks. I snuck up on her and covered her eyes.
"Hello, my sexy bride-to-be," I whispered as I kissed her earlobe gently. "Do you ladies need any help?"
"Yes," Alice replied as she came up beside us, handing me a plate and a box of éclairs. "Set these out on the plate so that by the time we're ready for dessert, they've defrosted."
"Yes Ma'am," I said with a salute.
Once Bella finished setting the cups out, she wrapped her arms around my waist and watched me work. I felt her lips press against the side of my neck and it sent tingles down my entire body.
"You're distracting me," I said.
"Oh, kind of like how you were distracting me?" She said.
I felt a blush creep up my cheeks as Bella laughed and kissed my neck again.
"I'm your fiancée, your whole world," she said. "I'm allowed to distract you – whenever I want."
"Touché," I replied as I placed the last éclair on the plate.
I tossed the box in the trash can and turned to sweep Bella up in my arms. She squealed as I twirled around with her, only stopping to plant a long, slow kiss on her lips.
"Let's just skip this party," I suggested, setting her down. "I'd rather just spend New Year's Eve with you."
"Oh come on," she whined. "Once we're in Vancouver, we won't have as much time to spend with our friends. Please, for me?"
She pouted and I caved quickly, "Fine, but as soon as we say 'Happy New Year,' we can escape to my room – deal?"
"Deal."
The doorbell rang a few minutes later, as the guests began arriving. First was the typical school acquaintances Alice and Rosalie, for some reason, feel obliged to invite to parties. Jessica, Lauren, Mike Newton and Tyler Crowley walked in, and I looked back to Bella, "Are you sure you want to stick this out?"
She smacked my arm playfully, "Be nice."
"I thought tweedledum and tweedledummer were in the Caribbean or something," I whispered in Bella's ear as Lauren and Jessica appraised the surroundings with disdain.
Bella shrugged, "Guess they got back early."
"I heard they maxed out their credit cards and their parents brought them back," Rosalie said as she passed us, acting very nonchalant but clearly enjoying the news.
More people started to show up as Bella and I settled on one of the couches and talked softly, oblivious to most of the other people. Jessica and Lauren sat in a couple of chairs across from us with their drinks. When Bella ran her hand over my shoulder, the light hit her ring and caught the two girls' attention.
"Bella, that's some ring," Jessica said as she walked over and took hold of Bella's left hand. "Is that a real sapphire?"
"Yeah," Bella said quietly.
"Was it a Christmas present?" Lauren asked condescendingly.
"Sort of," I replied.
"It doesn't happen to symbolize anything, does it?" Jessica asked. "Like, maybe an engagement?"
Jessica actually sounded genuinely excited for us, it was so out of character for her.
"Well, yeah," Bella said as she smiled at me, "We're getting married after graduation."
"Congratulations!" Jessica said. "You two are so great together!"
Lauren, on the other hand, didn't seem as excited. She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her soda.
"Aren't engagement rings supposed to be diamond?" Lauren asked, as she flipped some of her blond hair over her shoulder.
"I guess, if you want to be boring and traditional about things," Bella replied as she snuggled closer to me. "But, sapphire is my birthstone, so I think this ring is a little more special than your average engagement ring."
Lauren rolled her eyes again and walked away. Jessica looked at us with an apologetic expression.
"So, have you two set a date?" She asked.
"June 20th," Bella replied.
"That's a good time; a spring wedding will be pretty."
More guests filed down the stairs and Jessica looked up expectantly.
"Are you looking for someone?" I asked.
"No…well, maybe," she said shyly. "Um…I don't suppose Jacob Black is invited to this party?"
"I invited him," Bella said, much to my surprise. "I think he said he'd stop by later."
"Cool," Jessica said as she walked to rejoin Lauren.
I looked at Bella, waiting for an explanation. She turned and smiled at me.
"I invited him so he can socialize with other girls," she said. "I want him to find a girlfriend before the school year is over."
I nodded and returned her smile, "I'm liking this plan. So, are we thinking of making Jessica the victim?"
Bella nudged my shoulder and shook her head, "We're simply going to let them get to know one another."
I laughed, "You've met Jessica and Jacob, right? Do you really think they'll be interested in one another if they have to deal with each other's personalities?"
"I think they both put up a good front," she said. "But, deep down they're both good people. I think they'll be happy together."
I shrugged, "It's worth a shot."
BPOV
Edward got up to use the bathroom at around 11:30 p.m., while I sat and chatted with Alice on the couch. When Rosalie called Alice to help her with something, I was left all alone – or so I thought.
A few seconds after Alice vacated her seat, someone plopped himself down next to me – James.
"Hello there, gorgeous," he whispered. "All alone on New Year's Eve, I see. Well, I'll give you a kiss at midnight."
"You've already kissed me one time too many," I spat as I started to stand up.
He grabbed my arm, keeping me back on the couch with him, "Oh come on, baby, don't be that way."
"Never call me 'baby' ever again," I replied as I shrugged out of his grasp. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to help Alice and Rosalie upstairs."
I walked away before he got another word in and ran up the stairs to find Alice and Rose chatting in the kitchen. They both seemed very pleased with themselves.
"So, I take it 'operation: make Emmett jealous' is going over gangbusters," I said as I leaned against the island in the middle of the kitchen.
"You have no idea," Rose replied. "All I had to do was spend five minutes talking to Tyler Crowley – about basketball of all things – and Emmett broke up our conversation like we were trading nuclear secrets or something."
"And?" I asked, "Did this make Emmett say he wanted you to be his girlfriend – officially?"
"Well…no," Rosalie replied.
"But," Alice interjected, "It does lay the groundwork for the commitment discussion. Now if Emmett says he doesn't want to commit, Rose can just remind him what an ass he was when she had a simple conversation with another guy."
"Yeah," Rosalie said. "He can't tell me he doesn't want to be exclusive, and then act all possessive. That's messed up!"
"OK," I sighed, "Just, be mature about this…please?"
"I will, don't worry Bells!" Rose replied as she walked back down to the party.
"Where's Edward?" Alice asked as she pulled another box of bagel pizzas out of the freezer. "You two have been practically glued at the hip all night. No, I take that back, you two have been glued at the hip since your first figured out you liked each other."
I rolled my eyes at her, "Still downstairs; when you got up, James sat down next to me. So, I decided to relocate."
"I don't think it worked," Alice whispered as she glanced over my shoulder.
I turned to see James leaning against the frame of the basement door, giving me a sly smirk.
"So, you weren't really coming up here to help," he quipped. "You're just trying to avoid me."
"Gee, you caught me," I shot back as I helped Alice arrange the bagels on a baking sheet. "You really are a perceptive guy."
"I think I'm more perceptive than I'm giving credit for, yes," he continued with a chuckle. "For example, I happen to have a few friends in the counseling office at school that let me take a look at where many of our classmates are going to college. It seems a Miss Bella Swan will be attending the University of British Columbia on an academic scholarship. Congratulations."
I kept my face down to hide my reaction, but Alice looked up sharply and put one hand on her hip – standard Alice tongue-lashing position.
"Look, asshole, you better not think you can keep messing with Edward and Bella once we've graduated by getting into the same college as them," she said with disdain.
"Oh really?" He smirked. "We'll see about that."
"What are you even doing here?" Alice asked. "I don't remember inviting you."
"Well, you invited every other member of the basketball team, so I thought I'd just come too. I mean isn't it a bit rude to invite everybody else but me?"
"We like everybody else," Alice replied.
"Wow," James said with a slight whistle, "Not very hospitable, Miss Cullen. What would the good doctor think?"
"Shut up about my family and get the hell out of my house!" Alice yelled as she grabbed his arm and started dragging him to the door.
He must have been surprised by her strength, because he stumbled on his way down the hall. But he still laughed as Alice pushed him through the front door and slammed it in his face. Edward had come upstairs in the midst of the confrontation and was at Alice's side once she had slammed the door behind her.
"What's up, Al? Who was that?" He asked.
"James," she replied. "He showed up uninvited and he was bothering Bella."
Edward turned to me, "Is that true?"
"Kind of, but I just walked away," I replied.
He turned to the door, intent on walking out to have a word with James, just like I thought he would. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards me.
"No, Edward, just let it go," I pleaded.
"I'm tired of this shit!" He hissed. "That dick just won't get the message that you're not interested in him, and you never will be."
"There's really nothing we can do about that," I replied. "And going out there and getting in a fight with him isn't going to do anything to help the situation."
He sighed and ran a hand down his face, "You're right. I'm sorry."
"Hey," Alice interjected, "It's almost midnight, let's go back downstairs."
Edward nodded, but I still held him where we stood. Once Alice was out of earshot, I turned to him.
"We don't have to go back to the party," I whispered. "Let's just go upstairs."
He smiled and wrapped his arms around me, "You sure?"
I nodded and reached up on my toes to kiss him. We turned to make our way to the stairs when we ran into the last person we thought we'd see tonight.
"Dad – what are you doing here? I thought you were at Dr. Harper's house for her party," Edward said as he gently pushed me behind him.
"I had some work stuff to do," Carlisle said, eyeing me suspiciously.
"God, don't you ever turn off?" Edward asked.
His father seemed unmoved by Edward's jab as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked back ands forth between us.
"Shouldn't you two be down at the party?"
"We'd rather spend the last few minutes of 2008 on our own," Edward replied.
"So, you think you're a man now, don't you? You think you can just bring your little girlfriend under my roof and fuck her anytime you want?"
"Dad, don't talk that way in front of her," Edward yelled.
Carlisle lunged forward and grabbed Edward by the collar of his shirt, "Don't talk back to me, boy. I know you're trying to act like a big man in front of your little gold-digger, but I won't be having any of that in my house, we clear?"
Edward swatted his father's hand away but maintained his stare-down. "Bella's not a gold-digger – she's my fiancée, and I'll thank you never to speak about her that way ever again."
Carlisle laughed incredulously, "So, that's why there was 3,000 missing from your savings account. Was she impressed by the rock you gave her?"
"I don't need any stupid ring to know I love Edward," I yelled suddenly.
Edward turned to me, "Come on, Bells, let's just ignore the horrible man."
We brushed past Carlisle and made our way up to Edward's room. Just before Edward slammed the door, we heard his father yell, "You're just a ticket out of this town for her…don't be fooled, son."
The door slammed with an ear-shattering BAM and Edward kicked it violently for good measure. He stood there, staring at the door for a minute or so, trying to calm himself down.
"Edward," I said finally, "Come on, let's just go to bed."
He turned to find me sitting on his bed, holding out my arms to him. His face contorted into a painful, sorrowful expression as he rushed over and buried his head in the crook of my neck.
"Why does he have to be that way? Why can't he accept when I'm happy? It's like he doesn't want me to be happy…like he doesn't love me."
"Shhhh, Edward…of course your father loves you," I said softly. "He just thinks he knows what's best for you. Don't worry, he'll come around."
Edward chuckled weakly, "You sound like my mom."
"I'm glad," I replied. "I wish I was as wise and wonderful as she is."
He finally looked up at me and smiled. "You are, Angel. I'm so lucky to have both of you in my life."
We kissed softly and began to crawl back towards the pillows. We had both removed each other's clothing and were well on our way towards a heavenly release when we heard our friends downstairs begin to count down to midnight.
"3…2…1…Happy New Year!!" They all screamed as I felt my climax begin to take over my body.
I collapsed and snuggled close to Edward as he rolled us over to our sides.
"I love you," I told him as I drifted off to sleep.
"I love you more," he replied, kissing the top of my head gently.
He was wrong…I think I'm the lucky one.
So, that was Carlisle's reaction (I know I'm making him totally OOC, but the Saint Carlisle thing gets so boring, don't you think?)
What will Charlie's reaction be?