Update: I'm just re-posting this because for some odd reason email alerts weren't working after the first time. I'm not sure if it was just my email or what. Anyways, its the same. Sorry for everybody who already reviewed.
Insert standard disclaimer here. I own nothing. D:
Chapter Fourteen – Means
"Two aces." Edward slapped down two ragged cards, reluctant to let any of his thoughts enter my mind. Alice had reluctantly agreed to remain a spectator in this game. This game had left Emmett less bored for the fifteen minutes we'd been playing, and Edward didn't want to end it now.
Emmett looked over his cards with shifting eyes, as if this were much more exciting game than just ordinary BS. They darted from me, to Edward, and back to the cards again. He slapped three down, and before the words could escape his bumbling lips, I interjected.
"Bull."
He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "But I haven't even..."
"Don't care. You're lying. Or you will be."
We glowered at each other. I refused to budge. Right now, I could afford the right to be confident. If I hadn't been able to see his cards in his mind, the deceit was palpable in Emmett's whole expression.
Emmett hated the idea of losing.
"This is...She's like a human lie detector! I'm not playing these games with you anymore." Emmett slammed his cards down, refusing to accept the collection of cards waiting in the middle for him. Jasper and I exchanged covert glances, enjoying this interchange. Emmett stormed off, like a huffy teenage girl. He called out from another room. "I liked you better when you fell down all the time."
"Don't be such a sore loser, Emmett!" Alice exclaimed through her giggling. "It was your idea to play!"
He returned to the room, a sour expression on his face. "Only because nobody else came up with something better to do."
"I said we should play monopoly." I defended myself stoically.
"I suggested we stay at our house. Entertain ourselves." Jasper exclaimed. Edward and Alice both appeared ready to jump in, but Emmett shot down their defense quickly.
"All lame ideas."
Before anyone else chimed in, I raced up to my room, a fantastic idea lingering in my mind. Over the ten years, my movie collection flourished. And after all the calamities of the past two days, I needed to unwind. We all needed to unwind. This seemed like an appropriate activity for such a thing.
With a mischievous grin and three movies in hand, I raced back to the room.
I flashed them the three selections, my idea quite apparent. Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Edward all seemed interested in a calm evening, watching movies. Only Emmett seemed to be disappointed.
"But it's watching movies!"
I sighed. Emmett was growing more and more childlike as the night progressed. "What do you suggest we do?"
"I've got a great idea of what we could do..." Emmett said, abruptly and playfully pulling Edward into a headlock. Emmett was lusting after action, excitement. Stuck under Emmett's arm, Edward's face remained still and contrite.
"What's that? Murder Edward?" He said composedly. He peeled Emmett's muscular arm away from his neck with little exertion. Emmett laughed jokingly, knowing full well that Edward was aware of his plans.
I was feeling the same way. "No way. Nothing violent or rambunctious. We have been through too much stress these past few days." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward's hand twitch towards me. Happiness crept up on me, even with the potential touch. "Three movies, that's all I ask." Six hours wasn't the same anymore. All six of us had acquired the patience having a six hour movie marathon required.
"We'll vote." Emmett interrupted my thoughts, so confident that things would end up his way. "Who wants to do Bella's stupid little movie night?"
Everybody raised their hand immediately, except for Emmett, who stood silently. If it were possible for him, his cheeks would've burnt with embarrassment. He wouldn't handle this defeat well at all.
We all rushed towards the living room, easily assembling like we had been rehearsing for years. Jasper and Alice sat on the floor, backs pressed against the couch's front, fitting together in each others' arms like a perfectly fit puzzle. Rosalie and Edward waited on opposite ends of the couch, impatiently waiting for their most significant other.
With complete and utter annoyance, Emmett rolled his eyes and took Rosalie onto his lap. He could hardly complain with Rosalie's sudden affectionate pecking.
I slipped the first movie in the player, and flipped the light switches off. The room flooded with only the blue glow of the first film's menu. I pressed play and quickly snuggled into my nook in Edward's arms.
"Edward Scissorhands?" Edward asked, confusion buried near the surface of his voice.
I pressed my lips against his frantically, silencing him instantly. "Just watch the movie."
By halfway through the movie, all the pleas and arguing had died down. Apparently I was the only one who had seen this particular Tim Burton film, and everyone was oddly captivated by it. Even Emmett, who was vehemently against chick flicks, was strangely engrossed by the plight of outsider Edward.
The movie was only enhanced by my perfect husband, constantly nuzzling my ear, running his hands along my side, pressing his chest against my back. His unremitting presence distracted me slightly, but in a very good way.
As the credits rolled, everyone's vivacity died down. It was the calmness that I desired.
When I put in the second DVD, both Emmett and Edward sat up and complained.
"No way. I am not watching The Holiday." Emmett's disapproval was the loudest.
"It's not even December." Edward muttered. Childishly, I stuck out my tongue at him and put the DVD in none the less. I had the support of Alice and Rosalie, who both enjoyed the movie as well, on this one.
"Come on..." I pleaded, jumping back in Edward's lap. I touched his face delicately, my eyes soft and pleading. Slowly, I thrust my lips on his eager lips. Each millisecond spent kissing him persuaded him even more. "Please? For me?" I whispered as I broke away strategically.
Looking deep into my eyes, that lustful feeling settling at the core of his chest, he sighed. "Guess we're watching this movie."
With Jasper's indifference and my persuasion of Edward, Emmett had no backup. All he could do was take solace in Rosalie's arms as the movie began.
By the time the second movie was over, Alice, Rosalie and I had become even more lax about showing affections. Our frozen hearts melted at the sappiness of the romantic movie we had just seen. And for the benefit of our husbands, we all manifested that adoration physically. The film had become background noise, essentially.
I had to break away from Edward's toe-curling kiss to slip in the last movie in our marathon. They had promised me three movies, and I was going to cash in on that.
Emmett looked at me, silently pleading. He wanted car chases, violence, action. Clearly he was not picking up on the connection here.
I shot him a glance that crushed all hope for carnage He said nothing after that.
"Legally Blonde!" Alice clapped, sounding suspiciously ditzy. We all looked at her, interested at her girliness. "What? I like this movie. Haven't you heard of guilty pleasures?"
I rolled my eyes. The infectious opening credits began, though Alice and I were really the only ones paying close attention to the movie.
With about twenty minutes left, Rosalie suddenly burst into laughter. So caught off guard with her amusement, I paused the movie to see what was the cause.
"I figured it out. What the connection is between the three movies." She said between fits of giggling. "I can't believe it took me this long."
Jasper and Alice joined in her laughter—Alice had figured it out before I even knew what movies to pick. Jasper had guessed by the end of The Holiday. Edward knew the connection as soon as Edward Scissorhands had started.
Only Emmett seemed to be left in the dark. "What is it?" Rosalie refused to divulge, and I resumed the movie. "Seriously, Rose. What is it?"
Despite his constant pleas, she rolled her eyes, and proceeded to watch the last twenty minutes of the movie. Emmett sat in confusion for the rest of the night.
Emmett and Rosalie were the first to leave the room. She had been anxious all night to get him alone, and promised as they left that she had something that they could do that would, "occupy his time". Edward blared one of his latest musical discoveries, distracting us slightly from their raucous pursuits.
As the night progressed, my previous feeling of serenity was replaced by anxiety. Alice would not be able to see the outcome of Seth's conversation with Chris until we were back in school. That vulnerability terrified me. Things that once seemed so optimistic quickly seemed bleak.
Edward noticed my unease quickly. "May I have a moment alone with you, Mrs. Cullen?" He whispered in my ear sweetly. His voice was so alluring, there was no possible way for me to refuse.
I led him up the stairs to my room, in gross anticipation for what was coming.
His hands explored my waist, lustful and not very subtle about it. But his cautious sincerity led him to ask, "Are you alright?"
I bit my bottom lip. "I guess."
He stopped abruptly. "You know things are going to be alright, don't you?"
If I was going to be honest... "What if Seth can't convince..."
He put one finger on my swiftly moving lips. "I refuse to let you stand here and agonize so deeply." Swiftly, a mischievous smirk lit up his exasperated face. "And I have got just the means for distraction. Are you feeling up for it?"
With a swift and unrepentant kiss, I knew he most definitely had the means of entertaining me. I decided with absolute certainty that would be would be, when it came to our issues. If Seth was unable to convince Chris, then we would all deal with that together. But right now, I had the most perfect husband in my arms, and a room for ourselves.
For the rest of the night, I was both distracted and amused. And I did not worry about what would happen next.
This chapter was really difficult for me to write. I don't know why—it just...was. So I'm sorry if it wasn't as good as the others. I'm just trying really hard. :P Nobody's perfect.
And I have a contest! The first person who can guess the connection between the three movies (Edward Scissorhands, The Holiday, and Legally Blonde) wins a prize. Seriously. :D
But review either way!