A/N: SCHOOL IS OUT, AND I AM BACK! YES! So I just had my last exam today, and I was able to get this chapter written. It's not as long as my chapters usually are, but you guys have been waiting long enough. I'm hoping to be able to get two chapters done a week, so fingers crossed!
Reviews are always appreciated. It lets me know you're still interested.
When we got back to the house, we were all in a really good mood, even Rosalie. We all hopped out of Rose's car and headed inside to the kitchen. Mel and I lagged behind while Alice and Rose rushed upstairs to hang up their clothes. Upon entering the kitchen, a bowl of fresh fruit caught our attention.
"Thank you, Esme!" we both said in unison.
"You're welcome, girls!" she called back, and we figured she was outside in her garden.
Mel and I were snacking on the fruit when Alice and Rose joined us.
"Who wants to watch a movie?" Alice asked excitedly.
And so this bonding day was going to continue into the night.
"Could you expect anything less from Ali?" Edward asked as he walked into the kitchen, Bella by his side.
I smiled, and greeted Bella. "How are you feeling?"
"Good. Tired, but good," she replied. "But I'm not exhausted like I was before."
"Great!" I said. I looked over and saw the look on Alice's face. "Wanna join us for a movie, since you missed going out with us?"
"Sure!" she said, and her eyes were bright with excitement. "I'd love to."
"Yay!" Alice was practically bouncing up and down.
"Well, I'll leave you girls alone," Edward said, smiling a crooked smile. "Have fun, love." He kissed Bella's cheek, and walked out of the room.
"And as one guy leaves, another enters," Alice said, and a familiar chuckle accompanied her statement.
"I can't sneak past you, can I?" Jasper asked as he walked in from outside. He had apparently been helping Esme in the garden; his jeans were covered in dirt, and there were a few weeds in his blonde hair.
I started giggling at his appearance, and Rose walked over to him. "Brother, what have you been doing? Rolling down hills?" she teased as she picked out the vegetation from his hair.
"Well, at least I'm not destroying the natural habitat around here like some people," he said, and Rose's eyes widened in shock.
"Jasper Whitlock-" Rose broke off as Jasper hugged her affectionately.
"I was only kidding! Don't be mad." He pulled away from her and I could feel the difference in the emotional climate.
"That's not fair!" she argued, then gently punched him in the arm. "Now I'm not mad anymore."
He smiled at her, then turned his attention to me. "Hey, darlin'. Did you have a good time?"
"Yep. Alice and Rose helped me pick out some things…" I said, not wanting to give the surprise away.
"Won't you share?" He strode over to me with the most adorable pout on his face.
"Nope." I crossed my arms. "Never."
Jasper was now standing in front of me, and he cupped my face in his hands. "Please?"
His touch…The sound of his voice…The scent of his breath…
"Jasper! Stop dazzling the girl! I made her promise not to tell you!" Alice said.
Jasper chuckled, and took a step back from me, dropping his hands from my face. "I'm sorry, Gwendolyn. I couldn't help it." He was smiling mischievously.
"Thanks, Jazz. I think I almost passed out," I said, trying to catch my breath.
"Sorry, darlin'," he replied, and kissed my hair.
Alice probably saw what this was going to escalate to, so she said, "OK- whoever isn't a girl has to leave now."
Jasper sighed against my hair, and whispered, "I'll see you later."
"See you," I replied as he walked out of the room, a little smirk on his face.
"Damn," Melody said as she walked over to me. "Jasper is…"
"Oh, yeah," I replied, and my emotions were bouncing off the ceiling. "You have no idea."
"C'mon, guys!" Alice said. "Let's make some popcorn, and we'll head into the entertainment room!"
"We have a plasma screen TV. It's no big deal," Rose added with a smirk, and I realized how perfect she and Emmett were for each other.
So after Alice burnt two bags of popcorn, Melody took over the food duties, and Rose, Bella and I were discussing what movie to watch. After some debate, we decided on John Tucker Must Die, which Bella had not yet seen. It's a good chick flick, if I do say so myself.
After settling down on one of the comfy sofas in front of the enormous TV, the next two hours were filled with nothing but laughter. The five of us were having such a good time that even after the movie was over, we took our little party upstairs to Rosalie's room, which I was shocked to see, because it was every bit as girly as Alice's.
"Rose, doesn't Em get a say in your décor?" I asked, walking over to a shelf unit that had glass dolls in it.
"Not in this room; this one is my space. His space is down the hall, near Jasper's room," she said.
I nodded, and saw the giant four-poster bed in the middle of the room. "Good god."
Rose hopped onto it gracefully, and Alice joined her. "There's plenty of room," they pointed out.
"Come on, Gwen!" Mel took my hand we climbed onto the bed, quite ungracefully compared to the two vampires.
"Am I the only one who's afraid of what's on these sheets?" Bella asked, looking at the soft blue comforter doubtfully.
"Don't be ridiculous! These were washed yesterday!" Rosalie said.
"And weren't you and Em in here this morning?" Alice asked.
Melody, Bella and I put on our best grossed-out expressions, but we couldn't keep a straight face and burst out laughing.
"Shut up!" Rose said to Alice, and lightly hit her with a heart-shaped pillow. "Or I'll knock you off the bed!"
"Alice could se that as a blessing," Mel mumbled, and we were now doubled over with laughter. Soon Alice and Rosalie joined in, and after a few minutes, we were able to compose ourselves.
"So, what are some of the cool things that witches can do?" Rose asked.
"A lot of stuff," Mel said.
"Yeah," I agreed. "I mean, there's various sorts of levitation, conjuring, force fields, vanishing spells…"
"Vanishing spells?" Bella asked. "You guys can turn things invisible?"
I shared a look with Melody. "Yep. Wanna see?"
"Sure!" The three girls looked excited.
I looked at the wall that was behind me, and I sent a wave of power towards it. Sure enough, the wall vanished, and on the other side was a shocked Emmett.
"What the hell?" Rosalie asked.
"Oh, um, hi, girls," Em stuttered, and his voice was slightly muffled by the wall; it may have been invisible, but it was still technically there.
"Emmett, why the hell are you hiding behind the wall?" Alice asked angrily.
"Because I was too big for the tree!" he answered.
"What tree?" Mel asked, and Rose jumped off the bed and pulled open the curtain on the window. Sure enough, there were Jasper and Edward, casually lounging in the tree outside of Rose's room.
"What the hell?" Melody asked. It seems like "What the hell?" was the only question appropriate for this interesting discovery.
"We got bored without our girls around," Jasper answered, laying his southern accent on pretty thick. He smirked at me.
I rolled my eyes. Oh, god.
"May we please come in, ladies?" Edward asked, crouching outside the window.
"Let's let them in," Bella sighed. When we looked at her, amazed that she had given in to him so quickly, she blushed and stammered, "Well, if they fall, they'll smash Esme's flower garden, and who wants to see her wrath?"
We all suppressed a shiver at the thought, and we quickly opened the window to let the two guys in. They entered the room gracefully.
"Pretty handy work there, Gwen," Jasper said, nodding towards the still invisible wall.
"Yep. Not that hard to accomplish," I said nonchalantly.
"Oh, really?" There was a challenge in his eyes.
I smirked at him. "Don't doubt my strength."
"I would listen to her, man," Emmett advised, still on the other side of the wall. "It's like betting against Alice- no good can come of it."
I laughed, and Jasper wrapped his arm around my waist. "It's getting pretty late. Shouldn't you and Mel head home?"
I looked at my watch; he was right. "Yeah, Mel, we should probably leave."
"Okay," she said, and grabbed her purse from the floor. "Thanks for dealing with us for a day," she said to Bella, who was glued to Edward's side, and Rose and Alice.
"I had so much fun!" Alice squeaked. "We should do it again sometime!"
"Absolutely," I said. "I had a great time."
Jasper walked with Mel and me downstairs, where we were greeted by Esme.
"I think Tasha had long day today," she crooned over the black ball of fur that was cradled in her arms.
"Thank you so much for looking after her," I said, and Esme carefully deposited the sleeping cat into my arms.
"It's such a joy to be around animals," she sighed. "At least, the ones we don't hunt." A little spark was in her eyes when she said this, and Jasper chuckled.
I smiled, remembering how lethal Esme could be. "Good night."
"Good night, girls. Have a safe trip home."
"We will!" Melody said.
Mel walked out the front door, but I hung around in the doorway, not wanting to leave Jasper.
"Darlin', are you wanting to stay?" he asked, a knowing look in his golden eyes.
"Perhaps," I said coolly, not wanting to show my desperation.
He lightly kissed my lips, making sure not to disturb Tasha. "I could come over tonight, although I wouldn't want to disturb your sleep," he sighed against my lips.
My mind was reeling; I almost dropped Tasha. "Screw sleep," I said. "Come over and we can…talk." I smirked at him, and he kissed me once more.
"You'll be the death of me, I just know it," he said.
I'm pretty sure it will be the other way around, I thought as I walked out the door to a very impatient Melody. Almost positive.
A/N: I wanted to bring in a little sibling interaction with Jazz and Rose. I think it turned out pretty well.
Reviews are like Jasper coming over to "talk" in the middle of the night! Haha! ;D Review!