A/N: sorry if updates aren't fast enough. :( I try. So I'm beginning to think that nothing will change in geometry. It takes longer to understand, but she does shorter lectures. So Whatev. –Wonders into Cullen family room- Who wants to be in the author note?
Carlisle: -Wonders down stairs- I'll do it, Kelli.
Me: Great! So…what did you do today?
Carlisle: Many surgeries. Boring! Let's go get some coffee!
Me: Totally! Take me to Starbucks for a white chocolate mocha espresso?
Carlisle: Sure, kid. So you wanna be a vampire?
Me. YES!
Carlisle: Sweet. We'll talk.
Me: Hang on. –Cracks that good old whip- Review! (to Carlisle) So how do you pronounce Esme's name anyway?...
I stood silently for a moment, running through dangerous scenarios. But no one seemed hostile in the least, so I eliminated that. Jane did seem a bit upset, though.
"Aro! It doesn't work on her, either! Ugh!" Aro laughed at her frustration. She glared at him.
"It seems we have another exception to our powers, young one. Ayden! My goodness you must think we're terribly rude! I am Aro and this is Jane Volturi. It is very nice to meet you, sweetheart." He came over to me as I stood by the door, still.
"Oh, my! You're eyes are turning gold at last! Carlisle has told me so much about you. I just had to come meet you, dear. I'm sure you can understand you've caused a bit of curiosity to us in Italy." He chuckled before I found my voice, finally.
"Yes, I would imagine so. It's very nice to meet the two of you, as well." I sat with the rest of the family and our guests in the family room. Everyone sat peacefully, as if some old friend had stopped by. One that hadn't attempted to kill one of the family members in the past. After I'd taken the time to text Cole and explain that I couldn't see him for a few days, I spent a great amount of time with Aro and Jane, just talking and becoming acquainted. Jane turned out to be better than I'd expected; she was very nice to everyone, especially me. She even went shopping with me and my sisters.
We were shopping in a small shopping center just outside Rochester. We were exiting a Coach outlet when we spotted a young man of about 20 stealing a candy bar from a boy of only about 12. Jane scoffed and we suddenly heard the man yelp.
"Ow! Crap! I just got a bee sting!" Of course, he really had no bee sting, he'd just pissed off the wrong vampire.
"Oww! Holy crap, it won't stop! It's getting me everywhere!" We all burst into a fit of giggles, earning glares from the young man.
"One of you girls wanna tell me what's so funny? Oww!"
"Oh, nothing," Jane replied, stifling a laugh.
Needless to say, we left the mall quite pleased that day, and with more than just our purchases.
Jane and Aro left all too soon, or so I thought. Everyone else seemed very eager for them to leave.
"I'm so glad they finally went back." That seemed to be everyone's reaction, especially Edward. I thought differently. I had promised Aro to visit him in Volterra sometime, and I fully intended on it, though I would never join their family. I could never drink from humans. Plus, I love my family too much.
It was Valentine's Day before I was able to see Cole again. It was a Saturday, and he had stayed over the night before. I ran up the stairs in my Valentine's outfit- a red, poofy dress, and red high heels. Ever so carefully, I opened the door to the guest bedroom to find the room completely decked out in red rose petals and heart balloons, with Cole standing in the center of the room, holding a jewelry box and a single red rose.
"Happy Valentine's Day. You like the flowers?" He motioned to the roses hanging from the walls and the petals on the bed and floor, sensing my utter shock. I blinked a few times before I found my voice.
"It's…it's amazing. How…" I trailed off, still a bit stunned. It was then that I noticed him—he was wearing black vans slip-ons, dark skinny jeans, and a red Senses Fail shirt. And he looked flawless.
"I had a little help from some friends." I felt a smirk tug at my lips. That would explain why I wasn't able to find any other my brothers the previous night.
"Well…uhm…Happy Valentine's Day to you, too. You want your gift now or later?" I asked him sweetly as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Mmm…I think I'll take it now, if you don't mind." He wound his arms around my waist and pulled me close against him. He kissed me passionately before I broke from his embrace. I ran to my room and was back with his gift before he had time to notice I was missing.
"That's going to take some getting used to, you know. A warning would be nice." I giggled as I presented the box wrapped in shiny red paper.
He brushed some petals aside and sat on the bed with his gift.
"This is a little heavy; are you sure you didn't pay too much for my gift?" he asked me, worried. I laughed at him.
"I told you, nothing is too expensive." I smiled at him warmly, only for him to smile back warily. He opened the box slowly, and he was absolutely beaming when he saw what was inside.
"Halloween, right?" he asked, nearly laughing. That smile was so bright and beautiful, he was nearly dazzling me. I giggled.
"Yeah, I'm surprised you remember." The look on his face was a mixture of hurt and shock.
"Of course I did, Ayden. I remember every moment I share with you. I could never forget a thing that we've done together." I smiled brightly. I was about to speak, but I was cut off.
"Now you open your present." He handed me the small jewelry box. I looked down at my ring, wondering what he'd gotten me this time. I opened the box to a pair of pearl earrings. They matched the ring beautifully. Had I been human, the tears would've fallen.
"They're too pretty. Why did you do this?" He looked hurt.
"I just want to give you everything you deserve. And you deserve all the finest in life." I sighed.
"I don't think I'm all that great, Cole. I don't need anything more. I already have you."
Soon, I was lying on the bed beside him, wrapped up in his warm embrace. He was facing me, our faces only inches apart. He sighed.
"I love you so much, Ayden. I never believed I'd be lucky enough to find someone so amazing. I thought I was destined to spend my life with that bitch Lauren."
I had to laugh at that. I still hated her.
"I think I'm the lucky one here, Cole. I didn't think that I was destined to find someone…being a vampire and all. It's kinda hard to find someone. But you know we can't always be together, don't you?" A look of pain mixed with depression flashed across his face.
"I know…and I've been giving it a lot of thought. I'm not completely decided, but I think I might want to be changed. I can't find any better alternative to spending eternity with someone I truly love." I suddenly felt angry and depressed at the same time.
"Please don't say that, Cole. You shouldn't want this. Not unless there's no other way to live. I wouldn't have done this had that not been the case for me."
"I honestly doubt that I could live without you, Ayden. Don't you want me to be with you forever, too?" I felt hurt that he thought I didn't want him.
"Of course. There's just better ways to live, that's all I'm saying. We'll talk about it more some other time, ok?"
"Yeah."
We stayed there for most of the morning, just lying in bed, wrapped up together. We finally got up and went downstairs to join my family. All the couples were sitting together watching a movie that I quickly recognized as The Illusionist. We joined them silently and sat through the movie. Soon after it ended, I heard Cole's stomach growl. I giggled while he just blushed.
"Let me make you something, ok?" He smiled, embarrassed.
"Sure you don't mind?"
"Of course not." I led him into the kitchen. He sat at the counter while I rummaged through the cabinets, looking for something I thought he would like. I finally settled on taquitos, my favorite as a human.
"Yum!" he said as I placed the taquitos in the oven. I laughed at his enthusiasm.
"They were always my favorite when I was a human." After he ate, he went home to his family. I went hunting with Bella and Esme, having not been in nearly a month. We stayed gone until Sunday afternoon, making sure we were well-fed so we wouldn't have to go again soon.
We came home that afternoon to find a wrestling match. It wasn't who anyone would've expected, though. Alice and Rosalie were fighting each other viciously on the lawn and showing no mercy. We did a double-take of the situation and joined the excited men on the deck. Jasper and Emmett seemed especially excited.
"What is going on here?!" Esme asked, shocked to find her daughters fighting, rather than her sons.
"A string of insults. Rosalie didn't like Alice's shirt, Alice didn't like Rosalie's lipstick, and it escalated from there." Edward seemed less entertained than the others, but still intrigued.
"Uhm…that's different…" Bella said as she sat with her husband.
"Yes, and very, very sexy," Jasper said, never turning his attention from the two. Emmett shook his head vigorously in agreement. I laughed.
"Well…I'm going inside. I'm sure something needs to be cleaned after all this. Where's your father been?" Esme asked as she went for the door.
"Hospital. Do you really think they'd be fighting if he was here?" Emmett said, dazed by his wife in battle. Esme shook her head and went inside.
The girls fought for a few minutes more until Alice jumped on Rosalie's back and pushed her to the ground.
"Guess my shirt is in style now, isn't it? That's what I thought." Alice stood and ran to her husband while Emmett ran to his wife, checking to make sure she was ok. Everyone went inside soon after. After a few hours with Edward at the piano, we heard thunder. We glanced at each other in knowing.
Everyone ran to the clearing. We split up into teams and began warming up. The teams were boys vs. girls in this game. When we had finished warming up, Alice stepped up to bat. Our game was tied for the most part, but thanks to Esme, we stayed ahead. After the defeat, we went back home.
School was very interesting. Cole spent most of his free time that day handing out invitations to his birthday party with me helping him. The party was set for Friday, though his birthday was actually Wednesday. I was forced to face the mall alone with Alice that day. I got my usual speech in the Porsche.
"Alright, I would suggest something that screams 'I'm his' to all the other girls at the party; make them jealous. Maybe some cute new clothes, new cologne, something like that. Got it?" I nodded my head as we pulled into the parking lot.
I couldn't find anything suitable for Cole. Birthdays are harder than Valentine's Day. We shopped for ourselves while I thought over my options. Victoria's Secret took forever, as always. But we enjoyed ourselves, just like always. After hours of searching, I found something perfect for Cole. It said 'he's mine, he would love it, I loved it, it was just what we both wanted. Bone Daddy cologne from the Nightmare Before Christmas was my absolute favorite scent, and I knew it would smell amazing on him. In addition to the cologne, I bought him, or rather us, matching necklaces with Jack and Sally on them. Each necklace had a half heart that matched up with the other.
Wednesday approached quickly. I ran up behind Cole before school that morning, putting my hands over his eyes.
"Guess who," I said, kissing his neck.
"Hmm…let me guess…Lauren?" I hit him playfully on the arm.
"Wrong. You get two more."
"Well…maybe it's Ayden." He turned around and picked me up. He spun me in his arms then lowered me back to the sidewalk outside school. He gave me a quick kiss before we started walking to my first class.
"Happy birthday Mr. Seventeen," I said, smiling. He thanked me, but a look of confusion was on his face.
"You're a freshman, correct?"
"Yes, why?"
"How old are you, actually?" I laughed. I couldn't believe I'd forgotten to tell him this.
"I'm sixteen. Always and forever," I said sadly. He kissed my forehead.
"Get to class, silly. I'll see you at lunch." We kissed again before I entered the class.
The day passed quickly. I had all substitutes, meaning movies in every class, meaning no homework. I was thankful for this, considering Alice was throwing her own little birthday party for Cole.
Edward dropped him off at his house to get some things, telling him we would pick him up later for the boys to play their silly video games. Edward and I rode home in silence; everyone else was in the jeep with Emmett.
We got home to find the house decorated in the extreme. Balloons trampled us as we walked into the house. Everyone was moving at vampire speed to set up the party, even Carlisle.
"He's gonna like this, guys. I appreciate it," I said, though I'm sure no one was paying attention.
Edward and I left to get him at 5; we were back by 5:30. Edward and I left Cole in the driveway to join our family for the surprise. He looked around, confused, but walked through the door. Esme flipped the light switch, and we all jumped up from our hiding places.
"Surprise!"
He smiled widely, blushing. Alice ran to him, throwing her tiny arms around his waist.
"Alice…you're killing me…" She let go quickly. A giggle escaped from her mouth.
"Sorry. I got carried away. Happy birthday."
A/N: I think I'll stop there for now. :) So…how was it?
Jane: I liked it.
Me: Thanks. But I don't have anyone for you to torture. Please don't hurt me.
Jane: Boo! Oh well, I'll just go piss off Caius.
Me: You do that, dear. I'll see ya later, kay? –Cracks whip- BOYS!
Edward and Jasper: What?
Me: Hugs. Do it.
Edward and Jasper: -Approach reviews with open arms.-