ok, so begin with i want to say sorry for taking so long. i've had everything planned out, but it was hard to translate it the perfect way without being 105 pages long. lol so the chapter's finally up and its a long one, so hopefully that helps with the extended wait time. :)
i also wanted to say thank you to everyone who has commented/reviewed or pmed me, its really appreciated and you guys rock! a million THANK YOU!!!
to thecornergirl, THANK YOU - you are AMAZINNNNG! and to AmandaCullen84, seriously, the first part of this chapter could not have been written without you. so i cannot say enough kind words!
again, smeyer owns everything twilight - i just borrow some of the characters
BPOV
"Can you stop waving at them? It just encourages this," I scolded Alice and Rosalie through a tight smile, pulling my sunglasses down.
Having to deal with the paparazzi on certain public occasions was one thing, but inviting them to lunch and posing for pictures was quite a different story. Both Rosalie and Alice had always been jealous of this aspect of my life - that the paparazzi and the general public had always had mild curiosity of what I did on a daily basis simply because of who my parents are. All of us were local celebrities around here: for me that was more than enough, but for Alice and Rosalie it wasn't. Alice was always making comments about how shitty it was to be me, that I had to watch my back for photographers, but I knew she always secretly wished for this attention. Unlike Alice, Rose made no attempt to hide her general annoyance with the paparazzi's adoration of me: she wanted the notoriety and didn't see why I would want a "normal life".
Thank god Mike was the one the photogs usually followed around, stalking him for that oh important picture of him coming out of Pinkberry; I know how US Weekly goes crazy for "Those Celebrities Just Like US "moments. He loved it. They loved it. It was really a win, win situation for everyone. Especially with being in LA, he would usually took the brunt of all this. Sure, on occasion some lowly photographer would trek all the way up to Forks to try to snap up a couple of pictures, but that was usually on special occasions, and generally had more to do with mom than anything else. Point for Forks - if I had still been in LA, I'm sure this is would at least be a weekly occurrence. The way things were, it was the rare occasion that the paparazzi were trying to hunt me down, and I liked it that way. Honestly, I wasn't even that interesting....
Well, no, that's a lie, because let's be honest, I was damn fucking interesting, but I kept things quiet - I didn't showboat. I didn't want those vultures thinking that it was ok to try and hunt me down just to get a freakin picture. I was perfectly happy being fabulous in private, without a camera in my face all the time. I might be a lot of things, but fame whore I am not.
But some people...
I had to attribute Alice and Rosalie's behavior to simply not knowing any better and not being around it. It's like those stories you hear about kids who aren't allowed to drink and are all suppressed at home during high school and once they are in college they go crazy. Or people who don't have money when they're younger and then have it when they're older and go fucking nuts and decorate their entire house in gold. Or so I've heard. I've never actually experienced either of these scenarios.
"Really Bella, you should just give in to all of this.... it's fantastic," Rosalie said, almost purring.
She was basking in the glory of being the center of attention, what with all of the photographers around.
"That's what I've been telling her, but does she ever listen? No," Alice joined in, giving the photographers a seductive, yet innocent smile.
God, she was trying to flirt with them. Now, I wonder what Jasper would think...
"Thanks for the input guys. I didn't realize that you two were experts on how I should be running my life. Now, let me just drop off the bill and we can get out of here. The appointment at the spa starts in twenty," I told them as I got up from the table and headed for the hostess podium.
This would give me a little break from them in all of their paparazzi glory. I felt my phone go off as I reached the podium and gave the hostess the check.
"No change," I told her with a smile.
'Thanks," she said as I walked away.
I riffled through my purse looking for my phone, finally finding it at the bottom. I don't know how, but it always ends up being at the bottom, even if I put it in the damn cell phone holder. I could see the little red light going off, which made the bottom of my purse glow - must be a text. I checked the screen: it was from Edward. Just seeing the text made my stomach do a quick little flip.
How's the female bonding going?
I smiled to myself, pleased that he was thinking about me. Throughout the day he would usually text me, just to say hi or see how my day was going. I looked forward to these little interactions, proving that he was thinking about me just as much as I was thinking about him, though, I'm not the one who normally initiates texts - it was his job to come to me, not the other way round. Though this little rule of mine is proving hard to live by around him. I thought about him all the time. It was sickening how much I actually thought about him and his perfectly crooked smile. Not to mention his perfectly tousled bronze locks. And his... well this was really enough. I needed to stop myself. No more thinking about how dreamy my boyfriend is. That's only for ten year old girls who doodle hearts around their crushes initials like BS+EC=4EVER. Though, I found myself smiling at this thought too.
Ewww. Like I said, I was sickening. Oh my god, I was becoming Rosalie, who couldn't stop gushing about the wonderfulness of Emmett every 30 seconds. I needed an intervention. No more "Edward Thoughts" for the rest of the day. Well, until tonight. It was New Years Ever after all, and I wanted my damn midnight kiss.
More like paparazzi bonding... Can't wait for the spa. I'll see you tonight
I sent the text back and crammed my phone deep into my purse. Hopefully, being way at the bottom of my black hole of a purse would make me less tempted to text Edward. I popped my head around the corner, so as to avoid as many photographers as possible.
"Ok, you guys ready to go?" I sighed loudly at Alice and Rosalie, while also giving a look to the paparazzi and smirking.
Rose and Alice begrudgingly got up and trudged over to me, upset that I was breaking up their little love fest.
"So where are you guys off to, huh Bella?" one of the paps let out.
I pushed Alice as quickly as possible into the door, but Rosalie escaped my grasp.
"Well, you'll just have to wait and see," Rose said with a smile, before joining Alice and I inside.
I glared at her.
"What?" she asked, innocently. "Always leave them wanting more, right?"
"Nice," Alice said.
"Well, hopefully this works out for your benefit because, usually, these antics just lead them to follow me around more. Remember last time; you were all flirty and pleasant with them Alice, and then when I was gone they dropped out completely? When will you guys get it? They don't care about you, and never will - I'm the one they want," I explained to both of them.
They were both quiet after that.
Maybe that was a little much. No, it was a little harsh, but maybe this would finally make it register with them that having the press follow you around isn't a good thing. Around here, we were all equal, but in the press, I was the center of attention. I was Beyonce to their Destiny's Child. It's not that I was more attractive, because Rosalie had that in the bag, or that I was more interesting, but I just had that connection - and the majority of the time, it sucked to be that person - which is what I had been trying to get across to them.
"Lattes? My treat," I said, trying to lighten the mood and cheer them up.
I looked at both who were still quiet with downcast eyes. I went over to the coffee shop in the hotel and ordered the drinks.
"Come on you guys. You know I didn't mean anything by that. Rose, you know tonight all eyes are going to be on you," I began.
"This is true,' Rosalie said smugly, cutting me off and taking her latte from the counter.
"What the hell am I, then?" Alice interjected, annoyed, taking Rosalie's cup away from her.
"Seco..." Rose started.
But I cut her off before she could finish that word, because I just knew that it would have only ended badly if I let her finish that thought. "You, my love, are a force to be reckoned with. No one could and would ever miss you," I told her, which seemed to appease her.
"That is true," Alice said, agreeing with me. "We are the only people want to see tonight anyway."
"Damn straight," I said, giving Rose the other latte and taking my own, before continuing on towards the spa.
"We are some hot bitches," Rosalie said, stopping in front of a mirror to look at herself.
Which, of course, caused both Alice and I to stop as well, primping alongside her.
"Yes, yes... We are all hot, but if we continue to sit here staring at ourselves we are going to miss our appointments," I told them, grabbing Rosalie's arm and basically dragging her away from the mirror.
If I hadn't said anything, both of them would have most likely sat there staring at their own reflections the entire time - probably not even realizing that I was gone. I would have found them in that same spot after I left the spa. That was how vain they both were... I was much better. I at least I didn't stare at myself every five fucking minutes.
"Sheesh... Stop being so fucking grabby," Rosalie snapped, as we entered the spa.
"Good Afternoon Ms. Swan, Ms. Hale," the receptionist greeted us, trying to hide her giggle - probably from the way we had entered. "Is the appointment under your name?"
"No, it's under mine, " Alice answered, coming through the door.
" Very good, Ms. Brandon. You're all checked in. Head into the lounge to get changed," she directed us.
We were all regulars here and knew the ropes pretty well. It was the best spa in Forks - well, there were really only two decent spas. With the other spas I was always worried about their cleanliness or if they were going to ask me if I wanted a happy ending at the end, so I guess it's not really saying much that this one was the best. Another point for LA, but I guess it didn't really matter if there were multiple good places as long as you were happy with the one you were going to, so maybe this shouldn't actually be a point. Either way, LA was definitely ahead, though, Forks did offer some things that LA didn't.... I smiled to myself.
No. No, you will not go there. You cannot go there. Don't you have any will-power? I needed to stop myself again. Damn, this was going to be harder than I had thought, this not thinking about Ed.... No, no, no. I shouldn't even think his name, that will just lead to bad thoughts. Very, very, bad yet yummy thoughts.
The three of us headed into the changing room so that we could put on our robes. In no time we were all changed and headed into our room.
It was set up with all of the necessities a spa should have: dim lights, relaxing music, candles, and potpourri. The room also came with our necessities, chocolate covered strawberries and lots and lots of champagne.
"A toast," Alice announced, taking her flute.
Rosalie and I picked up our glasses as well.
"To a fabulous New.... What is that?!" Alice began and then pointed at my neck.
What? What the hell was she pointing at?
"Yes. What is that?" Rosalie said.
Did I have a bruise? No that can't be it. It couldn't possibly be a hickey; I hadn't seen Edward in days and that was just so tacky. I tried to make it a point to never have one. I quickly went to the mirror to look at what they were staring at. I craned my neck to the side, but didn't see anything out of the norm. Nothing to be concerned about; my neck looked normal to me.
"Am I missing something?" I asked them, still concerned that I was missing something totally obvious.
"I would say so," Rosalie said, taking a sip of champagne.
Alice gave her a dissatisfied look, probably because she took a sip from her glass without allowing Alice to finish her toast.
"Do you think we wouldn't notice?" Rose continued with a smile.
I started to get worried. What the fuck were they talking about?
"Notice what?" I said calmly, attempting to keep my cool.
"The Cartier, retard. Where did you get the necklace? Are you holding out on us?" Alice finally explained, letting the interrogation begin.
Well, yes, I was holding out on them, but I wasn't about to tell them that.
And then it hit me: the necklace! I had almost forgotten that I had it on. I hadn't taken it off since Christmas, and I didn't want to. It was a constant reminder of he who shall not be named when he wasn't around. It had only been a couple of days since he had given it to me, but I had already grown accustomed to it and seeing it around my neck - as if it was a part of myself. I hardly even recognized that it was there anymore. Not that I didn't know it was there, it was Cartier after all, but it was like it was just a part of me now.
"Oh yeah. I told you guys about this. I got it as a Christmas present," I answered them, unsure is they would actually accept this or not.
Alice and Rosalie exchanged looks; they clearly were not buying this.
"I think we would have remembered this. It's beautiful Bells. The parentals get it for you?" Alice asked, taking a sip as well.
"Yea, thanks. I absolutely love it," I said, as I fingered the delicate rings on the necklace.
Rosalie squinted as if she were analyzing what I had just said, but she said nothing in response. Rose wasn't one to push the subject if the answer appeared to make sense and was fairly reasonable.
Alice, on the other hand, was a different matter. She needed concrete proof that this was actually what had happened - she was a freaking bloodhound when it came to sniffing out gossip or lies. She would just keep pushing and pushing, until she discovered the truth or the person eventually broke - which was how Alice and I discovered Emmett's love for Nsync and Justin Timberlake.
"So they did get it for you?" Alice pressed, hinting at something more.
I needed a distraction. I needed something that would put the pressure on her or Rosalie. I knew exactly what to go for. Both of them had secrets they were keeping from each other and I knew what both of them were. Alice would be first, with her Christmas present from a certain Hale twin.
"Yea... and what is that? You accuse me of holding out..." I asked, pointing at the bracelet on her wrist. "Didn't I see Jasper picking that out?" I asked.
Alice's eyes got a little wider and her mouth tightened with this comment.
Luckily, Rosalie's eyes were glued to the bracelet and didn't see her face, or that would have given Alice away completely. I pressed my lips together to refrain from laughing at Alice's face.
Then it finally clicked and Rosalie looked up, finished with her inspection of the bracelet. She wasn't always the sharpest crayon in the box.
"Jasper got you a present? Why?" Rosalie asked, a little concerned.
As much as she liked Alice, she was always concerned about who her brother dated. Protective would be one way of putting it...
"Jasper got it for you?" I said with feigned shock.
"Uh huh...." Alice said, taking another sip from her flute, trying to stall. "He was my secret Santa, that's why," she explained.
Lie! I knew Ed... you know who, was hers. I had figured out who everyone had before Christmas due to the fact that Jasper was mine. He had gotten me an Alexander McQueen skull clutch that I actually really liked. If I didn't know better I would have thought that Mike or James had picked it out for him...
"That seems like a really nice gift for a secret Santa," I told her, pressing her buttons even more.
I knew I shouldn't and that this would probably come back and bite me in the ass when I least expected it, but this was just too much fun, especially with Rosalie here. It was kind of like poking a bear with a stick; you want to see how much annoyance it will take before it finally attacks.
Alice flashed me a fierce look. "I dunno, he probably just got it from my list of presents or had somebody in the store pick it out for him. You know, gave the sales person the list and they probably chose the one they would get the highest commission off of," she tried explaining.
I decided it was now time to intervene before Rose gets too suspicious - though, her explanation actually sounded believable and made sense.
"That makes sense. We all do know how much you hate getting presents that are not on your approved gift list," I stated, taking a sip from my glass.
Alice finally sighed in relief and took another sip; her moment in the hot seat over for now.
"So let me get this straight. Me, the only one here who actually has a boyfriend, was the one who didn't get any jewelry? Unbelievable!" Rosalie stated, slightly flustered and annoyed.
Alice and I clinked glasses at this small, yet very important, achievement.
Since Alice's moment was just about up, now it was time for Rose to feel just about as awkward and uncomfortable as I could make her. This would be fun.
"What can I say? Em really needs to step up his game. He's being showed up..." I answered with a knowing laugh.
"Well, what did he get you then?" Alice asked.
Rosalie turned and looked toward the door. "When are they coming in? We are on a really tight schedule today," she said, avoiding the question.
"They'll be here soon," I said.
"Rose, what did he get you?" Alice pressed.
"Yea, what did he get you?" I chimed in.
Rosalie shot me a quick death stare, mad that I was pushing the question too.
"I don't want to talk about it," she said.
Well she shouldn't have said that....this was just going to fuel Alice more.
"You don't want to talk about it? Seriously, what the fuck did he get you?" Alice asked, even more intrigued than she initially was.
I knew what he had gotten her, but only because I had walked in on Jasper and my boy talking about it. I really could have helped diffuse the situation for Rose, but that would be too easy and I was just getting far too much enjoyment out of this... or was about to. And it was payback for every time Rosalie went off about the glory of Emmett and how "fantastic their relationship was" - obviously, it wasn't fabulous, all the time.
There was no way for her to evade Alice's question, because her avoidance would just make Alice go deeper and press even more. It would be her greatest game ever and she would be obsessed with finding out.
"He just got me a picture," Rosalie finally said, casually.
"If that's what you want to call it," I said under my breath, as I took a sip of champagne to restrain my laughter and cover up what I had just said.
I hadn't meant to say that. I had planned to let Alice do all the probing, but it just slipped out.
"What was that Bella?" Alice asked. "Do you know what it is?"
Both Alice and Rosalie stared at me, as if that would make me tell them what I knew... It wasn't working, well not initially anyway. Instead, I simply continued drinking my champagne.
"You do know! Spill it Bella," Alice ordered.
Rose looked over at me again. As if it was my fault that he had gotten her that. I didn't ask Jasper and Edward, damnit, to tell me. I kept drinking, not moving the flute away from my lips for a moment. This little sip had turned into the longest sip of champagne on Earth - and the bubbles were really making my nose itchy.
Alice looked at Rose, then to me and then back to Rose again. "Come on, someone's got to tell me," she whined, giving Rosalie one last pleading look.
That damn look worked every time, and Alice knew it.
"Fine, I'll tell you. But, this does not leave this room. Understand," Rosalie said, waiting for our agreement before she continued.
Both Alice and I nodded our heads. Alice couldn't wait, I could see the excitement in her eyes. She was salivating at the anticipation of something juicy.
"So, for Christmas I got Emmett a Rolex. He, in turn, got me a 'racy' picture of himself," she explained, exaggerating her statement with air quotes.
"And...." I interjected.
Rose glared at me. "And... a gift certificate," she finished.
Alice looked over at me and then we both burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. We both understood what she meant.
"No he didn't!" Alice exclaimed.
"Unfortunately, yes. Yes, he freakin did," Rosalie answered, a little dejected.
"So is the gift certificate what I think it's for?" Alice asked, with a stifled laugh.
"Do you really need to ask?" I answered her.
"Well I just wanted to be sure; I wouldn't want to assume on an important matter like this. So, what, an hour of 'good lovin'?" Alice asked, holding back her laughter even more now.
"Two," Rose responded, holding up two fingers.
"Wow. That must mean that he really likes you then, usually it's just one hour," I told her through giggles.
"Shut up," Rose told me.
"So, what's the photo look like?" Alice asked.
Rosalie and I both shot her a look.
"Come on, you know you were thinking the same thing Bells," Alice said.
I was curious. Even though I had known what the present was, I didn't know the specifics of it. I mean, I didn't really think that the boys knew or wanted to know what were the specificities of the picture. And, honestly, that would have just been weird and kind of frightening that they actually knew that much - especially for Jasper. Ewww. But there was nothing weird about me knowing, and I did kind of want to know.
I shook my head from side to side, considering what she had said. "True," I agreed.
"I'm not telling you guys that. I have morals," Rosalie said.
"Really? You're actually going to go with the moral defense? Cause you actually don't have those, you know," Alice corrected her.
"And morals doesn't even make sense in this context, either, dumbass," I corrected as well.
"Thank you moral police," she said looking at Alice, "And professor Swan," she said looking at me.
"Come on!" Alice and I both said at once.
"Fine! Its him, in his letterman jacket, with a... strategically placed teddy bear and a finger placed innocently or seductively, really could be either cause I'm not too sure which, at his lips and that's all," she told us.
"Oh my," I exclaimed.
I was dying. It was imperative that I saw this picture now. Before I only had a mild curiosity, but now my curiosity had peaked and it was imperative that I saw this picture.
"So, what you're saying is that it's like something out of a bad porn magazine," Alice teased.
"You kid, but it's true. And the worst part is that he had this professionally done - it could have been somewhat acceptable if he had done it himself," Rosalie said, irked that we were taking such pleasure in her crappy, yet hysterical Christmas present.
"Well, that's better than having Jasper take the picture for him..." I thought out loud.
"Why? Why would you say that?" Rosalie said, concerned.
"Because he knows about it. That's how I found out," I told her.
"Oh. My. God," she said, mortified.
"Well, it's not like he saw it. At least, I don't think he did..." I told her.
"Just great," she said, taking a swig directly from the champagne bottle.
"Anyway... we're really going to have to see that picture," Alice demanded.
I shook my head in obvious agreement. We both stared at her, almost waiting for her to whip it out.
"You guys, it's not like I carry it on me," Rose stated with a small laugh.
"Well, I dunno; I guess not. It's not like he would have gotten wallet sizes...right? Please tell me he didn't get wallet sizes, though, that would make this even better," I told her.
I wouldn't put it past Emmett to do that - he probably would have handed those out as his senior pictures if he could, that cocky little bastard.
"Of course it's not wallet sized," Rose said, relieved, "It's just at the house, hidden, so no one will ever see it. I'll show you later," she said.
"I'll hold you to that," I told her.
Alice looked confused. "I just don't get it," she said shaking her head with a chuckle. "It's not like he's poor. He could have actually gotten you a real present."
"Well, to Em 'an hour of his good lovin' is a good present. By giving you two hours, that's really like an upgrade. So, Mazel Tov," I joked.
Both Alice and I started laughing uncontrollably again as Rosalie closed her eyes and plopped down on the couch, shoving a giant strawberry in her mouth. "Shut up," she told us again, halfway muffled by the enormous strawberry in her mouth.
The door opened and in came our masseuses. We knew the routine and got on to our tables.
"One more question. He didn't actually give you the teddy bear did he?" I asked her.
Rosalie didn't answer, stuffing her face into the face hole in the table.
*******************************************************
"Seriously Rose, stop looking in the damn mirror," I yelled at her.... again.
Today must have broken her own personal best with the amount of time she had spent in front of that fucking mirror; all day, starting at herself - she must find herself terribly interesting.
The car had arrived, and if I could pry Rose away from the mirror we could finally leave. We were already running late due to the combination of a late dinner and then getting ready late, but, mainly, because of someone's constant and irritating narcissism. It was a good thing we had decided to get the glam squad for the entire night instead of just a couple of hours like we would have normally done - otherwise, we would have been really fucked because there was no way we'd be able to pull off our own hair and makeup and get out of here anywhere near on time.
Dinner was fantastic at our favorite sushi place. It was packed, but of course we still had the best table in the place - especially with the paps lurking outside. Unfortunately, it was great publicity for the restaurant having them there, and I really couldn't fault them for trying got get some free publicity, particularly when we got special treatment inside and still kept our privacy. The paparazzi could be useful in certain situations.
The boys had wanted to join us for dinner, but Rosalie and Alice insisted that they were not allowed. I think they ended up going out somewhere manly, like a steakhouse instead. I refused to actually check my phone, though, to see where they actually were. I had been so good the entire day that I didn't want to ruin it now; almost an entire day without really thinking about him, I was proud of myself. I was positive that if I had checked my phone there would definitely have been an update, or maybe two, on what they were doing and what their ETA was, and that was just too tempting. I didn't want to risk all the progress I had made so far: today I had proved to myself that I was not obsessed with Edward Cullen. Oh damnit, I did it again.
But maybe by freaking out over the mere mention of his name, I wasn't actually not thinking about him... This was getting too complicated - it was too much trying to think with the amount that I had already drank today. I needed to relax, I was really becoming paranoid. I was stressing over the fact that I was thinking about my boyfriend even though there was nothing wrong with thinking about him.
Alice's voice caught my attention, bringing my thoughts back to the situation at hand. "I heard you, you jackass. We're leaving, but talk to your woman about it, she's the one who keeps primping and posing in front of the mirror," Alice said, shoving her cell at Rosalie.
"Hey babe," Rose said, quickly glancing towards Alice's hand, making sure that she was actually grabbing the phone.
This split second distraction had given Alice enough time to sidetrack Rose and shove her out of the room, locking the door behind her.
Alice flashed me a sneaky and triumphant grin.
"Em's not really on the line is he?" I asked Alice.
She just continued to smile.
"Hey!" Rose said, pounding loudly on the door. "There's no one on the phone! Let me back in there!"
Both of us just ignored the pounding and complaining coming from outside Alice's door.
We had decided to get ready at her house because Alice's place was the closest to Emmett's and because she had the biggest bathroom out of the three of us. In fact, her room was the biggest out of all of ours, including the boys - spoiled brat. Her room was the picture of girliness: soft pink with a slight edge to it due to the modernity of her furniture pieces. There were pictures everywhere; they were mostly of all of us - she was obsessed with "capturing the moment", her words, not mine.
Bright light and snap, the flash went off.
"How about one before we go?" Alice said, positioning her camera already.
I blinked a couple times, trying to get my eyes back to normal and make sure I wouldn't tear up and ruin my makeup.
"I think you just did," I told her.
"No, one together," she said positioning herself next to me and posing. "One... Two..".
Snap, the picture was taken again - though this time I was expecting it and smiled accordingly.
"You know, when you're least expecting it I'm just going to pop out of nowhere and attack you and Jasper with huge, bright, flashes - hopefully, in the dark for the fullest impact of that damn flash. Let's see how you like those spontaneous pictures then," I told her reaching for the last of the champagne - which really meant we had to go.
No more liquor always meant that it was time to go. We had already finished two bottles of Dom, not counting what we drank earlier today; in addition to the three large bottles of sake at dinner - and we hadn't even reached the party yet.
"If you're not out in the next 30 seconds, I'm throwing your phone off the fucking balcony Alice!" Rose continued her yelling from outside.
"Just calm down," Alice yelled back at her.
"One. Two. Three. Four," Rose began counting.
Alice rolled her eyes and then looked at herself in the mirror one last time. She looked gorgeous in her strapless, white and black mini. The dress had the perfect mixture of charm, style and sexiness - the last mostly due to the length, which barely covered her ass, and her silver Louboutin stilettos which made her short little legs look longer and fantastic.
She spritzed herself again, grabbed her clutch and threw the door open. "I'm here, calm the fuck down. And take one step with my phone, love, and I will beat you with your own Manolos," she threatened Rosalie with a smile.
Rosalie narrowed her eyes, considering if Alice would actually follow through - which she totally would - and then handed the phone over to Alice. Regardless of where we were going or how gorgeous Rosalie looked, which was more amazing than usual, or fabulosity her custom Versace dress, Alice would not think twice about pummeling her. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Alice used the phone as an excuse to just get the dress away from Rose.
Alice had seen the cobalt Versace first and wanted it, knowing that it would never fit her properly because of the proportions of the dress. She was too short and, unfortunately, the dress would just make her look even shorter - she just didn't have the height to pull off a dress like that. But Rosalie did. And it was the exact type of dress that Rose would go for. It was tight in all the right places, plunging enough to be incredibly sexy, yet still classy, and it had a slit in the front which would make her legs look longer than they actually were.
But if Alice couldn't have it; no one could. She tried to hide the dress, but knew that wouldn't work. Since we were all together she couldn't hide the dress without drawing attention to what she was doing. She tried to divert Rosalie's attention with a sequined purse at the front of the store, changing the course of our shopping excursion and distracting her with something shiny, which had almost worked. Alice was practically in the clear, keeping Rose's attention on the purse, when the dress caught Rosalie's eye in the mirror. We turned around and it was like love at first sight. Alice knew it was over then - she had lost the imaginary battle. She knew the dress looked fantastic on Rose and was even happy for her that she had found a dress that looked that good, but I knew she was jealous and wanted the dress for herself.
"Thank you," Alice said with a smile, snatching her phone from Rose's hand.
"Uh huh..." Rosalie said to her. "You guys ready? Bells?"
I looked in the mirror as well, making sure not a hair was out of place. My gorgeous and perfectly coiffed self stared back at me. My hair was doing that Victoria Secret, tussled, runway thing, only with slightly more curls and my makeup was flawless. My dress was perfect as well: a strapless fitted maroon corset top that joined with the black silk bottom of the dress that flowed out to a couple inches above my knee - it was short, but nothing close to Alice's micro mini. And my Choos sparkled like black onyx. I smiled to myself. I looked fucking hot tonight.
"Alright girls, let's get this party started!" I said rushing over to them and flicking the light switch off in the room.
Our buzzed selves zipped down the stairs, said goodbye to Alice's parents and headed into the town car which drove us over to Em's. 'The car ride over was short and all about the pictures and, of course, the drinking. Alice's parents had so generously put another bottle in the car for us - so very thoughtful of them - they hadn't wanted us to lose our buss. The majority of the parents were like this; they didn't mind the drinking and the occasional drugs as long as we kept it under control and private. So drunken bar brawls with photographers were out of the question... what a shame.
The car pulled up to the entrance of Emmett's. "So, to finish the toast we started, oh, 7 hours ago: to the best friends I can ask for, and the hottest bitches I know, let's have the best fucking New Years of our life!" Alice exclaimed, in a slightly inebriated squeal.
We held up our glasses, while Alice quickly snapped a picture, clinked our glasses and got out of the car.
"Night Richie. Thanks! See you in the morning," I said as we got out of the car.
Alice and Rose said their thanks and waved back as well.
Alice's driver was the sweetest old man; whenever we were out partying he would always have some sort of fast food and aspirin to ease along the hangover process, when he picked us up.
"Ladies!' Emmett yelled as we walked up to the house.
He was giddier than usual. I wondered how much blow he had done before we got there. The amount he consumed started to worry me. A little here and there was all in good fun, but making a habit out of this was not alright. Hopefully, it was just in the spirit of the holiday because Rose didn't seem too concerned.
"Em," I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek as he gave me a glass of champagne.
"You look gorgeous," he said to me. "As do you," he told Alice, giving her a glass as well.
"And you..." he said looking at Rose, mouth gaping open in awe, "my breathtakingly, beautiful girlfriend... I have no words, aside from when can I get that dress off of you?" he told Rose, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her into the house.
"Where's everyone else?" Alice asked.
"We're right here," the velvety voice said from inside the door.
I knew who's voice it was. I felt my anticipation rise; I couldn't wait to see him. Emmett was dressed impeccably, which only made me more giddy to see what Edward was wearing - he must look amazing. Shit! I said his name again. Wait, it was ok to say his name now, though, cause he was actually here! Here! In front of me!
I bounced through the door, almost leaping into Edward's arms; I was really glad I was able to say his name now, in fact my earlier reticence seemed a little stupid at the moment. He seemed a little taken aback, but was just as excited to see me as well. I wanted to kiss him right then and there - he looked too good not to be kissed. I leaned in a little, but then remembered where we were, so I just leaned in, and instead gave him a kiss on the cheek. This whole "not being public" thing was going to be even harder tonight...maybe the time had come to be public? It sure would make things easier.
"Hi," I told him, with a smile.
"Well, hello," he said back with a smile and a glimmer in his eyes.
"Well, aren't the two of you being civil," Emmett said.
"Well it is New Years," I told him, "and it's not like we hate each other or anything. To new beginnings!" I said holding up my glass.
Alice held hers up too, but no one else.
"No one else has got a glass, B," Jasper explained with a laugh, basically popping out from nowhere.
"Well, we should really fix that," Alice said with her best mischievous grin, linking arms with Jazz and walking towards the bar. "Come on!"
We all started to walk up to the bar but then twosomes began to drop off. Rosalie and Emmett were the first ones to basically disappear. I figured they were making the obligatory rounds, because there was no way they had gone upstairs already - Rose hadn't even shown off her dress yet, making every other girl there feel hideous.
Jasper and Alice made it to the bar and were chatting with Eric and Tanya. Jasper was trying his best to stay a part of the conversation but I could see that he couldn't take his eyes off Alice, which was exactly what she was going for. She knew it and she was toying with him. Alice kept the conversation with the other two going while she nonchalantly touched his arm gently or her leg, or cocked her head to the side seductively. She was working it.
This was the perfect opportunity, and Edward saw it immediately as well. He pulled me into the guest room which had been designated for people to put their jackets and such. It was perfect, because if anyone else walked in we could just say that we were putting my purse down - even though my stuff was already upstairs from when Ritchie had brought over our purses and duffel bags earlier.
As soon as the door was shut I leaned over and kissed Edward. He was going to be my first and last kiss of the night... though I still wasn't too sure how the midnight kiss was going to work yet. He wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me up to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and just held the kiss. I was just glad to be with him - honestly, I had missed him all day. I loved all my friends and I had a great time today, but there was no one else I wanted to be with tonight.
We finally broke our kiss and he put me down, still keeping his arms securely around my waist, though. "You look," he said, pausing to just look at me, like he was examining everything about me.
"What?" I asked, concerned that something was wrong or that someone had ruined my dress when we came in.
"Perfect," he let out a sigh with his perfectly, crooked smile.
I smiled back at him and gave him another kiss. I could kiss him all day long and still that wouldn't be enough.
"You know, you don't look too bad yourself, sir," I told him with a giggle.
And he didn't. Jasper was the one who usually had the innate style, he just had that "it" and knew how to dress - not that Edward dressed poorly, but it was just that style wise J always one-upped him. Tonight, though, Edward was the star. He looked amazing in his Versace suit paired with a mauve dress shirt underneath. Basically, he was just yummy.
"I missed you today," I told him.
"Hmm.... I couldn't tell that at all," he laughed. "I thought I was going to have to catch you when you bounced through the door... not that I minded. We should probably go outside, though, before people start noticing that we're gone" he said, letting go of my waist but grabbing my hand instead.
"And, I missed you too," he said quietly as we walked out the door and he kissed the back of my hand.
I smiled again. I could see myself doing a lot of that from now on.
As soon as we were back in the party, though, we dropped hands. Keeping up appearances... joy. I didn't want to let go of his hand; even though I knew we had to. I noticed the hesitation he had when we let go, he didn't want to break our contact either. We started walking and he placed his hand on the small of my back, as if to guide me through the crowd, though really this was just another way to stay connected. I felt another smile creeping up.
"Where have you been, gorgeous?" James asked me and eying Edward. "Wait, you know you two kinda match..."
He had popped out from nowhere.
Edward and I looked at each other giving each other a look and laughing; we kind of did. The mauve shirt he was wearing complimented the maroon in my dress well. We matched in every way tonight.
"What's do you know?" I tipsily agreed with James.
"Why don't I grab us some drinks," Edward said with a chuckle.
Without waiting for a response, Edward headed off towards the bar.
"So where were you?" James inquired again.
"Just grabbing something from upstairs," I said, taking the champagne from his hand.
"Oh really?" he asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow, as he reclaimed his drink from me.
"What?" I asked coolly.
James just linked his arm around mine and began walking, "Nothing darling, it's New Years, you're allowed to do whatever you'd like," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Why don't we go get those drinks we were promised by that handsome barkeep Cullen."
"There sure are a lot of people here," I told him, as we walked.
"Do you not know everyone?" he asked.
"No, I do. I'm just surprised so many of them came or were even around. A lot of these people have been out of school for a while - figured they would be with new friends or whatnot," I stated.
"Are you really surprised that they chose your party, though" James asked again.
"No," I said bluntly.
We both laughed as we approached the bar and grabbed a couple more drinks. Mike was there, but I didn't see anybody else. This was interesting. I knew my friends well and none of them liked to be too far away from the alcohol at a party unless....
But then, where was Edward? Where did he go since he said he would meet us here?
I would figure that out later - right now I was on a quest to discover where everyone else had scattered off to for their respective hook ups. I just needed to get away from Mike and James first.
"Hey hot stuff," James said to Mike, giving him a kiss, "look who I found."
"And where was my darling baby sister?" Mike asked.
"She was around...." he said, both of them exchanging a look.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked them, taking a large sip from my flute.
"Nothing," Mike answered, holding back a smile.
"That nothing doesn't mean nothing; that nothing usually means a something," I told both of them.
Again both looked like they were suppressing gigantic grins from spreading across their faces. "Huh? Bells, you've had too much to drink to actually try making any sense - not that I blame you, its New Years after all. You keep drinkin," Mike said, almost thrusting another glass of champagne at me.
I was confused. What were they talking about? Maybe I had drank too much already. But I needed to continue my mission at hand. I was like Jason Bourne on an investigative mission.
"Ok, I'll see you guys later. I'm gonna go find Alice. You two stay out of trouble," I told them, as I walked away from the bar, with yet another flute of champagne. I was double fisting, but it was New Years, there was nothing wrong with that.
Who to search for first? Emmett and Rosalie were probably the easier of the two to look for because they tended to like public displays of affection, and this would be a very, very public display. I moved along the outskirts of the main room slowly while I sipped the first of my champagne flutes. I nodded and said hello to those who said hello to me, but didn't really go out of my way to speak to anyone. I was focused on the mission at hand, my eye on the prize; like any other good spy would be.
I kept wandering along until I was at the edge of the room where the other hallway connected to the main room. Most people didn't know about, or were not allowed, in this area because it wasn't a "designated party area". I snuck into the hallway, where I saw my targets, though, not the targets I thought I would find. There sat Alice and Jasper, sitting on a couch observing the party. I ducked my head back into the hallway to make sure I was positioned accordingly so that no one would see me. Once I was satisfied with that, I popped my head and my arm holding my champagne out, so that I could observe what was going on all while still drinking.
To the average onlooker, the two of them sitting there like that wouldn't look like anything but two friends, talking and taking a break from the dancing. But for those of us in the know, or those who were just extremely perceptive, there was so much more. The two of them were close, like tooo close - close to the point where Alice was almost on top of him. And then there was the fact that they weren't paying attention to anything else except each other, though, there were some quite outlandish things going on all around them. On top of that, Jasper's hand was on top of Alice's, like they were holding hands but not. It was actually very cute. I sat there watching them and sipping my champagne for a bit while they sat there whispering to each other and giggling. I wanted to see some crazy hook up, or at least some kind of intense kiss, but instead, all I got was just some wholesome cuddling. It was really sweet and they seemed to actually make a good couple. They just fit together. I wonder if people would say that about me and Edward?
I would have stayed there longer except that I was finally spotted. I ducked my head back into the hallway, hopping that Jasper didn't actually see me sitting there watching them. But that was a no go, because in no time pillows were being chucked at me and Jasper had popped around the corner.
"I spy, with my little eye..." Jasper began.
I smiled and tried to shrug innocently. "Hi?" I said.
"So were we entertaining you?" he asked, placing his arm around my shoulder and leading me to where they were sitting.
"No! All you were doing was talking," I said.
Oops, that slipped out; didn't mean to actually say that - maybe I was on the verge of drinking too much.
"Well, sorry to disappoint. I didn't know you were looking for your own personal sex show. Try the next couple over," he said with a laugh.
"Is that were Emmett and Rose are?" I teased.
"Sister, Bella. I don't want to be thinking about my sister doing anything of that nature," Jazz said.
"What, about Rose and Em having wild and crazy animal sex?" Alice asked, laughing.
"Sister people!" he exclaimed.
Both Alice and I laughed. It was kinda fun to rile up Jasper; probably because he never seemed to lose his cool, unless it involved Rosalie in an uncompromising position, err situation.
"Were the throwing of the pillows really necessary Alice?" I asked her.
"Well, it was either the pillows or the bottle, and since you are my best friend I went with the pillows. And also, the bottle still had something left in it, which would be a waste," she explained, pouring the remnants of the champagne bottle between the three of us.
She placed the empty bottle in the ice bucket and sat back into the couch. As she relaxed back I saw her interlace her hand with Jasper's like it was no big deal - which I'm sure it wasn't for them, but this was really the first time I had seen them do anything like this in public; for me, this was a big deal. He moved closer to her too. They were pros at being together in public while still not appearing to actually be together. Of course, the darkness of the room helped as well. I needed to take notes, Edward and I should try some of this stuff out.
"We've got a favor to ask you," Jasper said.
"What?" I asked, hesitantly drinking from my glass.
"So, we'd like to kiss each other on midnight but we'd need you to act as cover," he said.
I glanced at the clock, it was almost 11:30.
"What do you mean cover?" I asked again.
"Well, you need to kiss Edward," Alice said matter-of-factly.
"What?!" I coughed, almost choking on my champagne.
"Alice!" Jasper exclaimed.
"Sweetie, you were just taking too long to get to the point," she said.
"Ok, come again? You want me to kiss Edward," I asked, trying to contain a smirk.
"Well that's the only solution we could think of, because obviously I can't kiss Edward... ew gross. And if I kissed Mr. Teddy Bear over there, Rose would flip out, so really the only other person I could kiss is Jasper. While you have many options," Alice explained to me.
"But we wanted to make sure this was ok with you first, though, cause we know you and Edward don't exactly get along all the time. Though tonight you two actually kind of match," Jasper added on.
"So I've heard," I stated.
"We would totally owe you one, Bells," Alice concluded.
So they wanted me to kiss Edward at midnight and would consider it a favor to them. This was shaping up to be a fantastic night.
"Well I don't know you guys," I whined, trying to play up the imposition they were putting on me.
"Come on," Alice pleaded with me.
They both looked so desperate. And who was I to turn down a friend in need.
"Alright, in the spirit of friendship, I will do you this favor. But you two owe me.... Big time!" I told them.
I picked up the other champagne bottle and stood up. "Now, if either of you would like to come with me to track down Em and Rosalie and see what they're up to, you are more than welcome. Though, J, I don't know if you'll really want to see what I'm on the search to discover..." I said with a giggle and a wink at Alice.
Alice promptly got up as well. "Sorry Jazz, but this is too good to resist. Go find Edward or something. Love youuuu," Alice said, jacking the champagne bottle and taking a swig.
"Yea, be sure to tell him about your little plan for midnight - he might have a problem with it," I yelled out as Alice pulled me through the crowd.
We zipped throughout the house, giggling, drinking and taking pictures. I had seen Edward talking with Mike and James but Alice kept pulling me along. We had made eye contact briefly, but he just smiled and laughed when he saw Alice dragging me by the hand.
There were so many people it was difficult to maneuver through the house. We finally made it outside and to the pool house, but it was dark. No one was there and it had looked undisturbed, so there was no chance that they had already been in there. We looked around a little bit more, but still found nothing.
"Wherethehell are they?" Alice slurred.
It seemed like she had maybe had a little too much to drink.
Everything was still there, aside from the occasional sway of a tree, but then I saw movement on the hammock. I motioned to Alice to look over there and then held a finger to my lips to make sure that she would be quiet. I had a feeling that this was them; either that or we were just about to pounce on some unsuspecting other couple. Either way it would be a good time.
Alice and I made our way carefully over to where the hammock was, making sure to stay silent and out of sight. As soon as we got close enough we ducked behind a tree. I stuck my head out a little, to make sure it was actually Rosalie and Emmett.
"Targets in sight?" Alice whispered.
"Check," I said. "Camera ready?"
"Check," Alice answered, holding up the camera.
"Flash off, video on?" I whispered.
She fumbled with the camera and held it up again. "Double check!"
We both looked at each other and nodded. "Attack!" we both said.
We silently made our way even closer to the hammock, camera out and ready to start recording. We inched closer and closer finally almost directly next to the hammock. Still they hadn't noticed us... seriously, how oblivious were they?
"What are you two doing?" Emmett said from behind us.
We both jumped a little - we were not expecting his voice to be coming from behind us. Alice and I turned around, looking between Emmett and the hammock.
"Um... nothing," I said, innocently.
"We were spying on you and Rose," Alice said.
I elbowed her in the side.
"Why were you looking for us out here? Especially in the hammock?" he asked.
"Um, cause you guys were making out in the hammock," Alice said.
"No we weren't," Emmett said.
"What do you mean you weren't?" I asked.
"Well, I mean exactly what I said. We were not, and have never, made out in this hammock. In fact, Rosalie hates the hammock - scared of getting trapped in the net or something. And it's too cold for her to be outside, supposedly," he explained.
Alice and I looked at each other confused.
"Well, then who have we been spying on for the last five minutes?" I asked.
Emmett walked over to the hammock. "You've been spying on the blankets I put out here in case anyone actually came out here. With the wind going I guess it could sway back and forth, so it would look like someone was in it. But you would have to be pretty..." Emmett said, laughing.
"Don't finish that sentence," Alice threatened.
The three of us looked between each other and all busted up laughing.
"So this entire time we thought that we were spying on you two..." Alice began.
"We were actually spying on blankets," I said, causing the three of us to laugh even harder.
"Maybe the two of you shouldn't have anything more to drink if you think blankets look like people.... But we should get inside, you two look like you're going to freeze and its almost midnight," Emmett stated.
The three of us made our way into the house still laughing at our stupidity.
"So how did the hunt go?" Jasper asked, when we walked into the door.
Alice and I looked at each other and simply laughed.
"I don't think they want to talk about it," Emmett answered for us.
"Thank you Em," I said, grinning ridiculously widely.
"Anything for my two favorite girls," he said, giving Alice and I a kiss, each, on the side of the head.
"Anyway... Let's meet up with everyone else, there's about two minutes to midnight," Jasper said.
We made our way to the center of the dance floor where we met up with Rosalie, Edward, Mike and James. As soon as we arrived everyone stood in the general vicinity of their assigned couple.
"So did you hear about the 'plan'?" I asked Edward.
"Yes, Jasper already told me about it. I mean it's the least we could do to help even out the ratio... cause that would just be weird to kiss Alice - aside from being incest and all," he said with a glint in his beautiful green eyes.
"Yes, we couldn't have any of that. What kind of friends would we be?" I said with a smirk.
This was it, the countdown had begun and I couldn't wait to finally get to one. I was going to kiss Edward in front of everyone and this time it was allowed; hell, it was expected. There was no hiding. There was nothing to fear. It was easy, a simple kiss. It was the perfect way to start out the upcoming year. Our first kiss of many for the new year. We were inching closer to each other.
"I'm so sorry," Victoria said as she bumped into me with Tyler.
"Crap," Edward said as felt down his pants.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Edward I didn't mean to spill on you," she said.
"Yea dude, that was totally my fault, it was my glass. I'm sorry," Tyler apologized.
I could see that he was slightly annoyed, but Edward wasn't going to make a big deal out of it. It was an accident, Tyler didn't do it on purpose.
"Don't worry about it," he said to Tyler and Victoria. "I'll be right back, I just want to get a napkin or something. I will be back in time," Edward told me.
"Alright, I trust you," I told him.
"Sorry again," Victoria said.
I turned around and dismissed what she had to say. I knew it wasn't her fault and that she didn't do it deliberately, but it was still a pain. It was wrong to blame her, but I really didn't care, she'd get over it.
People started calling out the numbers loudly.
8.
7.
6.
There was still no Edward. I was starting to get a little concerned that he wasn't going to make it back in time. I looked through the crowd, but I still couldn't see him.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
And then I was spun around and kissed. He must have been blocked from coming around the way he left, which is probably why it took more time to get back to me. I closed my eyes and just kissed. And it was a good kiss. It was unexpected and a little different; it was intense and passionate, not something that I was really anticipating out in the open with a hundred people around me, but I went with it. I let myself sink more into the kiss and just get lost in it. I moved closer and reached around his neck, like I usually did. We both came closer together, intensifying the kiss even more. And then I actually remembered where I was and that it would probably be a smart idea to stop so that people wouldn't get the wrong impression.
"Mmm. Happy New Year," I said, smiling and opening my eyes.
"Happy New Year, to you too," a familiar voice answered back.
I looked up and took a step back, breaking away from his embrace.
Staring back at me was Jacob Black.
Soooooo? whatcha think? love it/hate it let me know. i'd love to hear from you :)
also have some goodies which you all should check out on my home page - there are some character "theme songs" i'll be putting up and i'll probably put the NYE dresses up as well. i feel like they embody the characters and get me in their mindframe when i'm writting about them. the only one i don't have one for yet is Edward - so if anyone's got some suggestion - i'd looove to hear it. he's one tricky bastard to find music for.