Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Author's note I: Full disclosure...the dinner arrangement is 100% thanks to Princess Alexandria's Tossing Stone. I tried and tried, but alas could not think of a better way to explain how the Cullens could "eat" with Bella. Did I mention how awesome her fic is?
Author's note II: I'm so sorry I didn't get this up last night. I was actually nearly finished...on the last section, when I realized I was starting to write gibberish. I didn't want to screw up that last section so decided to bite the bullet and get some sleep.
Vampires.
Bella stared straight ahead as she walked to her first class alongside Alice. How she managed to get to her desk without colliding into anyone or anything on the way, Bella did not know.
Vampires. The word was flooding her brain. Vampires. Vampires!
By second period, Bella had managed to get her head in enough working order to think beyond that impossible word. But even with her lightning speed mind and perfect recall, it still took her the rest of the morning to piece together and analyze everything she'd heard.
The Cullens are vampires. That was the first and most obvious hurdle she needed to clear. The way Edward was talking...she didn't think it was a practical joke. He was dead serious, and his siblings were as well. Her mind added that classification to her mental files of the Cullens, and like looking at the same picture with a different lense, she immediately saw the signs that were in front of her all along. The strange eyes. The cool skin. The speed with which Rosalie had moved the first night she met her. The things the wind had tried to tell her the first time she met Emmett. All those times each of them had been able to find her in town as if she had a spotlight turned on her. And the most obvious sign of all-she had never seen them eat. Not once. Not ever. She tried and tried to think back, replaying every day she'd spent with them in her head, looking for just one example that would mean all of this was just her own insanity...but no. In the cafeteria, in their home, none of the Cullens ate.
As she got used to the idea of her adopted family living off of blood, her thoughts turned to Edward himself. She learned three things about Edward today. He hated her enough to want to kill her. He could read minds. Every mind but hers. She smiled smugly at that. Way to go brain! Stop it, she thought. Edward's concerns were no laughing matter. The boy seemed to think she posed a threat to his family...either she'd expose them by finding out their secret...or she'd expose them by becoming their victim. Some part of her knew she was supposed to be afraid right now, but Bella hadn't been living with a monster all these years for nothing. Granted, bloodthirsty vampires are a tad more frightening than any of the would-be muggers and sexual predators she'd encountered during her years alone. But how could she fear a hypothetical monster when she herself was one? Edward said they can easily lose control...that they wouldn't realize they were killing someone until it was too late. Hadn't she gone through the same thing herself? Only she doubted their body counts were as high as hers...
She felt a rumbling in her chest and instantly froze. Focus. Breathe.
No, she didn't fear the Cullens. She was wary of Edward, sure, but she wasn't exactly a vulnerable little red riding hood. She had better defenses than any other human they've probably encountered.
She tried to stop her mind from turning to the last significant bit of information she had gleaned, but it was no use-once set on a path, she couldn't just not think.
Rosalie...
And Emmett. Husband and wife. The words filled her with a deep sadness and a terrible shame. They were married. They were married and in love, for who knows how long. It was bad enough before...now, the thought of potentially coming between this loving, married couple made her sick. But...Edward said Rosalie felt something too. Her memory never lied. He had asked Rosalie "if what she felt for Bella was as real as she thought..." What does that mean? Could Rosalie possibly have feelings for her? And Emmett knew?! It can't be, she thought. It just can't be.
"Miss Swan!"
Bella looked up. The teacher, Mr. Gilpin, and the whole class were staring at her. Jessica and Lauren were sniggering rather noticeably.
Bella swallowed, but kept her face blank. "Yes, sir?"
"I asked you a question, young lady. If you would rejoin us here on planet Earth, we're all waiting for your answer."
Question? She looked briefly at the clock-they were halfway through class and she hadn't taken in any of it. It wasn't like she missed anything-she'd already read every book that was and would ever be assigned in this class...probably read every book and dissertation the teacher had read in college too. But that wouldn't help her now, because for the life of her she had no idea what question Mr. Gilpin was referring to.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Gilpin," she said in what she hoped was an apologetic voice. "Would you please repeat the question?"
"No, Miss Swan I will not," he said curtly. "I will however, see you in detention."
Jessica and Lauren, and several others she noted, openly snickered again. She didn't miss the glares Alice and Jasper sent their way though, and she smiled in their direction, silently thanking them.
"Bells, is everything ok?" Jasper asked her after class finally ended.
"Yes, Jasper. Thank you," Bella replied, looking closely at him and trying to see the bloodthirsty monster he was supposed to be. She couldn't. She only saw the gentle, kind boy (man, she corrected herself...just how old were they?) she'd always known.
"I was just somewhere else, that's all," she reassured them.
"Hmm..." Alice had a faraway look in her eyes, then she brightened. "Would you like me to get in trouble too! That way I could keep you company in detention!"
Bella couldn't help the snort that accompanied her laugh. Was this girl really a vampire? It was probably because she was giddy with...the craziness...of everything, but Bella suddenly felt an overwhelming affection for her friends. Without thinking, she grabbed the two of them and enveloped them in a huge hug.
"Um, thanks Bella. Are you sure you're ok?" Jasper asked from inside her clutch.
Bella opened her mouth to respond, but all that came out was a resounding laughter that surprised even herself. She tried to stop, but all she achieved was an even louder laugh, and before she knew it she was doubled over on the floor of the hallway, tears falling from her face and no end in sight to her hysterics.
"Do humans normally do this?"
Alice was asking Jasper, not knowing that Bella could hear. Bella let out a new round of wild giggles until she had to gasp to catch her breath.
She finally gathered her wits and looked up to Alice's and Jasper's bewildered faces. She contained the fresh bubbles that wanted to pour out and instead hugged them both again.
"I love you guys!" She said with a bright smile. Then she leaned up and gave each of them a dramatic, friendly kiss on the cheek.
"See you later!" She yelled as she headed for her next class, leaving them both gaping after her.
As it turned out, Bella actually felt grateful for the hour of detention in which she got to sit all alone, contemplating on what would happen that evening. True to her word, Alice invited her to dinner that night on behalf of Esme, and Bella agreed without hesitation. Only later, in the solitude of detention, did it occur to her that Edward was right about one thing-how were they going to pull off a family dinner when vampires presumably couldn't eat human food?
Alice said everything was going to be ok-she "saw" it. Ok, one vampire reads minds, another vampire sees the future. Terrific. She wondered if every vampire could so something cool like that. It was hard not getting her head warped by Alice's ability...she "saw" that Bella would try to befriend Edward tonight...what if she changed her mind? What if Bella made the decision to be nice to Edward based solely on the things she heard this morning? There were too many what-if's, and unfortunately Bella couldn't exactly walk up to the girl and ask her to explain her power.
Before she knew it the hour passed and Bella was free.
"Sweetheart! How was your weekend?" Esme gave her a hug upon entering their home, and Bella, as always, returned it.
"It was wonderful," Bella replied, mentally adding 'aside from blowing up the forest and almost killing two of your vampire kids...oh and almost getting shot by my dad' "And yours?"
Esme brightened. "Full, that's for sure. On top of getting my Edward back, I also got two new orders that need to be finished by later this week."
"Can I-can I do anything to help?" Bella asked tentatively. She loved the hours she spent drawing up plans for furniture design, windows, and even whole blueprints with Esme. She was probably more a burden than any help, but she always tried her best.
"Can you? I'm counting on it!" Esme exclaimed, much to Bella's excitement.
"Seriously, Esme?" Emmett thundered in. "You couldn't wait awhile before mentioning that? Now she won't be able to sit still the whole night!"
"Yup!" Esme replied, giving him a look. "That's what you get for not helping me with dinner."
Emmett rolled his eyes, and Bella, mostly because she was watching him very carefully, didn't miss the disgusted crinkle in his nose. Interesting...
"You didn't have to go through all this trouble," she told Esme quietly.
"Sweetheart, it's no trouble at all," said Esme, holding her hand. "It's been awhile since we all sat down at the table together. And this'll be a good chance for you to get to know Edward."
Bella nodded, and looked around for the boy (man) that wanted to "get rid of" her.
"He's downstairs," Emmett said, noticing her inquiring look, "catching up with his girlfriend."
"His piano, that is," Emmett said with a grin.
Bella smiled, but figured she might as well start being nice to the boy (man) now. "Don't mock a musician and his 'lady'," she said. Then she cocked an eyebrow. "At least he knows how to use his fingers."
She didn't hear it herself, but Edward missed a measure of his notes just then and had to stop. Upstairs, Alice and Jasper snorted, and in the living room she heard Rosalie chuckle.
Emmett just grinned recklessly. "Let me tell you what these fingers can-"
"Get that toaster oven, young man!" Esme warned him.
This time, even Edward laughed out loud at Esme's unintentional addition to the joke.
Esme didn't blush, though she glared at Emmett till he cowed.
"Aww man!" Emmett complained, though still with a hint of a grin, "you got me in trouble Bella Bear!"
Bella shrugged and showed him her own evil grin behind Esme's back. "Remember that next time you make a musical joke."
Emmett stuck out his tongue. She responded in kind.
Seriously...these people were all vampires?!
Two minutes into dinner, it was clear how Bella was supposed to keep from noticing that none of the Cullens actually ate anything. They had her sitting directly in the center of the dining table in such a way that she'd have to swivel in her seat in order to talk to anyone. After every bite she took, someone on her left or on her right would say something and Bella would make sure she gave them her full attention while people on the other side of the table "ate." Out of the corner of her eye she thought she spotted a large napkin, a discreet garbage can under the table, a potted plant...all slowly filling up with food that Bella wasn't supposed to know the Cullens did not tolerate.
At least the conversations were interesting. And somewhat creepy.
Edward would not stop asking her questions. She mentally cheered at first since talking to her was certainly an improvement on wanting to kill her, but the questions got more and more detailed till she was frankly a little uncomfortable. Why on earth did he care so much for the reason behind green being her favorite color? Or how her first and only pet, Piggy the goldfish, had died? Everybody was trying to hint to him to back off, but even Carlisle had to intervene when he started asking her questions about going through puberty and her opinions about premarital sex. Thank god for Carlisle, she thought as she avoided the last question completely while taking an extra long sip of water.
Other than that long stretch of blushing, she enjoyed herself very much. She talked shop with Esme, talked about the latest history bestseller with Jasper, joked around with Alice and Jasper, and even asked Carlisle to tell her a little about his work which he did gladly.
Bella tried not to make it too obvious, but she was avoiding Rosalie. When she talked to Emmett alone, she could almost forget that the two of them were married. But she couldn't apply that to the girl (woman) in question, and she spent a good part of the evening wracked with guilt (as well as the usual Rosalie cocktail of lust and love). She wanted it to be like yesterday. She wanted to talk freely and rest her head on her shoulders as she did last night. But yesterday she was Emmett's girlfriend, as terrible as that itself was. Now she's his wife. Bella felt so powerless as she stared longingly at Rosalie. Even if Edward's bitter words from this morning were the truth and Rosalie did feel something for her, Bella knew it didn't matter anymore.
Rosalie felt a little guilty for blocking off the exit, especially when she noted Bella's confused and panicked look, but she'd had enough. Rosalie was not one to be ignored yet that was what Bella had done all day. Rosalie couldn't have been more surprised. Last night, Bella most definitely enjoyed the physical contact with her. Her heart raced and she could smell her arousal from every corner of the shed. There was no question that Bella reciprocated at least some of her own feelings for her.
At the moment though, Bella looked like a deer in headlights.
"Hello," Rosalie said, walking towards her.
"Hi," Bella replied. She quickly looked away. They were standing on a large balcony. Rosalie wished for another venue because this one provided too many distractions for the girl. Bella looked intently at everything around her...everything but Rosalie.
"How did you and Emmett meet?" Bella asked suddenly.
Rosalie raised an eyebrow. "He was adopted a couple of years after me."
"No, sorry-I know," Bella stumbled. "I meant...how did you know he was the one?"
Where on earth was this going?
"It took a little while for me to realize it I suppose," Rosalie started, filtering out the vampire bits. "He was the complete opposite of the person I thought I'd be with...but it didn't take long to realize he was exactly right for me. We compliment each other."
"You do," Bella said quietly, looking out at the woods again. "You're lucky to have each other."
Rosalie stood in silence next to her for a few minutes as the reason for Bella's odd behavior dawned on her. Emmett. Bella was thinking of him...she didn't want to come between them. She smiled softly behind the girl's back, though mentally chastised herself. Of course, Bella wasn't just going to leap into her arms-even though she obviously wanted to very much-without question. As far as she knew, Rosalie and Emmett were a regular, typical monogamous couple. Rosalie's features softened as she saw the guilt and sadness stamped on poor Bella's face.
She wanted badly to touch her, but refrained from going any closer. No need to torture the girl. This was going to take some time, she realized.
Author's note III: Your reviews sustain me. Please tell me what you think!