Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer and therefore I do not own Twilight or the wonderful characters I screw with.
Chapter 24 – Declaration (Emmett)
"The last time I was with someone – man or woman – was you. On that night three months ago."
Rosalie looked completely in shock. "Why?"
Emmett should have stopped to think before he blurted out his next words, but he didn't. "Because I love you."
Rosalie's eyes widened. "What? That isn't possible. You don't even know me."
"I know you better than you think, Rose. Even if we weren't to consider all that we talked about on our one date. I've been watching you since your Freshman year of high school. Don't you remember when I asked you to prom that year?"
She frowned, her brow furrowing in concentration. "A lot of people asked me to prom that year, Emmett. Everyone wanted to get with the it crowd and I was the easiest in. People wanted to get close to Tanya, Kate, and Maria. Everyone knew that the three hottest chicks in school were going places. Kate had already been modeling for Victoria's Secret for a year, Tanya had already done her first two films, and Maria had put together her first EP. Three people on the fast track to fame and success. I said no to everyone who asked me out that year and ended up going to prom with Kate."
"You laughed in my face when I asked you," he prompted. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted Rosalie to remember him – to remember his first attempt with her.
"That... isn't exactly helpful. I had that art perfected when I was in high school, Emmett. It was easy to laugh someone off and to be super cruel. Wait – I know where to check." She turned and walked into the living room of her house.
He followed and watched as she went over to a bookshelf and pulled out a thin leather-bound book. It was a deep navy blue with gold binding. He recognized it immediately as being a high school year book.
She flipped through it, stopping when she got to a page, her eyes widening again. "I remember when you asked me now. You were the one with the slick backed hair and the leather jacket – the one that believed Grease was still a fashion statement."
He winced. "We all go through stupid stages at one time or another."
"You asked me again to prom the next year, if I remember right."
"I did. You laughed at me again. Then I graduated, went off to college and studied at the police academy down in Tacoma. By the time I came back and took a job with your dad, you'd already moved away to Seattle."
"And you've asked me out a few times since I've moved back home. I finally got annoyed with you asking me a few months ago and agreed to that one date just to get you to back off."
"And if that's really all you want from me, then... I don't like it, but I can accept it. I can't force you to like me, Rosalie. But at least now you know who I am. And I mean who I really am, not just some persona that people attribute to me. I know I was interested in you from the first day that I saw you. I know the way your lips curve when you smile, your laugh, the way your eyes light up when you're passionate about something, and the way they light up when you're infuriated." He shrugged. "I've given it my best shot, Rose, and if there's nothing there for you... then okay. But you can't stand there and tell me that you want to give our child to someone else. If you're too busy or too much of a robot to care about our child then let me have the child. I will take care of our child and raise him or her right."
At least then he'd always have some tie to her. It wasn't what he wanted, but he'd accept it.
Her eyes flashed in that same anger that he'd just told her he recognized. "Get the hell out of my house. Now."