25. Party

BELLA SWAN

The Lodge was crowded and dinner dragged. I picked at my burger as Charlie was busy socializing with Tyler Crowley's parents at the back of his seat, slowly eating his own prime rib. There were a lot of parents here from the graduation as it was the only place close to a formal restaurant in town, although I found it overpriced and tacky myself. I just sat there, staring at the hands of the restaurant's old clock that I mentally begged to move faster, hoping that maybe the late hours would give Charlie a hint that we should leave.

Although I was dying to leave, I still wasn't exactly looking forward to this party. I knew that Alice would probably force me to socialize with people, but I would much rather just talk to her, Edward, and the rest of the family, because I knew we definitely had something to discuss. By now, I was sure they all knew about what I figured out this morning. I was dying to know what they had planned. Would there really be a fight, when would it be, and how could I help? All of this was happening because of me. I couldn't just sit by and let others fight my battles, even though everyone was telling me to. It wouldn't feel right. I had to help somehow.

Charlie finally got his check and put a tip on the table. I sighed in relief and quickly stood up, pushing my chair in after me.

"Well, someone's ready to go," Charlie noted and got up himself.

"I just want to help Alice set up," I insisted.

"I thought you didn't really want to go."

"It's just setting things up, not the actual party. When people start showing up, then I can probably hide in the back or something." I said it, but I knew it wasn't likely to happen.

He shook his head. "Just try and enjoy yourself."

I shrugged and walked toward the exit as Charlie turned back around to say goodbye to everyone. I leaned against the passenger door of his cruiser outside, waiting impatiently for what seemed like ten minutes until he finally came out and unlocked the doors. I got in quickly and Charlie could see I was more than ready to leave so he wasted no time to pull out onto the road.

"So, how're ya feeling?" he asked as we drove along the highway. "It's been a big day for you."

I shrugged. "Alright, I guess."

"Just alright?"

"Yeah. No complaints, I'm just waiting for this night to be over."

"I know you're not looking forward to the party, but you're not excited at all about graduating?"

"Maybe it hasn't hit me just yet."

He nodded. "It's a really big step in your life. In fact, I wish I could've given you something more than just dinner. Sorry."

"Don't be silly, Dad."

"No, really. I feel like I don't always do everything for you that I should."

"Dad, you do a fantastic job, I mean it." I sighed, trying to find the right words as it wasn't easy expressing feelings with Charlie. "I'm actually really glad I came to live with you. It was the best decision I ever made and I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon."

A smile briefly stretched across his face as he glanced at me for a second, before focusing back on the road.

"Well, you did graduate. You gotta leave sometime," he chuckled.

I smirked. "Already trying to get rid of me, huh?"

He laughed. "I don't think I'd ever want you completely gone." He smiled for a moment, but frowned as we got closer to our destination. "Now if this party gets too wild…"

"Dad, don't worry about it," I assured, cutting him off, "Carlisle and Esme will be there, and you could come too if you're that worried."

He grimaced. "That's alright. I'm sure they'll keep things under control."

Charlie squinted through the windshield, looking into the night. He looked like he was having trouble finding the turnoff in this darkness and I wondered if everyone else would too. I smiled at the thought that maybe everyone would get lost and turn back, but unfortunately the blackness was cut off just up ahead. There were trees wrapped in white Christmas lights that flickered on and off on both sides of the Cullens' drive. I grimaced as we saw more trees lit up every twenty feet of the way there, for three miles.

"Wow!" Charlie exclaimed, "This is pretty impressive."

I sighed. "That's Alice for you."

"Welp, have fun kid." He smiled at me as he stopped outside the house.

"Are you sure you don't want to come in?"

"Very sure."

I looked at the big white house and sighed as I got out. I watched Charlie drive away before walking up to the door.

Before I could lift my hand even an inch to knock, the door swung open with Alice on the other side with a huge grin.

"Come on in," she said cheerfully and took my hand, pulling me inside.

My mouth dropped when I saw what Alice had done with the place. She pretty much turned the whole house into a nightclub. Pulsing lights of red, blue, green, and purple shined throughout the foyer where there was a big open space that acted as the dance floor. Huge speakers and an expensive looking sound system were set up by the stairs with a towering stack of CDs by the upper left speaker. Furniture was rearranged in the living room to allow people to sit in circles with a small coffee table in the middle of each. I wouldn't have been surprised if there was a bar in the kitchen, but I wasn't going to check.

Alice giggled when she noticed my shocked expression. "What do you think?"

"It's completely ridiculous," I exclaimed.

She laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Not exactly."

I sighed and shook my head, taking my eyes off the over the top decorations to look at what Alice was wearing. She was wearing a sequined black tank top and red leather pants. I looked at my own outfit with a slight grimace.

"Am I underdressed?" I asked, finding the question kind of ironic considering she picked my clothes out for me.

"Mm, it'll do."

"I think you look perfect," Edward's voice came from behind me.

I turned around and smiled at him as he returned with his own beautiful crooked smile. He was wearing a simple light blue button down shirt and black dress pants. He looked pretty calm, which was a huge change from earlier today. I wasn't sure if it was because they had some kind of plan for the whole newborn problem or if he was just putting on a smile for me. I wondered if now was the best time to ask.

"Oh, Edward, I wanted your opinion on the music," Alice said and went over to the huge stack of CDs. "Should we give them familiar and comforting? Or…" She pointed to a different stack, "Should we educate their taste in music?"

"As much as I'd prefer to 'educate them', I doubt they'd stay very long if we did," Edward answered.

My eyes widened and I nodded my head enthusiastically. "That's a great idea. Educate them."

Alice frowned at me as I really didn't hide the fact that I'd prefer this party to be as short as possible. I groaned as she put the classical CDs in a box to the side.

I looked around and saw that everything seemed to be already set up; I probably wouldn't have been able to keep up with Alice anyway. I noticed Jasper pacing back and forth along the banister upstairs that connected with the stairway. He looked completely on edge, like he was bracing himself for some kind of crisis. I glanced at Edward and cringed when I saw that he was suddenly tense again, just like this morning. I knew that this had nothing with the party.

"Does he know?" I asked, unable to ignore this any longer.

Edward nodded slowly. "Yes. We all do."

Alice glared at us, obviously not wanting me to think about this now, but I couldn't help it.

"What are we going to do? Is there a plan or something?" I tried to keep my breathing even and calm.

He put his arm around me to rub my shoulder. "Jasper's still thinking, but he and Carlisle don't like how the numbers stand."

I gulped hard. "How…do the number's stand? Do you know how many there are?"

"Alice says more than twenty."

I grimaced, but nodded. Twenty wasn't exactly the number I thought of for an 'army', but it still didn't change the fact that they were outnumbered.

"Alice is also worried that she won't be able to see when they'll be coming, because…" His face squirmed uncomfortably like he was in pain. He turned his head slightly away from me before he continued in a lower voice, "Because they'll be coming for you, and she can't see any future events related to you."

"Oh my god…"

He was silent for a moment, still rubbing my shoulder to keep me calm before he spoke again.

"That's why we've made up our minds to go and attack them ourselves two days from now," he announced.

I gasped. "Two days?"

"Yes. Although we're outnumbered, they're still young and inexperienced unlike us, but-" He stopped himself right there and cringed, looking like he wished he had stopped sooner.

I shifted myself around to his front, looking into his eyes. "But what?"

Before he could say anything, although it didn't look like we would anyway, the chime of the doorbell rang across the room.

"First guests!" Alice cheered as she turned the music up and danced to the door.

Edward sighed in relief and gave me an apologetic look before putting on his best smile for the guests. I cursed the horrible timing under my breath and scowled at him, but his back was already turned so he couldn't see.

All of my friends seemed to arrive all at the same time, probably too nervous to come to the reclusive Cullen house by themselves. Jessica came in first with Mike right behind her. Next came Tyler, Conner, Austin, Lee, Samantha, and even Lauren trailed in last, her eyes critical as she looked around the room. All of them looked around either overwhelmed or thoroughly impressed at everything Alice had set up. The doorbell rang again and I answered it this time, letting in Angela, Ben, Eric, and Katie. I left the door open as more of our senior class was arriving sooner than I'd thought.

It didn't take long for the entire first floor of the house to fill up with the whole senior class. People danced and swayed to the infectious music Alice selected, the food was quickly disappearing, and everyone seemed to be having fun mingling and mostly talking about their high school experience. I was one of the 'minglers', though not by choice as everyone wanted to talk to me. Although this was supposed to be the Cullens' graduation party just as much as mine, I seemed to be the target of everyone's congratulations and thanks. It might've been because the Cullens' didn't exactly look approachable under the pulsing party lights, despite their perfect human charade. I wondered if Alice did this on purpose, forcing me to be the center of attention. If this was her plan, it worked like a charm as I couldn't find any way to escape this crowd. This party had turned out exactly how I feared it would. It seemed to be a massive success overall, but a disaster for me.

I couldn't name a person that I hadn't talked to once. Edward made it a bit easier, helping move conversations along and transitioning to the next group of people who wanted to talk without making an awkward exit. It was thanks to him that I was able to get some food and drinks since I couldn't figure out how to sneak away. It was either he bring them to me or I go the night hungry. I ended up with Jessica much longer than I was with anyone else at the party as she babbled on and on, not giving me much of a chance to respond to what she was saying, which was a good thing since I wasn't paying attention.

Edward had smoothly snuck away about ten minutes into Jessica's chatter, whispering to me that he'd bring me back another drink. I stood with Jessica at the corner of the living room as she went on, nodding at the appropriate moments. I was mainly looking at the crowd though; some standing around with drinks, some dancing, and some sitting and talking. I started looking for Edward as it'd been a few minutes since he left to get me a drink. It usually didn't take him that long and I knew he wouldn't have forgotten. That's when I realized, I couldn't spot any of the Cullens anymore, not just Edward. They stood out pretty easily with their skin reacting oddly to the pulsing party lights throughout the house, so why were they suddenly so hard to find now? Did they leave? That would explain why Edward didn't come back, but where did they disappear to?

"…So I'm thinking of majoring in that. Do ya think that sounds like a good position for me?" Jessica asked about something I wasn't paying attention to.

I nodded. "Um, yeah, do whatever feels right. But uh, could you excuse me for a minute, Jess?"

"Oh, sure…"

She looked kind of disappointed to see me leave, but I wasn't worried about that. I made my way through the closely packed bodies, awkwardly squeezing my way through the dancers and getting shoved around a bit to search out the Cullens. The only problem was, I was searching blindly. I didn't know where they had gone to. I assumed some place where they could be alone, but the entire first floor was packed with people. I wondered if they went upstairs, but the stairway was blocked off by the obnoxiously huge speakers blaring noise that most of my classmates would consider music.

Although I didn't know where I was supposed to go, my body seemed to move toward the kitchen automatically. I hadn't been in there yet and maybe there weren't as many people crowding that area as I thought. But before I could make my way too close to the kitchen door, I heard my name.

"Hey, Bella!"

I immediately stopped at the familiar voice. I was hoping it would be Edward or any of the Cullens to let me know everything was alright, but what I got was completely unexpected as I turned around to see the tallest person in the crowd waving at me. He came along with two other giants that looked incredibly tense and edgy, their eyes flickering around the room like they'd walked into a haunted crypt. Once our eyes met, he started making his way toward me, swiftly weaving through the partiers far better than I could despite him being so tall. I just stood there frozen, my heart racing as I anticipated his arrival.

Once he was right in front of me, we didn't speak, just stared. There was so much going on in my mind, so many questions I had, but I couldn't find my voice. Wasn't this the chance I had been waiting for? I would've preferred we were alone, but I couldn't be picky. I had to take what I could get.

"Um…friendly reception they got here," Jacob finally spoke, looking around the room with his nose wrinkled up.

I nodded, still staring at him and trying to find the words I needed to speak.

He looked around the room, his eyes shifty and cautious, and then suddenly grabbed my arm. I gasped softly at his familiar warm touch as he pulled me away from the crowd toward one of the few secluded shadowy corners close to the kitchen door. The other two, Quil and Embry, watched each other's backs as they tried blending in with the crowd and danced over to us…literally. They stood on either side of Jacob, smiling at me.

"Hey, Bella," they both greeted at once.

"Hey…" I mumbled, managing to say that at least before my eyes focused on Jake.

Jacob stared back at me like before, his hand sliding down my arm where he had grabbed until he held my own hand. The gesture was surprising. I expected him to be mad at me, but instead, all I could see in his eyes were longing.

"Aren't you gonna say something?" Embry asked and nudged Jacob for encouragement.

Jake's eyes widened in realization, but kept his focus on me. "Hey, Bella…"

Quil and Embry smacked their palms against their foreheads at the same time, both groaning.

"Hey, Jake…" I responded in almost a whisper, then managed to ask one question on my mind. "W-why are you here?"

He frowned. "You invited me, remember?"

"Oh, right." I blushed, but still kept my eyes on him. "I just didn't think you'd actually come."

"I came to see you."

I was silent for a moment. "You did…?"

Embry chuckled. "Of course. Why else, to party with vampires? Hell no."

Jake nodded. "Right. I wanted to talk to you."

My heart sped up. I had wanted to talk to Jacob and this seemed to be my chance, but I didn't think he'd want to talk to me. What did he have to say?

Jacob took a deep breath. "Bella, I'm sorry. For whatever I did…or whatever I didn't do, I'm sorry."

My eyes widen in shock. "You're sorry?"

"Yeah…" He grimaced and nodded slowly. "You're feelings for him. I didn't know they were that strong, and I was hoping I could help you forget." He frowned and looked down for a moment, but quickly corrected himself, looking back at me. "But I guess I couldn't. And I feel like I wasn't…or that I couldn't…"

He groaned in frustration, having trouble finding the right words.

Quil sighed. "Basically, Jake's saying he must've been a pretty bad boyfriend if you're still in love with a bloodsucker."

"Or the leech's got some kind of creepy spell on you," Embry added.

Jacob let out a quick growl and they both flinched back a little.

"Jeez. Just trying to help," Embry muttered under his breath.

Jacob sighed and suddenly took both of my hands, pulling me closer to him. I looked at him surprised, but more so from the gloom clearly displayed in his deep black eyes.

"Bella, I know you love him, but you also love me. I guess don't really know how much anymore, and this might sound crazy asking, but please don't give up on me just yet. I want to make you happy and keep you safe. Whatever it is you want from me, you can have. I'll do whatever I can to give it to you. Just…please."

I was speechless. I looked at him in astonishment and wondered if I was right to be surprised or not. I'd hoped that Jacob wouldn't give up on me, even though I loved someone else as I loved him. I would've been happy to know that he would love me enough to take me back, but him being the one to apologize never crossed my mind. Should it have?

It was silent as Jacob examined my expression, awaiting my reaction.

"Bella…?" he whispered.

I shook my head slowly. "Jacob, I don't understand. I hurt you. I thought you wanted this to end. I thought you broke up with me."

He jolted back, like my words caught him off guard. "What? No. You left my house and went to be with the Cullens. I thought you broke up with me…to go back to him."

I shook my head again. "No…"

We were silent again, both of us blinking our eyes in confusion. My head was overflowing with so many questions; I didn't know where to begin.

"Wooow. Good going, guys," Quil commented and slow-clapped.

Embry groaned in irritation. "Jeez, Jake, way to overreact."

Confusion was still plastered on Jacob's face as he opened his mouth like he was about to say something. Suddenly, he tensed up. His eyes were no longer on me, but he now glared over my head with clenched teeth. Quil and Embry looked in the same direction, their eyes piercing and hands balled into fists.

Startled by the sudden mood change, I turned around to see what had them so worked up. There stood Edward, his body just as stiff and eyes like daggers as they all glowered at each other, bracing themselves.

"No. Please, don't do this here," I begged, looking between the two sides.

They didn't move. The tension was ridiculously thick and they hadn't even said a word to each other.

"Bella," Edward finally spoke, "We need to speak with you."

"We?" I asked, turning to raise my eyebrows at him.

"Um, excuse me, but we were talking here," Jacob said, his voice low and rough.

Edward narrowed his eyes. "Yes, and now it's my turn, if you'd be so kind."

"Guess what. I'm not."

Edward smirked for a split second and then looked at me. "Bella, please come with me."

"Did you hear what I just said?" Jacob growled.

Edward glared. "Yes, you can continue later. This is important."

"What's important?" I asked him, a little annoyed by their attitudes.

He looked at me, his face a bit calmer as he put an arm around my waist to turn me away from Jake.

"I'll tell you when we're with the others," he whispered.

Like a bolt of lightning, Jacob's hand struck the arm Edward had at my waist, his hand gripping on like he planned to break it off. His face was terrifying as he growled while Quil and Embry echoed the noise. Edward instantly reacted with a hiss, his dagger-like teeth clearly visible.

"Get your hand off me!" Edward snapped.

"Keep your hands off her!" Jacob growled.

"Stop!" I shouted, probably turning a few heads in the crowd, but I couldn't see them. I was thankful Quil and Embry's huge bodies were there to block this scene off from the partiers in the room, though probably not intentional.

I shifted away from Edward's arm and stood beside Jake, turning to scowl at Edward.

"Tell me what's going on or I'm not coming," I threatened.

Edward grimaced. "I will tell you. You just need to-"

"No!" I cut him off and crossed my arms over my chest. "Tell me right now."

I noticed Jacob glance at me surprised, a smile creeping onto his face for a second before he tried to hide it by glaring back at Edward, his hands at his side now.

Edward was silent for a moment, his eyes flickering back and forth between Jake and me.

He sighed. "Okay. Alice just saw something."

My eyes widened. "She did?"

"Alice? The psychic? Saw what?" Jacob asked.

I gulped quietly, my hands gripping onto my suddenly trembling arms. I already knew what it had to be.

"She saw the newborns. They're coming here very soon," Edward announced.

Author's Note: Well, at least it didn't take a whole month, right? I'm gonna try and at least get one more chapter out by the end of the month, but would like to go for two. Hopefully life doesn't get in the way... :/

Chapter 26 is coming soon. Please leave your feedback and review.