Chapter 28
I jumped as all of a sudden eighty people all sprung out from various hiding places with a burst of joy and happy smiles. Their arms were out and it looked like I'd walked right into a movie. I clutched my chest as my heart pounded inside it out of shock and pure disbelief, but when I'd regained my breath, I took in the scenery before me.
My backyard had been transformed into a beautiful garden fit for a palace. The evening atmosphere was lit up by a thousand fairy lights snaked around Grecian styled pillars that stood tall all around the perimeter of the garden, as though the whole place was an old Grecian temple. I gasped as I looked up to find a net of more lights covering the entire surface of our fairly large garden. The lights changed colour, making everything else seem to change colour also. My eyes widened as I took in the freshly mowed lawn and the newly planted colour co-ordinated roses that stood before impeccably cut hedges in gorgeous neat rows. At the far end of the garden there were two hedges trimmed and formed into the shape of the words, happy and birthday, each hedge had its own word and the letters had been cut one on top of the other. I gasped, not believing that they could possibly be actual hedges, but my surprise only grew further when I realised they were acting as an entrance to a dining area that had been created at the far end of the garden. It resembled to an outdoor restaurant, with tables and chairs set up in spacious rows and there was a small alter at the top, decorated with roses and vines wrapped around two towering pillars.
The entire garden looked dreamlike. I couldn't believe that in a matter of hours it could have been transformed into a fairy tale garden. I found myself shocked into a mental breakdown and I suddenly couldn't move as I was so surprised.
Needless to say, I dropped my cookie.
Everyone then rushed over to me and many warm arms were wrapped around me until I felt like a Christmas present. My ears were filled with wishes of a happy birthday, and laughter at my shocked expression. I found it hard to register the amount of people that were in my backyard, although I recognised most of them as those who'd called me earlier during the day.
Suddenly a tanned hand pushed away the bodies that surrounded me and I was swiftly engulfed into a merciless squeeze.
"Happy birthday Leah!" Rachel exclaimed once she'd released me. I stared at her with shock, realising that she was the mastermind behind everything for I had not seen her or heard from her during the entire day until then.
"Rachel…I- you…When… How?" I stammered, staring at her in utter disbelief.
Rachel laughed and brought my into a one-armed hug.
"Do you like it?" she asked. I looked at her incredulously, not believing she would ask such a pointless question.
"I guess I'll take that as a yes then." She said joyfully, and everybody cheered around us.
"Guys I don't know what to say."
"Well I do," Seth interrupted cheerfully,
"Em, turn up the music!"
Suddenly there was a loud boom of a beat and the sound waves vibrating throughout the entire garden were practically palpable. I couldn't help but wonder what was causing this loud sound as I knew we did not own such speakers. I turned towards the direction of the DJ, with the assumption that Seth had been addressing Embry.
But I was wrong.
There, stood at a podium set up with all kinds of music equipment that I'd never laid eyes on prior to that moment, was none other than Emmett Cullen. My eyes widened in shock as I watched Emmett bop his head to the music as he stood beside an expensive dock, kitted with speakers almost as large as him.
I turned over to Rachel who stood beside me.
"Rachel, what is Emmett Cullen doing here?" I asked
Rachel laughed nervously, "Yeah, about that… it's a long story…"
I raised a brow and folded my arms.
"I've got time."
"No you don't; I need to get you all dressed up. I mean, I forgive you for coming to your party in that outfit considering it was a surprise, but we need to get you all glammed-up now that you're here."
I shook my head at her attempt to distract me but allowed her to take my hand and lead me back into the house, which was harder to get to as we were now surrounded by dozens of dancing bodies. We walked back into the kitchen, only to find it fully kitted with refreshments and snacks on the counters, all in neat rows and colour co-ordinated. I looked around, hardly believing that the kitchen could have been so significantly transformed in a matter of minutes. I searched for my mother, but there didn't seem to be any sign of her; nonetheless, I knew at the back for my mind that no person could have done this at such a speed. It was physically impossible…
For a human…
Suddenly, my vision was entirely blacked out as I felt Rachel tie a blindfold across my head.
"Rachel, what the hell?"
"Shh, Leah, it's a surprise; a good surprise. Just take my hand and don't let go."
I did as she's requested, deciding to oblige with whatever game she was playing as I knew she only meant well. Slowly, we began to walk through the house, with Rachel leading and me following blindly. I reached out in search of any walls or obstructions that I could knock into. All of a sudden Rachel stopped, and her hold on my hand tightened, but before I could voice my question, she began to walk up the staircase. I frowned, not at all liking the idea of walking upstairs blindfolded. I could envisage an image of me falling down the stairs, which admittedly appeared to be of a greater height than in reality. The image lingered in my mind as I took slow steps up the stairs I normally ran down.
"Come on, almost there."
When we finally made it up, a century seemed to had passed, but a wave of anticipation flooded through me as I began to wonder what Rachel was leading me two. We made a turn in the corridor, and I realised we were heading into my bedroom. Rachel opened the door and my shoes hit the surface of my rug, however we walked on until she opened the door to my bathroom. Rachel then let go of my hand and I felt a swish of air as she walked passed me. I felt her fumble with the blindfold behind my head and my heartbeat began to speed up as I realised the surprise was finally going to be revealed. Blindfold was soon removed from my face and I slowly opened my eyes.
"Surprise!"
There before me, in my bathroom stood an ecstatic looking Alice, and a much less enthusiastic Blondie. I looked around and noticed that very much like the rest of my house, my bathroom had been completely altered and it now resembled to a hair and beauty salon.
Alice skipped over to me and extended her arms, giving me a big, cold hug. I smiled, and briefly hugged her back, although I was still pissed off about the kidnapping thing.
"Happy birthday Leah!" Alice exclaimed when she'd released me.
"Thank you Alice." I said, unexpectedly glad to see her.
"Happy birthday dog." Blondie said, refusing to move from her spot. I sent her a glare, but I was too happy for it to have held any real anger.
"Thank you Blondie." I said, sugary-sweetly. I accented it with a false smile, but she didn't return the favour.
'Geez, she's more of a bitch than I am, and that's saying something considering I'm an actual bitch.'
"Right, Leah there's no time to waste, your guests are waiting; we need to get you ready very quickly."
Alice took my hand into her cold one and led me over to a salon-styled chair before a large illuminated mirror. There were all kinds of cosmetic opponents that I'd never seen, or even heard of on a table which sat under the mirror.
Alice pressed a button on the arm rest of the chair, which caused it to lean back. My shoes were quickly removed and my face was splashed with water simultaneously. I heard the click of a pair of heals on the tiled floor and soon I felt cool hands stroke into my hair. I looked up and realised that it was Rosalie who'd been approaching and was now untying my hair. She ignored the confused look and my face, and remained focussed on my hair. She walked over to the table and for a moment I was sure she was going to get a pair of scissors, but she didn't. Instead she grabbed a brush, straightening iron and a curling iron.
My eyes widened further.
'Surely this is a bad idea.'
"Don't move your face!" Alice commanded as she attacked me with a foundation sponge.
Soon I was forced to close my eyes as Alice dabbed eye shadow onto my eyelids, and I could only feel the hustle around me as Rosalie pulled at my hair, probably on purpose, Alice dabbed at my face and Rachel painted my toenails. I felt like I was in a salon and was under the treatment of expert employees who did this on a daily basis.
Whilst the time passed, I listened to the booming music downstairs, and by the time that they'd finished, I'd counted that eight songs had passed.
"There, done!" Alice exclaimed.
I opened my eyes, and my gaze automatically met Rachel, who stood before me, her eyes watering and her hands fanning her face as she tried to avoid ruining her own make-up.
"Lee-Lee, you look gorgeous." She breathed.
"Oh, you look amazing. I'm a genius." Alice said to herself with a smile.
I blushed, "Um, thanks."
"Don't thank us yet, if you don't take our word for it, see for yourself."
Alice steered the chair closer to the mirror and I was met with my reflection. I sucked in a breath when I saw just what they'd done to me. My face had been lightly accented with natural tones and my eyelids were dusted with different shades of violet and my eyes were framed with a thin line of eyeliner. My lashes had never looked as long or thick as they did then, and for the first time ever, they framed my brown eyes perfectly. I slowly took in my black hair, which now cascaded down my back and passed my shoulders, in perfect loose curls, and framed my face with a newly formed side-parting. I looked down at my finger nails which had been precisely painted a deep violet, and my toes also matched.
"Not half bad." Rosalie muttered, patting my curled hair. I sighed, speechless.
"Wow, you guys… I can't thank you enough…"
"We're only half done. Rose, get the dress." Alice said, clapping her hands excitedly.
I furrowed my eyebrows and I saw Alice flinch at the motion.
"Dress?"
She sighed, "Yes the dress, did you think we were going to let you stay in that outfit?" She shook her head.
I stood up and they led me back into my bedroom hurriedly, where Rosalie stood with a dress on a hanger covered by a white sheet in her hand.
"Rose, do it."
Rosalie removed the white sheet and I gasped when I saw the beautiful dress that I seen at the boutique. But I soon realised this one was better. It was slightly bluer than the other dress as the silk beneath the chiffon was a royal blue rather than indigo. The silver belt of the dress was also different, and I soon realised that it had been plaited into the same pattern as the chain of my necklace. I watched as the fabric of the dress gently and scarcely shimmered and the crystals on the belt gleamed under the light.
"It's beautiful." I whispered, barely able to breath.
"The store ran out of the dresses, and so Alice and Rosalie made it for you." Rachel said. I looked at the two Cullens sisters, utterly shocked.
"Thank you so much." I said my voice low and soft.
Alice danced over to me and engulfed me into yet another hug.
"You're very welcome. I guess it was a way to apologize for kidnapping you."
I snorted, "Apology accepted."
"Right well, let's get you in this dress and…Oh wait!" Alice disappeared momentarily before returning with a white shoe box in her hands. She quickly opened the lid and revealed a pair of glittery black killer peep-toe platform shoes. I gulped.
'She's kidding right?'
"You're kidding right?"
Alice frowned, "Don't you like them?"
I shook my head, "No, I love them… in the box."
Alice rolled her eyes, "Come on Leah, put them on, you'll be fine."
I stared at her with scepticism.
"Are you sure?"
Alice smiled sweetly and shoved the box in my face.
"Positive."
Well there it is; I'm pretty tired now so there's not much to say other than… Thanks for reading and please Review!
