Chapter 28
Michael juggled a soccer ball and laughed when Alexandra swatted it away from him with her hand.
"That's a hand ball," he said with a grin.
She went to retrieve it and began to dribble it away from him.
"Alexandra," he said, "You know I'll be able to get it from you."
"Well, come on then David Beckham."
"You don't even know who Davis Beckham is."
"I googled him," she told him and continued to laugh as she dribbled in the opposite direction.
He took off toward her and she picked it up and hugged it with her back to him.
"You're such a cheater," he said with a chuckle, attempting to take it away from her.
Alexandra laughed as the two of them wrestled for the ball. In the mix of their playful battle, the ball popped and gradually flattened out. "Now look what you did," she said, tossing it toward him.
Michael attempted to kick the flat piece of rubber but missed, "Your fault."
"Mine?"
"Yes," he smiled.
Alexandra shook her head.
"I can't believe how strong I am sometimes.. or how strong we are... compared to when I was still human."
"What was it like being human? Most of my family can hardly remember, but you weren't changed all that long ago."
He sighed, "It was great. I was much more vulnerable physically, but i'd still rather be what I was. I loved my parents, my family. I was going to play soccer in college and then hopefully get a job somewhere in the United States," he shook his head, "I miss my family. I get tempted at times to go visit them."
Alexandra felt bad, "I'm sorry you can't go back."
"I've made peace with it. Emmett's told me of the struggles he had to endure in his earlier years in regards to not being able to visit his family members. I understand why."
They stood in silence for a few minutes.
"I'm glad you're happy," he said, "You know, with Peter. And I know Emmett and Edward don't like him very much, so please be careful."
"I don't know why no one likes him."
He shrugged, "Personally, I don't know him well enough."
Alexandra found herself enjoying Michael's company. He had a soft, genuine side that brought out a humble shyness that showed his true, honest soul. He wasn't arrogant and certainly didn't appear like he was trying too hard to be genuine and humble. It was all him. Michael, Alexandra thought, was not afraid to be himself. There were times, she even could admit to herself, that Peter seemed like he was trying overly hard to impress her. That itself, could also be appreciated. He cared what she thought and he didn't want to mess up. The two boys were opposites in their cores, but Alexandra did find a certain sense of security being around Michael that she didn't feel with Peter. On the contrary, it was Peter's spontaneous spirit that drew her in.
"I'm not trying to pry into your personal life," Michael added after Alexandra failed to say anything back to his previous comment.
"Huh? Oh.." she said, "It's fine. You're not... prying. I just, I don't know. Have you ever had a girlfriend?"
Michael shrugged shyly again, "Never anything serious. I went to see a movie with one or two, and I thought there were a few pretty ones," he laughed, "But no, not really."
Alexandra picked up the useless ball on the ground and tossed it from hand to hand.
"Just use your gut," he told her, "You're just... a good person, and you're beautiful so.. don't sell yourself short."
She almost felt as if her face went hot, "Beautiful..." she laughed the word out loud.
He nodded, "The most beautiful of the Cullen family if you ask me." He let himself laugh again and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Yeah right."
"You should start seeing that in yourself Alexandra. I'm serious. If Peter is what you want, then you should persue it. If you think something's not right, or your family's on to something, then follow what you're feeling. You deserve the best, but we only accept the love we feel we deserve."
She let the last line sink into her mind. It was something her mother had told her when the two of them had, had a long talk about things at Alexandra's request. Esme had explained her experiences in the past, from her human years about a relationship that went horribly wrong. She thought hard at that moment how she'd explained that she'd met her father prior to marrying Charles and had been in love with him all along, though never imagined they'd ever be together. It wasn't until she'd made the mistake of marrying a monster that Carlisle had come in to save her from the nightmare.
"What are you thinking?" Michael asked.
Alexandra was embaressed, realizing she'd spaced out for the second time in probably less than a minute, "Just how my mom said the same thing.. that we accept the love we think we deserve." She took a deep breath and looked at him, then suddenly felt a twinge of regret for even comparing Peter to Charles. He hadn't done anything disrespectful toward her and he'd just given her her first kiss. She loved spending time with him and had just gushed about him to Rosalie the night before, "Let's get back to the house. I don't want to fight off the boys for the shower like always."
He gave her a closed mouth smile and followed her back.
As they entered the house, Alexandra's phone went off and Alice immediately looked over at her.
"Peter?" she asked with a smile.
Alexandra nodded, "Yeah."
Michael made his way into the other room where he heard Jasper and Edward talking. Alexandra looked over as he walked by before continuing to text back Peter.
"Is he coming by again?" Alice asked.
"I think he's about half way already," she said, then added, "He sure likes Seth and Lucy. He's always asking if they're going to hang out with us."
Carlisle and Esme walked through the front door together.
"Dad, Mom... Peter's on his way over. Is that okay?"
"Sure," they said at the same time, in completely opposing tones.
"Oh yeah," Emmett said, entering the room, "We're going to have a little party."
"Party?" Esme asked.
"Yep. Party."
"Where?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"Out back," Edward said, joining them in the room.
Alexandra's eyes lit up at the word.
"Let's go get you dressed," Alice said, standing up from the kitchen table where she had been reading a magazine.
The two of them hurried upstairs and prepared for the party that Edward and Emmett had planned.
"You can help us," Alexandra heard Edward say as she left the first floor of the house.
Michael agreed, a little hesitantly.
"What are they planning?" Alexandra asked Alice.
She shrugged, "Who knows."
Alexandra let it go but had a feeling Alice knew more than she was saying.
