Ch 36 'Stereotyping'
The glare from the sun woke me up on a freezing Forks morning. I saw that the sun was just rising over the gray, gloomy sky brightening it by a tone. I looked to my side and saw it said six am in bold numbers. Talk about your early bird, I wasn't tired anymore so it's not like I could shut my eyes again. My head was lying on Edward's chest, his slow shallow breaths the only thing heard throughout the room. His chest rose and fell gently in the same pattern and I smiled.
I looked up to see him curious about how he looked when he slept. His face was peaceful and innocent, his features seemed more relaxed, his pink lips were parted just a little bit, his eyelashes were almost like feathers skimming his cheekbones and his hair flopped over his forehead. He was the vision of a sleeping-god so sound in his dream.
I shifted over to give him some space but his arm tightened around my waist like iron not letting me go and he frowned in his sleep. I moved closer to him to see if he would have any reaction. He let out a huge breath, his features relaxing once again. He may be asleep but his subconscious is awake and well aware of his surroundings.
Edward woke up late. I couldn't stay in bed for another six hours until he woke up. I'll just wait until Alice wakes up, she's another early bird. I lied resting in his strong embrace, his arms like a shelter for me where it was easy to imagine serenity and a life with Edward. A life with Edward? The sudden turn of my thoughts did stun me. I don't think I've ever thought of those words in a serious matter. A life with someone always freaked me out but as I thought of it now, it only made me eager to make it happen.
Certain things have changed over the last few months. While I was so focused in my thoughts I didn't feel Edward's breathing pattern change. He knew I was awake so he groaned a little and buried his nose into my hair smelling it. "Vanilla," he murmured softly. I looked up at him to see him tired eye so early in the morning. "Go back to sleep, you look tired." He shook his head, yawning.
"No, it's okay. I actually don't want to sleep until midday." He retracted his arms from my body and stretched them over his head. "This had to be the best sleep of my life." He kissed my forehead tenderly and I grinned.
"And why is that?"
"Because I slept in the same bed as you without you freaking out," he joked chuckling. "If I would've told you this a couple of months ago when you first arrived you probably would've cursed me out." He has no idea that would've made me want to punch him because he most likely would've been very cocky about it and more than sure that it would happen. "So you're going to tell me that out of all the women you've slept with I'm your best sleep?" I said sardonically. He pursed his lips to think about it.
"Yep," he answered truthfully. "Out of any women I've been with sleeping in bed, you're the best."
"And we didn't even have sex for you to say that." I laughed and he joined me. "All right, I'm going to freshen up, I'll be right back." I kissed his cheek not wanting to kiss him without brushing my teeth and flew to the bathroom.
As I walked out of the bathroom I bumped into Esme. "Oh I'm so sorry Esme." I apologized, suddenly feeling odd that I was in pajamas in her house and slept in her son's room. She didn't mind, she laughed and shook her head. "Don't worry about it, dear. Good morning." "Good morning." I shifted my feet. "Dear, don't be embarrassed we don't think any less of you." It's like she read my mind. "Really, don't even worry about it." She kissed my cheek and flitted into the bathroom while I made my way back to Edward's.
He was dressed in a pair of sweatpants with a gray shirt making his bed. When he saw me he smiled and extended his hand for me to take. "I saw your mom." I mumbled.
"And?"
"She said for me not to worry that I slept here today that she doesn't think any different." He probably rolled his eyes at my response but it would be the same feeling if he tried to sleep over at my house. I do emphasize the word try because he wouldn't get that far.
"Told you,"
"Don't think this is going to happen again." I looked up at him and his eyes widened. "I want to do things right." He sighed but nodded.
Around eight thirty, everyone was up moving around the house. I offered my services to help Esme cook with Alice while Carlisle and Edward talked about college classes. "How about you Bella, do you like Seattle University?" I put the toast into the toaster before answering him.
"Yes, it's great to kind of be on your own." My life revolved around taking care of my mother and myself for a long time. Working, studying and trying to make ends meet was a task, so being away from all that concentrating on just my own work and stress was a different atmosphere.
"Lots of essays?" Carlisle asked taking a sip of his coffee. "Oh yeah, my English literature teacher assigns one almost once a week. Most of them are about opinions on certain novels or discussions we have in class." He nodded impressed.
After setting all the food on the table, everyone licked their lips inhaling the scents.
The rest of the week flew on by; I spent the last remaining days with Charlie and even a couple with Jacob. I explained to him about my reconciliation with Edward, his expression was not completely happy but he was glad that I was back to normal. Now we were going back to school, vacation was over and I was glad.
We split up between Alice and Edward to hit the road. My mom called on the way asking me how I felt since the accident. It took me a good ten minutes to convince her that I was walking completely straight on my own and that Charlie didn't forget to take care of me. "Oh honey, I miss you." She grumbled sadly into the phone. I looked down at my lap feeling the sudden absence of my mother.
"I miss you too, mom, a lot." Edward threw me a sideward glance until I hung up.
"Why don't you go visit her?"
I turned up the heat temperature, rubbing my hands together to warm them up. "I have school."
"Carlisle and Esme gave you tickets remember? You don't want them to expire." That's right it was my birthday present from them and Alice, I have yet to use them. It'd be ungrateful of me if I let them go unused.
"Would you come with me?" He smiled.
"I'd have to find a ticket."
"If you find one for spring break then we'll go. Besides, she's dying to really get to know you." He barked a laugh but kept on driving.
Rosalie's POV
We arrived back to campus watching many other students arrive as well from their vacations. Edward was helping Bella with her bags back to dorm and I felt a wave of happiness for the two love birds that they finally got back together. They're meant to be, it was easy to tell from an outsiders perspective how happy they were. Who would've known they both were going to turn their worlds upside down to end up together?
I heard my name called and I saw Stefan run up to me. I groaned not understanding why he wasn't getting the hint that I wanted nothing serious with him. We went out twice but I never gave him a sign that I wanted to take it a step further, I don't know exactly where got that idea from.
"Hey Rose."
"Hey Stefan," I closed Alice's trunk, seeing Emmett's eyes suddenly on us.
"I missed you all vacation long." I just gave him a tight smile. I didn't miss you. "Do you want to go out sometime this week again? You could come back to my dorm…" He trailed off lifting his hand dragging it down my arm. I snatched my arm away feeling furious at his audacity. That's why he wouldn't go the fuck away. He wanted to have sex with me.
Emmett stood straight behind me but I didn't need his help. "How about this," His face glowed with the possibility that I might accept. "You can go fuck yourself and let me know how that is, now goodbye." I pivoted on my heel and stomped away with my luggage in hand. The anger must've been visible from a mile away because everyone moved out of my way whispering when I walked by.
A strong hand wrapped around my arm, my instincts kicked in telling me to get one good swing and run away. After Royce I've been more overly cautious, it's not by choice but more by body command. My fist balled together and swung to whoever was behind me, hoping it was Stefan so he can get a physical image of my rejection. "Whoa," Emmett's deep voice reached my ears. I looked to see I hit his huge bicep, it made my hand look like an eighth compared to how big it was. "I don't want to be a casualty."
"What do you want?" The tone of my voice was rude but the anger wouldn't go away. He didn't seem very fazed by it.
"Why'd you yell at that poor kid?"
"Because getting in my pants was his prerogative." I scoffed. He lifted my chin so I could look him in the eye. "I hate this." I pointed to myself and he looked confused. "I hate how no one takes me seriously because of my beauty." I'm not being conceited, I knew I was attractive, men noticed it since I started to develop at the age of twelve. I liked it up until I reached fifteen now I despise everyone's reaction towards me. "Don't get me wrong, I like being attractive but what do you think when everyone sees me? They think 'blonde, dumb, bimbo I want to get in my bed.' I'm most likely easy and get with a lot of men so I should be no hassle." I continued feeling angrier than before, but Emmett stayed by my side the whole time. His face soft, as he listened to me ramble on.
"I'm not!" I said forcefully. "I'm not stupid, I'm not a whore. I'm tired of people stereotyping me, never taking the blonde serious. I'm getting sick of it, everyone including Royce treated me that way but I won't allow it anymore." He hugged engulfing me in his huge arms that swallowed me whole.
"Rose, you're definitely none of those things except the blonde. You're intelligent, well-educated with a forceful character." My arms wrapped around his waist feeling serene with him. Oh Emmett… "You're beautiful, but that doesn't withdraw who you are. Don't think that, because—"
"Emmett!" A high screechy voice called from behind him. I looked over his shoulder to see a short girl with long red hair running towards us. That had to be the girl he was seeing, Ana. I broke our embrace thanking him and walking back to my dorm.
He can't even take me seriously. I ran into the bathroom to drench myself in water, forgetting about what happened. Being weak like that is not like me, it won't happen again. My words to him were that I wasn't a whore and didn't sleep around but in his mind he probably doubted that considering I had sex with him. I don't know exactly how it happened that night, we were just laughing in his house joking around like two friends. Emmett was the person who was there for me after my accident at all times, listening to my constant complains. We got too close and then we kissed again, just like the night he took me out. It got heavier with a lot of groping when we ended up in his bedroom. He did try to stop saying that I didn't have to do this but at that moment that's all I did want.
I sat under the shower remembering how Emmett's firm strong hands cared for me that night, made sure I was comfortable. He was tender and gentle making me feel absolutely overwhelmed. The knock on the door startled me and I dropped the soap. "Rose, hurry up we all want to shower!" Alice complained. "Be right out." I rubbed the water on my face shutting off the faucet and heading out to find Bella, Angela and Alice all over a pile of wedding dress magazines. No doubt for Alice and my cousin's wedding. That was the big celebration and day I couldn't wait for. "Looking for wedding dresses, Al?" She nodded flipping the page over concentrating intensely on it.
"Yeah, I want to get a date in December. We're planning on December tenth." I put on a pair of pajama pants and t-shirt sitting next to them.
Edward's POV
The days in college rarely dragged which I was grateful for because I usually got to see Bella after classes if I couldn't pick her up. We were all seated around a table for library researching different topics for our major. Bella and Rosalie were in the far left studying for one of their tests for journalism testing each other until they answered every question right. Emmett would peek over at Rose who never looked in his direction once and he seemed upset by her indifference with him.
I kicked him underneath the table making him turn to me. I jutted my head towards the girls and he shrugged. "I'll be right back, babe. I'm going to pick out a book." I whispered into Bella's ear. She nodded not removing her eyes from the huge textbook once so I kissed her temple and dragged Emmett with me. "What's going on?"
"I wish I knew!" He rubbed at his face in frustration.
"Did you do something to her?" He knew what 'her' I was referring to because he sighed.
"Not that I know of, we were talking then she suddenly left and now…this." Emmett has been this way for Rosalie for a long time I could only imagine his frustration. "I don't know why a girl I don't even go out with makes me feel like this."
"Rosalie is…" how do I describe her without sounding cold and rude, we were on good terms now after all.
"Yeah I know," he sighed.
"Well you've still been dating other girls so forget about her."
He cracked his neck and I knew there was something he didn't tell me. "I slept with her."
WHAT! I choked on my own saliva not quite comprehending if I heard him correctly. "What?"
"Yeah, it happened at my house once." Well this sure does change things it's not just an innocent attraction anymore. He had sex with her and was still interested—damn.
"So you guys are uhm," again, at loss for words. "I don't want to say fuck buddies but you know what I'm trying to explain." His jaw became taut, his eyes hard not liking my comment. "No." He said through gritted teeth. "It happened once and I told her I wouldn't do it again because I didn't want her to feel used." My eyebrows shot up at his honest answer, but then again Emmett wasn't all like how I was. We had many similarities in our attitudes but he never abused the fact that women fawned over him like I would—he really did have a soft spot. "What do I do?"
Pft, what can you do is the bigger question. "Bella and I can argue over a lot of things but we're always honest with each other on how we feel." Maybe if they confessed their feelings for one another there wouldn't be a wall of tension between them now. "I'll help you out." I walked back grabbing a random book from a shelf so it didn't seem suspicious. "Come on, love." She looked up at me with curious eyes. She must've seen a clue of why I wanted us to leave because she played along, even dragging Jazz and Alice with us.
"Okay." She took her book tucking it under her arm clasping our hands with her hand. "We'll see you back in the dorm." We turned and walked away before Rose had any time to refuse with a lame excuse, leaving her dumbfounded. We all laughed quietly when we left the library at her expression. "Now why exactly did we leave her there?"
"Hopefully Emmett can get what's wrong out of her." Understanding flooded everyone's face.
"I wish him luck." Jasper commented 'tsking' to himself.
"He's going to need it." I added while Bella nudged me in the stomach with her elbow. "Be nice." She warned and I chuckled kissing her temple.
Rosalie's POV
I watched as their retreating figures exited the library leaving me alone with Emmett—I felt insulted, they didn't even offer me to tag along! Just focus on remembering this last piece of information for tomorrow and you'll be out of here. Emmett sat across from me, but I tried to keep my eyes away from him until I heard his seat screech against the floor tiles.
"Sh!" The librarian hissed from the front desk, glaring at him from under her thin silver rimmed glasses. He made his way over to me immediately distracting me from my 'studying.'
"Can I ask what's wrong?" You can ask, doesn't mean you're going to get an answer.
"Nothing," I replied blandly tossing my hair over my shoulder.
His back leaned against the table and he sighed. "Don't take me for an imbecile."
I snapped shut my book slamming it roughly against the table. Time to leave. "Sh!" She glared at me but backed down when I threw my 'fuck off' stare. I made my way outside from the library forgetting about studying. I'd improvise tomorrow when I had the test in front of me.
"Rose!" he wasn't going to give up so I turned to him. "What's going on with you?"
"I'm not in the mood."
He scowled. "Is it because of what happened today with that kid who you talked with?" I wanted to laugh, boy was he blind.
"Partly,"
"What's the other part?" I picked up the sleeve of my shirt debating how far I could get away from him if I just booked it right now. I don't feel like being interrogated.
"Can I ask what your interest in all of this is?"
He placed his huge hand on my shoulder concern etched on his face. "Because Rose, I care for you." For some reason, the girl Ana kept appearing in my head. Her smile was huge when she saw Emmett and I didn't like it. I didn't want anyone to look at him like that, if anything I wanted to be the only one to see him like that.
"I didn't exaggerate when I said I wasn't taken serious." My voice was hard and realization seemed to dawn on his face that I was talking about him.
"You think I don't take you seriously?" He sounded insulted at my choice in words.
"It's okay to just have sex with me once, try to still be around me at all times but see other women." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, we've been seeing other people all of the time we've known each other since when is it this sudden upset feeling?" since I like you.
I shook my head, putting my palm on my forehead. "You're right."
"And do you see why I told you it'd be better if we didn't have sex again, because it'd make you feel used? Is that what you feel?"
"Yes—no, I don't know."
He groaned. "Rose, don't you see, I don't want you to be some girl I occasionally sleep with." I didn't necessarily know how to take that. "If anything, I'd want you to be my girl." His voice lowered to barely a whisper I managed to catch. My head snapped up to see his brown eyes boring into mine with sincerity.
"Wha…t…" I felt breathless at the moment. "Rosalie, I've liked you for I don't know how long. Since you've been with Royce, you're very special. You're more than just looks you're honest, generous and kind; you're also sarcastic and rude, but that's what makes you, you. I didn't want you to wake up one day and feel like this was the wrong decision you made and feel low about yourself. That's why I didn't allow it again. Trust me, it took a lot of holding back on my part, you're no sheep in bed." I cracked a small smile both from his little joke and his sudden admitting of his feelings for me, feelings I have grown to match his.
"That's why?" the smile didn't fade from my face but Emmett did stare at me like I was delusional as he nodded. I jumped on him, kissing his lips, his arms wrapping around me supporting me in the air securely. "I've grown to feel the same for you, the total opposite in character of what I've always had—wanted. You're this funny goofball with a warm presence. I don't know how you did it." His expression remained shocked until a slow smile spread across his face, his white teeth gleaming.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" The question that I hadn't heard in a while popped up. His expression was hopeful so I just kissed him again. "That should be a suffice answer." He picked me up higher laughing, kissing my collar bone. Finally.
We walked around the campus before heading back to dorm and I confessed to him about Ana. "I told Ana she wasn't anything serious before but she's persistent." "Well things are different now." He laughed and wrapped his arm around my waist feeling the chilly Seattle wind whip my hair violently against my face.
Bella's POV
After the boys dropped us off in the dorms Alice and I were still laughing. "Sounds like you guys ate a clown." Angela commented putting her phone on the nightstand.
"Let's hope the mood is like that for everyone." We sat down on our beds discussing Alice's wedding plans. She had the date, now she was planning the minor details until we went back to Forks.
"Uh, I don't think I'm going to Forks on spring break." I forgot to mention this. Her face looked lost.
"Why not?" She demanded.
I wrung my fingers continuously making sure I said the right words. "I'm going to Phoenix to visit my mom." She raised her eyebrows but nodded.
"That's very nice, you must miss her." Angela encouraged.
"Edward's going to go crazy that week without you." She mused mindlessly flipping through wedding invitations. Oh boy, here goes nothing.
"Well," I started. "Edward is coming with me if he can find a ticket in time." Her head snapped up before the last word left my lips. Her face had surprise and written all over it as she absorbed my news.
"Wow…" she breathed.
"My mom wants to really meet him and he said he had no problem with it."
She laughed softly. "I'm sure he doesn't, it's just strange to hear he's going away with a girl to meet her mother. This is a first." I beamed widely loving that I was his first in this matter. "I'll help him find a ticket." She winked and we all laughed when we Rosalie walk in.
"Isabella Marie Swan, Alice Mary Cullen," Alice and I both flinched while Angela's lips formed a small 'o'. Full names, we're in definite trouble.
"Yes?" We squeaked watching her eyebrow raise higher than before. Alice and I exchanged murderous looks towards each other, knowing exactly what we meant. The boys are dead.
"Do you know what happened?" Alice cleared her throat shaking her head.
"No, should we?"
"Well don't you know it all?" It got very silent in an instant, now we were just waiting for the big wrath explosion. I hate the calm before the storm because the anticipation for the worst kills me. "We got together." She whispered, her features softening and a small smile playing on her face.
Alice and I were gaping at her in astonishment that it really worked. Finally! Angela got up to congratulate her while we slowly shook off any surprise, beaming and congratulating her.
"Thank the world!" Alice prayed hugging her and we all laughed, the good being carried on throughout the night.
Emmett and Rosalie were absolutely perfect together. They walked hand in hand together showing the world their happiness for them to see. The boys would sulk and groan under their breaths when they passed by while the girls would shoot her death stares. They seemed completely content with each other. Unlike the first time I met her, Rosalie wasn't the miserable blonde anymore, but now she was always happy that she could literally sing. She had this gleam in her gray eyes as did Emmett. They seemed to understand each other fully, to the full extent of the word. The past weeks have been great being together in couples.
One thing about them though, they had a lot of sex it was uncontrollable, they were insatiable. Edward and Jasper usually scrunched their noses up when they were around kissing, turning their attention away from them. They would just laugh, not caring it was really funny.
"We should go out for Valentine's Day," Alice suggested and we all shrugged. It didn't sound like a bad plan. "We could go out for a nice dinner." I gave her the 'are you serious' look making her raise her hands in defense. "Hopefully no incidents happen this time around." She emphasized the word incidents towards Edward who was looking away, whistling innocently.
"That sounds like a nice idea, darlin'" Jasper agreed.
"Yeah, why not?" Well the last few times we went out it's always ended up taking an unexpected turn.
"Fine, fine," I replied giving up knowing perfectly well there was no way to talk Alice out of this idea. She grinned, content. "Good, we will be getting all dolled up." I groaned but she threw me a glare. I have no will when it comes to outings and getting dressed up.
Sorry I haven't updated in weeks guys my internet has been down for the longest! We just got it back so I hope you forgive me! :)