A/N: This is New Moon through mid-Eclipse from Edward's perspective. Thanks for reading!

These characters are not mine and all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Birthday (New Moon)

"Cheer up," Alice pleaded. "It's Bella's birthday."

"For you it is," I muttered, leaning against my Volvo in the Forks High parking lot.

Alice was blatantly ignoring Bella's desire for everyone to pretend it wasn't her birthday. She could see that she would get away with it. And that I would not.

"She'll come around. Especially when she opens her present." Alice clutched the silver-wrapped square CD case excitedly in her hands. Bella had forbidden me from buying her presents. Alice had helped me find a loophole.

"You can already see she won't open it until later. Why did you even bother bringing it?"

Alice groaned. "Because she's going to love it and if I could just see some way to convince her to open it now the two of you wouldn't have to be so miserable all day."

I watched Bella climb out of her truck, the deep frown lines already present between her eyebrows as she eyed Alice prancing toward her. The cool breeze carried her scent. I burned, but the venom did not flow.

"Happy Birthday, Bella!" Alice sang.

"Shh!" Bella hissed, glancing nervously around her for eavesdroppers.

Alice ignored her. "Do you want to open your present now or later?"

"No presents," Bella mumbled, agitated.

"Okay... later, then." Alice swallowed her irritation. "Did you like the scrapbook your mom sent you? And the camera from Charlie?

Bella sighed. "Yeah, they're great," she muttered.

"I think it's a nice idea. You're only a senior once. Might as well document the experience."

Alice's pointedly bright tone was not doing her any favors. Or me for that matter. I could see Bella slipping into a darker and darker mood as they walked over to me.

"How many times have you been a senior?" Bella challenged.

"That's different," Alice said.

I held out my hand and Bella took it eagerly. For a moment she stared at our intertwined fingers and her glum mood seemed to melt away.

I gave her fingers a gentle squeeze and she looked up at me with her deep, chocolate brown eyes. Her heartbeat stuttered and, just like that, I felt like I was glowing. I wanted to kiss her, feel her pink lips against mine... but Alice was standing intrusively close.

I carefully traced her lips with my fingertip. "So, as discussed, I am not allowed to wish you a happy birthday, is that correct?"

"Yes. That is correct," she said, her tone stiff and formal. It would have been humorous if I wasn't so disappointed with her answer.

"Just checking." I ran my fingers through my hair, working to remain calm. "You might have changed your mind. Most people seem to enjoy things like birthdays and gifts."

Alice laughed, trying to defuse the tension while simultaneously interjecting herself back into the conversation. "Of course you'll enjoy it. Everyone is supposed to be nice to you today and give you your way, Bella. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Getting older," Bella answered.

This. This was the worst that could happen. Bella being difficult and taking away one of the few birthdays I would likely get to spend with her. Bella reminding me that I was doing her no favors by taking up space in her life.

Alice shot me an uneasy glance. She knew how fragile our path was. The one where I stayed by Bella's side.

"Eighteen isn't very old," Alice said quickly. "Don't women usually wait till they're twenty-nine to get upset over birthdays?"

"It's older than Edward," Bella mumbled.

I sighed.

"Technically," Alice said, keeping her tone light. "Just by one little year, though."

Bella crossed her arms and seemed lost in thought and she glared at the Volvo's front tire.

"What time will you be at the house?" Alice asked, trying to pull Bella out of her abstraction.

"I didn't know I had plans to be there," Bella said, the agitation plain in her voice.

"Oh, be fair, Bella!" Alice complained. "You aren't going to ruin all our fun like that are you?"

Alice wasn't wrong. Everyone, aside from Rosalie, was excited. Having a breathing, blushing, changing human around and in the know was still interesting even after all these months. The company was a nice change of pace and of course they loved her. Protecting her, seeing me happy in only the way she could make me - these factors had inspired deep emotional attachments to her in Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett. Of course Alice had forged her own bond. Jasper, too, cared for Bella, but he was cautious. He knew the depth of my feelings and so he understood, better than anyone, how unwise our current trajectory was. He thought I was a fool not to change her.

"I thought my birthday was about what I want," Bella challenged.

I wasn't about to let her sweep her eighteenth birthday under the rug. "I'll get her from Charlie's right after school," I promised Alice.

"I have to work."

"You don't, actually," Alice said smugly. "I already spoke to Mrs. Newton about it. She's trading your shifts. She said to tell you 'Happy Birthday.'"

Bella's eyes were round with panic. "I - I still can't come over. I, well, I haven't watched Romeo and Juliet yet for English."

Alice snorted. "You have Romeo and Juliet memorized."

"But Mr. Berty said we needed to see it performed to fully appreciate it - that's how Shakespeare intended it to be presented."

Was she really arguing that we should cancel her eighteenth birthday party to accommodate the arrogance of William Shakespeare? I rolled my eyes.

"You've already seen the movie," Alice pointed out, her smile growing icy.

Bella raised her chin a little as if she had a trump card up her sleeve. "But not the nineteen-sixties version. Mr. Berty said it was the best."

Oh, she wants to be cute, does she? Well, I can be cute, too. Alice began formulating kidnapping scenarios in her head. "This can be easy, or this can be hard, Bella, but one way or the other - "

"Relax, Alice," I interrupted. "If Bella wants to watch a movie then she can. It's her birthday." It wasn't an unpleasant prospect. Alone time with Bella. No Charlie... No Alice and her willful disregard for personal space...

My motivations were pure, I lied to myself. I only wanted to soften Bella up for the party.

Alice kept up her glare even as she internally appreciated my plan. Yes! Oh... but don't mention Rosalie until the last minute...

"So there," Bella gloated.

"I'll bring her over around seven," I continued. "That will give you more time to set up."

Bella's mouth fell open.

Alice giggled. "Sounds good. See you tonight, Bella! It'll be fun, you'll see." Based on Alice's visions, Bella would see that. Eventually. Alice flashed Bella a wide smile before dancing off to class.

"Edward, please - " Bella turned to me with irresistible pouting lips. I pressed my finger to them, stopping her. It was near impossible to hold my ground when she pleaded with me. Fortunately, she didn't seem to recognize this power of hers.

"Let's discuss it later. We're going to be late for class."

While I was sad to leave behind summer's freedom, the start of the school year was not the same dreary event that it normally was. Shelly Cope, almost too eager to do me favors, helped arrange my schedule so I had five of six classes with Bella. Of course, that meant that throughout the school day Bella was mostly socializing with me while neglecting her human friends. When I complained to Alice about my self-created problem she took matters into her own hands, whining to Bella that our table was too lonely without our recently graduated siblings. After that we sat at the far end of Mike Newton's table where Bella's friends and pseudo-friends sat.

Neither Alice nor I brought up Bella's birthday again, but that didn't stop Bella's scheming. Alice watched as she spun plan after plan to escape the evening's party. Some of her plans were humorous, others clever. But ultimately they were all easily foiled without too big a scene so long as I kept Bella in my sight. Alice drove the Volvo home so I could do just that.

Bella folded her arms across her chest when I held open the truck's passenger door for her. "It's my birthday, don't I get to drive?"

I was torn between amusement and annoyance as I answered. "I'm pretending it's not your birthday, just as you wished."

Her face grew mischievous. "If it's not my birthday, then I don't have to go to your house tonight..."

"All right." I shut the passenger door and strode around to the other side, opening the driver door. "Happy birthday."

"Shh." She climbed in grumpily, disappointed her trick didn't work.

I decided to play with her a little. I fiddled with the truck radio and shook my head in disapproval. "Your radio has horrible reception."

I'd pushed the right button.

"You want a nice stereo?" she snapped. "Drive your own car."

It wasn't often that she was short with me. I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling. She was adorable - as intimidating as a feisty kitten. I knew she'd throw me the same look tonight when she opened her present from my siblings and realized I'd been setting her up.

Her agitation with me faded quickly, but her gloomy mood continued.

It made me sad. I'd looked forward to her birthday all summer. I'd had a plan. I was going to fill her room with dahlias in every color. Get Alice to convince Charlie to let Bella ditch so we could take an adventure in her new car. The tidepools at Ruby Beach. Lunch and a tour of all the best bookstores in Seattle. And yes, an evening gettogether at my house because Alice would insist upon it.

But instead, it was just another day in Forks inching along in the hideous rusted truck.

I wasn't giving up, though. There was one guaranteed way to cheer her up.

After she'd parked in her spot along the curb in front of Charlie's house, I reached over to take her face in my hands. My touch was gentle, only a whisper against her temples, her cheekbones, her jawline.

"You should be in a good mood, today of all days," I whispered gently, staring deep into her eyes.

She made a poor attempt to appear indifferent. "And if I don't want to be in a good mood?" she challenged, her breathing uneven.

I narrowed my eyes. "Too bad."

Her heart flew as I leaned my face down to hers. Her lips were soft and full, molding against mine. They were warm like the sun and I could feel the heat spreading from our much too limited point of contact - along my cheeks and down my neck, into my shoulders and down my spine.

It wasn't thirty seconds before she threw her arms around my neck. Her lips parted against mine and her sweet breath threatened my control. First is was the human impulses. The ones that told me to hold her tighter. To part my lips in response. But it took just imagining that, my mouth open against her soft skin, for the venom to trickle and my muscles to tense.

I swallowed the venom that had pooled and pushed the offending image from my mind. "Be good, please," I breathed against her cheek. I touched my lips to hers once more and folded her arms across her stomach as I pulled away.

She placed a hand over her pounding heart. "Do you think I'll ever get better at this? That my heart might someday stop trying to jump out of my chest whenever you touch me?"

"I really hope not." I sounded a bit full of myself, but I so desperately wished I could place her hand on my chest. That she could feel my heart thud under her hand. But there was only the silent, phantom current.

She rolled her eyes at my cockiness. "Let's go watch the Capulets and Montagues hack each other up, all right?"

"Your wish, my command."

I sprawled across the couch while she knelt beside the VCR. She'd taken off her sweatshirt revealing a light blue t-shirt that hugged her much more closely...

I looked out the window, focusing on the far less interesting pipit building a nest in Charlie's tree.

The human impulses had become more present, more demanding over the past few months. Fortunately - and unfortunately, if I was being honest - it had been the rainiest summer on record in Forks. This meant there was no need for Bella to pull out any of her old Phoenix wardrobe. Less fortunate was Alice accompanying Bella on her shopping trips, guiding her away from the safer, bulkier items.

Bella perched on the edge of the sofa in front of me and I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her down so she was lying with her back to my chest. I took the afghan from the back of the couch and tucked it around her so she wouldn't be cold.

"You know, I've never had much patience with Romeo," I commented as the movie started.

"What's wrong with Romeo?" I couldn't see her face, but her tone was the same as if I'd insulted her truck. I imagined it was more of the same. Always protective of what was antiquated.

"Well, first of all, he's in love with this Rosaline - don't you think it makes him seem a little fickle? And then, a few minutes after their wedding, he kills Juliet's cousin. That's not very brilliant. Mistake after mistake. Could he have destroyed his own happiness any more thoroughly?"

She sighed. "Do you want me to watch this alone?"

"No, I'll mostly be watching you, anyway." I drew patterns along the skin of her arm, raising goose bumps. I wondered if the response was only to the cold, or if there could be pleasure in it, too. "Will you cry?"

"Probably. If I'm paying attention."

"I won't distract you then," I murmured, kissing the the back of her head.

But she was distracted. Her heart reacting to my touch. Her fingers playing with my own.

I didn't want to miss her reactions. Her very human reactions that I loved. How she would surely blush when she realized the film featured nudity. How she would cry when Juliet discovered her dead fool of a husband.

I pushed back her hair, brushing my lips across the exposed skin behind her ear as I spoke Romeo's lines. "'Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.'" I felt the give of her translucent skin under my gentle kiss. "'Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.'"

She took a shaky breath.

Eventually she did blush. And she did cry.

"I'll admit, I do sort of envy him here," I said, drying her tears with a lock of her hair.

"She's very pretty," Bella said, resigned.

I rolled my eyes and made a disgusted sound in the back of my throat. Did she think me that shallow? Besides, even in her prime, Olivia Hussey was tediously plain beside Bella. "I don't envy him the girl - just the ease of suicide," I said lightly. "You humans have it so easy! All you have to do is throw down one tiny vial of plant extracts..."

"What?" Bella asked incredulously.

I was more than fifteen hundred miles away, racing down a blinding, sunbaked freeway in Phoenix. "It's something I had to think about once," I mused, "and I knew from Carlisle's experience that it wouldn't be simple. I'm not even sure how many ways Carlisle tried to kill himself in the beginning... after he realized what he'd become..." My tone turned light when I realized she wasn't breathing. "And he's clearly still in excellent health."

She twisted in my arms so she was facing me. "What are you talking about?" She demanded. "What do you mean, this is something you had to think about once?"

"Last spring, when you were..." the room was dark - her blood was everywhere, "nearly killed..." She was screaming. While I knelt in her blood. While I watched him torture her on the tiny camera screen.

I took a deep breath. Why had I taken the conversation in this direction?

"Of course," I said, trying to make my tone teasing now, "I was trying to focus on finding you alive, but part of my mind was making contingency plans. Like I said, it's not as easy for me as it is for a human."

Her forehead wrinkled as she stroked the crescent-shaped scar on her hand. And then she shook her head as if chasing off unpleasant thoughts. "Contingency plans?" she asked disapprovingly.

"Well, I wasn't going to live without you." I rolled my eyes. Surely she knew me better than that. "But I wasn't sure how to do it - I knew Emmett and Jasper would never help... so I was thinking maybe I would go to Italy and do something to provoke the Volturi." Carlisle's memories of the ruthless trio - Aro, Caius, and Marcus - gave me peace of mind. They were more predictable than my second option, the aggressive covens in the South.

"What is a Volturi?" She asked sharply.

"The Volturi are a family," I explained, still seeing Carlisle's old Italian friends in my head. Remembering the punishments - executions - that Carlisle had bore witness to. "A very old, very powerful family of our kind. They are the closest thing our world has to a royal family, I suppose. Carlisle lived with them briefly in his early years, in Italy, before he settled in America - do you remember the story?"

"Of course I remember." That didn't surprise me. I remembered the very studious way she had listened to the stories.

"Anyway, you don't irritate the Volturi," I said casually. "Not unless you want to die - or whatever it is we do." I wondered if Alice could see that. The very certain way my life would end. In sixty years, or even seventy or eighty if Bella's luck turned around. The day my life collided with Bella's I was given an expiration date, I just hadn't known it yet.

Her warm hands, holding my face, pulled me out of my head. She looked horrified. "You must never, never, never think of anything like that again! No matter what might ever happen to me, you are not allowed to hurt yourself!"

"I'll never put you in danger again," I responded calmly, "so it's a moot point."

"Put me in danger! I thought we'd established that all the bad luck is my fault." Her face was flushed red. Her pitch inching higher and higher. "How dare you even think like that?"

"What would you do if the situation were reversed?" I asked.

"That's not the same thing."

I chuckled at her weak argument.

That seemed to make her angrier. "What if something did happen to you? Would you want me to go off myself?"

I hadn't meant that in the slightest. I'd meant if she was dealt my hand. If she was in my shoes.

I was immortal and my gifts meant I would always have the advantage. I would know when and how to flea and when and how to fight. I would outlive her, but only by hours. Still, the improbable idea was painful now that she'd forced it into my head. "I guess I see your point... a little. But what would I do without you?"

"Whatever you were doing before I came along and complicated your existence."

I sighed. That was impossible. I was condemned. But I wouldn't upset her with anymore of that talk.

"You make that sound so easy."

"It should be. I'm not really that interesting."

I was about to argue that she was more than interesting. Fascinating was a better descriptor. Hadn't she seen how mesmerized I was by her? Obsessed with every movement and decision and silent thought?

But then I heard Charlie's opaque thoughts and knew I wouldn't have time for my monologue. "Moot point," I reminded her. I pulled us up into a sitting position and slid her away from me so that we weren't touching.

"Charlie?"

I smiled, confirming her guess.

Charlie walked in carrying a pizza. "Hey, kids." He smiled at Bella. "I thought you'd like a break from cooking and washing dishes for your birthday. Hungry?"

"Sure. Thanks, Dad."

Though Charlie seemed much more responsible than Bella's mother Renée, I sometimes got the feeling that Bella had gone from parenting her mother to parenting her father. Could he not invest the time to learn how to cook a meal or two? Or perhaps he could wash the dishes or clean the bathroom now and then?

But I would give him credit. Tonight he had thought of her.

Charlie wasn't suspicious over my perpetual lack of appetite. It had taken me a couple weeks to decode his semi-guarded thoughts, but eventually I realized he assumed my family was vegan. As an avid meat eater, he attributed our pallor to that as well.

When Alice had all but moved in during the spring to help care for Bella, Charlie had made a real effort to tempt her into eating animal proteins. He worried she was malnourished. Hating to disappoint him, from time to time, she accepted, using her vision to hide the food away at just the right moments.

He didn't demonstrate the same concern for me. In fact, after we returned from Phoenix, I could see the good first impression I'd made on him had been completely overridden. Besides that, he seemed to simply find my constant presence annoying.

However, in the last month or so, I'd started to sense a change in him. I was always polite, I always had her home early, I made her incredibly happy, and, since Phoenix, she'd only ever gotten bruised or scratched up when she wasn't with me. It also didn't hurt that I was extremely knowledgeable about all of his favorite sports teams.

We were turning a corner.

"Do you mind if I borrow Bella for the evening?" I asked Charlie when they'd finished eating. I already knew his answer. Alice had seen I would be enough - she wouldn't need to charm him into it.

Bella's expression was hopeful - hopeful he would object, I was sure - but Charlie misinterpreted it.

"That's fine - the Mariners are playing the Sox tonight. So I won't be any kind of company..." I sensed guilt in his thoughts as he thought of a cake and party decorations. Perhaps he was thinking he ought to have done more to mark the occasion. "Here." He tossed her the camera he'd gifted her and it glanced off of her finger. I caught it before it could crash into the linoleum.

"Nice save," Charlie said appreciatively.

It was a film point-and-shoot - pretty outdated technology for the year 2005. But, then again, her Windows 98 operating system wouldn't have been able to keep up with a digital camera. I could feel myself starting to wallow again over her strict no-spending-money-on-her rule.

"If they're doing something fun at the Cullens' tonight, Bella, then you should take some pictures. You know how your mother gets - she'll be wanting to see the pictures faster than you can take them."

"Good idea, Charlie," I said.

Charlie was often annoyed at my sucking up, but I persisted because, beneath that, he was also touched by the fact that his approval seemed to matter to me. My best guess was that he'd decided, based on the version of events he'd been fed, what happened over spring break was not really my fault.

Of course his gut reaction that it was my fault was correct, but he didn't need to know that.

A sly look crossed Bella's face, and it didn't matter that I couldn't read her thoughts, I accurately predicted the trajectory of her movements as she tried to snap a picture of me unprepared. I imagined her face later when she'd see in the developed photograph my expression, smug and amused.

"It works!" she announced, as the flash lit up the room.

"That's good. Hey, say hi to Alice for me. She hasn't been over in a while."

Alice would be happy to hear it. She was as attached to Charlie as he was to her. My family's social circle was small. Outside of each other, we only socialized with Tanya's family and old friends of Carlisle or Jasper. We usually went months, if not years in between those visits. That was much easier for someone like myself than an extrovert like Alice, so forging a bond with Charlie had been irresistible.

"It's been three days, Dad," Bella reminded him. "I'll tell her."

"Okay," Charlie said, all of his small talk used up. "You kids have fun tonight."

I smiled, pleased she was out of options for delaying.

Despite the fact that we were crawling along the highway in her ancient truck, I felt giddy. Alice had seen that Bella was indeed capable of having a good time if we could just get her to the house. And, though I wasn't allowed to spoil her personally, I would still enjoy her opening the others' gifts. I'd helped them brainstorm, after all.

"Take it easy," Bella complained as I pushed her groaning truck over fifty.

"You know what you would love?" I teased. "A nice little Audi coupe. Very quiet, lots of power..."

"There's nothing wrong with my truck," she said sternly. "And speaking of nonessentials, if you know what's good for you, you didn't spend any money on birthday presents."

"Not a dime," I promised. And that was true. Though Alice may have spent a couple thousand on recording equipment...

"Good."

I sighed. "Bella, the last real birthday any of us had was Emmett in 1935. Cut us a little slack, and don't be too difficult tonight. They're all very excited."

I'd given my family a heads up so they had an idea of what to expect, but that hadn't tempered their enthusiasm. Mostly I brought up this point for Bella's sake. If she wouldn't enjoy her birthday on her own behalf, as a selfless person, I knew she would try to enjoy it to make others happy.

"Fine, I'll behave," she grumbled.

"I should probably warn you..." I was glad Alice had given me an excuse to put off this part.

"Please do," Bella said, suspicious.

"When I say they're all excited... I do mean all of them."

"Everyone?" She choked. "I thought Emmett and Rosalie were in Africa."

"Emmett wanted to be here," I explained.

"But... Rosalie?"

"I know, Bella. Don't worry, she'll be on her best behavior."

I was certain I was more agitated and anxious about Rosalie's presence than Bella was, but it wouldn't help Bella's outlook on the evening to tout that.

The silence grew long as Bella stewed.

"So," I said, eager to change the subject, "if you won't let me get you the Audi, isn't there anything that you'd like for your birthday?" At this point I would have been thrilled if she asked me to buy her a pack of gum.

"You know what I want," she whispered.

I felt a pain twist in my stomach. "Not tonight, Bella. Please."

She'd been broaching the subject more and more lately. I could only hope that when her birthday was behind us she would back off a little... only to start up again as her nineteenth approached.

"Well, maybe Alice will give me what I want," she said stubbornly.

An instinctual, menacing growl rumbled deep in my chest at the idea. "This isn't going to be your last birthday, Bella."

Alice would have seen this of course and I didn't want the idea in her head anymore than I wanted it in Bella's. Quite fortunately, I was certain Alice knew she did not have the control to do it.

"That's not fair!" Bella shouted.

My teeth snapped together to keep myself from arguing. We were almost to the house.

Alice had strung Japanese lanterns from the porch eaves. They cast a soft glow on the pink roses that lined the stairs up to the door.

I took a few deep breaths focusing on Carlisle's calm thoughts, Emmett and Alice's ecstatic ones. The soothing waves Jasper cast towards us.

"This is a party," I reminded her. "Try to be a good sport."

"Sure."

There were quiet chuckles in the house over our exchange.

I darted to her door and held out my hand.

She frowned slightly. "I have a question."

I waited warily.

"If I develop this film," she said, fidgeting with her camera, "will you show up in the picture?"

And then I was laughing and so was everyone inside, not stopping until I held open the front door for her.

"Happy Birthday, Bella!"

Bella looked down, blushing red as the chorus of voices welcomed her.

There were hundreds of pink roses in clear crystal bowls, pink candles, a massive pink birthday cake. Beside the cake were a stack of glass plates and a pile of silverware, despite the fact that one of each was all that was necessary. The pink aesthetic was an interesting choice considering Alice would know as well as I that Bella actively avoided the color.

Hearing Bella's tension in Jasper's thoughts, I wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head.

Esme stepped forward and, with great caution, hugged Bella and kissed her forehead.

With much more ease Carlisle put his arm around Bella's shoulders. "Sorry about this, Bella," he stage-whispered. "We couldn't reign Alice in."

Emmett beamed. He'd genuinely missed her. She was family to him. "You haven't changed at all," he said with mock disappointment. "I expected a perceptible difference, but here you are, red-faced just like always."

"Thanks a lot Emmett." Bella's blush deepened. No one looked away from the tempting sight anymore. They had grown accustomed to it - it was a fairly frequent occurrence.

He laughed. "I have to step out for a second" - he winked at Alice in an obvious way - "Don't do anything funny while I'm gone."

"I'll try," Bella said dryly.

Rosalie watched him go, finding it harder to keep the frown off of her face without his hand around hers.

Our interaction this morning had been awkward but cordial. We'd greeted each other by name, exchanged some how are you's, and shared a very quick, forced hug. The whole thing had lasted twenty seconds at most.

We nodded a greeting to each other now.

Alice, absolutely glowing as if this were her birthday party, skipped forward to stand so close to Bella they were almost touching. Jasper did the opposite, remaining on the far end of the room. It had become habit to him, knowing I was more relaxed this way. Besides, he could drink up Alice's jubilance nearly as well from fifteen feet away.

"Time to open presents," Alice squealed. She pulled Bella by the elbow to the shiny silver wrapped packages beside the cake.

Bella's polite smile fell away. "Alice, I know I told you I didn't want anything - "

"But I didn't listen," Alice interrupted, not apologetic in the slightest. "Open it."

Alice took the camera from Bella's hands and handed her a big, square silver wrapped box from Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett. I could see Bella's confusion as she weighed the box in her hands. She tore off the paper and tried to make sense of the text printed onto the box. Strings of numbers and Japanese characters. Her frown deepened as she opened the box to find nothing in it.

"Um... thanks."

Emmett cackled outside and everyone, even Rosalie, smiled.

Jasper laughed. "It's a stereo for your truck. Emmett's installing it right now so that you can't return it." And then he could feel Bella's amusement, too.

"Thanks, Jasper, Rosalie." She smiled to herself - was it the gift that made her so happy? It seemed like something else - before calling more loudly, "Thanks, Emmett."

Emmett laughed louder now and she couldn't help but join in, too.

I was surprised Alice wasn't bouncing up and down in her excitement. "Open mine and Edward's next," she demanded, her voice jumping several octaves. Jasper, riding her high, gravitated closer.

Bella turned, fixing me with a glare. "You promised."

Emmett bounded through the door, eager to see the reaction Alice had been hyping, and stopped to watch just over Jasper's shoulder. "Just in time!" he crowed.

"I didn't spend a dime," I reassured her, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. Her heart accelerated for a moment at the contact.

Don't distract her, Alice scolded me while Emmett smirked.

Bella inhaled deeply and looked back to Alice. "Give it to me," she sighed.

Emmett chuckled in anticipation.

I felt an unexpected fluttering of nerves. Alice had promised again and again that Bella would love it, but she'd been trying to keep the moment itself out of her head, so as not to ruin my reaction to her reaction... things became convoluted quickly when Alice was involved.

As Alice handed Bella the flat, square package, she slipped for just a moment and I could see my face a minute or so from now, absurdly joyful.

Bella slipped her finger beneath the edge of the paper and jerked it under the tape.

My throat was on fire, the venom sharp on my tongue, my muscles rigid.

"Shoot," Bella muttered.

Alice hardly noticed the burn, locked, in horror, as she was on the future. Bella examining the drop of blood blossoming from the miniscule paper cut. Jasper's teeth passing through the translucent skin of her neck as if it were butter. Her spine snapping as he crushed her closer. The vision shifted - I was in between, but it wasn't enough. Jasper's teeth slicing through the skin of her extended forearm. Bella's red eyes staring -

"No!" I roared. Not a second had passed - the droplet of blood was only now forming - when I launched myself towards Bella. There wasn't enough time to be as careful as I needed to be. I flattened my hands so they would not act as deadly claws and shoved against her shoulder and hip. I didn't have time to follow her trajectory. Jasper, face wild in his frenzy, was already shooting towards her. I threw myself into his path bracing myself just in time for the impact.

He slammed into me, the sound like two boulders colliding, as grisly snarls erupted from his chest. His thoughts were wordless, animal. It was fortunate he was detached from intelligent thought in that moment. I didn't know how I would have fared against him otherwise. But he didn't want to fight me. He only wanted Bella's blood.

Bella's blood. As I held Jasper off, his teeth snapping just inches from my face, I was all too aware that her scent was much too strong. The single drop of blood was now many. I couldn't smell it - I'd stopped breathing the moment I'd tasted the venom - but every single one of the others could. I could hear their assessment of it. Tangy and delectably sweet. I could hear in all except Carlisle's thoughts the distress it caused. The physiological reactions and instinctual cravings... I could almost feel the give of her skin under my own teeth. I could remember the warm, wet bliss of it on my tongue...

But I was strong enough.

Emmett came up behind Jasper and locked his arms around him. Jasper thrashed mindlessly against his restraints never taking his eyes off Bella who, I processed now, was pulling herself up into a sitting position. Shards of bloodstained crystal dripped from her arm and splashed lightly into a small puddle of crimson.

I hated myself for finding the deep red mess every bit as appetizing as the others. Even as I ached at the sight of her scared and in pain. Even as the memory of a very different room spun in my head.

We'd reached our boiling point.

A/N: Thanks so much for your chapter 1 reviews :)