Chapter 3: Party

Edward POV:

We went inside the house. Bella wanted to watch Romeo and Juliet together, and I wanted to watch Bella. Apparently, she needed to write a movie report on it, so I was eager to help her ´study.´ I lay back on the couch, while Bella put the movie in the DVD player. In the car, Bella jokingly said that her heart was still beating very fast every time I was near and it slightly annoyed her. What she didn't know was that I was equally as mesmerized with her as she was with me. The way she stood there, mindlessly preparing our little movie date, fascinated me greatly. Her dark blue dress was hugging every curve on her body and I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have met such a beautiful soul. That's what she is; although her body could do things to my mind that weren't as gentleman-ny as I would like them to be, her mind was something else. Never in my life have I met such a brave and smart woman. Obviously, she was almost blind to see her own beauty and strength, so I reminded her every single day of the extraordinary woman she has become.

She walked over to me and hugged herself in a blanket before snuggling into my embrace. This way, she stayed warm enough while I could still feel every inch of her. I never particularly liked the movie Romeo and Juliet, but I did like how we were watching it right now.

´You know, I've never really liked Romeo,´ I observed when the movie began. I could feel she was getting tense. This could be fun.

´There is nothing wrong with Romeo,´ Bella said. ´However, there is something wrong with you for not liking him!´

I chuckled to myself. I had obviously hit a weak spot right there. I'm guessing he is her favourite character.

´First of all, he's in love with Rosaline. Then, he kills Juliet's cousin. Don´t you think that's a little weird?´

Bella wasn't having any of that. I had put myself in the wrong. First I was bashing her car and now this? I could see she wanted to give me a piece of her mind, but as always; I was just one step ahead of her. I needed to quickly put her in a good mood since she was attending her own birthday party later today.

´Please Bella, watch the movie. I'll promise you I won't be distracting you anymore. I´ll be watching you.´ I said as I placed some small kisses on the temple of her head. ´And I´ll be your Romeo throughout the movie,´ I promised in her ear.

I whispered every line Romeo spoke in her ear. I could hear her heartbeat faster and louder with every whisper. At the end of the movie, she had to cry. I kissed her tears away and told her something I was almost too afraid to tell.

´I´ve always envied Romeo for the ease of his suicide,´ I confessed. Bella immediately turned around and looked at me, with a little worried wrinkle between her brows.

´What do you mean?´ she asked.

I tried to light up the mood and jokingly said; ´Well, you humans have it so easy. All you have to do is drink few plant extracts. For us, it's a lot harder.´

´But I don't understand. Why would you think about your own death?´ She really was clueless. And I didn't want to startle her any more than I already did. I tucked a couple of hairs that escaped her ponytail back in place. I raised my right hand to cup her beautiful petite face, and I placed the index finger on my left on the worried little wrinkle between her brows.

´Listen, Bella… Last spring, when you… almost died. I couldn't think straight anymore. I was going mad. In my mind, I was wondering what I would have done if you died that day.´ I saw her silently touching the little scar that was left on her wrist. ´Just as Romeo,´ I continued, ´the thought of being without you was too much to handle. I couldn´t. I could not see myself living in a world without you in it, alive.´

A worried look took over her face. My little plea had surely made her uncomfortable. I didn't want that. I stroked my fingers very softly on her cheeks, which turned red in response. All of a sudden, I saw a little flash of anger in her eyes.

She looked at me and said; ´I don't want to hear this, you hear me. You do not get to talk to me like this, especially not on my birthday. I love you, more than you know, and I don't want to hear this pathetic excuse.´

I was shocked to hear her spit these words out so bluntly. I wanted to answer her, telling her that I know how it feels to love someone that deeply, but she didn't let me.

´No Edward, don't correct me. I do not want to think about a world where you don´t live in. I cannot think about that. What happened to me in Seattle was unfortunate, but I survived. I´m still alive, all thanks to you and your family. I do not want you to feel sorry for what happened. It was not your fault. No one could have predicted it. And I feel safe when I'm with you. I feel protected. Please. Please believe me!´

I was truly shocked to hear her say that. She was particularly begging me to believe her. I saw the honesty in her swollen, puffy chocolate brown eyes. A part of me believed her in that instant. The human part of me believed that I was truly right for her. That she was honestly safe with me. That it was not my fault she had been hurt.

The vampire part of me took over. She was attacked by a vampire. A vampire! How could I believe I wasn't at fault in that. I was a vampire. She was human. Nothing has changed with that. If she is with me, she will always be at risk. If it isn't for me accidentally hurting her, some other vampire could easily do it.

She must have seen the worried look on my face. She gave me the softest, most sincere little kiss that she had ever given me. In that kiss, I could feel her worries. In that kiss, I could feel she wanted to take my worries away. And in that kiss, I promised myself I would stay by her for as long as she wanted me to. I would not leave her side. Vampire or not, I know she wanted me to stay so I would gladly do so.

I promise you, Bella, I´ll stay with you...

Just as the little stolen moment between us passed, I heard Charlie´s police car outside. We rearranged the couch between us, in order to look a little less snuggly. Bella quickly grabbed my hand, something Charlie could tolerate. He entered with a large pizza box and I noticed Bella´s mouth started watering. Dinner for Bella and her dad was relatively quiet. Charlie was aware of the little party Alice had planned, so he wished her a good night and told her to not come home too late. Bella quickly rolled her eyes at him and reassured him that would not be the case. She grabbed her new camera and we headed out.

I was allowed to drive this time since it was very hard to find our driveway in the dark. Bella´s car is sixty years old or something like that, so it was impossible to drive if you´re used to fast cars. If Bella would have allowed me to buy a car for her, I would gladly do it. Unfortunately, she absolutely didn't want me to.

´You know, the offer to buy you a nice little Audi still stands,´ I reminded her.

´Buy me a Lamborghini and I might take you up on your offer,´ she laughed in response. How could you not love this woman?

´But in all seriousness Edward, I hope this birthday isn't too much…. you know. Just a nice little party.´

´Just a nice little party,´ I agreed.

´But Bella, I have to warn you; the last real birthday we celebrated was Emmett´s in 1935. We might be a little bit over-excited.´

Bella groaned, but I saw a little smile appear on her face. She did not want to show it, but I'm assuming she was secretly just as excited as we were. Talking with her about past birthdays, I noticed she never really celebrated them. I've wanted to make her feel special. Even if it wasn't a very large party, she would be surrounded by my family members who all loved her as if she were also a vampire. She became part of my family. She was my family.

´Why are you smiling at me like that, goofball?´ she jokingly said.

´It's the nerves, I guess. And I haven´t told you Emmett and Rosalie are also attending us tonight.´ I quickly glanced over to see her reaction to that statement. She only nodded, which was good. So far, so good.

´Okay, but I thought they were still in Africa?´

´They returned. Emmett did not want to miss this for the world, and I promise you that Rosalie will be on her best behaviour tonight. She will.´ I said more to myself than to Bella.

She was quiet for a minute before her smile returned. I know she loves Emmett as a brother, thus seeing him again would mean the world to her even if she would have to face Rosalie again. For some reason, my whole family could accept Bella as my partner, except for Rosalie. She was always rude to her or ignored her. Luckily, everyone else was smitten with her.

I quickly changed the subject. ´Is there anything else you would like for your birthday?´

Bella paused to think about it. I could almost feel her doubt telling me. Go on, I thought to myself. Just tell me.

´Well,´ she started. ´Not for a birthday present, so don't worry about it. But somewhere in the future, I would like to be like you. And I´m not saying this to upset you. I don't want to upset you. But right now, at this moment, turning into a vampire is something that I would like to see happen at some point. Please don't be scared about it. We will discuss it, later. I´ve just wanted to tell you, so you can think about it. We will obviously discuss it when the time is right and right now, it isn´t. But when you asked me what I wanted, the first thing that came to mind is... well… you.´

She looked at me, with so much love in her bright eyes. I truly didn't know how to answer. If I had a heart, it would have been filled with so much love and regret right now. Love for the woman in front of me. Regret for her wish, regret knowing that her deepest desire is to become a vampire. I wish I hadn't known. But she was right, this wasn´t the time nor place to discuss such an important topic.

´You are right,´ I sighed. ´We will have to discuss this when the time is right. Thank you for telling me, Bella. I know what you´re asking and I know you've probably thought about this a lot. And you know how I think about it at this very moment. For now, we'll let it slide and enjoy our evening. What do you say?´

´I love you, Edward,´ she simply replied.

´I love you too.´

´Hey, if I´ll take pictures of your family members, will they even show up on camera?´ she asked. I burst out laughing. The mood immediately became a lot lighter and I thanked her mentally for that. We spent the rest of the car ride talking back and forth about ridiculous vampire beliefs.

Once we arrived at the Cullen household, Bella's face simply lit up upon seeing all the pink decorations. Alice really outdid herself. Japanese lanterns and bowls of pink roses (her favourite!) were everywhere. We walked inside, and in the midst of the living room, there were all six Cullen family members, who all screamed ´happy birthday, Bella!´ in unison. The room was decorated with pink roses, pink candles, a whole lot of presents and one very large pink birthday cake with roses on it. I didn't know what to expect, but I certainly did not expect Bella to burst out crying once she saw everyone. I held her in my arms and gave her a few soft kisses on the top of her head.

´Hey hey, what's wrong?´ I quietly asked. ´We can leave if you don't want to stay here.´

´No. No. It's fine,´ she sobbed into my arms. ´I just really did not expect you guys to do this for me,´ she explained.

´I'm slightly overwhelmed, that's all. You really did not have to do all of that,´ she said to everyone in the room. ´These are just happy tears. I´m very thankful for all of this, truly.´

I kissed some of her tears away. ´Don't be ridiculous, Bella. We happily did so.´

I bowed down so my lips would be close to her ear and I whispered: ´I did not expect this reaction, you know. But nonetheless, I´m happy you don´t hate us for throwing you a party.´

Bella laughed at me and answered; ´For a vampire who can read minds, you sure as hell can't read mine. Of course, I would never hate you for throwing me a party. It's just that I never really had one. If I would have known they were as amazing as this one, you can throw me one any day of the week.´

She smiled at my family. ´I´m sorry that I´ve been this emotional. Now, come on and give me a hug!´

My parents hugged her first. Esme placed a tender kiss on her forehead, while Carlisle apologised for how excessive the party had become. Bella didn't seem to mind anymore, and I was thankful for that. Rosalie and Emmett followed. Luckily, Rosalie did not show any signs of annoyance. Emmett simply hugged her and I was bothered for a moment it would be too tight for my delicate Bella. Again, she didn't seem to mind.

´Let me see, can I already see some wrinkles on your forehead. Oh wait, here is one,´ Emmett teasingly said.

´Thanks a lot, Emmett. You always have a special way with words,´ Bella said as she rolled her eyes at him.

´I have to step outside for a second,´ he said while winking way too obvious at Alice. ´Don´t do anything funny while I´m gone.´

´I wouldn't dream of it,´ Bella shouted at his back.

The last ones to approach Bella were Alice and Jasper. Jasper stood as far away from Bella as possible since he had the most trouble controlling his urges. Alice did not have a problem with Bella's scent, as she hugged her firmly.

´I knew you would love it,´ she whispered in her ear.

Bella smiled; ´You´re not playing fair, Allie. You can literally see the future.´

´Even if I didn´t. I know what my best friend wants.´ She winked.

´Thank you, Alice. It really means a lot to me.´

´Remember that when I tell you that you need to open your presents now.´

I saw Bella looking as anguished as she could.

´Oh no, Alice. I've told you that wasn't necessary.´

It did not work though.

´You did. And I didn't listen,´ Alice said. I had to chuckle a little bit. Bella could try all she wanted, but if Alice had something in her head, she could not be told otherwise.

Alice gave Bella the largest box, to begin with. It was from Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper. She unwrapped the gift and looked up in confusion. The box was completely empty.

´Thank you,´ she managed to say as thoughtful as she could. Everyone had to smile a little bit at her gesture, poor Bella.

Jasper finally explained; ´It´s a stereo for your truck. Emmett´s installing it so you can not return it. We know you would want to, otherwise´

Bella had to laugh at that statement. I was sure she could remember my earlier little banter about her terrible radio. I saw she was relaxed tonight. I love seeing her like that. She had nothing to be afraid of.

´Thank you, Jasper and Rosalie,´ she said. She turned to face the door, where Emmett was still installing the stereo. ´And thank you, Emmett,´ she yelled in his direction. We all heard Emmett´s laugh coming from Bella's car.

Alice was beyond thrilled. I seriously don't think I have ever seen her this excited before, in almost the decade that I have known her. She jumped up and down and handled Bella our present.

´Please Bella, open mine and Edward´s now,´ she literally almost shouted. Bella quickly turned to me. I was expecting her to give me a dirty look, but she luckily only smiled in my direction. I can´t lie; part of me was wondering what she would think of our gift. I did not spend any money on it as promised, even though I would have loved to buy her anything. I gave her a quick little kiss before Bella extended her arm toward Alice and grabbed our present.

If I could go back in time, I would. I would have slapped our present out of her hands. I would have taken Jasper hunting, so he would not be thirsty right there. I would have done so many things differently. The moment she slipped her finger beneath the paper, and the paper sliced into her skin, leaving a little drop of bright red blood behind, I knew. I knew I had messed up.

Everything happened in a blur.

I heard Jasper thinking. Blood. BLOod. BLOOD. He became a predator. All signs of humanity have left him.

´NO!´ I shouted. I saw Jasper was ready to attack Bella. I could not let that happen. I reached out to her and quickly shoved her out of the way. I could fight Jasper if necessary, but Bella absolutely couldn´t. It luckily did not have to come that far, as Emmett instantly trapped Jasper in his arms. Only mere moments later, I also smelled it. The faint smell of blood had quickly become more penetrating. I needed to protect her, that was the only thing on my mind. Once I looked around, I saw that everyone was watching Bella. Eying Bella. Looking at Bella. Looking at her blood. On her hands. On her arms. On our carpet. It was everywhere. Literally everywhere. Oh no, what have I done?