Chapter 26: Why Won't you Let me Love You?

As the week progressed, I was able to get a handle on my powers, which to be honest, felt more like a party trick than an actual ability. "Damn, I now know how you feel, Jasper," I told the blonde man who was clad in yet another iteration of a rainbow that had puked on him.

He arched a quizzical brow at me as I looked up at him, solemn. "How it feels to have useless powers."

"Don't hold me back!" Jasper started screaming as Demetri held him back from attacking me.

I shook my head at him. "Sis can't handle the tea being spilled."

"I'll spill your tea!" he shrieked failing even harder.

"Bella, I think you should go," Demetri told me as he grunted with the effort of holding Jasper put.

It turned out that all I could do was make things disappear. Turn into nothing. I had no idea how to bring them back or if they could even be brought back. Which sucked. What if I turned something into nothing and decided I needed it? But the three Kings seemed to not know anything more about this than I did.

"We only support you through the trial version," Caius told me. "Your subscription has ended and now you gotta do things on your own."

So much for them training me. They'd gotten bored and now it was up to me to learn things on my own. So I went up to an empty room and decided to see the extent of my powers. I made an apple, a book, a plate of food, and several items of clothing disappear. Then I got started on all the homework I had missed while being stuck in Russia.

Rosalie had apparently found me during this, and was watching from the open doorway quietly.

"You know, just because you make your homework into nothing, doesn't mean it just stops existing in the grand context of things."

"Well fuck," I said. I still had to do my homework and I had no way to do it now.

Whatever, I'd just ask my teachers for copies of it when I came back.

"So...how are the powers?" Rosalie asked tentatively. She kept a space between us. I hadn't liked us being apart, but it had been for her safety.

"I got them under control. I should be fine now," I told her flexing my hands. I felt more confident in my own abilities, though I was certain there must be some nuances to it I didn't understand still.

"And what of the punishment?" she asked, arms crossed over her chest. She was trying to be casual about it but I could tell she cared.

"You mean the kisses? Well, they're in full effect now. Aro said I only had until I mastered my powers and so..." I shrugged.

She stared at me. I stared at her.

"There's two hours left in the day, Bella, before we break the rules and get actually punished," she told me.

"Hmmm, seems that there is," I said, looking at the clock and being mock interested in it. I could tell my casual attitude was bothering her.

"Bella..."

"Rosalie..." I echoed right back.

"Are- are you, you know," she said tersely, her cheeks flushed a light pink.

"I don't know what you mean," I said, faux innocently.

"The kiss," she hissed out. "Are you going to do it?"

"Hm, nah," I shrugged. "You can do it since you seem to want to do it so bad."

"But I don't want to do it- we need to do it cause of Aro!"

I shrugged again and walked past her. She was growing increasingly frustrated and I loved it. She followed after me.

"Bella, do the last kiss. Bella come on!" Rosalie hounded after me.

"Nope," I said with insouciance as I went about my day.

This continued all the way downstairs and to the kitchen as I went to go make myself a midnight snack. Apparently as an immortal you had to eat more to keep up your godly energy so I found myself hungrier than usual and at more times of the day. This would really put a dent in my father's pockets when I got back. I wondered, could I turn my hunger into nothing? Or would I just erase my stomach?

I was just about to open the fridge door when I felt Rosalie press against me, forcing the fridge door to close and me to be stuck between it and her. I let out a gasp of air. "Hey!" I declared angrily when I tried to push back and found I couldn't.

"Shut up," she muttered out, in an odd mixture of affection and anger. "I'm giving you your stupid kiss," and she brushed my hair aside to bare my neck. She kissed down on my neck, a soft delicate thing that sent my heart racing more than it should. Combined with how her body pressed against me, pinning me to the fridge, I was growing way too excited about this.

"Why are you being such a weirdo about this?" I asked her in as steady of a voice as I could, slipping my hands free from my sides. "Why can't you just kiss me like a normal person."

She brought her face closer to the junction where my collarbone and neck were joined. "They didn't say where I had to kiss you. So shut up," she growled out and I could feel her embarrassment but she still brushed her lips against my skin and kissed me again. I could feel her heart pounding against my back and I was sure mine was pounding the same way. I thunked my head against the cool metal, suddenly grateful for it as I felt I was overheating. And given how the lights were off in the kitchen right now, the dark only made what were doing more naughty even if we weren't even doing anything like that.

Rosalie trailed up now, her soft and cool lips breezing across my skin as this time she pressed a kiss under my jawline. Oh fuck. I was really sensitive there. I held back a groan just barely and my left hand snaked back and found purchase in her blonde locks, holding her there.

"Are you...okay?" she asked me, her voice against my skin sending vibrations down my spine.

"I just need a moment," I told her, my voice shaking a bit. I felt wired. Holy fuck, so fucking wired right now. It wasn't fair how hot she was. Even though I was immortal now it didn't make me any less susceptible to her charms. Yes, despite her prickly and ornery attitude, she did have her charming moments and I was a sucker for good looking women.

She exhaled shakily through her nose, as if finally aware of what she was doing to me. I couldn't help my bodies reactions. And she wasn't helping. She slowly slide her hands up my sides, stopping just below my breasts. What was she doing? I thought she didn't like me romantically and was just barely tolerating me as a person.

There was a buzzing in my ears that had nothing to do with the fridge, and everything with how the blood raced through my veins. I could feel each finger splayed out, burning into my skin with cold. And I was sure she could feel the way my rib cage expanded rapidly with my increased breaths. "Rosalie..." I trailed off in a whisper. I relaxed my hold on her hair, and she moved up to press a kiss behind my ear, followed by another one.

I sucked in a sharp breath. It wasn't fair how she wasn't affected by this but I was. I wanted to make her feel this way too. I slipped my free hand and blindly grabbed at her hip before sliding my hand up and down rhythmically down her thigh. I felt her body jolt at the sudden unexpected move. She held on tighter to me, continuing to press kisses this time solely behind my ear and under my jawline. I let out a whine, my hand clamping down on her leg as I fought to control my body.

Had it been five kisses? It felt like more. Rosalie wasn't pausing between them and was that her tongue?

I whimpered into the fridge door as I felt her tongue lick a stripe up my neck. Her right hand went up to push more of my hair out of the way as she took a sharp breath and sucked my skin into her mouth, giving me a hickey.

"Some of us would like to eat."

We jumped apart so fast that Rosalie banged into the dish-rack and sent it falling all over the floor in shards of glass and metal cutlery. And I ended up smacking hard enough into the cabinets to leave a bruise on my lower back.

"What-what are you talking about?" I breathed out, trying to catch my breath.

Edward stood in the doorway, having come in silently. He gave us a dead eyed stare. "I know what you were doing. Please, not in front of my cereal." He held a bowl of dry cereal in his hands.

"We weren't doing anything!" Rosalie denied vehemently. "You're just imagining things." And then she brushed past Edward, shoulder checking him on the way out.

Well...

"I'm going to get going too," I told him, face red with mortification. I can't believe we got caught. Oh boy. And by Edward of all people. Edward merely watched me leave before he went to the fridge and poured ranch dressing into his cereal. He began to eat his meal in earnest. Thank goodness his tastebuds were dead or else that would have tasted nasty.

Rosalie and I avoided each other, not sure we could face each other after what had happened. Frankly, I was still a bit turned on and I feared that if Rosalie came onto me again I would combust. And, she seemed mad. Probably mad that Edward had seen us. It was like it went against her personal morals for anyone to see her exhibit a bit of emotion other than cold.

So, we kept our distance for now, busying ourselves with different things.

It wasn't until the next morning that something happened.

"Oh my Me!" Jasper screamed from downstairs. We all raced over to see why he was screaming bloody murder. He was covered in red angry hives. "Which of you lesbians made out on the fridge door?!" he exclaimed angrily. "I'm covered in fucking hives because two of you's couldn't find a better place to make out and leave your horny energy on?!" Demetri was by his side trying to calm him down. Rosalie and I determinedly looked down at the carpet.

Oops.

The next morning it turned out that the Cullens were going to the godly city of Akropos where a bunch of other gods and goddesses went to do immortal shopping, and dining and whatever else their heart desired.

"Just a word of warning," Alice said as we went outside to await for our travel there, "when we enter the Akropos, our godly forms will be revealed. So, you'll finally get to see your godly outfit!" she clapped her hands as if this was good news. I wasn't as excited, namely because I didn't want to be a goddess but whatever. I just had to grin and bear it now. This was my life.

Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I had remained in Arizona. Probably a lot more saner.

Today we were taking Edward's Volvo to the place, because Alice explained that she was banned from using her powers to go there.

"Last time she did, she spent half a million dollars on shopping because she was left alone. So, no more credit cards for her, and no more trips for her to go alone," Carlisle explained.

"Which is why Alice should stay back today. The less she goes to Akropos, the better," Esme added on and Alice immediately got teary eyed. "Please, mom and dad," she got to her knees. "I've gotten better. Let me come. Let me come!" she clung to Carlisle's leg and he scowled down at her.

"Alice-"

"Bella needs someone to guide her. To give her the dets. And that's gonna be me. Emmett only speaks Russian now-

"эй!"

"-Edward is dry as fuck-"

Edward gave her a side eyed look but didn't argue against her opinion.

"Jasper is going to be sucking face with Demetri-"

"True," Jasper agreed, because Demetri was glued to his side as usual.

"And Rosalie doesn't talk much."

True to character, Rosalie said nothing.

"So, Bella needs someone to help guide her."

"Fine," Carlisle cried out, tired by this spiel. "You can come!"

"Yes!" Alice jumped up, happy. Just in time, Edward's Volvo arrived. Except where I expected a car, a chariot drawn by two skeletal black horses with flaming eyes pulled up.

"Um, this isn't the Volvo," I said, pointing to it as it landed down on the snow in front of us.

"It is. My car has always looked like this, but you couldn't see it with your human eyes," Edward explained, like this should be obvious. "Now hop on." He went on and took up the reigns. We all followed him on, somehow fitting onto the tiny chariot which got bigger as each person got on to accommodate it. Magic, I figured, and thought better than to ask off it.

"Hold on," he told us and then waved the reigns. The chariot went skyrocking upwards and I couldn't help but scream. I clutched onto the railing and tried not to look at the ground. I much preferred Alice's ways of travel. Thank you very much.

I had no idea how we were going to even get to the city of gods but Edward seemed to know the way. Up this high up, the cold air cut through my body, making my hair flag out. Eventually when I stopped getting so scared, I could look down. Everything was so small below me. Covered in snow- Rosalie's domain.

She stood by me, silently looking down.

"Snow looks so pretty up here," I told her, my breath curling around me.

"It does. But people can't see the beauty of it," she said sadly and I touched the back of her hand that was griping the railing. "I- um, Rosalie. About last night-"

A light dusting of red covered her cheeks. "No, it's alright. I don't wanna talk about it."

"But I want to talk about it. What we did- do you happen to-...?" I found myself unable to say much of anything. And not because I couldn't bare to say it, but because Rosalie put a hand over my mouth. "Not now, Bella," she whispered, side eyeing her family which surrounded us.

"Fine," I sighed into her hand and she pulled free. We spent the rest of the time observing the landscape. Eventually we drew closer to what seemed to be a mirage at first. But as we drew closer we could find shapes taking form, to resemble something like a city.

We finally arrived at the place and my jaw dropped open. This place looked exactly like a human city, just made from pure crystal. Everything was constructed from it, even the flora and I took everything in wide eyes until Alice gently nudged me with an elbow.

"Uh, Bella, you might want to take care of that," she said without looking at me. I glanced down and screamed.

"Why am I naked?" I shrilled out, covering my breasts with one hand and my privates with another. Was this my godly uniform? Are you kidding me?

Thankfully Rosalie took off her fur coat and draped it along my shoulders. It was long enough on me that it went down to mid thigh, covering the essentials. Everyone of them was in their godly uniform now but I really only had eyes for Rosalie's form. She looked regal and like a boss bitch in hers. She was wearing a white dress, cinched belt at the waist, and she had long thigh high black boots, her legs covered in thick stockings. The fur jacket she'd given me had gone over that but she didn't seem cold without it.

Her blonde hair was up in a bun and on top of her head was a small crown of icicles that glimmered with each turn of her head. The usual icicle earrings were traded for big ones that draped down in shining strands.

She was breath taking and I gaped at her in wonder.

"I'll go with Bella to get some clothes," she sighed wearily, as if this was my fault.

"Take this time to enjoy the city," Alice said, herding the rest of the Cullens away from us. "You know, maybe go on a date or two." And then they were gone.

I eagerly followed Rosalie to the nearest store. Clothes shopping was about the most normal couple thing we had ever done and I relished this. For a second, I imagined we were both mortals, just enjoying a simple trip. Rosalie picked something out for me to wear and then bought it. I changed into it in the changing room and was surprised to see she had picked out something nice for me. It was a cute sweater skirt combination and I wanted to thank her for it. I honestly thought she would pick out something ridiculous for me.

"Come, let's get you some food and pass the time," Rosalie said. "No doubt Alice is out to burn the family money."

"Rosalie-"

"It's a shame your godly form is just naked. Your appearance hasn't changed much. You should write up a petition to the council and have them alternate it for you," she added on as she walked out of the store. I clamped my mouth shut. It seemed she didn't want me thanking her for the clothing so I wouldn't.

We stopped at a nearby cafe, and I was curious to try the godly food they would serve us. Was it any different than human food?

"Hold on a second, I think that's Sulpicia following Esme and Carlisle," I noted and Rosalie looked to where I was staring. Sulpicia was doing a terrible job of stalking. For one, she was clad in an all gold robe that did nothing to hide her. Even if the hood was up over her face we only knew one goddess who wore this much gold.

"Should we do anything about it?" I asked. Rosalie gave a one shoulder shrug.

"Eh."

Okay, guess we would not be getting involved in that whole sordid affair.

"Also, is this a date?" I asked Rosalie, indicating to how we were sitting at a cafe, enjoying some dessert together.

"A date?" she scoffed and tried to play it off.

"We're married. This sort of stuff is normal." I was getting annoyed again. How many times would we do this back and forth. Did she like me? Did she not like me? As a mortal I felt at the whims of the gods and now, despite being immortal, I still felt at their whims. But I felt I had more control over this. So, I was going to make a move.

I reached across the table and pulled on Rosalie's shirt, tugging her towards me before I planted a huge kiss on her lips, right out in public for the whole city to see. I didn't think much of it but when I let her go, she was beet red, hand over her mouth. "You idiot," she hissed at me.

"You need to stop hiding your emotions. It's okay to feel something. It's okay to care," I told her.

"Bella-"

I stood up, hands on hips. I probably didn't look all that intimidating but I didn't care. "I intend to kiss you four more times today, here in this city. So unless you plan on hiding from me like a coward, you best believe I'll be kissing that gorgeous mouth of yours." And then I stormed off, leaving her to pay the bill.