A/N: Phew! Thanks for being so patient with me. I had a little ofic story to write. It's on Wattpad if you're interested. The Curse of the Balderi. Heh
Convention season.
A month ago, Bella had been nervous and excited at the prospect of the fan conventions that popped up all over the country—and a smattering abroad—during the summer hiatus. She'd been to conventions before, of course, with her first show. But Sara and Sam hadn't been the genre that was popular for conventions, so her appearances had been few and far between.
While conventions usually featured shows, movies, comics and the like from a wide range of sci-fi and fantasy interests, the success of Inexplicable had generated enough attention to warrant a string of its own conventions. It was wall-to-wall Inexplicable one to two long weekends a month for the next three months. And that wasn't including the larger conventions, the largest and most popular of these being San Diego's Comic Con.
Bella had been able to stay a room away from Edward at the meet-and-greet dance and dinner after the opening ceremony the night before. This morning, her first panel was with Jessica Stanley—the woman playing her closest friend Cynthia. A few years younger than Bella, it was Jessica's very first convention, so it was only too easy to let her hog the spotlight a bit.
Still, inevitably, they were dragged into murky waters. The fan-favorite topic of 'ships came up, as it always did.
"Ohmygosh," Jessica exclaimed, pressing a hand to her flushed cheek when a fan asked what she thought of the less-popular Cynthia/Jasper ship. Jasper being a naturally flirtatious character, he enjoyed teasing Cynthia on the rare occasions they saw each other on the show. Not unlike Jess herself, Cynthia got a little flustered at the attention. Some fans liked the idea of the less-confident, flummoxed sidekick getting the man for once.
"I mean, you've seen Edward, right?" Jessica giggled along with most of their decent-sized audience. "I wouldn't be opposed. It could be really sweet. Jasper's a great character. No stranger to a fight, right? I'm a sucker for those scenes where the tough, cocky bastards show their soft side. I could see it being a little bit of a thing in the background." She grinned. "Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part, but anyway. I like the idea."
For some reason, Jess's comments rankled. Bella's gut did a strange twist as she listened to the other woman gush. She didn't know why the idea should bother her. Given how she felt about having to act alongside Edward, she supposed it was natural to feel so disconcerted at hearing someone wanted intimate scenes with him.
"Be careful what you wish for," Bella said, giving Jessica a sly grin. "You know what happens to minor love interests in a show like ours."
"Girl, please." Jessica grinned back. "I'm your only friend. That alone is going to get me abducted or murdered. I'm destined to be a cliffhanger already. I might as well get to have some fun."
"What about Jalice?" someone from the audience yelled.
Bella's smile fell, and she ducked her head to cover it. She'd known since well before all this drama that she'd be answering questions about Jalice as long as the show was on.
"What do you think of Jalice?" the fan at the microphone asked formally.
Jessica, bless her heart, jumped in and answered even though the fan was looking right at Bella. "I mean… shipping the main characters is kind of the default, right? Happens every time. I was big into Supernatural. The two main characters were brothers, and people still shipped them." She wrinkled her nose. "Wincest. I mean, Jesus. Like you can kind of accept it with Thor and Loki—Thorki—because it turns out they're not blood brothers but even then…" She shook her head.
The fan nodded patiently, and then looked at Bella. "What do you think of the ship, Bella?"
Bella took a deep breath in through her nose, giving herself time not to snap the "hell no" she wanted to. She searched for her objectivity. "You can't help but understand the ship, but it's like Jessica said. It's always easy to ship the main characters. It's just the nature of television. You have potentially years of these characters going through intense situations. They have to be intense, or you wouldn't watch, right? So it creates this world made for two, this deep connection—if it's written right and we act it right." She gave the audience a grin. "But I don't think romance is the end all, be all. The most profound relationship I've ever had in my real life is a friendship. Is it that much less satisfying if they're just amazing friends?"
"Isn't that an ideal romantic relationship?" Someone called. "Falling for an amazing friend?"
"Would you hate it if the ship went canon?" the fan with the microphone asked.
Bella had to swallow to choke back the fury the idea sent through her. Imagine having to cozy up to the creep. It was her worst nightmare.
She searched for objectivity. "Any storyline has potential as long as it's handled correctly. But it's not up to me, you know? This is an awesome job, but it is still a job. I have bosses too, and the storyline is up to them. They hand me a script, and that's what I go off." She made her grin wider and put on a sarcastic tone, so everyone would know she was teasing. "I've kissed way more repulsive people than Edward Cullen for a living."
That, of course, opened up a whole other line of questioning. "Wait, wait," said the next fan in line. "Who was repulsive? Who was it?"
Bella made an exaggerated grimace. "Ohh, no. You guys aren't going to trick me into that conversation. Makes my head spin how fast that video would be on YouTube, and then all the Entertainment Tonight shows will be breaking down my door."
~0~
Bella wasn't exactly shocked when Aro cornered her shortly before the duo photo op that afternoon. He wrapped his hands around her shoulders, and Bella tried not to cringe.
"Oh, Alice." Aro ran his hands along Bella's shoulder's, brushing off lint only he could see with a furrow in his brow as he looked her over. "This is what you chose to wear today?"
She rolled her shoulders up, brushing him off, and took a small step backward, crossing her arms. "There's nothing wrong with what I'm wearing."
"No," he conceded, though he didn't sound convinced. "It's just not something Alice would wear, is it?"
"I'm not Alice, Aro. I'm me. The people in that room paid good money to take a picture with me, Bella Swan, not Alice Brandon."
Aro grimaced as though he couldn't imagine why anyone would prefer Bella when they could have Alice, but the expression was short lived. He put on a smile as he patted her back. "Of course they're here for you." He paused a beat. "And Edward."
Now it was her who couldn't keep her grimace at bay. She turned her head to stare at nothing.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." He stepped closer again, speaking low so only she could hear. "I hope I don't have to remind you that we're still in a precarious position. First-year shows don't often get as lucky as we have . We owe everything to our fans—these fans. Like you said, they've paid good money not only to take a picture with you and Jasper, but to be part of the world we've created for them." His hand rubbed circles at the small of her back. "It would be hard to treasure a photo with their heroes when one of them is scowling, right?"
Bella clenched her jaw, forcing herself to count to five in her head before answering. She considered her words. She knew she was still on thin ice. This man had put a great deal of trust in her after all, given her background.
So she was calm when she spoke. "I would appreciate it if everyone would stop acting like I'm the problem here. I'm not the one who did anything wrong. I didn't break anybody's heart on what should have been the best day of their life. I didn't make promises I knew I wasn't going to keep. Did you talk to him like this?"
Aro's lip twitched. "Believe me, sweet Alice, I know very well men are fickle, careless creatures. But I also know the only time you can count on a man to do the right thing is when he's in the dog house. And I'm not trying to chastise you." He smiled brightly. "It's a pep talk."
"Ah." Bella wasn't impressed. "Well. I'm pepped. For the fans. I get it." She looked him in the eyes, making her expression more serious. "I get it. You have nothing to worry about."
"Of course. You'll be fine." He looked her over again, his eye critical. "Are you sure… I'm positive we can scrounge up something else for you to wear. Plenty of cosplayers here after all. If you—"
"I'm fine, Aro. Thank you."
Before he could get another word in, Bella spun on her heel. She stormed through the door, thoroughly angry with the world. She marched into the backstage area without actually seeing what was in front of her, which was how she ended up running into a solid wall of someone.
Before she could fall, an arm came around her shoulders in a solid grip. She found herself tucked up against someone, her hand splayed flat on a firm chest. She blinked, confused by the sudden rush of movement and distracted by the scent of cologne—musk and cedar.
"Are you all right?" His voice was low and gravelly near her ear.
Of course it was him. Bella was just befuddled enough that she forgot to be angry. She had to laugh as she straightened up, taking a large step back from him. "I'm fine."
As she found her bearings, she glanced up at his face. His expression was so pensive, her heart gave a twist. Right. He was probably expecting her to bite his head off.
She was so tired. She was tired of everything being so difficult. Before the wedding, she'd been so excited to reach her first convention season in well over a decade. Since then, she'd been dreading it. This anger was exhausting.
She sighed. "Come on," she said, her tone quiet and gentle for once. "Let's get going."
His eyes widened just perceptibly, and he nodded. "Right."
A small team of people greeted them as they continued forward backstage. An assistant was going over the ins and outs of the photo op. "The fans have all read and agreed to the rules. No asking for autographs. No requests having anything to do with your personal lives."
Bella grimaced. She could only imagine what some people could come up with. She knew from terrible experience some people were assholes, and others were just plain clueless. A lot of fans brought props with them and requested poses of the talent. She wouldn't have put it past some asshole to dress up as a bride and request Edward pose running away from her.
A lump rose to her throat, half renewed fury at him—he'd deserve it if it happened—and half irritation of the injustice of it. Celebrity was such a hellish condition at times. Not many people had complete strangers rub their every mistake in their face.
"Of course, if you're uncomfortable with any request, you can say no. If a fan steps out of line, security is on hand to take care of it." She brightened. "But with all that out of the way… Have fun. "
Fun.
Bella squared her shoulders. Most experiences with the fans were fun. She tried to concentrate on that as they walked out in front of the curtain.
When you hated someone as much as Bella hated Edward, everything they did grated. At first, as fans stepped up, irritation raced up and down Bella's spine listening to Edward putting on his charming act. Her inner monologue was scathing and sarcastic. She'd seen that act in person. How honest could it be when every charming word he'd said to Angela had to be a lie?
But…
It was impossible to be so derisive the more she watched him. Maybe the charm was an act, but she couldn't deny he was making this an unforgettable experience for the fans. He was gracious with the overzealous people who could hardly be understood as they babbled. If they were nervous, he leaned in and whispered something in their ears to make them giggle and relax.
The first few wanted the standard pose—the fan between Edward and Bella with their arms wrapped around each other. Touching Edward wasn't on her high list of things she wanted to do, but she wasn't immature about it. Keeping the poses loose with a whole other person between them was fine.
At least, that was what she kept telling herself. There was no rational reason for her to be irritated at his touch. She was no child; she didn't believe in cooties. She understood he was only touching her because his job required it. There was no good reason his hands at her waist and against her back should make her skin crawl.
But then….
It wasn't disgust, really. It wasn't that her skin was crawling. She was just hyper-aware of the proximity of his body to hers. It was as though the nerve-endings under her skin vibrated at the slightest pressure of his arm or his hand.
And really, wasn't that par for the course these days? She hated how fixated she was on him, how her life seemed to revolve around him and thoughts of him these last few weeks. He colored her personal life, her work life. Hell, she could hardly turn on the TV or glance at Facebook without seeing his name everywhere. Of course he was under her skin.
There were a few fans who wanted poses of some of the popular memes, like the ever popular one where a woman holding hands with her significant other looked over her shoulder, aghast to find him staring appreciatively at another woman. The fans—men and women alike—enjoyed stepping into the roll of the other woman, which left Bella holding Edward's hand.
"I'm a cheerleader," one fan whispered shyly to Edward who had also been in cheer in his high school days. She brought a pom pom from behind her back. Her eyes darted to Bella and away. "Do you think… maybe a little pyramid?"
"Err. Yeah. I'm okay with it if Bella…" Edward started. He quirked an eyebrow at her.
Bella furrowed her brow. "What are we talking?"
To her surprise, Edward dropped to his knees beside her. He peered up at her, a small smile playing on his lips as he leaned forward, elbows and then arms on the ground. "Like this."
Bella hesitated only a moment before she dropped down, mimicking his pose. He cleared his throat. "Gotta get closer than that. For safety."
For some reason, Bella's cheeks flamed hot when she got the idea. She scooted until her side was pressed against his.
"Keep your back straight," he murmured. "Distribute the weight on your arms and legs."
A sarcastic retort posed on the tip of her tongue, but she bit it back. It wouldn't have been particularly clever anyway. Something along the lines of "Distribute this," and she would have followed it with a rude gesture that sent the fan sprawling.
So she bit her tongue. She was distracted for seconds, holding herself still when the fan climbed on top of them to complete the little pyramid. The girl was a slight thing, and she knew what she was doing. Bella only felt a slight dig of a knee on her back before the fan was settled, one leg on each of them. Bella looked up at the camera and made her best ra-ra face.
Moments later, Bella straightened up and was startled to find herself square in Edward's personal space. She blinked, so startled she didn't move immediately. Neither did he. For a handful of seconds, their eyes locked.
Then, Edward stepped back, rubbing his neck. Bella turned away, trying to pretend she'd heard what the fan was saying as she made her way off stage.
She got a reprieve from the touching with the next few being groups—she and Edward stood at opposite ends of the line. One fan asked for a fun pose—he wrapped his arms around Bella and she around him. He stuck his tongue out at Edward with a "neener neener" expression while Edward rolled his eyes. One asked Edward and Bella to recreate the most famous pose from Sara and Sam—the show that had made her a popular child star. It was a back-to-back pose, and Bella found it was somewhat easier to touch Edward when she didn't have to look at him.
It didn't last, of course. It couldn't.
There was a certain scene in one of the earliest episodes when Alice and Jasper were new to each other. Alice tended to dress up more than Jasper was used to, leading him to treating her like a girly girl in the first few episodes, which drove her endlessly crazy. In the fourth episode, a monster had nearly succeeded in choking the life out of Alice. Jasper had pumped a silver bullet or five into the thing and saved the day. In the aftermath, as Alice gasped for breath, he held her face between his hands, begging her to be okay. "Come back to me, little darling," he said, frantic.
Alice had grasped his face between her hands, bringing him closer so she could rasp, "I am not fragile."
Many of the fans, the Jalice shippers in particular, went crazy over that scene. This fan asked for them to recreate that moment with her off to the side squeezing her own cheeks as though she couldn't believe what she was witnessing.
What indeed.
Edward's step was tentative as he shuffled close to her. His eyes searched hers, as though waiting for her to protest. She had to press her tongue against the roof of her mouth to keep from doing just that. It was absurd. The fan's request was perfectly reasonable. Moments from the show were to be expected. And really, really, she didn't believe in cooties.
He took her face in his hands. His fingers pressed against her skin with the gentlest pressure. Her cheeks heated.
It wasn't rage. She had no idea what she was feeling. It wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't…
She took a breath. Whatever it was, it was ridiculous. She reached for him, framing his face and pushing onto her toes so they were nose to nose.
She tried to remember how it had felt when they filmed it. No matter what the relationship, it was impossible to feel nothing when standing this close to someone. His hands, big and strong against her face, made her vulnerable. Her hands, firm and insistent, demanded his attention. His eyes…
It was impossible for a moment like that not to be heavy with some emotion; that was why it had played so well on the screen in the first place.
That was all it was. It was a powerful pose, and she couldn't pretend she didn't have powerful feelings about this man. It was confusing to have to act like any of this was easy.
"Guys, we got it."
The photographer's voice clued Bella into the fact he'd taken the picture seconds ago, yet she was still staring at Edward and vice versa. She took a step back, dropping her hands quickly to her side and looking away. Her eyes swept the room—above the heads of the fans in line—and she forced herself to concentrate on several imperfections in the wall, trying to ground her spinning thoughts.
"Thank you," the fan squeaked, bouncing in place before them.
Edward cleared his throat. "No, thank you." His voice came out rough, as though his throat was as dry as Bella's felt. "We wouldn't be here without you guys."
Bella offered the fan a smile and a nod but couldn't speak past her clenched jaw.
She wanted to soak up every minute of this con, to revel in the fact she'd made it again. Despite all odds and the utter wreck she'd made of her life, she was surrounded by adoring fans and employed in work she loved with a character she adored. She wanted to bask in it all.
Instead, her thoughts were stuck, mired in a pit of quicksand. Every thought led back to Edward and the fact that everything good in her life was tangled up with a man she wished she could walk away from.
And even that was a tangled up and confusing thought. Before the wedding, she had very much enjoyed reveling in this success with him. She'd seen sides of him she'd never known before and had been so happy to find a deep and meaningful friendship.
She missed her friend; she missed the costar she could celebrate these moments with.
Bella turned her back on the fans and Edward under the guise of having to stretch. "Why did you have to ruin everything?" she whispered under her breath.
A/N: Hehe SO. How we doing?