Firsts can be something that you hold dear to your heart or things that make you scrunch your nose at the mere thought of reliving that memory. I had planned to try everything possible before I climbed into my grave at a ripe old age after an explosive death.
Most of my firsts had been spent with my next door neighbour and the girl who never failed to boggle my mind. She had been a little quirky right from the first time I saw her, standing on the front porch in a pair of denim dungarees and what I could only describe as a green cardigan that would be fit for a tiny grandpa. Our first mission together was trying to save the life of a bumble bee that she had found on her driveway;, we had just about managed to save it with a diet of sugar and water until my twin sister accidentally cycled over it. Rosalie and her family had moved into the house next door when we were five years old and ever since our first shy meeting over the garden fence, we had been inseparable.
1st September 2001
I looked at myself in the mirror, making faces as I studied the new braces which were now clamped to my pearly whites. Why did I have to be the one to get braces? I could already hear the names they would yell at me in the hallway at school. I ran my fingers through my tangled bronze hair as I got ready for the birthday party at Jessica Stanley's house. I didn't want to go but Rosalie had been chewing my ear about it since the frilly pink invitations were dropped on our desks in math class three weeks ago. There was a rumour at school that Jessica had a crush on me, but I could point blank assure anyone that asked that I had no interest in a screaming, hair flicking girl like Jess.
"Are you ready, Chief?" My Dad asked with a smile as he rested against my bedroom door with his arms folded across his chest.
"I guess," I shrugged, smoothing my hands over my baggy black T-shirt which I had teamed with an even looser fitting pair of cargo shorts and my favourite black converse. "Dad, do I look like a total dork now?" I asked, looking up at him.
"How can any kid of mine look like a dork? Come on, Edward, I'm the hippest Dad around" he laughed, doing a dad dance in the doorway.
"Just a warning that if you ever do that again I will jump into the lake with stones in my pockets," I said as I pushed past him, making him chuckle as we headed out to the car. Rosalie skipped down the porch steps wearing a tartan pinafore dress with a tight fitting cream sweater, her wavy blonde hair pulled into a loose bun. Ever since she had been allowed to watch Friends she had been Jennifer Aniston crazy and had insisted on Rachel Green outfits for every occasion. "You sure you don't want to just skip this thing?" I asked as she climbed into the back of my Dad's silver Buick with a perfectly wrapped gift tucked under her arm.
"You must be kidding me. She has a cake from Delicious Delights! You know their frosting is the bomb and don't even try to deny it." Rose grinned, hitting the back of my head playfully.
"I guess that's a winner…" I chewed my lower lip, resting back into the tan leather seat and watching the scenery zip by while Rosalie chatted away to my Father. I dragged my hand through my hair as we pulled up outside of Jessica's house which had been decorated with fuchsia ribbons and balloons. "what if she tries to lock me in a cupboard or something?" I sunk into my seat, scrunching my nose at the thought of Jessica trying to plant one on me with her glittery lip gloss coated mouth. My dad reached over me with a snort as he popped open the car door, giving me a little nudge.
"It will be fun. I'll be here at 6pm sharp to save you, all right?" he teased with a smile as he ruffled my hair before pushing me out of the car onto the driveway.
"That better be a promise!" I yelled over my shoulder as Rosalie pulled me along behind her, eagerly running towards the door where Jessica's mom was already standing with a huge welcoming grin. We dropped our gifts on the designated table and grabbed a plastic cup of fruit punch before heading down to the basement where the sound of Destiny's Child was already thumping. Jessica was sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by a few of the girls from school. She had decided on a pair of white jeans and a sparkly pink top with matching bandana to cover her mousy brown hair. Thankfully, a few guys from school eventually arrived to keep me company while the girls giggled and tried out the new eyeshadows from one of the birthday gifts. I had been assured that we could do whatever we wanted after the cake had been cut., I had no idea what Jess meant but it had caused a knot to tighten in my stomach from the moment the words left her lips.
"I think it's time for the parents to go have some rum and pineapple punch in the garden. I'll even bring out the fancy French cheese. What do you think, ladies?" Mrs Stanley asked two of the other parents with an angelic smile which mirrored that of her daughter. The other two mothers nodded in agreement before disappearing up the stairs, leaving me at the mercy of Jessica Stanley who had been flicking her hair and giggling at everything I said for the majority of the afternoon.
"I think it's time to spin the bottle…" Lauren Mallory said with an evil looking smile, bringing an empty bottle of Pepsi to the circle. She motioned for everyone to spread out and sit in a boy-girl formation. I gulped back the lump in my throat, looking over at Rosalie who was kneeling across from me in the circle with a slight flush in her cheeks. "Birthday girl first...obviously." She gave a slight smile at Jessica who sucked in a breath before spinning the bottle, keeping her hazel eyes fixated on it as it spun wildly before ending its journey on Tyler. The slight disappointment was clear but she crawled over to him, leaving a glossy peck on his lips and making the girls squeal excitedly. As the game went on I began to relax which I quickly came to understand was a mistake when the blue plastic top spun on the peach coloured carpet before pointing at me.
"Rosie and Edward, you're up!" Lauren laughed looking between us. "I have an idea! Why don't we make this a little more interesting...you two have to go in that closet and turn off the light."
"Oh I…" I tried to protest as I was almost dragged to my feet by one of the cheerleaders and pushed towards the closet filled with camping gear and old board games. Rosalie shrugged her shoulders with a laugh, following me inside and closing the doors behind us. The sound of Miami by Will Smith became slightly louder outside the closet door. I rested back against the wall, looking across at my best friend who was fiddling with the bottom of her dress nervously. "We don't have to do this you know" I said nervously. My throat became dry watching her take a step towards me.
"We could just get it out of the way...it's one of those things kind of like ripping off a band aid. It has to happen sometime," she reasoned as she took another cautious step towards me.
"Five minutes to go, love birds!" Mike taunted through the wooden door with a laugh.
"I guess…" I nodded, feeling the blood burning in my cheeks as she took a deep breath before leaning in, keeping her hands by her sides. My hands balled up into fists when our lips touched for the first time, leaving neither of us knowing what to do next. I moved my mouth awkwardly feeling Rose do the same before we both pulled back with extremely red faces. The taste of her watermelon lip balm invaded my mouth in the most pleasant way and my stomach was doing somersaults. We had just kissed…I had just kissed a girl...did that mean I was a player now? I was broken from my thoughts as the door was flung open by an eager looking Jess as she eyed the two of us hoping that we were going to break our silence.
"So? How was it?" Mike piped up from the back as he stuffed a handful of crackers into his mouth. "Did you grab any boob? I would have gone to second." Hehe nodded confidently.
"It was great," I shrugged, glancing at Rose as we took our places back on the carpet in the circle.
"Really great." Rose nodded in agreement, tucking her golden hair behind her ear. I could only hope that this wasn't going to be the big fat elephant which would now sit between us while we tried to enjoy pizza nights.
A/N: Hello! Long time and no post but I have finally decided to take the plunge into the wonderful world of Edward and Rosalie. I would love to know what you think so far and I will be posting the next update on Monday. Of course much love with Ciara my lovely and forgiving beta. For updates, teasers and anything else linked to this story feel free to follow my Facebook page groups/214518562526537/