"I'm not going,"
"Yes you are." For once, Alice's whimsy is missing. She is unyielding, as certain and immovable as her stone skin. Alice's will bends to noone, least of all to Edward's token protests.
And she's right. He is going. For god's sake, this isn't even a real argument.
He, Alice, and Emmett have already piled into the Volvo. Even as he tries to remember when it is that he stopped fending off Alice's requests to attend, Alice is turning on the car's smooth engine (courtesy of Rosalie, who gripes every time she sees what their "unhinged' driving does to their cars) and pulling out of their driveway.
Rosalie and Jasper begged out, but not before the latter gave Alice a significant look that even Edward's mind-reading couldn't help him interpret.
"It's for the best," Alice had announced.
Had they gone, the party would only become more chaotic. Edward figures that an attendance rate of three Cullens is enough to temporarily get this party's hosts to the top of the shifting high school hierarchy.
At present, her chooses to ignore Alice's happy humming and focus on the road ahead.
Damn Alice. And damn the world at large.
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"Holy shit," Angela swears, which is strange because Angela never swears. Jessica can count on one hand the number of times she's heard her friend cuss. Two of those times were in the aftermath of a bad decision involving a tuba and a newspaper that ended with a broken bone.
Still, Angela stops dead. Mike gently adjusts the tumbler in her hands so the drink doesn't pour out onto the floor before shifting his attention to the doorway. Then he also stops dead.
Jessica figures she'll need some liquid courage for whatever it is that's about to go down so she downs a nearby jello shot in one go and masks her splutter.
Turns out Alice Cullen's soft, melodic voice definitely carries when she's speaking in a suddenly near-silent room.
"Hi, Jessica. What a lovely party you planned! The streamers are a really nice touch," She winks. "But call me if you want me to help you out next time. I'm pretty good at planning events. It's my 'thing'."
Jessica nods with a smile pasted onto her face, fully aware that Lauren will eviscerate her if she ever goes to Alice Cullen for her future party planning needs. Unless Alice's boyfriend/brother gets to her first.
Even if it turns out Alice is kinda cool, she still has suspicions that Jasper Cullen is on heroin.
A few silent secshe thinksonds pass. Then her brain catches up with Alice's patient smile and she realizes she's expected to respond.
"Sounds great. That depends on how dead I'll be if my mom figures out what I've done, but I'll kepp you posted."
Her work is donshe thinks with a sharp burst of irritatione. Jessica turns to down another jello shot as a 'Congratulations, you survived That' gesture before she realizes the room is still almost dead silent. Clealry, her work is not done and could whatever is ruining her party please stop doing that? Everything was going so well too.
This must be karma or the redistribution of the energies of the universe or whatever her mom rambles on about whenever she visits that little spiritual shop in Seattle.
Turning around dramatically once more, she realizes that a pack full of wild Cullens have emerged from their cave/mansion and are glancing around in curiosity around her house. Jessica wisely chooses to use her drunkeness to her advantage and channel her inner-Lauren.
"Do you guys need to be invited in? Come inside; you better have booze," She turns toward some of the other party-goers, who have conglomerated into groups, "Jesus Christ, it's like you guys have never seen pretty people before. Eric, turn up the music! Let's get wasted!"
That crashes the one-sided staring contest that was going down between everyone else vs the Cullens. Eric, self-appointed DJ that he is (Jessica had to nag Lauren into letting him play. She's heard his mixes before and they're pretty good), listens for once in his life. Suddenly, the floor is vibrating with a trashy club beat.
Jessica's a little afraid of the neighbors calling in a noise complaint, but mostly she's just drunk and admiring the way Emmett fills in the door-frame completely, almost blocking Edward, as he steps inside her house.
Yum, she thinks with a blurry sort of gratitude, pleased that the party is still going. Alice has chosen to acccost a surprised Angela about drink combinations while Emmett is talking to some senior out near the kitchen.
The beat echoes in Jessica's bones and she sees more people rush toward the sounds. Lauren chooses that moment to latch onto her shoulder and give her a tight squeeze.
What are we waiting for? She mouths, since Jessica can't hear her through the music. Her breath smells fruity and sharp. It's clear that Angela has been working her magic. Like moths attracted to the light, she leads Jessica out into the middle of the living room turned dance floor. Jessica spots Edward, entering the room.
He looks like an angel wreathed in backlighting, but his hands are shoved into his pockets and his shoulders are just slightly hunched. He's looking around the place like he'll catch the influenza if he touches anything.
Whatever, Jessica thinks with a sharp burst of irritation. She loses herself in the dancing, grinding, twisting bodies.
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um, no excuses here. just apologies. lemme know ur thoughts