Chapter Six
Alice is a terrible planner. Either that or she's forgetful. But Bella knows it's neither of those when instead of it being the three of them on a shopping trip, it's only two. A very grumpy two.
"I can't believe Alice stood us up," Rosalie grumbles, dressed casually for a day out at the mall. She's got on a deep v neck shirt and some tight black jeans complete with booted heels that make her look taller. Her hair is rolling down her back in ringlets of casual disarray. Bella wonders if that's natural or if Rosalie spends time to do her hair.
"Maybe something came up?" Bella suggests awkwardly because she was not expecting to be left alone with Rosalie. She's nervous as usual. It's a bit easier to pester Rosalie and try to get closer to her when others are around but alone? Bella might just throw up the butterflies in her stomach.
"Not likely," Rosalie narrows her eyes. "I think she's up to something. Up to her usual schemes."
Bella gets a message and opens it up to see it's from Alice. Have fun you two! It says followed by a thousand heart and smile emojis.
Oh great. Alice is trying too hard to make Rosalie and Bella get along. A word of warning would be nice. "I knew it," Rosalie scowls down when she sees Bella's message, peering over the brunette's shoulder.
Bella gasps and hides her phone screen. "Rude! Don't look at my messages."
"Then don't keep them out in the open," Rosalie counters.
"They're not out in the open. You shouldn't be using your vampire speed to spy on people."
Rosalie rolls her hand in an whatever gesture. "My theory is right. Alice did stand us up. I am going to kick her scrawny ass when I come back home." She shakes her head, annoyed too. "I don't see why everyone has the need for us to get along," Rosalie grumbled.
Bella knows why. They're doing this for her, so she can fully feel welcomed into the family. "I don't know, but I really do have to get some stuff for school so let's go in and out real quick."
Rosalie arched a perfect brow. "You still expect me to go shopping with you? Just us two?"
"Geeze, don't make it sound like a date," Bella says playfully and Rosalie makes a slight choking noise as her eyes bulge. "This isn't a date! No way in hell would I-"
Bella holds up a hand, expecting this reaction but finding it funny as hell even if it stings a little. Is Rosalie really so opposed to her? "Yea, I get it. No need to rub it in. But you're the expert on fashion so I was hoping you'd help me make an educated choice."
Rosalie closes her mouth firmly on this, an unhappy line on her forehead. Appealing to her ego does wonders. "Very well," she growls out, after giving Bella's current outfit a once over. "You look badly in need of proper clothing. But don't take long or I'm leaving!"
"Deal."
There is a bit of way to walk towards the store in question and Bella manages to 'accidentally' trip over air thrice on the way over, almost taking out a knee on the escalator if not for Rosalie catching her each time.
"I'm going to need to buy you a leash and keep you on it so you stop falling," Rosalie grumbles.
"Oo, kinky," Bella flushes, even as she jokes. "I didn't know you were into that."
Rosalie sputters, golden eyes going wide. "I was- I was not thinking of that!" She's flustered; Bella has never seen her being so. And it looks adorable on her.
"It's alright. Your secret is safe with me," Bella giggles, though she can't help but imagine Rosalie as a dom. She'd be perfect for the role, all dominating and cruel and yet impossibly soft when it came time to-
Bella blinks away the vivid image. Okay, weird. Why is she thinking that? Shouldn't she be imagining herself and Edward in such roles? With him topping her and not Rosalie the one holding Bella on a leash and telling her to lick-
Bella blinks again. If Rosalie notices Bella's inner torment she doesn't say anything.
"It's not a secret," Rosalie mutters in annoyance.
"Oh, so you're openly into BDSM?"
Rosalie throws Bella a scandalized look. "Bella-!" she gapes out and Bella laughs. She's never seen Rosalie looking so at a loss of words and it's funny. The laughter only seems to drive Rosalie's embarrassment further. "Stop that," she nearly whines.
"Is that an order, mistress?" Bella keeps going only because this is the only time she can probably derive some humor at Rosalie's expense for all the times the blonde has been rude to her. Rosalie shoves Bella playfully, almost putting her through the wall, and then speed walks ahead. "I refuse to engage in such juvenile behavior," she muttered under her breath all the while Bella cackled.
"Which one?" Bella raises two shirts up, interchanging them over her chest in order for Rosalie to get a good look. Bella never pays this much attention to clothing but she wants to impress Rosalie. To show her she's trying to be a bit better, if only for the Cullens so that she's Cullen worthy material.
Rosalie rolls her eyes to high heaven.
"As if I care."
"You have to. Otherwise we'll be stuck here for longer," Bella counters.
"I don't even look at you enough to know which would be better." Rosalie looks down at her nails, making a show of how she disregards Bella. Bella just holds the shirts up until finally Rosalie relents.
"The blue one. It makes your veins pop more." Rosalie's eyes go a fraction wider as if she hadn't meant to say this.
Bella doesn't take offense. Rosalie is a vampire after all. "Alright blue it is."
"Wait, no- don't actually get it-" Rosalie rushes after Bella to the cash register, because as they both know, the vampire probably doesn't need more temptation when it comes to Bella and her blood. But Bella always has been in the way of danger since she learned to walk so what difference does this make?
Suffice to say, Bella thinks the shopping trip is a success. Rosalie helps Bella get what she needs and they even stop and Bella gets some fries, making stilted conversation as Rosalie looks ready to bolt from the mall.
She's warming up, slowly. Bella just knows it.
Bella's birthday is coming up.
She's not a big fan of it. Not at all. Especially because it reminds her that she's getting older and her vampire friends are not. That Edward, will not. Is she going to be 80 years old and still dating him? What would that even look like?
But that's not the main reason she dislikes her birthday. It's simply because she never really celebrated it and doesn't find it as a cause for celebration. It's the fact of being the center of attention that she dislikes.
Edward of course, insists that she do something for it. He'd buy her a trip to Punta Cana if she so much wished it. Which she doesn't. "I don't understand why I have to celebrate my birthday. It's not a big deal."
"But it is," he assures her as they lie in her bed, looking up at the ceiling. "You're mortal. You can age. And it's important to relish in the fact that you have survived yet another year."
"Yea, but why can't you just get me a cake for it. Why a party?"
He licked his lips, trying to find the best way to phrase this. "I...none of us have celebrated a birthday in decades. It would make us all feel a bit more mortal if we could. And we like you, so we want to shower you with gifts."
"I don't want gifts, really. Because I know you all will go overboard and buy me ridiculously expensive things."
Edward considered this. "How about small gifts?"
"Gifts under fifty bucks. I mean it," she warned, wagging a finger. He chuckled in the dark, leaning in closer to her. "What about a hundred?"
"No. Fifty or else I lower it to twenty."
"Got it," he chuckled once more, enamored by her tough behavior.
"And it better not be a nice party. Just get cake and drinks and that's it. You don't even have to put decorations up."
"Esme will not be happy to hear that but alright," he commented and Bella turned into him so she could drift off to sleep.
The party is of course, more than Bella asked for. But that's to be expected, she supposes as she smiles and awkwardly endures being the center of attention. She opens up gift after gift- they're all small but expensive looking. She doesn't think they followed the price limit but bought small things in order to fool her into thinking it wasn't that expensive. It didn't work, because she knows. Just like she knows the cake is over a hundred dollars. She can taste the money in the frosting.
Bella doesn't expect anything from Rosalie at all. From Rosalie who glowers at being forced to celebrate the hated human's existence. Which is why it surprises her when Rosalie indicates for Bella to go outside and Bella does, now noticing the gift sitting in the driveway. She tosses the keys haphazardly at Bella, who nearly drops them.
"I bought you a car," Rosalie said tightly through gritted teeth and looking extremely uncomfortable to mention this. "Because I was getting fucking tired of fixing up your ramshackle truck and hearing Edward whining about how worried he was when you drove in it."
Bella's mouth is still open. She can't believe it. Rosalie got her a damn car. Not even Edward got her one. Though to be fair she hadn't asked for anything, nor wanted anything for her birthday.
It's not those ridiculous sports cars, but a simple gray Honda. Newest model of this year and there's a giant red bow over it.
"I-wow- I just-" Bella gasps out as the rest of the Cullens look in surprise.
"Rosalie, I thought we discussed Bella didn't want anything," Edward says tightly from where his hands rest on Bella's hips possessively.
"I think it's nice of Rosalie to do that," Esme interjects. "Especially since the two of them had such a rocky start."
Bella pulls away from Edward, needing to touch the car to make sure its actually there. She touches the cool finish and then looks at Rosalie who as typical, scowls deeply. "You better not wreck it," she says gruffly and turns to leave. But before she can, Bella speaks up. "You bought it. You should have the honor of driving it."
Rosalie looks over her shoulder at Bella, throwing her one of her patented 'are you dumb' faces. "I bought it for you."
"Take me on a test drive?" Bella finds herself asking and Rosalie's mouth falls slightly open like she can't believe the audacity of Bella to ask this. In fact, there's a long beat of silence from everyone as they digest this declaration. Bella resists the urge to squirm, wishing she could just shove those words back into her dumb mouth.
"Why don't you do it, Rosalie," Carlisle agrees, the first to speak up. "It'll show Bella how to use her new car."
"Fine," Rosalie hurriedly snatches the keys from Bella's hand and goes to the driver's side. She does not look one iota happy about this but she begrudgingly gives in as she jerks the door open and gets in.
Bella gets in the passenger seat, heart thumping in her chest. She's excited for this ride, even if it doesn't mean anything. Rosalie waits for Bella to buckle in and they peel out of the driveway, Bella catching Edward's dark look in the door mirror. He does not look happy and Bella knows it's at Rosalie. Why did Rosalie go against the rules and get Bella a car? The truck excuse is flimsy at best. What is the real reason?
Bella's heart pounds in the tense silence between them as they rush down the road, getting farther from the Cullens. Bella can't help but take in Rosalie's strong profile. The jawline carved from rock but softened by feminine wiles. The flutter of her lashes, the cupid's bow of her lips, the sharp cheekbones. The way her legs shift as she presses on the gas. Bella's stomach twists and she licks her lips, wondering why she's feeling this heat.
"This is the steering wheel," Rosalie begins to list off things, voice tight and sarcastic. "Which you use to steer the car."
Bella rolls her eyes, fiddles with the seat belt. "I know that."
"Then why ask me to give you a test drive? I know you may be dumb but even you know to push gas or push the brake," Rosalie irritably asks.
Bella shrugs. She knows her car excuse for the ride also sounds flimsy at best so she doesn't know what to say. Rosalie takes Bella's silence as an answer and shakes her head. They don't speak for a while, Rosalie keeping her eyes strictly on the road only while Bella's stomach churns with that unfamiliar heat, not even Rosalie's insult able to bring it down.
Rosalie cranks the window down not more than ten minutes into the drive. Her long blonde locks blow in the chill breeze. Bella catches sight of dark eyes in the rearview mirror. "Is my scent bothering you again?" she asks consciously, fidgeting a bit in her seat.
"Yes," Rosalie grits out stiffly, not even masking it. Her knuckles are white on the steering wheel.
Bella wonders why, when it's never been an issue for Rosalie before to be in a car with Bella. Maybe it's because it's the two of them? Suddenly she's nervous and Rosalie let's out a frustrated growl. "Don't do that," she utters out, voice so low and guttural it makes the hairs stand out on the back of Bella's neck.
"Do what?" Bella's mouth is dry. She knows the vampire wouldn't choose to hurt her, but she's also seen how strong these instincts can be. Rosalie may not have a choice. And yet, Bella couldn't find it in herself to be upset if the vampires did hurt her. After all, Bella had let herself into their homes, they were only doing what was in their nature.
"Make your heart race!"
"I can't choose to do that!" Bella blusters, heart racing even faster.
"Yes, you can!" Rosalie counters irritably. "I'm not going to hurt you," she adds as the wheel tightens under her hold. If she clutches it any harder it's going to break.
This is a moot point but Bella does what she can. "Pull over," she tells Rosalie. "Pull over and get some air."
Rosalie, for once, seems to listen to Bella and does just that. She pulls the car over to some strip of land off of the road and gets out, distancing herself from Bella. She paces back and forth, raking hands through her hair and Bella's heart calms down with the fear of Rosalie vamping out gone. Is it crazy to say that Bella is more worried for Rosalie than herself right now?
She watches from the safety of the car as Rosalie calms down, kicking a rock out of anger and shattering it to pieces before she heads to the car.
Rosalie eventually returns, eyes golden but a more intense shade than her usual. Bella gets out of the car to check up on her.
"All better?" Bella asks and Rosalie snaps at her. "How could you be so stupid as to ask me to ride with you? Don't you know how tempting you are?"
Bella is not expecting this outburst. Her ears ring with the loudness of Rosalie's voice in the otherwise quietness of the day. "I didn't think it would matter. You've always had great control," Bella retorts softly and calmly.
"You underestimate your irresistible nature, Bella," Rosalie chastises and it almost sounds...like she's complimenting Bella? "You shouldn't want to do anything with us vampires and yet you call our den your second home. It's not right."
"That's my choice," Bella says, quiet but powerful. "If I want to put myself in danger, than so be it."
Rosalie snarls at Bella and lunges closer, Bella stumbling back and tripping over nothing. She lands hard, her right hand taking most of the fall. The sting on her palm tells her she's skinned it. She lifts it up and see's the telltale signs that it will start to bleed. Rosalie is kneeling next to her, still all bluster and wind. "This is why you shouldn't be our friend." She snatched up Bella's wrist in her hand, hold so tight that Bella could not weasel her hand out. Rosalie angrily glared at the blood like it offended her. "We can kill you over something as simple as this and we wouldn't even be able to stop ourselves until it was too late," her voice drops in volume, regretful now.
Bella swallows nervously as Rosalie stares at the blood before tearing her eyes away. But she doesn't move, hand flexing subtly on the hand as if wavering whether to drop it or bring it closer. Strangely, her eyes aren't dark.
"I trust you," Bella breathes out gently. But earnest. "I know it's stupid to do so when other humans have run away. But I trust all of you. I know you would never willingly hurt me. You make me feel safe in a weird way."
"Bella-" Rosalie starts, stops when Bella interrupts.
"I made my choice Rosalie," Bella states firmly and the blonde is forced to look at her, eyes full of disbelief. "And nothing you say or do will change it."
"Not even if I were to drink your blood right here and now? Drain you of every last succulent drop?" Rosalie hisses, trying to scare Bella away.
"You wouldn't," and Bella doesn't know where this sureness is coming from. But she just knows, that Rosalie of all of them, would never drink Bella's blood. Bella has seen proof of it. Like when she got a nosebleed and Rosalie just wiped away the blood. Even Edward had to leave the room when Bella bleed and he was her boyfriend. Only Alice came close to acting normal and even she had to keep a distance. "You wouldn't," Bella repeats once more, letting it sink in.
Rosalie stares her down and then makes a noise of disgust. She tosses Bella's hand away rudely before getting up. "Drive yourself back. I'm walking home." And she goes to do just that, hands shoved into her jacket. She doesn't look back, leaving Bella on her ass in the wet grass.
This just proves Bella's point.
But if Rosalie's eyes don't get dark on Bella's blood then why do they get dark at all? Had it been because...in the car Bella had felt hot in that unusual way?
Bella's gut twists, hot and heavy and she tries really hard to think of innocent reasons because surely Rosalie wouldn't...