I Do Not Own Twilight
Bella was sitting in the Cullen's living room explaining the Follies. "I know you guys don't want to stand out but everyone already knows you. Most of the kids have seen what great dancers you are the prom and told their parents." The vampires were all looking appalled at the idea of entertaining humans in a talent show even if it was for a benefit. Bella could tell they weren't interested, "Please you guys you can sing, dance, play your instruments, Alice you or Edward could do a magic act if you wanted. Please it is the last thing I could do for my dad."
Carlisle smiled at what would soon be his newest daughter, "Bella, I don't have a talent but I could emcee if you would like."
"Really?" Bella flew off the couch and into Carlisle's arms giving him a huge hug. "Thank you so much Carlisle."
Seeing how important this was to Bella Esme offered to help run the concession stand. She thought she could help make cookies and other treats to sell before the show.
Bella looked at her boyfriend with pleading eyes, "Please Edward? We're moving shortly after anyway."
Edward rolled his eyes, "I suppose I could play the piano. Not like anyone in town would really appreciate my talent anyway."
Bella smiled at her boyfriend, "Thanks Edward." She hated to be a bother to him.
Alice clapped her hands, "Okay! It is movie night and it is ladies' choice this week." This was met with cheers from the girls and groans from all the men with the exception of Garrett.
Rosalie smirked, "After watching all of those war movies last week we need to make this good." She leaned into Alice and Esme and they began plotting.
Bella looked over and saw Garrett looking slightly confused by the girl's chatter. She noticed he had brown hair, lighter than hers but also matched his facial hair. He was the first vampire she had met with facial hair and it made him look older, less like a teenager and more like a man. His body was lithe and well defined. She sighed and smiled in his direction wanting to talk to him she stood up and sat in a chair next to him. "Every week we do a movie night and one week the boys pick and the next the girls pick. It has become a competition to see who can make each other the most miserable while still having a good time yourself." She laughed lightly and shook her head, "Last week we watched Bridge on the River Kwai, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Apocalypse Now. I fell asleep during the last one."
Garrett chuckled, "And what types of movies do you ladies choose?"
Bella shook her head, "Oh I don't get to choose. The movies I tend to like are all newer and they tell me new movies don't compare to old movies."
"So, then you have already won the game if your choices are so bad, they make both teams miserable," Garrett eyes twinkled at this revelation.
Bella paused then a grin spread over her face, "Yeah, I guess I do. I never thought of it like that." She continued to smile for a few moments, "I don't mind really. They have been playing this game a long time."
Garrett leaned in his eyes transfixed on the woman in front of him, "What would you pick if they let you?"
"Probably Marvel movies or Harry Potter," she chuckled. "They have a little bit of everything action, romance, foreshadowing, cliffhangers. They say their vampire eyesight makes the CGI terrible," she shrugged. "It probably does but once I'm turned and I don't have to sleep I'm gonna watch the entire MCU in one sitting, back-to-back. Just to say I've done it." She blushed, "I know that's stupid."
"I flew all the way to New York to watch the marathon in the theater before Avengers came out. I don't think the CGI is distracting. You can tell it is fake but you can tell the puppets in the bar scene in Star Wars are fake too and no one minds them."
Bella's face lit up when he said this. She had tried to make this very point countless of times but her family only laughed at her.
"Okay guys we have made our choices," Alice's sing-song voice called out. She began doing a drum roll.
Rosalie walked to the front with a stack of movies she lifted the first off, the pile, "Dirty Dancing, Flashdance, and Footloose!" The girls giggled and squealed while the guys all groaned with the exception of Garrett.
Garrett shrugged and whispered to Bella, "I don't see anything wrong with these movies they are pretty good."
"I haven't seen them. Renee, my mom, went through a phase before I was born and just after where she was into them and watched them all the time. She even took dance classes but she watched them so much she made herself sick of them. So, I've never seen any of them." Bella whispered back.
While she was telling Garrett this the other male vamps were complaining.
Emmett whined and looked at Bella, "It isn't that the movies were bad the first time we saw them. It is that we have watched them a lot!" He pouted.
"Right, because we haven't seen Star Wars sixty-seven times," Rosalie scoffed.
Edward was pinching the bridge of his nose, "The music in those movies is terrible and you know Bella will get at least one of them stuck in her head for a week and she'll sing it to herself to low for anyone else to hear but I will still have to listen."
"Hey," Bella sat up, "you don't have to listen to me in the shower or when I'm in my room." Her face was turning redder by the second from embarrassment. "I don't sing when people are supposed to be around because I know I can't sing. It's your problem you listen in when you aren't meant to!"
Edward rolled his eyes, "Bella, love, you know you can't sing. There is no reason to get huffy when I only speak the truth." He chuckled like she was a small child and he was indulging her. He stage whispered to the room, "She sounds like screeching cats." He turned toward her and seeing her red face he stood up and came over to her. "Bella, are you alright. Is Garrett scaring you? Is that why your face is red?" He turned to Garrett, "What did you say to her?"
Garrett put his hands up, "I don't think I was the one to upset her."
Edward took her hand and forcefully pulled her back to her original seat. She folded her arms and sat motionless, her lips pressed together in a tight line and her face still flushed.
Jasper sent her a wave of calm and she visibly relaxed although she still had her arms folded. She glanced at Jasper and nodded in acknowledgement of his actions but she wasn't really happy he tried to calm her either. It only made her more embarrassed he was bothered by her emotions. At least she wasn't mad, just hurt and embarrassed.
Alice started Dirty Dancing. Initially Bella hardly noticed what was going on but about the time Baby started carrying watermelons she began paying attention. She chuckled at the awkwardness of the main character. It reminded her of how awkward she always felt around the Cullens. Compared to the smart hardworking girl baby was the dancers were from an entirely different culture. Bella smiled at this.
She smirked and shook her head at the leading lady when she was borrowing money from her father and then bringing him to the sick girl. Bella knew the cost of this type of self-sacrificing. She knew she would do anything to help her friends and family. After all that is what she tried to do when she met James in the ballet studio, protect her mom. It is what she did for Edward by going to Italy even when she knew it would probably cost her life. It did in fact cost her life. She didn't have a choice anymore she had to change before the end of summer.
She sighed at the end of the movie when the leading couple did their final dance scene. She thought about how nice it would be to show everybody just who they were dealing with. The girl on the screen had been hurt, lost her father's trust, and made a fool of herself but in the end, she shows them what she is made of. Bella thought that might be the coolest thing to do. Show the world who they are dealing with.
When the movie was over and Alice turned the TV off Edward sighed. "I suppose now you're going to tell me how wonderful it was won't you, Love."
"I did like it Edward," she swallowed. "I thought the dancing was fun and I liked how the girl was all awkward and learned how to dance. I also …"
Edward cut her off, "Of course you enjoyed how awkward the girl was. That part is basically you." He chuckled and shook his head.
"Yeah Bella," Emmet chimed in, "you don't have a graceful bone in your body. That's what I love about you so much watching you walk is entertainment."
Rosalie and Alice laughed. "You guys haven't seen her in heels!" Alice chortled. The two girls would have tears running down their cheeks if they could they were laughing so hard.
Bella never moved or said anything to all of this joking she just kept a small smile plastered on her face. However, she sat very stiffly and didn't meet the eyes of anyone in the room.
Garrett was shocked at the way this family was talking to this girl. She wasn't a vampire so why should they compare her to a vampire. As far as he could tell she was a very beautiful girl. She was charming and intelligent. He thought she was very kind to try to include him, a human eating vampire, in the conversation. He wanted to put a stop to this, "So what was the other movie we are watching?" Garrett glanced at Jasper and saw he was frowning and looking directly at Bella. He was glad one of the people in this family was concerned for the girl. Her own boyfriend was laughing heartily at her.
Rosalie took a deep breath, "Flashdance. I'll go ahead and put it on." She moved to put it on and as she did Bella stood up.
"I need a human moment. Just start the movie without me." Bella made her way to the bathroom. Once she was there, she splashed water on her face to keep her from crying. She didn't understand when and why they all decided it was okay to constantly make fun of her but this was their normal form of entertainment. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. She sent her father a sad face emoji. This was her new way of asking him to call her in fifteen minutes and demand she come home. They had worked this out after Italy when she needed a break from either the Cullens or the pack.
Garrett watched the bathroom door for Bella to return and was glad when she came back looking less tense and more like herself. He watched her from the corner of his eyes until her cell phone rang. She smiled and Garrett could see the twinkle in her eye. She got up and went into the kitchen. Again, he looked at Jasper.
Jasper was watching her with his eyebrow cocked. All he could feel from the girl he considered a sister was smugness and deception. He wondered what could have her feeling like this.
"Hey Dad. What's up?"
Bella's father could be heard by the vampires telling her how many chores she missed this week and that they better be done when he got home from his late shift or she would be grounded. Then he berated Edward to her for a few minutes.
Edward sneered in the direction of the phone call. He hated it when Bella's father bothered her in the middle of his time with her. He would be glad to be rid of him once her changed happened. It seemed he was always demanding she come home from doing something with him.
Bella got of the phone then stepped in and whispered, "Sorry guys. I have to get home before I'm grounded."
Alice huffed, "This is movie night we are all supposed to be here."
"I'm sorry Alice. Just watch the movie without me. It isn't like you can't make fun of me when I'm at home just like when I'm here." She laughed as if she was joking with the girl. It seemed to Garrett as if everyone else thought she was joking as well. At least he saw Jasper's face faulter as she said this to his wife. He knew her feelings. Garrett stood up and went to the window to watch as the girl he now felt a pull too left.
Bella left the house quickly with Edward on her heels. "Love," He whined, "why do you need to go every time Charlie calls? This is supposed to be our time together."
"Because I took off and went to Italy and he doesn't trust me," Bella said pointedly. "If it works out, I will come over later."
Edward tried to lean down for a quick kiss but Bella turned quickly and jumped in her car. Garrett, who was still watching from the window, smirked at the idea the girl wasn't interested in kissing her whiney boyfriend.
Garrett decided he wanted to see where she lived decided he would follow her home. He turned and saw Jasper quirking an eyebrow in his direction. He just shrugged and smiled. He walked out the door without saying anything. This was one advantage to being a nomad no one expected you to stay in one place for long and it wasn't rude to just walk out of a house without saying anything. Carlisle would expect him to come back at some point.
He took off after Bella following her truck in the woods. Bella had decided she needed to pick up some cleaning supplies they didn't sell in Forks. She would need to get them at the store right near the reservation because Charlie liked the smell better, she said aloud to herself. Really what she was doing was misdirecting Alice whose gift was decision-based precognition. She decided to get cleaning supplies when she got near the border she would then decide if she was going to visit the wolves on the reservation.