Hello lovelies! I love y'all's response to the Disney wanting Edward thing! We're gonna get into a little of that here in this chapter, but then we're gonna have a little fun!
As always, I do urge people to listen to the songs that go along with the story, especially this one because not a whole lot of people have heard this song(Unless you've watched Dance Moms), but this one was very fitting for the story. We'll get to the song that actually inspired this story, later. And it wasn't even the original inspiration for this story! The Chicks song from a couple of chapters ago was the original inspiration, but things morph and change when you're writing!
Anywho, read on!
Song credit for this chapter; 'Last One Standing' byPhotronique
Chapter 14 - Stun
BPOV
"So, are you sure you wanna do this? This is gonna put you out in the public limelight, and I know you aren't eager for that kind of attention." I ask Edward as we sit down on the sofa, my phone in hand to call Rose about the Disney project.
He said he was willing to try it out.
Which makes me a little excited. This is gonna be a dream project for me and being able to do it with someone I love, is just gonna be icing on the cake.
"I'm sure. Being able to do it with you is all the incentive I need. Besides, this will hopefully get your mind off of things with the asshole. And if I go back out to L.A. with you, then it'll help, with me being a buffer for you. I think it'll all work out for the best. Don't worry so much." He says as he wraps an arm around me and squeezes, then kisses the side of my head.
Calling Rose on facetime, we wait for her to answer.
When I finally see her face, I smile widely.
"Bella! Oh my god, look at you! You look like you're glowing! Is that because of sexy boy-toy?" Rose teases, and I blush twenty different shades of red.
"Rose, meet the sexy boy-toy." I say, trying my best not to laugh as I turn the phone slightly to my right so she can see Edward.
"Uhhhh, hi Edward." She says, somewhat sheepishly. But knowing Rose, it's only the tiniest bit.
Rose doesn't give a fuck, most of the time.
"Hi Rose. How are you?" Edward says, giving a little wave and laughing at her reaction.
"Peachy. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of having the both of you on a call like this?" She asks, getting back on track.
I look over at Edward, making sure one more time that he wants to do this.
He nods then turns back to Rose. "I think I want to try this Disney project with Bella, if they're still interested."
She jumps up and is slightly out of frame of her laptop, but you can tell she's doing some sort of happy dance over this info.
Either that or she's having a seizure.
She finally comes back into view and has a huge smile on her face. "This is great news! I think this is going to be huge! I'll call them back and let them know. Edward, since I'm already Bella's agent, I hope you'll let me represent you with thi-" She starts but gets interrupted by Jasper from somewhere in the background.
"Nope! No, no, no, no, no, no! I called dibs! This one's mine, Rose! Didn't you just say you've got too many people on the books for yourself as it is?" Jasper yells, then I see him come into view behind Rose, grab her and proceed to give her a noogie, which Rose HATES.
"Uuugggghhhh! Jasper! I swear to god, let me go, you butt plug!" We watch as they tussle around like two kids, and I can't help but laugh my ass off because this is the shit that they do all the time.
They always revert back to seven year olds.
I look over at Edward, laughing, and tell him, "This is what I put up with in L.A." as I point to the squabbling siblings.
Rose finally comes back into view, looking somewhat war-worn. "Fine! Ok? You can represent him!" She says, looking like a petulant child that lost her toy to her brother.
Edward looks over at me and whispers, "Do I get a choice?"
I just laugh again, because he's too cute, with his smile and slight glimmer in his eyes.
"Hey! Lovebirds! Knock it off! We've got shit to discuss!" Rose cuts in, and I see Jasper sit down beside her in front of her laptop.
We go over some of the details for what we need to do for the project, when we need to meet with the studio, and such.
After we're done with that, Jasper goes and takes a phone call, and Rose asks for me to take her on a virtual tour of Edward's house.
"Go ahead. I'll get dinner started. How does roast and rice sound?" Edward asks as he gets up to start heading to the kitchen.
"Oooohhhhh yuuuuummmm! That would definitely hit the spot." I tell him, then he leans down and kisses me on the cheek, then turns towards the kitchen.
"Aawwwwwww, you guys are so cute! You make me a little nauseous seeing how sweet you are together." She laughs, then goes on. "I bet I know what he could do to hit your spot." She jokes, and I whip my head around, gaping at her.
"Rose!" I yell, turning red again.
"Yes! She finally got her shit back out there! There is a God!" She throws her hands up, like the fact that Edward and I having sex is some sort of victory.
Well, I guess, in a way, it is.
But still…
"Christ on a cracker, Ro, do you have any sort of filter today?" I ask, trying get my face back to a normal shade.
"No, I don't." She says simply, like it's normal for her. Because it is. "Show me around! I want to see where it is you're gonna be living!"
I start downstairs, showing her the gorgeous work Edward's done, and all the beautiful details of an old Charleston home.
"Wow, Edward did all this?" She asks as I walk into the master bathroom.
"The majority of it, yes. He's been working on restorations of old homes around the area, and when he got this house, he started working on it in his free time." I tell her as I walk out to the wide upper porch that's off the master bedroom. "I love sitting out here. You can just see the ocean a couple blocks away, from this level of the house. He put a chaise lounge up here for me before I came home from my vacation because I told him before that I loved being out here." I walk over and settle into what's become one of my favorite spots here at Edward's house.
"You look so happy, Bella." She observes. "I don't think I've ever seen you like this the entire time I've known you. Being home and in love really does agree with you."
I smile at my friend, knowing it's going to be hard as hell not being around her all the time when I move here.
"I am happy, Ro. And despite all the shit that's happening with James right now, and the fact that they're starting to bring up what happened to me, I'm where I need to be to start healing. Edward helps so much. He keeps the nightmares away, for the most part. He holds me and soothes me when I need a shoulder to lean on. He's just been so supportive. And I keep kicking myself…" I tell her, trailing off because she knows how I feel about the whole situation.
Over the past week that I've been here in Charleston, the police in L.A. have finally started taking this seriously and took James into custody. Along with looking into people he associates with. Some were regulars at his 'parties' where some of the women that came forward were able to identify them and place them there.
The police asked if they can talk to me again, since I had a previous case against him. Not that it'll do any good on my part, but I'll help any way I can.
I'm just glad this is finally happening and hopefully he'll be put away.
"I know. I know, sweetie. It may have taken a little longer than it should have, but, this is what's best for you. And I'm so happy that you're finally on the path you need to be on to get better." She says in a teary voice, and I know she's holding it back.
I point at her and tell her, "Don't do that, Rose. I know what you're thinking. We'll still see each other. You're still gonna be my agent, so it's not like we're never gonna see each other again. Besides, I'm pretty sure your brother is gonna end up, at some point, with Edward's sister. So, who knows? We may actually end up as sisters." I smile at her.
Her eyes widen, then gets a wicked gleam in them. "So, does that mean we're going to be hearing wedding bells in the near future?" She waggles her eyebrows, and I wanna smack her.
Thinking about it, I imagine that, yes, Edward and I will get married. And it doesn't scare me in the least bit. But, right now, we're just worrying about getting settled and this project we're gonna have to go to L.A. for in a couple weeks.
"I think so. I don't know when, but I've told him I'll say yes when the time comes." I tell her, and get a little thrill at the prospect of that happening one day.
Rose claps her hands together excitedly. "I'm so happy for you, sweetie. You deserve this." She smiles widely then gets a questioning look on her face. "Now, answer me this. What the fuck is roast and rice?"
I bust out laughing. "Bless your little heart, Ro."
/-/
Walking into the bar, a week later, on Saturday night, we search for Alice's little form.
As we look around, I stop dead in my tracks, shocked at seeing two familiar blonde heads sitting with Alice.
She points her head my way and the two blonde heads turn my way, smiling widely.
"Oh my god! What are y'all doing here?" I yell, rushing over and being wrapped up in the arms of two of my best friends from L.A.
"You think I'm waiting around to come see what all the fuss is about? You're out of your damn mind. I want to try all the fucking food and see the sights!" Rose tells me, then looks behind me. "And I finally get to meet this hunk, in person!" She pulls Edward into a hug, his eyes widening in shock.
I can see her whisper something in his ear, and he nods in response. When she pulls back, she gives him a pointed look, but he just smiles that completely disarming smile of his.
She then looks over at me. "I can see why you snatched him up, Bells." She says, kinda in awe.
"BELLS!" I hears a booming voice behind me, then I'm scooped up from behind by two burly ass arms.
"Em! Put me down! I just ate!" I yell, hoping my dinner doesn't make a reappearance because he decided to squish my midsection.
He sets me down and I turn to him, and properly hug him.
Then twist his nipple, hard.
"Ouch! Jesus, Bells! You'd think the time away would have eased you hostility." He says as he rubs his, probably bruising, nipple.
"I have standards, you ass." I reply, then we all gather around the large table they obtained for the night.
I raise an eyebrow at Jasper as we're getting situated in our seats.
"I couldn't contain her anymore, so I called Alice and we made plans to come out here for a few days. I hope you're not mad we didn't tell you."
"I could never be mad having you all together in one place. You're the most important people in my life. How could I ever be mad that y'all came all this way?" I tell him, feeling so happy and lucky to have these people in my life.
And hope that we can have more instances like this in the future.
We spend a majority of the night catching up, laughing, and having a blast.
Rose and Alice are quick to become friends, especially when Rose sees what she's wearing, and I remind her that Alice is a fashion designer.
They're discussing when Rose can pop into Alice's warehouse to check out her stuff, too. Because Rose has seen what we're both wearing, and is loving it.
Edward, Emmett and Jasper and already doing their guy thing, talking about sports.
Typical men.
Edward grabs my hand at one point during the night.
"Do you think you're ready for that new song you've been working on?" He asks, nodding up at the stage.
I scrunch up my face a little, but know that there's no time like the present.
And the fact that I've got my major support system here with me, gives me the nerve to get up there.
I nod and this time he's the one that says, "Balls in holes?" holding up his hand.
I giggle and clasp his hand. "Balls in holes. I got this."
I find the person in charge of things, and he agrees to let me sing.
Grabbing one of the guitars they had stashed backstage, and tuning it, I make my way up on stage.
"Hello Charleston! How we doin tonight?" I greet the crowd, and get a rousing applaud from them. "I've been writing a lot lately, and I wanted to let you guys hear a new song I've been working on. I hope y'all enjoy it!" I tell them and close my eyes.
I start acapella, no music, just my voice. Kind of a soulful start to a song that's about strength and perseverance.
About ancient ruins.
Here they come
One by one
And the light grows dim
The ones who would take you down
Are moving out, they're closing in
I start with an intermediate strum of the guitar, slowly building the song up.
So out of the trenches
I'll drag my body one more time
Ride to the final push
And hold the line
Again, I start picking up the pace on the guitar.
I'll be the last one standing
You'll never take me down
They can fall all around me
Still I'll hold my ground
'till the last one crumbles
'till you raise your hands
I'm gonna keep on fighting
'till the last one stands
I pick it up once more, giving the song an acoustic interlude, then pull it back to a steady pace for the next lines.
Pray for forgiveness
And get your house in order now
Prepare your surrender
Lay your weapons on the ground
But don't wait for my vengeance
Cuz once I've begun
I'll start at the top
Then take you one…by…one
'till I'm the last one standing
You'll never take me down
They can fall all around me
Still I'll hold my ground
'till the last wall crumbles
'till you raise your hands
I'm gonna keep on fighting
'till the last one stands
I give it another little interlude with the acoustic.
Here they come
One by one
And the light grows dim
The ones who would take you down
Are moving out, they're closing in
And one more time let the games begin
I belt out the last chorus, putting all the feelings from the past six years behind it.
'till I'm the last one standing
You'll never take me down
They can fall all around me
Still I'll hold my ground
'till the last wall crumbles
'till you raise your hands
I'm gonna keep on fighting
'till the last one stands
I stop on the guitar and sing the last part alone, in a softer voice.
I'm gonna keep on fighting
'till the last one stands
The crowd is up out of their seats, screaming and cheering, more than they had the times before when I'd sung a few weeks ago. Which makes me believe they may be on my side with the whole James thing.
It gets me a little choked up, seeing them cheer me on like this, knowing I've got more people in my corner.
I hold my hand over my chest, trying to hold back a few tears that are wanting to escape.
"Thank y'all so much!" I yell to them, and blow a kiss to the crowd, and make my way off stage.
They're all still cheering when I start walking back to the table with the gang, and I'm getting high fives and pats on the back from people as I go.
Rose, Emmett, Alice, Jasper and Edward are smiling so widely, still clapping, and scoop me up into a huge group hug.
"That was AMAZING!" Emmett booms, while Rose laughs beside him, but agrees wholeheartedly.
"It really was incredible, Bella! That's like your anthem!" Alice squeaks, jumping up and down.
We move to sit back down and Edward tells me, "That's probably the best I've ever seen you perform, Bells.", then kisses the side of my head.
I duck my head at their praise, their opinions meaning more to me than just about anyone else's.
"To Bella's comeback, baby!" Emmett booms, and they raise glasses to clink together.
A/N: Little bit of fluff in there. Next chapter... we're gonna experience Rose in Charleston. It's gonna be a TRIP!
I'm now in the process of writing an Epilogue for this story, because, well, I think I left it off with more questions than answers. So, I'm gonna put some more stuff together, and hopefully have it ready by the time I'm done posting all the already written chapters. Fingers crossed.
Anyways, I'll see y'all tomorrow!