Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.
Thanks to all that reviewed. I'm on the lookout for a new beta if your interested just drop me a line or something. Another thanks to Alphie who did Beta this chapter for me.
Required Phrase: Is it really that small or is he just disproportional?
Required Item: Hello Kitty cell phone cover
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
A twitch. A sigh. A rustle. Bella awoke slowly. Her hazy mind edging it's way back into consciousness inch by inch. Bit by bit. In the far distance she heard footsteps coming from below, a jingling of keys. Her mind reached out trying to grasp the noises and keep a tight hold of them. Oh, the slow process of waking up. Chocolate eyes blinked open slowly squinting, though the sun was not yet completely risen there was enough light to cause some bother. Thought of the previous night flickered through her mind; Spanish verbs, lasagna, Mike and Jessica's less than friendly glances filled with hurt like abandoned puppies, and Edward.
That thought alone caused her to bolt upright. There he was as he had been the past few nights. Squishing the doubt in her mind that he might have left her in the night moving on. The doubt would not come back until the next night he was there to promise her he would stay. That was a long way away. Coherent thoughts seemed to filter their way back into her mind. A shopping trip with Alice for some secret occasion was on her agenda for this weekend.
Her gaze shifted to Edward. Pale and beautiful, already changed for classes he sat staring back at her, eye's smoldering. Within a second, a blink of an eye, he was there on her bed sitting embracing her in his cold pale arms. He kissed a delightful line down her jaw, then back up. "Bella," his tone was indistinguishable as he spoke softly, nuzzling her ear. "Don't go getting yourself killed."
Bella sighed, turning to face him, "And here I thought you were going to say something almost romantic."
The corner of his mouth turned upward, "Is it not romantic that I care for your safety? That I long to have something to come back to? Or in my case, someone who won't end up in a hospital. "
"You could have at least said it that way."
"I'll keep that in mind for when I get back," he said dryly. "In the meantime, go get ready for your last day of school, well at least for a while."
Bella smiled and gathered her things before making her way to the bathroom. Today was a good day, one more day of school and she would be free to summer vacation the next three months. She had a goofy smile plastered on her face, one that only came from such occasions. Bella showered and dressed, taking great care to look her best. The last day of school, as Jessica had described it, was a day for camera's, yearbook signings, and most certainly a time to look your best. People hardly ever opened the yearbooks to look at pictures; however pictures taken on the last day of school were passed around to all sorts of people on travels. It was a time to look your best. To make this happen Bella let her hair hang down in wavy curls, and she even applied a light layer of makeup.
Glossed and dressed in her Sunday's best, Bella grabbed her books and headed downstairs, she grabbed a jacket to protect her from the rain or, as she saw it, Edwards naggings about the flu. She walked outside, her hood pulled to protect her from the sprinkling rain. Edward sat alone in the Volvo. That was different. She slid into the car, looking at him curiously. "Where are Alice and Jasper?"
"They're riding in Alice's convertible, so she can drive you home from school today." He said it as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I guess that makes sense.Emmett and Jasper will just ride with you then?"
"No, we will take Rosalie home with us and trade in for the jeep."
Bella's face made a small 'o' of understanding and she relaxed into the seat staring at his dazzling fatures from the corner of her eyes. She could tell how hard he was trying to obey the traffic laws, goingagainst instinct to speed.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Tests drudged by slowly, draining Bella's mind of all conscious functions. Luckily enough, it would only last half the day. Considering the summer was just around the corner, Bella thought it best that she would be having lunch with Jessica and Alyssa, and have a chance to mend the relationship. No doubt to keep Charlie happy, she would have to have someone to fill her time with besides Edward. She could suggest double dating perhaps.
She looked over her Spanish final once more, making sure she hadn't mistranslated anything. Her eyes glanced to the ever-ticking clock, noting how little time was left. Fifteen minutes until freedom. Her mind subconsciously began the countdown. She chewed a nervous fingernail, biting it of. Horrid habit, one of these days she would have to stop. She held out her hand away from her body to glance at it, like she'd often seen girls in the movies do. Her brow creased with a frown, if this continued she'd be without any nails.
Ten minutes and fifteen seconds until food and freedom. Summer vacation sounded better with every minute that passed. She placed her hand on the desk drumming her fingers in a way to pass the time. She could hear the rustling of papers behind her. Every student's anticipation for class to end rolled around the room in tangible waves. As usual, of course, there were a few stragglers who stayed behind late to finish up. Bella heard someone else's foot tapping in a manner much similar to her fingers and smiled, continuing on like this for a while longer.
Five minutes until food, freedom, and fun. The classroom was still tense and still. The teacher stood up and began waving through the desks, something that on a normal day would have been hard; however, on a test day was always easy with desks spread 3 feet from each other. Bella handed hers to the passing instructor as well, knowing it was now safe to look around. She spotted three stragglers and multiple students trying discreetly to text people on their cell phones. Hands were hidden behind bags out of sight, some students, hid them under the desks. The most noticeable one was the cover that flashed anytime a message was received, had the volume been on the cover would have beeped a cheerful tune, probably to match the happy hello kitty design on the front.
So bored, Bella took another glance at the clock, one minute to go. Thank goodness. Bella almost breathed a sigh of relief, as every second ticked down she counted along with it. She was sure half the class was counting with her. It was the countdown until the end of the school year. It was almost considered as good as the countdown to the New Year, at least in the eyes of a student. She whispered some numbers quietly under her breath, fifty…twenty…ten…five, four, three, two. The bell rang and a large amount of smiles and cheers broke out on her face as well as though of her jubilant classmates. She felt the pressure lifting from her shoulders as she refrained from skipping out of class. Upon exiting into the hallways, papers were tossed, people embraced their friends, and everyone headed out to what would have been an outside lunch, had it not been raining.
Some students sat in the cafeteria, but most choose to picnic on the gym floor. Coats scattered on the ground saving spaced while everyone waited in line. Bella was quickly waved over to sit by Jessica, and she obliged just as she promised. Laying her jacket beneath her, she sat down waiting for the lunch line to shorten.
Apparently Bella came in at the wrong part of the conversation for the first this she heard was, "Is it really supposed to be that small, or is he just that disproportional?" Bella blanched trying to clear the perverted thoughts that flittered through her mind away. She glanced at the girls who had said it and relaxes instantly, they were just looking as some of the art done this year.
Bella soon turned her attention to her own group of friends. Mike had as of yet to show up, so Bella was listening to Jessica gushing about everything the pair was doing from kissing to those late night 'no you hang up first' arguments.
Mike and Alyssa join the group around the same time. Mike greeted his girlfriend with a sweet kiss on the cheek. Jessica kissed him back, and he turned to Bella with a blush. "So we haven't seen you in a while."
Bella caught the undertone in his words. His subtle hint at his dislike of her hanging out with Edward Cullen. "I've been busy with other things." She shrugged trying to pay no heed to his dislike, "It was finals week after all."
Mike watched as Lauren, Tyler, and a few others joined. "Is that just about everyone?" he asked giving Bella a meaningful stare.
This time Jessica also seemed to understand the hidden meaning, and she cast a cautious glance at Bella to confirm that Edward wasn't coming. Bella gave a short nod and Jessica found it safe to answer Mike, "Yes, I believe this is everyone." It seemed as though with that simple answer, things were back to normal. Mike lost his hostile edge and Jessica lost her caution at Bella upsetting him. They chattered mainly about summer plans. Bella, who hadn't actually confirmed any plans as of yet, didn't have much of anything to pitch in, unless you counted a few "oh that sounds fun's" or the occasional "Aw, I wish I could do that."
Summer vacation seemed to be a big thing in the town of Forks as many people hoped to stray away from the constant soggy feeling the rain always brought.
Eventually Bella excused herself to go and grab some food. Something boring and classically American - a hamburger, bag of chips, soda and ice cream. She walked over to the group again. Bella sat down and began to fill her stomach. She noted how good it felt to no longer have to be self-conscious everyone was doing it. She smiled at this thought.
Slowly she noted how people were moving back into the actual school building as apposed to the gym. The festivities it would seem were about to begin. Students would start in some classroom getting their yearbooks and move on to hang with friends or go into certain teacher's rooms where childish carnival type games could be played. All the while you would pass your yearbook around. Jessica said it was tradition for girls to pass their yearbooks around and forget about it. The person who ended up with their yearbook supposedly accompanied the girl to the end of school dance to be held that Saturday. No way in hell Bella was going to a dance. Perhaps Alice had seen this coming, and in an attempt to save her had chosen to drag her shopping.
Bella got her yearbook and passed it around, choosing to ignore Jessica's suggestion, Bella kept a close eye on it. More people than she expected asked to sign it, and she signed theirs in return. Halfhearted promises were made to keep in touch over the summer. The only people she could truly believe to do that were Jessica and Alyssa. Anyone else who she happened to see during the summer would probably just be there by association.
After a rousing round of games like beanbag tic-tac-toe, toss the ring around the bottle, and other equally childish yet laughable games, I spotted Alice watching me with amusement.
She approached slowly, "You done yet?" Her tone was more amused then annoyed.
"Don't knock it until you've tried it. Like note writing, it can be pretty cool." Bella argued back with good humor.
"Perhaps next year," Alice responded dryly, "Right now I would rather take you home so you can get some clothes and we can head shopping."
Bella stared confused, "Aren't we leaving tomorrow?"
" No. We'll drive there today. That way we have all of tomorrow, and depending how it goes, either drive back tomorrow night or Sunday morning." She tilted her head to one side, "That's okay right? You're dad said it was."
Bella just nodded, "If Charlie says it's okay then I guess it's fine. Edward just likes to keep me in the dark about that he and Charlie talk about."
"Probably makes him feel more in charge then he actually is. Wants to feel like he has control of the situation."
She made it sound as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. It did, in fact, make sense Edward had always hated feeling so vulnerable about his thirst and love for me. It really made sense Bella's faced must have showed her surprise at not figuring it out earlier because Alice laughed as they headed to the convertible.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Bella resisted the urge to groan out loud. They'd only been on the road for four hours and already she was resisting the urge to bash her head against something. Alice hadn't allowed her any time to pack anything of substance let alone her own CD collection; so now, here they were, listening to Alice's loud screaming music. Don't misunderstand, every once and a while Bella herself would listen to something just as loud; however, two hours on a car trip was just too much, and it wasn't even halfway over yet.
Bella turned to Alice. They'd prattled on for a little while before Alice had put the CD you're missing a verb or something here now it seemed the pixie-like girl was in her own world screaming and rocking along with the music. It was humorous if nothing else. If there was one thing for which Bella was eternally grateful, it was Alice's ability to obey the traffic laws. "Alice," she ventured trying to catch her attention.
Alice turned abruptly to face her, a shocked look on her face. Perhaps it was odd to be in the real world again rather than the music realm. "Yes?"
"The note you wrote me, what did you mean when you said we were celebrating an occasion for Edward."
Alice's reply was a look that could only be described as blatant confusion. "You mean he hasn't told you or mentioned to you anything…" She broke off hoping Bella would remember something. Bella simply gave a shake of her head. " Well I guess he could forget it hasn't exactly been a decade yet."
"A decade for what?" Bella was becoming irritated from not knowing.
"I guess what it is would be sort of like your birthday, except we usually refer to it as an awakening. The day he was born again. We don't celebrate then but once every ten years or so just because we know that we will have so many of them, but I figured he'd want to do something with you on this one if for no other reason then it was your first one."
"So it's pretty much like a vampire birthday?" Bella confirmed seeming to understand.
"Yeah, I mean chances are he'll do something for your birthday some day, and you would have gotten curious about his, and eventually you might have been upset at him for not telling you."
Bella tried to look appalled, "I would not." Yes she would have. "What makes you think you can judge my reactions so well?" Now she was becoming a little more defensive. That reaction Alice had just described made her sound like a two year old.
Alice tapped her head with a finger, "I saw it." She gave Bella a childish smile and winked.
Bella's mouth went into 'o' mode and she nodded in understanding. "Well then I thank you for saving our relationship in advance." Laughter was Alice's only reply as the music was cranked back up, closing of the subject for the moment.
Gradually Bella calmed listening to the music, mulling over thoughts of Edwards 'awakening' as Alice had called it. What did one do to celebrate such an occasion? Why exactly hadn't he told her? Was she supposed to buy him something? Why was the music so loud, one would think that with Alice's sensitive hearing having it at low would have been even a little two loud. This time she did groan. The music so loud Alice didn't even notice.
Bella took comfort in watching the distance on the signs that stated how far away Seattle was grow smaller and smaller. She couldn't concentrate on anything else. A few minutes were spent repeating the phrase "ninety nine bottles to go on our trip," in song mode of course. That was deemed too repetitive, as was the license plate game. No one actually traveled to Washington, of that she was for sure. At least no one who was a native to the state anyway, perhaps she had seen one peculiar plate from Oklahoma; then again Oklahoma wasn't a very exciting state. Perhaps for Oklahomans, coming to Washington was being a thrill seeker.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Bella stepped out of the car and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally she was in the city, no longer in the stuffy car. Dry, used air was replaced with smoggy and polluted air. It wasn't as good as the fresh air in Forks, but it certainly topped sitting in a car for hours on end. She grabbed her bags out of the back and followed Alice into a hotel. It suited her just fine. Alice discussed taking a few hours to shop tonight then eventually decided against it. They were going to pay-per-view a movie and relax while discussing what they wanted to accomplish shopping wise. Bella herself still had no idea why they had to go shopping to celebrate Edwards "birthday", if one could call it that. She was broken out of her reverie by Alice's voice.
"Bella," Alice gave her a funny look, probably not understanding the concept of daydreaming. "Would you mind terribly if we shared a room?"
"No, that'll be fine." Bella said honestly.
"Alright then," Announced Alice to the concierge. "We'll take one room with two beds please."
"How long will you be staying, Miss?" The concierge replied ignoring Bella, his eyes were flirting with Alice. He was probably praying she would take the time to dazzle him with a smile. Alice didn't seem to notice. She and Edward were alike in that respect, no idea how they affected others.
"We're not quite sure - at least through Saturday," was her response.
The concierge gathered the plastic key cards and handed them to Alice, "Enjoy your stay, and if you need anything don't be afraid to ask."
His mild flirting was once again lost on Alice, and Bella watched his downhearted look as Alice walked away, bags in hand, without a second glance in his direction. Bella felt almost sad for the boy.
Bella followed Alice into their room and dove directly onto the bed, not bothering to unpack her things; she'd be leaving in a day or two anyway. They were in for the night, so now seemed as good a time as any to ask what exactly Alice was planning as Edwards' surprise. "So…" Bella ventured slowly.
"What?" Bella could tell by the look on Alice's face that Alice knew exactly what she wanted to ask.
" So…" She was a little more bold now, "What is it exactly that you're planning for Edward, and where do I fit in with it?"
Alice gave Bella almost an eerie smile as she responded. Alice sat down staring Bella right in the eyes. She looked serious and composed, "Well Bella, you're not getting any younger. Edward is not getting any older. Perhaps if he waits to change you, it will be too late and won't look young enough to attend school or hang out with him. Trust me I've seen humans age many a time."
Bella's look was that of pure shock. What was Alice saying? Mouth agape, eye's wide, Bella was too stunned to say any thing. Was Alice saying that she was going to change her and give her to Edward as a present?
"Oh Bella, don't give me that look," Alice's tone almost seemed chastising at this point. " You've wanted him to change you, and you know I'm right."
"You're going to change me?" Bella finally managed to stutter it out.
"No!" Alice gave her a curious look, "Edward would kill me, however if we took certain precautions to make sure he changed you…" Alice left the sentence hanging knowing Bella would understand.
Bella's look was very pensive a that moment as she sat for what seemed like hours at the time, mulling over the idea in her head, "He'll be angry." She said in a quiet whisper, knowing Alice would hear it.
"At first yes, but eventually he will see it was for the better." Alice pressed the point. "Didn't you yourself say you wouldn't bet against me?" Alice watched Bella carefully. She could tell Bella was ready to resign and give in to her plot.
"What kind of precautions will we have to take?" Bella finally looked Alice in the eyes, and with a nod they were off discussing plans. That was all it took to get the ball rolling. Alice and Bella were up half the night plotting. Eventually Bella began to yawn and Alice excused herself, telling Bella to sleep for the day ahead.
But sleep wouldn't come. Bella laid awake the rest of the time, trying to quiet the voice in her head that kept whispering how this was a bad idea. Bella turned over and stared up at the moon. Alice had gone to the hotel's swimming pool, leaving Bella alone to ponder the things that this would mean. How much would it change? How angry would Edward be? Was she ready for this? Bella turned over with a sigh and closed her eyes, still it took a while for sleep to come.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Once again thanks to everyone who reviewed, or even read the story. I truly appreciate it.
Trivia du jour: What was Chef Boyardee's first name?
