Alice was easily the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on, and I couldn't help myself but want to stare at her like some pining, lust-fueled teen. I knew it was unlike me, in almost every way, but I couldn't help myself. She was practically glowing at me.
That pale, clear skin; her golden yellow-not-quite-brown eyes; that cute little nose with just a few freckles spattered sparingly across it; her dark, thick, shiny hair; those naturally red, kissable lips; all of it drew me in, and the shape of her face framed her picture-perfect visage like God had painted it himself. I marveled in her beauty..
She could've easily been a movie star, or a model... but given how vampires look in the sun, I understood why Alice had stayed in the dark, so to speak. Then there was the whole hundred years old thing, which might've become a problem after a few years in the spotlight, but would've probably been good for her career in the short term. I couldn't imagine being recognized decades out of place, though.
All of that crossed my mind on the way back to my house, between conversation about our likes and dislikes. Alice already knew the answers to the questions she was going to ask, but she asked them anyways—to which I asked why, and she explained it was both to complete the loop on her visions as well as to keep me from feeling to awkward. The first kind of boggled the mind a bit, but I very much appreciated the latter. I was awkward enough without another reason in the mix.
It was around the time that we hit upon music (we were surprisingly well matched for a random pair of eclectic listeners) that I realized her car had rolled up to my house, and in the darkness of the overcast shadow the porch light was now on. When I looked more thoroughly, I noticed Charlie's car was in his groove in the driveway. When I turned back towards the front window, I saw him stop for a moment and peer out towards Alice's car with something in his hands. He didn't hover, thankfully, and wandered out of view once he got a glance.
"So I guess this is me," I said sheepishly, not really wanting to leave the car.
"Yeah, it is," Alice confirmed succinctly, muting the music that had been bleating softly from the sound system.
I undid my seatbelt, sliding forward in my seat a little so that even if Charlie was looking, he wouldn't be able to see exactly what I was doing—just that I was leaning towards Alice. I put my hand on her neck, and tilted her chin up with a bit of guiding from my thumb along her jaw-line, and then I kissed her. Softly, and passionately, and unfortunately all-too-briefly.
When our lips broke, we locked eyes for a moment in silence, and then, finally, I opened the car door, and got out. Closing it behind me, I turned to lean on it, half in the window.
"Be ready for six o'clock?" Alice asked when our eyes met.
"Count on it," I confirmed, and then after a moment, turned and headed up the driveway. I badly needed a cold shower, and a good plate of food wasn't far behind on my list.
Opening the door, I took one glance back and Alice was still there; framed in the window of the passenger side door. She smiled and waved, and I did the same, then headed inside.
"Bells?" Charlie called, from the kitchen as far as I could tell.
"Yeah, it's me," I replied, my brain adding: who else would it be?
"Have a good day at school?" he asked as I rounded the corner, coming into view of Police Chief Swan and his brand new pizza, which he was cutting into smaller slices—the way I liked it. I smiled.
"As a matter of fact, I did. I made a new—er, friend. Alice Cullen," I explained, taking a slice and a plate from the drying rack.
"One of Dr. Cullen's kids, huh?" Charlie replied back, seeming slightly interested, which wasn't much like him.
"Yeah, she is. In fact, I'm going to hang out at her house after dinner," I admitted, taking a bite of the slice I'd picked. It tasted heavenly, and I realized just how hungry I was—grabbing another for my plate.
"Oh? Well, Dr. Cullen and his family are good people. Never had a problem with them, and Dr. Cullen does good work at the hospital," Charlie advised between bites.
"That's good, Alice seems like a pretty awesome person so far," I said, flashing back to lunch and her introduction.
"Do you, you know, like her?" Charlie asked, as casually as possible. I just looked at him until he rolled his eyes, and went back to eating.
#
After a rather typical fast food dinner, and about forty minutes of perusing my closet and drawers, googling makeup looks, and trying things on, I collapsed onto my bed snow-angel style and sighed, trying to expel the stress I was feeling. It didn't feel like it worked, so I opened my phone and brought up my favourite playlist, sending it to the speakers on my desk. The room immediately filled with the kicking rhythm of a female-led rock band, building towards a lifting chorus.
Was I supposed to be reserved, or should I try to impress? Should I wear heels so I'm taller than Alice, or flats so she's taller? Hair up or down? Neck exposed? (Was that a thing I should worry about?) Dressy or casual? Designer or original mix? And what about makeup?
I sat up at eyed the closet, looking for something—just one thing—I wanted to wear. It took a moment of pattern matching in my head, but soon a pair of jean-pattern stretchy pants styled like patched and ripped denim jumped out at me. I slipped into them before I could change my mind, and began trying to match a top. After a few tries, I found a simple black and white camisole and a black shoulder sweater that didn't look too bad. It would have to do, or I'd spend all my time saying no to everything. That wasn't going to do, so I slipped on the set I'd picked out, and then sat at my vanity.
For the most part, I was always a simple or no-makeup sort of girl, but something about Alice made me want to colour outside my normal lines. Maybe I was trying to inch towards her level a bit, or maybe it was because I felt exposed when I was with her, but I wanted to add something to enhance the look. Lipstick and some mascara would have to do, and I went with apple red and black respectively, applying them with care since my hands were shaking a little with excitement.
After pulling the look together thus far, I took a look at myself in the mirror. A quick spin and I realized I hadn't yet decided on shoes, the carpet burn on the ball on my foot screeching at me from inside my head. A few ginger steps towards the closet, and soon I was pulling out a small bin, searching it for some flats I could stand to wear. It only took me a few moments to find some soft flats from my ballet days. They were black, so they went well enough with my clothes. I slipped them on quick, putting the box back in the closet once I was set.
Stepping in front of the mirror again, I did another spin, and headed for the bathroom, taking my phone with me for music continuity. Setting it on the counter, I checked the time. It was five-thirty-nine; I was cutting this pretty close.
Pulling my hair up into a loose group, I clipped it, letting enough down to partially cover my neck, pieces hanging both forward and behind my shoulders just a tad. I tilted at myself in the mirror, checking the movement and bounce. Adequate, I thought.
Smiling at myself to get a glimpse of what Alice would see when I strode towards her in the car, I frowned afterwards. It didn't matter how much paint you laid on a bad sketch, it would still come out bad. I took a deep breath, and headed back into my room to temper my mess a bit before Alice showed up.
Turns out, I didn't have to wait long.
At barely ten-to-six, Charlie called back to me from the living room, "Hey Bells, I think your ride is here."
I just about tripped over my feet trying to make it down the stairs and out the door without him meeting me halfway, and when I was clear at the door I called back to him, "Thanks Dad, see you later!"
I half-ran down the driveway, forgetting to make eye contact and smile, and tossed myself into Alice's car. I was seated, seat-belted, and panting when I turned towards her, caught her eye properly for the first time, and finally allowed myself to smile.
"Hi," Alice said, smirking at my little show, no doubt.
"Hey yourself," I said, still panting from the rush down the driveway.
"Shall we?" she asked.
"We'd better, I think Charlie suspects something," I admitted, feeling myself blush.
"He knows?" Alice replied, even as she was putting the car in gear and pulling away from my house.
"I didn't tell him, but I think he could see it on my face. He knows I like girls."
"Ah, well I promise I won't tease you too bad in front of him," Alice promised, hopping on the highway from my street.
"If... if tonight goes well, I plan to tell him soon. Charlie isn't the judgmental type, and I'd rather have the cat out of the bag so to speak," I swallowed, hoping he wouldn't make too much of a deal about how fast this was going.
"Cat out of the bag, huh? Good metaphor," Alice teased, giggling.
"Shut up," I chided, trying to stifle a smile unsuccessfully.
"Only if you make me," Alice teased farther, reaching over and giving my leg a squeeze. The touch sent tingles up and down my thigh, the first contact we'd had since I'd left her with a kiss two hours earlier. I grabbed her hand, pinning it to my inner thigh.
"Whoa, kitty. Go slow, I'm a ball of nerves, and we're headed to meet your family," I reprimanded her, softly as I could manage.
"Yes, ma'am," Alice teased, taking my hand in hers instead, but resting them on my leg where they'd been when I'd 'caught' her.
After a moment, my curiosity got the best of me. "So how far is your house, exactly?"
"Just a few miles, it's outside the town limits for certain privacy reasons, but not so far as to make going into town a chore. Not that we tend to drive slow, or run slow—for that matter." She smirked, and I immediately remembered the speed at which she took me to the sun spot after school. It was borderline scary.
I eyed the speedometer, looking for her current speed. It was ordinary. "You're doing the limit now," I commented, skirting outright questioning wondering why she chose now to follow the rules.
"Well," Alice began, biting her lip and giving my hand a small squeeze, "You are a ball of nerves, after all. I could tell when you were still in the house, I just didn't know how bad until I put my hand on your thigh," she admitted, flashing a proud smirk at her comment.
"Not fair, how come you're not a mess?" I asked, fake pouting.
Silence filled the car for a moment, only the low rumble of the music keeping the noise above background. I saw Alice lick her lips.
"That's just it, I am," Alice admitted, dropping the smirk like a flash. "I've been worrying every moment that you'll run away screaming from the things coming, and that what I've seen... won't come true." She paused, turning the car onto a small, hidden driveway, and then stopping before the gate to hit the electronic trigger on her visor. She turned towards me, and for the first time I could see worry on her face. Real worry. "But I also can't help myself but feel happy. I've been waiting for you for so long, to finally be here is kind of euphoric."
I considered her answer as the gate continued to slowly open, and then more as we rolled up the long, winding driveway towards the house. It crossed my mind that their place was secluded as all hell, and privacy was abound, but when we came over a small dip and into view of the house proper I decided maybe privacy wasn't their primary concern after all. The whole thing was glass framed in metal and wood, classic and yet modern at the same time.
As Alice pulled up in front of the house, I could see a few of her family through the windows. Each of them glanced our way casually, but made no attempt to stare or rush to greet us. I wondered what they were thinking, briefly, before shrugging that off for the moment at hand. I turned back to Alice as she shut off the car, and pulled my hand from hers, undoing my seat-belt and leaning across to lay my other hand on her cheek. Our eyes met and locked, and I cleared my throat, trying to force myself to speak.
"Bella," Alice began, but I shook my head 'no.'
"Alice, listen to me. I don't know where this is going, I honestly don't. I can't see into the future like you can, and I didn't see you coming, but if I had... if I had seen everything I'd seen up 'til now, I'd still be here. I want to be here. I want to be with you." I stroked at her cheek with my thumb as I spoke, and when I finished, I pulled her into a soft kiss.
After a moment, it felt as if we both broke the kiss at the same time, which might have been true if Alice saw it coming. I considered it, but didn't ask. Instead I just smiled at her, and released her cheek to gesture at the house.
"So, shall we meet your family in your Thirteen Ghosts house?" I teased.
Alice laughed, and crinkled her nose. "It does kind of look like the Thirteen Ghosts house."
"I won't hold it against you, as long as none of the glass moves." I said, opening the door and slipping out into the air. Alice followed from her side of the car, meeting me in a blur of movement, and then slipping her hand into mine.
Hand-in-hand, we walked across the white gravel driveway towards the metal-and-glass front doors, and the family of vampires that awaited us inside.