Alright, gang! As always, I don't own Twilight, the characters, yada yada. This is probably the longest chapter I've written yet, so enjoy. Fasten your seatbelts! Things are happening...
The remainder of the week went by in a blur, I buried my head in schoolwork as I always did, letting algebra, Shakespeare, and stem cells consume as much as my mind as it could; always in the back though, he lingered.
Cheerleading practice proved to be a saving grace. It was a saving grace for Charlie, a very visible act that I was at least trying to socialise and 'get better', whatever getting better could ever look in the absence of… But it proved to be a worthy distraction. It was a physical thing I knew I would terrible at. It was disciplined, calculated, and would be watched by everyone at school, at pep rallies, and football matches; this was a good thing, it meant I had to be good, or at least keep up in some way.
Tara cancelled Friday's practice. She said it was a treat to the girls, but really it was her way of making sure no one had any excuse to not go to her party.
She said I was exempt from the usual party prep team; truthfully, I'm unsure I was surprised she even had a party prep team. However, my hopes of escape were quickly dashed when she said I'd be included as soon as I started physically practising with the team.
And as she was planning to put me way in the back starting from Monday, that mean I was going to be involved pretty soon.
I knew I had to be careful around Tara, she was observant. More observant than perhaps even I was, and other foreseeing people I once knew were.
She assessed me constantly in the lunch hall, where I still sat with Jess, Angela, Mike, and the others. But by the persistent questions from Aneeka as to why I didn't sit with them at lunch, I figured what I was doing was out of the norm. But it only made me want to stick to my roots more.
Cheerleading wasn't a way to change myself, it was just a way to try something new, something un-Bella, a little dangerous even.
But it didn't need to change me, I'm sure it wouldn't.
I brushed the rest of my hair so that it was free of knots and gazed intently at myself in the mirror. It was about time to leave for Angela's to get ready for the party. I had dark jeans and a green chiffon blouse on, and to be honest, this was about as ready as I planned to get.
There was no need to dress up for something I wouldn't stay at for that long.
Grabbing my keys from my dresser and my raincoat, I head downstairs.
Charlie has his feet up in front of the TV when I hit the last step.
"Hey, Bells", he calls to me before I can dash out of the door. "Come in here a sec".
Internally groaning at the conversation that I can predict will ensue, I stand awkwardly beside the TV. There's a baseball game on, but I'm not too sure who is winning.
"I wanted you to know that I'm really proud of the effort you've been making lately, I just hope that it isn't to, you know, stay. Have some fun with it, you know?", his natural stoic nature is clearly uncomfortable with this parental affection and I can't help but smile at his efforts.
"Just stay out of trouble, okay? I don't want to have to shut anything down", he winks at me.
"Don't worry, it's just a few people from school", I walk back toward the door. "Don't wait up, but I won't be late".
"Take all the time you need, Bells. Just have fun", he calls behind me as I shut the door.
He's either overcompensating or he really wants me to be having a 'typical teenage experience'. I appreciate the freedom, but I do wonder if he's forgotten who exactly he's talking to.
I clamber into my car and drive to Angela's, thinking along the way if Charlie really knows that I don't go out because I inherently don't want to. There shouldn't be anything wrong with that, but apparently there is.
As I pull up along the curb, I clock the neighbour's yard. Sitting there, on the grass looking rusty and in a state of disarray, are two beaten up motorcycles. Another idea springs into my head and fills my heart with hope.
I spot Jess' car and guess she got the Angela's before me. It wouldn't take me too long just to enquire about the bikes, would it?
Before I can change my mind, I'm in front of the faded red door knocking hesitantly against the wood. As I'm deliberating whether or not this is just another mistake, the door in front of me opens to a young-looking boy. He's younger than me with mousy brown hair and tan skin.
He raises an eyebrow at me as he waits for me to speak, "can I help you?", he asks.
Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, I look in the direction of the bikes. "Are they for sale?", I ask, capturing my lower lip in-between my teeth.
"Oh, those hunks of metal? Yeah, you can just take them", he leans up against the frame. "They were just going to go for scrap anyway".
"Are you sure?"
"Definitely", he chuckles. "They don't work, you'll need to fix them up – it probably won't be cheap either", he adds.
"Don't worry about that", I calm myself. "Is there any chance I can collect them tomorrow?"
"They're pretty heavy", he eyes me up and down dubiously. "Is that your truck?", his head nods in the direction of my equally beat-up car.
I nod in confirmation.
"Come on, I'll load them up in there now", he walks toward the bike and with an easy and fluid motion grabs the bike with a grunt and throws it into the back of my car.
He tried to make it look easy, but by the way he's rubbing his back, I wonder if he pulled something by mistake.
"Do you need a hand with the other one?", I ask him.
"Uhh", he grumbles to himself. "It's pretty heavy, maybe just grab the end?", he asks and I nod, picking up the front handlebars.
He counts us down and with struggle we heave the second one into my truck. Dusting the dried oil off of his hands, he mumbles a thanks and heads back inside the house. I stand there dumbfounded at how quickly I just adopted two motorcycles for free, and thanking my lucky stars, I grab the tarp I keep in my trunk and pull it over the two bikes as best I can. It's best to conceal them than to explain to Angela and Jess why I have two broken motorbikes in my car.
I wait a few moments before I knock on Angela's door, it's a white door and is gently engraved with careful markings. I knock loudly a few times and stand back as I wait.
After a moment or two, Angela flings the door back.
"I'm so sorry to keep you waiting!", she exclaims. Her lips are lightly painted with gloss and there's mascara on her eyelashes, I caught her halfway through getting ready.
"Oh, it's no problem", I say as I step into her home. It's a small house, but cosy. There are family photos dotted around everywhere and the air smells of fresh baking.
"My mom's been cooking, do you want a brownie?", she offers.
"I'm good, thanks", I smile to her as I follow her up the stairs. There's music humming behind the closed door, I think it's a track by The Killers.
The stabbing pain in my heart returns for a moment, it's only been recently since I listened to music again.
Angela leads the way and opens a door on her left.
Inside, Jess is there, staring at herself in the mirror, applying a pink lipstick to her lips. Her hair is pulled into a tight ponytail with tight curls falling into the mane of her hair, she's wearing a miniskirt and a tank top with ballet flats.
Jess looks me up and down, her eyes fall on my muddied Converse and I notice she rolls her eyes ever so slightly. "Hi, Bella", she greets me cautiously.
"Hi, Jess", the atmosphere is awkward, but I try to ignore it and sit on Angela's bed instead. Angela's bedroom is much like Angela - clean, light, welcoming. A single bed sits in the centre of the room, there are books in neat piles near her dresser, and a full-length mirror in the corner of the room.
Angela sits herself next me on the bed.
"Are you all ready, Bella?", Angela turns to face me.
"Whenever you are", I smile at her. I can hear Jess scoff.
"You know, it's such a shame Lauren couldn't be here. You could have gotten her in, Bella, you're a cheerleader now, after all", Jess turns to face me.
"I'm not too sure if I know Tara that well", I try to explain. To be honest, I didn't consider it. But I doubt I would have any sway with the captain of the cheerleading team. Really, why would Tara care what I think?
"You could have tried", Jess cuts me off. "Are you going like that?", she asks pointedly.
I look down at my dark jeans and green top. "Um, yeah. I was going to".
"I think you look great, Bella", Angela quickly says as she stands and grabs her keys. "Shall we get going?", Angela smiles down to me and glances to Jess.
"Fine", Jess says as she storms past me.
We exit the house in a flurry. Angela makes a note to say goodbye to her mom and dad, she gives each of them as kiss and promises them not to be back too late.
"Oh", Jess stops still once we get outside. "Are you not driving with us?", she asks me.
"No, I just thought I'd follow behind", I lie to her – trying my hardest to keep my face straight, I think it works because she shrugs and walks toward Angela's Ford Focus; it's an old car, but reliable and gets her from A to B with ease.
"You'll be okay following us, right, Bella?", Angela asks me before she clambers into the driver's seat. I nod once and head to my own seat.
Truthfully, I drove my own car on purpose. I needed an escape card, and I knew I wouldn't get that if I relied on anyone else's driving other than my own.
I start up the car and duly chug slowly behind Angela's. Tara lives a little out of town, on the edge of the forest, it reminds me of a certain place that I refuse to revisit.
Lost in the thoughts of the recent changes that have taken place in my life, it isn't long before we pull up to Tara's home.
It's a grand home, with white pillars supporting the structure of the home. It looks as if it was based on the Grecian Pantheon.
The driveway leading up to the house is winding and long, there are cars dotted to the side where people have pulled over and parked. Angela begins to slow and I realise we're parking here, at the side along Tara's drive; there's enough room, I suppose.
I take in my surrounds. A vast array of green grass dominates around the house, the house itself is modest but large – not larger than theirs, mind – but possibly, one of the largest known in Forks. It stands out like a sore thumb.
Gingerly, I get out of my car and catch up with Angela and Jess.
"Oh, wow", Jess says, staring up at the house with wide eyes and her mouth slightly open.
"It's incredible!", exclaims Angela, "I wonder how old the house is".
We walk up the driveway, the gravel is uneven but as we approach the door, we're greeted with an abundance of flowers. All fresh roses frame the door of the house, enveloping us in a floral aroma; I don't dare think about how much it costs to keep up, but it's beautiful all the same.
So much beauty.
I clear my head before I step in – for Jess has already flung the front doors open.
The soundproofing of their home must be immaculate as the pounding music only hits us once the door opens.
A song I haven't heard of before greets us, it has a heavy bass and I can't make out the words. But it's thumping music drowns out my repetitive thoughts.
The house is just as beautiful on the inside.
A solid lacquered flooring covers the ground, and flows from the entryway through into the open plan living room. People are dotted about everywhere; Tara could easily cram the whole school into this house, maybe even the whole town.
I don't recognise that many people, they look older than us. Probably college students. But everyone has either a beer or a cup in their hand, and my guess is that it isn't Pepsi.
"Oh, sorry, beautiful", a drunk man dives into me.
"Don't worry about it", I straighten my blouse.
"You okay, Bella?", Angela turns to me.
"Let's get a drink", Jess screams over the music.
Angela and I roll our eyes at each other and smile, making our way toward the drink table at the back of the room. There's everything you could ever want: beers, punch, champagne, vodka.
Jess starts helping herself, while Angela turns to me warily.
"Bella", a voice, so familiar, like caramel and vanilla, smooth and crooning into my ear, warns me.
"Are you alright, Bella?", Angela looks at me. Jess sits her punch and also eyes me cautiously. "You looked a little lost".
"I'm fine, Ang", I grab my breath back quickly. "I'm going to get a glass of water, Ang. Do you want one?", she looks at me with relieved eyes.
"Yes, please", she nods furiously at me. "We'll be right here".
I catch Jess' eyeroll from the corner of my eye.
Squeezing my way through the bodies of people, I eventually, with much effort, stumble upon the kitchen. The marble floor shines up to me. The whole kitchen is marble or glass, either way, it's made from money.
I reach for the cabinet and pull down two glasses. It's quieter in the kitchen, there are only a few people in here and it's mainly couple. One pairing are sat on a counter top, while the other are whispering into each other's ears. It makes me slightly sick, and I want to do is hear that voice again.
Taking the glasses, I begin to pour some water in each from the tap.
"Iz! You made it!", I turn to see Tara and Aneeka greeting me.
"Hey, you two", I smile toward them. Tara eyes my glasses of water with disapproving eyes but says nothing, Aneeka looks toward me sheepishly.
"Not drinking?", Aneeka asks, hoping for the answer she knows not to be true.
"No, I'm driving", Tara glowers at me intensely. I smile toward her. "You have a beautiful home", I try placating her.
"It is, I suppose", she stiffens.
The atmosphere becomes awkward, and I'm grateful for Aneeka trying so hard.
"We're so glad you made it, Isabella", Aneeka starts. "Tara's parties are always the best", she turns to smile to Tara but she continues to glower at me. Aneeka tries a different approach, I'd almost feel bad for her if I didn't think she enjoyed it in some way. "Iz! You need to meet Tara's new boyfriend. He's so dreamy! We should introduce them, right, Tara?", Aneeka says excitedly.
At this Tara relaxes and a gentle smile flits across her soft features, it's almost sweet. "Sure", she smiles to me, "let's go. I want your approval of him".
"You do?", this surprises me. I never realised she cared for my opinion.
"Of course, I do, Iz. You're one of us now", she says as she begins to walk away. Aneeka and I follow duly after her.
They're both dressed to the nines. Tara's blonde hair is styled in loose curls, she's wearing a leather skirt and loose top. Her heels offer a pop of red, to match the shade of her lipstick, and they look like they hurt.
Aneeka is the polar opposite to Tara. Her black curls are tight, and her makeup is bright and colourful; much like her personality. She's wearing fishnet tights and a leather skirt, with a harness and a bralette.
And it dawns on me how incredibly and utterly different they are from me.
Party-goers are enamoured by them both as we make our way back through the crowd. We pass Jess and Angela, who stare at me in confusion as we walk pass.
We enter a small room where the lights are dimmer, and music is calmer. People can have a conversation here for you can actually hear what everyone is say.
"There he is, over there! Do you see him, Iz?", Aneeka asks me excitedly. I scan the room, but can't see Tara or her mystery man.
Tara taps us on the shoulder, and we turn around quickly. When did she get there?
"Bella", a voice, but who's voice?
"Iz, I want you to meet my boyfriend", Tara proudly smiles. "This is Laurent", standing in front of me, eyes red and bright, Laurent extends his hand to me and slowly smiles.
The voice, it was his voice. Edward's. It was a warning. It calls again. "Bella, run".
DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN! Laurent?! I know, right? Well, I hope you all enjoyed it! As always, I'm the happiest when you review! What was your favourite bit?