Chapter 40
I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR CHARACTERS
Alice lived.
Somehow God or fate or destiny or whatever mystical power there was decided to let Alice survive. Bella was unbelievably, irrevocably grateful. Alice lived. Despite everything, despite being on the brink of death, possibly already crossed over that line, she was alive. Maybe she made it by the barest breath. Maybe she didn't make it at all, but found her way back somehow.
No matter how or why it happened, Bella's blood worked, Alice was alive, and for Bella that would always be enough.
They both were. Their injuries were both grievous, but something about Bella's blood had miraculous gifts, and healed them both in the end. It took an entire week for all their pain to go away -a lifetime in vampire sense— but it eventually did. Alice's burns faded, slowly but surely, from black to gray to soft, adorable pink, and finally one day she was all glowing porcelain again.
Mostly because despite abundant protesting, Bella made Alice drink from her daily.
Psh. Like hell was Alice going to talk her way out of that one. She gave up when she realized Bella was going to have a nervous breakdown every time she tried. Besides, it was clear by now that drinking from Bella didn't harm her as long as she didn't take too much too quickly, and could actually be quite pleasant for the girl.
What could she say? Bella liked the tingle.
Bella's aches went away on their own. Her sore muscles and wounded insides healed. The only evidence that she had ever even been wounded at all was a set of scars in the form of claw marks across the lower half of her throat that were so faint only vampires seemed to notice them, and that was upon close examination. They seemed determined to stay but Bella didn't mind. Maybe they would fade eventually, maybe not. She didn't care either way. They were just a reminder to her of how much she loved Alice.
The emotional aches and pains didn't heal, however, not for any of them. They would take much more time, far longer to even fade a little. Losing so many people was crushing, a heartache that would probably never fully go away, probably really shouldn't.
Zafrina and her friend. The Irish. Marshall. Vladimir. Irena. Seth, Quil, Paul, and Leon.
Friends locked in immortality for the bond forged in warfare, for fighting and dying for the same cause. And maybe they weren't close to Bella, but she would always have a sorrow in her heart for the people who had died for them, for each other, to bring down such a cruel coven for the good of others.
And then…
And then there was Edward. Esme. Leah.
Family. They'd lost family. The Cullens lost a brother, a son, a mother, a mate, and Bella lost a sister in everything but blood. Despite what ran through her veins, Bella knew blood wasn't everything.
Clearly. Losing them hurt in ways so profound it was hard to put into words. She hadn't known any of them long but she knew the pain of losing them would probably always be there in some form or fashion. One day it would be bearable, but for now all they could do was cope and as Carlisle urged them, go on.
They went to the Quileute funerals for their fallen before Alice's skin was even white again. All of the Cullens were allowed, even invited, for their part in defeating Angeles del Diablo. Fighting together with the Cullens seemed to have finally diffused all their age old tensions and hatreds, and that was one good thing that came out of all of this.
No other vampires were permitted due to the fact that they fed on humans, but that didn't matter. The Quileutes buried their dead in their own personal cemetery with the rest of the deceased tribe.
It was a painful affair that Bella couldn't get through without sobbing into Alice's shoulder. Seeing Seth's small coffin alongside Paul and Quil's tore at her heart. By the time Leah was lowered into the ground after all the eulogies and heartfelt goodbyes and a sermon all in Spanish from the eldest tribe member, she almost couldn't take it.
The Cullens all had shiny eyes. When Jacob asked them to give the traditional farewell with tears running down his face, they didn't hesitate. They touched the palms of their hands to their hearts and then held them out to Leah as she was lowered into the ground, her coffin draped in spiritual beads and a quilt of green silk.
Bella did as well with a trembling hand, and didn't lower it until the dirt was thrown over Leah's grave and a ceremonial torch lit beside her tombstone. It would burn for three days and three nights as per a custom Bella didn't know or understand but fully supported. Thankfully Sam stayed scarce, on the outskirts of everything, so Bella didn't have to deal with that.
She almost fell apart again, however, when she spotted Kate sitting in a tree, high up and nearly out of sight with a look of pure regret and sorrow on her face.
But she managed. Somehow she managed to do as Carlisle said.
Go on for them. Go on because it was what they would want. No way would Edward or Esme or Leah want them to just stop, let their deaths become crippling. Esme would beg them to be happy despite, to be proud and joyful because they'd won the fight, even at this cost. Leah would scoff in Bella's face if she thought she was going to just give up on everything because she was gone.
Bella knew exactly what Leah would say if she didn't fight through the grief, if she tried to mourn forever.
Please, Mami. What are you crying over me for? Don't let your girlfriend see, she's like to off herself just to come after me in the afterlife. You wouldn't want that would you? Nah, I didn't think so.
The Cullens were more practiced in handling loss, having lived for so long, and it was probably only through them that Bella found the strength to keep going, to be relieved, to be, maybe someday, happy.
They had won. They had beaten the Volturi, damn it. They would crush no one under their rule any more.
Which left the question now of how to govern the vampire world. Survivors of the Battle of Forks Garrett dubbed it and the name stuck— all came together one last time to decide what to do now. They agreed somebody needed to go to Volterra and set everything back in order and do it right this time.
After much discussion, it was decided unanimously that Carlisle would be their unofficial president of sorts. He would lead them into the new world which would hopefully be far more democratic than its predecessor. He agreed easily and Bella knew part of that was because losing Esme meant he could never live in Forks again without seeing her everywhere, feeling the loss of her. They'd buried her in the backyard of their house, her favorite place in the whole world as she'd often said.
How Carlisle still went on after losing his mate, Bella would never know. The tiny glimpse she'd had of a world without Alice was one she knew she'd never want to live in.
But Carlisle was older, wiser, and probably far more resilient than Bella could ever hope to be. She fully supported the decision for him to lead them into a new government. The nomads had scattered to their far corners of the earth to bury their dead and mourn as well, but would reconvene in Italy within the year. Jane disappeared without a trace and nobody was sure if she had died on the battlefield or simply left after the fighting was over. No one particularly cared.
However, this left the tragic fact that the Cullens were going to leave Forks behind. Already Bella knew this tight knit little family wasn't the same after losing members. They'd already known Jasper was going to leave for a long time because of Alice and Bella, but the curious fact was that he was taking Omi with him.
Omi. What a strange, peculiar little anomaly she turned out to be. Bella found out shortly after Alice's miraculous survival that Omi had not only survived her bite but flourished from it.
Of course Bella's anatomy, her bite and blood had proven to be unpredictable and powerful and completely unfathomable in the strangest, most shocking of ways. But Omi's transformation after being bitten took the cake.
She grew. Omi did not stay a little girl after being bitten, but became the woman she could have been had she never been turned in the first place. Within a month the little girl became a fully grown adult, anywhere between the ages of 25 to 30. It wasn't easy and it wasn't pleasant but it happened. After enduring horrible growing pains and changing dietary needs that were almost fatal without Carlisle's intervention, Omi settled into a new body, a new mind.
She was a willowy woman, tall and thin. She had pale green eyes and a pretty, aristocratic bone structure. She was, however, still entirely bald, a memoir of the cancer she'd had as a child that apparently would never go away. She seemed entirely… Human.
Carlisle's only theory was that if she was forced to stay in the mind and body of a human child with everything she'd endured, the trauma of it alone would have killed her. And something about Bella's bite refused to let that happen.
Bella wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it… Actually, scratch that. She'd believe anything at this point.
The trauma of all the poor girl had ever experienced, of course, had to keep up with this. Her mind nearly shattered trying to cope with an erasure of instincts and a resurgence of humanity, but that's where Jasper came in. It was only with Jasper's help that Omi even kept her sanity, and some days were more iffy than others. But like the rest of them, Omi managed. Jasper seemed to have taken a severe affection for her, a fierce protectiveness. They bonded quickly and undeniably, which Bella thought was a healthy relationship. Omi and Jasper both desperately needed someone and even beyond their emotional needs they seemed to connect on a deeper level. It made her happy to see.
Although she was saddened to hear that they would soon leave for Russia in search of Omi's birthplace because she'd become fixated on it for some reason. Her memories were jumbled and not entirely reliable. Her mind worked in mysterious ways, fragile ways, a step away from snapping, and Jasper was all too willing to give her whatever she needed.
Omi was fairly attached to Bella as well, liked to just sit with her quietly, which Bella didn't mind at all. She knew it kind of creeped Alice out but she thought that was a little funny, too, how Alice refused to leave her side when Omi was around. This caused an awkward dynamic, however, because Jasper refused to leave Omi's side. She would miss Omi's calming presence, the motherly protectiveness she felt for the girl -woman— when she was gone, but she wouldn't miss those awkward Sunday morning silences on the front porch swing.
As for Emmett and Rosalie, they decided they wanted to travel to Ireland for a while and take the time to strengthen their relationship. It alarmed Bella because she thought the whole family was just going to fall apart completely, but she was assured by everyone that this was a common occurrence every few years or so. Vampires weren't naturally coven loving creatures, were nomadic and solitary by nature, so every now and then the family would separate to soothe these urges. But they always, always came back to each other.
Always, she was assured many times. Because Bella couldn't stand the thought that she'd never seen one of them again. Not even Jasper, who had apologized for his words when Alice was on her deathbed, as Bella had known he would.
So that left… Bella and Alice.
After they managed to heal from near death, Bella and Alice couldn't be separated for even a moment. They stayed by each other's sides, and together they decided their future.
The first thing they needed to take care of was Bella's father. Bella had had enough of lying to him. She wanted to come out to him. She wanted him to know that she was madly in love with this beautiful, beautiful girl, and…
And she also had to tell him she was a vampire. (Sort of.)
Esme's tragic death had left behind a certain problem, and that was the fact that her glamour over Charlie was completely and utterly shattered. He was knocking down the Cullen door with a shotgun within the week.
Thankfully Alice could still see the future, so at least they had a game plan.
After desperately talking him down from the cliff and making sure he didn't shoot Alice or anyone else in the face with a 12 gauge by proving she was, in fact, totally fine and not kidnapped or being tortured in the basement, Bella came out to him.
She told Charlie that she was a lesbian. She told him everything she felt about Alice, everything. It had stopped his furious yelling short, made him pause and turn a little red in the face, not from anger but a blush Bella herself was feeling.
"Well I-I knew that already, Bells," Charlie had said to Bella's astonishment.
"You-What? You knew?" she gawked.
"Well… Yeah. I've known since you were a little girl that you were probably, er… Not about the boys, so to speak. When Jacob tried to kiss you way back when and you clocked him in the nose and broke your hand, I had my suspicions… But I really figured it out when you had your barbie dolls kissing and your Ken doll in the toilet."
Okay.
Well.
That was humiliating.
Bella had hardly turned crimson when Alice (hiding behind Rosalie over by the staircase after Charlie's tirade) scoffed, "Jacob Black tried to kiss you?" Meanwhile Rosalie had a hand over her face while her shoulders shook with laughter as Emmett and Carlisle stood by, bemused, having rushed in from the backdoor to see what the problem was.
"You knew I was dating Alice?" Bella had quickly changed the subject to something less embarrassing.
Here Charlie had cast a contemplative, somewhat cold look towards Alice, whom he had always been on good terms with beforehand. Alice peered nervously around Rosalie's shoulder and tried to give him a reassuring smile.
"I had a feeling," Charlie muttered. "She took you to prom… I don't know why you didn't just tell me, Bella. You… You didn't think I'd be… You know I love you, right? Nothing's ever gonna change that…"
Charlie's face was open and full of sincerity as he ran a hand through his graying hair. Bella's anxiety, her nervous heartbeat had been through the roof, terrified that he would hate her for this revelation, call her a demon, an abomination, quit loving her-
Something inside her broke and gave way and she had thrown her arms around him before she could stop herself. Charlie immediately embraced her back, squeezing tightly as she buried her face into his chest, smelling coffee and his familiar cologne. Her father. Her daddy.
"I love you so much, dad," Bella whispered, clutching him. "I was so scared. I should have told you, but I…"
"I will never stop loving you," Charlie had told her fiercely, pulled back to look into her face with warm brown eyes just like hers. "Nothing will ever make me stop loving you. I don't care if it's a girl or a guy, as long as they treat you right…"
Bella had gotten all choked up, but it didn't last long.
"And as long as they don't goddamn kidnap you for months! Where the hell have you been and what the hell did you all do to my girl?" Charlie had snapped and pushed her out of the way to scowl at the Cullens, the shotgun still halfway raised.
Here, Bella had made the choice to tell him the truth. They'd debated elaborately lying to him again, but Bella was sick of it, sick of all the lying. She didn't want to play games with her father's mind anymore, so they made the decision to tell him the truth.
Well… Most of the truth.
With Carlisle's reluctant blessing, Bella told him everything she could. She told him about the Cullens and how they were vampires, and how she… She was something else. Something new. She told him how all that came to be, but tweaked the story so that the Volturi were never a part of it. They also left out the Quileutes as that wasn't their secret to tell. She told him Victoria was a rogue vampire that changed her and the Cullens had taken care of her, but had been nurturing her through this change all this time. They had to tell him about how Esme glamoured him.
Of course, he didn't believe a word of it. Charlie accused them of putting Bella on psychotic drugs and drugging him and raised his shotgun again, but Bella decided to prove it, as did the Cullens. It took a lot, a lot of convincing. It was only after Bella pulled her father outside and lifted Alice's Lamborghini (to Alice's great distress) above her head in one hand that Charlie finally began to understand.
Not really. He spent a solid twenty minutes just standing there trying to process it. Then he shook his head and started trying to make up excuses for it (something about steroids and Carlisle being a doctor and having access to all kinds of drugs), but eventually he started to get it.
Bella got that whole denial thing from Charlie, by the way.
This realization led to a whole mess of questions. And even more anger as he accused them of putting Bella in the way of trouble, to which Bella had to put her foot down.
"The Cullens did not do this to me Dad. It was Victoria and nobody else. The Cullens have done nothing but love and protect me and you will not blame them for any harm that's come to me," Bella had said so forcefully and commandingly that Charlie had been stunned silent for an entire sixty seconds.
Then his face screwed up and he seemed a second away from exploding once more, but Alice stepped up to the plate.
"Mr. Swan," Alice had interrupted quietly in her high, bell-like voice. She had walked up to him, looking small and innocent and totally unlike the powerful predator she really was. Her voice was practically hypnotic. It was so gentle when she spoke to him.
"We would like to apologize for any harm that we may have caused to Bella. It was never our intention. We have done everything we possibly can to take care of her since Victoria's attack. We even lost Edward and Esme to friends of Victoria in retaliation, and that should prove to you how much we love your daughter. I love her, and I would never intentionally put her in harm's way. But we should have done better to protect her, and for that we are truly sorry."
Charlie seemed unmoved, possibly even angrier, even in the face of Alice's full blown shame, to which Bella was baffled, because how could anyone resist Alice?
But when Alice didn't look away from his fierce stare, he seemed to waver.
Aha! Not even Charlie was immune to Alice's charms.
"You said you lost Edward and Esme? Your wife?" Charlie had inquired hesitantly of Carlisle, who nodded solemnly, causing Bella a sharp pang of grief.
Charlie was not cold. He drew back at this and rubbed the five o clock shadow on his jaw which he always kept clean shaven for work, a sign of everything Bella had been putting him through to her overwhelming guilt.
"I'm sorry. Edward was a good kid at heart and I always did like Esme. She was always kind to me when I stopped in at the hospital. Even if she was messing with my mind…" Charlie offered sympathetically, to which Carlisle could only manage a small smile.
"I just can't… I can't believe this. Vampires? It just doesn't make any sense. I just saw my daughter lift a car after not seeing her for months. Months she's apparently been spending with you. Months I can't hardly recall because Esme, rest her soul, but I'm sorry, apparently spent screwing with my mind to hide that from me. It just doesn't make any sense."
Here, Carlisle had stepped in and in his perfectly sensible calming doctor's voice explained how it could be possible, gave Charlie some of his fascinating biological theories and explanations for vampirism, and basically by the time he was finished Charlie looked like he was waiting to wake up from a dream.
Bella knew the feeling.
"You said you killed the woman that hurt Bella?" Charlie eventually asked gruffly when he seemed unable to refute Carlisle in any way. He seemed to be trying to pretend like Carlisle hadn't said anything at all, actually. Like Bella, he eventually ran out of ways to deny what was happening.
But… Yeah. Charlie was still a cop.
And murder was definitely still illegal.
But for the sake of their story, Carlisle ran with it. He didn't hesitate to nod his head even as Bella and Alice shared worried looks.
And yet Charlie's reaction was not expected.
"Good," he grunted, and finally thumbed the safety on his shotgun back on.
From there it wasn't smooth sailing, but they weren't dead in the water anymore. They moved forward, dragging a confused, bewildered, and very tired Charlie on into the future behind them.
Bella got the whole good with weird things from Charlie, too.
After dealing with Charlie, Bella and Alice had one more hurdle to jump, one that thankfully Charlie fully supported despite the fact that he still seemed to be coming to terms with the whole vampire thing.
Bella desperately wanted to graduate high school.
And when you're friends with vampires that have at least ten high school diplomas a piece, that's as easy as it sounds. After a lot of furious arguing with the principal of Forks High as well as the Board of Education (and maybe a teensy weensy bit of bribing from Carlisle in the amount of 10,000 dollars) they worked out an agreement with Bella's high school.
She had to make up for all the work she'd missed by the week before graduation. She had to take all the tests and she had to pass them. It wouldn't be easy to learn all the material she'd missed since she'd been sick in the hospital-and yes, they were sticking with that story to everyone who wasn't Charlie— but Bella promised them she was up to the task. No one believed her. But when Carlisle was waving green in their face like some kind of sugar daddy pimp, they couldn't say no.
And it was easy. Laughably easy. As a Swan vampire, which was the official name the Cullens finally decided on for what she'd become, learning everything she'd missed within a month was easy.
All the neurons in her brain worked together like they wanted nothing more than to read an entire textbook in a few hours and do a hundred worksheets in a day. With the Cullens help, they got her work done within a week, but staggered when she handed it in so it wasn't too suspicious. And with just a little bit of studying, Bella learned everything for the tests so quickly she was giddy with excitement.
As someone who had struggled with Algebra all her life, understanding it within a fortnight was an incredible experience.
It made her wonder why the Cullens bothered going to school so many times, and the responses ranged anywhere from boredom to they just liked meeting people. Which Bella couldn't argue with, because that was Alice's answer. Their kiss afterward had been beautiful and led to a round of lovemaking that let her know they were going to have to find their own place, too.
A future with Alice, a home with her… What a beautiful, heart wrenching thought.
She took all her tests and made sure to fail a few and score averagely on most of them to look realistic, but she made damn sure to pass. All of her teachers were baffled and impressed with her tenacity, and the looks on her friends' faces when she walked up onto the stage with them on graduation day was so, so worth it.
The day was bright, impossibly bright for Forks, Washington. It was hot outside. The clouds were thick and white and fluffy, lazily sailing along in a light blue sky. She walked alongside the Cullens who looked out of place but completely beautiful, all draped in long sleeves and pants with close toed shoes and hats while everyone else basked in the rare sunlight in shorts and t shirts.
"Aren't you hot young man?" A concerned old lady asked Emmett when he passed her.
"I'm always hot, thank you," Emmett replied smoothly, straightening his tie as he put his hands into the pockets of his jacket while Rosalie snorted.
"How are you not sweating up a storm sweetie?" the lady asked Rosalie next, who was in a lovely long sleeved cream colored dress and knee length white boots.
"We don't sweat," Rosalie deadpanned and kept on walking over to their seats in the soft green grass with Emmett and Carlisle in tow. Jasper and Omi had left for Russia the day before. Charlie met them with a wary wave. He couldn't seem to decide whether he liked the Cullens or not.
The old lady could only peer after them, confused and concerned. Bella only smiled.
She pulled to a stop and put her hand over her eyes to look around for her friends, which she found quickly with her vampiric senses, then turned to Alice.
Alice looked so damn cute in her yellow sundress and black stockings with her cute black boots with the yellow buckles and her stylish black and yellow shawl. Even her huge canary yellow sun hat which matched her golden eyes looked fashionable as it blocked the sun from burning her porcelain face.
Bella longed to see those eyes, however, and gently pulled her expensive Wayfarers sunglasses free from her face to gaze into them lovingly. Alice squinted cutely in the sun, then gave her a dazzling thousand watt smile that crinkled up her button nose.
"You ready Tiger?" Alice asked her adoringly as she cupped Bella's face in two cool palms.
"As I'll ever be," Bella chuckled, somewhat nervously.
She knew it was silly to be anxious about graduating from high school after she'd been in a vampire war to the death, but… She was still only eighteen and damn it, there were a lot of people here. And she hadn't seen her friends in months. What if things had changed? What if she made a fool of herself and tripped on stage?
Ah crap. She was getting sweaty hands. Damn it, this wasn't fair. She was a Swan vampire, first of her kind, and she shouldn't be nervous sweating!
"Bella," Alice murmured in that sweet, silky voice of hers, calling her back. "You're going to do fine. I've already seen it. Your friends have missed you like crazy and they're going to be so happy to see you. As they should be."
Bella smiled slightly, relaxed by Alice's presence.
"Yeah?" she mumbled, suddenly mesmerized by Alice's pink mouth.
"Yeah," Alice giggled and kissed her softly, her lips like heaven on Bella's. She would never get over kissing Alice. Never want to stop kissing her, never ever. "Now go graduate from being a weenie to a mega weenie, Tiger."
Bella pulled back, faking offense with a dropped jaw as Alice beamed and winked at her.
"If you have ten diplomas, what kind of a weenie does that make you?" she scoffed.
"You look hot in a cap and gown," Alice dodged the question with a sultry smirk, to which Bella grinned.
"You look hot in that dress and that hat," Bella replied, allowing it. She mentally gave herself a point on the never ending scoreboard she had with Alice. One day she might catch up in their battle of wits.
She was all too glad that those days seemed infinite now.
"I just wish I could see your sexy new haircut better," Bella drawled slowly, and gently tugged the hat free of Alice's head.
Alice fluttered and immediately lifted a hand to run it through her new pixie cut. After being burned, it had been necessary. Rosalie managed to salvage a cut from what was left of Alice's hair, but it had to be short, even shorter than before.
Thankfully Rosalie used to own and run a hair salon, and her work was, in Bella's opinion…
Fucking sexy.
Alice was insecure about it and had taken to running her fingers through the shortcut nervously, which only mussed it up into an even sexier look. Bella's inner vampire purred and growled hungrily and she licked her lips, which made Alice's lashes flutter and her eyes darken.
"You really like it?" Alice asked her as she had a thousand times before.
"Yes. No matter how many times you ask me, my answer is going to be yes. I love it. I like it more than the old one. It makes you look older, more mature… Sexier," Bella told her with a slight edge to her voice.
God, if only they were alone right now…
Alice smirked that trademark smirk, all her insecurity vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Easy Tiger. Maybe later, when you can show me that spanking new diploma of yours in nothing but that tasseled cap," Alice said in a low, teasing voice that spiked Bella's libido.
I really, really love this girl.
"Did you say spanking?" Bella purred and looped an arm around Alice's waist to pull her closer.
Alice laughed that gorgeous laugh and kissed her lovingly on the mouth. Bella's heart soared and she sighed, lovesick into the kiss.
Butterflies… She always gives me butterflies.
Bella hoped they never went away. Never ever ever.
They ignored all the stares they got for it, because really?
A couple of uppity old geezers and their crosses were nothing compared to the Volturi. Bella had seen God's wrath, and their dirty looks weren't it.
"Mm, you better get moving, darling, or you'll never get that diploma," Alice broke apart with a breathless giggle.
"I don't want a diploma. I just want you," Bella pouted, to which Alice only smiled sweetly, going from seductress to charming girlfriend in a heartbeat.
"You've already got me babydoll. Your friends are waiting on you. Now scoot. Scoot!" Alice laughed and shooed her away when Bella snuck one more kiss to the corner of her mouth. Bella then darted away, madly in love and incredibly excited to graduate from high school.
Months ago it would have seemed trivial, but now… It was everything. It was a chance to go on with life without fear and pain. A new beginning.
One with Alice.
She spotted her friends milling about by the stairs to the stage and ignoring the surprised looks and loud whispering when people saw her there, she worked her way over to them. It helped that everyone thought she had some crazy contagious foreign disease and quickly got out of her way.
Angela, Jessica, Eric, and Mike all stood in a huddle, looking nervous but excited. It warmed her heart to see them.
God, I've missed them. I missed being just a high school kid. Even if I only get one more day with them, it's worth it…
"Bella?" Jessica squealed when Bella finally sidled sneakily up next to her with a shit eating grin on her face in a matching dark blue cap and gown. "Oh my god-What-How-?"
Bella shrugged her shoulders and held out her arms, unsure what exactly to say, and the next second Jessica was squealing again and throwing herself at her. Bella laughed loudly and joyously into the hug, exhilarated by the warm welcome.
At least Jess doesn't think I'm a freaking leper. Although she is crushing my pharynx. Wow, she could give Aro lessons…
Bella gently peeled Jessica off of her but she was still smiling like an idiot.
"Isabella Marie Swan, is that you?" Angela gasped as she turned around at the sound of the commotion. "Oh my god, are you in a cap and gown? How? We thought-Are you graduating?" Angela stammered and then reached for her but stopped short at the last second.
"Bella?" Eric and Mike both yelped.
"Holy shit, you're alive!"
"We thought you were eaten by some wild Bahama bacteria or something!"
"We heard your lungs turned inside out and your teeth turned black!"
"Or your skin turned all purple and blue and red and like, blistered and shit!"
Their rapid fire exclamations made Bella blink bemusedly as they both lurched and then stopped short like Angela, an inch from hugging her.
"Wait, you're not still contagious are you?" Jessica yelped, alarmed, not having had their presence of mind before hugging Bella. But Bella laughed and shook her head.
"Nope," she said. "Do I look like any of that happened?" she laughed and held her arms out again as if to say, look, no blisters or black teeth here! They hesitated and shook their heads warily, torn between hugging her and getting as far from her as possible like everyone else.
"But everyone said you were on your deathbed, that they'd never even seen this disease before," Angela said nervously. Again Bella shook her head.
"Nope. It was all a huge misdiagnosis. It was just the stomach flu and a nosebleed from all my allergies. Some idiot nurse thought I was coughing blood because she saw the tissues and started crying Ebola."
Her matter of fact response made them gape in surprise and Bella kept going with her pre-planned story.
"The hospital's not equipped to deal with that so they shoved me off in some quarantine bubble and called in a bunch of people to test for it with special equipment and shit. My dad's actually considering suing the hospital but since I'm still dating Alice he doesn't want to piss off Carli-Mr. Cullen," Bella shrugged as if none of it was a big deal.
"Holy shit, are you serious?" Mike said, eyes wide. "That's freaking crazy— I mean, did they test for it though? Like are they… Ya know…"
Bella raised an eyebrow at him, amused by their anxiety over whether or not she was a disease ridden time bomb, though she couldn't blame them.
"Are they sure you don't have Ebola?" Eric blurted for him and Bella couldn't help but chuckle.
Mhm. It's just a hybrid case of vampirism guys. Nothing to worry about.
"Yes, they're sure. Yes, I'm fine. And thanks for being so concerned for my well being," Bella rolled her eyes at him.
Angela looked from her boyfriend to Bella and their eyes caught. Bella gave her a small, hopeful grin, and Angela softened.
"Oh fuck it, come here Bells," Angela scoffed and leaped for her. They both burst into giggles at the embrace and squeezed tightly, having missed each other terribly.
Eric looked alarmed but Angela punched him in the shoulder.
"Oh chill out you idiots. Even if she did have Ebola, if she's not dead yet then she's cured."
This seemed to be enough for Mike and Eric because they too hugged Bella tightly and Bella groaned as they squeezed her in their muscular arms, faking discomfort at their strength. It didn't used to be faked, which was just one more thing that had changed since she'd last seen them.
"Damn Bella, that's crazy that that happened to you," Eric said. "I can't believe they could be that stupid. We're totally never going to that hospital again."
"Well, it was just the one nurse and he was brand new. Carlisle fired her and everything," Bella hurried to save face for Carlisle's hospital even if he would soon be leaving it. The only other hospital nearby was fifty miles outside of town and it wouldn't do to have sick people trying to make it there instead.
"I'd still sue, like damn," Jessica laughed, using her cap to fan herself in the heat. "Tell me Mr. Fine Ass Cullen at least paid for your hospital bills…"
She eyeballed Carlisle who smiled politely back at them from his seat and tried not to snicker. Mike glowered at her and she had the decency to look chastised.
"Well, actually, he gave me a full paid trip to Cancun for a few weeks. And he totally worked it out with the school so I could get my work done and graduate with you guys," Bella told them with a barely kept straight face when they gasped and gawked.
"No way!" Angela groaned jealously. "Is that where you and the rest of the Cullens have been off to? Can-freakin'-Cun?"
"Yup. Mr. Cullen didn't want anyone bothering his kids about all this drama, you know how Forks is. So they all decided to just get their GEDs instead of diplomas. But I really wanted to walk the stage with you guys," Bella replied lightly as if it were no big deal.
"God, no wonder you're so tan," Jessica eyed her up and down jealously as well. "You look great Bella. Like damn, that stomach flu was the best thing to ever happen to you!"
"So you and Alice spent a couple sexy steamy weeks in Cancun together? And you're telling me you got in enough studying during that time to graduate?" Eric drawled suggestively, twirling his tassel like a dweeb as Mike grinned, his eyes glazing.
"In between all the hot sex on the beach, yeah," Bella dead panned as Jessica blushed and Angela guffawed when Mike and Eric's jaws dropped.
She met Alice's eyes across the way and saw her smirking from her seat beside Rosalie. She gave her a sly wink.
It didn't have to be on the beach to be hot sex with Alice. The forest behind the house worked just as well.
"Seriously?" Mike said as if in awe, clearly lost in some fantasy of his that made Bella grimace.
"Seriously. Tons of hot, lesbian sex," Bella rolled her eyes and then giggled when Alice mouthed Tons at her with an enthusiastic nod.
Angela noticed.
"So you and Alice are good?" Angela asked her curiously.
Bella turned to her with a genuine smile, her heart fluttering.
Out of all the questions, it was the easiest to answer.
Are we good? Oh yeah. We are so good. So, so good…
"Yeah. We're really good. We're great," Bella chuckled softly. "Thanks for asking, Angela."
"Of course. God, we're so glad you're okay Bella! We were all so worried about you," Angela gushed, warming Bella's chest.
"We tried to come visit you at the hospital but of course they turned us out. And now you get to walk with us!" Jessica squealed and apparently so overcome with excitement, she threw her arms around Bella and began to jump and down eagerly.
Angela couldn't resist and joined in, shrieking excitedly too, and when Bella cast Mike and Eric a look for help, they looked at each other, shrugged, and grabbed on to the huddle, and then they were all bouncing and laughing like a bunch of idiots.
It felt so good.
God I missed them so much. So much. I can't believe this might be the last time I ever see them.
The thought sobered her slightly, and when the principal cleared his throat and tapped the microphone to grunt, "Places, students. We are about to begin" the others seemed to notice too.
"Oh man, this is it," Eric gulped.
"We're graduating," Mike said nervously.
"We're going to college after today," Jessica added anxiously as she quickly put her cap back on.
"We're starting the rest of our lives today," Angela declared, squaring her shoulders even as she bit her lip.
"And it's going to be fucking awesome," Bella threw in, picking up on their nerves. "Guys, this is it. Don't be scared. We did it. We're graduating. We freaking did it! Get hyped!"
They all looked at her, surprised as she was usually the pessimist in the group. But Bella didn't want to see them nervous or scared, she wanted them to be proud and excited. And honestly it was hard for Bella to see this as too big of a deal when she remembered all that had happened.
They all looked to each other as people began jostling them around, hurrying to get in line to walk up on stage in the right order when their name was called.
"Bella's right. We did it! Let's go boys and girls! Graduation is a go!" Mike finally whooped and threw up his hands. They whooped with him and with one last look of encouragement for each other they all rushed eagerly off to get into place.
"Hey, Bella, don't miss my speech! I'm valedictorian, remember?" Angela called as they separated.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Bella called back with a beam as she jogged towards the back of the line.
The perks of having a last name that started with an S. What a pain. And totally unfair. If only they went by first names. B totally beat S…
And oh yeah. Guess who's last name also started with an S?
Cassie. Streeter.
Bella fought not to roll her eyes and curl her upper lip when she spotted the girl mean mugging her already as she approached and shuffled in behind her.
"Don't touch me you freak," Cassie hissed over her shoulder and Bella stuck her tongue out at the back of her head, unable to contain herself.
Some things really never changed. It was almost comforting in a way.
"Oh god, if you give me whatever nasty disease you had I'm going to lose my mind," Cassie muttered, and pushed the person ahead of her forward a little so as not to stand so close to Bella.
Oh, if only you were a vampire Cassie. I'd snap your pretty little plastic nose off, Bella thought irritably.
She decided not to let Cassie ruin her good mood though.
"And I know you got it from doing your weird lesbian shit with Alice. I saw you two earlier, everyone did, God knows what freaky diseases homos can get-"
Bella's eyebrow twitched.
Alright. Time for Operation: Save Good Mood.
She leaned over Cassie's shoulder and placed her mouth right next to her cheek where she spoke in a soft, husky voice.
"If you don't shut your mouth Cassie Streeter and keep it shut until you're across that stage, I'm going to spit right in your face. They said this disease is so contagious if any bodily fluid even touches any part of someone's body they can catch it," Bella murmured.
Cassie's whole body was stiff, terrified, and Bella smirked.
"And you know what the disease is called…?" she went on even more quietly as the principal began to drone into the microphone, preparing to begin.
Cassie trembled, revolted, much to Bella's delight as she delivered the kicker.
"Homosexuality."
Cassie jolted and whipped around to scowl at her furiously as Bella drew back, biting the inside of her lower lip to keep from bursting into laughter.
Oh my god, she is maaad.
When Cassie continued to scowl at her, preparing to say something inevitably nasty, Bella schooled her features into something cold and threatening. As a human it might have been intimidating. As a Swan vampire, it was totally menacing.
"Or I could just bust your lip again. Now turn the fuck around and stop staring at me."
Cassie obeyed instantly, clearly frightened. She huddled even closer to the person ahead of her in line, who shuffled away, annoyed. Bella felt kind of bad about that and considered apologizing, but then realized that was stupid.
She glanced over at Alice and saw her and Rosalie both cracking up, staring right at them. Bella bit the inside of her cheek and shook her head to keep from laughing outright when she got two sets of thumbs up from the Cullen ladies.
Cassie still looked frightened when she rushed up on stage a while later, sweating from more than just the heat. She was up and down the other side in a flash, storming over to her little posse undoubtedly to gossip and be hateful about Bella.
And just like that, it was Bella's turn to go up on stage.
Okay… This is it Bella. No biggie. You've fought to the death before. This is no biggie…
"Isabella Swan!"
Her stomach bottomed out, but she didn't hesitate.
The principal called her name and the crowd erupted into polite applause with several loud cheers from the Cullens and a wolf whistle from Emmett that made her grin as she trotted up the steps and across the stage, her heart fit to burst.
I did it. I'm graduating.
As fate always declared, Bella met Alice's eyes and the butterflies burst into a thousand white doves soaring up inside her and she was still staring at her when she took her diploma and shook the principal's hand without even looking at him.
No… We did it. We did it. We beat the Volturi. We beat all the odds. We're together and we love each other and nothing can ever take that away from us.
We did it.
Bella waved to her father and blew a kiss to Alice as she walked across the stage in her cap and gown to join everyone on the other side, where she was met with a huge group hug from all her friends, and she'd never felt so happy in her entire life.
It tempered the sadness of all she'd lost in this past year with all she'd gained. The good and the bad trying to weigh each other out as the principal finished calling out names and they all cheered when Angela took the stage to deliver her speech.
"Well, ladies and gentleman, it's been one hell of a year," Angela began as she stepped up to the podium. Bella watched her proudly, fondly. "It's been long and rough and to be honest, no cliché high school graduation speech is going to be enough to explain the feeling we all have right now. But it's worth a try. You could call it happy. You could call it sad. You could call it exhilarated, proud, scared and hopeful. It's that feeling you get when the battle is over, but the war has not yet been won. When you've lost so much but stand to gain even more."
Bella swallowed, her throat already starting to close up. Angela always did have a way with words. She glanced at Alice and started when she found her staring right at her.
"Today we're all going to move on to start our lives. There has never been so much possibility laid out before us. But all that possibility is honestly, truly terrifying. Anything could happen. Anything. It could be terrible-But it could be beautiful. And all we have to do is reach out and take it. With open arms and open hands, the whole world could be ours, if we just reach out and take it."
Bella's breath came faster and when Jessica grabbed her arm and squeezed, already crying, Bella squeezed her back.
The whole wide world… We lost so much this year. We lost Edward and Esme and Leah and everyone else, and it hurts so much. Is this what they died for? For this feeling she's talking about? So maybe we could have this terrifying chance at something beautiful…
When she looked at Alice, Bella knew it to be true. She held that close to her heart.
They gave their lives to give us back the world.
And the only way to repay that was to take it.
"And I'm here to tell you that we're going to. Every single one of us-If we can graduate from high school, then there's nothing that can stop us. This might as well have been World War 3, let's be honest," Angela grinned and everyone laughed. She chuckled nervously, shuffled her cards, and glanced over at them, her friends. They smiled encouragingly.
"No matter what we lose, whether it's innocence or childhood or whatever, we always, always have something to gain. Everything we could want or dream for will always be there, and all we have to do is take it. For us, it's going to be the future."
The future. She gazed at Alice relentlessly.
My future. My Alice. My love. My everything.
"And you know what the future is for the Forks High Wildcats?" Angela held her arms out wide with a bright smile, nearing the end of her speech. The crowd waited on pins and needles.
"We're taking over the world, baby!"
Bella threw back her head and laughed as all the students erupted into cheers and whistles, screaming their support of that sentiment.
"Congratulations to the students of Forks High! You're all free!" Angela called into the mic and her laugh bounced around in it when they all rushed the stage together, and as one, threw their caps into the air.
Blue hats rained from a blue sky amidst the band breaking into the Forks High theme and the roaring of the crowd. Someone unfurled a banner of the Wildcat mascot over the stage, but Bella had eyes only for her future.
Alice never stopped smiling back at her.
Bella was calmly filling out a college application to the University of Arizona that night when she heard a light tapping at her window.
Bella cocked her head and bit the inside of her lip at the familiar sound. It brought back so many memories of sleepless nights that seemed so long ago. Nights filled with Alice.
She tossed the application to the side and jumped up to walk over to her window eagerly. Her body reacted to the thought of Alice the same way it always did. Lovingly. Excitedly. She quickly yanked it up and stepped back to let the little pixie in.
"Hey sweetheart. You're late," she said to the cool night air.
Then she blinked because there was no Alice. Brow furrowing, Bella stuck her head out the window and peered around suspiciously. Then something brushed her hair and she twitched back to see the infuriating branch of that infuriating tree swaying in the wind, trying to tap upon her window.
I knew I should have trimmed that thing off when Spring started up again, she thought with a roll of her eyes.
Fighting off rising disappointment, Bella drew back to shut her window before the chill got in-
"Boo."
Bella squealed and careened backwards away from Alice's sudden appearance out of nowhere, the shriek turning to a snarl halfway through as she bared her fangs instinctively.
She caught her balance at the last second and blinked rapidly when Alice cut off her snarl with a swift, firm kiss on the mouth.
Bella pulled back, stuttering, embarrassed by her mild vamp out.
"Y-You-You-" she stammered as Alice burst into giggles at the look on her face even as she looped her arms around Bella's waist and pulled her close.
"You jerk," Bella huffed out finally.
"Now is that any way to talk to your girlfriend?" Alice drawled with a sexy smirk as she slid her hand into Bella's back pockets and pulled her even closer. A thigh slipped between Bella's legs and her glare melted with a soft moan.
Oh wow. Hot damn.
"I can't believe that still works on me," Bella growled, fighting off the bolt of arousal Alice was intentionally causing.
"What can I say baby doll? You're just easy," Alice purred and laid kisses up and down the side of her neck as she walked Bella backwards until she flopped down onto the bed heavily.
Alice played dirty, damn it!
"You're just eager. Horn dog," Bella muttered, then whimpered when Alice sucked on her pulse point.
Oh fuck. Okay. Cheap shot.
"You were saying?" Alice whispered to her ear as she teasingly ran her fingers under the hem of Bella's shirt.
"Mm-Not that I don't appreciate it, but what's gotten into you?" Bella groaned and tilted her head back when Alice licked a cool stripe up the underside of her throat. She felt Alice settle easily between her legs and was almost embarrassed by how easily she'd spread for the girl.
No but seriously. Could it keep getting into Alice? Like all the time? What a way to greet each other. Bella wholly approved.
"Nothing yet baby," Alice murmured, kissing her soundly. Their tongues twirled and Bella's inner vampire started to switch on.
Then she remembered something with a start.
"My dad's home," Bella gasped as Alice began to rock her hips in that way she knew drove Bella crazy.
"He's going out for fast food in about two minutes," Alice giggled as her hands found their way onto Bella's braless breasts.
Huh. Two minutes might not be fast enough.
"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" Alice asked her softly to her ear as she tweaked Bella's nipples and nibbled the shell lightly.
"Only a thousand times," Bella replied huskily, her toes curling. "Are you okay, Alice?"
It was hard to ask through her rapidly growing arousal, but somehow she managed. She would always care about Alice's well being over anything. And though this attention was definitely appreciated, it was out of nowhere, and thus cause for concern.
Alice paused and gently nudged their noses together as one hand slipped down over Bella's tummy sensually. Their eyes met as Bella's breath hitched.
She's so beautiful. And she's all mine. My beautiful Alice.
"Did I ever tell you how sorry I am for biting you that night?" Alice inquired with so much emotion it took Bella's breath away.
Ah. So that was it. Thank God, it was nothing serious.
"Only about a million times," Bella said and cupped her apple cheekbones in both hands. "Did I ever tell you how glad I am that you did? Did I ever tell you how much I love you, I love you, I love you?"
Alice giggled and kissed her again. They shared a moan before Alice broke apart and kissed her chin lightly, sending a rush of affection through Bella that staved off the arousal sweetly. Or made it worse. She couldn't really tell.
"I'm sorry. It's just I've never forgiven myself for it. For that fear in your eyes that night. For almost killing you. After everything we've been through, I keep coming back to it… You are my everything Bella. I can't stand the thought that I hurt you. I just want you to know how much I love you. How much you mean to me," Alice whispered in the orange glow of Bella's lamplight.
"You are my future Alice. You are my world. My everything, too. I love you so much and that was nothing. Stop beating yourself up for that because look where we are now. Look where it brought us," Bella murmured, brushing her fingers through Alice's short black hair, watching her eyes droop when she gently scraped her nails over her scalp.
"We've both come so close to losing each other. You know how it feels to watch me die. And I know the same feeling. So you know it was worth it. Everything was worth it because it brought me right here, to you," Bella told her honestly.
Alice gazed at her with those starstruck eyes Bella knew they'd had for each other since the day they met. She thought Alice's eyes might be shining, but Bella didn't want her to cry. All she ever wanted was for Alice to be happy.
"Besides, I bit you first," Bella smirked a little and Alice's starstruck eyes twinkled.
"You did, that's true," Alice agreed playfully, but Bella could see she was still thinking about it. She'd probably always think about it and nothing Bella did could change that because that's just who Alice was.
But she could always make it better.
"And you deserved it," Bella pointed out, making Alice scoff.
"I so did not!"
"You did too with your tickle monster bullshit!" Bella exclaimed.
She realized her mistake too late.
"Tickle monster bullshit?" Alice cocked an eyebrow and sat up between her thighs. "My dexterous tickling skills… Bullshit?"
Oh no.
"Alice," Bella put a hand up nervously, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. "Now let's not do anything drastic. Remember what happened last time!"
The last word became a squeal when Alice lunged at her and her fingers found all the spots between Bella's ribs that were vulnerable like she'd never ever forgotten them. Bella's voice jumped fifty pitches and she kicked out wildly as Alice laughed a loud, gorgeous laugh and tickled her mercilessly.
"Take it back!" she called over Bella's struggling.
"Never!" Bella yelped, squirming and giggling like crazy.
They both howled with laughter as Bella, stronger than she'd been the first time, fought back. The tickling turned into a wrestling match as they rolled on Bella's bed, trying to get one up on the other amidst silly trash talk and swiftly stolen kisses.
But as always, Alice got the best of her.
Somehow Bella ended up on her back with a thigh working between her legs and Alice's mouth sucking hard where her blood pumped the hardest beneath her skin, the air filled with pheromones and white chocolate and berries.
How Alice did it to her, Bella would never know.
"Please," she cried pitiably when Alice's fingers slipped beneath the cotton of her underwear and brushed slick heat.
"I love you," Alice murmured to her mouth. "God I love you so much, Bella."
"I love you too," Bella gasped, her mind going fuzzy. Her stomach knotted up when she felt Alice push into her and everything cramped with pleasure. "Mm, Alice."
"I really am sorry, Bella. I'm so sorry for biting you that night. Let me show you how sorry I am baby," Alice cooed as Bella's back arched and she let out a laugh that was pure giddy ecstasy when she stared up into Alice's twinkling amber eyes.
God damn, but I love this girl, she thought, delirious with pleasure.
"Oh… Don't worry about it baby," Bella gasped, and with care she bit Alice's lower lip and pulled it away from her straight teeth, purred when Alice growled and bared her fangs and fucked her harder. She moaned and kissed her and it felt like the first time all over again. She hoped it would always feel this way. With Alice, she knew it would.
She had a thought and broke the kiss only because she was giggling so much, and when she told Alice they both laughed so much they almost couldn't continue. (They did, of course.)
"Don't worry about it, Alice… It was just a little love bite."