Wilting Roses

Chapter Two: Dark Desires

Lips as red as roses, and skin as pale as ice, she reminded me of Snow White. I knew her role in this fairy tale romance, but who was I? All previous facts pointed in the direction of the Evil Queen, yet now my heart was soft, so did that make me the prince who awoke the slumbering princess?

The day after Bella's arrival was a new school day. I woke up feeling haggard from a night full of contemplation on whether I was in love with Bella or not, and it took my fuzzy brain a couple minutes in the morning to reboot and remember what had occurred yesterday. I immediately got nervous and excited at the same time. I wanted to go see her but I was afraid of doing so at the same time. Would she think me weird after our interaction yesterday?

Trying to push the needless worry out of my head, I got dressed and ate my breakfast, Jasper having already left to school ahead of me. He was an early morning person and liked to get to school thirty minutes ahead of time, whereas I loathed the mornings and would arrive at school just before the late bell rang.

Finishing my cold meal of cereal and milk, I traipsed to my car, unlocked the doors and made it to the school parking lot. I was out the car and on my way to the school building when a loud roaring caught my attention. An old beat up Chevy truck was making it's way into the lot and I scoffed. Who drove in that piece of shit? I got my answer soon after when the truck parked and out came Bella, wearing a green sweater and black cargo pants, along with her signature converse. Today her hair had been braided down her back and it brought out her facial features more clearly. I quickly turned on my heel when I realized I had been staring at Bella creepily. What was wrong with me?

"Rosalie!" A shrill voice called out and I almost wanted to believe it was Bella who was calling me with that much exuberance in her voice but no, the pitch was off.

"Good morning, Alice," I greeted as the smaller girl slammed into my side and wrapped her arms around me.

"Good morning. How are you feeling today?" she pulled away from me, her big blue eyes full of concern. Sometimes Alice reminded me of those porcelain dolls with those big eyes. Except she was missing the ringlets of hair and the fashionable dresses. Alice had short cropped hair, arranged messily, and worked in black, leather and grays. No hint of color ever found it's way onto her outfits yet she managed to make such plain colors look refreshing each time.

I was more of a red and black girl. I would wear any color except for yellow (what a nasty bright shade. It hurt my head to look at it) but my favorites to fall onto were the two colors. Red was a power color, and I needed to exhume the power I had over the school loud and clear even in the clothes I wore. And black just went with everything.

"Yea, I'm feeling better," I replied, although I knew I wasn't and wouldn't for who knows how long. Last night I had done some research on this because I hadn't been able to sleep and if it was a crush, by my calculations I should be over Bella by three or four months. So I had to stick through with this for a couple more months and I would be fine. Yet this was stronger than any crush had a right to be.

Yes, the great Rosalie Hale could apparently form a crush, despite not wanting to as no one was ever good enough for her in this beat up town. And it was on a girl of all people. Why had my brain suddenly decided to do this to me? I felt utterly betrayed. I liked boys! Or at least I had only ever looked at boys since I had just assumed I was straight.

With a start I realized I had gone off into my head again and hadn't heard a thing Alice had asked me. "What did you say?" I could not find a way to ask her without her knowing I wasn't listening so I was expecting her pout.

"Rosalie, did you seriously not pay attention to what I just said?" Her hands were cocked on her hips as she arched a brow at me. "Are you sure you're really fine?"

"Yes," I said with a touch of exasperation. "I was merely thinking about some things."

"Fine," Alice huffed, not satisfied with that. "But as I was saying, I want to throw a party for next month."

"What's the occasion?"

"Does there need to be one?" We had made our way over to the school doors by now where a couple of student's were sitting on the steps. One of the boys whistled appreciatively to try and get my attention. I shot him the middle finger, making his friends laugh at him. "My parents are going to be out of town on that weekend so I want to make good use of the empty space. Besides, I got a reputation to uphold. I need to throw a party. It's been three weeks by now," Alice continued. "And I'm going to invite Bella to it too."

"You what?" I couldn't help but crane my neck at this to give Alice a startled look. "She's the chief of police's daughter. She could call the cops on us or something. Do you really want that to happen?"

"It won't happen. She's too chill for that. And she's new here so I know she'll appreciate going to a party and being able to make some friends."

"Parties aren't the best place to make friends," I grumble out before a more concerning thought takes place in my mind. Alice only invited the cooler of the less cool kids (as my groups of friends were the coolest in the whole state). While she was super friendly and was kind equally to everyone, she did abide to some high school hierarchy rules, and thus only let those she felt were cool enough to attend her party be invited. So it was a bit of shock that Alice had suggested this. Did she think Bella was good enough cool kid material?

"You want to befriend her?" I say this with a hint of panic. Befriending Bella means she'll be spending more time with Alice and since Alice is my best friend that means the brunette will be around me often and thus that means I'll be seeing more of her. The thought terrifies me at the same time it elates me. "Why?"

The two of us stop by the lockers, Alice imputing her combination and opening up her locker to get her textbooks. I do the same. "Why not? She's the police chief's daughter. Imagine all the cool perks we can get if she's on our side. We can get away with more shit." She's delighted by the prospect, I can see it in the way there is an all too familiar glimmer of mischief in her eyes.

I make a noncommittal noise at this. Normally I wouldn't be against using some one so I could get the benefits of being acquainted with them but I suddenly don't feel like having Bella be treated this way, for whatever inexplicable reason.

"I don't know..." I said uncertainly. "She could turn out to be a total sell out and get us in more trouble than she could benefit us."

As Alice slammed her locker shut, she smiled up at me. "Where's the harm in trying? And if she causes problems, you know what we'll do." Her words made a shiver go down my back, one that I tried to ignore by suddenly busying myself with something in my locker. I know what Alice is talking about: bullying. It's been done to those who thought they could take away my position of power, or any of my ingroup's members high status rankings. For as kind and sweet Alice could be, she could be as equally evil and mean. The student body thought I was the bitch, not that I wasn't, but they didn't know that Alice could be an even bigger bitch if the need be. The boys could be downright cruel too, but they let me and Alice handle the brunt of the work.

I felt tempted to tell Alice to leave Bella alone then, if one of the outcomes of Alice trying to form a friendship with her could lead into Bella getting bullied if it didn't work out. But I didn't say anything, because it was a stupid crush I had on her and not love. Not at all. And within a couple of months I wouldn't care about her, she would just be another resident of this disgusting town, another peon beneath my feet.

I was working up some comment to what Alice had said when the girl ducked past me and down the hall. "That's her over there. I'm gonna go talk to her." She gave me a quick wave and was down the hall. Slowly closing my locker door I watched the two of them talk to one another. Bella seemed taken aback by Alice's exuberance but quickly recovered and was smiling at something my best friend was saying. Something in my chest tightened as I saw the two of them talking and then walking off towards class. Only when the bell rang did I tear my eyes from them and go to my own class.

The whole rest of the morning I wondered how Alice's attempt at friendship had gone, paying half hearted attention to what my teachers were saying. When lunch arrived only then was I able to ask her. "How did your conversation with Bella go?" I casually munched on an apple, trying to seem uninterested. Bella was a nobody to us, so it wouldn't do good for appearance if I seemed to be too invested in Alice's pet project.

"You talked to her?" Emmett asked around his mouthful of sandwich. He seemed a bit surprised.

"Yes," Alice confirmed, setting down her tray as she sat down next to me, Jasper to her left. "I was thinking we could befriend her and use her law enforcement perks to help us when we have our run in's with the law."

"Do you really think she could do all that? She's only his daughter, not an actual police officer herself," Edward pointed out, casting a look over his shoulder as he saw Bella enter the cafeteria, nervously thumbing her bag just like she had on that first day. She looked as lost as ever in this room of hormonal and starved teens. But just like yesterday, Jessica snatched her up and took her to her table.

"What's the worst that could happen to us if she doesn't help us?" It was a rhetorical statement. Everyone of us knew that she'd be the one to suffer if she dared to breath a word of our activities to anyone.

"Are we going to vote on it?" Jasper asked, folding his hands in front of himself, and leaning forwards more. This was an important thing my friend group did. Before any important decision was reached we had to vote on it, because whatever we did we had to be fully invested in it, or at least three out of five people invested in it.

"I don't see the harm in letting Alice test her," Emmett admitted, shrugging his massive shoulders. "Maybe she might even have a secret naughty streak and want to help us do our 'events'."

"Edward?" Jasper moved onto the next person. As the most level headed person in the group, my brother was often the leader of these votes, and had the final say on the matter.

"I agree with Emmett. Let Alice do her thing." At this point Alice was beaming widely, happy to have her indulgences catered too.

"Rosalie?" It was my turn to answer.

"Good luck with being her friend Alice," I egged her.

"Then it's settled, as I vote in the affirmative as well," Jasper concluded the voting session and Alice clapped her hands in excitement before she peeled back the wrapper on the school issued lunch. "Don't worry, Rosalie. I'll be friends with her before you know it."

Hopefully not before my feelings for her don't end. Because being around her while crushing on her will not be fun, I internally conclude.

And for the rest of the lunch period I avoid the urge to look over at Bella's table.

True to her word, Alice took on the task of befriending Bella with her usual vigor and pep. Alice would seek Bella in the hallway between classes, or early in the mornings or after school. They'd chat about small matters, the conversations usually not lasting more than ten minutes. Alice always did like to expose her victims to small amounts of her crazy personality before she took them out for an extended period of time and hit them with a huge dose of it. It was during these longer sessions that Alice could truly determine who was cut out for a higher ranking cool factor in her book-basically, who she could call her 'friends'. And Alice was going to take Bella out on one of those longer excursions this weekend. And she wanted me to come along.

"Why?" I couldn't help blurt out as I paid for my smoothie at the local smoothie shop, and went over to the side to wait for my order to arrive. Alice had already gotten hers and was slurping it up. She never did have patience when it came to eating or drinking something. Or for pretty much anything else for that matter. Her life was always about rushing to and fro from one thing to another. She tended to lose interest in things easily, which is why she had as many friends as she did have ex-friends. She'd probably do the same to Bella, dropping her in a couple months time after she got bored with her. That wasn't the case with me. We'd been good friends for a year and a half by now. I was unpredictable, or so she claimed. It's what drew her to me and kept her there.

This was largely due to my lack of expressed emotion. Alice was a very expressionist person, having the capability to produce hundreds of differing emotions, and she thrived off of other peoples feelings. It was what let her read them so easily, what let her get into their minds and hearts.

With me, well I didn't have feelings like a regular person. I seemed to register things differently, having maybe only ever felt real anger, sadness, happiness and annoyance throughout my life a handful of times, otherwise everything else had been faked for appearance. I had never felt concern, or jealousy, for why should I when I already had everything in life? And even if I did feel something, I bottled it up behind my ice walls. I was cold inside and out and this scared people. They didn't know how to deal with me. But that was fine. I didn't care to deal with people. I wouldn't even mind being friendless. I didn't need my popularity but it seemed to follow me to whatever school I went to because of my good looks. And once I got used to be fawned over by others, it was sort of hard to not be used to receiving that standard wherever I went. But if I was going to be a popular girl I need to have a Schick, and so on top of the facade of not having emotions, I also wore the mask of being a heartless and vain bitch.

And it worked quite well. It had gotten me to the top of the school food chain in no time. And it had garnered the attention of all my current friend group. In one way or another we had gravitated to each other.

"I just thought it would be nice if slowly I got her to know more of the members of our little circle," Alice shrugged.

"But you haven't even tested her alone on your big excursion. Wouldn't my being there interrupt this testing?" The drink arrived and I picked it up, taking a sip as the two of us left the store. We were out chilling downtown after school. The boys had gone to go drinking with some of the town college students.

"I think it'll be fine. Ms. Swan is very malleable. She'll be eating out of our hands soon."

I didn't like this analysis of her, but I didn't like the fact that I was slightly feeling defensive of the girl even more. A month had passed since I had first let my eyes fall on Bella and I still felt ridiculously nervous around her. So much so that I tended to ignore her pretty much all the time during our one shared Biology class. Alice of course would use the class to get even closer to the brunette and the two chatted away. Sometimes Alice would try to include me into the conversations and I'd say a thing or two, all while avoiding Bella's eyes. Other than that I would go right back to staring at the front of the room, arms crossed over my chest.

I think this intimidated the girl, especially since I had seemed like such a blubbering fool before her the first and last time we spoke. I didn't dare to make an attempt at conversation with her for fear I'd embarrass myself again. I kept it at a simple wave hello and wave goodbye and allowing myself to be prodded for opinions by Alice on certain topics.

I really did want to talk to Bella; it was hard to resist the temptation to do so. But I would not risk looking like an idiot because of her in such a public space. I was Rosalie, the unwavering ice queen and it would stay that way.

Still, my ears greedily drank in every word that was exchanged during conversation and I paid more attention than was healthy to what she was talking about. I knew she liked the color green, that she was widely versed in German poetry, that she wasn't a fan of watching TV, that she liked organic food, that she hated the school lunches and that she enjoyed spending time by herself when she could, and if not she liked going on walks in the forest behind her house.

I also paid attention to her frustrated grunts, her irritated sighs and her soft ohs of wonder as she pondered over the classwork, stressed over the homework, and had moments of understanding on the material. More than once I imagined what her face looked like when she emitted these sounds. I pictured for the first one she would be holding a pencil clamped tightly between her hands, biting her lip in anger management. For the second one she'd blow up a strand of her hair, pouting, her full bottom lip sticking out. And for the last one her brown doe eyes would open wide in wonder, her lips stretching before she bit them in shy contemplation on what to do next with this sudden revelation she had had.

And by god did her lips drive me crazy. She was always biting them no matter her emotion. Nervous, mad, happy. She always seemed to like biting her lip. I shouldn't know this, but I do as whenever I can sneak a glance at her when no one else is looking, I can see her doing it.

"Still," I said, returning my thoughts to the present. "I have something that day-"

"No you don't," Alice cut in. "We both know that we know your schedule for this weekend and it is clear. Besides, I need someone with good fashion advice to help me pick out an outfit for the upcoming party."

"Alice, that party won't be until two weeks from now."

"It never hurts to get an early start on clothing. So, picking you up at ten in the morning tomorrow?"

"I'd rather be the one driving," I said, trying to not let my irritation at being forced to go on this trip show. If I drove, at least I wouldn't be able to be distracted by Bella being in the car as much. Also, I loved cars, so why miss out the chance to drive in one, and impress Bella with my stylish wheels-did I really just think that? What was I? An overcompensating guy?

"See you tomorrow then," Alice planted a goodbye kiss on my cheek before she bounced off to go home.