Wilting Rose

Chapter Three: The Test

The way I tremble when her skin brushes mine, the way my skin flushes at the thought of her, does she know? Does she know how breathless her smile makes me, how warm I feel inside when she greets me by my name? Does she know the things she does to me? Her existence drives me crazy but I know that she doesn't know. And until I gather the courage to pour all my emotions out, she won't know.

The drive to the mall is nerve wracking and I keep my hands plastered to the steering wheel at all times in a white knuckled grip, my eyes never leaving the road. Alice is in the passenger seat and Bella sits in the back. The two are laughing about something and I try to tune their words out because I don't want to be paying this much attention to Bella's words, but I do regardless of how hard I try to distract myself. I can sense her presence in the car and it's smothering. All my senses are hyper aware of her and I can smell the vanilla shampoo she used from here.

Only two more months of this stupid crush, I tell myself. Only two more.

I never thought feelings could be this bothersome and I was happy I never had much to deal with in the first place. How Alice managed with her plethora of nuanced emotions was beyond me.

I wonder if she even knows what she does to me. It would be great if she knew and then could stay the fuck away. But Alice wouldn't let her, cause we need her for our plans.

"Rosalie, you haven't said anything today," Alice's bright voice forces me to take my eyes off of the road so I can look at her. She's looking at me eagerly. "What do you think about maybe getting a snack at the mall?"

"It's fine with me," I say lightly, snapping my eyes back to the road when I realize their unconsciously sneaking their way over to Bella. If Alice notices how stiffly I'm sitting she doesn't comment on it-yet.

The mall turns up on the right side and I pull the car over and park it. It's a huge complex, one that Alice loves revisiting even if the drive is longer, because its way better than the one we have in Forks.

"Let's hit up Sally's on the third floor. Their having a sale and I want to check out some things there," Alice suggests as she grabs Bella by the arm and pulls her at a brisk pace to the mall. I walk behind them, trying to ignore the way the two of their hands seem to mesh together so well. It's never bothered me this much before when Alice get's touchy with someone else. But she's getting touchy with Bella.

I swallow down the jealousy rising in my throat and it tastes bitter. I've never felt jealous before; the emotion foreign and unwelcome in my body. It's an unpleasant emotion that makes me want to tear their hands apart and scream at them to stay three feet away as they walk.

Seriously, what was the girl doing to me? Bella's arrival to the school, so simple and unnoteworthy, much like her entire existence to me should be, was making me stress over the smallest things. Like her hand being touched by someone elses that wasn't mine.

Relax Hale. Breath in and out. This trip will be over in five hours and then I can go back to pretending Bella doesn't exist. I won't even have to talk to her on his trip, because Alice will do all the talking.

Of course, that reassurance proved to be false, because Alice instructed the two of us to wait outside one of the stores while she went to return something. "It'll take a quick moment. And I don't want you seeing my mean side as I return this," Alice said playfully.

I've already seen your mean side, I commented to myself but was quiet even as my heart went into overdrive. Holy shit, I'm going to be alone with Bella!

The two of us stood awkwardly outside the store, me with my arms crossed over my chest and Bella fidgeting with her arms. The girl could never stay completely still I noticed, while I could be so still sometimes that I could give a statue a run for their money.

I could feel an uncomfortable tension due to the silence between us and I was half tempted to break it, but I didn't want to open my mouth and say something dumb to her.

So she opened her mouth instead.

"Hey," she started, a tad awkwardly. She paused, waiting for me to say something.

"What?" I asked, trying to sound a touch annoyed at her speaking up to me even if I was actually nervous.

"I, uh, well...did I do something wrong to you?" Her tone seemed hurt and I couldn't help but look over at her. She was playing with the ends of her shirt, eyes not meeting mine. Was she stressing over me? It was only natural, I supposed that she should feel this way, as I could make a great many deal of people feel uncomfortable with my stony silence and ice cold demeanor.

"Why do you say that?" This was asked more for pretense. I already knew why she was asking me this. She was fazed by my attitude. Compared to Alice, who was warm and radiate as the sun ( she sure could burn someone like it too if they tried her hard enough) I was the moon, still glorious in my beauty but a whisper, a reflection of having an actual personality.

"It's just that you don't really talk to me even though Alice tried to engage you multiple times. Is it...was it the comment I said about you blushing a lot?"

Oh dear lord she remembers that. "No." I can feel a blush coming on just as her words but thankfully I can rein it back in this time.

"Oh. Okay." She seemed disappointed at this and even if she wanted to say something more there is no time as Alice pops out of the store.

"Alright girls, I'm all done here. Now the real fun can begin!"

Alice then dragged Bella and me around the mall for five hours straight, barely letting us rest as she shouldered on in the search of good deals on clothing and accessories. Her family had a lot of money, but it didn't hurt to get something for cheaper, as Alice always said, because then she could more readily give it away for charity to those less fortunate. Bella was surprisingly able to keep up with the smaller girl. I was shocked by this as even I would get tired and I loved shopping. No one loved it more than Alice though, the girl no doubt being able to live in a mall if she could.

At last we reached the final store, where I helped Alice pick out yet another outfit for her upcoming party. I hadn't bought a lot for myself, but then again I didn't need any new clothes. I still had a ton of outfits I hadn't cycled through. And Bella didn't seem too big of a shopper as she had only purchased some new converse. She loved that shoe brand it seemed and I filed that knowledge away for later use.

"Thanks for helping me. And for being patient with me," Alice told Bella as our trio made it's way to the food court. It was getting pretty late in the evening and soon it would be time to drive back.

"It's no big deal, really," Bella assured Alice. She was currently helping carry some of Alice's bags for her as was I. I wondered how all of them would fit into the car.

"Aww, you're sweet! As a reward food is on me."

"It's fine, you don't have to!" Bella began to shake her hands in an effort to dissuade Alice but the girl wasn't listening. "What do you want? Some fries? Oo, how about a nice burger?"

This was the part of the plan where Alice began to buy out her victims loyalty to her. The expense didn't matter, as long as Alice could get what she wanted in the end.

Bella and Alice argued over this for a couple more seconds but Alice won out in the end. "Do you want the same?" Alice then turned to ask me and I nodded my head.

"But I can get it myself."

"Nah, my treat. For carrying my bags. And driving me here," Alice sauntered off, leaving me yet again with Bella.

"Let's take that table there," I suggested, pointing one manicured finger at it. Bella followed after me and we set our bags down.

There was silence, the conversations of other people around us filling it. The girl yet again was fiddling with her hands, looking down on the table, at the wall, looking behind her shoulder, a thing people did when they didn't know what to say. At last she turned back to me when it seemed I wasn't going to say anything, or when she realized Alice wasn't going to return yet.

"So, did you not see anything you liked at the mall today?" Bella started, her voice a bit high pitched.

"No." I wonder if that reply is too curt because as soon I say it Bella looks away from my face, thinks about something and then speaks again. "Alice told me she's hosting a party. She asked me if I wanted to come. I've never really been to a party...how do her types of parties usually go?"

So Bella wasn't the party type. Would she then engage in the other activities my friend group conducted? Or maybe Alice would convert her? Surely Bella was compliant enough. She hadn't complained once while Alice had made her try on some new outfits. Alice hadn't bought any outfits for her yet but it was only a matter of time before that stage hit.

"They go...well," I respond with, hating how I can't think of anything good to say. My usually eloquent speech was turning into a first grade level conversation. I wanted to kick myself. What was with me and not being able to talk around Bella? I cursed Alice for leaving us alone again.

"I see..." Bella trailed off. Silence fell upon us again and I took to looking at my nails, internally screaming at myself to say something, at the same time I urged Alice to get her butt over her.

Just as I had gathered up the courage to ask her about her love of converse, she got up. "I'm gonna use the restroom."

"Stupid idiot," I muttered to myself as I let out a sigh and rubbed my hands over my face.

"Whose the stupid idiot?" Alice asked curiously, making me jump as she came up silently behind me. She was carrying a tray of food for us.

"You," I growled out.

"Ooo, someones pissed off. Wanna tell me why? You've been tense the whole day." Alice set the tray down and took the seat next to me. I grabbed the burger and fries she got me.

Did I want to tell her anything about my feelings for Bella? No...it wouldn't be wise to do so. While Alice was open about sexuality, being bisexual herself, I was still certain at that time that I was only crushing on Bella and thus it would pass me and I had no need to tell Alice about my traitorous heart's feelings.

"I'm not as inclined towards her as you are," I said at last, hoping that vague answer would ease off her curiosity for now.

"But I thought you didn't mind her. We all voted on this. If had known I would have thought twice about starting my project." Alice pouted as she pulled a fry free from her meal.

"She's tolerable. I'll put up with her for you. I didn't say I hated her." No, she was barely tolerable to me but only because of how she made my pace rush, how she made my words fail me.

"Yet." Alice sighed as she completed my statement. "All this hate isn't doing good for you. Sometimes you gotta just let all your malignant feelings go so you can live more freely."

"But then who would be bitch of the group? Someone's gotta do it."

"You can still be a bitch even if you don't hate people," Alice pointed out. "But getting back to the topic of Bella." At this she did a quick check to see if the girl was around or not.

"She went to the bathroom," I explained, dipping my fries in the ketchup Alice had gotten us to share.

"I want to introduce her to the rest of the group. Maybe before the party starts. And then I want to take her to an 'event' of ours."

"Won't that be moving things a bit fast?" The thought of Bella at one of those events doesn't sit right me. I don't want her to see that side of me or my friends. I don't want her to think bad of me. I never was bothered by these events happening, but with an outsider...we rarely let outsiders in, and if we did it was only for an event or two. But the way Alice was speaking it was as if she wanted to make Bella a permanent member of the group.

"It'll be fine. The sooner we can get her thinking she's our friend the better."

"You want her to be in the group, don't you?"

Alice nodded her head at this. "She'd make a good addition. She interests me. She's so weird and quirky and I can never tell what she's going to say."

"But she's not cool kid material. She won't know how to act under the limelight and she doesn't have a lot of money or a sense of fashion," I argued, stabbing my fries into the ketchup now. I didn't want Bella to be drawn into this life we had. The friend group had always been us five and now Alice wanted to put Bella, someone completely different from us, in the group? I couldn't see it going well.

"I can remake her. Trust me."

I didn't doubt that. But I doubted other things. "And you think the boys will just let you let her in this quickly? You think she'll even want to stick around after she finds out our secrets? After you change her?"

"Trust me," Alice repeated once more. Then the two of you quieted down as we saw who was coming. Alice plastered a smile onto her face while I let my face become impassive once more.

"Sorry I took so long," Bella apologized as she approached the table once more. "The line was pretty long."

"That's fine. Me and Rosalie were just having a chat," Alice waved Bella's apology away.

"Rosalie talks?" Bella blurted this out and it took her a second to realize how rude this comment was because she clasped her hands to her mouth as if she could someone shove those words back in, her eyes going wide and her cheeks red.

That's so cute. She blurts stuff out without thinking. My brain thought that but my mouth, trained for many long years in the art of slinging insults, was already moving. "I do. Just not to people whose grandmothers have better taste in clothing."

I internally cringed as soon as I realized what I had said but just like Bella's words, it was too late to take them back. I cursed my steel tongue as I watched Bella's eyes shine with hurt.

Alice let out a wild laugh as she watched the exchange between the two of us. "Don't let Rosalie scare you off." At this she reached a hand over and patted Bella on the shoulder while she kicked me in the shin in warning. "She's actually nice and refined under her ice queen exterior."

I snorted at this but didn't say anything as I angrily finished the last of my fries.

"Oh, okay." Bella didn't know what else to say. It seemed my words had hurt her and even though Alice tried to keep her occupied with funny stories, she never quite recovered fully. This left me mentally kicking myself over and over.

Why couldn't I do anything right when it came to Bella?