Wilting Roses

Chapter Four

The Party

There once was a flower, a pretty red rose, which grew in a small secluded garden under the care of a brown haired girl. This girl came to care daily for this rose, and with her tender care this rose blossomed from the dry husk it had once been into the red beauty it was now. But another flower soon grew in the spot next to this rose. It was a lily of the valley, and it's pretty and sweet scent called the girl towards it. Soon the girl forgot to nourish the rose, spending all her time on the lily of the valley. The rose grew deprecated and lost it's beauty. It's petals browned and shrunk and the stem wilted. One day, after what had been quite a while, the girl seemed to remember she had had a rose in her garden. She approached the sad flower and the rose, thinking it would again be favored, lifted it's head up only to meet the cruel cold steel of garden clippers. The head of the rose fell to the ground, trailing red liquid. But the girl didn't stop there, digging into the dirt and pulling the rose out by the roots. She was making room for the lily of the valley which had overtaken the garden and needed the ground that the rose had once been in. the rose had been completely uprooted to make space for the other flower for the girl's garden.

Alice's plan to befriend Bella was working well. A bit too well for my tastes. Between the two weeks of the shopping spree and the party, the girl sat at our table each and everyday. She had been introduced cordially to the boys, all who greeted her kindly. They made an effort to know her better which was all a guise to gauging if she was cool enough to sit with us.

She had an odd sense of humor and she did say the darnest things sometimes, which explained Alice's want to know the girl, to want to be around her more consistently. Alice was always fascinated by 'new' things for a while, before she figured them out and got bored and tossed them aside. Whether Bella would stand the test of time would remain to be seen, but even Alice herself had declared that she wanted Bella as a long time friend, so it meant she saw something in the girl that she hadn't seen in others. Was this the same thing I saw and had lead to my crush?

I didn't know, and I probably wouldn't ever know. But what I did know was that the less I talked at lunch time the better off I would be. Bella had decided she would sit next to me for some reason at ever single lunch and it irked me at the same time it pleased me that she wanted to be by my side. It irked me because sometimes her elbow would brush against me, or her hair would tickle at my shoulder and I had to try hard to not full body flinch at this. I was too aware of her every movement and of the delicious smell that wafted up from her. My god, what kind of body wash did she use? I badly wanted it, just so I could smell more like her. Which was a creepy desire if I thought about it a second time.

But worse than her actions, which she wasn't aware of, was her words. She tried talking to me. To me. To engage me in her conversations. Which I really didn't want to be involved in. Because I just knew I would say something silly. Like last time, when Bella had asked me what my favorite color was and I had blurted out honey brown because I had just so happened to be looking at her hair discreetly when this had been asked. My blush couldn't be fiercer that day. And I had not so subtly tried to hide it as I had stammered an explanation for my choice.

"I thought you didn't like brown too much since it was such a drab color?" Alice asked in confusion, tipping her head to the side as she nibbled on a carrot stick.

"Uh, well my taste changed. Recently," I said, trying hard to not look at Bella's face. I was overwhelmed with the urge to hide my face but I couldn't because that wouldn't be like me so I held my head up with dignity as the blush raged across my cheekbones. "It's in season," I mumbled out at the end as if this made my sudden change more reasonable.

"You alright there, Rosie? You're face is all red," Emmett asked as he peered at me in concern.

"Fine. I'm fine," I insisted with some vitriol, as if I could convince them that nothing was suspect with my words when the truth was laid out plainly on my face. "I'm allowed to be human once in a while, aren't I? My face can change shades."

"But brown?" Alice said, as if not able to get over this. As if I had just told her a core belief of hers was wrong. Like how the sun was actually blue and not yellow. "You've disparaged that color so many times."

"Alice," I growled, threatening her to drop the topic. I was aware that Bella was looking at me but I was too scared to look at her. Shit, would she notice my slip up? Would she know I only said it because I liked her hair color?

"And honey brown specifically?" Alice went on and my nostrils flared. I was increasingly aware of everyone's attention on me and the wonder in their eyes at my clear discomfort. Oh how I hated my stupid mouth sometimes.

"Alice, if you value our friendship, then shu-"

"Rosie, what's got you so worked up?" Edward asked from by Alice's side.

I turned my glare onto him, willing him to shut up if he valued not only this friendship but his life. Was everyone not going to drop this?

"Just leave this alone. It's not that big of a deal," I muttered out through gritted teeth.

"But it is. I've never seen you look so uncomfortable. So if somethings wrong then we need to kno-" Edward pointed out and I really wanted to chuck something at his head.

"I'm only acting this way because of how much stupid attention you're placing on a simple color change!" I can't help but pound my fists on the table top. This doesn't have the desired effect of silencing them. Everyone merely chuckles. Even my own brother. Traitor! I shoot him an evil glare but he shrugs apologetically and does nothing to help me. As the 'head' of decision making in our group, the fact he stays silent means I am free to be made fun of.

"Come on, let us have some fun," Emmett pouts. "You never break composure. We just want to see if you still have a heart underneath all that ice."

I'm seriously about to throw my lunch tray at Emmett's stupid head and at his even stupider grin when Bella's warm hand closes on top of my fist. The action cuts short the anger rumbling in me and replaces it with warm fuzz. She's touching my hand. My hand. And her hand feels so soft.

"Is brown really such a weird color to dislike? I never knew there to be colors that were okay to favor or hate. If so, can you tell me if my color is strange?" Bella's gentle voice stops the teasing I was about to incur as everyone is surprised by her interruption. I feel my heart swell as I realize she is protecting me, or at least trying to divert the attention away from me. I cannot put into words how grateful I am now.

"Oh, and uh, what color is it that you like?" Alice is the first to recover, although she has to blink her eyes as if she waking up from a long sleep.

"Yellow," Bella says and she glances at me quickly from the corner of her eye but it is so fast I'm not sure if I made it up. She removes her hand from mine and I feel colder already. My fingers twitch with the stranger urge to hold her hand again.

Bella manages to turn the conversation away from me the whole lunch period. And while I'm still ruffled from the teasing I sit there because my pride won't let me leave. If I do then it just goes to prove how bothered I was.

That lunch period was the day I decided to rarely speak up at all for fear of saying something dumb, and it was also the day I developed the strange urge to hold Bella's hand.

If I thought Bella sitting with us at lunch was bad, what was even worse was her asking me for help going shopping. Why she wanted to, I didn't understand. At all. And she hadn't even asked me outright. She had asked me through Alice.

"She wants me to go shopping with her?" I groan into the phone as I roll over on my bed. I'm still in my pjs as it's a Saturday morning. The morning of the party.

"Yes. She said she likes your fashion sense and wants you to help her pick out some clothes," Alice tells me and I wrinkle my nose up. "But Alice, you're the one with better fashion tastes. Or at least you're the self proclaimed fashionista in the group."

"I know," Alice responds with and I can almost imagine her shrugging, moving her thin shoulders up and down in helplessness. "But she wanted to go with you. So you have to go."

"Do I?" I groan as I sit up in bed, already imagining me and Bella walking the mall together, holding hands. Ugh, I wipe that image from my mind as it makes my cheeks burn.

"Yes. She's close to being part of the group, and you know we do favors for each other. We promised to always be there for each other."

"But she hasn't taken the vow yet," I point out, already tugging my pants off with one hand, other hand holding the phone up to my ear. I know Alice is going to make me go no matter what, but I don't want to appear too soft and give in, despite how much I want to go see Bella.

"She'll take the vow eventually. And then you'll be super obligated to helping her. We all will, just as she will have to help us if we tell her to."

"Fine, fine. I'll go. Tell her I'll pick her up at her house in half an hour."

"I'll just give you her number," Alice says.

Her number? "Alice-" I want to discourage her from doing so but the girl is already saying her goodbyes and hangs up on me.

I look at the call ended screen and sigh. Not a moment later, an unknown number pops up on my screen. The message contains several excited emojis and an address from which to pick Bella up at. It's her number. And now I can text her whenever I want to! But I squash that urge down. I wasn't trying to be her friend. I was only tolerating her for Alice. And for the sake of whatever plan she had going on.

I respond back to Bella with no emojis- didn't want her thinking I was actually exuberant in meeting her- and then toss my phone aside to get properly ready.

I roll up to her house half an hour later to see her sitting on the front steps, waiting for me patiently. "Good morning," she says cheerily as she pulls the passenger side door open and no, no, no, what is she doing? She can't sit next to me. She just can't- and fuck, she's doing it anyways.

I swallow down a whimper of panic as she closes the door behind her and her wonderful vanilla scent fills the interior of the car. Fuck, fuck, fuck! I hadn't counted on her sitting this close to me. How was I going to function now? How was I to keep my eyes on the road when I wanted to look at her?

"Good morning," I mumble back with when I realize I haven't greeted her yet and that it might be rude. She buckles up and I move the car down the road towards our destination. I keep my body stiff, my head pointed straight at the road.

There is silence in the car and I can't tell if she's uncomfortable or not, because I sure as hell am. I don't know if I should break the silence or continue it. What would be the more dangerous course of action? If I talk then I'll say something stupid. But if I don't talk then I run the risk of looking mean.

"Hey, uh, thanks for driving me," Bella eventually pipes up and she sounds timid in her words.

"It's no problem," I respond with, my mouth working on autopilot right now as I rack my brain for topics to converse on.

"I just really wanted to ask you for advice on what to wear to the party. And I also wanted to hang out with you for another reason," her voice lowers at the end almost shyly and I whip my head around to look at her. This sharp motion startles her from where she was looking at her lap and fiddling with her hands. I arch a brow as I wait for her to go on. She wants to hang out with me for another reason? Did she also have a crush on me- Rosalie, get a grip, girl, I scold myself and try to ignore the puppy like joy in my chest.

"It was...well, because I wanted to get closer to you. To figure out what I did wrong," her cheeks blush at this but she looks up at me, her brown eyes wondering in their gaze.

Did she still think she had done something wrong? It seemed so. "You didn't do anything wrong." I look away as I say this, uncomfortable with her innocent stare.

"Then why are you acting so coldly to me? Everyone else is nice to me but when I try to talk to you, you don't really respond. And you seem fine with everyone else. Do you not like me?"

I wince at this. I couldn't say I was being a bitch to her because I had a crush, so then what could I say? "I'm just cold like that to everyone in the beginning. It's nothing personal."

"Oh, okay," Bella says with a small amount of dejection in her voice. Then she cheers up slightly as an idea hits her. "Then I'll just have to try harder to be your friend." She punctuates this statement by squeezing my extended arm to emphasis.

No, please don't. I can't stand you being super close to me. My heart can't take it, I internally lament but on the outside I force myself to smile and say, "fine with me."

And then I prepare myself for a vicious onslaught.

For the duration of the shopping trip, which thankfully only takes two hours, as it's the most I can stand to be around Bella without anyone distracting me from her charms, she tries hard to chat with me on various topics to get to know me better and I reluctantly answer her, but always after carefully editing my responses in my head to make sure I don't slip up again. This lends to stilted conversation, where she chatters on and on and waits for me to answer, long silences often prologuing my responses.

And when it comes time to pick some clothes, I pick a white dress for her made of flowy silk material. I know I am self sabotaging myself because if I see her in this she will become even more irresistible but I want to see her in this. I need to. She seems happy with the choice and doesn't even try it on, trusting me with the choice. We leave back home after this. And dare I say I am almost happy about this day too. Because the whole day sort of felt like a date even though it clearly wasn't. Even though Bella clearly only wants to be a friend.

She texts me at the end of the day how she had fun with me and looks forward to being friends and I nearly squeal out loud as I read her words so I shove a hand over my mouth. I can't help it. The words fill me with warmth, because she wants to get closer to me of her own free will, and I want to text her back a whole paragraph but I stop myself and just text back a 'see you at the party'. Then I go do some homework before it's time to get ready for the party.

"Hey, Rosalie, could you help me zip up my dress?" Bella's timid voice asks and I turn away from my vanity mirror where I am touching up my already flawless makeup to see the girl has come into the room, clutching the front of her dress to her chest. Currently she and Alice are over at my house, getting ready for Alice's big party. The pixie's house has already been set up, with copious amounts of alcohol and snacks ready. Now it was only a matter until people started arriving.

"Uh, sure," I say, a tad caught off guard by the sight of Bella in the nice dress I picked for her. It is white and pure, like her, making her vaguely resemble a Greek goddess. And her hair cascades down her shoulder's like a waterfall that I want to run my hands through. As soon as I have that desire I squash it down. Lately my crush has been getting worse. I've begun to imagine...inappropriate things about Bella and I can't help myself. I don't want to think such things but they just pop up in my head and in the most unassuming of moments. I've begun to fantasize going on dates with her ever since the mall outing today morning. And on kissing her, the softness of her lips teasing me. I've never wanted to do this with anyone before and it's concerning.

God! It's enough to make my face flush. I only hope it doesn't get any worse than this; they always do say things get worse before they get better and I hope this is the case for my crush as well. Already it has been about a month and half of my dreaded feelings for the brunette and I have literally marked a spot on my calendar, denoting the day when my feelings shall pass. It cannot come soon enough.

When Bella turns around, she reveals a vast expanse of her bare back to me and my mouth goes temporarily dry. I wasn't ready to see this much free skin and I hope my fingers aren't shaking too much as I approach her and grasp at the zipper. She's holding up her hair, some baby hairs escaping and her sweet scent wafting up to me. Unconsciously I lean closer to get more of her scent as I slowly tug the dress up, hating to see her bare skin disappear behind the clothe but also relieved at the same time that it is. Because then my heart can stop thudding like this.

All done, the moment having felt like it stretched forever, I step away and she spins on her heel. "Well, I'm all ready for the party. Are you?" She looks a bit nervous and I want to reassure her that it will go fine. That she shouldn't be stressed out by it. Most likely she will end up wandering around the drunken crowds, get bored, and go home. But I don't say anything because that's not what my facade is.

"I'm always ready," I say arrogantly, tipping my head up haughtily.

"Yea, you always look so nice and polished," Bella murmurs wistfully, her eyes almost lost as they look at me, and then she blushes as she realizes what she has said. "I mean-uh, you just look put together a lot of the time. And I don't really so-"

Her flustered state is adorable and I can't help but smile at it. She notices my smile and takes it as something cruel. She deflates and ducks her head, taking that as her cue to leave. But before she can go Alice waltzes into my room, attired in a black mini dress with big hoop earrings and a bedazzled choker to complete the look. She raises both hands in the air, one which is clutching her black wrist purse.

"Are you girls ready to part-tey?" She exclaims and Bella let's out a little cheer. "Come now, you can do better than that," Alice playfully chides as she grabs Bella's hands in her own and lifts them up. Bella let's out a louder whoop and I try not to roll my eyes at Alice's antics. Instead I turn to the mirror and fluff up my long blonde hair, trying to find a fault with my appearance. But the purple off the shoulder dress and accessories I've adorned myself with are perfect and my makeup isn't smudged but intact soundly so there is nothing for me to do.

"Rosalie you ready?" Alice asks, impatient as always.

"Yes, I'm ready. Just checking a couple of things," I respond with, grabbing my phone and putting it in my mini purse.

"You always take so long," Alice whines. "You already look perfect, I don't see what more you have to fix." Alice's words are comforting to hear but they don't make me preen inside like Bella's did earlier. Why had the brunette even said so before? Did she really think that? Did she perhaps feel the same way-no, no she doesn't, my cold conscious cut in. Everyone was always saying how beautiful I looked. Why should she say any differently? Everyone was enraptured with my looks. She was merely stating a fact. Sighing at my troubled reflection in the mirror, I schooled my features into something more impassive.

"You only think I take long because you can't sit still for more than ten seconds," I retort and Alice sticks out her tongue at me as she grabs my hand this time and pulls me out the door. "Come on or we'll be late. The boys have already arrived and their drinking. If we don't get their soon they'll drink everything I have!"

"There is no way you're going to run out of alcohol any time soon," I tell her but she wasn't listening, dragging me to my car so I could drive us there faster. Bella followed after us, teetering unsteadily in her heels. It was cute to think she never wore heels before. Maybe she would trip and fall into my arms-ugh! Seriously! Where was my mind running with that? It seemed I had gotten to the delusional part of the crush stage and I was so not loving it. It made me feel like a complete fool to be thinking of such things. What was I? A six grader?

Grumbling to myself under my breath once more over my stupid crush, I got into the car and once everyone was ready I pulled out of my driveway and onto the road. The ride over to Alice's house was short but the girl cranked the radio up loud with tracks that were party orientated. She began to sing along with some of the songs and shake her shoulders and arms, making Bella join her. "Join us," Alice insisted, pushing me on the arm and I frowned.

"Alice I'm driving the car. I'm not going to dance," but her mood was slightly infectious and to appease her I started singing along with them. By the time we arrived to the house, we found the boys waiting outside for us on the front step. They were all attired in dress shirts and black pants. Just because it was going to be a party full of rampant teens didn't mean my friend group and I couldn't dress up and upstage them all. After all, we were the cool kids. We were expected to have a sort of class around us.

"You guys are so loud, we could hear you coming from half the town away," Edward said, taking a sip from the red solo cup in his hand.

"I don't even live half a town away," I said.

"Hey, stop drinking my alcohol!" Alice cried out in fake indignation.

"But what is one to do with alcohol if not drink it?" Emmett said in mock deep contemplation.

"I was saving that for all of us!"

"So then what's the issue?" While Emmett and Alice fake squabbled, I gave my brother a nod to acknowledge him being here. I turned to inquire to Edward what he was drinking but saw that his gaze went over my head. I turned around to see what had captured his interest so and saw he was looking unabashedly at Bella.

"You look so pretty," he complimented her, appraising her with too much interest in his eyes.

"Thank you," she blushed and pushed a strand of hair behind her ears, biting her bottom lip shyly.

I prickled at this exchange. What the hell Eddie? Don't tell me he thinks of her in that way? No that couldn't be. Eddie hadn't expressed interest in anyone that wasn't at least some sort of talented musician and Bella wasn't that. He was just drunk and his hormones were getting in his way.

Slightly reassured, I took charge of the conversation once more. "So Eddy, what's Alice got us drinking this time?"

He took his eyes from Bella's frame and smiled up at me. "Nice aged Whiskey. Or you can have cheap Svedka. But that's for the chugging I think. Whiskey's for flavor, to be savored."

I rolled my eyes. Edward had 'refined' tastes, so we always had to have something nicer for him to drink or he wouldn't drink at all. It was all the same to me. All that mattered was that it got the job done.

"Are we just gonna stand around here or what?" Emmett's loud voice boomed out and he gestured rapidly with his hand for us to go inside. "The alcohol's not going to drink itself."

"You're right!" Jasper cheered in response and chugged the contents of his cup in one go. We all went in, up to Alice's room where a row of bottles were lined up on her desk. They ranged from 20 to 60 percent and Bella looked a bit nervous as she eyed them. Poor girl didn't probably drink. At all, knowing her cop father. But this was the test. This was something she would have to pass in order to get in. Alice had warned the boys that Bella would be drinking with us for the pregame. This was something we rarely let others do. Only in extenuating circumstances. So they knew the drill. They were going to appraise her and if she was good enough to join the group like Alice wanted her too.

I didn't want Bella to join the group. Because if she got in then I would have to see her more often and I didn't know if I could control these raging emotions in me for so long if that was the case.

"What would you like?" Emmett asked, taking up the role of a bartender.

"Uh, I'll just take the weak stuff for now," she responded with. "I'm not quite sure of my alcohol tolerance and I don't want to push it."

"That's a smart choice. But, you don't drink?" Emmett asked as he poured her a cup.

"Only beers. With my dad," she answered with and took a sip from her cup, wrinkling her nose up. "This stuff is strong."

"If you think that's strong wait until you try spiritus. That shit is literally a hundred proof."

"I can't even imagine how that tastes," Bella shivered.

"You don't want to," Jasper commented as he sat down on the floor around a bowl full of scraps of paper that Alice had placed there. Edward too had sat around it and Alice was by his side. I sat myself down after grabbing a cup for myself and filling it with strong rum.

"I guess I don't," Bella acquiesced for lack of a better thing to say. "What are you guys doing?" she asked as she sat down and noticed the bowl there.

"We're going to play a little game were we pull things out of the hat and have to do them," Emmett explained as he sat down next to me, completing the circle.

"Like dares?"

"And truths," Edward supplied. He was sitting right across from Bella and I really didn't like the look in his eyes. It was like he had seen Bella in an entirely new light and couldn't stop looking at her. It made me want to sit in front of him and stop him from looking at her. But I couldn't do something like that, so I only gulped down my drink and bitterly stewed on the inside.

The game started with Alice, going counterclockwise. Dares and truths were pulled out one after the other. There weren't too many dares, most of them involving drinking or licking a body part or another of someone else. Dumb stuff like that. And the truths were more fun, having us admit embarrassing things. Most of this was to find out information on Bella since we all knew each other pretty well except for her. And she had a lot of entertaining stories.

As the pregame rolled on, the liquid sloshing through my veins and making me warm, I began to relax. Maybe having a crush wouldn't be so bad, I told myself drunkenly. It could be a nice thing. And Bella seemed like a nice girl. She was very...real. And down to earth. And so pretty.

But all the warmth that I had incurred during my gradual intoxication turned cold when Edward pulled out the last dare from the hat. "Seven minutes in heaven with the person in front of you," he read out loud and smugly.

It took my alcohol addled brain a while to catch up to his words but when it did it was furious. Cold drifted down my body and the cup nearly slipped from my grip. No. No, I wanted to shout out. Edward and Bella? Seven minutes in heaven? More like seven minutes in hell, for me. I watched with horrified eyes as Edward stood up, pulling Bella up by her offered hand. He said something to her and she giggled, moving unsteadily, her cheeks flushed with alcohol. Alice and Emmett were encouraging of this, urging them on to go into the nearby closet and do their thing.

But I couldn't do such a thing. I wanted to tear them away. I didn't want Bella to make out with Edward. It should be me in his place. Mentally I tried and prayed that they wouldn't go, that Bella would say no. but she hadn't backed down from any dare or truth the whole night so why should she stop now?

They walked over to Alice's closet and the door closed behind them with a loud click as Jasper set a timer for seven minutes. Alice, Emmett and Jasper began to talk to one another and joke among each other as to how far the two would go. I wanted them to shut up, so I could hear what was going on in the closet. I couldn't hear anything through the wooden frame door from this far away, but I feared to think what was going on. How long had it even been? A minute? Five? I couldn't tell. I was too on edge. Time spread out like eternity.

"Rosie, you alright?" Emmett asked, pulling me away from where I had obsessively been staring at the door, straining my ears.

"I'm fine," I mumbled, averting my eyes and downing down the rest of my drink. Then I stumbled to my feet, realizing I was a bit drunker than I thought. "I'm going to the bathroom." I left, unable to sit in that room any longer if Edward was getting his hands and lips all over Bella. God! I threw the cup angrily against the tiled bathroom wall and slammed the door shut behind me.

Ugh, this was so messed up. I didn't want to feel this way. I shouldn't be bothered by her romantic choices. They were her choices and no one elses. I ran the water in the sink and just looked down at it, having hoped to splash my face only to recall I was wearing makeup and couldn't do that. I gripped the sink edge, trying to control my emotions. I shouldn't have drank as much as I had but I had. It was harder to control my feelings this way.

I could tell this night wasn't going to go well.