Authors note: Sorry it's been so long again, I'm not really great at consistency, but I wanted to say again that I'm definitely continuing this story. Also, if anyones interested in being a Beta, send me a message and we can try and sort something out :) Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
All Beca wanted to do when she returned home after her emotional breakdown earlier on was sleep. That was it. She didn't want to deal with people, and she certainly didn't want to deal with her cousin rambling on about Mike Fucking Newton.
"I don't know why he hasn't asked me out yet, it's not like Bella's going to leave Edward anytime soon. Although I don't know why Edward chose her out of all the girls in the school, there are way pretty girls." Like you? Beca thought, someone sounds jealous. "Honestly, you'd think after going to the dance together in the summer he would've realised what a catch I am."
"Who are we talking about now?" Considering how out of the conversation Beca was, she was surprised she hadn't gotten lost ages ago.
"Mike! Are you even listening to me? I don't know why I even bother, not like you're any help anyway." Jessica huffed and stormed out of Beca's room, finally, leaving said girl staring after her with both eyebrows raised and small smirk on her lips. Why didn't I do that half an hour ago?
Deciding a bath was the way to go before crawling into bed, Beca gathered her things and headed for the bathroom. Destressing with a warm bath was one of the best ideas she had had in a while, so she remained soaking until all the bubbles had gone and the water was no longer the perfect temperature. Once dry and dressed, she snuggled under her covers and listened to the melody playing in her mind. The peace and quiet of night always sent her musical inspiration reeling. Listening to the sounds outside, different here than they were back home, made her want to stay up all night and take advantage of the uninterrupted silence. The urge to stay awake was quickly overcome by the lure of blissful unconsciousness, and soon Beca's eyes couldn't stay open and she slipped into deep sleep.
The next morning, Beca woke feeling like she'd had maybe 2 hours sleep instead of the 9 hours she knew she'd managed to get. Well today's going to suck. Dressing in her usual skinny jeans, tank top and plaid shirt, she quickly brushed her hair and headed down the stairs. She was yawning as she entered the kitchen, drawing the attention on her aunt and cousin.
"Rough night?" Her aunt asked, moving to slide a plate of pancakes in front of the drowsy girl.
Beca's stomach rumbled as she speared a piece of her breakfast, "No, I just woke up feeling more tired than I was when I went to sleep." Odd, considering she was usually the kind of girl who was dead to the world when asleep.
Laura frowned, "Well try and take it easy today and get an early night again."
Beca's brows rose on their own accord, "That's no problem for me, taking it easy is what I'm good at."
"Well right now we need to leave unless we want to be late, so stop taking it easy for now and hurry up!" Jessica was already up from the table by the time she'd finished talking, missing the way Beca rolled her eyes in her direction.
She finished her breakfast with one last mouthful, grabbed her bag and headed for the front door after her cousin, "See you later." Beca called out to her aunt as she left the house.
They arrived at the school with plenty of time, making Beca groan at her cousin. "Why did we have to leave? We so weren't going to be late."
"I need to be ready for Mike when he gets here, I need to win him over once and for all."
Beca looked at her blankly, "And you needed to get here early to do that why?"
Jessica scoffed, "Like you'd understand, you don't date, you don't know. I need to be here so that when he arrives I'm the first person he talks to, so obviously he'll offer to walk me to class. It's perfect."
"I may not be dating right now, but that doesn't mean I don't date. Whatever, I don't need to get involved in this." With that, Beca got her stuff and quickly got out the car to avoid whatever was about to go down.
She walked through the halls of the school aimlessly, hoping she was heading in the right direction. Maybe I can actually be on time. Wishful thinking, as she soon turned the corner and found herself once again face to face with the girl who'd been one her mind since the previous day.
Both froze, eyes locked. A minute passed before one look shifted from I don't know what to do to why are you in front of me. "Move." One word was enough to make Beca look away to collect herself, unsure as to why this girl- no, woman – in front of her was able to cause such a reaction.
"You move." That was as good a retort as she could come up with.
Rosalie only glared harder. "You're in my way. I. Said. Move." With each word the glare deepened, as if daring the other girl to do anything other than what she'd said.
A shiver ran through Beca at the tone of Rosalie's voice, "I'm not in your way, walk around me."
"I don't want you near me, so move." It wasn't yelling, or shouting, it was just intense. Never before had Beca had someone talk to her like that, not even back in her old school. Unexpected and unwanted pain spiked in her chest as she realised Rosalie really wanted nothing to do with her.
"You've known me a day dude, why the dislike?" Honestly, the only thing Beca had done was sit at her family's table and made some unintentionally flirtatious comments. Maybe she really doesn't like being hit on by girls?
Hearing the undertones of hurt in Beca's words, Rosalie's glare faltered slightly, only to come back ten fold in intensity. No more words were spoken, just a few more moments of eye contact before Rosalie turned on the spot and left. Beca remained where she was, even more confused than before at the quick retreat. I have no idea what just happened.
After the brief encounter in the hallway with her 'mate', Rosalie was sure to avoid anything related to the girl for the rest of the day. No seeing her, smelling her (holding her breathe for the entire day was annoying, but no impossible) or hearing her. To that end, she spent any and all breaks from classes outside of the school buildings where she knew the girl would be.
"Well that's one way to handle it." A gruff voice sounded behind her. Looking around, she saw her best friend and closest sibling Emmett leaning against a tree near their car. Rosalie had found a perch on the bonnet of her car, waiting for lunch to end.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She looked down at her nails, a blank look on her face.
Emmett chuckled, "Come on Rosie, I know you better than that. This whole mate thing is really getting to you. Talk to me." He pleaded.
"There is nothing to talk about, I refuse to be forced into anything, let alone a relationship with a little girl." She had spent most of the night running through the forest surrounding their house thinking about the situation she'd found herself in. After everything she'd been through she would not let fate dictate what she did with her life.
"You know that's not what this is. Finding your mate is special, not something to try and fight. It's only going to hurt you and her if you keep doing this."
"I've known her a day, I haven't done anything."
Emmett sighed, "It starts as a day, but when does it end? In a week, a month? A year? You'd both be a mess if you keep it up that long."
Rosalie glared passed the tree line, jaw set as she considered his words, "I'll just ignore her then, I wont say anything to hurt her, and she cant say anything to hurt me."
"All I'm saying is maybe you should give her a chance, you don't know her, take it slow."
A scoff came from the blonde, "You think I should get to know a human, knowing full well she's going to die at some point? She's got little sense of self-preservation from what I've seen, if I get to know her and she ends up doing something stupid what do I do then?"
"How do you know she's going to die? Beca's your mate, obviously you'd change her eventually." It seemed so clear to Emmett, he had yet to find his match, but he knew that whenever he found them, he would hold on and never let go.
Rosalie's eyes snapped to matching amber, "How can I do that? I didn't want this life myself and you think I'm going to inflict it on her?"
"You wouldn't be inflicting anything on her, if she's your mate then she would want to spend the rest of her life with you, whether that's as a human or as one of us. Mating is a mutual bond, I know I haven't found mine yet but I've seen Carlisle and Esme together, and Alice and Jasper. They fit you know, puzzle pieces and all that? You could have that too if you gave Beca a chance."
She snapped. "I don't want to give her a chance! I want to make my own choices and getting to know that girl will take away all my freedom. It would be her, or die. What kind of a choice is that?"
There was no pity in Emmett's eyes as he stepped forwards to embrace the stiff blonde. "Rose, I know it's up to you what you do, but you can't let your past rule you like this. It's easy for me to say I know, but it's true. You have a chance to have something amazing, don't let those dicks take that from you."
"I don't know how." Resignation filled Rosalie. Letting go wasn't something she was good at, and letting someone in was even worse. When she first met Emmett, it had taken what seemed like forever for him to get even remotely close to her, but the friendship was well worth the wait. Should she let a human have the same chance?
Strong arms embraced the conflicted vampire, squeezing with familiar reassurance. Soft words were whispered, meant for her ears only, "One step at a time."