Chapter 14: A Day Full Of Surprises
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In a few seconds a picture of flour covered Edward will be received by every Cullen. His face as he checked his vibrating phone was priceless and another flash came from my left.
"You're welcome, too." I said with a mocking bow and returned to Alice's car. Mission accomplished. Go teamwork.
…
Alice's POV
Yesterday was really weird for me. I was constantly battling this annoyingly constricting feeling in my chest, like I was underwater and human again, holding my breath way pass the 'safe' time. And my body wanted to jump into action to save itself from the discomfort. Except I was a vampire, I didn't need to breathe and I was not underwater.
So why, pray tell, did I have to battle with my body's reactions so hard?
Luckily no one paid me much mind when I left for a run. I pushed myself as fast as I could to distract myself and it did feel slightly better while I was in action. But that only occupied my body and not my mind which meant my thoughts wandered and sooner rather than later I found myself snooping around people's future.
One of those futures was from that kid from school, Eric. Whish led me to respond to Bella before she even asked me about shopping and suddenly I felt relief and excitement about my favourite past time and I had to run for the rest of the day because it felt like the day just didn't want to pass. I can't even remember how many times I went hunting just for the sake of it that night. I even released some of the animals after I played catch with them for a bit.
Today was even stranger in some regards, but definitely much more fun!
I pulled over in front of her house and smiled as I heard someone, that I was certain was her, moving around the house. In human pace I walked to the front door and rang the bell. All movements stopped and I could hear her heartbeat, now. Like it was calling to me with each hastened beat. Then there were thundering steps as she ran to the door and threw them open.
If I weren't a vampire I would probably miss her huge grin before she jumped in my waiting arms and wrapped herself around me. I would probably miss her scent that hit me just before she did, too.
I laughed softly, contentedly at her exclamation of my name and subconsciously tightened my grip on her while burrowing my face in her neck. Oh, that smell! I hadn't even realised I missed it so much since we meet in the car.
"Good morning to you too, Bella." I purred. I'm not kidding. I felt soft vibrations coming from my chest that was inaudible to human ears but I could hear them perfectly fine. I haven't purred in such a way for a very long time, now. It startled me so much I barely registered her answering me.
It felt like cold shower and I realised what I was doing; I was breathing in her scent and enjoyed as it filled my nostrils with intoxicating smell of adrenaline pumping in her veins, adrenaline that made her heart beat faster, like it did with all the prey I hunted last night. Which I then killed like a true predator. And I couldn't deny my excitement. In both cases. Not to mention I was almost crushing the human in my grip. I felt disgusted with my excitement as I imagined hunting her through the woods.
It took all my willpower to rein that monster inside me while not showing anything was wrong. But somehow she noticed.
"What's wrong?" she asked with a frown. How could she have known? No human could sense such a tinny shift I made. Even Jasper would only know because of his gift. I did my best to play it off with my usual cheery self. It worked. But I promised myself I won't slip like that again.
Then this amazing creature managed to surprise me again and gave me the best gift I could ever ask for; free reign over our shopping trip. As long as I didn't forget to feed her, of course. No one has ever done something like this for me! Even my vampire family made sure I stuck to limitations that made sure I didn't get overboard. And now… now I could make her try on how many dresses I wanted and buy every one that fit her! To say the Christmas came early for me is an understatement.
It was so much fun! I had to really try to move in human speed as I browsed for whatever dresses I liked. Soon I decided to milk out of this arrangement as much as I could and made Bella try other clothes, too. And this whole time she was the perfect model.
I was so caught up in it that she had to remind me about lunch right after her stomach complained rather loudly. I felt like such an idiot. She gave me the best present I could have asked for and I didn't even have it in me to make sure she didn't collapse in the process. Shame on you, Alice! Shame on you.
I made sure she took her time with feeding and resting. I thought back on our morning and I realised how much she must be exhausted from it. But that didn't mean we couldn't talk about it. The shopping, I mean. And while we did I realised she'll need more than just her dress (and the clothes I already bought for her).
So we hit underwear next. Somehow he spent a lot of time there. There were so many interesting pieces. And many of them looked really good on her, too. Every time I made a trip around the shop I found another one I liked. And then something in a far corner caught my eye.
It was beautiful and tastefully sexy set in black and red. I just knew it would be perfect on her. I quickly pushed it in her hands and demanded he put it on before I closed the curtain again and held my breath.
She wasn't moving. Why wasn't she moving? I huffed and knocked impatiently on the side of the changing room. "You changed yet? We still have a lot of stores to hit before we're done." I reminded her. I heard her heartbeat speed up again and a whiff of that scent travelled to my nose again just as I heard her husky voice:
"Are you testing the limits of what I'll let you get away with?" And boy, did that combination do wonders against my control over the beast. No, Alice. I chided myself. You won't let the predator in you dictate your life. This is your friend we're talking about! "How did you even find this one here?" Bella complained. Wasn't she putting it on? I didn't like the disappointment I felt at that thought.
"Aw, just put in on already. You said no limitations. And you'll need a piece like that. Trust me, the guy will love it." I tried to convince her.
"What guy?" She asked dubiously. Huh? Well any guy in his right mind, really. I thought to myself.
"Whichever you choose. Now put it on already." What was she waiting for?! I heard her sigh and she finally started changing. I almost felt like crying at the success. She never made me work like this before. Strangely, I felt more satisfied when she relented in the end.
And then she stepped out and I knew it was worth it. I took my time appraising what I saw and my satisfaction grew. This set really was something. I wouldn't mind if I had one for myself, too.
"We'll take it." I stated with no room for objections. I felt like we accomplished enough with that set already, but I made her try a few more before we left. On a whim I took her to the local playground where we then decided on a dress for the dance. I won, of course and we ended up buying a designer deep blue knee-length dress which faded slightly towards the knees. And the top was covered with little 'diamonds' that gradually ended at the waist where the dress spread out.
After we bought the said dress I took her to a shoe shop where I knew she will find something for that dress. And she did. They were light blue with silver strings that matched the dress perfectly.
Naturally her stomach complained rather forcefully again but she insisted we stop at the mall before dinner so I drove her to our starting point. Then she made me wait in the car while she ran inside before they closed up. Why would she do that? Did she feel like I was too pushy with clothes? But she never complained!
I kept worrying about it the whole ride to the restaurant and then some as I watched her eat. I was scarred I drove her away and she'll never want to go shopping with me again. Why, oh why did I have to milk this opportunity? I thought miserably. I was at the end of the rope when she finished eating and then she brought a small box on the table in front of me, confusing me completely.
"It's a thank you gift for all the clothes and a good time." She explained. What, a gift? For me? What did I do? I slowly reached forward and carefully opened it. It was a simple silver bracelet with a small delicate charm on it. I loved it immediately. "It' supposed to represent friendship." She continued while I traced the pattern with my eyes over and over again. "D-don't you like it? If you don't we can replace it, I still have the bill…" I realised I hadn't said anything yet so I quickly stopped her nervous rambling.
"Bella." I said softly. I saw panic in her eyes and she already took a big breath before I stopped her again. Why was this so hard all of a sudden? It feels important, but it's such a simple and sweet gesture. "No. You misunderstood me." I reached forward, gently touching her warm fingers making her look up at me again. "I love it, thank you." I said truthfully and I relaxed when she breathed a sigh of relief. "You just caught me by surprise," I admitted with a small smile, "again."
"Well, you're welcome." She returned cheekily and we both laughed with relief.
After that I drove us back to Forks. She was almost asleep from exhaustion when a tinny sound came from her pocket.
"Hey, Alice. Do you mind if we stop by your house first?" She suddenly asked.
"Hm?" I turned to look at her. She still looked like she'll pass out any moment, but there was determination in her eyes, too. "Oh, sure." I agreed "Why?" She shrugged and faced the road again yawning. Poor little thing. Maybe I'll go easier on her next time…
Soon we were at our house. I was really curious what we're doing here so I followed her to the front door immediately. My curiosity increased when she shoved her phone in my hands. What was I supposed to do with it? Just as I was about to ask her the front door flew open and a miffed and soaking wet Edward greeted us. We were all surprised at each other which resulted in a tense silence that was soon broken by Bella.
"Um… Hi?"
"Hello, Bella." Edward greeted her back, his features softening as he spoke to her. He still had a soft spot for her from all that time I used to have visions about the two of them. I was glad I didn't anymore.
"I just wanted to… give this to you." I watched as she gave him a very similar package to the one I got. That somehow didn't sit with me well; it made the bracelet less special.
"For me?" He asked surprised carefully taking it from her hands. I saw her nod at him at his indecisiveness and gestured for him to open the package. He looked at me and I gave him a subtle nod 'It's probably something like the bracelet. You should open it now, she's really tired.' I added just as she yawned again.
At that he quickly unwrapped the gift and just before he opened the lid I saw a flash picture of him covered in flour. He red my mind and his eyes widened, but it was too late as the white powder already flew into his face.
The phone in my hands suddenly made perfect sense as I snapped a picture and sent it to every member of my family. I don't doubt my grin could split my face in half at that moment. Plus that feeling I got before… Yeah I felt really good about it now, knowing I got a gift while Edward was pranked!
Two phones vibrated and Edward took his out while I ignored mine. I snapped another picture when I saw the face he made when he saw himself.
"You're welcome, too." I heard Bella eco her words from the restaurant with a mocking bow and returned to my car while I laughed with all I had and sent the second picture, too.
I love this girl!
Okay, so here's that whole experience from Alice's perspective. She had a very enjoyable 'date' (and probably her vision of a dream date, too) that possibly ended with a subconscious confession ;D I'm sure you can find it rather quickly up there. Anyway, I hope I did this idea justice and you enjoyed it as much as she and I did. Let me know what you think :)
