"What's wrong?" Edward asked, looking down at me.
"Nothing," I said non-convincingly. "You'd better go. I'll sort this out, then call you."
"Okay," he said, walking out of the room. Then he stopped in the hallway and walked backwards into the doorway again. "Pick you up at seven," he told me with a wink and left the house.
"UGH!" I yelled, falling back onto my bed. The maids had left and now I was in the room alone with Bella now, who looked up from her food with her head tilted to the side.
I stormed off to my sister's room, where another song – SOS – was playing. I stomped over to her stereo and turned the music all the way down. "I REALLY COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THEIR SOS! I DON'T BELIEVE THEY BLED! THEY NEED TO STOP OVERREACTING ABOUT THAT BROKEN GLASS!" I screamed in her face.
She had been jumping up and down on her bed and now stopped jumping to fall and sit on the end of her bed. "I'm sorry?" she said like a question and I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply through my nose. "For the record, what did I do?" she asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"Ugh! Today's my birthday and I woke up to you screaming, listening to those gay idiots and just now, you ruined my moment with Edward by screaming like a little girl!" I yelled at her, refusing to calm down.
"That's it?" she asked.
"Yes, that's it. It was enough to ruin my birthday morning and the day is still young!" I screamed at her again.
"I'm really sorry," she said genuinely and I almost forgot that I was mad at her…almost.
"And all for what? Exactly?" I asked her.
"Well, mom got us tickets to see the Jonas Brothers!" she yelled, smiling and all exited again. "There's a ticket for me and a ticket for you," she told me. "And, we can each bring a friend!"
"Ugh. It's bad enough that mom's making me go, just keep my ticket," I groaned, trying to make a big deal out of this. "On second thought," I said, suddenly getting a good idea. "Give me my ticket now. I know just who to bring," I said with an evil grin.
"Whatever, Lexi," she said, handing me an envelope with two tickets in it. I slid the flap open and looked at the tickets. Front row…backstage passes…the works. This was going to be great – both sarcastically and not.
I went back into my room and placed the tickets next to my purse on the mahogany table that held all my make-up. I changed into sweats and walked down and out the door of the large mansion after putting my dirty pajamas into the laundry bin. I walked into the tumbling room, complete with bars, mats, and a springboard. Finally a chance to get some exercise done. If my plan went well, my birthday would get better almost instantly.
I stretched and began working on a routine I had known since I was really little. It wasn't really a challenge anymore. It was really more just warming up for the couple mile jog through LA. When I finished the routine, I grabbed a bottle of orange Gatorade from the small refrigerator in the building.
I stepped outside. It was a beautiful day outside. Maybe I would go swimming later if I had time. I stepped out onto the big sidewalk outside our house and started jogging. When I had gone five miles, I turned around and started jogging back towards my house. I looked down at my watch and noticed that I had only been gone forty-five minutes. I kept running for another forty-five minutes and when I could see my house; I decided it would be a good idea to do a cartwheel.
I skipped once and jumped into the cartwheel after making sure that the lid to my Gatorade was on tight. I held the bottle with one hand and when into the cartwheel with another. I didn't realize there was a bouncy ball on the sidewalk and my hand fell onto the ball and I fell down. My wrist hurt but I was pretty sure I wasn't bleeding.
I stood up and brushed myself off after making sure that my wrist wasn't broken.
"Are you okay?" I heard a deep voice ask from behind me.
"I'm fine," I growled back. I could recognize that voice anywhere…after hearing it on my stereo almost constantly.
"Are you sure? That was an awesome cartwheel, but you took a pretty hard fall," he sounded unsure.
I spun around. "Go away Moe," I told him.
"It's Joe," he corrected instantly.
"I don't care. Go away," I said, reaching down to pick up my Gatorade; which, in my clumsiness, I knocked over. It went rolling over towards Joe.
He picked it up and handed it to me. "That's my favorite drink, you know," he told me.
"Really?" I asked. "I don't care." I looked down at my watch. Man, it was already 3 o'clock. "I have to go," I told him.
"Let me give you a ride?" he asked sweetly.
"No way! My house is just right over there!" I said, not willing to take a ride from him if my house was miles away.
"Fine, just let me…" he started, but cut himself off as he kissed me.
I screamed as I pushed him away. He looked rather pleased with himself, I may add; I, however, was not pleased. I gave him a kick in the groin…a pretty hard one too, and he doubled over in pain as I ran back to the house to get ready for the date. I looked at the envelope with the tickets on the counter and sighed, thinking about how Joe kissed me and now, I had to go to the concert tomorrow and see him again…front row…center and backstage.
I stepped in the shower and turned the water on as hot as it would go after turning on the fan. The shower was burning my back, but it felt good. The water pressure pushed on my back, relieving all of my stress for the day.
When I got out, time was running out to get ready for the date. By the time I got out of the shower, it was already five. Yeah, I take long showers. I wrapped myself in the large, pastel beach towel and walked out into my room.
I walked right over to my large stereo/entertainment system and turned the volume up all the way, letting Hanson wash over me in a wave.
There's a downtown corner
People downtown know
And a backbeat rhythm on the radio
And the girl who listens to a young man's song
On the block I live on
In the place I'm from
I walked over to my dresser to pull out one of my favorite dresses. It was turquoise and cut just above the ankles. I held it up and admired it before putting it on.
Well the young man sitting
On the dock of the bay
Took a long-term trip
On a first class plane
Now the whole world listens
To that one man's song
On the block I live on
In the place I'm from
I smoothed the edges of the dress down and twirled in my room, letting the bottom of the dress flare out. I smiled, watching the edges of the dress fall back gracefully to rest on the floor.
Tell me does it move you
Does it sooth you
Does it fill your heart and soul
With the roots of rock and roll
Does it move you
Does it sooth you
Does it fill your heart and soul
With the roots of rock and roll
I gracefully walked into my walk in closet, striding over to the section where I kept all my shoes. I found my favorite heels. They were black strap heels with a skinny, two inch heels. I walked back into my bedroom to sit on the edge of my bed and put the heels on.
Well the man in black sits
On a screened in porch
Making birthday wishes
71 almost
You can hear him singing
Chariot swing low
On the block I live on
In a place I know
I stood up in my heels and walked over to my dresser, where I picked up the envelope with the tickets and placed it gingerly in my purse. I looked up into the mirror and sighed, taking the towel out of my hair and picking up a hairbrush to get my hair ready.
Tell me does it move you
Does it sooth you
Does it fill your heart and soul
With the roots of rock and roll
Does it move you
Does it sooth you
Does it fill your heart and soul
With the roots of rock and roll
I finished fixing my hair carefully. I put mouse in it and made it curly before spraying it with just a little hair spray to hold the curls in.
Tell me does it move you
Does it sooth you
Does it fill your heart and soul
With the roots of rock and roll
Does it move you
Does it sooth you
Does it fill your heart and soul
With the roots of rock and roll
I leaned forward into the mirror to look at my eyes. My eyes were a light blue and right now, they were shining as I looked at the reflection of the clock in my window. Half an hour until Edward got here.
With Edward, every date felt like the first. I knew he would take me to a fancy outdoor restaurant and pay for whatever I wanted. If I told him that he shouldn't, he'd order me the most expensive food there.
After we ate, he'd bring me home and then go back to his house. I would change into my pajamas, and about forty-five minutes later, he's show up on my doorstep in his pajamas and a bag full of Goosebumps movies. We'd sit in my room and watch the movies. No matter how many times I'd seen any of them, they all still scared me.
Na Na Na Na Na Na, I've been there before
Na Na Na Na Na Na, I've been there before
Na Na Na Na Na Na, I've been there before
Na Na Na Na Na Na, I've been there before
I reached for the bag with the make-up in it. I never wore much make-up; only on dates. Even on dates, I didn't wear much make-up. I brushed a light layer of blush across my pale cheeks. I reached for the clear mascara and brushed some on, simply to make my lashes longer looking. I put on some pale eye shadow and just a little bit of lip gloss.
I walked over to my window seat, where you could see everything from my third-floor window. I could clearly see into my neighbor's window when the light was on…not that I ever looked. That would be an invasion of privacy.
I leaned up against the wall so I could see the driveway through the red, gold and orange leaf covered branches of the tree and started singing the rest of the song; my favorite part.
When you can't get through it
You can listen to it
With a Na Na Na Na
Well I've been there before[/I
[IWhen you can't get through it
You can listen to it
With a Na Na Na Na
Well I've been there before
The song finished and the last few beats of the song faded into the silence as Edwards car pulled into my driveway. I ran to turn off the stereo, grabbed my purse and was out the door and into his car faster than you can say "Jonas Brothers suck."