AN- I know, I've been bad.
I've really been neglecting updates, but give me a second to explain; I swear, I'm more like Bella then I give myself credit for. It the past month or so, I'd managed to hit my head hard and frequently enough to give myself a pretty bad concussion. I've been mostly resting. Or as close to resting I could get, not writing anything.
Then after said concussion, my mom decided to buy a car. From someone in Vermont.
And we live on the west coast. I have no clue what she was thinking, but she made me spend my long weekend crammed up in a rusty Suburban. But altogether, the car isn't that bad.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Thanks to your vennela, once again, for beta. It's such a help!
And remember, my least favorite phrase; I OWN NOTHING. D:
CHAPTER EIGHT - PLANS
Living is easy with eyes closed.
Strawberry Fields Forever, by The Beatles
I wasn't sure what to think of this whole Jacob thing. He was my best friend, and I still loved him, but I had come to realize that the feeling was still nothing compared to my love for Edward. Nevertheless, I wore his bracelet with the carving of a wolf so delicately made. I realized that I had some excess chain in a death grip, and the skin over my knuckles was growing white from the strain. I slowly let go of the bracelet, feeling the slight pain in my hand from where I had punched Jacob, once upon a time.
It had been a day since Angela had met with Jacob, and it had been the main topic of interest within the family.
That and what was going on with Edward and me. That with the wedding coming up, and our night two days ago. I was reminded that it was the wedding that had put the chain of events in motion that brought Angela to this life in the first place.
Wedding planning. We were going to tell her of the wedding, and she was going to come with us to plan for the wedding. That's what Angela needed. Alice, Angela and I needed to go... shopping. Of course, Alice came skipping into the room at that moment, a grin on her face.
"I thought you would never ask!" She trilled.
"I didn't," I told her somewhat coldly, though I had an amused smile on my face.
"Oh, but you will!" Alice told me, shushing me as I opened my mouth to argue.
Grabbing my hand, Alice led the way up the flights of stairs at a barely human pace, up to Angela's door. She knocked, and we heard a distant-sounding murmur as welcome. I stole a glance at Alice, who shrugged, then led the way into Angela's room for the ambush.
"Shopping, Angela. We have some unfinished business," Alice told her, and I could hear her trouble with keeping her tone light. "Oh?" Angela asked, looking up at me with a questioning glance. My pulse quickened at her onyx eyes, which of course, I immediately associated with danger. Alice ignored my discomfort. "Yes. Remember, you were going over to Bella's that day? Yeah, we were going to be doing wedding planning," Alice informed her, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Angela shrugged, and allowed Alice to make her over while I made the necessary calls to Charlie. He agreed, seeing no reason to oppose a day out with Alice --God forbid I mention Angela as well-- to get some new clothes. As long as I didn't tell him that one of the outfits would be a wedding dress. But no matter how easy it was to warn Charlie, Edward was not an easy person to shake off for a day.
"Bella-" He started, yet again, and I reached up to place my warm finger over his lips, which instantly cut him off as he kissed it lightly. "I'm going to be with Alice and Angela, if you've forgotten. It's honestly going to be fine. Alice hasn't seen anything at all," I informed him, stretching up to replace my finger with my lips, kissing him slowly. I was hyper-aware of Edward's fingers drawing circles on the small of my back. I fought back a shiver as I heard a cough, and I turned to see Rosalie standing in the doorway.
"Shopping with the girls, and I wasn't invited?" She asked incredulously. I felt Edward let out a small purr-like sound of amusement, while my stomach plunged down to somewhere around my ankles. Then, I saw a pair of pale hands pushing Emmett through the doorway, into Rosalie's suddenly ready arms. Needless to say Rosalie was distracted, and a dolled-up Alice was linking her arm through mine and escorting me to the door, but not before I caught the grin and wink that Emmett sent me.
I looked at her face questioningly, wondering where Angela was. Alice waved a carefree hand toward the forest. "Hunting. She didn't realize how badly her throat was feeling until I was getting her ready. Sadly, she chose to hunt after I finished her makeup, but alright." Alice scowled and then flashed a smile in my direction. Suddenly another body replaced her beside me, and Edward's scent filled my nostrils as I pressed my face to his shirt. He hugged me close, kissing my ear lightly. I felt him slip something into the back pocket of my jeans, but then his lips were on mine and I lost my train of thought.
"Be safe," I heard him murmur against my lips, as we rocked side to side for a while until I heard the car start. We both jumped, and I could hear Alice's silver laugh joined by Angela's smaller chuckle as they waited for me to get in. I hugged Edward with all of my strength, reminding him that I loved him before slipping into the back seat, hearing Edward shut the door behind me. Then the three of us girls were off to Seattle. Alice found it simply silly to get a wedding dress in such a small city as Port Angeles, so we were going a bit farther away than Edward wanted me.
Once we were safely on the highway in the Porsche, I looked out the window and watched as the cars seemed to be driving backwards as Alice pressed the gas pedal to the floor of the car. When I considered telling Alice to slow down, I heard her laugh and immediately abandoned the idea.
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
After quite a few hours in Seattle, we had found quite a few duffel bags full of new outfits for Alice, Angela, and to my dismay, myself. Then Alice was announcing that it was time to get wedding supplies. I groaned, and Angela squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.
"Now, I think something clean-cut and long will look good on you, Bella. No-" Alice paused, looking over at Angela, who had placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Let Bella choose the dress. I think we'd be able to handle it," Angela said quietly, and I could almost swear I felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. But Alice was shaking her head violently.
"Come on, it's only fair," Angela continued, staring at Alice. Alice glanced between the both of us and then sighed, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Fine, but I get to chose the rest, AND style the wedding place, and any other means necessary. Except for the guest list," She said, looking at me sadly. I looked away, knowing if I let her under my shell for too long, I would crack. Angela chuckled, touching my elbow lightly and guiding me toward the wedding dresses.
All was going well, and I had narrowed a choice between two dresses when we heard a crash and a wail. Angela let out a gasp, and threw a desperate look at me before hurrying as fast as she could in public to Alice's side, who was in a mess of fabric, letting out dry sobs. When Alice saw Angela next to her, she grabbed her shoulders and shook her. I heard Alice telling Angela to get her home in a low, quick voice, and then Angela was supporting her weight and they were out the door, as I hurried to tag along behind them.
Angela placed Alice in the back seat with me, and she hurried to the front and spun out of the parking lot. I let Alice lay down, awkwardly placed in my lap, burying her face in my shirt. I patted her black hair lightly, waiting for her to explain what she had seen.
"Jasper, Jasper... Oh no, not Jasper!" she suddenly exclaimed, fumbling in her pocket to retrieve her cell phone. She pressed a number on speed dial and held the phone up to her ear with a trembling hand. Her eyes widened with hope as I could faintly hear it ringing, then they narrowed as a voice other than Jasper answered.
"Edward? Where's Jasper?" she demanded. The rest of her conversation was too quick for me to hear. I caught things randomly, such as 'visitors' and 'the south' and 'recruiting'. They made no sense to me, until suddenly the gears whirred to life. Vampires were coming here to get Jasper back for their territory wars. I let out a small gasp, and hugged Alice tighter to me. She responded by handing me the phone, and I eagerly took it, waiting for an explanation I could actually understand.
"Bella?" I heard Edward's anxious voice asking, and I nodded my head, momentarily forgetting that he wouldn't be able to see it over the phone. But he seemed to recognize the rustling to be some sort of acknowledgment. "Bella, there is going to be a girl coming, who isn't like us... In hunting habits, I mean. Angela is getting you home as fast as she can, then you are going to stay in my room while all of this happens. We'll be able to ensure your safety there," he told me quickly.
"What did Alice see about Jasper?" I asked him, my stomach plummeting when I heard the snap of what must have been his teeth as they snapped shut.
"Well, Grecia... That's the vampire's name. She's coming to get Jasper, to help them with a string of attacks their planning that they'll need their help in. And Alice... She saw Jasper going with her," Edward told me, his voice too distant for my complete belief. But a sob came from Alice, and Angela shook her head and forced the car faster, leaving my suspicions behind.
"And where is Jasper now? Why are you on his phone?" I demanded.
"He's hunting. He's just left with Emmett and Rosalie, and they all left their phones here. I don't know what kind of stunt their pulling, but Alice didn't see any more than that single female, so they should be fine. I've got to go speak to Carlisle, but I'll see you soon, Bella," he said, and I could hear his strain to keep his tone light.
"Bye Edward. I love you," I told him quietly, before closing the phone. I moved to give it back to Alice, but she was suddenly sitting upright, her knees pulled to her chest and her fingers on her temples as she watched the future, no doubt willing it to change. I sighed quietly and looked out the window, shifting my body so I could block Alice's trembling body from the peripheral vision, when I felt something in my back pocket. I suddenly remembered that Edward had slipped something in there, and I greedily pulled it out.
It was a small silver cell phone. I opened it, and let out a large smile when I saw the background was a picture of him sitting at the piano. The banner had what I guessed was the number to the device. I rolled my eyes, telling myself not to bother, since I would definitely be giving it back to Edward - what didn't he get about 'no presents'? But nevertheless, I found that I had memorized it by the time I saw the landscape of Forks passing by.
