I'm so embarrassed for the long period of time that I didn't update… I really have no excuse… like, at all… After my last post, it was my last two weeks of summer so I guess I was enjoying that… by watching about fifty movies with my friend… So now as I write this, my eyes are basically burned out of their sockets.
So it's uber late here. I'm tired and I'm upset. I haven't been in the best mood to be writing…I found out that I have to take gym. The severity of this situation is… severe. I'm not athletic…it's just not how I roll. So I've just been a ray of sunshine these past couple of days; I didn't get into French; so they gave me gym. Bastards. I have tried to demand they switch me to another course… we shall find out next semester when I have to take it, I guess…
So in conclusion, I think this chapter has suffered because of my mood. I'm just not happy. I love being able to rant on here because I can't see your annoyed faces :)--like you read this--trust me, my friends are so sick of my bitching and complaining. What can you do?
Warning: This chapter is awkward because I cannot write fluff; I don't know why I set myself up for it Jus' sayin'.who thought I was going to say 'lemon' after they read the word Warning? Ha-ha... tricked ya. GOD, I'm so overtired right now...
Disclaimer: I don't own it.
"Alice! Help!" I called as I burst into her house after school the same day. My head was so fuzzy and dazed that I didn't even bother knocking.
I let out a small yelp when I saw Alice's mom—she wasn't technically Alice's mother but that's what Alice preferred to call her—walk into the room. I blushed with embarrassment at acting so rude.
"Why, hello Bella. What a wonderful surprise," she greeted warmly.
"Hi, Mrs. Cullen. I'm sorry for my intruding, I wasn't even thinking," I apologized in a rush.
"That's quite all right, Bella, you're more than welcome here. And please," she insisted, "call me Esme."
"What's the emergency?" Alice asked as she flew down the stairs in a blur. I'm surprised she hadn't appeared sooner.
"Um," my eyes shifted to Esme briefly, unconsciously. "I—"
Alice huffed, grabbed my hand and was dragging me up the grand staircase before I could blink.
"Okay," Alice said when we were standing in her room. "Go."
"All right, Alice, I need your help. Let it be clear that I do not want a crazy makeover but you're just better at picking out outfits than I am and I really want to look nice tonight—" I rambled.
"Bella, Bella," Alice said, cutting me off. "What are you going on about? Where could you possibly be going tonight that you would feel the need to dress nicely for… more importantly, feel the need to come to me for fashion help…" she was thinking out loud now, talking to herself, as she tapped her chin with her pointer finger. It didn't take long for a spark of understanding to light in Alice's eyes and she then proceeded to squeal. "Does Bella have a date?!" she exclaimed. "Oh please, Bella, tell me it's not Mike!" Alice looked horrified.
"Alice! Come on, don't you know me at least a little by now? Mike? Seriously?"
"Then who…" she trailed off, thinking again. She seemed to like to figure things out on her own and she was usually—if not always—right.
"Edward," she stated abruptly, waggling her pointer finger in the air. "It's got to be Edward Masen. You should really pick a better confidante than Emmett and… well, Jasper's my boyfriend so it's understandable. So, am I right?" Alice asked confidently.
"Yes," I whispered, blushing lightly. She squealed again and threw herself at me into a fierce hug.
"I'm so happy for you! You couldn't have picked a better guy, in my opinion. I may not know him that well, but I am observant and he seems like a decent character," Alice beamed.
"Thank you, Alice," I said sincerely.
"Okay," she said, getting down to business. She scrutinized me fully, seemingly picturing an outfit for me tonight. "I really wish you would have given me fairer warning… we could've went shopping for a new outfit," she murmured absentmindedly as she walked over to her closet.
"Well, he only just asked me today," I supplied in my defense.
Alice's head snapped over to mine with a confused look. "But why wouldn't you wait until tomorrow? As in Friday?"
I shrugged. "If I'm being honest with you, I probably wouldn't be able to wait until tomorrow, I'm too excited," I admitted embarrassingly. "And he seemed to be sort of eager as well, for some reason," I added. Alice rolled her eyes at me.
"Walk me through it," she eagerly demanded.
"What?"
She sighed, exasperated. "When exactly did he ask you? Where?"
"Um… after Biology… in the hallway…" Alice's face dropped in disappointment.
"That's it?" she asked.
"Well, what did you expect? Some grand thing? He asked me; I said yes. End of story," I said firmly.
"Not much of a story," she muttered, returning to her closet.
"Alice, do you really expect for your clothes to fit me?" I called. She had delved deeper into her closet/cave. We were both rather short but I had a good four or five inches on her at least.
"Nope!" I heard her faintly.
"Then why…" I was confused.
"Ha!" She came skipping out of her closet, bag in hand.
"What is that?" I asked warily.
"Your outfit," she stated.
"Nothing too dressy, I hope."
Alice rolled her eyes. "I'm not that mean. I'll save that for your second date," she said confidently. Note to self: avoid Alice if I'm lucky enough to have Edward wanting to see me again if the first date doesn't end completely horrifically. That's a long note. "When's he picking you up, anyway?"
"Um, soon," I said. I didn't know what time it was but it would be… soon. We had to drive to Port Angeles and if we wanted more than an hour there together then we'd have to leave early.
"Okay, I say we regroup at your place. I don't want a chance of you ruining your hair or clothes whilst returning to your house before he even gets a chance to see you."
I rolled my eyes and didn't bother to say anything.
And so we made it back to my house. I was able to be strict and made Alice not go overboard on getting me ready. I drew the line at an hour. I was completely surprised when Alice pulled out a pair of dark jeans instead of a skirt or dress, what I thought she would have me wear. But I was happy, nonetheless, beyond happy; it was pretty cold out and if we had to walk anywhere… well, I would prefer to not have hypothermia in my legs. A light coat of make-up later and I was done and with perfect timing. As Alice laid down her tube of lip-gloss I could hear a car pull into the driveway.
My eyes grew wide as I turned to Alice, who was grinning from ear to ear.
Edward.
I rushed out of the room and down the stairs, stumbling on the last step, to let him in only to see the door already opening.
What? Edward wouldn't have let himself in…
Charlie.
I gaped as I saw Charlie walk through the front door, shrugging out of his jacket and hanging his gun and holster on the coat hook on the wall by the door. What was he doing home early!?
"Bells?" Charlie was just getting a look at me then. "What are you doing all dressed up?" he asked as he, probably, noticed my make-up and styled hair.
"Uhm," I floundered.
"Bella has a date!" Alice squealed in excitement. My jaw dropped at her. It was the truth but I didn't know how Charlie was going to react to that; I had wanted to ease into it, at least.
"What?" I wasn't sure I was supposed to feel hurt from Charlie's surprised expression.
"Yeah, uh, Edward Masen asked me out…" I said slowly, cautiously.
"Masen?" Charlie's furry eyebrows pushed together. "Doesn't he—"
"Yeah, anyway," I said, cutting him off. "Is that okay?" I asked weakly.
"I don't know, Bells, it's a school night," Charlie mentioned.
"I know that but I received little homework and I already finished it while Alice was fixing me," I said, gesturing to my face and hair. Before Charlie could say anything, the doorbell rang.
"That's Edward!" Alice seemingly commentated the obvious excitedly, acting as some spectator.
"I'll get it," I tried to say brightly but I was grimacing at the thought of how awkward Charlie meeting Edward would be.
I wrenched the front door open to be floored by a stunning sight. Edward was standing on my front porch, bundled up in his warm jacket like I would be momentarily but I barely registered what he was wearing because his hair, in its usual beautiful disarray, and face, with his piercing eyes, were grabbing my attention.
"Hi," I finally breathed, very anticlimactic.
"Hi," he said right back; though it still sounded better than the way I originally said it. I blushed as he greeted me; I don't know why—like I had a reason.
Um… "Come in," I gestured. "Dad, this is Edward. Edward, this is my dad, Charlie."
"Pleasure to meet you, Chief Swan," Edward said formally, holding out his hand for Charlie to shake. He seemed to be the epitome of ease. I was jealous; I seemed to be the epitome of… 'ball of nerves.'
Alice, I noticed, was standing by the stairs still, biting her nail while her eyes darted between the two and bouncing slightly in place. She seemed to be fully enjoying it whilst I was holding my breath, about to either pass out from mortification or lack of oxygen.
"Likewise," Charlie said gruffly.
"Oookay," I said quickly. "We'll be leaving now."
"Hold it," Charlie abruptly said, finally taking on the parental role. "You seem fine. Have her home by ten… it is a school night."
"Yes sir," Edward replied. Alice gave me a small thumbs up sign while no one else was looking and mouthed good luck, though she was smirking. As soon as we were out the door I let out the air I had once again been holding.
The drive to Port Angeles was relatively quiet which I didn't mind. Edward had a mixed CD playing in the car, many of the songs, which I hadn't heard before, I found myself instantly loving. Curiosity got the better of me, though; I didn't like any form of surprises.
"Where are we going tonight?" I inquired.
"Uh, I was thinking dinner?" he said hesitantly. "At this Italian restaurant I know of."
"Bella Italia?"
His eyes darted over to me with a bit of disappointment. "Yes… It's fine if you don't like Italian, though, we can—"
"I love that place," I reassured him, cutting him off. Though I had only been there once—I hadn't been in Forks for that long, remember—I did enjoy it. The entire atmosphere was warm and inviting, not to mention the food was delicious.
"Good," he murmured.
A few minutes later we arrived and Edward parked. In the few seconds it took for me to unbuckle my seatbelt, Edward had gotten out and walked around to my side of the car.
I turned to open my door to find it already opened, Edward waiting patiently with a hand extended to me. I blinked three times, mulling over the shock. He was a total gentleman. He had opened my door for me in my driveway but this still surprised me. Apparently I was mulling for longer than I thought.
"Bella?"
"Oh." I blushed and took his offered hand.
We walked into the restaurant—me, completely aware of the now stronger than ever electric current running between our entwined hands.
After being seated and Edward receiving some lustful stares from the hostess, at which Edward seemed to ignore, we were left to ourselves once again. We shrugged out of our jackets and I got a view of what Edward was wearing. It wasn't too spectacular—in that, I mean: From my little experience with Alice and clothes, I think I could tell it wasn't designer or anything—but even so, it still looked amazing on him and left me marveling.
"That colour looks amazing on you," Edward abruptly said, bringing me back from my ogling.
"Hm?"
"Your shirt," he gestured. Man, he had to be rethinking this date… I must have looked like an idiot. "It looks nice with your skin…" Even I could tell he ended lamely but I liked it. And even though lame, I still blushed at his compliment.
"Okay," Edward seemed to snap out of our reluctant-to-talk-much environment, "how about twenty questions?" he asked.
"Twenty questions?" I grinned.
"Well I told you I wanted to get to know you… what better way to do so than asking you questions?"
"All right," I shrugged.
And with that, Edward's relentless questioning began. From trivial things to deeper questions.
Favourite colour? –at which he smirked, knowing it was a cliché and obvious question— My reply was green, as I full out blushed, knowing my answer was caused by taking one look into his emerald eyes.
Favourite movie? –any adaptation of a Jane Austen novel along with a few other random ones.
He asked me multiple questions on the topic of music, which led me to believe he had a strong passion for the subject.
"Well, do you play any instruments?" I asked as I popped a bite of ravioli into my mouth. I managed to sneak a question in! Edward had been allowing me to ask only a couple questions, nothing more complex then favourite this or that.
He nodded, "I do. I play the piano though not as frequently as I would like and not very well. How about you?"
"Nope. I tried taking piano lessons when I was younger but it didn't work out. I got too frustrated with it," I admitted sheepishly.
"Will that be everything? No dessert?" the waitress asked Edward hopefully when she realized we were both done eating, effectively cutting us off from any further conversation. I couldn't roll my eyes because they were too busy glaring at the girl.
"No, thank you," Edward said politely, glancing briefly at her. "Just the bill." He returned his gaze to me, though I barely noticed, as my eyes were still attentively eyeing the waitress for any signs of her jumping Edward.
The waitress—Monica—slumped and whipped out the check.
I straightened up slightly then. I felt disgusted with myself for thinking it but I wondered for a second if paying for dinner would be an issue for him… but he wouldn't have brought me if he couldn't. I mean—
My thoughts were shut up when Edward glanced briefly again this time at the check and then placed a couple of bills onto the table. My cheeks flushed in shame for thinking such a thing.
"Ready to go?" Edward offered his hand to me again and I stood up to take it.
"Um, yeah," I stuttered. Monica sneered in my direction and slinked back to the kitchens.
"Did you want to head home? It's not late yet, we could always walk around," Edward suggested.
"A walk sounds great," I smiled. I wasn't about to give up my Edward time yet. And I was determined to ask him more questions, though he was extremely good at dodging them.
So we strolled along the streets of Port Angeles. We window shopped for a bit—though there was slim pickings outside of the mall—but we didn't go into any shops until we came across a music store. Edward must have seen my eyes light up.
He chuckled, "Would you like to go in?" I bit my lip and nodded. On Alice's shopping trips… music stores don't count. So, I hadn't gotten the opportunity to buy a couple of CDs I had been meaning to get yet.
When we walked into the store I felt like a kid in a candy store—that sentence could only ever be used when referring to a music or bookstore, however. I noticed the guy at the cashier look up from what he was reading when he saw us come in.
"Hey, Edward," the guy greeted. I turned to Edward with a confused grin.
"You come here often?" I asked him.
"I work here," Edward whispered in my ear. I shivered from the close proximity. And inwardly beamed for discovering this tidbit of information. So Edward worked at a music store. My earlier thought on whether Edward could pay for dinner seemed even stupider now.
"Oh," I blushed.
"Hello, Lee," Edward replied. The guy I now knew as Lee looked to be in his early twenties, nineteen at the youngest. He had blond 'emo hair' with the intense swoop bang and snake bites. Contrasting with the style of hair, he was wearing a bright neon purple sweater. He was an amusing character, to say the least. "Lee, this is Bella," Edward introduced me.
"Hey," he said, sending me a nod. I supplied him with a small wave.
"Did you want to get anything?" Edward asked me quietly.
"Umm," I looked around the room once for no particular reason. "No," I decided. I could come back, I supposed. Hmmm… new CD or more time with Edward? Not a hard decision.
After saying our goodbyes to Lee, we headed back the way we came, to Edward's car. It had gotten quiet again and Edward knew to break it.
"Okay, I've got one. Worst vacation?" Edward asked.
I wrinkled my nose as I thought about it. I looked over to Edward and although he was driving, he was shooting me expectant glances. "Um, does it count if it's still in your home state?"
He shrugged. "Sure."
"All right, when I was ten my mom and I drove a couple of hours away from where we lived in Arizona to some spa and resort place, I guess; I really don't remember because of my age… I don't even know why she brought me, I think she just wanted to get away and didn't know what else to do but to bring me along… anyway, I guess I was playing outside for… quite sometime and Renée forgot to put suntan lotion on me. I was left with a really nasty and painful sunburn. I've had an aversion to vacations ever since, though it didn't stop me from loving the sun for some reason; I suppose I just love the warmth too much," I concluded, looking back over to Edward after I finished my rambling story.
He had a small smile on his face.
"Hey! No laughing!" I exclaimed.
"I'm not!" he chuckled. "I'm just picturing you as a ten year old. Cute." He grinned.
I rolled my eyes irritably but the smile on my lips gave me away.
Too quickly, we arrived at my house… which meant I would have to get out of his car… and leave Edward…
"Thank you for tonight, Edward," I said, giving him a warm smile, as we sat stationary in my driveway. Edward remained quiet for a moment, seemingly thinking about something.
"Bella…" he spoke, his brow furrowed. "Why haven't you told anyone?" I automatically knew what he was talking about. What else could he be talking about?
"Were you expecting me to?" I asked, astonished that he was thinking I would do that.
"Yes," he answered truthfully. I thought for a moment. The idea hadn't come to my mind once to tell his 'secret' to other people.
"Because I knew it, for some reason, bothers you to have people know… why would I tell? You have nothing to be ashamed about," I added in a mumble.
"I'm not ashamed," he said quickly. "I guess I was just surprised and acted without thinking. I'm sorry I was rude and shut the door in your face," he apologized, wearing a small smile.
I rolled my eyes playfully. "I'm sorry for bringing Emmett," I frowned. "He probably scarred some of your neighbours with his…"
"Yeah, I heard," Edward said. "Trailer walls aren't the thickest," he added as he probably saw my confused face. I was basking in the epic-ness that was Edward talking about his trailer. He had been completely avoiding it before and now… it seemed like he was opening up. I was ecstatic.
I became serious soon, though. "Edward, I want you to know that your living arrangements don't matter. It doesn't lesson how much I care for you," I finished as my cheeks took to a whole new level of inferno. I can't believe I just blurted that! I knew it was true… I was already getting some strong feelings for Edward and it was only the first date! He had to be coming to the conclusion that I was a psycho by now.
Edward turned to me with intense eyes. "And how much do you care for me?" was what he asked.
"I-I haven't figured that out yet," I replied, biting my lip. "Goodnight, Edward." Being daring, I dove in to give him a kiss on the cheek and then quickly and awkwardly got out of his car.
"'Night, Bella," I heard Edward call meekly as I didn't exactly wait for a reply. Oh God…
If tomorrow could just not come, that would be great… then I wouldn't have to face the restraining order Edward would surely be waiting to shove in my face.
Look! It's pretty long, I'd say. But I'm rather embarrassed by it, is that sad? It's soooo… not good. I wish they could just get over themselves and love each other already.
And yes. Lee is a real person. He is in my Canadian History class. He has ridiculous looking hair (though in my story, it looks good). And yes, he calls it 'emo hair' including me 'hip' teacher. Jus' sayin'.
I managed to get over twenty reviews last chapter! But that's only because I waited so long to post (unintentional, I swear). If I could get another twenty this chapter, that would be great (I promise not to wait so long to post again, gosh I promise), even though this chapter was…awkward… maybe I'll come back and fix it but I need to post it now.