(There will be a date at the beginning from now on, just because I got so far behind, and I wanted a Christmas chapter, but it wont be up until well after Christmas.)
7. I Just Want To Slap Them!
December 17th, 2008
Bella.
"Bella, hurry UP!" Alice shouted impatiently from the other room. "Did you forget how to use the shower again??"
"No, I did fine with that, thank you very much." I said as I rolled my eyes even though she couldn't see me do so. "I'm almost done. Just chill for a second." I reassured, as I quickly fixed my hair into a quick ponytail. Alice had let me use some of her clothes (surprisingly, I fit into them, regardless of her tiny figure) and I was currently wearing a pair of (Alice's) skinny jeans with a white tee-shirt (also Alice's) underneath (Alice's) blue Abercrombie jacket. Ugh. It still smelled like Abercrombie. This brought back painful memories...
I quickly shook the thoughts off as I opened the door to exit the bathroom.
"What took you so long?!" Alice threw her hands up in flustered confusion. "Were you–"
"No, whatever you think I was doing, I wasn't doing it." I quickly answered before she could finish, so as to not say anything I'd regret later. "Why do we have to go this early anyway?"
"Well, we have some shopping to do, duh!" She looked at me as if I was an idiot for thinking otherwise. "I need to get some shoes!"
"But we were in the mall yesterday! Why couldn't you get shoes then?!" Was she serious?
"Well, I wasn't in the 'shoe mood' yesterday," she explained, her eyes questioning why I didn't figure this out earlier.
I shook my head in mock disappointment at her choice of words as I laughed lightly and replied, "You're unbelievable, Alice!"
"Yeah, yeah. Now let's go!" she pulled at my wrist, towing me behind her through the door. "Bye guys!" she called over her shoulder.
"Bye!" I yelled as well, hearing three muffled farewells as we rushed down the stairs. In the back of my mind, I wondered if Edward actually carried me up so many stairs...
I was pulled back to reality as I caught my foot on the last step of the flight of stairs I was currently descending. I tumbled to the floor, landing on my knees.
"Bella!" I heard Alice say as she tried to steady me. She was still holding my wrist as if her hand was soldered to it, and because of that fact, I didn't fall even further then I did. "Are you okay?!"
"Yep. I'm fine." I reassured as I continued down the next flight. She jumped ahead of me and opened the door at the bottom, holding it open.
"Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself again," she said as I passed through the door she held open.
"Haha. Funny." She just smiled in response while pressing the button on her key that unlocks her Porsche.
I climbed in the passenger seat, while she entered the driver's side.
We drove without a conversation, seeing as it could not even be attempted with All Time Low's 'Poppin Champagne' blasting through her extremely complex sound system. It droned out every other sound, until nothing else could be heard except it and Alice's rendition of the song. I'm pretty sure my ears were bleeding. The upbeat sound reverberated throughout the car, melding with my heartbeat.
By the time we arrived, we had listened to about 10 songs, hand chosen by Alice. I had no say in the matter, because she wanted to show me what her new favorite song of the day was. It varied each day, so I never knew what to expect. (Sounds a lot like me, lol)
I reluctantly got out of the car, making as much of a show of my distaste for the situation as possible. Alice was not pleased; she saw me dragging my feet and lagging behind at a sluggish pace (as opposed to her jumpy attitude) and she grabbed my limp wrist and pulled. I didn't realize that we had made it to the entrance because I was looking down at my feet, but I found it as soon as I hit my head on the automatic door.
"Ow!" I exclaimed, bringing the hand that wasn't currently in Alice's possession and holding tightly to the spot above my eye where the door had hit. Alice turned to make sure I was okay, even asked if I was okay, but then she continued dragging me mercilessly to the store of her choice just seconds after, in a manner that made it look like she didn't care.
"Alice!" I said, disappointed in her reaction to my pain.
"What?" She said, "I'm on a mission here, and I can't stop and baby you because of every injury you get, which is a lot, by the way!" She explained while her eyes roamed thoughtfully, probably deciding which store would fit her needs.
"Ouch. That hurt." I said, feigning pain and looking overly-dramatic doing so. "You could at least pretend that you care, though."
"I do care, Bella! I just...need to...find...something..." She trailed off as she looked around every corner to find whatever it was she was so intent on finding, with an expression that looked distant, as if she was remembering something.
"Oh? And what would that something be?" I questioned.
"Hmm...," She said thoughtfully, completely ignoring my question. "Ah-ha!" all of a sudden, she tugged on my wrist with so much force that it almost caused me to fall over, had she not balanced me. "Come on! I remember where I wanted to bring you!"
**
2 hours and 32 dresses later, I was about to collapse from exhaustion. The problem was, every time I tried to fall asleep, a certain evil, short, black-haired girl would scream something along the lines of: "OMIGOSH, BELLA!!! You HAVE to try this on!!" I would groan in response, look upon the dress in her hands with disdain, reply with, "Do I have to NOW?? It's next week! Not tomorrow!" she would give me a death glare that genuinely horrified me, and I would take the dress and try it on.
And the cycle would repeat. Constantly.
I was finally at the point of nodding off (I was determined to regain the lost sleep from the night before) when I heard a slight intake of breath.
"Bella," I heard Alice said, calmly for a change, "Take a look at this..." She simply held the dress in front of her, staring at it as if it was her life's mission to find it. I couldn't get a clear view of it from where I was sitting, so I got up to see what could possibly cause Alice to react in such a way.
When I came into view, she turned to look at me, with the same look in her eyes as when she was staring at the dress.
Wordlessly, she turned the dress so I could see the front.
It was, in a single word, stunning. However, if I was using multiple words, it would be something like; elegantly flowing to the floor in an effortless motion. The dress was a satin blue, made of a silky material. It was strapless and very form fitting before flowing out into a loser bottom, the front short than the back, letting the subject's legs show. A piece of material was tucked in at the bodice before trailing down, joining the skirt. It was a deep, intense blue that could make anyone look like they were walking around in a blanket of water. (Link on profile. Well, it should be. If you don't see it, PM me) ...And I was scared to even look at it for some reason. I just didn't think I was worthy of a dress of this magnitude. I couldn't possibly wear this and pull it off! What was Alice thinking?! She was just setting herself up for disappointment, in my opinion; she gets all worked up, only to realize that I'm not pretty enough for her taste in fashion.
I still couldn't help the small intake of air that entered me. The dress did that simply; it knocked the breath right out of me. Alice could wear this, but not me. No, this wasn't something I could wear, and Alice knew that! Or, she should anyway. She knows all about my average-ness, and all about her amazing-ness. She heard it from me every day!
I stared at it, nonetheless. It was amazing...maybe Alice picked it out for herself. If it was tailored to fit her petite frame, she would look like the incarnation of Aphrodite.
All hope of that situation was dashed when Alice snapped back into her hyper self, handing me the dress with an obscene level of enthusiasm. "Bella! Try it on! It's perfect, and you know it!"
I kept glancing down at the dress that was now in my arms, and back to Alice's face repeatedly. Each time I looked at Alice, her expression changed. She looked kinda pissed now to be honest.
"Bella," She said. Yep. Annoyed, for sure. "You are trying it on. There is no avoiding it. So stop stalling and get in there!" She pushed me, and the next thing I knew, I was in the dressing room.
"Alice!" I gasped in exasperation. How had she done that so fast?
"No dice Bella. Locked from the outside." Can you even do that? She could be bluffing... "What is you aversion to the dress, anyway?"
"This isn't a dress for me!" I stated the obvious. "This is a dress for a supermodel!"
"You're right. It is a dress for a model. But you're pretty close to that mark, Bella. Don't you see that?"
I sighed. Alice wasn't going to give up, and, if it wasn't really locked from the outside (I highly doubt it would be), Alice would have her back to the door to prevent my exit. Might as well do what she asked.
**
It felt like she was looking at me for hours. I was beginning to grow self-conscious, so I looked down at my feet instead of at the wall.
After what seemed like eternity, Alice spoke up, "You...look....perfect, Bella!"
I looked up at her as she spoke. "Seriously!" she continued, "I'll be excited for you again! I can't wait to go to the ball, just to show you off!"
"Alice, be serious." I said to her. She was just trying to make me feel better.
"Okay," Alice said, clearly annoyed, a complete 180 from before. Her mood swings were giving me whiplash, I swear. "You are not going to ruin my fun with your pessimism, got it?" she went on, sternly, sounding like a mother who was scolding her child for making a public scene.
"Fine, Alice." I gave in after a moment of deliberation. And she was right, this is the best dress we've looked at so far.
We ended up getting the dress and a pair of shoes, heels, to be exact. (Shoes are in the same picture as the dress) I couldn't help but think they would be the death of me.
We went up to pay, and against my better judgment, Alice was paying. Okay, so not my judgment, my will. Alice wouldn't let me charge it to my card no matter how much I pleaded.
"No," She told me, sounding like the mother again, "You just want to pay so that you can go, 'no, I have no money, and I won't let you pay, 'cause I don't want to impose!'", she said in a high-pitched version of my voice, with a mocking edge to it, "the next time I ask you to come shopping!"
Huh. I had never even thought of that. I might have to use that next time...but for now, her decision wasn't going to waver, so, for the up-teenth time today, I gave in to Alice's willpower.
Alice
Bella was really starting to get on my nerves. She just won't see herself clearly, and she doesn't think she's good enough for anything. Sometimes, I just want to slap her really hard with something to nock some sense into her.
This is one of those times, but I refrained, only because I thought that the door had done my part. I was wrong, apparently. Gosh, she was SO stubborn sometimes!
She was beautiful, and she knew it. Well, she should know. Last night, all of us saw the effect Bella had on Edward. All of us, minus Bella herself of course. UGH! It was so frustrating! She looked gorgeous in the dress, and she asked me if I was serious. Of course I'm serious! No one, not even Heidi Klum could have pulled of that dress as well as Bella did. I would have told her that, but I know better than to waste my breath. She would have just denied it and say I was trying to make her feel better, just like every other time. I'll just wait 'til the ball, then she'll see how amazing she is when every guy wants to dance with her. That's the plan.
I gripped the steering wheel and made a sharp left, making Bella grab the seat and cling to it with fear. I let a small smile overcome my lips at her reaction. She had never been here before, even if this route was one I'd taken so many times that I knew when to make every turn without even thinking twice about my actions. But she didn't know about that. So here I am, going 80 mph, and pulling turns that she didn't even think possible at this speed. Heck, even if she'd come to the planning sessions, (where we make the layout and event schedule) she'd be scared to drive with me here. She just couldn't get used to the speed at which I drive. Silly Bella!
Her eyes were glued to the windshield (I knew because she hadn't moved an inch since she got in, except to cling even harder to the seat for dear life) and I'm not sure if she blinked at all. I parallel parked next to the sidewalk, in front of the dining hall we would be using. I got out, but when I started to move toward the door, I noticed that no one was following me when a certain person named Bella should be.
I looked back, and she was still in the car, staring blankly at the windshield, looking much like a deer in the headlights right now. I made my way back over to the car, but she didn't even seem to notice my presence. I laughed at her expression, and taped the window to get her attention.
Her head turned quickly and her eyes met mine, and I laughed again. She looked scared sh*tless!
She began to glare at me, and that's when I knew she had returned to normal. My laughter faded as she got out of the car, but then she started defending herself. "That was scary! I thought you would turn us into a crumpled heap of Porsche as we suddenly hit a building!"
"Bella, that would never happen!" I said as my laughter came out again.
"You never know!"
"We made it here alive, didn't we?" I retorted.
"Just barely!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands over her head for extra emphasis.
"Yeah, yeah, don't get you panties in a bunch." I said, hoping I got the quote right...
"Whatever, Alice." She was annoyed now, which just made me laugh harder. "Let's just go, okay?"
"Okay!" I told her as my laughter died again.
As we entered, I heard her small intake of breath and I smiled.
"Alice...this place is huge!" She said.
"Well, now that we've cleared up the obvious, wanna go get acquainted with the designing team that you'll be on?" The size of this place never phased me anymore. I came here every year, and every weekend for three months leading up to Christmas, whereas this was Bella's first time.
"Uh...sure...?" She said, sounding like she was asking for permission.
"Yeah, go on! All the people with the green name tags...which reminds me!" I said as I slapped a green one that said 'Bella' on it right on her chest. "Almost forgot!"
"Okay..." she said, still unsure of what she should do, but she walked off anyway.
**
"No, Jake, 2 more feet to the left!" I threw out directions to Jacob, who was placing the banner up. "A little more to the left...no, too far! To the right, now...more, more....THERE! Perfect!"
"That's where it was before!" He said.
"No, it was not!"
"Yeah, it was. I marked it." he told me, pointing to a blue tape mark right above the end of the banner. "I marked it before you told me to rearrange it."
"Oh. Whatever." I said, waving him off. I didn't like being wrong.
He rolled his eyes, but went off to see his crew that was in charge of all the guy stuff, like lifting and climbing ladders and what not. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the side door open, and five familiar faces enter. Four wonderful, one, not so much.
I ran over to the crowd, and threw my arms around my favorite. "Hey Jazzy!" I exclaimed. "Why are you guys late?" Not that I minded that I got some time away from the not-so-wonderful one.
"Emmett had to hand in his report when he went to class, so he wanted all of us to wait on him." Edward explained. At the sound of his voice, Tanya visibly swooned, and Rose shot her a thumbs-up, that I'm sure was meant to be inconspicuous. Ugh. I wanted to slap her more that I wanted to slap Bella, but for the same reasons. To drill some common sense into her. To help Bella figure out that she's beautiful, and to tell miss Tanya that she's a skank, and that Edward is NOT INTERESTED. She didn't seem to get it. I mean, he could push her away (phsically), scream at her, and so much more and she still would pursue him, but he would never do that, he's too polite. I just wanna scream at him, "CUT THE BS, EDWARD, AND TELL HER OFF!" (Haha. I just realized that Bella's initials are BS when I wrote that. XD so random.) But, of course, there is no way to avoid her, since she is Rose's friend. If Tanya alone was bad, then Rosalie and Tanya together are horrible. Rose is helping Tanya land Edward. It's beyond sickening. I really feel sorry for the guy. Maybe Bella could intervene.... I smiled at the sound of that.
"What are you so happy about?" Emmett inquired confusedly. I can see where his confusion branched from, though. Everyone knew my distaste for Tanya, and here I was, looking right at her and smiling. Not a fake smile either, like the one I usually wore around her, but an honest-to -goodness "Nordstrom's is having a sale" type smile. She was looking at me like I belonged in an asylum. I doubt she even knew how to spell 'asylum', but whatever.
"Just thinking about something." I explained nonchalantly, throwing a quick glance towards Tanya, who, in turn, narrowed her eyes. I just continued to smile, enjoying her confusion and skepticism. "Alright, so, let's get to work! You guys have to make up for lost time!" I said, both to break the silence and to change the subject. Rose didn't buy it.
When they all broke off, (Emmett following Jasper to their station, and Tanya following Behind Edward, no matter how many times he tried to lose her by saying he needed to work) I felt Rose tap me on the shoulder as I turned to leave. I knew this was coming...
"Who was that 'mystery guest' that Emmett, Edward, and Jasper said stayed the night?" She asked, eyes shooting daggers at me.
"That was Bella. She's here, you know." She looked even more pissed than before, if that was possible.
"And how was Edward involved?"
"Oh, he quite enjoyed Bella's company," I added slyly, hoping to see her reaction.
"You know that Tanya wants him! Don't let anyone get in her way!" she hissed.
"No, I can't agree to that. See that, over there?" I said, pointing to where Edward was swatting away Tanya's arm from his shoulder. "That would be Edward rejecting her advances. He. Doesn't. Like. Her. At all." I emphasized each word, especially the last. When I saw her murderous glare, I decided to explain further, "Look, I don't care if she is your 'bff', if Edward doesn't want her, he shouldn't be forced. Let him be with who he wants to be with."
"Oh, is that why you set them up?"
Wtf? "Huh? No, they met WITHOUT my involvement. I had nothing to do with it. And," I went on, "if it's her that he wants, I will personally make sure that Tanya stays out." I said with authority, making sure she understood that I was one hundred-percent serious. We exchanged glares before she turned her heel to leave, conceding defeat.
I love winning.
BN: so, we all know that ThePurpleDragonOfAmazingness is awesome, yes? One might even think it goes without saying. But that one would be WRONG, and would then be attacked by Bernardo the Wombat, who I have saved especially to unleash on those who are wrong. So unless you want to end up like the one, I would suggest reviewing. That is all.
AN: XD yes, do what my amazing beta suggests! I love her with all my toes for being amazing. You need to love her too, got it? Or Bobo and Anthony, the squirrels will hunt you down, but since there are 2 of them they can go twice as fast.
Muahahahaha!
Oh, and can someone please give me the link to the Twilight awards? I am nominating my betas (sekhmetkitty002) story, whether she wants me to or not.
Song pimpage: Poppin' Champagne by All Time Low, and Dead! by My Chemical Romance . Song pimpage for LAST chapter that I forgot: Forever and Always by Taylor Swift.
And, I would like to end with a question; what was the worst/funniest Christmas present you've EVER gotten? If anyone cares to know mine, well, I just got a jumbo box of SIDEWALK CHALK in the mail! What every 13 year old wants. In the middle of winter. In Connecticut. Brilliant plan. (it also came with a $25 iTunes gift card, but that's beside the point.) so, tell me yours, and I will decide what the best worst gift was and tell who the winner was in the next chapter.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
