" No Alice!" Bella said defiantly, for about the fifth time today so far.
Posted all around not only the Cafeteria, but the entire school, were flyers for the Forks High School opening dance.
" But, Bella!" The pixie argued, holding one of the flyers. " It's a Midnight Masquerade! These things are so much fun! AND the school is setting up all the girls and boys at the dance, like a blind date thing but not really kind of, y'know?" Alice followed behind Bella in the lunch line, grabbing whatever looked good, as well as actually edible.
" No, Alice, I don't know and I don't care. I don't dace! I can hardly even walk without tripping over air let alone dance in some floor-length gown!"
" You don't have to wear a gown, but I'll be happy to lend you one if you'd prefer. I have a few extra from galas a few years back and all that. I mean, no one would even notice you're wearing a three year-old Dior gown!"
Bella groaned as she paid for lunch and walked over to their lunch table.
" Alice coming after you about the masquerade?" Emmette asked, not even looking up as she took a bite of her cheeseburger.
" Yes, but I don't want to go!"
" But you guys should go! I mean, what if, like, you could meet Prince Charming at this thing! You'd never know if you didn't go!" Alice said in a sing-song voice, holding the flyer up.
"Oh please Alice!" Emmette rolled her eyes. " You're not going to meet Mr. Right at some silly school dace."
"Cinderella met her man at a ball! I mean, it's practically the same thing and look how they ended up!"
"But that's a fairy tale, Alice. This is real life." Bella picked at the chips her wrap came with, dipping them in barbecue sauce.
"So? Maybe everything in 'real life' isn't as real as it seems." Alice retorted, rotating her apple in her hand.
"Whoa! Watch it!" A couple of people yelped and moved out of the way, leaving Alice wide open as the target of some flying object.
Quickly she ducked down as the hacky-sack went flying; however, this had caused Alice to toss her apple in the air. She shielded herself from impact with the chunks that she was sure would splatter as the fruit met the floor.
"Excuse me?" A soft voice said from just behind Alice. As she sat upright and turned around her eyes came in contact first with her red apple cupped in some stranger's pale hands. She scanned up the length of his arms covered by the dark navy sweater that fit him loosely, and yet you could tell how well defined his body was. His blonde hair was a mess, but it was those honey gold eyes that captivated Alice as she gazed into them. "Uhm, I believe this is yours." He nodded down at the apple he still held.
His skin is so pale… I'd swear he was dead if he wasn't standing here in front of me… Alice's thoughts jumbled her mind, and it took her a few moments to realize this god was talking to her. "Oh, uhm, I'm sorry… What now?"
"This apple, I believe it's yours. I managed to catch it before it hit the floor, so, it's still good." He smiled, soft and small. It was enough to make Alice's heart melt.
"Yeah. Thanks." She held her hands out and took the fruit as he rolled it into her palms, turned and walked away. "I think I'm in love with a figment of my imagination." Alice turned back around to Bella and Emmette, fanning herself dramatically.
"He was kind of cute." Emmette said, though, obviously wasn't impressed with him.
"Kind of cute? Hah! A Gucci clutch is 'kind of cute' Em. That was a full luggage set!"
Alice, along with Emmette and Bella, kept their eyes on the boy, trying to keep track of him; however, someone stepped in their line of view. It was some other boy, smiling goofily at Bella.
"Hi there, Bella." He said, looking nervous. He ran a hand thought dirty blonde hair.
"Hi Mike." Bella smiled back, though, hers wasn't as sincere as Mike's was.
"I was wondering if—"Before Mike Newton knew it, Alice was pushing him aside, looking for her mystery man.
"Damn…" She murmured, seething for a moment and sighed as she sat back down. Alice slumped down in her seat, dismayed.
"Uhm, well, anyway… I, well, really the whole group of us were wondering if you and your friends wanted to sit at our lunch table for the rest of lunch. Though, actually, I guess if you sit there today you'd sit there for the rest of lunch too, huh?" He chuckled a bit, a red tint flushing his cheeks.
As Bella was about to answer, the bell rang.
"Sorry Mike, maybe tomorrow, huh?" Bella gave him a small and apologetic smile.
"Uh, sure thing Bella!" Mike scurried off, quite happy.
"Wow… Someone's got a thing for you Bells." Emmette then said, nudging Bella in the side as the three gathered their things.
"Actually Jessica Stanley has 'a thing' for him and trust me, I do not plan in getting in between them." She slung her bag over one shoulder and pushed her chair in.
"Well, obviously he doesn't realize this." Alice chimed in as the three walked to their seventh hour class.
"Yeah, and I wish he would." Bella sighed.
"Say Bells, do you know who that guy was that caught Alice's attention better then a huge neon yellow sale sign?" Emmette then asked.
"No, I don't know who he was. I haven't been to Forks in almost four years before now."
"Oh… Hmm… We'll just have to figure it out for ourselves."
"I'll find out, one way or another. Don't you doubt that for a second!" Alice said, determination in her eyes.
" Yeah… We'll take your word for it Alice." Emmette and Bella shared a look before the three girls burst into laughter.
They then parted; Bella to Music; Alice pulled her hair up as she stepped into the messy art room and Emmette smiled as she stepped into the classroom where part of her Photography class would take place. However, Alice's and Emmette's classrooms were right beside one another and Bella was right across the hall.
†††
As Bella sat in her chair, she stared at the foreign language before her: the language of musical notes.
" Ok, so that note is a… B?" She squinted at the little black dot with the line coming down from it. She checked her fingering on her flute at least three times before blowing into the air hole.
No sound came out.
Bella tried again several times before just giving up completely.
" Maybe I should've done something simpler, like beat a drum with a stick or something." She sighed, slumping down in her chair. As she closed her eyes, Bella listened all around to the other students practicing. Some seemed to be picking up certain things faster than others and she could easily pick out someone who had been playing for a few years, at least. However, she did pick up one distinct sound.
Someone was playing a piano as though they'd played it all their life. The song was complicated, but it flowed nicely with each next note.
Bella got up from her seat, leaving her flute on the chair as she wandered toward the back room, where the door was closed shut. She pressed her ear against the door, hearing the fingers of some skilled musician dance over the piano keys. Hesitantly, she placed a hand over the door knob and twisted it. As Bella opened the door, the music stopped.
Sitting at the small practice piano was a boy, his back to Bella. He was dressed in a light tan shirt that showed just enough a toned upper body as he slowly turned. He swung one black panted leg over the stout seat along with the other. His hair was like a fine copper that the poor fluorescent lighting above could do no justice. Caramel-colored eyes locked dead onto Bella, as though he was seeing another person for the very first time.
" Oh, I'm sorry." Bella then said, a bright blush creeping up her cheeks as her eyes caught his. " Please, will you—"
Abruptly, he got up, looking away from Bella. However, the flashing glance he did give her was filled with a menacing cold hatred.
" No, wait! Please!"
He shoved past Bella, out the door and the classroom completely without a single word.
Bella felt bad for disturbing him, but at the same time, couldn't help but be pestered as to why her presence would have caused him to just get up and leave. Sill curious, though, she walked over to the piano to see what it was exactly the copper-haired boy had been playing. Bella was astonished, though, to find not a single scrap of music there.
†††
" Everything he played was either from memory or he just made it up on the spot!" Bella said, walking with Emmette and Alice after school toward the parking lot.
" So? Maybe he's been playing since he was a kid and maybe he's played the piece so many times he just has a memorized?" Emmette said, looking towards Bella. She shook her head in reply though.
" I don't think so Em. I mean, even if that was the case, why did he just get up and leave? I mean, I had just taken one small step into the room and he stopped playing completely and got up and left as fast as anyone I've ever seen!"
" Maybe," Alice then said, digging through her purse for her car keys. " He's one of those weird types who doesn't like to be disturbed when he's practicing. So, when came in, you messed up the crazy creative-ness he had going on."
" Maybe… But, still! Did he have to just leave like that?" Bella sighed, pulling her own keys out as they walked into the parking lot.
" Guys are weird Bells." Emmette twirled the keys to her motorcycle on one finger. " You know how when we were little boys would push us and make fun of us because they liked us? Maybe that's like this."
Bella frowned. " I don't think so Em." The three stopped at Bella's old Ford pick-up and its red-painted and bulbous hooded glory. " Oh well, I'm not going to let this get to me, y'know?"
" Yeah, good idea Bella." Alice patted her shoulder with a smile. " If you want, we could all go into Port Angeles this weekend and go shopping there!"
" I'll, uhh, have to check my calendar Alice." Bella said, looking to Emmette.
" I might have to wrestle a grizzly bear this weekend. But I'll let you know." Emmette smiled brightly, but Alice just rolled her eyes.
" Yeah, yeah you two." She then walked away, shaking her head as she approached a canary yellow 9-11 Turbo Porsche straight from Italy.
" Alice! Do you drive that thing?" Bella then asked, looking from the Italian sports cars to her piece of ancient history.
" Uhm, yeah… Why?" Alice pushed a button on the pad attached to her key, one of the two suicide doors opening up. She tossed her bag in before looking back at Bella and Emmette.
" You know what, I think I'm going to just go home Alice before my car dies of envy over yours."
" Ditto, and I don't even have a car." Emmette said.
" Alright then." Alice shrugged, getting into her car. " See you two tomorrow!" She called before shutting the door and starting her Porsche.
Bella's Ford eventually roared to life and Emmette revved her engine as they all departed for the day.