Chapter 3
"There is no way that Kung Fu Panda can be considered a comedy!"
Bella stared at Emmett with an expression of pure incredulity. "You're kidding, right?"
"No, I'm not. It's obviously a Kung Fu movie!"
Edward, however, was on Bella's side. "Emmett, the movie is an animated film about an overweight panda learning Kung Fu and saving all of China. And to top it all off, Jack Black voices the main character. How can it not be a comedy?"
"Because the jokes are not the central point of the movie! The Kung Fu is!"
Bella rolled her eyes. "Fine then. By that logic, what would you call Bambi? A nature film?"
Edward scoffed at the suggestion. "What the hell? That's like calling Aladdin a cultural experience."
Jasper stared at the three of them in disbelief. He had been listening to the debate for nearly ten minutes already. "How in the world did you get into this discussion?" he asked.
"They were trying to decide what movie to watch," Rosalie answered in a bored voice as she examined her nail beds. "Then Bella suggested Kung Fu Panda and Emmett said he wanted to watch a comedy. The conversation went downhill from there."
Alice danced into the living room in her usual, graceful manner. "Compromise. How about we watch—"
"We're not watching Confessions of a Shopaholic again," Emmett told her before she could finish her sentence.
She glared at her oldest brother. "I wasn't going to suggest that. I was going to suggest we watch He's Just Not That Into You. That's a comedy." Then she shot Edward a smirk.
He resisted the sudden urge to throw something very sharp at his sister.
Rosalie, fed up with the pointless arguments that seemed to go nowhere, abruptly stood from her seat on the ottoman and strode to kneel before the entertainment center. She emerged with a DVD in her hand and a smug expression on her face. "We're watching this."
Alice peered at the title and groaned. "You must have seen that six million times already!"
"Just getting back at you for Confessions," the blonde shot back.
But Emmett was content to agree with whatever Rosalie wanted, Edward and Bella both enjoyed the film and Jasper was simply relieved to have the heated debate over. Alice was in the minority.
"Fine," she huffed petulantly as she threw herself on the seat next to Jasper.
The main menu for The Fast and the Furious came up a few moments later. Rosalie eagerly hit play.
To an outsider, the configuration would have made it look like a group date. Emmett shared the ottoman with Rose, with her sitting halfway between his lap and the chair. Alice curled up against Jasper's side on the couch directly across from the television, and he had his arms wrapped around her. Bella and Edward sat on the floor behind the coffee table with their backs leaning against the couch. Halfway through the film, Bella leaned her head against Edward's shoulder and he settled his cheek against the top of her head. Unbeknownst to the two of them, Emmett and Jasper exchanged smirks at the obvious display of affection.
The minute the movie was over, Alice leapt from the couch and removed the DVD before Rosalie could do anything…like watch the deleted scenes.
"You didn't have to watch, you know," Rosalie grumbled.
The slight, pixie of a girl ignored the other as she put the DVD in its proper case. All of a sudden, her expression became one of excitement, as if she suddenly remembered something very good.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you guys! I asked Mom and Dad if we could throw a party this weekend—kind of like a going-away party for Jazz, Rose and Em and a start of our senior year party for us—and they said yes!"
Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and Edward simultaneously shrugged. Knowing Alice's love for throwing parties, they weren't really surprised. And Bella knew too…but it didn't stop her from groaning out loud.
"Bella," began Alice warningly.
"Fine, fine," the other girl grumbled.
"Now you guys have to help me out with the guest list," she said as she plopped down gracefully in front of the coffee table. If this announcement had been a ploy to distract them from picking another movie she disagreed with, it certainly was working. Everyone else gathered closer around the coffee table while Alice pulled out a blank legal pad. "Who do we want to invite?"
"Everyone," Rosalie answered.
Alice made a face at her. "We can't invite everyone. Mom and Dad are actually making me stick to a budget this time."
"Let's not invite anyone, then," Bella suggested. They'd done it before.
Jasper smiled sympathetically at her. "Come on, Bells. You know how small Forks is—everyone would find out eventually. Can you imagine how pissed they're going to be when they find out we had a celebration by ourselves and didn't invite them?"
"Not if they don't know about it."
"Believe it or not, there are people we actually like who attend Forks High," reminded Alice in a patronizing tone. "Besides, this is a group party. We're celebrating the end of summer and new beginnings. It wouldn't be fair if we didn't invite our other friends."
Bella rolled her eyes as if to say, what other friends? But she conceded that Alice did have a point.
"I'm cool with whoever," Emmett said with a careless shrug. "Just don't invite Lauren."
"We can't not invite Lauren," argued Rosalie. That was surprising, considering the beautiful blonde had a bigger problem with the school's reigning drama queen than anyone else.
"What do you mean we can't not invite Lauren?" Emmett demanded. "It's our party, we can do whatever the heck we want."
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "If we don't invite her, she'll get pissed and try to make our lives as miserable as possible."
Emmett scoffed. "Why does it matter? She makes our lives miserable by existing. And besides, you, Jasper and I have already graduated. We won't have to see or talk to her ever again." He shot a smug grin at Bella and Edward who both scowled in his direction.
"I'm glad that you three have graduated, but I'd rather not spend my senior year watching over my back for whatever petty revenge Lauren might be planning," announced Alice. She wrote the name down on the legal pad with a flourish. "I'm inviting her."
Emmett scowled, but admitted defeat.
"What about Tyler?" Jasper asked.
"No," Edward immediately answered.
Bella sighed. "If we're inviting Lauren, we might as well invite Tyler. And Jordan, while we're at it."
"No," repeated Edward.
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Edward, your resentment of the male population at Forks High School is ridiculous. Bella will be fine. We'll all keep watch over her, if you like."
"That's not what I'm worried about," he said through a clenched jaw.
Emmett smirked. "Sure it's not."
"Look, how about we get through the people we actually like and decide about everyone else later?" demanded Alice impatiently. "I want to get the guest list finished tonight."
After gathering a list of fifteen people they all found agreeable, they moved on to the people they didn't.
"If we invite one, we can't invite the other," Jasper reasoned after Alice and Edward had a heated debate over whether or not to invite Jessica and Mike. "They broke up a couple weeks ago."
"Really?" Rosalie asked with mild intrigue. "How did you find out?"
"They put it on Facebook."
She rolled her eyes. "Figures."
"There," Edward said smugly. "We'll invite Jessica, not Mike."
Alice scowled at her brother. "Who agreed to that? I'd rather have Mike than Jessica."
"Why? Mike's an immature idiot who's probably going to try and sneak in a six-pack or weed. And remember the last party he went to? He slipped roofies in Colleen McDermott's drink."
Alice rolled her eyes. "Tyler just spread that rumor to get back at Mike for asking Lauren to homecoming before he got the chance. And even if Mike tried to sneak anything, Mom and Dad would be all over him in a second. Jessica, on the other hand, is a kleptomaniac that can't keep her hands to herself. Not to mention, she'd probably show up drunk anyway."
Edward glared murderously at his sister. "Fine. But if he slips anything in Bella's drink, I'm blaming you."
When Edward wasn't looking, Bella caught Alice's slightly worried glance, shook her head with wide eyes and mouthed, "Don't worry about it."
"Okay, so if we're inviting Mike that means we can't invite Tyler," Emmett said.
Bella frowned. "Wow, inviting Mike sure comes with a lot of contingencies…"
"But if we don't invite Tyler, Lauren will be bothering us for most of the evening," Jasper reminded them. "We need him there to divert her attention."
"But if Tyler's there we run the risk of him and Mike getting into a fight," argued Emmett.
"Not if we invite Conner," Alice interjected. "Conner's a decent guy. He'll keep Mike in check."
The rest of the guest list planning happened in much the same fashion. The six of them took into account the social issues each possible guest presented and how best to keep the drama at a minimum. By the end of it, Alice had a list of seventy people.
Bella sighed; of everyone invited, she truly enjoyed the company of only two of them: Angela and Ben. The rest she couldn't really stand.
Edward noticed her forlorn expression and hugged her closer to him. "Don't worry, Bella. Some of them might not show up."
She stared at him incredulously. "You're kidding, right? This is a Cullen and Hale party. No one turns down an invite to a Cullen and Hale party."
She was right and all of them knew it. The five of them were famous for throwing the most amazing, most memorable parties and most everyone at Forks High would have willingly given their right foot for an invitation to one.
"It'll be fine, Bells," Alice said dismissively. "You worry too much. Anyway, now that we know who's coming, what do we want our theme to be?"
Bella sighed. It was always like this with Alice; despite the fact that her parents were attempting to rein her in with a budget, it probably was a rather large one and would be enough to afford the biggest event of the season. And trust Alice to make this the biggest event of the season.
"New York Elite," Rosalie suggested.
Edward and Bella made a face and Alice giggled. "Maybe not for this party, but I like the idea."
"Masquerade?" Rose tried again.
"Nah, too formal. But I like that idea, too."
"Eighties!" exclaimed Emmett excitedly.
Rosalie and Alice shot him a withering glare. "No."
"The forties," Edward suddenly suggested. "Soldier uniforms, big band music, swing dancing…the whole nine yards. It'll be like we're sending Rose, Em and Jazz to war."
"Wow, melodramatic much?" Rose said as she rolled her eyes.
Alice, however, was pondering the idea. "I don't know…I kind of like it. It has a lot of potential. Jazz and Em could dress up like soldiers and Rose could be the army nurse."
"I wouldn't mind that," Emmett said with a suggestive wink. He reached down toward his girlfriend. Rosalie jumped up in surprise and smacked her boyfriend on the shoulder, her cheeks flaming red.
"Fine by me," Jasper shrugged. He'd learned long ago to stop caring when it came to Alice's immense party planning skills.
"But how are you going to pull it all together in less than a week?" Bella asked skeptically. "I know you're good, Alice, but you're not that good."
Famous last words.
"Oh, Bella," Alice smirked. "Do not underestimate me."