The Hunt

(Emmett's POV)

Many thanks to Stephenie Meyer for letting me play with her toys for a little while. I, of course, own nothing. They are all hers.

Author's Note: OK, so it's not a oneshot. Part 2 sort of wrote itself in my mind and I had to let it out. Here it is. I had fun writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Also my apologies if this posts as a bit of a mess. It's the first time I've updated any story and I think it posted a couple of times! So sorry.

The stars were beautiful tonight, I thought to myself as I laid back, resting my head on my folded arms. A strong breeze carried the overpowering smell of pine and wildflowers to me from the fields. As I waited in the back of Bella's truck for her and Edward to come outside, I remembered the events of the evening.

I chuckled to myself as I thought that sometimes the best pranks were the ones you didn't do.

I had threatened to pounce Bella if she left for the washroom. An idle threat. I'm not an idiot. Grown men didn't follow women into the ladies' room. Firstly, while I love a good joke, that would have been completely ignorant. Secondly, Edward, Alice and Esme would have killed me. Or at least tried to. Lastly and most importantly, Rosalie would have killed me. My angel could be terrifying when she got mad.

No, actually following through on that threat was out of the question.

However, I could still have fun by making the threat. I chuckled again, remembering.

Every time Bella took a sip of her drink, I made sure to make eye contact with her and ensured there was a predatory gleam in my eyes and an evil smirk on my lips. She usually gulped before turning back to watch the video game in progress on the TV. Or she'd snuggle a bit closer to Edward. Not that there was any airspace between them to begin with! I smirked.

My mind-reading brother was easy to torture too, though for different reasons. Of course, he knew I'd already decided not to follow through on my threat to Bella, but I kept asking him (non-verbally of course) if it would bother him if I saw Bella unfastening her jeans before he did. He'd glared or snarled my name at me, but otherwise tried not to show how much my thoughts bothered him. My thinking about it, picturing it in my mind and my nearly constant mental commentary had driven him crazy.

He lost 3 games in a row.

I chuckled. Losing drove him crazy too.

I could tell that Jasper was amused too, following the play of emotions around the room: my amusement, Bella's stress, Edward's aggravation. I wondered a few times if Jasper was spiking our feelings, intensifying them. Jasper could be very subtle when he chose to.

Eventually it was time for Bella and Edward to leave. Although Bella wasn't grounded anymore, they were trying to keep Charlie happy by not staying out too late.

Bella said she needed the ladies' room first, as she and Edward stood. I grinned maniacally and put my hands on the armrests of my chair as if to get up as well.

Bella made Edward walk her to the washroom and check it out before she'd enter. Even though she'd just seen me in the living room. Maybe she thought I could speed by her without her noticing and get there first? I thought about that. Maybe I could. I couldn't get by Edward unnoticed though. Besides the point was moot – I wasn't really going to do anything.

She used the washroom on the 3rd floor. The only one with no windows.

Ahh. Paranoia is a beautiful thing. So much fun to feed, too!

So as Bella said her goodnights to our family, I smirked at her and left, explaining that I was going to find Rosalie in the garage.

And that lead to where I was now . . . lying down on the matting in the back of Bella's truck.

I quietly moved closer to the side of the truck, so that I couldn't be seen by someone getting in the passenger seat.

I debated when to pounce. Should I grab her arm as she reached for the seat belt? Or wait till we were part way down the driveway? I was pretty sure that Edward wouldn't tip her off unless he thought I threatened her safety. Hmmm. Maybe I'd better pounce before the truck started moving. Bella did have a knack for injuring herself and Edward would freak if she somehow managed to fall out of a moving truck. Or rather, he'd never let it get that far. Ok, I'd get her when she reached for the seat belt.

I could hear her as she walked closer to the passenger side of the truck. I grinned. I could count on her riding shotgun – Edward always had to drive.

Closer . . . closer . . .

Suddenly a pair of chocolate brown eyes looked directly into mine over the side of the flatbed. "Emmett, really!" she said, with no hint of surprise in her voice.

My jaw sagged a bit.

"This is the 21st century!" she continued. "I grew up on horror films. Everyone knows you have to check the closet for monsters before going to bed. Mine's always full of vampires! And everyone knows you always check the back seat of the car before getting in . . . or in this case, the back of the truck. Really, Emmett! What were you thinking?"

Edward burst out laughing at my crestfallen expression.

I could hear laughter from the house as well. Great. Everyone heard.

"Speaking of the back of my truck being full of monsters, I'm surprised you're not bothered by the smell. The last thing I transported on those mats was a werewolf." She smiled sweetly as a look of horror overtook my face. Now that she mentioned it, I could smell . . .

Edward doubled over laughing, holding onto the side of the truck to stay upright. "You'd better go shower," he choked out. "Rosalie will kill you if you go to her smelling like that!"

Hell. He was right, damn him.

I felt silly as I climbed out of the truck and headed into the house.

"You can use the 3rd floor washroom," Bella called after me. "It's safe. I made Edward check!"