Chapter 4: Gifts

"She attacked me," Bella said in defense of Edward's chiding.

"She didn't mean anything by it," he insisted.

"Excuse me? Were you there? Didn't you hear what she said?"

"We owe her a lot, Bella. You know that."

Bella crossed her arms over her chest, pouting.

We were in Edward's Audi, racing back to their home in Forks. I was in the backseat, fighting sleep. It had been an emotional day.

"Besides," Edward added, "she feels threatened by you."

"Oh please. Don't give me that crap. Jacob hasn't thought about me in that way for years."

Suddenly I wasn't tired anymore. I didn't know why I was so fascinated by the thought of Jacob and Bella.

"But he used to, and she was in his head at the time. Can't you understand why she'd feel a little threatened by you? Aside from being insanely beautiful, Jacob still considers you his best friend."

"Are you going to tell me that story or not?" I said, speaking for the first time since leaving Emily's.

Bella glanced back over her shoulder. "What story?"

"About this crush Jacob had on you. No offense, because Edward's right, you're gorgeous, but I can't imagine Jacob having a crush on a vampire. The smell alone. . . ." I joked. I didn't actually understand what the issue was there; they all smelled fine to me.

"It was before I became a vampire," Bella corrected.

"Oh." Well duh, that made sense. "You know, aside from the kids, I was the only one in that house who didn't know you when you were human."

"You didn't miss much. I fell down a lot."

Edward looked at me in the rear view mirror. "She still falls down a lot."

"I'm just a little more resilient now," Bella said. "I was a real danger magnet in those days. Everyone was after me. Revenge-seeking vampires, the Volturi . . . I certainly don't miss that part of being human."

"Neither do I," Edward agreed.

"But there are things you do miss," I said. Edward turned to look at Bella, curious about her answer.

Bella shrugged. "Well yeah, I guess. I miss food. I don't have the stomach for it anymore, but I still remember liking certain things. Pizza, cereal. There isn't much variety in a vampire's diet."

"You should try angry grizzlies sometime," Edward joked.

Bella ignored him. "Edward used to hum me to sleep. I miss that, although I don't miss the nightmares."

"Did Bella ever tell you that she talked in her sleep?" Edward asked me. "I miss that. It was the only time I had any insight into what she was thinking."

"After all these years, you can't read me like a book yet?" Bella teased.

"Not even close." He flashed her a smile, and even in the semi-darkness, I could see the love in his eyes.

"All right you two, that's enough," I said. "I'm anti-love tonight, remember?"

Edward laughed, but Bella turned around and lightly patted my knee.

When she turned back to face the front, she must have caught a glimpse of the speedomeer, because she suddenly said, "Edward, slow down!"

"What? She doesn't mind."

"I don't mind," I said. I had known we were going well over a hundred.

"That's not the point. You need to drive the speed limit when we have a mortal being in the car."

"Too late. We're here," he said triumphantly.

Edward turned down the long, tree-lined drive to their house and dropped us off at the front door before parking the car in the garage.

Bella led me into the large while home. "You're going to stay in our room tonight, since it's the only room with a bed."

I followed her up the grand staircase to the third floor. I had only been up here once, but the room looked exactly the same: the wall of CDs, the stereo, the black leather couch, and of course, the huge gold bed.

"Why do you have a bed if you don't sleep?"

Bella smiled at me. "Sentimental value. Besides, there are other things to do on a bed. Like pillow fights."

Against the wall to my left was a large vanity with a mirror, and on it, two Styrofoam busts holding two flesh-looking masks. They had holes cut in them for the eyes, the nostrils, and the mouth. The vanity also held a variety of makeup cases and brushes.

This was their charade. This was how they managed to stay in Forks and interact with people who didn't know they weren't human.

I walked over and gently touched the smaller mask, which I knew got more use. Bella used it primarily to visit her father. Otherwise, she and Edward spent time outside of Forks, where it wasn't necessary to hide the fact that they never aged.

"I'm getting better," Bella said, sitting on the bed. "It only takes me twenty minutes now. Every few years I take classes at the Make-Up Designory in LA, just to see if they've come up with any new techniques, but it's all pretty standard."

"How do you know when to add wrinkles?"

She laughed, and it was what I imagined angels sounded like. "I'm only supposed to be thirty-three. Renee didn't get her first wrinkle until she was in her mid-forties."

She bounced up gracefully, the bed never moving beneath her. "Okay, time for presents."

"Presents?"

She grinned mischievously and took my hands. "Edward and I brought you here because we have graduation gifts for you."

"Graduation isn't for three weeks."

"We know, but we have to be in New York in three weeks. Alice and Jasper are graduating from Cornell, again, and Alice is throwing a huge party. We promised her we'd be there."

"Oh." I wasn't sure why I felt disappointed. It wasn't like I expected a big send-off when I left for Canada.

She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a long, dark blue envelope. I took it and stared at it, wondering what it could be.

Bella laughed.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Nothing. I just . . . it's been fifteen years since I've been human, and I still remember how much I hated receiving expensive gifts from rich vampires. Edward and Alice have really rubbed off on me. Shoot me if I ever try to throw you a huge party."

"Wouldn't the bullet just bounce off of you?"

"Yes, but you'll have made your point. Now open."

I did as she said and lifted the flap, which was neither sealed nor tucked into the envelope. In it was a single sheet of paper. A check.

I pulled it out slowly.

It was made out to me, penned in Edward's elegant handwriting, and in the box to the right was the number one followed by several zeros.

"The check is just for show. Next week when I take you to Seattle to get your passport, we'll stop by a bank and pick up traveler's checks. You really shouldn't travel with cash, anyway."

I felt my eyes tear up, and unlike earlier today, they were tears of happiness.

I threw my arms around her and hugged her neck. I felt her hold her breath, and I didn't know if it was because of how good my blood smelled or how bad my hair smelled, but she suffered through it and hugged me back.

"You're my best friend, Bella Cullen. I love you. And Edward. This is amazing!"

I pulled away from her. She shrugged. "We're kind of fond of you ourselves. Now, don't tell anyone about the money. It's bad enough Edward flaunts his wealth around La Push when it's so impoverish. We've tried giving money to the tribe, but even with our truce, there's no way a bunch of werewolves are going to accept donations from vampires."

She reached into her front pocket and pulled out a small gold box tied with a dark blue ribbon.

"Another one?" I asked, incredulous. "Bella, this is too much."

"This is your decoy gift. When your family asks you what we got you, you can show them this."

I set the check and envelope on the bed before taking the box from her. Inside was a small silver cell phone.

"I've already programmed your speed dials. Your mom is first, and then Emily, but I'm third. Jacob can suck it. Anytime you get lonely out there, you call me. I'll jump the first plane or camel or yak I come across in order to get to you. Edward and I have done a lot of traveling over the years, so who knows, I could show you some places not on your map."

I felt my legs shake and I sat down on the edge of the bed. I hadn't thought anything could be better than the money, but this . . . this was the true gift.

Edward stepped into the room. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

Bella smile. "She's better at accepting gifts than I am."

I jumped up and flung myself at him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I mumbled into his cold, hard neck.

"You're very welcome," he said, "but you haven't opened my gift yet."

I pulled away slowly.

"You're kidding."

The corner of his lips curled up into a half-smile and I felt my heart skip a beat. My face flushed red and I turned to Bella, embarrassed by my reaction to her husband. "Sorry," I said to her.

She rolled her eyes. "It's not your fault. He does that to everyone. Come on."

She took my hand again, her granite fingers curling around my warm fleshy human ones. I let her pull me out of the room and down the stairs.

We stopped at the front door. I must have been so tired that my brain wasn't working right, because I couldn't imagine what could be waiting for me outside.

Of course, once I saw it, it was so obvious.

They had tied a large red bow around the small blue car. The glow of the porch light shimmered off the rain-splattered hood and my breath caught. I was too stunned to speak.

Bella pulled me outside and we stumbled around it. It was a two-door hatchback, slightly bigger than it looked from the front.

"It's a Volvo," Bella said. "I think Edward regrets giving up his so he's living vicariously through you. He had a different model picked out but I liked the hatchback. It has more room for your backpacking equipment. Plus," she went around and opened the hatch, "you could probably sleep in here if you had to."

"Guys, this is too much!"

"Nonsense," Edward scoffed. He held up something small and shiny. "Now, how about a test drive?"

I have a few more chapters written and the rest of the story outlined, but before I proceed with updating them, I want to see what Stephenie does with Breaking Dawn.

I'm including a "sneak peak" of Chapter 5. This is only half of it. Chapter 6 is where things start to get complicated (albeit a lot more fun) and I want to make sure I stay as true as possible to the books.

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I hope I don't disappoint you.

Chapter 5: The Best Adventures

I was back in the clearing with Quil, except that he was in wolf form and I was Bella. His chocolate brown fur stood on end and he was growling at me. He wanted to rip me to shreds, but I didn't know if it was because I was a vampire or because I had broken his heart.

The scene changed abruptly and Quil -- human Quil -- was standing with Jacob in the Black's make-shift garage. The Rabbit was parked there, along with an old red motorcyle, and Jacob stood next to a workbench in just a pair of sweats.

He handed something small to Quil. It was a blue pouch, and Quil squeezed it lightly before stuffing it in his pocket.

"Thanks," Quil said. "I really wanted to make one myself, but it looks like I've run out of time. Who knows when I'll see her again, if I'll have a chance to say goodbye? It'd be nice to have this on me, just in case."

Jacob shook his head, his hair swaying against his shoulders. "Is there any way I can convince you to run with us tomorrow night?"

Quil's jaw was set tight. "I've already told you, my mind is made up."

"Okay. Your funeral."

I opened my eyes and it was several groggy seconds before I realized where I was. It was still dark in the window-walled room, so I knew it wasn't yet morning.

I didn't need my subconscious invading my dreams to tell me that I was worried about Quil. Even in Edward and Bella's luxurious bed, as tired as I had been, I'd had trouble falling asleep. I couldn't stop thinking about how Quil had avoided my eyes all night and then left Emily's early without saying goodbye.

I needed to see him again soon. The longer I waited, the more awkward it would be, and I didn't want to leave for Canada without making sure things were okay between us.

I was just coming out of the third floor bathroom when I heard music downstairs. I tried to descend quietly, but of course they heard me. Edward sat at the piano, his back to me, and only turned his head slightly to acknowledge me.

Bella stood up from the couch, where she'd been reading a book. As she walked over to where I stood, her toe caught on something and she stumbled, but I pretended not to notice.

"Hey," she said. "Can't sleep?"

"I have a big favor to ask you," I said, sitting down on the last stair.

She stood in front of me. Behind her, Edward's fingers danced gracefully over the ivory keys, creating a soft melody, almost like a lullaby.

"You know how you and Edward used to go on those extreme double dates with Jacob and Leah?"

Edward stopped playing. "That's really not a good idea," he said, reading my mind.

Bella looked at him. "What?"

"Claire wants to go cliff diving."

"I just want to do something wild and crazy before I leave," I said.

Bella turned her beautiful gold eyes on me, wide in horror. "But you're human. It's too dangerous."

"Not if Quil comes, too. You know he won't let anything happen to me. None of you will."

Bella bit her bottom lip. "I don't know . . ."

"Look at what happened tonight," I said quickly. "Things are weird between all of us: me and Quil, Quil and Jacob, me and Jacob, you and Leah . . . I just think, you know, we all need this. A day of extreme fun. Get the adrenaline pumping."

I tried to convince her with my eyes. She turned to Edward.

"Could we call Alice, see if she sees anything bad happening?"

Edward shook his head. "Werewolves, remember?"

"Oh, right." She paused for a second. "Well, what do you think?"

Edward looked at me and I knew what I needed to think to get my way. I pictured it and he believed me.

Edward sighed. "She's going to do it, anyway, with or without us. It'd be safer if we all went."

Bella turned back to me. "Are you sure you really want to do this? Couldn't we all just go to a movie or something?"

"Bella," I groaned.

She held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I'll call Jacob and Leah later."

"And Quil," I reminded her.

She looked at me curiously for a moment. "When do you want to do this?" she asked.

"Tomorrow," I said without hesitating.

She raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have school tomorrow?"

Oh, it was already Sunday. "I meant later today. After we visit Charlie and Sue."

Bella let out a sigh and turned to Edward.

"Don't look at me," he said, returning his fingers to the piano keys. "She takes after you."