A/N: Wow, thanks to everybody that's been sticking with me for all the time that I haven't updated! This is a long chapter, so I hope that everybody enjoys it. It's at least 3 times longer than all the others!
Just so that you know how hard this was for me to finish this, I'm going to go on a rant about the conditions I wrote this in. I wrote it right after I went snowboarding all day - and I was riding hard, too - and it took me sooooo long to finish. I wasn't done with it until, like, midnight, (haha, that fits with the title) and I was so tired I was doing the head-bob thing. So... yeah. I hope that you enjoyed it becuase I went though a lot to bring this to you.
Chapter 9 – Port Angeles
Edward's POV
To be honest, I really didn't actually want to go to Port Angeles with Mike and the rest of them. But I had already turned down several offers to go places with them, so I thought that I should accept this one. They couldn't help that they were so incredibly boring or that there was absolutely nothing to do in this dinky town. It also didn't help that I pretty much could tell exactly what they were thinking about me just by glancing at them.
When I told my mom about the trip, she was ecstatic.
"Oh! I'm so glad that you've finally made some friends, Eddie," she gushed, using her pet name for me. "I know that it was hard for you to leave New York, but you really have seemed… closed up lately. Maybe some new friends will help you open up more."
That being the case, I tried to put on a brave face when Mike showed up at my front door on Saturday with a minivan full of teenagers park3ed in the driveway. I ended up wedged between Tyler and some other boy I didn't recognize in the back seat of the filthy minivan.
"Let the fun begin!" Tyler crowed as we pulled out of the driveway.
Oh my God, I thought. Glimpsing myself in the rearview mirror only just confirmed that I looked exactly as I felt – wide eyed and terrified.
Bella's POV
At six o' clock on Saturday morning I was just returning from hunting when Alice found me. I had just stepped out of the forest and onto our property when a tiny black and white blur tackled me. She knocked me into the bushes and then quickly jumped back up as I blinked, a little bit dazed.
"Bella," she whined, crossing her arms and tapping her tiny foot impatiently, "you can't just lay around in the bushes all day. We have to leave in the next… 15 minutes if we want to beat the traffic," she said as she glanced at her watch.
"Traffic?" I snorted, rearranging my legs so I was sitting cross-legged in the ferns instead of randomly sprawled across them. "Alice, we're leaving Forks and driving to Port Angeles. How much traffic could there possibly be?" Alice sighed dramatically.
"Actually," she corrected me, "There's going to be a 3 car pile-up just outside of Port Angeles and I don't want to get stuck behind it." I stared at her in shock.
"What? Nobodies going to die," she shrugged. I rolled my eyes and stood up, brushing dirt off of my jeans.
"Now go change," Alice commanded.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I asked, offended.
"Are you serious?" She gasped.
"We're just going to Port Angeles," I muttered. "Not Paris."
"I don't expect you to understand these things," my sister lectured me, "but I do expect you to trust me on matters like this."
"Fine, whatever," I pouted.
"Now go change! I put some clothes in your room for you; they're on your couch!" She chirped. I skulked off in the direction of the house to start the day's torture.
10 minutes later I was in my car with an ecstatic Alice. I had forced her to let me drive and then taken my car. Alice was fine with it because it had more trunk room than her Porsche – a bright yellow thing that she had convinced Jasper to buy her for their anniversary.
I was wearing most of what Alice had picked out for me – the only thing I had ditched was the death trap high heel stilettos. Instead I had replaced them with flats, a habit that I still retained from my human life when I was so clumsy I couldn't walk across a flat surface without finding something to trip over. Being a vampire, however, I didn't have to worry about that.
As soon as we were on the highway I floored the gas, putting the needle of the speedometer at least over 100 miles per hour. Alice up on a CD and turned the music up until I could feel the bass pounding throughout the frame of my car. That was another excellent thing about my car – it had a great stereo system. Alice sang along with the CD, hitting ever note perfectly with her beautiful voice. I smiled to myself as I watched the road blankly. Alice was so full of life, it almost made me happy that I had agreed to go shopping with her. Almost, but not quite. I rather detested shopping, to be honest.
Just less than an hour later we arrived in Port Angeles. Pedestrians stared in awe at my car as we passed by them. It did draw a lot of attention, being a luxury sports car with super dark tinted windows. The thrumming bass that was still rocking the frame of it didn't help, either. Smirking slightly I parallel parked perfectly by a curb and shut off the engine. The music died instantly, which drew even more curious stares. I reached into the back seat to grab my purse and turned to Alice, trying not to grin too obviously.
"Ready?" I asked.
"As always," she replied.
"Let's roll," I muttered as I stepped out of my car. Just as I had suspected, a loose, inconspicuous crowd had gathered around my car. The look of shock at seeing two literally perfect girls step out of such an expensive car that had, seconds ago, shook the street with music made me grin, but just enough for Alice to see. She fed the meter as I came around to join her on the sidewalk.
"That look is priceless," I whispered as we started to walk, so low that only she could here me.
"I don't see how you get so much pleasure from that every time," she muttered disapprovingly, shaking her head slightly.
The first shop that we stopped in was a tiny, very expensive boutique that had just arrived in Port Angeles. Alice absolutely fell in love with it and swooped I, practically taking over the shop. The counter-girl looked quite alarmed – until she saw what Alice was picking out to go together.
"Oh my God, that is an absolutely fabulous outfit!" she squealed, scurrying around the counter to study what Alice was admiring. "I never would have ever even thought to put that together, but it's fantastic!" se continued, not even seeming to be in the least bit intimidated by us. I wasn't at all how humans normally reacted to us.
"Isn't it, though?" Alice agreed, stroking the fabric of the dress she was holding. "Bella, you simply must try it on."
"Why me?" I asked, taken aback.
"It's your size," Alice said with a snort.
"Oh," I replied.
"Yes, you really must," the counter-girl insisted, taking Alice's side.
"Fine," I sighed, taking the dress and shoes that Alice handed me in my arms and heading into the dressing room. When I emerged the counter-girl gasped and stared, wide eyed, but Alice took it all in stride.
"It's lovely," she said as she adjusted it slightly and studied me. "Fits you perfectly, too."
Duh, I thought. I've been the same size for the past 50 years.
"Look at the shoes," the counter-girl said, finally recovering from her stupor. "Look at how they bring out the white in the dress. Wow. You simply must buy it." I took the temporary lull in their scrutiny to look at the price tag.
"Alice!" I gasped when I read it. "Look at the price! This is ridiculous!"
"Bella…" Alice protested as I stomped off towards the dressing room to take off the ridiculously expensive dress. As I did, however, I passed by a mirror. For a moment I froze, shocked. I knew the person in the mirror, but at the same time I didn't. Slowly, I turned to face the mirror. The vintage dress, probably from the 50's, brought back memories that weren't quite accessible to me – memories of my human life. The chiffon of a party dress swishing around my legs, the smell of sulfur from fireworks, the cold steel of leaning up against a turquoise pick-up truck, a kiss… as soon as I remembered them, they were gone. I shot a look at Alice, my sister. She knew exactly what I was thinking.
"Fine," I said without even thinking, "I'll take it."
"Yay!" Alice squealed, jumping up and down and clapping her hands.
By the time I emerged from the dressing room, dress in hand, Alice had an armful of clothes for herself to try on. She was positively glowing from the excitement of shopping.
An hour later we left the shop, Alice with two full bags and me with my lone dress and shoes in a single bag. For the rest of the day she dragged me from shop to shop until the sun started to set.
"Alice," I whined as we walked down the street, "I want to go into the Antique Shop." (A/N: Hehe, there's a little bit of me in that. Anybody that knows me probably knows that I'm completely addicted to Antique shops.)
"Why?" she moaned. If there was one thing that Alice absolutely couldn't stand, it was antique shops. For some reason they just attracted me, like it was my human life calling me back.
"Come on," I insisted, pulling on her hand. "Just this one, I promise." The open doors of the shop practically called to me.
"Fine," Alice relented, following me. I elatedly skipped inside.
The shop was one of those high-end deals; lots of lace and jewelry, some furniture and canes and old Coca-Cola bottles. I walked down the isles, stroking random objects as I passed. Suddenly, I stopped dead. A typewriter sat on a shelf, right in front of me. I absentmindedly reached out to stroke the keys, and that was when it came –
I was sitting on a man's lap, presumably my father's. At the time I was probably 5 years old, maybe younger. My father was at his desk in his office. In front of me, right at eye level, was a typewriter. I reached out to tap on the keys gently and jerked my hand back when It clacked noisily. The light reflected off of the silver arm and I squinted.
"How does it work, daddy?" I asked curiously…
"Miss, miss!" I man suddenly called, cutting the memory short. "Miss, please don't touch that! It's very old, you see, and-"
"How much?" I interrupted.
"Excuse me?" The man replied.
"How… much… for… the… typewriter?" I asked, enunciating every word very clearly. The man looked offended.
"Well, the price is very reasonable, of course, for a model this old and in perfect working condition. Every piece there, no rust, fresh ribbon-"
"How much?" I snapped for a third time.
"F-five hundred dollars," he stammered, my vicious glare startling him.
"I'll take it," I said, picking it up off the shelf and walking towards the counter.
"Miss, miss…" the man twittered, trailing behind me. I ignored him as he sidled behind the counter and I set the typewriter down on the counter. Instantly Alice was by my side.
"Are we leaving?" She asked excitedly.
"Yeah. Just a minute, okay?" I said as I pulled my gold credit card out from my wallet. The expression on the man's face instantly changed as I handed it to him. He swiped it reverently, as if he might break it, and handed it back to me. I stuffed it in my wallet un-ceremoniously and he visibly winced.
"Thank you very much for your purchase, Miss Cullen," he said in a completely different voice then when he had told me not to touch the typewriter. He wrapped the box the typewriter was in with brown paper and carefully handed it to me.
"Please come again soon, Miss Cullen," he smiled. I nodded curtly and stepped out of the store.
"Ugh, thank God. It reeks in those stores," Alice said as we walked down the street. Streetlights lit our path in pools of yellow light. "And that guy? What a jack ass!" she continued. "I don't even know why you like those stores. Well, I do, but you know what I-" abruptly she stopped talking and walking. A blank look came over her face and her mouth hung slightly open. I knew the look instantly – she was having a vision. All I could do was wait it out. It didn't take long, less than 20 seconds later she "woke-up" from her vision, as I sometimes put it. But this time it seemed a little bit different and she had a very frightened look in her eyes.
"What is it?" I asked automatically.
"Edward," she said, her eyes wide. She turned to look me in the eyes. "Bella, it's Edward. He's… he's in danger. You have to go find him. Right now."
"Where is he?" I asked.
"He's… at the corner of Holly Street and Creek Boulevard, I think. Hurry, Bella!" she replied frantically.
"How will you get home?" I asked.
"It doesn't matter! I'll run or have Jasper pick me up. Just GO!" she yelled. I nodded, wide eyed, and then started sprinting to get to my car.
Edward's POV
After the basketball game, which had been just as boring as I had anticipated, the guys decided to go get something to eat at some local restaurant. I had heard that there was a great local music shop, however, and decided to check it out.
"I'll catch up with you guys later," I had said to mike after I explained where I was going. I got the name of the restaurant they were going to and then went to find the music store. I had at least a few hours before I had to meet up with them again, so once I found it I decided that I would look through their sheet music selection. It was nothing like my favorite shop from New York, though. The selection was tiny, but they did have a rather nice upright piano which I played for a while. By the time I left the shop it was dark so I started to head back to the restaurant to catch a ride back with Mike and the others. The streets were pretty much deserted where I was, the corner of Holly Street and Creek Boulevard. I shoved my hands deep inside my coat pockets to ward off the creeping cold and started to cross the street. Right when I was in the middle of the crosswalk, I froze. My feet were stuck to the pavement with shock and all I could do was stare at the oncoming car that carved around the corner and straight towards me.
Holy shit, I thought, I'm going to die. Then it hit me. I flew towards the sidewalk and hit the concrete. My breath was knocked out of me in one giant whoof, but I wasn't as hurt as I should have been. I could tell that right away. And whatever had hit me had come from the wrong direction, too, I realized. The car should have flung me into the street, not onto the sidewalk. That was when I saw her – Bella Cullen. She was standing in front of the red car that had almost just hit me. The car was stopped and her hands were on the hood as she stared intently at the driver.
"Get in my car, Edward," she hissed at me, eyes still glued to the terrified driver. I scrambled to my feet.
"Where is it?" I asked, my voice wavering.
"It's parked by the laundromat," she stated calmly. I scurried over to it and sat down in the passenger seat, watching the confrontation that was going on. The drivers side window in Bella's car was open, so I hoped I'd be able to hear.
Holy shit, I though again. I almost just died. And Bella saved me. Bella saved- Then my eyes just about popped out of my head.
I guess that somewhere in my head I had already figured out that Bella wasn't quite normal. But when she literally ripped the door off the drivers side of the car that had almost killed my and pulled the driver out by the front of his shirt, I couldn't have been more surprised.
Bella's POV
I made it just in time. Had I arrived seconds later, Edward would have been dead. That was the only thought that occupied my mind as I stared down the twenty-something male driver that was inside the car. I barely had enough control to send Edward to my car. And yeah, I knew that he was watching me and yeah, I knew that I would never be able to pretend that nothing had ever happened, but I still couldn't refrain myself and ripped the door off the drivers side of the car and drug the driver out by the front of his shirt to pin him against the passenger door. I could have smelled the alcohol on his breath from a mile away, which only served to make me angrier. (A/N: I guess this is a good time to remind everybody that you should never, ever, ever drive drunk! You never know who you might hit… like Edward!)
"What the hell were you doing?" I growled, pushing him against the car harder.
"I… I…" he stammered, his speech slurred.
"You filthy bastard!" I shouted. "You selfish, pig-headed ass hole! Drunk driving is illegal for a reason!" I slammed him up against his own car again and then reached into it to pull his keys from the ignition faster than he could see.
"You don't deserve these," I growled as I twisted the key quickly. Then I shoved them in his hand and shot him one more death glare.
"Don't ever, ever drive drunk again," I growled. As I walked away towards my car, I heard his breathing resume. Then he gasped sharply.
"She tied my key in a knot!" I heard him exclaim. I didn't even smile at that.
I walked towards my car at a normal, human pace and opened the door gently to slip inside. I didn't even look at Edward.
"I'm very sorry that you had to see that, Edward," I apologized.
"Thank you," he said. I looked up. "Thank you for saving me. Thank you so much." I smiled gently.
"Of course. You're very welcome," I replied.
A/N: Okay, hope that everybody enjoyed that! If anybody wants to see the dress that Bella bought, I have a link to what I think it should look like right here: http/ . Anyways, It's from the 1950's and I pictured Bella wearing it at a 4th of July picnic when she was a human. Which brings me to the second thing - Bella's human memories. I'll be talking more about that in the near future... when Bella tells Edward her story! Yay! Something for you all to look forwards too!
I just want to send a shout-out to Mradrz4evr for updating so much... you totally inspire me! yay! Hope that you enjoy this chapter... since u've been bugging me so much to post... Thanks, everybody! Review to tell me what you think!