That's right, you've got yourself a two-for-one day! This one it a little short, but is still my favorite of the two.
Here's the Youtube code-link for the video that inspired me to crank out this chapter:
watch?v=1HQu2ta7SUU
After changing, I went downstairs to the main level to look for Edward.
I found Emmett on the couch watching television.
"Um... Emmett, right?"
"Rightey-o, Bella. What can I do for you?"
He flashed me a grin.
"Where's the basement?"
His grin disappeared.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Um, I'm looking for Edward..."
He cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the television.
"He doesn't like to be bothered when he's down there."
"Oh."
"How did you know he'd be there anyways?"
"Um, he told me that's where he'd be. For if I needed anything."
He looked back at me, knitting his eyebrows together.
"Oh, do you need something? I could help you, it wouldn't be weird or anything. You can think of me like your big brother," he grinned.
I couldn't help but smile back.
Man, this family really is friendly.
What do they want with me?
"I guess I was just looking for Edward. But thank you."
"Ahhh. I see."
He winked at me.
Seriously.
Winked.
"Come on, i'll show you where it is."
He hopped off of the couch and strode past me, gesturing that I should follow.
We soon reached a set of stairs that led underground.
"There's not, like, coffins and skulls and everything down here... Right?"
He laughed loudly, the sound echoing off the walls, and slapped me on the back.
"Not all the superstitions are true, kid."
"Yeah, like what?"
"Hmmm... Well, we don't sleep in coffins. We do cast reflections. Crosses and holy things don't burn us. Oh, and we can go out in the sun. As long as there's no humans nearby..."
"Huh?"
"You'll see," he grinned, leading me down the stairs.
"Umm, okay. Oh! What about the whole repelled by garlic thing?"
"Depends on how you mean it. It can't harm us, but... Man, does it reek!"
He made a gagging noise to drive the point home.
I smiled and shook my head at that.
So this is what it's like to have a big brother...
It's nice.
At the bottom of the stairs was a door - which was closed.
"Here we are! Edward's second bedroom."
"Huh?"
"Oh, he spends at least half of his day down here, and nobody else ever comes down, so we've taken to calling it his 'second bedroom'."
He opened the door, and a sea of musical notes poured out around us.
He stopped playing, the notes gently fading away.
"Bella?"
Emmett nudged me inside and closed the door.
I don't hear footsteps...
He must be listening in on us.
"Bella," Edward called out from across the room, where he was sitting by a huge ebony piano. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, um, I just... Wanted to know what was down here?"
Nice answer, dim bulb.
He nodded and turned back to face the piano, placing his hands above the keys but not pressing down.
"This is just where I keep all of my instruments. I like to come down here a lot, to play them."
He paused, staring down at his hands in a weird way, like he was contemplating something.
"I find it to be the best way to... express myself. Let out all of my thoughts, and feelings."
I started to slowly walk over, at a human pace.
"What were you just playing?"
He closed his eyes and removed his hands from the keys, placing them on his lap.
"It isn't finished yet."
I reached the piano bench and sat down beside him.
Not too close, since I have been a little antsy about any form of physical contact since... my transformation.
But also not too far apart.
I was starting to like Edward.
He made me feel comfortable.
Different.
"It sounded beautiful."
The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly into a small smile.
"It should," he whispered.
I cocked my head, and eyed him curiously.
He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, his smile growing.
"Will you play me something?"
He glanced down at the keys and took a deep breath.
"What would you like to hear?"
"Anything."
He cleared his throat, placed his hands on the keys, and began to play the worst rendition of Chopsticks that I've ever heard.
"Come on!" I laughed, reaching over and nudging him playfully.
He grinned and stopped playing, looking over at me with a shrug.
"I know you can do better than that. I heard you."
"So you want to hear me play something well, then?"
"Yes," I nodded.
"Fine. You asked for it."
He stretched his arms out dramatically, wiggled his fingers a bit, and began to pound out the most spectacular version of L'Ise Joyeuse that I've ever heard.
A version that would put Claude Debussy himself to shame.
My mouth dropped as I watched his hands fly across the keys, at a speed that would surely be incomprehensible to someone human.
He just glanced over at me with the silliest grin, as some locks of hair drooped over his eyes.
I felt the need to brush them away.
After what felt like only seconds, the song came to a close with a little dramatic flair.
Then he just turned and looked at me as if expecting something.
"I feel like I should be clapping."
He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.
"You don't have to, really. The look of pure awe on your face the whole time I was playing was enough of an ego boost for me."
The door was suddenly thrown open then, slamming against the wall and making a noise so loud as it echoed off the walls that it nearly knocked me off the bench.
"EDWARD!!" Rosalie shrieked, holding up a piece of stained and tattered black fabric.
The shirt...
"Rosalie," he started calmly, rising up out of his seat and holding his hands up as if trying to calm her.
"Don't you DARE 'Rosalie' me!" She hissed. "Why in the hell would you allow her to ruin my shirt like this?!"
His nostrils flared and his hands began to clench and unclench, as if he was trying to control his temper.
"Well, Bella is perfectly alright, thanks for asking."
"Who cares about her?! This is my best Chanel shirt!!"
"Relax, the collection is still in stores. You can just buy another."
Her eyes began to twitch.
I felt the need to take cover.
"It. Was. Limited. Edition," she seethed, clutching the shirt so tight I heard some tearing.
"I'm sorry," he shrugged.
She narrowed her eyes at me.
"She should be the one that's sorry."
"I-I'm sorry," I uttered in the smallest, itty-bitty little voice I'd ever used.
She lifted her chin up high and snorted.
"You will be."
And with that, she spun around and ran upstairs.
Edward ran a hand through his hair and sighed before slamming the door and walking back over to me.
"Bitch," he hissed, digging a few fingers into his scalp. "I'm terribly sorry about her, Bella. She can be a real..."
"Bitch?"
"Right," he smiled bashfully. "Please don't tell Esme I said that."
"Wouldn't she be able to hear it?"
"Oh, no I had the walls soundproofed. You can't hear a thing, inside or out." He tapped his hand against the wall, as if to prove his point.
"Yeah?"
I smiled up at the ceiling, pondering what sort of tests I could try.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked after a moment.
I looked back at him.
He was leaning against the wall, hands in his jean pockets, gazing curiously at me.
I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders.
"Nothing."
He growled playfully.
"You know how it drives me crazy, not knowing what's going on inside of your head."
"I know."
He chuckled.
"That's not very nice, Bella."
I chewed on my lower lip and looked back up at the ceiling, going back to my previous thoughts.
".....I was just thinking."
"Yes?"
I giggled at his impatience.
He growled again.
"I was just thinking, how much fun it could be down here."
"I don't understand...."
I looked back at him, smiling mischeviously.
"I mean the way they can't hear us down here. We can do anything we want, and they'd be none the wiser."
"What kinds of things?" He asked, voice dropping an octave as he shifted his stance slightly.
"Anything. That's the fun of it."
He cocked his head and smiled at me.
"You really like it down here, don't you?"
"Mmmhmm," I nodded, starting in on my lip again.
"Then it's yours."
"What do you mean?"
"The room. You can have it," he shrugged.
"What?? No, no I couldn't just take it from you, it's yours..."
He rolled his eyes, pushed away from the wall, and started to walk over.
"How about this then..."
He stopped right before me, and leaned in slightly.
I swear my heart started beating again.
"Why don't we share it?"
"Share it?"
"Yes. It could be like... Our own little secret. A place just between the two of us."
"A secret quiet room," I grinned, my eyes lighting with wonder. "I like the sound of that."
"Then it's settled. This is our place."
"Ours."