Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~Berthold Auerbach
My head was filled with detailed thoughts of Edward Mason when my door started vibrating and a pounding came from the other side. I groaned—the image of Edward's slanted grin was still very prominent in my consciousness—and then jumped up from my little nap and almost fell to the floor in my haze of sleepiness, and the dangerous distractions of mental Edward.
"Wh-who's there?" I called out, my voice cracking with drowsiness. I honestly had no idea who'd be banging on my door, I never got unexpected visitors. Because of this, an unrealistic thought popped up in my head. What if he somehow found out where I lived… and he had come to my threshold to capture me in his arms and tell me of his unconditional love—
"It's your bro! Who else would it be?" The familiar voice of Emmett hollered at me. I ignored the pang of hurt that his question implied and instead stalked to the door and unlocked the deadbolt. Of course he wouldn't ever come to my dorm room for something as crazy as that. Why would he even bother whilst so many other amiable females roamed the state of Washington? My imagination would cost me if I kept at this…
"Why are you here? I thought you couldn't come over," I questioned, slightly suspicious. Emmett would have more fun with his buddies, not lying around my boring room. The most we would do was watch some movies and make fun of the sleazy acting. Sometimes I'd say too big of words for him to understand and he would try and pretend he knew what I was talking about… but we both knew he got into this college for baseball—not for his smarts. Or he would clean out my fridge and pantry leaving no chip or hot-pocket behind.
Emmett pushed the door open after he heard me unlock the chain lock and flew past me to plop on my bed. His large body was too much for my small twin bed—his feet hung off and his shoulders took up the whole width. I couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight of him.
"Eh, Devin's place was boring… he ended up having to work on a paper that's due tomorrow that he thought was due next week. You should have seen his face! He needs to pass the class in order to stay on the team," Emmett sighed, chuckling at a mental picture of 'Devin's' face no doubt. His laughter rocked my bed, and I rolled my eyes.
"And do you have the right grades to stay on the team, big bro?" I teased, treading to my small fridge and grabbing two bottles of water. I tossed one in his direction and his large hand caught it in the air easily. He rolled his eyes as he sat up and unscrewed the top.
"Yeah, I've got a nice 2.7 GPA. Coach said I was doin' alright, and to just keep up the hard work. Don't worry Bells, I'm alright with school." He grinned, and took a huge gulp of the water which brought it halfway empty. "You have a good session in music?"
My eyebrows raised in surprise at his question. He never took the time to feign interest in my piano playing.
"Yes, I did. Why do you ask?" I crossed my arms, my body leaning to the left on my foot. He looked down at my feet and smiled sheepishly.
"Uh… no reason," He mumbled, and took a sip out of his water bottle. My suspicion grew instantly.
He must have seen the look of doubt on my face because he started to blush slightly. Emmett was blushing.
Yes, today is a very off day. I thought to myself.
"Is there something specific about music class that you are asking me about? Because I know that you are always so interested in my music, I have to know which part you want to hear about first," I said, my earlier smart-ass seeming to build within me again. A part of my brain was astounded that I had just said that to my brother. What was coming over me?
Emmett blinked a few times in shock, and then pursed his lips in deep thought.
"Well, honestly, I was going to ask you for this chick's number, but if you're going to be so rude about it—"
"Stop right there, Em. I'm not your carrier pigeon; I won't be your messenger girl and hit on someone for you," I interrupted, aggravated because I should have called him out on it sooner. Why else would he be so interested in my music life unless it involved him and some other girl? A sharp pain hit my gut, but I ignored it—Emmett was my brother, we loved each other, it didn't matter that he was obviously trying to use me.
"Aw, come on, she's totally hot! I can't believe someone who looks like that can play the piano," He grinned, his eyes glazing over with what was most likely a day dream of an inappropriate manner.
Oh, there are definitely hot piano players, I thought begrudged to myself. Edward Mason was the poster boy of that stereotype. Still, I couldn't help but role my eyes.
"Uh-huh, yeah, and do you even know her name? Or is this one of those 'love-at-first-sight' things again," I felt exasperated already and he'd only been here for ten minutes. "I'm sorry Em, but I won't help you get in bed with some girl."
At my words his cheeks turned pink again, yet now his eyebrows furrowed and he seemed a little taken back.
"Whoa, little sis, I never said I wanted to sleep with her—I mean, it'd be amazing, I bet, but I actually want to ask her out on a date. She seems… different."
"Define different? I thought you didn't like different," I laughed, partly surprised at how honest he seemed at the moment. "Since when do you like smart girls?"
"She's… different from the others. She's definitely the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, yet she also makes me feel… like some little boy who doesn't know what to say to a girl. I get so tongue-tied around her. I never know what to say, it seems like every line I've got doesn't work and nothing I do is enough," Emmett looked intently at the floor, his lips pursed. I blinked a few times in shock.
"Em, you really like this girl, don't you?" I asked, totally blown away at my brother's sincerity.
He nodded his head sheepishly, swishing the rest of the contents of his water attentively.
"I… think I do. But I've never tried to, like, woo any chick before. I usually just crack a joke here and there and I don't have to do much to win anyone over. But this woman is… a whole different kind of woman," He explained, different expressions going across his face as he tried to describe it.
I was still groping for stability after hearing that my brother had feelings for someone, so I was speechless when Emmett looked up at me—totally lost and confused. Emmett was always so confident and sure of himself. To see him so vulnerable was… scary.
"Emmett, I'm… stunned. I don't know what to say," I tried desperately to find words for him, anything to get back the old Emmett. "I… well… I suppose I could at least find out her name. Would that help?"
Suddenly Emmett's eyes lit up and the old Em came to life in front of me.
"Bella, I owe you big time! Seriously, anything you need—let me know. And trust me, you are definitely helping." Emmett grinned goofily, his large frame bouncing a little in excitement. I giggled, the warmth of his happiness filling me again.
"I'm glad you've actually found a girl to change your ways, Em. I was seriously considering an intervention," I teased cheerily, laughing at his pretend hurt expression.
"Aw, Bells! I'm not that bad, am I?" He pouted his lips and stared up at me with those huge brown eyes imploringly. I rolled my eyes at him, laughing anyway.
"Of course not, Em. We are related after all," I grinned, and his face relaxed into a satisfied smirk.
Emmett ended up staying anyway after that, so I plopped in an old flick—Army of Darkness. This always cracked us up, and there was plenty of material to bash. I loved times like these. Here, I didn't feel like the unsociable freak. It was just Bella and Emmett, brother and sister, enjoying each other's company.
"Why, why, why does that girl still seem 'hot' to you? She's completely evil! And ugly!" I giggled, throwing a peace of popcorn at Emmett's face, but it ended up in his mouth. I laughed at that, but not surprised that food found its way there so easily.
"She's just hot. I don't know, maybe it's the whole 'bad girl' thing. The fact that she could totally kick my ass is a total turn on," Emmett explained, the seriousness on his face making me clutch my stomach from my painful laughter. Of course he would say something like that. It was such an Emmett thing to do.
"You are absolutely ridiculous, Em," I said through my giggles. "I hope this girl has it in her to put up with you like I can."
Emmett grinned bigger, but didn't say anything to that comment.
"Well, Bells, it's getting late and you're starting to fall asleep over there. I should go," Emmett said, his voice jolting me out of my daze. I blinked at him, clearing away some of my grogginess.
"Alright," I mumbled back, my mouth forming into a huge O as I yawned. I was tired, but glad that Emmett came over anyway. It didn't matter that it was appallingly late—I needed to have his company. I missed him, and although this hardly made up for all the lost time between us it still eased my worry. Emmett was my brother… I don't know why I was so nervous of loosing what we always had. Maybe because that now everything is different, with a new atmosphere and life, I thought things would change. Yet I couldn't help but scoff at my worries when I seen my brother opening up his arms for me.
"Bye, Bella. Get some rest, you look exhausted," Emmett grinned as I leapt into his arms happily.
"Yeah, if you hadn't made me rewind the movie so many times I'd be more coherent," I replied, poking his, as always, hard chest playfully. "But, you just had to see that chick again, and again."
His laugh shook the both of us and I snuggled farther into his brotherly bear hug.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll let you slide with that," Emmett said. "Even though I recall the time you had to rewind a particular movie a couple times to see a certain frozen dude sinking into the Atlantic again, and again."
"Hey! Leonardo is an amazing actor. His work deserves to be scrutinized and appreciated thoroughly."
"Yeah, I can list off certain parts of him you were 'scrutinizing' very thoroughly!" Emmett snorted, and I pulled back to punch him while blushing madly.
"You better watch it, Em. I might recall my earlier agreement if you keep that up." I stuck my tongue out at him, enjoying his petulant yet sheepish reaction.
"What do you want from me Bells? I'm completely love-sick," He pouted, sticking his bottom lip out. I rolled my eyes at him, once again, before shoving myself at him to get him out of my room.
"Yes, well, get your big love-sick butt out of my room so I can sleep." I grunted, while he guffawed down the hallway.
I furrowed into my blankets while a deafening silence enveloped my room. It felt like any noise would be cymbals to my ears, and I grumbled into my pillow. Of course after an entire evening of being exhausted my body would find its strength and decide to be alert just as I was settling for bed. I wasn't sure if it was due to Emmett's lingering presence, or the fact that it was too late at night that it might as well be considered morning. That might be it. I still couldn't believe that Emmett was actually wanting to date someone. Though the larger part of my reasoning was now blaming it on Edward Mason.
The whole evening I was able to forget about him, and let my brother's infectious presence keep my attention. Now, I suppose my brain was punishing me and pushing forward memories of today's events. I couldn't close my eyes without seeing Edward's blinding smile or hands playing on my piano. I should hate the guy, the way he was acting in class. But I just couldn't make myself do it. It was like trying to yell at a puppy—hopeless. While I knew that there was no way that Edwards Mason was as innocent as a puppy, there was just something about his smile that disabled any ill feelings within me.
I sighed.
Edward Mason, Edward Mason, Edward Mason—my head was full of him. Still, I didn't even really know him. Only being around him for an hour caused my head such disarray. I briefly pondered why now, why him? All my life I've never really seen a boy, man, like I see Edward Mason. Yes, I've had crushes and brief infatuations… I've even dated before (Though it was only one date and it was with my best friend—practically brother—Jacob Black). But… I couldn't even describe my earlier emotions let alone compare it to anything.
Oh, and there is that party.
I groaned at that, deciding if I was going to get any sleep tonight I would stop myself there.
But as it was, I did not.