Disclaimer: Thank you Stephenie Meyer, for giving us wonderful characters, and letting our creative juices flow.
Alice and Rosalie waited on me hand and foot for the next couple days. "Bella! We can't leave you alone for twenty four hours without a trip to the emergency room!" Alice had practically thrown herself at me. "Do you need anything?" "What can I get you?" I rolled my eyes at their comments. Really, I just wanted to be left alone.
I planned to spend a lot of time reading. I loved to devour all kind of books, especially classics. I loved romance. My all time favorites were Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Emma, and Pride and Prejudice. I had picked up a copy of Jane Eyre at the age of twelve, and followed it with Jane Austen novels. Then, when I turned sixteen, I found a copy of Wuthering Heights, which happened to be written by Emily Bronte, Charlotte's sister. I had fallen in love with these men, over and over again. (A/N- I'd love to create a fanfic based on the novel Me and Mr. Darcy, starring the twilight characters. For any avid fans of Pride and Prejudice, check it out Me and Mr. Darcy, please! It is really good.) Alice and Rosalie said that I wasn't successful in love because I obsessed over fictional characters too much. "Fictional characters that lived over a century ago," said Alice. "When are you going to quit suffocating in all of these made up guys and look for some real ones?"
"You are crazy. I love to get lost in another world. Any girl who reads these masterpieces would immediately see everything these characters offer. There is so much romance and passion and love. Just because I don't have a boyfriend at the moment doesn't mean that I never will. Books let you experience so much! I love pretending I'm Jane Eyre. Mr. Rochester is one of the sexiest men I have ever dreamed of. He says things like, 'Oh Jane, my love, my life!' which frankly no guy has ever said to me and no guy ever will." I was cut off by Rosalie.
"Oh Bella, my love, my life!" She was down on one knee. "Your beauty blinds me, like the strongest rays of the hot sun. I couldn't dare to stay away from you any longer." She raised her hand to her forehead and pulled away. Alice started to giggle. "Not a tick-tocking minute goes by where I don't think of your supreme crystal blue eyes-" Alice broke out into howls.
"Her ey- eyes are sup- supreme? Rose, yu-your mon-monologue is s-so lame!" Alice choked out the words. Rosalie stood up from her act.
"The most you could do is appreciate my fine acting skills! Could you come up with anything better? I don't think so!" Rosalie was really mad. She looked so serious, until she broke out into a huge grin. Then Rosalie began to break out into howling laughter.
"Can't you guys contain yourselves? You should be ashamed of making fun of great literature!" That only made them laugh harder. I was furious by now. Well, I wasn't going to stick around listening to them laugh. I grabbed my crutches and tried to pull myself up. However, I lacked the arm strength to get around on these crutches. I wasn't athletic. I was slender, but soft somehow. My klutziness prevented me from any future in sports.
I was unsuccessful at picking myself up, and fell back on to the couch. Alice and Rosalie saw my struggle and their laughter ceased.
"Bella, be careful!" Alice wouldn't leave me alone. I rolled my eyes once more.
"I'm fine," I grumbled. We ended up watching a few movies together after that. It was fun, just us girls hanging out, like in college. I was lucky to get a scholarship at the University of Chicago, in Illinois. Rosalie and Alice went to schools around the area, and lived around there, while I had come all the way from Forks. They helped me out through college, and I gained two of the best friends ever. Rosalie and Alice both studied at Columbia College, Alice studying fashion design (she was an assistant for a fashion magazine now) and Rosalie studying photography. They were both quite serious in their work, although I thought of myself to be the most serious out of the three of us. I had taken on a double major of Journalism and English Literature. I met Alice and Rosalie when they advertised their apartment looking for a roommate, and I couldn't have been luckier.
I did my best getting into my outfit for the dinner at Jasper's parents' house. I was wearing a gray wool turtleneck long-sleeved dress. Alice said it flattered my body, but I was too tired to even look at myself in the mirror. I only saw myself leaning on my crutches. There was no way I was going to wear heels, I was decked out in black converse instead. I let my hair fall down around me. I put on a little makeup, trying to bring out my eyes and lips. I doubt I succeeded.
Rosalie and Emmett drove me to the dinner. I didn't have my own car; it was too expensive. When I was younger I had my own truck, but I sold it because I didn't really need to go places. My friends lived near me, and work was a bus ride away.
Jasper's parents lived in a very old house, which was quite large. I had never been there before. Many guest circulated the house, carrying drinks and plates of food. I tried to avoid looking at all of the pairs of wandering eyes checking me out, and as I moved past many people, I heard whispers of adults commenting on my ankle. I felt my cheeks getting hot, from embarrassment. I found Alice, and made my way over to her.
"Bella! Hi!" Alice enveloped me in a hug, which was pretty awkward. She smiled. I was so happy for Alice, her wedding was going to be amazing. I knew that Rosalie and I were both going to be bridesmaids, but Alice hadn't told us who would be her maid of honor yet. She said that we would find out eventually soon. I turned my attention back to the party. I met Jasper's parents, they seemed like wonderful people.
"Dear, what happened to your foot?" Mrs. Whitlock, like everyone else I had talked to, had inquired about my accident.
"Oh, it happened due to my clumsiness. I slipped in my apartment and shattered my ankle." It was a story that I retold over and over again. Eventually, people stopped enquiring about my ankle.
I moved myself over to the buffet; I was starving. I fixed myself a plate of food, when I bumped the gentleman to the right of me. "Oh! I'm so sorry," I said.
"Bella?" I gasped at hearing the voice next to me. "Bella Swan?"
"Dr. Cullen! How are you?"
"Please, just call me Edward." Edward Cullen smiled at me. "I'm fine, how is your ankle? Making things difficult for you?"
I breathed a sigh of relief. "Very. Crutches are impossible to deal with. I don't have the arm strength to work with them."
Edward laughed. "It'll become easier, I promise."
I tried to balance my plate of food on my crutches. "Would you like to sit down?"
Edward grabbed my plate and his own. "I'd be delighted."
It was at that moment that Alice came up to us. "Hi guys! What do you think of the party?"
"I think it's going well," I said.
Alice frowned. "Some of Jasper's relatives are a little snobby, you know? But he and I are going to announce in a few minutes, I'm so excited! Gotta run!" She dashed off, looking for her fiancée.
"She seems so happy," Edward softly said.
"Yea," I said. "She does."
"So tell me about yourself," Edward said.
"Well, let's see. I'm twenty-six, and I write for the Chicago Tribune. Just local Metro articles, I assume you read it?"
"But of course."
I laughed. "Of course. I live around here, I love Chicago, but I was born out west. I lived in Phoenix with my mom for a while, then moved to Forks, Washington with my dad when I was in high school. It's complicated, she was getting married, and I didn't really want to be in the way."
"So you sacrificed your teenage years for her? That doesn't seem fair."
"Hasn't anyone ever told you, Edward? Life isn't fair. Look at my ankle. Do you think I'm glad that I have to walk around like this?" I smiled at him.
"No, I guess not. Go on."
I smirked. "Is my life really that fascinating?"
"I'm just waiting for the part where you tell me how you got to Chicago." His emerald eyes dazzled me.
"Oh, haha. I got a scholarship to the University of Chicago. I was leaving my family behind, but I was so excited to go to the University. Who could turn down University of Chicago?"
Edward nodded in agreement.
"It was going to be such a good opportunity. I double-majored, in Journalism and English Literature. And I met Rosalie and Alice soon after. And… this is where I am now." My voice grew very soft. Alice called me modest. "There's not really anything interesting about me. Tell me about you."
"Well, I" Edward started to talk, but was interrupted by Alice.
"Everyone! Hi. We'd like to make an announcememt, so could I have everyone's attention?" Alice shouted out from the middle of the room.
"You're getting married!" An unrecognizable voice yelled out from the crowd. Everyone laughed.
Jasper broke in. "Yes, we are Uncle Frank, and I couldn't be happier." More laughter erupted from the crowd. "We are getting married, on June 14th!" Everyone clapped and cheered. "I like to announce my best man, Emmett Cullen." Everyone clapped. Emmett already knew that he was going to be the best man, it was obvious.
"Whoo!" Emmett was ecstatic. "All right, well, Jasper is the best dude ever, and I'm so glad he's marrying the lovely Alice, my baby sister. Man, if you do anything to break her heart, I will kill you." He looked serious. Alice looked as if she was in tears.
Alice controlled herself and started to talk. "Now, as for me, I know I'm having two bridesmaids. But as for my maid of honor… Well I just couldn't decide." Now I was really paying attention. I would love to be Alice's maid of honor. And I knew Rosalie felt the same way. I had really no idea what Alice was going to do. "I couldn't pick just one person, so I'm having two maids of honor!" Everyone cheered. "It's my wedding, and I can do whatever I want. Bella Swan and Rosalie Hale, come up here!" I was overjoyed. Alice and Rosalie really were the best friends ever.
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