It's been almost a week since we've really talked. The only contact we've had is to say 'sorry' when we almost crashed into each other, and to him asking if he would get a day off soon. That's it. We live in the same house and we barely talk to each other. I've tried to say sorry a million times, but he ignores me. He hates me, I know it. The next morning after I told him, I went up to his room (the door was open), and tried to explain, but he shut the door in my face. I'm surprised he hasn't moved out.
It is the day before my birthday, and the whole of L.A. is buzzing about my party. Of course it's going to be wild. I invited practically all of the A-list celebrities I could think of. I invited all the staff from my tour as well. I want to see Elisa again. I pretty sure Edward will sneak out for the night; he doesn't like parties much. Why would he hang around anyway? He wouldn't go to a party for someone he hates.
Anyway, I have just recorded one of my latest songs and am walking out of the studio. People smile, as they do when I walk by, and I see a face that I haven't seen for a long, long time. My sister, Alice is in the lobby! Oh my god! Alice is here! She sees me and squeals. She runs over to me and gives me the biggest hug I've ever gotten. It almost knocks me off my feet.
"Bella! Bella, Bella, Bella!" she giggles. 'It's been so long!"
"Only since my last birthday sis!" I laugh. "How are you? And Jasper?"
"I'm fine, he's fine. We're all fine! But how are you?" she asks. I pause for a minute while I evaluate my life at the moment.
"I could be better…" I finally decide to say.
"What's wrong? Come on, it's your birthday! You should be jumping for joy!" To make her point, she jumps several times.
"We're not all bags of energy like you, Alice. It's a long story, anyway."
"I like long stories. Come on, we can talk it out over coffee. Where's the nearest Starbucks?" I smile. Alice is as obsessed with coffee as I am. I take her hand and lead her out the door to the Starbucks.
"So, you and this Edward guy aren't talking now?" We are sitting at a table at Starbucks, something I usually don't do (I usually just grab the coffee and run). I told Alice everything about the… incident.
"Yeah, kind of… I think we spoke, maybe twice?" Alice shakes her head.
"Bella. You want my advice? Too bad, you're getting it anyway. I think that Edward just needs some time. It will blow over. I can tell just by what you've told me that he really doesn't hate you. Quite the opposite. I think he's in love with you." It takes me a little while to notice that my jaw is dropped. Is she serious?
"You kidding right?" I ask in disbelief.
"Do I look like I'm kidding, Bella?" To be honest, she doesn't, but I still don't believe her. "I know you don't believe me, but seriously, would he write a song about you if he didn't? That stuff comes from the heart, I can tell you that. And by the way, I think you reciprocate the feelings. You smiled and blushed every time you said his name," she states. I blush, to my embarrassment. Alice smiles, her point exaggerated.
"Yeah, well, meh. There's no chance at us anyways. Let's move on shall we? My party is tomorrow night." I change the topic.
"Oh yeah! By the way, I'm inviting myself, whether you like it or not, just so you know." She pokes her tongue out at me.
"Oh, I know. You'll help me set up, won't you?" I ask her. It's practically a rhetorical question, I already know the answer.
"Of course, sis. What time do you want me to swing by?"
"Are you staying in a hotel?" I frown.
"Yes… why?" she questions.
"I won't hear of it. You're coming to stay with me. I won't have you stay in a filthy hotel."
"Oh, but won't it be a little crowded? I mean, Edward and you, and me… and I'll get in the way…" she worries.
"No you won't. Believe me, Edward's doing his best to avoid me. And it won't be crowded. My house is fit to home twenty people. Three is hardly a crowd, no matter what a stupid saying says," I go on.
"Well, okay. But I'll feel bad about it."
"Don't worry," I reassure her.
"So I was thinking we could have the DJ over there, and like, the food table over there, and the downstairs bathtub can be brought over, and that's where the drinks will go…" I plan. Alice mumbles in agreement.
"Bella?" That voice is my oxygen; I haven't heard it in so long, I almost suffocated.
"Edward? I'm in here," I say a bit louder so he can hear me from the hallway.
"I saw extra bags in the hallway and I was wondering if there was someone staying…" He then sees Alice. "Who's this Bella?"
"Edward, this is my sister Alice. Alice, this is Edward."
"Hi," Alice says. They shake hands. Edward smiles politely.
"So are staying for Bella's birthday?' Edward asks.
"Yes, that's right," Alice confirms. Edward nods. There is a minute of silence, it is very awkward. Edward then clears his throat.
"Um, I'll be in my room." Edward walks up the stairs, and I hear him close his door. I sigh.
"That's the most we've spoken all week," I grumble.
"Don't give up on him yet. He'll get over it," she reassures me.
"Let's hope so. I really can't live with him hating me. You have no idea how much it's killing me." Alice pats my back in understanding.
"Wow, this party is awesome! I love it, and I'm not even drunk yet!" I shout over the noise to Elisa.
"Totally. Praise to whoever brought the Vodka!" She laughs and I laugh in agreement. We are mingling with the guests while drinking down numerous glasses of punch. I made it myself. My secret recipe. It gets you so hammered. Hmmm, I wonder where Lady Gaga went… I saw her not too long ago… Oh well.
I was right about Edward sneaking out. I haven't seen him, so he mustn't be here. It makes me sad. We've been friends for a while, and now he hates me because of one thing I've done. It wasn't even that bad. Going through his stuff is not a felony. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was familiar, like my shoulder was fit for that hand. I thought he'd never touch me again.
"Edward," I say, half asking.
"Bella, can I talk to you?" I turn around and his expression wasn't angry. It wasn't even frustrated. It was remorseful. He didn't want to yell at me He actually wanted to just talk.
"Sure." He grabs my hand and leads me away from the crowd. He turn s around and looks straight at. It almost makes me feel uncomfortable.
"Bella, I want to apologise. I acted like a pig. I really overreacted, and I'm sorry. No one deserves that treatment, especially not you," he says.
"It's ok, Edward. I shouldn't have read your manuscript book anyways," I apologise back.
"No, wait. I'm not finished." He looks at me with an open expression. I don't say anything, so he continues. "I have lot's of other stuff to apologise for. Well, not so much apologise, but explain. Like, when I went to lunch with you right after I broke up with Jessica - "
"Wait what? I though she broke up with you?" I am very puzzled. Why would he lie to me?
"Oh, right. I said that she broke up with me because… I don't know why. I went to lunch with you because I couldn't bear to lose sight of you. You're the reason I broke up with Jessica. I realised that on tour. Sure, you can be a bitch sometimes, but I don't care. Yes, I wrote a song about you. A lot of them actually. I was angry because I wanted to hide the fact that… I was afraid that you find out that…"
"That what?" I question him.
"That… I love you Bella. I have for a long time, but I couldn't come to terms with it. I so desperately wanted to tell you but I couldn't bear it if you didn't feel the same way. All week I've been wanting to say this, but I didn't have the guts. What really turned it for me was when I saw you just before. You looked miserable. Even at your own birthday party. It broke my heart. And I hope me saying this isn't braking yours." I swear I saw a tear.
"Edward, believe me, this is far from breaking my heart. I've never been so happy in all my life. I guess you've noticed, everyone else has, that I feel the same way…" He smiled.
"I didn't know that. That makes me so happy," he says excitedly.
"Wow, you're really unperceptive if you haven't noticed." I smiled the biggest smile I have ever smiled. His answering smile makes me feel like a schmuck. He's so beautiful, to put it lightly. I can't believe this is happening! After all the months of fantasizing and wishing an hoping and dreaming, it's coming true!
"So, what I'm really trying to say is…" he mumbles.
"You don't have to say anything more. I get it," I say. I lean in, hoping he would get the message. He did. All at once, my life is complete. In this one kiss, my heart is whole; I don't have to worry about anything at all, because I know that Edward will be there for me. I love him, and he loves me. I couldn't ask for anything more. We kiss for what feels like a long time. It is the most glorious kiss of my life. It actually means something. He pulls away, too soon for my liking. He has the most gorgeous smile on his face. A smile I cannot match in a million years. An angel's smile. My angel. I can now call him mine. That though thrills me.
"Come with me. I need to say something." He smiles evilly, methinks.
"What haven't you already said?" I ask, but go along with it. He takes my hand and leads me out into the crowd. I give him a puzzled look, which he answers with a smile. He winks at me and yells out into the crowd:
"I LOVE BELLA SAWN!" at the top of his lungs. You could clearly hear him over the music. Everyone looked at him with a look that said: 'that guy's crazy'. I saw Elisa smiling. My expression was a different story, however. I have never been so embarrassed in my life. My cheeks were bright red. At that moment Edward grabbed me by the waist and kissed me movie-style. Everyone cheered. Then the song changed from hard-hitting techno to one of my favourite songs: Sweet Disposition, by the Temper Trap. Edward releases me, then grabs me around the waist again. We start slow dancing.
Sweet disposition
Never too soon
Oh reckless abandon,
Like no one's watching you
A moment, a love
A dream, a laugh
A kiss, a cry
Our rights, our wrongs
A moment, a love
A dream, a laugh
A moment, a love
A dream, a laugh
Just stay there
Cause I'll be comin' over
While our bloods still young
It's so young, it runs
Won't stop til it's over
Won't stop to surrender
Songs of desperation
I played them for you
A moment, a love
A dream, a laugh
A kiss, a cry
our rights, our wrongs
A moment, a love
A dream, a laugh
A moment, a love
A dream, a laugh
Just stay there
Cause I'll be comin' over
While our bloods still young
It's so young, it runs
Won't stop til it's over
Won't stop to surrender
A moment, a love
A dream, a laugh
A kiss, a cry
Our rights, our wrongs (won't stop til it's over)
A moment, a love
A dream, a laugh
A kiss, a cry
Our rights, our wrongs (won't stop til it's over)
A moment, a love
A dream, a laugh
A kiss, a cry
Our rights, our wrongs (won't stop til it's over)
A moment, a love
A dream, a laugh
A moment, a love
A moment, a love (won't stop to surrender)
"I hate you for doing that," I grumble, when the song's done.
"Ha ha. No you don't," he says confidently.
"Shut up." He laughs. "Promise me you'll never get angry at me ever again."
"I promise. Being angry at you makes both of us miserable. Besides, what could I possibly be angry at you for now?" he snickers. "By the way, I forgive you for looking through my stuff. I just overreacted."
"Thank you." I was about to say something else, but someone interrupted me.
"Bella! Oh my god, that was so awesome. I never knew that guys could be so romantic! That's so cute!" Alice comes bouncing through the crowd. "So are you guys like, together now?" she asked excitedly. We look at each other and smile, still hand in hand.
"I'd say so," I answer. Alice squealed. We both laughed as Alice ran off to tell people, I assume. Dude, I am so going to write a song about this. I smile at that thought. Oh, that reminds me.
"Hey, Edward guess what?"" I tease.
"What?" he says, going along with it.
"I wrote songs about you too. Actually, most of my songs are about you. You just don't know it." I smile.
"Really?" he asks. I nod at him. He laughs once. "That's cool. I never knew that." I nod and giggle. "I'm bored, let's get out of here…" he whispers in my ear. I smile and nod. He takes my hand and we start to go upstairs. I randomly look out the window; nothing much to see in the black. Wait, I thought a saw flash… I realise that a man with a camera is pressed up right against my window. The camera flashed and I scream. They're not supposed to come on my property! Edward comes over to the window and looks out at the man, now clearly visible, because the porch light has been turned on. Thank god for Alice. The man quickly runs away. Oh my god, what had he taken pictures of? There were enough front page shots in here to fill an entire year's worth of front pages! What had he seen? Edward saw the worried look on my face.
"It'll be ok, they know what the consequences are for trespassing. Besides, whatever they write about you will be false anyways… you taught me that," he reminds me. He rubs my shoulder soothingly. I smile at him.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Now where were we?" I smile at him and wink. He catches on and smiles back.
"I think I remember…" He grabs me around the waist and kisses me.
This truly has been the best night of my life.
Yay! Together at last! So cute. And Alice being Bella's sister; what a surprise. :P