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Chapter 24

Spotlight

When Sunday arrived, I was healed and able to walk normally. Edward had heard about my attempt to leave and was happy that I decided to stay. Even though I still had a bad feeling about all of this, I didn't want Edward to be upset. And now that I was on good terms with Rosalie, I couldn't make that go away. The days passed and school was barely keeping me awake. I still had nightmares at night about the hooded figure but surprisingly, Edward was there to soothe me and get me to go back to sleep. As Tuesday came along, some people were putting up fliers on the walls. I was wondering what they were doing. I made my way towards one of the walls and saw a flier for the upcoming talent show on Friday. It made me shiver. The last time I tried to participate in any show, my little brother died.

As the day passed, Edward drove us back home and we started talking about the upcoming exams. That wasn't my favourite thing to talk about but I knew I had to start studying very soon. After all, they were coming in a week and a half.

As we entered the house, Alice was jumping with joy followed by Rosalie and Emmett. Oh no… What was she planning now?

"You might want to run away love. This could get ugly." Edward whispered in my ear.

"What is she—?"

Alice was running up to me at vampire speed and it surprised me. "Oh Jules! You are so lucky to have me as a friend!" Alice said as she started hugging me tightly.

"Alice, what did you do?" I asked as she went towards the other two jumping vampires.

"Well, I kinda… signed you up for the upcoming talent show on Friday…" She said with a little smile.

"Oh no! ALICE YOU DIDN'T!" I screamed at her. I can't believe that she signed me up for something like this… I didn't want something horrible to happen again.

"Why not? You have an excellent voice and you're really talented. It would be a great opportunity to show everyone what you can do!" Alice said.

"It's true Jules. You should go for it." Rosalie said.

"Yeah, you rock dude… ette." Emmett corrected. He seemed a little embarrassed about correcting himself but it was no problem to me.

"It's alright Emmett." I said as I lowered my head for a second and turned to look out one of the wall length windows. "But seriously Alice, you should have asked about this. I mean… I don't… reject the idea… but—"

"I'm sorry Jules. I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I just thought—" I didn't let her finish. It wasn't her fault. She didn't know the story behind all of this…

"It's alright Alice. You don't have to apologize about anything. Let me think about this whole thing a little…" I said as I headed towards my room to do a little bit of homework. Edward stayed behind but it didn't bother me. As I did my homework for a little while, I kept thinking about what Alice put me into… Why did I have to go through this?

As I finished my homework half an hour later—since our teachers don't really give us that much homework right before exams—, I started looking on my computer for which song I would do if I went through with this whole talent show thing… I looked through all of my favourite bands like Metro Station and Faber Drive, even Paramore or Linkin Park. I even went for singers like Leona Lewis and Muse. As I was researching, I heard a knock at my door. "Come in." I said as my eyes didn't leave the new laptop.

"Is it alright if we talk?" I heard a pixie voice say from the doorframe. Of course, it had to be Alice.

"Sure. What's up?" I asked as I closed the screen of the computer and turned to face Alice. She sat down on the bed in front of me.

"Edward told me the story about this whole talent show. I didn't know what happened to you. I never would have signed you up if I'd known. I'm so sorry." Alice said apologetically. Her face was contorted with emotional pain.

"Don't be. I just… overreacted at it." I said as I looked away from her but I didn't notice her coming closer to me until she hugged my shoulders.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to." She reassured.

"No… I have to. I need to get over this… fear of being on stage. This might be the best way to do it." I said as I opened the computer again and kept looking. Alice looked at the screen and saw that I was going through the Paramore listing of songs.

"Then, I won't go against you. But don't feel pressured to do it." Alice said as she started leaving the room.

I kept looking through the listing and found a new song that I never heard before from Paramore. I opened the link to their new song Decode. It started as pop-rock and it had a really good beat. The lyrics made more sense to me and Edward's relationship and I started to think that I should go with this song. Alice liked it and started bobbing her head to the rhythm of the song. "I think I just found what I was looking for…" I said with a smile. Although, I'm going to need more help to do this… I thought as I watched the music video to the song. If I was going to sing and play the guitar, it wouldn't be enough. I needed a drummer and a bass guitarist. Maybe I could ask some of my friends at school for the assistance.

As I started to memorize the song and playing it with my amp—which I was capable of putting headphones on to keep nosy vampires from hearing my plan—and started playing it with my guitar, I was really starting to like the song.

The next day came in a rush. I didn't even realize that my birthday had come. I was finally eighteen. As the day passed, mostly everyone that I knew was wishing me a happy birthday and the Cullens were telling me to come home right after my practice. I'm guessing Alice planned something for me. Sam gave me a lovely friendship bracelet that I put on my arm right after she gave it to me. Jack gave me two tickets to go see Paramore onstage in Seattle during the time off after exams. This was incredible! Lizzy wasn't at school again... I was starting to get really worried.

Gus gave me a gift certificate to the mall for ten dollars. Maggy gave me a thirty dollar gift certificate to the sports' store—which was very thoughtful of her. Austin gave me—which was surprising for his style—a new eight gigabyte red iPod nano. This was a perfect gift! I can't believe he would get me something this beautiful—and expensive. Tiffany gave me a gift certificate to the mall for forty dollars. All my friends gave me amazing gifts that I had to repay them somehow. I would find a way. Everyone wanted Lizzy back so badly that if I tried to find her, it might be worth it. I missed her too.

As I got back to the Cullens house after the practice for the talent show, decorations were filling the house like crazy. I'm guessing Alice went all over with this whole birthday party thing… I didn't blame her. After all, she was Alice. Alice was the first to give me her present. After all, she was the most excited one of the Cullens. As I opened it, it was a lovely golden ring with a tiger on it. It was so nice and it must have cost her a fortune. Emmett gave me a pair of leather motorcycle gloves that had a lion on it. It was really cool. I always wanted to get my licence for motorcycle. Now, I had a part of it.

Jasper gave me a cute silver ring with another tiger on it that fitted perfectly. It fitted perfectly with Alice's golden ring on my other hand. Although, I really was starting to have a lot of jewellery on me. I already had three necklaces, a few rings on my fingers and many bracelets on one arm. I didn't have anything so far on the left arm. Esme got me a beautiful set of golden earring loops. I tried them on and they were perfect. They fitted with all of my jewellery. Carlisle gave me a leathered—and quite large—bracelet with the Cullen family crest on it. Why was I getting so much jewellery with their family crest on it?

Rosalie gave me a brand new stereo for my room that must have cost a fortune but I wasn't complaining. It was nice to know that we weren't on bad terms, and that she didn't mind the little incident with the vicious vampire. Edward was the last. He gave me a mixed CD. He said that it was most of the songs that he composed with his guitar and some piano in it. But he said that there was another present outside. As I followed him outside, I saw a car that didn't belong to any of the Cullens. It was a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro! It wasn't even out yet!

"Whose car is this?" I asked as I approached the car. It was so beautiful.

"Yours." He said with his velvety angelic voice.

"What?!" I asked surprised. I can't believe they got me a totally brand new car that isn't even out in stores right now! This must have cost a fortune!

"This car now belongs to you, since your car got destroyed." Alice said as she got out of the house with the whole family behind her.

"I think this is a little too much." I said.

"Not at all. This is the least we could do." Carlisle said.

"Thanks so much. For everything." I said as I went to hug Edward and Alice while the rest of the family came in to give me a group hug. I loved all my gifts. And I loved my new family. I wouldn't exchange any of them for the world… not even the Cullens.

As the days passed, the talent show was getting closer and closer. It was getting me very nervous. I knew that Henry wouldn't come. He probably thought that I was gone to Seattle or something—since I never came back home, but then again, why would I? He told me never to come back home… I asked Jack if he knew anyone who played the drums and surprisingly, he knew how to play. And he was glad to help me out. Well, now all I needed was a bass guitarist. Lizzy was still absent… Ok, something was definitely weird. As I ran into Sam, she saw my name on the talent show listing. She asked me plenty of questions involving what I should do and I filled her in on my plan.

I told her that I needed a bass guitarist and astonishingly, she knows how to play the bass. She said that if I hadn't found that bass guitarist in time, she'd be happy to fill in the spot. Well, it was clear to me that this was going to go well, maybe…

Friday came in a rush. Jack, Sam and I practiced after school every day until the talent show and we sounded pretty good. Sam thought I was pretty talented and Jack kept thinking about Maggy. I asked them about Lizzy and they told me that she went missing a few weeks ago and they still hadn't found her yet. That was just horrible… I hope that they would find her soon. It wasn't like Lizzy to be missing. She was a really nice person. I just hoped that she wasn't hurt…

Night fell and a lot of people came to the talent show. Man, this was going to be a disaster… As the other contestants went on stage, my turn was getting close. Alice was jumping with joy when I came back at school today. Apparently, she already saw how this was going to end. Hopefully, it was a good ending. My fear was growing by the second and images of the talent show from five years ago came in my mind. Going to the hospital to find my mother in a coma… hearing from the doctors that Justin had died… Henry being mad for days and blaming me for everything… I pushed the thoughts away. I knew that tears were falling down but I had to do this. If I didn't get passed this fear, I'd never be able to do anything anymore.

"Are you alright?" I heard Sam ask beside me, taking me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Now, let's get out there." I said as a random teacher told everyone to welcome the next talent—which is us. I took a deep breath before going on stage with Sam and Jack. I didn't like the fact that I was going to play in front of everyone but I also didn't like the fact that I was playing with my "bad luck" guitar. But I had to get through this.

We started playing and I looked for Edward in the crowd. I found him in the front row, but I didn't just find Edward… I found the other Cullens as well. Now, they were the kind of family I needed. You had the loving and caring brothers and sisters, the welcoming parents and most of all—which still counted as family—the loving boyfriend. I smiled when I saw them all. As the song continued, Edward looked even happier. He was always happy to see me like this but I guess the words of the song got to him. As I played the guitar and sang, my fear was slowly dying. Suddenly, I saw a light in front of me. I looked towards the light and saw someone entering the room. As the light surrounded the figure, I saw who it really was… It was Henry! Who told Henry about the talent show?! Henry never shows up to these kinds of things! But I already knew the answer to this question… Of course, it had to be Alice who spilled the beans about it, as usual. She could never keep a secret but she was so nosy.

As we finished the song, I was happy that my fear had been exterminated. It now felt right to be on stage, especially with my new family being there. We finished the song and headed backstage. Sam gave me this bear hug after we performed and I returned the hug. Jack hugged my shoulders and it was nice to have friends like this.

The talent show finished a few minutes after we performed the song Decode. Everyone started to leave when I went in the foyer of the school. The Cullens were all waiting for me, and so was Henry in a corner. Edward came up to me and hugged me dearly. His cold skin made my warm skin feel very good. I was always happy when his skin touched mine. It felt really good.

"You were incredible."

"Thanks."

"You might want to talk to your father. He seems worried." Edward whispered in my ear as I looked at Henry.

"You're right." I said as I fell apart from our embrace and I went towards Henry. The Cullens left the school and went towards their cars. Yes, I did say cars! I walked up to Henry and he stayed where he was. His expression seemed to change when he saw me. He placed a smile on his face and came up to me. We were at least arms length when I tried to break the silence.

"Hi." was all I was able to say. I wasn't too sure why Henry came here but if he wanted to talk, he wasn't doing the best of jobs right now.

"Hi Jules. Um… your friend invited me." Henry said. He seemed really nervous.

"Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Wow… That was a shocker. Usually, he never apologized for anything. He usually blamed something on other people.

"About?"

"I want you to come back home."

"And why should I do that? Have you actually learned something? Do you even know why I left?" I asked in an irritated voice. I didn't want to go back to him if he didn't learn a thing.

"My attitude… I know. And I don't blame you. When I heard that your car was destroyed, it got me worried. I thought I actually lost you. And now that I heard you were performing, I was so glad. I wanted to see if you were really alive. So, I came here and found you onstage. Last time I saw you performing was five years ago. But I do realize that my behaviour was awful and I'm truly sorry Jules. I just want you home." Henry pleaded. It wasn't like him to beg for stuff. I guess he really wanted me back home.

"I thought you said I could never step foot in the house." I said.

"I was wrong. I can't tell my daughter that she can't come back home. That was wrong of me to say. And I'm sorry. I'll be better. I swear." He said.

I sighed. "I don't want you to swear about anything. I just want you to be a good father." I said softly. And that was true. "I want you to respect me a little better. I want you to accept what I do and who I have as friends or boyfriends. I want you to accept the Cullens. And I want you to accept Edward as my boyfriend."

"You have a boyfriend? When did this happen?" He asked with his tone getting a little higher than before.

"See? This is what I mean! You raise your voice at the slightest thing I tell you. I want you to accept what I tell you." I said.

"I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I… I'd like to see him sometime soon. I just hope that you can come back home." He said as he came to hug me. I didn't force myself against it.

"Look, exams are coming in a week. I've got those to think about right now. I'll get back to you after them, ok?" I asked.

"Alright... I guess I can wait a little longer." He said with a smile. "You were wonderful tonight." He said before leaving. I just stayed there and waited a little before realizing what happened today. I grabbed my coat and headed towards my new car. As I went inside and breathed the still new car smell, I kept telling myself that it was the right thing to do. But something didn't seem right…

Something wasn't right about Henry…

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Bellacullenswan17

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