So, I'm really proud of myself due to the fact that this is the longest chapter to date. It's getting easier and easier for me to write, and I definitely owe a large part of it to you guys and your support. Thanks for keeping up with this story!
~MissSingItAll
Disclaimer: Do I really need to say this every chapter? Stephenie Meyer is the rightful owner of all things Twilight.
EPOV:
Halloween had finally arrived, bringing with it a moderately mild temperature outside. There wasn't going to be any rain this Monday night, perfect for our usual stroll around the neighborhood. It was also Fall Break; no school for the entire week. That left us with nothing to do but try to figure out what our costumes were. We didn't see what everyone was wearing until we all met at the Hale's home Halloween night.
Alice and Rosalie had bought their costumes together. Rosalie was a nurse, wearing a low-cut short white dress and white high-heeled shoes. She had a little hat on her head with a large red plus sign, and a white lace garter was sitting on the upper part of one of her thighs. Alice was a witch, complete with a traditional black pointy hat. Her black corset dress stopped at the thigh and she wore long black knee-high stockings to match. The black platform heels she was wearing made her just barely a head taller.
Emmett was paired with Rosalie; he was a doctor, clad in scrubs that he borrowed from my father. However, since my father was three times smaller than Emmett, the scrubs fit him very snugly, as if he was merely wearing spandex. He had smeared fake blood on the front, and had a stethoscope hanging around his thick neck.
Jasper wasn't planning on dressing up until him and Alice started dating. He was forced to throw together a costume last minute when Alice lectured him on having no "holiday spirit." He was a homeless man, wearing the oldest and baggiest clothes he could find. A black beanie was pulled over his head, and fingerless gloves covered his hands.
I was dressed as a prince; I was also forced into this ensemble by Alice. I had on one of those obnoxious puffy white shirts and a velvet vest to go over it. I was wearing khaki trousers, which were tucked into large black riding boots. Straight out of a fairytale, I thought, looking in the mirror.
We all assembled in the front room of the Hale's home. Emmett had a hard time keeping his hands off Rosalie, poking and touching her whenever he could. Jasper was on the phone with his mother, letting her know where we were going to be. Alice was helping me finish the rest of my costume. She buttoned a large dark cloak over my shoulders.
"And of course, the finishing touch," Alice crooned, placing a thin gold crown on the top of my head. I grumbled as she fussed with my hair.
"Are we ready?" I asked, trying not to feel like such a prick as I strode my way to the front door, the boots clanking loudly on the hardwood floor.
"Yeah, let's go," Jasper said, hanging up the phone and placing it in his pocket. We all exited the house, Rosalie locking the door behind her.
"The usual route?" Alice asked, walking next to Jasper. He put his arm around her, and she leaned into him as they walked.
"Sure. Tyler Crowley's house is up first, and he's hosting his own little thing this year," Rosalie suggested.
"Don't forget, we have to stop at Bella's, too," Alice reminded us. I realized that the only people in our group who hadn't seen Bella were Rosalie and Emmett. I hoped they didn't believe the crazy rumors at school.
We finally reached Tyler's house, which had quite a few people already there. Others were still showing up, carrying bottles of alcohol or bags of candy. Tyler, dressed as Spiderman, greeted people at the front door.
"Hey guys!" he said as we walked up.
"Hey Tyler," Emmett replied, and he stopped with Rosalie to talk to him. Jasper, Alice, and I continued on inside.
It was the usual drill: we talked and danced with a few friends, had a few to drink, and overall just enjoyed the night. Alice and Jasper were attached to the hip, seemingly dragging each other whenever one of them moved to a different location. I preferred to stay on the sidelines, only briefly chatting with a few guys on the baseball team whenever they passed by me. I was talking to Eric Yorkie about training workouts when, all of a sudden, a loud chant echoed throughout the room over the booming music.
Tyler, Mike, and a few other guys ran through the room, cheering and hollering. They jumped into each other, laughing and most likely really drunk. They left through the front door, shouting into the night.
"Well, that was random," I said. Eric shrugged, swinging the sword that went with his pirate costume.
"Yeah, and Tyler just totally ditched out on his own party," he smirked. I laughed with him, watching as a few girls went outside too, trying to follow the group that had left.
After a little while, Alice and Jasper came back up to me, arms wrapped around each other.
"We should go see Bella before it gets too late," Alice yelled over the music. I nodded, and we searched the house until we found Rosalie and Emmett, who were hiding in the coat closet. We left the party together, going down the street towards Bella's house.
There were only a few little kids still out, running around with sackfuls of candy. As we walked we saw that most of the homes had finished giving out candy, so no freebies for us. About three blocks away from Bella's, we saw the group of guys from the party walking across the street. They were still loud and cheery, laughing like a bunch of frat boys. Mike and Tyler were at the head of the group, with Jessica on Mike's arm and Lauren on Tyler's. I mentally groaned when I saw Lauren.
"Oh, it's Edward! Hi Edward!" Lauren shouted, alerting the whole group to our presence.
"Hey! How's it going?" Mike called, acting like we were all close friends.
"You guys bored at my house already?" Tyler teased, stumbling over the sidewalk. He was still hanging on to Lauren, who was dressed as a slutty version of a police officer.
"Nah, man. We just have other stops," Emmett responded, pulling Rosalie closer to his side.
The big group started to break up, some people going in one direction, and others going back to Tyler's. Mike, dressed as an escaped convict in a traditional orange jumpsuit, waved at us.
"There's a little party at my place too, just so you know," he yelled over to us. Jessica followed him, wearing a sparkly dress and feathers in her curly hair. She cackled drunkenly.
"That was too funny, Mike," she crooned. He just laughed and pulled her along with him. Together with a few other kids, they disappeared down the street.
We kept on walking, hearing the sound of the group fade away. When we were down the street from Bella's house, however, we didn't hear the silence of the night as usual. Instead, there were loud, painful shrieks piercing the air. We all looked at each other, concerned, and moved a bit faster to Bella's. As we finally made our way onto the property, we discovered that the home had been egged. There was egg yolk dripping all down the sides of the house and the windows. The porch was littered with egg shells, and, as we got closer to the open front door, we found the source of the noise.
Bella was curled up on the ground in front of the last step of her porch, screaming and crying with terror. Her tiny frame was shaking with the force of her sobs. My heart broke as she threaded her hands through her hair and pulled tightly, eyes shut and face wet with tears. Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie were frozen in shock on the sidewalk. Alice and I ran towards her, but stopped before we could actually touch her.
"Bella? What happened, sweetie?" Alice asked, kneeling down to Bella's level. Bella only sobbed harder, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. "Oh my God, what's wrong with her, Edward?"
"I don't know, but we need to get her inside," I urged, also kneeling down. I reached out to touch her shoulder. When my hand made contact, her whole body tensed, and she didn't stop crying. I didn't want her to be uncomfortable with me touching her, but I had to move her. I decided that the best way to do this was to just pick her up and carry her in.
"Alice, I'm going to put her on the couch." I put one arm under her knees and the other under her back. I stood carefully with Bella in my arms, gently cradling her to my chest. She didn't seem to notice that she was moving. She was so light and small in my arms, I pulled her closer to me, shielding her from the night. I tried to go up the porch stairs as fast as I could. Alice had already run up there and was holding the door open for me. She beckoned to the others as I passed her.
I set Bella down lightly on the couch in the living room, and stayed with her, pulling her into a hug against my side. She had stopped the heavy sobbing and instead began trembling violently, whimpering and sniffling as tears still ran down her face. I rubbed my arms along her sides, trying to sooth her and calm her down. Alice came in with a blanket she had found, and wrapped it over Bella as best she could. She went into the kitchen, then came back with a glass of water and Rosalie following behind her with a box of tissues. Apparently, the other guys were told to wait in the kitchen.
"Has she said anything about what happened?" asked Alice, running a hand over Bella's flushed face.
"No," I answered, still rubbing up Bella's arm. Rosalie looked at me oddly, setting down the tissues on the coffee table. I gave her a questioning look, but she just shook her head and turned to go back into the kitchen. Alice left to make sure that the front door was locked.
"It's okay, Bella," I whispered. "Shhh, it's okay."
Bella took in deep shuddering breaths, and instead of pushing me away, she grabbed onto me tighter, fisting her hands into my shirt. I rubbed her back as she started to breathe normally, and after a few minutes she was silent, save a few sniffles.
"You're okay now, Bella," I said delicately. She sighed.
"Thank you," she murmured, her voice hoarse from the screams and the sobbing.
Alice came back into the room and sat down in the recliner next to the couch. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper emerged from the kitchen, looking unsure.
"Oh God, that's just great," Bella grumbled when she saw the extra company. She sat up, letting go of me and trying to wipe her face clean. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
"You guys were supposed to wait in the kitchen!" Alice exclaimed, annoyed. "Sorry, Bella."
"Hey, we wanted to help, too!" Emmett protested. "I'm already dressed the part and everything!" He gestured to his costume with one hand and wiggled his stethoscope in the air with the other hand.
A small sound, a sort of chuckle, burst from Bella, surprising us all. She kept on giggling at Emmett and the pitiful look on his face.
"I'm sorry," she said, still wiping tears from her face. "But you look really silly."
Emmett wiggled his eyebrows obnoxiously and then bowed as if he was finished giving a performance, only to knock his large head into the table next to him. We all laughed then, the mood in the room lightening up considerably. Alice shook her head, exasperated, and stood to make introductions.
"This is Rosalie, Jasper's sister," Alice pointed to Rosalie. "And that big idiot is Emmett, my brother and Rosalie's boyfriend."
Bella nodded shyly at them in greeting. Alice walked over to Jasper and put her hand in his.
"And of course, you already know Jasper," she cooed, "my boyfriend!"
Jasper smiled, swinging his and Alice's hands together. Bella smiled back and, with a sigh, she sat up straighter, looking down at her lap.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like this," she said quietly. We all looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
"Hey, don't worry about it. But do you mind telling us, well, what happened?" Alice cautiously asked.
Bella looked up, but instead of meeting any of our gazes, she stared in the direction of the front door. She had a look of disappointment on her face, and her eyes grew tight as she told us what had happened.
BPOV:
I felt my embarrassment and self-loathing grow as I weakly recounted the events that led to my latest freakout.
Charlie secured his belt around his waist, looking at me hesitantly as I finished the rest of my dinner at the table.
"Are you sure you'll be okay here, Bells?" he asked.
"Yes, Dad. It's just Halloween," I said, a little irritated that he doubted that I could handle being alone for a night.
"Okay. Well, there really aren't many trick-or-treaters in this part of town, but just in case, there's some candy by the front door." He patted his pockets for his keys. "I'll be around, just patrolling for any troublemakers. I'll be back later."
"Alright," I replied, watching him go to the door. He nodded goodbye and left loudly, slamming the door behind him. Not too long after that, I heard the sound of the cruiser leaving its usual spot.
I spent the darkening evening reading on the couch in the living room. There were only a few kids that passed by and rang the doorbell. I quietly gave them their candy and went back to my book, settling against the silence. It was later in the evening when I heard a light, pelting sound coming from outside. It reminded me of the rain whenever it came down steady. I heard a loud, cackling laugh then, so I got up off the couch to open the front door, wondering if there were still a few stray children still outside.
Instead of little kids with open bags of candy, I was greeted with the sight of a group of teenagers, all around my age. They were all dressed in costumes, some with masks that covered their faces. There were two boys in the front, one dressed as an escaped convict and the other was dressed as Spiderman. They had large smirks on their faces and had cartons of eggs in their hands. The others had plastic bags full of what appeared to be more egg cartons.
"Trick or treat!" They shouted, slurring their words together. I moved back farther into the house and began to shut the door, knowing there was nothing I could do about the eggs. Charlie was going to be furious when he came home.
Just as I was about to close the door, they stumbled forward, jumping up onto the porch and blocking the path of the door. The Spiderman guy grabbed my arm and pulled me out onto the porch. I yelped, almost falling flat on my face.
"You're Chief Swan's daughter," he said, never letting go of my arm.
"You're very pretty," the other one drawled, leaning in close to my face.
"Come have some fun with us," said the first. The large group laughed, and I could hear that it was a mixture of girls and guys, all of them drunk.
"Let go of me!" I tried to fight, yanking at my arm. He was too strong, and started to pull me onto the stairs.
My heart went into overdrive. I couldn't go any farther, I just couldn't! My brain was telling my body to stop, stop moving, go back, fight, fight, fight! But instead, I was dragged like a rag doll, first down one step, then the second, then the next one after that...
My feet touched the gravel pathway that led to the front of the house. The group was still laughing and cat-calling loudly into the night. I couldn't breathe; there was too much, it was all too much.
There was a strange, choking, shrieking sound surrounding me, barely audible under the frantic beating of my heart. The group stopped, and I was dropped to the ground. I lay there, curling up and pressing my face to my knees, wanting to hide. It took me a minute to realize that the weird sound I heard was me. I was the one making the dreadful noise. I only caught a few phrases as the people around me spoke.
"Oh my God, look at her!"
"...great, dude. The Chief will never know who it was, I'll bet..."
"...not even pretty, she's a total freak..."
"...should just leave her. Let's go back..."
"...my house. Just stop by when you want..."
I could sense that they were leaving, the sounds of the group fading as they got farther away. I was still on the ground, screams still pouring out of my mouth. I was outside, here in the open. I couldn't make myself get up and move; the enormity of it all was crushing me, keeping me trapped within my own inaction. I could only faintly register that someone had come, that someone was calling my name...
I had come to the end of the story, my voice growing shaky at the recollection. Everyone was staring at me with varying degrees of shock and anger on their faces, Edward the most infuriated. His eyes, normally so soft and gentle, were dark and frozen. He was breathing hard, as if he had run a race. His hands were gripping the couch cushion so tightly, his knuckles had turned white. I cleared my throat, uncomfortable with the silence.
"I'm sorry for freaking out. Really, it wasn't that big of a deal," I tried to excuse my behavior, not wanting them to know that this was the constant reality for me. Edward looked at me, still furious, but now there was disbelief in his gaze.
"Bella, you honestly can't say that it wasn't a big deal. They could have hurt you," he said, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Yeah, those guys were assholes, they shouldn't have done any of that!" Emmett exclaimed.
"So that's what Mike and Tyler were doing when they left the house," Alice stated, her brow furrowing. She looked stoically at Edward for a moment, and then back to me.
"We're gonna stay here with you, until your father gets back," she said firmly. I shook my head.
"Really, you don't have to. I'm fine now," I insisted, not wanting to burden them on a night that should be spent having fun.
"Yes, but now that we know who did it, we can tell him and make it much easier for them to get in trouble," Alice explained. Edward stood up and walked over to Jasper and Emmett, nodding them over to a corner of the room. They stood together and started talking in hushed voices. Alice came over to sit next to me, while Rosalie moved a bit closer, still standing.
"Don't worry, Bella. Those guys will be taken care of," Alice said reassuringly. She took my hand in hers and patted it. I sighed.
"I don't want to cause any trouble," I mumbled, looking at my hand.
"Rose and I will be happy to help you out," chirped Alice, looking up at Rosalie. "Right?"
But Rosalie wasn't paying attention to us. She was looking in the direction of the boys, who were still talking quickly. A small frown tugged at her delicate face. She was still for a few seconds, seemingly listening for something. Then, suddenly, she lashed out.
"Absolutely NOT!" Rosalie yelled, scaring the entire room. "You are NOT going to go fight them!"
I gasped, and Alice jumped up, her hands on her hips.
"But babe, we gotta!" Emmett whined. Rosalie stomped over to the three of them.
"No, you don't. If you fight, you can get in just as much trouble as them. Be the bigger person and don't stoop to their level!" she growled. "Besides, Tyler is one of your best friends. He just probably had too much to drink."
"Please don't fight them," I pleaded, my small voice cutting across the room. Edward turned and looked at me, his face falling.
"But, Bella..." he trailed off, seeing the begging look I'm sure was on my face. He looked to the ground, then back at me. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.
"Okay," he said quietly. Emmett's shoulders slumped.
"Dude, come on," Emmett pressed. Edward just shook his head. Emmett groaned, shuffled his way to Charlie's recliner and sat, a pout on his face. Rosalie rolled her eyes and went over to sit on the arm of the chair, crossing her arms and leaning into to him.
"When is your dad coming back, Bella?" Jasper asked, going over to Alice and putting his arm around her. Edward came over to sit next to me again.
"Um, pretty soon, I think," I guessed, knowing that it was too late for any other kids to be out. "We can all just watch TV while we wait, or something."
The time waiting for Charlie was spent watching whatever late night talk shows and Halloween specials were on. Emmett and Jasper practically devoured the rest of the candy that I had. Rosalie and Alice chatted a little, both getting annoyed with their costumes. Edward just sat quietly beside me, glancing at me every now and then. He wasn't touching me, but there were moments when I wanted him to. My body seemed completely in tune with his presence. Finally, I heard the unmistakable sound of gravel crunching as the cruiser pulled up to the house.
"Bella? Are you okay? Someone egged the house," Charlie called as he unlocked and opened the door. His face was the picture of surprise as he saw the six teenagers holed up in the living room. Alice stood and walked over to him.
"Hello, sir. We know who did it, and we stayed with Bella to make sure she was fine," she said, extending her hand out for him to shake. "I'm Alice Cullen."
"Oh yes, you bring Bella's homework," Charlie took her hand and shook it once. "Cullen," he murmured, and then looked at the boys. "You boys staying out of trouble?" he asked, looking at Emmett specifically.
"Yes, sir. Of course," Emmett smiled, trying to look innocent. Edward chuckled. Charlie huffed, and noticed the rest of the people in the room.
"You two, it's Hale, right?" he questioned, looking as Rosalie and Jasper. They nodded.
"Well, let's hear it. What happened?" Charlie asked, leaning in the doorway. I sighed, leaning back into the couch. What a night.
It was a little after midnight. Charlie had asked for every single little detail about the group of drunk teenagers, and the Cullens and the Hales had offered what they could. They left out the part about me and my episode outside, and for that I was grateful. Charlie didn't need to hear more about how pathetic I had been. I was now standing at the front door, leaving it open and leaning against the doorway. I was staring out at the street as everyone wrapped up the discussion. I could hear Charlie thanking them, and their footsteps came up behind me.
"Bye Bella, I'll see you soon!" Alice said, dragging Jasper along, who offered a small smile and a wave. Rosalie and Emmett came next.
"You're a pretty cool chick, Bella," Emmett remarked, a large smile spreading on his face. "Let's hang again soon."
I nodded and Rosalie cleared her throat to speak. "It was nice meeting you," she said.
"You too," I replied, and she and Emmett walked off together. Edward stepped out onto the porch and turned to face me.
"Thanks for...well, everything," I suddenly stuttered out, feeling the urge to thank him. He smiled that devastatingly beautiful crooked smile.
"No problem," he said, shrugging.
I wrapped my arms around myself. "It was like, I don't know, you were my knight in shining armor, or something." The words spilled out of my mouth before I could stop them. I avoided his eyes and blushed furiously, embarrassed.
He laughed then, shaking his head. "More like a prince," he chuckled, pointing to the crown set askew on his messy head of hair. I laughed too, nodding.
"You're right," I agreed. He sighed then, almost as if he were saddened by something.
"What is it?" I asked.
"When will I see you again?" he blurted out, looking just as surprised as I was at his words.
"Um, I don't know?" I replied. "Soon?"
"Soon," he nodded, staring into my eyes intently. I held his gaze, biting my lip. He breathed in deeply, and a small grin reappeared on his face.
"Bye, Bella," he said, his voice trailing off into a whisper. He started to make his way down the stairs.
"Bye," I called, watching him as left, his long legs striding along the pavement. I was already missing him; "soon" had better hurry up.
A/N: So Bella has finally met everyone. How will things progress? Stay tuned to find out!