Chapter 4: Explain Yourself!
Dinner was uneventful. The only ones who attended were Carlisle, Esme, Bella, Edward, and Alice. Had Jasper and Emmett come, Natasha would have probably been the one on the plate. Rosalie simply refused to attend. A good thing, too. She wouldn't dare drink Natasha dry-God forbid she contaminate herself-but she could kill without spilling a drop of blood. No one wanted to be reminded of what had happened to Rosalie's first fiancée.
Natasha guessed immedietly that they were vampires. What else could they be? They were beautiful, sophisticated, pale, and ate nothing. She recognized Isabella Swan after a quick glance. Clumsy, pretty, and very smart, she was the largest product of gossip at Forks High School. Especially after she captured the interest of Edward Beautiful Cullen. As Edward glanced directly at her, she quickly restrained her thoughts. She couldn't seem to think clearly with his eyes on her. All of the Cullens seemed to have that effect on her mental state.
Alice could take the silence no longer. "C'mon, Natasha! Bella! Let's go!" She tried to remember that the girl was not supposed to know that they were vampires, but she couldn't slow down. She pulled them into her bedroom, flitting around to gather nail-polish from random drawers.
They all sat cross-legged on the wooden floor. Natasha looked around, laughing at the absence of beds. After seeing the way Alice and Jasper looked at each other, she doubted much sleeping went on anyway. If she could only find the dark basement with the coffins...
"Ouch!" Alice had grabbed hold of her hand, a little too quickly, and all of the nails on each hand were painted a startling blue. She couldn't help but laugh at that. In all the horror movies she'd seen, she'd never seen vampires use nail-polish as a method of torture. Or super-speed as a way to paint nails faster. Even funnier, Alice was complaining that the polish wasn't drying fast enough.
Bella thrashed around as Alice fought her, trying to put the fuchsia polish on her square, bitten nails. She protested heavily that there was no need, that the polish would chip in one day anyway.
"Bella! If you don't want me to go nail-painting, then I want to play truth-or-dare!" Alice was shouting even louder than usual. For someone so small, her voice was so loud.
"Fine," Bella huffed, "but you have to go first."
Alice turned to Natasha. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare!"
"I dare you to...walk into Emmett and Rosalie's room!"
Bella gasped. That was a little bit risky.
"That's easy!" Natasha shouted, making her way to the door. "What room is it?"
Alice pointed.
"Natasha," Bella warned. "I wouldn't. I mean, please think about it. Rosalie has a quick temper..."
"Whatever!" Natasha grinned. "I never back down on a dare! That's the rule of the game!"
She walked down the hall and up to Emmett and Rosalie's door. Hesitating momentarily, she thrust open the door.
"No, Emmett!" Rosalie shouted as Emmett made his way over to Natasha.
"Hey Natasha," he said. "I'm Emmett. I'm really sorry if I scared you the other day in the school. I'm cooler now, and I've got better control!"
"Emmett," Rosalie warned, "don't say so much!"
"Crazy vampires...," Natasha muttered.
"What did you..." Emmett was incredulous, at first, but then he grinned and swept her into a bear-hug. All while fighting the instinct to rip her head off. But how could he, anyway?
Alice smiled delicately. "My work here is done."
Edward had been teaching Emmett to have better control. The 'cooler' part was Emmett's own view of things. The improvement in Emmett's control was evident, however, he only wanted a friendship with the human girl, because anything might–as Edward put it–end badly. Emmett and Natasha had hugged, and talked for a bit, but Emmett wanted nothing more. Well, that was what he told himself, so that he wouldn't get too close to her again. The thing that terrified Emmett at the moment was having to leave Forks, and incidentally, leave Natasha behind.
Natasha went back to Alice's room, and Alice had a new game to play.
"It's called 'Explain Yourself!'" Alice said, leaping over to Natasha. "I ask questions, and you defend your answer."
"Okay," Natasha said, "you go first."
"Bella! Since you said I didn't know, explain why when you and Edward first met it wasn't romantic."
Natasha leaned forward in interest.
"Well," Bella explained, "Edward said that on that day he was thirsty, and I was making things difficult. I flipped my hair over my shoulder in his direction. At that moment, Edward said he planned my death. And while he blames none of it on me, I know that his thoughts while he planned my death were hardly romantic. As I said."
Alice nodded, and grinned at the memory of Edward shouting how much he hated Bella. How much she had destroyed the life he had tried to build. And most of all, how Bella had made Carlisle distrust him. For a mind reader, he obviously hadn't been reading Carlisle's mind. Carlisle knew that he'd work it out somehow. Edward always did. Now he lived for Bella, and, as they discovered, he couldn't live without her.
"Okay! Natasha's turn!" Alice specified.
A sudden heat entered Natasha's voice. "Okay, Alice! Explain why you set me up on a date with Emmett when he's married."
"Awe!" Alice exclaimed. 'Unfair! I love my sister Rosalie, but I want Emmett to realize his options!"
"Options?" Bella asked incredulously. "He's a vampire! Rosalie is his only option!"
"How much does Rosalie hate me?" Natasha asked, very quietly.
"Only slightly more than she hates me," Bella mumbled.