Vanilla Salt
Jukebox: Long Kiss Good Bye - HalCali
Chapter 6 - Lunch Date; Esme's(Short)Story. A Peak Into a Quirky Mind.
Big Thanks/ Sorry for: theoriginakLexiCullen for sending me a message to remind me of VS.
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"Those look nice on you, is it your usual attire? Edward said last night.. " I quickly cut her off, not wanting the lie to live on.
"Edward bought it for me before we came. And last night was sort of my usual attire. It's not something I would wear around in broad daylight but I was planning on going out that evening with my sister, to an arcade." She blinked in surprise.
"Oh. It's rare that Edward would lie to us about something like this.. of course, something like this never happened before." She had the same warm smile she had on before. "He must be a shy boy, he probably didn't want to disappoint us."
"Hah, shy!"
"Is he not shy at school? At home, before, he rarely talked about anything but starting a couple months ago he began talking about you and other stuff. He started opening up more. And I believe it's all your doing." She teased lightly, causing me to blush.
"You know of the situation at school?" The thought suddenly worried me. What if she knew that I didn't have money? Would she think I'm mooching off her son for money? But her light laughter stopped all negative thoughts.
"Yes, I do. The.. Rebel and Perfect thing is what's going on, correct?" I nodded and she continued. "Yes, he told me of the situation the first day he entered that school. Of course Carlisle laughed so hard while I thought the whole thing was completely silly. And yes, I know that you don't have money. He told me of your fathers situation, I'm terribly sorry about that. And no, I don't believe you are mooching off him either. If you did, you would have done so long ago. De described the Rebels as.. proud.. brave.. daring.. and stubborn." My face lit up in shock before a grin broke out.
"Yep, that sounds like the Rebels."
"I just hope the whole thing ends soon. Once you teenagers graduate and get into collage with normal kids, you'll see how silly you were in high school."
"Yeah.. I kinda of didn't want to be part of the whole thing but the Perfects were such royal snobs that I vowed to put them in their place. I will make that school normal before graduating."
"That's admirable." She smiled down at me before a waiter came by to take our order.
We ate in almost complete silence, asking whatever questions came to our minds. She had ordered a salad with low fat dressing and blue cheese while I ordered for a poutine. Esme was really a wonderful woman. She's nice, smart, gentle, caring. The total opposite of Edward. After we were done eating, the waiter quickly took our plates away and brought out green tea. One question boggled my mind for the entire lunch but I never had the guts to ask. It felt sort of improper. But it was now or ever.
"I'm sorry to be rude but.. you seem so comfortable here. You must have lived your whole life in luxury, is that why Edward is the way he is?" Her eyebrows rose before she began laughing, gaining annoyed looks from other people.
"I'm s-sorry! But through the whole lunch you looked as if you were constipated, trouble with a question but this was all it was?" I felt my face heat up in embarrassment.
"Well.. yeah, because, uhm, ahh.. "
"It may look like I'm comfortable but deep inside I'm scared stiff. I thought you were from a rich upbringing so I believed bringing you to such a fancy place would make a great impression. It's my favourite rich place to dine.. but it's not the most favourite. If I had known, I would have brought us somewhere more comfortable, like McDonald's. And no, I was not brought into a world of luxury. I was middle class, my mother worked as a low-salary teacher while my father was a failing business man.
I promised my parents that once I graduated, I would find a good paying job and help them pay off the bills. They were outraged, demanding I go to university but I knew they wouldn't last much longer with the stress on their shoulders. So once graduated, I found a job a month later. As head cashier in a food store. It wasn't the best job in the world but it helped.
After working there for fives months, I thought I was ready to promote to becoming assistant manager but it turned out that someone had bought the store and was firing everyone. They were going to turn it into a business building. The next day I went, found some random person that I never saw before and began yelling." She stopped for a moment to let out a chuckle, memories resurfacing.
The guy had turned around, a shocked look on his face but I didn't care, I continued shouting out colorful words that would make my great grandma blush. But he stood there, patiently waiting for me to finish. By the time my tirade was done, I was crying but still managed to keep on a angry face. And you know what the guy said?"
"What?" I was leaning in my seat, eyes wide, sucked into the story.
"He said "Hello, my name is Carlisle Cullen, what's yours?" And he held out his hand. I was so mad! He actually had the nerve to introduce himself like that after I screamed at him." She took a sip of her tea before continuing. "Later on he offered to buy me a drink and because I was in such a crappy mood, I didn't care who bought me a drink at that moment. From there he began asking questions such as.. why was I working there in the first place, why I was angry for the people who bought the place, why, when, where, what, how.
Carlisle was such a gentlemen, and he still is. It shocked me how polite a guy could be at his age. From there he asked me on dates, got me to go to university and experiment a bunch of new things. After college, he proposed to me. Now that was shocking. Me, getting proposed to? By a rich business man's son? But I loved him so I couldn't turn him down. A year later, Edward was born."
"Wow.. " I was in awe. It sounded like a true fairy tale. She had gotten her happy ending.
"So, Ms. Swan. May I know the story of how you and my Edward met?"
My cheeks heated instantly. Well, she was his mother and she had the right to know, sort of. I guess I'll tell her everything but the deal between Edward and I.
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Alice's P.o.V
I felt myself twitch for the seventh time in the last hour. My eyes wouldn't stray away from my cell phone as I waited for Bella's phone call. Or text at least. But none came.
Last night at the arcade, the group was disappointed that Bella wouldn't make it but was still happy that I could come. I tried going against one of Bella's DDR rivals and failed horribly. I proceeded to eat pizza, drink coke, go cosmic bowling and eat more pizza. By the time the night was over, I hadn't gotten a call. From there I became down right paranoid. Edward was a guy of capable things. What is he blind folded Bella? Tied her up, shoved her into a wooden box and shipped her off to an island where he could have her all to himself? He would then proceed to buying a house away from the town he decided to settle in, tie her up to a bed post so she could never leave. Then he would continue by doing X rated stuff, bringing her to the brink of no return!
Okay, the imagination was running wild last night from all the hype at the arcade. But now I know that Edward wouldn't do such a thing to her. From what she told me, he's like her personal dog. Guard dog is more like it. He would be.. a saint bernard. Or maybe even a Rottweiler. But that's beside the point. He wouldn't do anything to harm Bella, I was sure of it.
I felt myself twitch for the seventh time in the last hour. My eyes wouldn't stray away from my cell phone as I waited for Bella's phone call. Or text at least. But none came.
Last night at the arcade, the group was disappointed that Bella wouldn't make it but was still happy that I could come. I tried going against one of Bella's DDR rivals and failed horribly. I proceeded to eat pizza, drink coke, go cosmic bowling and eat more pizza. By the time the night was over, I hadn't gotten a call. From there I became down right paranoid. Edward was a guy of capable things. What is he blind folded Bella? Tied her up, shoved her into a wooden box and shipped her off to an island where he could have her all to himself? He would then proceed to buying a house away from the town he deicded to settle in, tie her up to a bed
post so she could never leave. Then he would continue by doing X rated stuff, bringing her to the brink of no return!
Okay, the imagination was running wild last night from all the hype at the arcade. But now I know that Edward wouldn't do such a thing to her. From what she told me, he's like her personal dog. Guard dog is more like it. He would be.. a saintbernard. Or maybe even a Rotwiler. But that's beside the point. He wouldn't do anything to harm Bella, I was sure of it.
..
I needed to get out for some fresh air.
Waddling over to my dresser, I pulled out a lime green sleeveless shirt and vintage black jeans, pulling them on with haste. I made sure to step lightly around the house, knowing Charlie was most likely asleep. slipping into a pair of brown sandals, I opened the front door, cringing when it creaked loudly, and made my way out.
The sun was beating down hard, making it humid out. People were out on their front lawn, sitting in a chair wit ha huge umbrella to keep them in the shade, cool drinks in their hand while their husbands mowed and watered around them. Kids were playing with each other or drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. The blue sky was filled with a few amount of clouds so that meant that the sun wasn't planning on shying away any time soon.
With a gruff sigh, I began walking down the street waving to familiar neighbors,expertly dodging toys the kids threw. Rounding corners, I noticed the familiar path Bella and I took when we went to the convenient store close to our house. We haven't been there for awhile because.. well.. it hadn't came to mind. Darius, the guy who works the till, probably misses us. We used to go there every night. He'll be really excited to see me, I bet! The though of seeing him again sent shivers down my spine. Okay, maybe I had a little crush on the guy. Black, untamed hair, warm brown eyes and a very nice build. But he was five years older then I was.
The little store came into view, still looking the same the last time I saw it. "Freshly Goods" was a neon sign placed beside the door, another neon sign that said "Open" was placed in the window. The green paint was pealing and fading on the walls, making it look like a bad run-down store. Well it kinda was. At least it looked nicer inside. Pushing the door open,my insides bubbled but they were popped quickly by acid needles.
"Hi Dari.. " My blood ran cold. Smile dropping, eyes widening, mouth popping open. What the hell is he doing here?
"Hello, hello! Huh.. oh, it's you." The twitching eye returned. "It's nice to see you outside of school, without that uniform. Alice in normal clothes looks very cute." I brushed off the comment, it hadn't effected me.
"Cullen, what are you doing here? Where is Darius?"
"I just complimented you."
"Does it look like I care?"
"No.. not really."
"Good, because I really don't. Now, where is Darius? Is he in the back?"
"Nah, he's on holidays with his girlfriend."
.. I died a little on the inside. Girlfriend? Darius? When did this happen? Why haven't heard of it, why..
"He'll be back in a month."
"A MONTH?!" Shocked by my outrageous yell, Jasper jerked back and fell off his chair. It would have made me laugh if the situation wasn't so serious.
"Yeah.. a full month. I was hired here a couple days and I'm doing a good job so far so hopefully I wont get fired so soon." Numbly, I finally walked in and grabbed a small bag of chips, at least ten chocolate bars to sooth my aching heart and a big bottle of coke. I placed them on the till, still inin daze as Jasper continued talking about how he couldn't keep a job for a week or more.
"So Alice, I think this is fate. Me sitting in your seat in class and now meeting here, I think it's destiny." His lips quirked into an amazing smile but it didn't seem to faze me one bit.
"Are you trying to make me laugh or vomit? I'm actually aiming for the second option."
"So cold. All the other girls seemed to be in heat when they saw me, except for you and.. Bella, was her name?"
"I have no interest in a Perfect. And why are you working here anyways? Don't you have to go buy a porsche somewhere or something?"
"Sticking to your own kind, eh? And I'm working because I want to experience what it's like to be in the middle-class position, to see how hard it is for them. But I can't seem to hold onto a job for long so it's kind of a problem." I jerked slightly, but not enough for him to notice. I wasn't expecting that kind of answer of him. It's was kind of.. cool of him.
"Yeah, sticking to my own kind. No way would I lower myself to date or be allured by you."
"Touche. Well, what about college? Where there is no such thing a Perfects or Rebels. Just ordinary people. Once in college, would you date me then?"
A spark zigged through my head. I hadn't thought about college. Ordinary people. No Rebels.. no Perfects. Just the normal groups or preps, geeks, jocks, goths. The idea sounded heavenly to me. Not us dating, though. IT just sent another churn to my empty stomach.
"I don't know."
"You don't know if you would date me if we're in college?" Apparently my answer was an overload to his puny brain.
"Yes, that's what I meant."
"But you won't date me now?"
"No way in hell."
"Hah.. you're very interesting, Ms. Alice Swan." His low laughter shook the frame of his body. "You know what? You're my new goal in life."
"Come again?" Goal? Was he off his rocker? I'm no career!
"I have taken a liking to you. So the positions have switched. Instead of girls chasing after me, I'm going to chase after you."
"Don't waste your time, please."
"No way. I'm going to make you mine, Alice, and I'm going to make you fall in love with me."
His words sent another churn to my stomach. But it wasn't a acid burning churn, more of a..excited one. It sounded like a challenge and I was actually willing to participate in it. He won't be able to do it. My pride is as good as Bella's and so I won't be falling for a Perfect. Ever. Especially this odd playboy.
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Later that day, Bella had finally returned home. I crushed her with a hug, dragged her to the room and gave a lecture on how she should have called me. But after she explained what happened that night and today, I guess I couldn't blame her for forgetting. But Edward calling her his girlfriend in from of his parents! The nerve of that Perfect! He has some balls for saying that. Bella clearly sounded upset but her face betrayed her. She looked like someone who was in love. I'm guessing it'll take time for her to realise it. Unless she already did yet shes just ignoring those feelings.
I began to tell her about my day. From the twitching to Jasper. At the sound of his name, Bella's face turned sour, her face flushed but didn't say anything. She told me to be careful around him because he was a Perfect. I replied by saying all Perfects are trouble, just look who she ended up with. She quickly changed the subject to tonight's outing. She was looking forward to DDRing again, eating pizza and going about her nightly activities.
After excusing herself to the bathroom for a shower, I began thinking back to Jasper and his words. The sound of a challenged thrilled me. But what thrilled me more was the idea of his chasing after me, just to get my affection. It had made my heart skip a couple beats, my skin had heated up but I kept my cool. I won't tell Bella about these feelings just yet. Just like she has some of her secrets, I have mine.
At seven PM sharp, we were at the arcade, sipping on some soda's. Oscar, a Irish teen and one of Bella's rivals, came up to as, asking Bella to have a battle with him. A smirk appeared on her face, the smirk that always appears when she's into something she likes. This is a battle she's determined to win. Oscar was just slightly better then her, winning every round. After excusing herself, Bella practically danced to the machine. It seemed our friends noticed it as well.
Bella picked a random song and awaited for the game to begin. When it had began, it was as if she was moving on air. Floating, gloating, dancing. Did she know how differently she moved from the last time she came. Which was last week. Was it Edwards doing? Did he really cause her this much happiness. My heart throbbed lightly at the thought of someone else making Bella this happy. Sheesh, I sounded like a worried mother, not wanting to give her daughter away.
I ordered for another drink and chugged it down quickly, ignoring the slight stinging in my throat. Everything was happening too fast now. And I had a feeling that it might all go downhill. Soon.
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A/N: Sorry it's short. But if you guys want to see another chapter, it might have to be like this. As for my excuses: Recently got a summer job. I just happened to be sick today so I thought I would finish this chapter up.
And guys, if you have any ideas about what you would like to see happen, then don't hesitate to tell me. I may not use your idea but if I do, I'll find a way to fit it into the plot. Hope this chapter wasn't too boring!
BottledCoke